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hi idk if the requests are still open but literally anything with lee pAinter and Ler expendable because my friend and I were playing pressure and we accidentally killed him bc we thought that we were saving him, we cried so hard 🥀

[p.AI.nter & Expendable pairings my beloved…especially when they’re positive dhdbdbd— also how could you…./lh)

My Turn (Pt. 2 of “The Kind of Touch You’ve Longed For”)

Fandom: Roblox Pressure

Characters: Ler!Reader, Lee!p.AI.nter (platonic. but go crazy :D)

Words: 9370 words

CW: the basics- this is Pressure c’mon-

Summary: p.AI.nter, more than anything, longed to experience the warm touch of another. He hadn’t since the days of his creator, and Sebastian couldn’t risk coming near him...That left only one option: you.

A/N: back into the fray once more—! decided to make this fic a continuation of my lee!Sebastian fic, just for funsies! I don’t think you *have* to read that one to get this one, but you know…you should totally go read that one :) anyways, enjoy this annoyingly wordy fic! I’m sorry for how bad it is…(also p.AI.nter has a body in this context. because…you know djdbdb)

Sitting in a grey room, locked behind a card-locked steel door and a tall wired fence, chained by his metal ankle, was not p.AI.nter’s idea of a good time; which was honestly just his lighthearted way of saying that he hated this place with a burning passion.

Not just because being trapped god knows how many kilometers below sea level meant that he could never see or feel the warmth of sunlight again, but because of what he had been forced to do these last two days.

Well, he says “forced”, but he couldn’t deny that everything he had done thus far had been partly his choice— though he tried to block that bitter truth out of his core in an effort to keep going with the terrible things he didn’t want to be doing.

He remembered the 14th so clearly.

6:00 — Being turned online by an Urbanshade official

Honestly, he was already meant to be online, as per his schedule, but that day, he had allowed himself a moment to “sleep”, or whatever was the robotic equivalent of that. After all…he had tried to overclock himself again, and had to spend several hours being awake as a grumbling mechanic repaired him. He remembered pleading for the man, who was one of the more recurring handymen for him, to just let him die already. The man simply huffed, saying he wished p.AI.nter would, but he didn’t get paid by Urbanshade to let him fry himself.

Urbanshade…

p.AI.nter stared down at the metal body he was given by Urbanshade. He remembered how simple his little computer body was, lovingly provided by his creator. Sure, it was old and rustic, but it supported his data, and it was the only thing left of his creator he had…but that was all stripped away one random day when more than one Urbanshade official came to check on him — a scientist and a few folks skilled in robotics — They removed him from the table he was perched on, which confused the little AI. It wasn’t Sunday yet, so why were they taking him away? Had they…finally had enough of him? Was he going to be free?

Ha. That was wishful thinking.

Seconds later, he was turned off, and after what felt like only a blink in time for him, he awoke with a strange new body: it was made of rather flimsy metal, but still hard enough that he wouldn’t fall apart if he got hit. The welding was poor and rushed, and his limbs were far from calibrated properly, leading him to have to figure out his new body all on his own. It was weird though…He could FEEL stuff. Like actually FEEL like a human would—! He wasn’t told why he was given this new body, but as weird, and even almost thrilling as it was, it wasn’t HIS body. His head looked similar to his old computer, but not quite right— it had been changed to fit Urbanshade’s standards…His art program was still there, but aside from the Roblux mining protocol, there was nothing else there. No memories, no past photos, nothing…

Turns out he had been chosen as a prototype for a robotic entity they were working on. The new body would have been more exciting if it actually meant something…He could walk around now, but he couldn’t move freely, not in the slightest. Now, whenever he was put in his little cramped space, he was chained by his leg on top of the highly fortified door, just to make sure there was no chance of him getting out. When he was brought to the surface on Sundays to draw, guards would surround him like vultures ready to brawl for a corpse— not to mention, he was strapped with a shock collar that a guard would turn on should he do anything out of line. He was given a sliver of freedom only for it to be stripped away instantly…

Well…enough reminiscing. Roblux mining awaits.

8:00 to 13:20 — Nothing much happened. Just more mindless, mind-numbing, crypto mining for p.AI.nter. Though, he noticed that not as many Urbanshade officials had come in to make sure he was working. NAVI-AI would sometimes check in to make sure he was hard-at-work, letting out a robotic huff whenever he would tell her to essentially fuck off, but even she wasn’t paying much attention to him. As much as he hated Urbanshade, it was a bit lonely with no-one around. Just what were they doing that was so important that they couldn’t keep track of anything else? He thought for a moment…He could faintly recall overhearing from guards from outside his room saying something about transporting some “precious cargo”, but by the sounds of it, it wasn’t your typical cargo.

They mentioned anesthesia. That cargo had to be alive.

13:40 — NAVI had sent out a site-wide alert. The loud blaring sound of alarms rang through p.AI.nter’s circuits and freaked him out— he nearly messed up the drawing he was working on! The alarms were so loud, he could barely process what she was saying…Something about Z-13 breaching containment?

That had to be an experiment of some kind, but p.AI.nter couldn’t recall any creature by that designation number, not that he met many to begin with.

He could hear Urbanshade officials and scientists running and screaming, guards loading their guns and thumping their boots against the floor as they ran back and forth. The guards were ordering less-armed officials to get to the nearest submarine docks or to hide out in bunkers until the situation was sorted.

If p.AI.nter could physically hyperventilate, he would be doing so. He already had a feeling no-one was coming for him, and if whoever this Z-13 person was just so happened to be feeling particularly angry and stumbled upon his room, he would have no chance of escaping “alive”.

p.AI.nter just had to hope and pray that his little closed off area was enough to keep whatever beast was now roaming the halls out.

Then again…if this person were to find him and end his life…he would finally be free of Urbanshade for good! He tried to think of that single positive to cope with the scary situation he was now presented with, as dark as it may have seemed. He felt all alone in a predicament he knew nothing about, and now, with a body that could properly feel, he would be able to feel the pain of being ripped apart…

He tried not to think about it, curled up underneath the table he once sat on to hide.

