My Fireplace (MCYT FIC EXCHANGE)
summary: after a long day, all niki wants to do is to warm up and snuggle; and her friend puffy is more than happy to help.
prompt: niki is tired after a really long day (maybe a bit down as well) and puffy gives her soft cheer-up tickles and platonic cuddles and positive reassurance
a/n: this is my mcyt fic exchange fic for @vibinganon !! i hope you enjoy v :D
warnings: slight self doubt, implied mentions of overworking, hurt/comfort-ish!!
w/c: 1.1k
DSMP, Platonic
~
Letting the door to her house close behind her, Niki looked at the ground as a sigh escaped her mouth. It was a long day, to say the least.
To start, it was cold. Very cold. As the weather was unexpected, Niki didn’t dress as warmly as she should’ve on this unfortunate day. And what made it worse; she was going to do outside gardening work today.
To be expected, doing heavy gardening work with the cold winds brushing against her skin every few minutes was draining. She felt as if her muscles were going to freeze up at any moment, the chilly breeze almost taunting her at this point.
Niki wiped off the cold sweat from her forehead, deciding that the few hours of work were enough for the day. She shook her head, wanting to do more; but the nearly unbearable weather was twisting and pulling at her motivation.
‘There’s nothing wrong with taking a break for today, right?’ Niki asked herself, trying to find some form of validation; even if that involved talking to herself. She was tired, and all she wanted to do is sit by a warm fireplace and nap.
Treading along the paths to her house, Niki looked up and began to see the shadowy silhouette of her home amongst the fog, a soft smiling pulling from the corners of her lips.
She walked in, sighing as the warm air surrounded her. She immediately went into her room to change into a colorful striped sweater and long pants and left to go start up her fireplace.
To her surprise, her fireplace was already lit; and a little poof of white hair could be seen peeking out from on the couch.
“Puffy? Is that you?” Niki spoke quietly, unsure if her tired eyes were failing her or not. With a soft hum of acknowledgment, Puffy peaked up from where she was reading a book. “The one and only! Why don’t you come here and warm up, yeah?”
Niki rushed with haste, and crashed into the sheep hybrid with a big hug, immediately being pulled into her embrace. “Rough day?” Puffy softly asked, feeling Niki’s head nod with a small nod. “You’re all good now, though. You can relax, I got you, Niki.” With that, Niki immediately melted into her friend, practically laying on her lap as the captain softly slotted her fingers comfortingly through her hair.
“Is this good?” Puffy asked, a fond smile painting over her features as her best friend smiled and nodded, enjoying the cozy heat from the fireplace on her skin and the long nails lightly scratching at her scalp.
"You're like my fireplace, you're so cozy." Niki mumbled, smiling to herself as she enjoyed the feeling of her hair being played with. Puffy let out a soft chuckle, smiling at Niki's comment.
It was peaceful, to say the least, until the said long nails got dangerously close to Niki’s neck.
“Oh, sorry! Did I hurt you?”
“N- No! I just… felt a small itch and it startled me!”
Puffy raised an eyebrow, not believing what she had to say. The pirate wasn’t a gullible one, that’s for sure. “Alright, come lay back down, you goof,” Puffy spoke with a playful tone, Niki obliging and laying on top of her lap again.
Puffy wasn’t gullible, but she was definitely curious. Gingerly, she let her nails scratch the base of Niki’s head, right by her neck. To be expected, the woman let out another squeak… and what sounded like a giggle. Ohhhh.
“I see. I’m guessing you’re ticklish?”
“M- Maybe?”
“Good to know.”
Niki shuddered at the sudden teasy tone that Puffy put on, immediately falling back as she felt gentle tracing up her side. “I’m gonna help cheer you up, ‘kay? Let me know when to stop.” Puffy knew her friend needed this. The blonde would never admit it, but there’s nothing better than soft tickles from the person you're close with after a long and taxing day.
A pink blush dusted over Niki’s cheeks as she nodded, covering her mouth as giggles began to pour out as she felt ticklish sensations over a particularly sensitive patch of skin.
Puffy’s nails found where her side met her belly to be particularly sensitive, lightly scritching at the skin. “PuhUHUFffy!” Niki squealed, the sheep hybrid just chuckling at her. “Niki!” She playfully repeated, earning a flustered grumble from her friend.
“Y’know Niki, I’m proud of you for how much work you did today. It’s not easy to be outside in the cold weather, especially if you aren’t properly dressed for it,” Puffy smiled, gently scribbling her fingers right beneath Niki’s belly button before continuing, “...and I’m honestly impressed. Not even I would be able to do that; I’d go back home after merely ten minutes!”
