My first Stardew Valley fic! You're paying your friend Dr. Harvey your annual visit, but he's worried you aren't taking the best care of yourself. Luckily, he's found a method of treatment that seems rather effective.
No warnings except tickles
Word Count: 2,124
“Oh, you’re here, right on time, too. You can go back to room 2, Dr. Harvey will be with you in a bit!”
“Thanks, Maru!”
You passed through the door to Maru’s left and headed to room 2, taking a seat on the crinkling sanitary paper on the bench to wait. That was one of the perks of moving to Pelican Town: the population wasn’t so large that the wait time for your annual check up appointment would be long. In fact, there have been times when Harvey only saw one patient a day, or none at all. The poor guy was in the middle of deciding whether his practice would be more beneficial elsewhere, until you’d arrived. You may or may not have ended up in his clinic a few times every season, for one reason or another. And although neither of you wished it upon you to end up injured or passed out, it had given you both some time together, and you now considered each other good friends.
Not five minutes after you arrived did a knock come to the door before Harvey entered, ensuring the door closed completely behind him for privacy’s sake.
“Ah, there you are, it’s good to see you. How have you been? I noticed you haven’t been in recently for any late night run-ins with monsters in the mines,” he greeted, reviewing your chart. You’ve lived in Pelican Town for three years now and you thought there might be more on your chart than some of the other villagers here, given the aforementioned visits for mine-related injuries.
“I’m doing my best to stay out of trouble. Although maybe I should go pick more fights every once in a while, give you something to do.” Dr. Harvey raised an eyebrow and looked up from your chart to glare at you. You chuckled: he always seemed so serious, even in his hobbies, you recently learned.
“You better not, you know better.” You rolled your eyes in response.
“I know, I’m only joking. You know I don’t go down there for the sake of getting hurt.”
“...Just be careful while you’re down there. I’ll start billing you for my own medical expenses if I have to see a therapist for worrying about you,” Dr. Harvey replied as he fetched the usual equipment needed to check your vitals. Then it was the typical procedures: blood pressure, weight, checking ears and throat, etc.
“Any new pain anywhere?”
“Just a pain in my behind,” you jested, watching a confused Dr. Harvey roll his eyes with realization.
“You’re hilarious. Everything appears normal, except you’ve lost a little weight.”
“Is that so bad?”
“By itself, no. But your work is laborious, hard on your body. You need to make sure you fuel it properly. What’s your diet like?”
“Uh…” you paused, suddenly unable to recall. Did you even eat breakfast before you came here?
“... you know, a little of this and that, here and there.” you replied nonchalantly. That is, until your treacherous stomach decided now was the time to growl. Well, there was the answer to your breakfast question. Dr. Harvey cast a stern glare, crossing his arms.
“...this and that, here and there?” he repeated, slowly with a tone that indicated that was not the answer he was looking for.
“Well, it sounds bad when you say it like that.”
“That may be because it is bad. Or at least not sustainable,” Harvey replied, shaking his head. “Lay down on the table, please.”
“What?”
“I want to examine your stomach and abdomen, to make sure everything feels normal still.”
“Uh… sure,” you agreed, laying down. Harvey hasn’t done this examination with you before, usually taking you at your word that everything was okay.
“You really ought to consider three balanced, full meals per day, or five smaller meals throughout the day for a steadier caloric intake,” he said as he washed his hands.
“Sometimes I just forget, and then I’m too tired and just go to bed,” you admitted.
“What am I going to do with you?” Harvey lifted your shirt up slightly and kneaded into your lower belly, checking for any signs that something could be wrong. You’ve had this type of exam before, but even though you braced for contact, you couldn’t help the sharp inhale and the clenching of your fists, trying to stay still so your friend could do his job. However, he would be a bad doctor if he didn’t pick up on reactions from his patients.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I tried to warm my hands at the sink earlier, they might still be a bit cold,” he apologized, continuing to knead toward your belly button and abs. You tried to force down a chuckle, but it came out more like a groan. That’s when he recoiled.
“Are you in pain?” Concern spread on his features, and you felt an embarrassed heat creep on your cheeks.
“No, that’s not it…it’s fine, keep going,” you assured, avoiding his gaze. Suddenly he seemed to understand, a smirk forming behind his moustache.
“Ah, I see. Don’t worry, this is common. This exam can often be ticklish for some patients.” He continued where he left off, hoping that a bit more pressure would help. On the contrary, this time you weren’t able to stop yourself from giggling, though you still tried to remain still. Harvey chuckled alongside you.
“I don’t remember having a patient react this strongly before, though. Hmm,” he pondered. Surely, there was a learning opportunity here. You had to understand how important eating healthily and regularly was. “... I think you might require further examination.” He paused and wrote something on your chart.
“Ihihis that necessary?” While you internally groaned at yourself for the residual giggles, Harvey’s smirk broadened a bit. However, he tried to maintain an appearance of professionalism.