17:34 — Hours had gone by since this strange lockdown was initiated. Most of the scientists had fled the Blacksite, and only a few guards remained to try and combat whatever was fighting outside.

It was for naught though, evident by the echoing screams p.AI.nter heard as he continued to hide under the desk. It wasn’t just the screams of humans though— there were the screams and hollowed out cries of various monsters that slipped by his room on occasion, and it seemed obvious that whoever this Z-13 person was had released some of Urbanshade’s little experiments.

The remaining humans were being picked off one by one, and perhaps, if it weren’t for the chance of a painful death by another entity, he might have been thrilled that such terrible people were getting karma for the things they’ve done.

Of course, terror filled his non-existent heart at the realization that Z-13 was more than just some mindless entity. It was intelligent, and an intelligent person killing those it deemed unworthy of living was a scary thought to have…

Just then, he heard a clank at the door leading to his room. He tensed up, his “breathing” hitched as he stared at the door— the first door that protected him from the horrors outside. There was another clank, and another, and another, and p.AI.nter couldn’t help, but scream a little as the door dented and looked ready to bust down at any moment.

He curled up deeper into himself as one final clank was emitted, followed by the loud thud of the door falling flat on the floor.

He gasped a bit and whimpered as he heard something slither in. He didn’t bother to sneak a peek, too scared that whatever had come in would catch his gaze and spot him. His back rose and fell like a human breathing heavily, despite his lack of ability to actually take a breath.

“Who’s in here?!”, a voice suddenly rang out— it was raspy, like the person hadn’t drunk water in days (or maybe like the person had been smoking for days), and whoever was in here sounded enormous. p.AI.nter shook his head, letting out a small squeak of fear. “I know you’re in here…”, said the voice again, the almost teasing nature of the sentence causing an artificial chill to run down p.AI.nter’s spine.

He wanted to cry, and if he had tear ducts, he would be doing just that; but he didn’t want to give away his position, so he remained as quiet as possible.

He clutched his “stomach” with his hand, his other covering his mouth even though there was no point. He heard more slithers for a moment before he suddenly felt something gazing at him. He shivered as he heard a voice. “Found you…”, it said before something suddenly slammed and grabbed against the wired fence surrounding him. p.AI.nter screamed in fear, finally turning his head to see what was about to attack him.

It was a tall and imposing figure, about 10 feet in length— different blue hues of scales covered the being’s skin and worked together to form a long snake-like body with an aquatic tail at the end (was it a whale tail or a fish tail? p.AI.nter couldn’t tell, and frankly he didn’t care). Ebony hair, wet and knotted, resting on the creature’s shoulders, shaped their face, harboring fish fins for ears, a jagged mouth full of sharp teeth, and three glowing blue eyes. An anglerfish lure hung from the top of its head and curved towards the front of his face. The being before him had three arms, each harboring a four-fingered clawed hand at the end of it that gripped onto the wiring. The beast narrowed his eyes at the robot before squinting in confusion.

This was it. p.AI.nter was about to die.

“Wait, wha—“

“AAAH—! Wait! WAIT! Please don’t kill me! I’m not human, I’m not human!”

“Yeah, I can see that now…”

p.AI.nter blinked at the calm statement before looking back at the figure before him. His body still trembled at the sight, so he made sure to keep his distance, but… “Y-You…You aren’t killing me..?”, p.AI.nter mumbled. The being didn’t seem to have an answer for him, much too confused to formulate a response, but after a moment, he shook his head.

“No, no, I’m not gonna kill you. I thought you were…Who are you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around, kid…”, they spoke. p.AI.nter couldn’t help, but let out a huff. “I’m not a kid! And…I’m p.AI.nter. Or I guess…What’s the number they gave me..? Z-77…9?”, he answered. The creature blinked in confusion again. “Z-779? Aren’t you meant to be a computer or something? You’ve got a whole body.”

“They gave me one for testing. Not like I can do much with it…Who…are you?”

The being paused for a moment, analyzing p.AI.nter up and down before giving out a slightly unnerving smile. “You can call me…Sebastian. Sebastian Solace”, he answered, slowly removing his hands from the fence. p.AI.nter blinked.

“Sebastian…That’s a human name, isn't it? But you don’t…look…”, his voice trailed off as Sebastian lowered his head, a small glow emitting from him.

“No…I suppose I don’t look the part. Not anymore, all thanks to this idiotic company. They really shouldn’t blame me for starting the lockdown.”

Starting the lockdown? Wait…

“H-Hold on! You’re Z-13?! I’ve been hearing guards for hours yelling about some ‘Z-13’ guy that escaped and caused a bunch of mayhem in the facility!”, p.AI.nter exclaimed, only for Sebastian to chuckle darkly. “Correction: STILL causing mayhem. I’m far from done— this is only stage one of my plan.”

p.AI.nter’s head tilted in curiosity, fear still present in his eyes. “Stage…one?” Sebastian chuckled again, much looser this time.

“That’s right. I may have offed all of the guards that were already in the facility, but Urbanshade’s got a hoard of them coming down here…Stage two is making sure these idiots have no possible way of getting through here. But to do that…I’m gonna need some help. YOUR help.”

“My…help?”

And that sealed the deal. Sebastian explained his plan to escape Hadal Blacksite for good, and extended the invite to p.AI.nter— it seemed so simple on paper: prevent any Urbanshade affiliates from reaching the crystal they desperately wanted, while Sebastian collected enough data to contact any rival companies, who would bust in here and get them out.

p.AI.nter remembered that conversation vividly; he remembered what he had been asked to do. From the very beginning, the plan bothered him: he…didn’t want to hurt anybody. But Sebastian said something that was all too true:

It was either us, or them. And the promise of freedom was too great to pass.