Niki was able to hear the reassurance message over her own squeals, a big grin spreading across her face from both the tickles and Puffy’s kind words. “I- It tihiHIHIckles- nohot thehEHERE!” The blonde threw her head back as Puffy’s nails skittered around her sides, gently squeezing the crook of her waist.
“Why not? I quite like it here, it gets those cute giggles out of you!~” Puffy exclaimed, chuckling softly at Niki’s whine as she covered her face. “N’awww, Niki! Let me see that pretty smile!” She fluttered her nails into her friend’s upper ribs, making Niki instantly crash her arms down.
“There you go!~” Puffy cooed, smiling as she noticed how less tense Niki sounded, and how she was more relaxed and giving in to the soft tickles. “You did a lot of hard work, you deserve to allow yourself to relax completely sometimes. Even if you don’t feel like you deserve it, you still do.”
Niki hummed in acknowledgment, bubbly and soft giggles still flowing out of her mouth as Puffy’s tickles turned into light traces around her tummy, melting completely into the soft tickles.
“Are you sleepy, Niki?” Puffy asked, noticing how much of a puddle Niki was, and how she was subconsciously snuggling into the captain. “Mhmhm…” She mumbled through her giggles, looking up at her friend with tired eyes.
“Then sleep well, I’ll wake you up in a few hours when dinner is ready, alright?” Niki nodded, sleep already washing over her body. Puffy sighed contently, playing with Niki’s hair as she slept on top of her lap.
With the crackling fireplace and cushy couch being a bit too comfortable than it should, Puffy yawned herself, the relaxing atmosphere making her sleepy as well. A little nap wouldn’t hurt anybody.
i really liked writing this one!! it ended up being way longer than i thought it would though lol
word count: 2,563 (jesus christ)
prompt: gang tickles
character: eret
warning: this is a sfw tickle fic! don’t read if that makes you uncomfortable :]
Attachments.
No matter if it was toward a person, place, or a noun, people always developed attachments to certain things.
Eret had always found themselves getting attached to things in life. They became attached to the pet sheep they had found roaming around the museum. They had been attached to L’Manburg at one point, it was their first real home. They were attached to Puffy, Foolish, and other friends they had met.
But right now, at this very moment? Eret was growing an attachment to...a couch.
There was a sectional couch in the library of the castle. It was red, made of velvet material, and in Eret’s words, “a really fucking nice couch.” It could easily fit six people, maybe seven or eight if people squeezed together. There was also an ottoman where, if rolled into the right spot, could make a larger space on the sectional that resembled a mattress. Eret had been laying across this couch for a while, reading a fantasy novel that they had found while browsing through the shelves of the library. Their crown was placed on a table nearby, as they didn’t feel the need to wear it at the moment. They looked up when they heard the sound of the door opening, wondering who was currently visiting.
“Foolish!” Eret sat up, happy to see their old friend. “What are you doing here?”
“Hey, Eret.” Foolish waved, and the king was quick to notice that he wasn’t filled with his normal, bubbly charm. The god walked over to his friend, leaning over and resting his arms on the sectional’s armrest. “So, uh...I have something to say. And you might not like it.”
Eret blinked in surprise, placing a bookmark in their book and gently closing it. “Okay? What is it?” They asked. “Is something wrong?”
“Well, um...You know how you told me that you didn’t want to tell anyone details about your past until we figured out more stuff about it?”
“...Yes?”
“I...” Foolish hid his face with his hands. “I accidentally let some stuff slip in conversation. When I was talking to...um, Puffy.”
Eret could feel their heart skip a beat in their chest, but they kept their composure. “...Okay...did you tell anyone other than Puffy?” They asked.
The god let out a groan of frustration, sitting down next to Eret on the couch. “No, I didn’t, but I accidentally brought up how we were reading together a while ago, and she was like “oh, what book were you guys reading?” and I didn’t want to lie, and I got put on the spot, so I told her about the wither cult, and I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean for it to happen, and-“
“Oh, thank god.”
“Wait, what?”
“When you said that you told someone, with how nervous you looked, I thought you were talking about like, Dream, or someone else untrustworthy like that.” Eret let out a sigh of relief, placing a hand on their chest.
“Wait, so you aren’t mad?” Foolish asked.
“No, of course not! Accidents happen.” They shrugged. “And honestly, Puffy was the first person I planned to tell after we figured this all out. So, if anything, you actually did me a favor.”