“Completely. There are numerous things that I should check for, considering you’ve not been eating enough to keep up your strength.” For the first time since Harvey has been your doctor, you doubted him.
“Such as?”
“Gastrointestinal conditions, loss of muscle mass and strength, to name a few. For instance…” he trailed, then without warning began kneading into your belly again, this time with a bit more vigor. Too much to be considered the standard for an exam, in your nonprofessional opinion. However, you wouldn’t get the opportunity to criticize his method, at least not while you were trying to pry his wrists away from your middle, giggling like a mad person the entire time.
“Hahahaharvehehehey!” You managed to whine through your wild cackling as Harvey continued to knead and vibrate the tips of his fingers around your abdomen, effectively rendering you helpless.
“Yes, see here, your midsection is still very strong, that’s good! We want to keep it that way, especially for someone in your line of work,” he informed, but in no way showed any indication of stopping his “exam”. He changed up his methods, now lightly scratching and swiping with his dull nails haphazardly, but with extra attention around your belly button and just under. You released an involuntary squeal as the careful swipes sent jolts of ticklish energy through the rest of your body, and hoped for the sake of any other patients and your pride that these office walls were sound proof.
“Ah, look here, your nervous system is still functioning as would be expected under these conditions,” he continued to assess.
“Whahahahat condihihitions, tohohorture?!” you remarked, resorting to covering your face to muffle your laughter, since your attempts at stopping him so far have failed.
“Oh, hardly. Just standard protocol, is all. No need to be dramatic,” Harvey stated in a no-nonsense tone, but he was no longer trying to hide the mischief on his features. “I’m going to feel around your rib cage now, this might also tickle a bit.”
“Wahahahit, why-EEK! HAHARVEHEY!” Without much warning other than that, Dr. Harvey scurried his fingers upward, tracing and scribbling at the bottom most ribs.
“Goodness me, I can feel all of them, see?” He inquired, going in again for a more vigorous approach, vibrating his fingertips over and in between each individual rib bone.
“HAHAHARVEHEEHEEEY!” You laughed uproariously, your legs kicking out wildly and involuntarily.
“It’s doctor, while you’re here,” He taunted further, “but, anyway, you see? You’re all skin and bone. While I’m here, I better make sure you have all of them.” You thrashed and held tight to Harvey’s arms as he slowly and carefully counted, as if he weren’t actually sure if you had your ribs.
“WHYEHEHE WOHOHOULDN’T I?” all your kicking had since torn at the sanitary paper, but you were of no mind to notice. It seemed your focus was more fixed on the doctor and how he willed his fingers wiggle and weave up, over, and in between each rib, each swipe and poke sending a new flutter to your system.
“Well, I don’t know what the monsters in the mines want, maybe they like human ribs. But! The good news is, it seems like you have them all and they are intact.” He relented for a moment, again to write something down.
“Fahahantasitc,” you huffed, your body suddenly going limp as you regained your breath. “Wahahit, what do you *huff* keep writing?” Dr. Harvey took his gaze off your chart to meet your eyes and smile, as if this was all routine.
“Oh, just jotting down some notes for myself. What to look for during your visits, mostly. Like, if your stomach growls in my office to repeat the exam, and to be sure you’ve not lost any ribs.”
“I’m not a doctor, but you have to be making that up.”
“Are you insinuating I don’t know what I’m doing?” Dr. Harvey asked, shooting you another one of those glares, the ones that were usually followed by some “test” he needed to perform.
“N-no, that’s not-Harvey, wait!” you sat up, realizing now you have a chance to escape, but made the realization too late as his hands descended just above your knees, squeezing just hard enough to buckle you, stealing any ideas of running off. You fell back against the cushioned table once more, kicking and trying to pull your knees up and away from Harvey.
“I’ve decided you need one more exam, we can’t be too careful,” Harvey stated, rapidly squeezing your knees as if that would redeem the credibility you so rudely questioned.
“NoohoHOHO! BWAHAHA!”
“Yes, I see! Your knee joints seem fine and your legs strong, also very reactionary to stimulus. That’s the body’s way of protecting you.”
“IHIHI DOHOHON’T FEEL PROTEHEHECTED!” you barely spoke through the belly laughter, mentally nothing not to challenge his methods again.
“I assure you, your body is still functioning as it should,” he replied, halting his ticklish assault but keeping his hands threateningly at your knees. He waited a beat for you to catch your breath.
“And we’re going to keep it that way with proper eating habits, correct?” he asked, scratching gently at the sensitive skin on your knees while he waited for your response. Though it wasn’t enough to drive you absolutely silly, you still squirmed and couldn’t keep the lighter giggles from bubbling forward.
“Yehes, Harv-”
“Doctor,” he reminded you with a squeeze before resuming the teasing scratches.