So once he was hooked into most of the NAVI-AI systems, p.AI.nter quickly got to work. He picked off Expendables one by one; leading them to fake doors with the Good People, locking them in rooms with an enraged Eyefestation, filling their bodies with turret bullets…

Sometimes, he allowed a more maniac part of him to take over, laughing at when an Expendable got hurt or even died to the threats he created. But deep, deep down…he hated this with his very core, something that would often resurface when he saw the bleeding bodies of criminals.

He didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want to HURT anyone! But he had to. Sebastian needed more time…Just a little more time, and they would both be out of here.

p.AI.nter found ways to cope with the harm he was forced to cause. The two of them had become good friends in the short amount of time they properly knew each-other; Sebastian may seem harsh and rigid, but p.AI.nter grew to realize that he was quite the soft character— the mutant comforted him when he was going through the worst of times, chatting with him and laughing with him.

p.AI.nter tried his hardest to do the same for him, grinning as he heard a freeing chuckle from Sebastian at a joke he had or a teasing inflection in his voice similar to how a close friend would act when they were being silly. He…hadn’t had moments like this since the days of his creator. And soon, they would have many more.

As long p.AI.nter kept shooting and leading others to their demise, they would have many more moments like this…

And let me tell you, it was pretty easy! Most of the EXR-P team members who were dropped down here were so gullible, it was almost pitiful! It would be impossible to count the amount of times p.AI.nter had given a mildly suspicious message disguised as HQ, and the dumb Expendables actually fell for it!

Not to mention, the look of horror on their faces when he would trap them in a room or activate the turrets was incredible! He forced himself to find the humor in their pain, calling them stupid or morons whenever he had the chance.

Though, when he wasn’t actively leading them to their doom? He would sometimes just…watch them.

Some came alone, most came in groups; but each Expendable seemed to have their own distinct personalities and mannerisms. Most of them were scared and jumpy, flinching at every little sound and nervously looking around them for anything that would kill them. A few were reckless, clearly much too focused on earning their freedom to worry about the monsters that lurked in the shadows, and others seemed to be devoid of all hope, acting as if they were chained by the neck and slowly being drained of any willpower to continue.

It became a game to him to figure out what archetype an Expendable fell in, and so far, he was correct in every guess…except for one.

You.

p.AI.nter just…couldn’t fit you in a box. You walked with a sort of confident stride, but not one of recklessness— rather, you walked as if you had been here before! But one look at your face, p.AI.nter very quickly figured out that you weren’t an Urbanshade employee. So why did you seem so familiar to him? He’s never seen you before!

Right..?

Either way, he could tell fear very much still clung to your skin, but it seemed to be more of anticipation than confusion. You combatted each and every enemy or threat like you had faced them many times before…Of course, every Expendable who managed to live past the first encounter eventually would figure out how to combat each threat, even if they did eventually slip up, but you just seemed to know everything.

And even when you were facing death, you wore a tired expression.

It was weird, and he hardly understood it. Sebastian seemed to be…sort of confused too? He had told p.AI.nter about you, saying that he should keep a special watch on “that particular Expendable”. His voice was a bit grim, but it also seemed soft…Like you were special in some way. p.AI.nter obeyed his wishes…run after run.

Run after run.

Runs p.AI.nter couldn’t remember due to some mysterious force. Every run felt like a second of time had passed between blinks; where every instance felt like he was meeting you for the first time, and yet it felt like he had known you for years.

This particular run was an interesting one.

Sebastian began his usual spiel to p.AI.nter when you arrived. “Keep an eye on that Expendable”, he’d say darkly, and p.AI.nter agreed without so much as a question. At least not outwardly. He watched you as you dragged your figure out of the submarine, noticing you turning around to watch as it descended back into the depths.

You walked through a few rooms, finding not many useful items, before the first Angler encounter. You expertly survived it, which, of course, heavily surprised p.AI.nter. You passed through a few more empty rooms, littered with only a few pieces of data, before p.AI.nter decided to intervene. He quickly checked the CCTV before giving a small smirk and transferring over to the end of the room you were at.

“Surprise!!! Have fun!!!”

He grinned mischievously as he momentarily watched your eyes flash in slight horror as Eyefestation came into view, forcing you into a mental fight. p.AI.nter put a 15-second timer on the NAVI panel, as he always did, though he watched your moments— you lingered by the door, moving around seemingly as a way to distract yourself from Eyefestation’s gaze.

It ultimately proved useful, as the timer had finished and you sprinted over to the next room. He had to say…he was impressed by you. No-one before had ever really survived in an Eyefestation Gauntlet…Perhaps this is why Sebastian wanted him to keep an eye on you?

Well, it started to become incredibly boring. After his little gauntlet trick, there wasn’t much else to report…aside from the fact that you found next to nothing besides a collector’s worth of code breachers. Seriously, how did you find so many?!

Either way, it didn’t take long for you to get to the tram station where HQ gave you the order to repair a few breakers. Of course, he mischievously prevented NAVI from closing the ceiling, allowing a Searchlight to wander the area you would find yourself in (which you, naturally, handled with ease).

p.AI.nter would eventually get bored once more after a few more rooms and trap you in a turret room with Eyefestation— he reveled in your slight annoyance to the situation stacked against you, but like always, you would eventually get out relatively unscathed.

Soon enough, you would make it to Sebastian’s shop, and p.AI.nter would have to be MIA for a while. Sebastian never recommended talking to him when Expendables were in his shop, which p.AI.nter didn’t fully understand why he even had, but that didn’t mean he didn’t listen in whenever possible. In fact, he figured he’d go do that right now!

Leaving you to your own devices, he transferred his consciousness back to his robotic body. He hummed a little as he felt around his metal fingers for a moment, his eyes wandering to his chained ankle as he did so.

He let out a robotic sigh before he glanced over and turned on his walkie-talkie. He blinked, hearing voices on the other side. He recognized one as Sebastian’s, but mixed in were a cluster of other voices.