“Really?! Whew, that’s a relief!” Foolish could feel his muscles untense as he also let out a heavy sigh, leaning back into the couch. “I thought you were gonna be so pissed off at me!”
Eret laughed softly. “Foolish, when have I ever been known to be upset in front of you?” They asked. They weren’t an easy person to provoke, it was pretty rare for them to lose their cool.
“You’re right, you’re right.” He nodded, aware of how Eret had never really gotten angry in front of him in all of the months he had been in this land. “You’re not easy to anger. However, back in the day, you would get a little bit intense when you were angry.”
“Really?” Eret looked over to their friend with curious eyes. “How so?”
Before Foolish could begin to explain, they were both distracted by the door of the library swinging open. A familiar face approached, closing the door behind themselves.
“So, someone told me that you used to be quite the warrior. And you don’t remember, so I’d like to see if I can help out with that.” The sheep hybrid greeted, pulling down her sunglasses and sending the two a wink.
“Apparently, I was a warrior!” Eret chuckled, waving to Puffy.
“Puffy, hey! Come sit down with us!” Foolish said excitedly, tapping on the free couch seat next to him.
“In a second!” Puffy made a beeline to the bookshelves, skimming through the words on the spine of each book. “What was the name of the book you guys were reading again?”
“The history of withers, I’m pretty sure!” Foolish nodded.
“Right...author name?”
“Umm...last name started with an H, I think?”
“...Hodgman?”
“Yep, I think so!”
“Careful, it’s quite heavy.” Eret warned her, but was surprised to see that Puffy was easily able to hold onto it, with seemingly no struggle. She walked over to the other two, sitting to the side of Eret so that they were in the middle.
She looked at her son and grinned softly. “This is his first time on the couch, isn’t it?”
“This is such a nice couch!” Foolish said as he sunk deeper into his seat, much to Eret and Puffy’s amusement. “How come I’ve never sat on this before?!”
“It’s your fault for not exploring the wonders of my castle enough.” Eret joked as Puffy placed the book in their lap so that all three of them could easily access it.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Foolish rolled his eyes, sitting up to get a closer look at the reading.
The three of them sat together on the couch for a very long time, investigating more of the book that Foolish and Eret had read previously. Foolish would often have to help transcribe words in ancient languages that the other two didn’t understand, and Puffy would often need context and explanation for quite a few things, but still tried to help as best as she could. They would laugh at Foolish’s stupid jokes and share exchanges in between their research, still finding fun. However, after a while, they found it to be draining.
“Okay, how much have we accomplished in the past two hours?”
“What? Foolish, there’s no way we’ve been at this for two hours.”
“Actually, we have.” Puffy nodded, checking the watch on her wrist. “We should probably take a break.”
“I’m down for that.” Foolish was quick to go limp and sink back into the couch.
“Mhm...” Eret nodded, looking out of the castle windows. It was golden hour, and the sun was setting over the horizon, leaving a beautiful, golden gleam to leak through the windows and into the library.
“You tired?” Puffy asked them.
“Not really tired, just drained.” Eret nodded as they turned towards the sheep hybrid.
“I can tell, you look tense.” She said before gently grabbing them by the shoulders and moving them so their back faced her. “Here, let me help.” After observing no signs of discomfort, Puffy started to gently massage Eret’s shoulders.
“Thank you, Puffy.” Eret smiled, leaning back into Puffy a bit as she massaged them.
“It’s no problem.” Puffy smiled back, continuing to lightly rub at Eret’s shoulders. The three of them sat in a peaceful silence, all of them illuminated by the golden glow of the sunset. Man, this was nice. Eret found themselves relaxing quite a bit...but not for long. Puffy lightly pressed her fingers against Eret’s shoulderblades, and they let out a squeak of surprise before quickly covering their mouth.
“Woah- are you okay? Did I hurt you?” Puffy asked, quickly letting go when Foolish sat up, curious to see what was happening.
“What? No, you didn’t do anything. I’m fine, Puffy.” Eret said, trying to throw what had just occurred under the rug. They noticed Foolish staring out of the corner of their eye, knowing damn well that he had noticed.
Foolish blinked, continuing to stare, before a smile appeared on his face. “Ooooh, right. Puffy. I have known Eret far longer than you have, and there’s something about them you might not know yet.”
“Hm?” Puffy looked up curiously.
Eret immediately knew what Foolish was referring too. “J-Just ignore him, Puffy.” They said to her.
Foolish smirked, now fully sitting up and moving closer to them both. “See, even if Eret doesn’t remember the past, what I do know is that they have stayed pretty similar to their old ways, including their strengths...and their weaknesses.”