An Expendable group.

He recalled that you were close to Sebastian’s shop, meaning there was a most likely chance you and this group were going to meet up. From the sounds of their voices, they didn’t seem particularly friendly…He could hear Sebastian growling and groaning every time they uttered a rather prideful or snarky word to him. p.AI.nter almost wanted to butt in to tell them to get lost, but he knew that would only lead to more trouble…

He zoned out briefly, listening to the drowning sound of voices and expecting to soon hear the metal clashes of bodies crawling through the vent…But suddenly, there was a flash. Followed by Sebastian’s growl, and then a swift motion like he had suddenly grabbed something. That made p.AI.nter perk up, and he turned to the walkie talkie.

“GAUHGH!! Don’t. Do that. A—”

Suddenly, there was a yell from an Expendable— they said something, but p.AI.nter couldn’t quite grasp it. The sound of flashes began to fill his room, followed by more pained yells from the mutant. “Sebastian?!”, p.AI.nter exclaimed, forgetting the mutant’s wish for him to stay silent.

There were two thuds and the sound of frantic footsteps, then another one of Sebastian’s growls. “Se-Sebastian?! Are you okay?!”, p.AI.nter suddenly yelled, clutching the edge of the table in anticipation for an answer. The Expendables yelled something, p.AI.nter hearing the slither of Sebastian’s form. More and more flashes rang as the Expendables yelled louder and louder.

“MONSTER!”

“CREEP!”

“FREAK!”

“GET RID OF IT!”

“GUYS WAIT, HE’S—!”

“WE NEED TO GO!”

There was a gunshot. A scream. A quick flash or two before the next gunshot. More screams. Four more gunshots came afterwards.

It was silent. Painfully silent.

“Sebastian?! Sebastian, what happened?! Are you okay?! Sebastian, answer me!”, p.AI.nter pleaded, his fingers gripped the tablet in a way that pained him. There was one final thud…and no response. But he could hear shifting before a sound entered his audio input. Something he never thought he’d hear…Sebastian crying.

It was like his processor came to a halt, and no words could come out of his speakers. Sebastian…crying?! Was that even possible?! What happened?! p.AI.nter begged for his output to work— say something! Anything! Your friend is crying, and he needs help! But nothing came out, even when he tried his hardest to force something out of him. He just sat there in silence as he struggled to think of any line of comfort to say before hearing something softly clang— the sound of someone crawling through a vent.

You.

He wanted to shout at you to leave, both of your sake and Sebastian’s, but it was too late. You had entered his shop and made yourself known. Minutes went by as p.AI.nter heard Sebastian’s pained yells and your words. Your words were gentle and soft, and p.AI.nter became shocked when they seemed to actually calm Sebastian down. He felt bad that he couldn’t comfort his dear friend, but he was relieved as you said everything he wanted to say. He was relieved that Sebastian was feeling…even relieved that he didn’t kill you.

p.AI.nter felt his body and mind relax as he overheard your soft words and Sebastian’s tired voice, though he made sure to keep track of your conversation, just in case…Then something strange happened.

He heard Sebastian laughing. Turns you were tickling him.

p.AI.nter knew what tickling was, though he obviously never experienced it himself before. It was just a word that was causally brought up by his creator or even a few moments where the two would watch shows of cartoons. The action itself seemed rather silly, and p.AI.nter couldn’t understand why anyone would laugh at a few wiggly fingers. It didn’t seem particularly funny to him. He remembered his creator having to try and explain tickling to him, though the conversation ended with him confirming that not even humans themselves knew why people laughed when they were tickled.

Since that day, tickling was always something that interested him, though he kept it in the back burner of his mind. He had to admit…there were a few times where he looked up videos where people got tickled — mostly cartoons. He felt a bit iffy with seeing real people getting tickled — just to try and understand it. How embarrassed he got when his creator caught him playing a video one time and gently teased him about it…

Anyways, p.AI.nter blinked rapidly as he listened in on the entire thing: how you checked up on the shopkeeper, constantly making sure he was happy and comfortable, how Sebastian laughed in a way that p.AI.nter rarely got to hear, how the AI could hear the shuffling of Sebastian’s form from behind the walkie talkie. The way the whole scene played out intrigued him, and he started to imagine how it looked. Your wriggling fingers, Sebastian’s soft laughter…p.AI.nter felt his whole body flare up, his fans whirring a bit in slight embarrassment.

He continued listening to his friend’s laughter and your sweet words as a new thought entered his mind…Could he be ticklish too? He did have a body now; a body that could FEEL no less. Could…he be tickled? His gaze glanced at the walkie talkie briefly before he tried to imagine himself in the position Sebastian was probably in right now. He tried to combine it with the videos he had seen.

His arms held up.

Nimble fingers grazing against his sides.

Gentle scratching against his neck.

Nails skittering up and down his stomach.

Him squirming relentlessly as the person continued to tickle him and coo at him…

…Why was he so warm?

He felt around his body once he stopped the simulation in his brain, finding it to be mildly hot. His fans were whirring much faster and louder now. He huffed as he turned back to the walkie talkie, finding no more sounds coming from Sebastian’s shop for a moment before hearing your words once more. Something about your PDG going off. Did you linger in Sebastian’s shop for too long?! Were you about to die?! How could you be so calm about that?!

His questions were soon answered as he heard you crawl out of the shop, then HQ come on the intercom and announce your execution. p.AI.nter’s non-existent breathing hitched as he frantically went to the CCTV to see if he could spot you…He blinked as he saw your headless corpse, wishing he could unsee such a sight. He almost wanted to cry— he didn’t even get to thank you for helping Sebastian…Did Sebastian even thank you?!

“Sebastian!”, p.AI.nter suddenly cried out into the walkie talkie. There was a bit of shuffling before a voice replied back. “Kid? What’s wrong..? Why are you so frantic..?!”, he exclaimed worriedly.