“Like what?” Puffy asked, now intrigued with what Foolish had been saying.
“The truth...is that Eret...”
“Foolish, don’t tell her.”
“Is very...”
“Foolish.”
“Very...”
“Don’t you dare.”
Foolish paused, a wide grin on his face, amused by the situation. Eret leaned back, but couldn’t do much with Puffy sitting near him. He didn’t necessarily mind this, but it was a bit embarrassing.
“...Ticklish!” He finally commenced, leaning over and digging into Eret’s underarms. The monarch let out a surprised yell, quick to erupt into laughter.
“Yohohou AHAHASSHOHOLE!” They yelled, squirming around as they were laid across Puffy’s lap.
“Aww!” Puffy laughed a bit herself as she watched the scene unfolding in front of her, ruffling their hair.
“Then how come you’re laughing so much, Eret?” Foolish asked, grinning happily.
“Shuhuhut uhuhup!” Eret snapped back through their laughter.
“Wait, wait, stop, I want to try something.” Puffy said suddenly. Foolish drew his hands away, letting Eret catch their breath. After a few moments, Puffy scooped her arms underneath Eret, and after a bit of struggle, managed to pick them up.
“Woah, wahait!” Eret yelped in surprise, clinging onto Puffy as them was lifted off of the couch. The captain smirked, lightly tossing Eret onto the other side of the couch. The ottoman was pulled in currently, so there was more space for them to move around if needed. Puffy was quick to sit down next to him, lying him down.
“So, Foolish. Overall, how ticklish do you think Eret is on a scale of one to ten?” Puffy asked her son.
“From one to ten? Hmm...” Foolish paused to think. “It can vary, depending on the spot but...I’d say an eight! Maybe even a nine!”
“A nine?!” Eret repeated, the now mischievous look on Puffy’s face filling them with a bit of nervousness. “Absolutely not, I am a seven at the most.”
“Well, with conflicting answers, I guess I’ll have to find out for myself!” Puffy said, slowly closing in on her friend before digging right into the hallows of their underarms, just as Foolish had done before.
“NohOHOHO- waHAhaihit!” Eret yelped, squirming around on the couch and holding onto Puffy’s wrists.
“Man, I remember when we were at a party this one time, and you were a bit tipsy, and you nearly fell over and I grabbed your waist to catch you. And you started laughing and, I dunno, I just had this strange feeling that it wasn’t from the alcohol! So I squeezed at your sides again, and you started laughing more, and I put two and two together.” Foolish laughed a bit himself, thinking about the memory.
“Their sides, you say?” Puffy’s eyebrow raised up curiously.
“Yeah, just like this!” Foolish quickly leaned down and grabbed onto Eret’s sides, a shriek emitting from their mouth. He squeezed and pinched at the area, sending the monarchy into a squirming, giggling mess.
“SHIHIHIT- GUHUYS!” They laughed, attempting to bat both pairs of hands away.
“I also remember you being quite a sneaky gal, but you can’t try and sneak your way out of this one!” Foolish said, finding as much enjoyment out of this as Puffy was.
“Yeah, you’re definitely past a seven.” Puffy declared. “Just like Foolish said, you’re an eight, possibly a nine.”
Foolish quickly stopped with one hand, using it to cover his mouth as he quickly whispered something to Puffy. The two of them nodded before Foolish went back in with his free hand, and Eret continued to laugh. They were squirming around a lot less now, probably getting a bit tired out. The other two slowed down, giving Eret time to breathe.
“Alright...” Foolish said quietly, looking at Puffy, then looking back down at Eret. “Three... two... one... NOW!” At the god’s signal, they both dug their hands into Eret’s ribcage, Foolish tackling the upper ribs while Puffy got the lower ones. Another shriek tore out from the monarch’s mouth.
“FUHUHUCK- HAHAHAHA!! WAHAHAIT-“ Eret threw their head back, attempting to squirm and defend themselves with their hands, but they were simply too tired to do so.
“Oh, forget what I said earlier, you are absolutely a ten.” Puffy said with a smirk.
“I agree! Ten all the way!” Foolish nodded in agreement.
“I’M NOHOHOT A TEHEHEHEN-” Eret cackled, a small hiccup escaping from their mouth.
The two of them continued the attack, before Foolish drew away, and signaled for Puffy to do the same. “Alright, I don’t wanna actually kill them.” He chuckled a bit.
Eret was still a giggling mess, even after the two of them had stopped. The golden light from the sunset reflected on their glasses as they reached a hand up behind them to wipe a tear from their eye. Readjusting the glasses, they let out a sigh. “You guys are both jerks.” They said lightheartedly before giggling again.