“Why am I—?! Sebastian, what happened?! I heard a bunch of Expendables and flashes and gunshots, and you were upset and crying and—!”

“p.AI.nter, kid. I’m…I’m okay. I’m sorry for worrying ya. I…really didn’t mean for you to hear that…”, Sebastian replied with a sigh. p.AI.nter hummed a little in worry before deciding to speak up. “I…heard another Expendable walking into your shop right after that. That was the Expendable you told me to keep an eye on, right? Did they help you calm down?”

Sebastian’s breathing seemed to hitch before he grumbled a little. “More or less…”

“I saw that they died from their PDG…I wish I could have thanked them for helping you. I…was too scared to say anything…”

There was a bit of silence before Sebastian spoke up some more, a sort of smirk in his voice. “Eh, I wouldn’t worry about that, kid. They’ll be back. Saw they had something shiny in their pocket: a Ferryman Token, I’m pretty sure”, he said, causing p.AI.nter to perk up a bit. “S-So, they’re coming back..?!”

“Probably. Should be back in about two minutes or so. Once Lady Death drags them out of Hell, heheh.”

“Well, that’s good…In a sense anyways.”

“Yeah…By the way, p.AI.nter…How…much of everything did you hear..?”

An awkward silence fell between the two, with Sebastian waiting for an answer and p.AI.nter figuring out what to say. He hummed and gave a small smirk before simply replying with a simple statement.

“You have a nice laugh, Sebastian~”

“God dammit.”

“Heh heh heh! Did you have fun getting tickled to bits?”, p.AI.nter grinned as Sebastian grumbled. “p.AI.nter, if you don’t be quiet—!”, he wheezed out an empty threat, and p.AI.nter couldn’t help, but give an amused chuckle. “Awwww c’mon, you were adorable! Heh, you should laugh like that more often.”

“Oh, you little shit—”

“You liked it, didn’t you~?”

“I should kill myself.”

p.AI.nter laughed, “That wasn’t a ‘no’!” His tease was followed by another grumble from Sebastian. “I never thought I’d hear the day when Sebastian Solace, bringer of the lockdown, gets tickled by an Expendable! I’ve gotta know…was it actually fun?” Sebastian realized the genuineness in the AI’s question, blinking as he let out a small chuckle.

“Why do you wanna know, kid?” The question caught the program off-guard, and he was unable to control his slight stutter as he answered. “W-Well, you know—! I’m just…curious! As an AI, I’ve never really…felt that. It always seemed kind of weird to me when my creator would talk about it.”

“Hmm…Well, why don’t you go find out for yourself?”

“W-What does that mean..?!”

“I’m just saying, kid…This Expendable is preeeeetty damn friendly. If you asked them to tickle you…I doubt they would decline~”

p.AI.nter’s body heated up a little. Would you really oblige if he asked you?! How could he just…just ask you?! Was Sebastian crazy?! “Yeeah, that’s not happening”, he groaned as he crossed his arms for nobody to see. Sebastian simply let out another chuckle at the pout.

“Whatever you say, kid. Just don’t let those thoughts of yours drive you crazy for long. We still got work to do”, Sebastian said in a playful sort-of way, causing p.AI.nter to grumble in embarrassment.

The walkie talkie beeped to deem it offline, leaving p.AI.nter alone in his room.

His body was still warm from that conversation. Thoughts crowded his mind as he curiously wondered about…Eugh! “Stupid Sebastian putting ideas in my head…”, he muttered to himself before humming a little. His body turned warmer as he simply continued to think, scratching slightly at his head before groaning again. He had to do something else right now, otherwise he was going to sit here distracted forever.

He connected himself back to the CCTV and started flipping through the cameras before something caught his eye. He saw you, fully intact and walking around as if you didn’t just die moments ago.

You were proceeding. You would soon arrive in heavy containment and find p.AI.nter’s room. You seemed like the curious type; you would definitely go in if you spotted a door you could go through.

p.AI.nter’s body flared up once more at what Sebastian had crazily suggested. The thought of you coming into his little area and…doing that…lingered in his mind. He groaned and banged his hand against his own head, wanting so desperately to stop thinking about you…tickling him.

…Would you really do it?

p.AI.nter couldn’t understand why you would do it at all. You did it to Sebastian to help cheer him up, sure, but weren’t you and them enemies? You must just have a stupid amount of empathy…But even so, Sebastian was at least HUMAN to a degree. p.AI.nter? He was just a robot…Could even be called that if he was just an AI wearing metal skin?

But he could feel…That had to count for something, right? If he could feel, he was somewhat human. If he was even a smidge human, would there be a chance you would interact with something like him?

Would the challenge entice you?

Would your curiosity of whether or not something like him could be ticklish get the better of you?

If he acted as cocky as Sebastian,

If he provoked you…

Would you try and prove him wrong?

If he openly admitted just how badly he wanted to feel something positive, or even just the simple nod about being curious about something as silly as that…

Would you really tickle him? Or would you call him weird? Would you berate him? Laugh at him?

Or would you be making him laugh?

I p.AI.nter blinked, simulations of self-doubt suddenly being replaced with simulations of you smiling and wiggling your fingers at him. It felt like tiny electric shocks to his side as he managed being held and just…laughing.

You seemed gentle when you were doing it with Sebastian. You listened to him and made sure he was happy. Would you do the same for him? Would you do everything in your power to make him smile?

p.AI.nter shimmied on his spot on the floor and allowed his imagination to fully run wild.

You would be there. He would ask you, and you would oblige. You would run down with him on the floor and hug him. He would give you the okay, and you would scribble your fingers against his sides and stomach-region and rib-area, and he would just…laugh.

That’s how it worked, right?

The concept was so weird, and yet thinking about it more and more made him wish you would get here sooner..!

He broke free from his imagination, ignoring how warm his body was, before connecting himself back to the CCTV to see where you were. He noticed you scavenging around…and finding a purple keycard. He blinked. You were at Heavy Containment already?! Guess he was too in his own head to prevent your journey.

You headed towards the locked door and inserted the keycard in. Both you and p.AI.nter watched as the doors began to open for you.

After this door, it would only be about three rooms before you arrived at where p.AI.nter was.

The AI watched you intensely as you went through the door and looked around the first room of Heavy Containment, trying to make a decision about what he was going to do fast. Should we really ask you about that?! Would that be too weird?! What were you going to say?!

You finished exploring the first room and opened the door to the second room.

No! No, he couldn’t! You two weren’t friends! You were enemies! That would be weird! You would laugh at him for ever asking! You could…hurt him if he allowed you inside without a fight…

But wasn’t it Sebastian who told him that? Told him not to trust any of the Expendables? And yet, HE was the one who suggested p.AI.nter ask. He did say you were special…Was this why? Because you weren’t selfish like all the others? Because you actually had compassion? Empathy?

You burst out of the locker you hid in — to escape from a Froger that spawned — and rushed to the door that led to the third room before you reached p.AI.nter’s.

It was a keycard room. p.AI.nter watched as you looked through all of the drawers.

But…it was embarrassing. It was risky. Could he really? Would you really accept? What if nothing happened and he wasted your time? What if nothing happened and his own curiosity wouldn’t be satiated? What if you just…left? What if you peeked in and didn’t pay him any mind? What if it didn’t mean anything at all?

What if nothing means anything at all?

You found the keycard. You opened the door to another Heavy Containment room, but you noticed a door off to the side of some stairs. You hum, immediately knowing who the room belonged to. You smiled as you trotted down the stairs— you were always happy to see p.AI.nter and chat with him for a bit. Even if he didn’t remember your conversations from previous runs, he was pleasant to talk to!

And besides…you knew p.AI.nter and Sebastian have walkie-talkies in each of their rooms so they could communicate. You had no doubt that p.AI.nter heard the commotion that happened in Sebastian’s room, and you couldn’t imagine how he was feeling right now. It would be nice if you checked on him.

So without hesitation, you opened the door and stepped inside. You thought you would be greeted with a happy smile or a smug comment from the AI.

Instead, you were greeted by a robotic husk lying on the floor in defeat. You blink and quietly step towards him, tilting your head curiously.

p.AI.nter?

The robotic body flinched at your voice and shifted its body over to face you. The drawn doodle of an expression that rested on the robot’s face was one of slight bluntness and solemn. Lines were drawn under the eyes to indicate that he was not feeling good. You frown as his voice stammers out a reply.

“Oh…Hi there. You’re a…face.”

He was going to say ‘new face’, but somehow that didn’t feel right. Regardless, he shuddered at his own weird sentence and curled up, looking embarrassed.

p.AI.nter? Was he okay..?

“‘M fine. Just…go. Leave me alone…”, p.AI.nter muttered out as he shifted his body again to face away from you. You blinked and tilted your head once more, your hand grabbing gently at the wiring of p.AI.nter‘s little cell.

Was this about what happened with—?

“No.” p.AI.nter cut you off, stunning you momentarily. You blink as you process the reply; p.AI.nter notices your silence and whimpers slightly as he mumbles out an apology and curls up further into himself.

You frown again, not knowing what to do in this scenario. You knew p.AI.nter…wasn’t always mentally sound, and you knew the things he had tried to do in the past. You couldn’t leave him like this, but you also didn’t want to pry. So you sighed and placed your back against the fenced area, sitting down and just…waiting.

“…I’m sorry. I’m worrying you…”, he said, after a few minutes of silence, “I was feeling fine a bit ago. And then I just…started feeling bad. Is that weird?”

Pretty normal, actually.

“Oh…”, p.AI.nter mumbled. A little robotic hum came out of his speaker box. “It’s…kind of nice that you’re worried. Is THAT weird?”

Not at all.

“You don’t think a lot of things are weird, huh? Dumb Expendable…”

You chuckle at that, and your softness seems to settle p.AI.nter enough to sit up. He groaned slightly at the transition from the cold concrete floor before placing his own back against the fence surrounding him.

Does he wanna talk about it?

“I don’t know. It’s…kind of silly. Really embarrassing…But it probably won’t go away unless I tell you…”

He can take his time.

p.AI.nter sighed a bit, tapping his fingers against his thigh for a minute or so before sighing again. “You’re…really weird. I feel like I know you, but I’ve never met you before. But you clearly know who I am.”

Right.

“Do you like me? Even though I’ve…been trying to kill you?”

You do. You know it's hard to explain, but you do know him, and you do like him.

“…Are we friends?”

If he wants you to be his friend, you’d like to be.

“I really don’t get you. But some part of me is giving up trying to understand…”, he muttered, his knees coming to his torso. He stops his questions for a few seconds before smacking the sides of his head with his hands. “Come on, p.AI.nter. Just get it over with…”, he whispered to himself before turning his body to face you.

“You know how this area is locked by a keycard?”

You nod.

“It’s in that drawer”, p.AI.nter said, pointing to a desk perched against the wall, “You could get in here if you wanted to…”

You hummed at the obvious sign and stood up, walking over to the desk and opening the long drawer. Sitting there was a purple keycard, which you gingerly took before walking over to the steel door. The reader upon detecting the card, and the door flew open.

p.AI.nter shimmied his body over to give you room to walk in and sit down. You did so, carefully sitting down beside p.AI.nter. Neither of you said anything for a bit; you were waiting for the AI to make the first move. You eyed him up and down, at his stubby, but skinny figure and ivory metal body. The only article of clothing he had was an EXR-P jacket that he didn’t bother to button up— it looked a little big for him.

As you examined him, his body suddenly fell to your side, the metal of his form surprising you.

p.AI.nter?

“I’m so tired. So lonely…I want to feel happy again. I heard you making Sebastian happy earlier. You were really nice…So I want a turn.”

Oh?