“Aww, but we’re your favorite jerks, aren’t we?” Foolish asked, moving and sitting down next to Eret’s head.
“Yeah, sure.” They rolled their eyes.
“The king of the SMP called me a jerk. That’s something to cross off of my bucket list.” Puffy said out loud, making the other two laugh, and she too, laughed along with them. Eret finally sat up, and their two friends readjusted to sit next to them.
“We’re not sorry for wrecking you into another millennium...but, we hope you can forgive us anyway.” Foolish said as he ruffled Eret’s hair.
Eret couldn’t help but smile at their old friend’s antics. “I forgive you both, but don’t think I’m not going to get you both back soon.” They said, fixing up the mess Foolish had made.
“That’s fair.” Puffy leaned into Eret. The king laughed softly, putting an arm around each of their friends.
Eret suddenly remembered that they had something that they wanted to say. “Oh, and Foolish?”
“Yeah?” Foolish turned his head.
“...Thanks for fucking up earlier and accidentally telling Puffy about the Wither Cult.” They smiled. Puffy laughed at the statement, grinning wildly as well. Foolish snickered lightly, and now all three of them were happily smiling.
“It’s no problem, old pal.” Foolish said with a sincere smile.
Eret looked out of the window. Golden hour was starting to come to an end, and the golden gleam from the windows was starting to fade.
They had made a new memory today.
It was moments like these that they had to cherish. Fun times to be had with friends. Between the stress of all of the wars, rivalries, and new nations rising up, it was definitely important. And as Eret sat with their friends in a peaceful silence, they knew that this something they needed.
It had been quite a boring day for Puffy. Not much was going on in her world, so she had just decided to go mining, which wasn’t as fun as she’d imagined. So when Puffy saw a message on her communicator from Eret, asking if she could come to their castle, she was thrilled to have something exciting come to her.
It turned out, Eret was having quite a difficult time deciding what outfit to wear for the Red Banquet that was coming up in only a couple of days. The king had chosen multiple outfits that they wanted to wear, but wanted someone’s advice on what to choose, and Puffy was happy to help. Eret even let her sit on their throne while they changed outfits in another room.
“Ok, I’m almost ready with the next one!” Eret called out from behind the door.
“You got it!” Puffy replied, excited to see what was next in store.
After a moment, the door had opened, and Eret stepped out. They wore a flowing, red shirt made of silk, high rise black pants, black heeled boots, as well as their sunglasses, which never went unequipped. “What do you think of this one?”
A small “Oooh!” escaped Puffy’s mouth as she stood up from the throne and approached Eret, eager to see the outfit up close. She investigated the outfit up and down, a grin on her face.
“I definitely like this one. If you added a belt and maybe some jewelry, it would be perfect.” The captain nodded. “It kind of reminds me of something a pirate would wear.”
“I knew you would like it for that exact reason.” Eret smiled, then held their arm out. “Also, feel this.”
Puffy reached a hand towards Eret’s arm, gasping when she felt the smooth material of the shirt. The two of them looked at each other, thinking the same thing.
“...Woah.”
“I know, right?”
“This shirt is so soft, wow!” Puffy said excitedly, her hand making it’s way around the other’s arm. She then started to feel around their side, eager to touch the fabric. It was so silky smooth, Puffy knew she would need to find a shirt like this for herself to wear. However, she stopped when she noticed Eret’s body twitch ever so slightly.
“You okay?” She raised an eyebrow at the king, who had a small wobbly smile on their face.
“No, I’m okay, I’m fine!” Eret insisted. “...I think I’m going to go and try on the next outfit.” They turned around, but were stopped by the grab of Puffy’s hand for theirs.
“Hmm, I think I like this one though! And the softness of the shirt...” She smirked, starting slowly spider her fingers over the other’s side. Noticing Eret was clearly trying to hide stifled giggles, Puffy kicked it up a notch, switching from soft spidering to more rough scribbling. To her excitement, the king burst into laughter.
“NAHAHAHAHA! PUHUHUFFY!” They cackled, suddenly clutching onto the other. “PUHUHFFY, I’M WEAHAHAHARING HEHEHEHEELS! I’M GOHOHONNA FALL!”
“That’s alright, I got’cha!” With a swift movement, Puffy pulled Eret towards her, using one arm to trap them in a tight hug, and her other hand to scribble all over their sides and stomach. Watching the other happily laugh while in her grasp, Puffy smiled, having a feeling that she wouldn’t need to see the rest of Eret’s outfits. This one was definitely her favorite.