“…I want you to…tickle me. I’ve never experienced it before and heard how happy it made Sebastian. A-And I can feel stuff, so I just thought maybe I could also be..! I just want to experience it! All of it! I…understand if you think I’m weird.”

Why would you think that?

The metal of p.AI.nter’s body flared up a bit, turning much warmer to the touch. He averted his drawn eyes and played with his fingers. “B-Because I’m a robot? An AI?” You laugh a little.

You've been chased by giant mutant fish monsters that want to swallow you whole. This was pretty tame in terms of weirdness. Besides, you’d do it for Sebastian, so of course you’d do it for p.AI.nter too!

p.AI.nter chuckled a little and rubbed his arms. “It all…seems so stupid when you put it that way. I just didn’t know what you’d say..! But you said yes and that makes me feel happy..!”

The unsettling fear resting in the robot slowly began to fade away as he looked at your gentle smile. Your smile turns into a grin though, and you feel p.AI.nter’s body warm up again. It was pretty cute. “S-So! How…does it work exactly? Do I have to do anything or..?”

You hum. It’s his first time from what you’ve gathered. He wouldn’t know what he likes or dislikes about it…But you take into account his personality from all your runs and think of what he might like.

All he has to do is say if he wants something changed.

“Oh, ok..! I’m ready, I think..! I…hope this works. I, umm, still don’t really get how tickling is supposed to make you laugh…”, p.AI.nter mumbled in slight embarrassment, glancing away nervously. You chuckle a bit, slight playfulness already bubbling within you…

Nobody knows. We don’t really have any idea why something like this gets people laughing…

Not a second later, you poked his side. You noticed his flinch, a little titter of a giggle escaping his speaker. “H-Hey—!” Your arm wraps gently around his waist, that hand resting on one of his sides as your free hand begins to poke and prod at his other side.

The AI immediately lets out a few giggles, mostly out of pure confusion! It felt like tiny tingling shocks! His imaginary stomach drops, unable to control the laughter that began to pour out from his speaker. “Wait, wait, wahahait! Hohold on—! Whahahat ihihis thihihis?!”

It’s exactly what he wanted! He wanted you to tickle him, right?

“Ihihit feheheels weheheird—!” You smirk as your gentle pokes to his side turn into light scratching.

Weird bad or weird good?

“G-Gohohood—!” You smile at that. Your nails quickly drag against his side, and you even decide to throw in a few circular motions as well. He jumps at the sudden change, his eyes squeezing shut despite having no eyelids to have that sort of reaction. The robot tried to wriggle away from the touch out of instinct, but the hand that’s hugging him simply pulls him closer to you, and he curls up once more. “EheHAH?! MMMPHFF—! HEHEY!”

What was wrong? Was he too ticklish for this?

p.AI.nter yelped out a little squeal, his body turning warmer from the tease. His hands fly to his face — you noticed the expression’s crude linework of a face with eyes squeezed shut with pink lines to represent blush, almost as if p.AI.nter half-hazardly doodled it just now. Your grin stretches ear to ear at the thought of him trying to focus on drawing a new expression during this — and his legs kick a bit, gliding across the floor.

“SHUHUHUT UHUP! Ihihidiot!”

You thought he wanted the full experience? This was all part of it! Besides, you didn’t get to be mean with Sebastian! It was nice to finally coo about how cute they were…

“IHI SAHAID SHUHUHUSH!”

You giggle mischievously, simply saying the word ‘cute’ over and over again. p.AI.nter’s hands flapped as you continued your teasing and tickling, but you noticed more shaky blush lines being drawn as you continued to coo at him. You smile. Now, THAT was adorable!

Seeing him draw his blush in real time was too precious! And by the looks of it, you seem to be doing a good job!

“NOHOHO IHIHIT’S NOHOHOT!”

Yes, it was. Hmm…how many lines could you make him draw on his face? You were oh-so eager to find out!

And that was enough to make p.AI.nter shudder in ticklish fear. He shook his head quickly, his whole body shivering in anticipation. “Wahahait, wahahait! PLEHEHAHASE!” But you already made up your mind on your little game.

Both of your hands immediately shot under p.AI.nter’s arms, carefully scribbling at the crevices there. In an instant, the AI shrieked a bit and slammed his arms down, his shuddering body stiffing a bit at the sudden sensation. “OH GOD, OHOHOH GOHOHOD! EHAHAHA—!”

Oh no, looks like your hands are trapped. Maybe you could wiggle them free?

“NO! NOHOHO, DOHON’T YOHOU DAHAHAHAHARE!”

A squeal bursts out of p.AI.nter as you wriggle your fingers around his pits as much as you could under the weight of his metal arms. His legs kick more wildly now, and his body twists and turns to try and escape; but you always manage to keep up with him, continuing your ticklish onslaught, much to his chagrin. Totally.

Come on. If he just lifted his arms up, this could all be over.

“I-IHIHI CAHAHAN’T—!”

Because he doesn’t want it to end yet, hmm?

p.AI.nter might as well have colored his entire canvas red, because that’s surely what he felt at the moment. His body was teetering from warmth to a burning hot, his fans whirring in excitement as he covered his face once more. He had to admit…whatever tickling really was, however it was making him laugh…he’s never felt so free before! Not in a long time. Still, as if he would admit that when he practically gave you permission to tease him.

“YOHOHOHOU JEHEHERK! YOHOHOU—!”, he let out a noise akin to a robotic snort, “YOHOHOU BIHIHIG JEHEHERK!”

Jerk?! After so nicely giving him what he asked for?! How rude! Someone oughta teach him a lesson…

An idea came to your mind immediately, and you smirked as you paused your tickling and used your strength to pull p.AI.nter in front of you. He was clearly confused, but also playfully nervous at your plan. You gave a quick scribble at his underarms to tease him as you grinned.

Has p.AI.nter ever heard of a raspberry?

“T-Thehe fruhuhuit?”, he answered in puzzlement, still giggling a bit from the previous tickling. You grin as you shake your head.

Oh, he was in for a treat.

“Whahat do yohou meEEEHAHAHAN?!”

He had no time to prepare as a large raspberry was suddenly blown in his neck, and a loud squeal emerged from him. His laugh glitched a tad as he tried to shimmy himself away, but to no avail. “W-WHAT WAHAhahas thahahahat?!”, he asked, his drawn blush having increased.

That was a raspberry! That seemed to have really got him…Say, maybe you could get your hands free if you gave a few more!

“W-WAIT—!”

But it was too late. Another raspberry had been blown on the back of his neck, earning you some wonderfully mirthful laughter. He scrunched his shoulders up a bit to try and protect his neck, but all you had to do was scribble your fingers under his arms and his shoulders would go right back down. “AHAHAHA! E-EXPENDABLE, PLEHEHEAHAHASE!”

You chuckle and shake your head. He needed to be punished for being so cruel to you!

You blew another raspberry and another, keeping up the alternating pattern of giving raspberries and tickling under his arms. p.AI.nter didn’t really know what to do with himself, feeling the protocol to laugh bubbling up within his code. He shrieked and let out robotic chirps and bytes as he squirmed from side to side. “HAHAHAHA! OK! Y-YOU’VE MADE YOUR POINT! YOHOHOU’VE MAHADE YOUR POHOHOINT!”, he cackled in response to another raspberry, “NOHOT AHAGAHAIN!”

But he was just so sweet like this! And seeing him laugh so happily, how could you not tickle him to bits?!

Eventually, after the sixth raspberry, p.AI.nter squealed loudly and decided to let himself fall backwards, his back now resting on your torso and hiding his neck. You blink in slight surprise as p.AI.nter took a minute for his systems to cool down. He let out an artificial sigh before wearing a nervously smug expression at you. “H-Hah! Can't tickle me there now..!” You hum.

He’s right, you can’t…Guess you’ll have to raspberry another spot.

“W-What..?!”

Your hands slip out from under his arms and latch onto his side. He squeaks in flustered shock before feeling his whole body shift to where his stomach area was on your lap, immediately getting that lovely anticipatory nervousness again. “P-Pal! Buddy! You don’t have to do this..!”

Oh, but you do. He wanted to be tickled, so you plan to make sure he has a great time; that he experiences all that there is to experience! And tummy raspberries? Best source of dopamine out there.

“I-I’m a robot! I don’t produce that! S-So don’t you daHAHARE—! Expehehehendable!”

You began scribbling your nails across p.AI.nter’s stomach, making sure they didn’t leave one spot on the sensitive area out of the fun. p.AI.nter’s body arched and squirmed to try and wiggle away from the tickling. His heels hit against the floor as he kicked his legs, and his arms immediately flailed around in protest. His drawn smile was wider and happy, and he had now, genuinely, painted his background pink. You smirk.

He was tickled pink. How cute!

“NNGH—! THAHAT WAHAHAS AWFUHUHUL!”

Awww, and here you thought it was a good pun, considering how much he was laughing right now.

You made sure to give him a few swift scritches in the center of his belly for that, which earned you a shriek and some nice high-pitched laughter mixed with a few frantic apologies. You chuckle at p.AI.nter’s flustered reactions, but you notice just how burning hot his body was. Right. His systems are probably not used to such a heavy amount of energy load. Better make this quick then.

Amidst your slight panic, you gave p.AI.nter absolutely no warning as you suddenly scooped him up — you were surprised at how light he really was — and blew a big raspberry right in the center of his stomach. The mechanical whirr and guffaw that left the robot was almost comical.

“AHAHAHA—?! E-E-EXPENDABLE! OHOH GOHOHOD!” You laugh a little, wearing a sinister smirk on your face.

He was lucky you weren’t going your hardest. Then you would really be killing him.

This wasn’t your hardest?! p.AI.nter slightly short-circuited at the thought, his canvas now becoming slightly more red than before; though, he hardly had much time to actually think before p.AI.nter felt another raspberry on his stomach, causing him to laugh loudly and freely. “NOHOHOHO! I-IHIHIT—! IHIHIT TIHIHI—!”

You blew one final raspberry, the loudest and most obnoxious one you could muster.

“IHIHIT TIHIHICKLES! IHIHIT REHEHAHALLY TIHIHICKLES! PLEHEHEHE—!”

p.AI.nter’s laughter began to glitch out fully, his voice echoing and reverbing ever so slightly with noises popping in left and right. You took that as a sign that the AI had had enough, and you very quickly stopped your onslaught. You looked at p.AI.nter on your lap, watching as he just laid there tiredly. His fans whirred rapidly to try and cool his body and systems down.

Your eyes gaze at his expression, and you smile as you see a face of pure, grateful joy. You sigh contently before gently placing your hand on p.AI.nter’s stomach and rubbing it to help chase away the ghost tickles. He giggled at the touch, though it was infinitely more soft than his previous bouts of laughter.

Is he okay?

“Heheh…Thahat was…fun. Wow…”, he mumbled to himself with a goofy smile. He carefully rolled off your lap before sitting up. His smile turned bashful, averting his eyes shyly.

“Thank you…for doing that.”

It was no problem. You were happy to—

The walkie talkie suddenly beeped to life, both of you turning to look at it. “p.AI.nter, buddy, you there?”, Sebastian’s voice suddenly rang from the other side. Immediately, the AI sped towards the walkie talkie. “Se-Sebastian! I’m here!”, he answered, and you could tell he was a little embarrassed, “Do you need anything?”

“Yeah. Got something important to tell you…”, his tone was somewhat grim. Your stomach dropped, and you could tell p.AI.nter was feeling a similar kind of nervousness. “Wh-What is it? Is everything okay?!” Sebastian sighed. “Yeah, yeah, just…” A bit of silence.

“You have a nice laugh, p.AI.nter~”

“SEBASTIAN!”

The wheeze you let out almost took all the air out of you.

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