“Good, excellent! Then I think we’re finished here,” he said, delivering one final squeeze to your knees before retreating entirely, chuckling light heartedly at the squeal following it. You collapsed back on the examination table, breathless and limp, but somehow also feeling lighter than when you walked in.
Harvey scribbled something down and handed it to you, what looked to be a prescription that just read “Three square meals or five small meals” in the messy cursive that was a doctor’s handwriting, plus recommended servings of proteins, vegetables, and other necessary nutrients for a farmer/miner/fisher such as yourself.
“You better hope you don’t run into any monsters that have any sort of affinity for tickling its prey, I’m afraid we may never hear from you again,” Harvey commented.
“You better hope I don’t sue you for malpractice,” you threatened while you scanned the “prescription,” despite everything deciding that his recommendation overall was pretty fair. He chuckled again, it seemed he did an awful lot of that at your expense today.
“You’re free to go. You can consider my methods as unorthodox as you want, but my point is clear, correct?”
“Yeah, yeah. Eat better, get stronger…” you said, starting toward the door, “...exact revenge.”
“Pardon?”
“Don’t worry about it, doc,” you replied, though he did appear to in fact be worried.
just gonna put this here~
J and H for Sam and/or Elliot
I'm just gonna leave this here~
J: Joy | Their absolute favorite thing about tickling?
Elliott: He's such a poetic man. I can't describe it with the same elegance he probably would, but if you asked him, he'd definitely say something about trust and the beauty of using such an artificial method to make someone laugh. To him, it'd feel oddly intimate and sincere rather than just playful.
Sam: Involuntary reactions, reactions in general. He loooves getting his lees all worked up, seeing them laugh uncontrollably, and hearing them try to talk through their laughter. That's probably the most entertaining part for him.
H: Habits | As a lee/ler or both, do they have specific habits when it comes to tickling?
Elliott: No matter the situation he's in, he'll instinctively reach up to move his hair out of the way. Not really fix it just brush it aside, because at this point it's practically acting like a blindfold. I guess that's probably one of his biggest weaknesses.
Sam: Maybe overdoing it a little. It's just a headcanon, but a lot of people notice traits in him that resemble strong ADHD tendencies, which could easily make him get carried away during tickling. He'd probably lose track of time or get too caught up in the reactions before realizing he's gone further than intended...
This will consist of hcs for the very best A.S.S trio. I love these three very much, Sebastian is my husband and Sam is the friend who crashes at our place and Abby and I sit on the side and watch them be dumb. Anyways if you want other characters, feel free to send in an ask! Enjoy!
Includes all of them x farmer hcs too!
👾 Abigail 👾
- Now, all three of these lovelies are switches. It varies between all of them who is more the ler and lee, but Abby is the true switch of the trio.
- Abby as a ler is so deadly. She might not be the strongest, but she can certainly tickle her lee(s) to the ground and make them stay there.
- Not to mention the teasing??? Abigail is sooo teasy and super good at it too. She's observant and will figure out the best things to make you flustered to use it.
- For Seb, that might be something like "oh, it seems you've come across a big, scary tickle monster. tell me, great powerful wizard, what is your next move?" while squeezing his sides. For Sam, she'll be tickling his feet and legs and say something like "I'm making these legs stronger so you can do all those skateboard tricks you tell us about!". She'll also pretend to do said tricks on his tummy and ribs hehe.
- For her dear farmer, it usually ends up in a tease about planting seeds around their tummy and sides. "I just need to hoe the ground *pokes the spots* and now I can spread the seeds *light skitters* and now I need to water them *raspberries all over*!"
- Definitely cannot take what she dishes out, though. Cracks under teases 100%
- As a lee, Abby tries to put up a strong front, but one tease and she's done for. She's the person who will use the tickle monster tease on her lees, but not be able to take it as a lee herself
- Very bubbly giggles, though she doesn't really like them that much. She wants to be tough and tough girls don't have bubbly giggles in her eyes. Or be taken down by feathers.
- Worst spot is her hips and thighs. Loves to go after tummies and knees (esp if you're sitting w her while at the bar on Fridays. does the egg crack thing)
🎸 Sam 🎸
- Tries his best, that's for certain. Sam has all the right ideas, he just isn't always confident in his execution.
- He's a big brother so he automatically has ler rights. When Vincent was younger, Sam would mess with him all the time and they'd play wrestle and it'd be really cute. But Vincent has gotten to the stage where big brother isn't as cool anymore so rip.
- Sam's learning how to be a better ler through getting his friends <3
- Abby says his teases are getting better but it's only bc they're so silly, you have to laugh. His favorite to use is saying that he's "tuning" his instrument while tweaking toes and hips and then he tests it out by "playing" his lee's ribs.
- It's through Sam's silly teases they actually heard Sebastian's real laugh for the first time <33
- While Sam is strong and can and will pin you down, he's also the sweetest and much prefers to be cuddling with his dearest farmer and holding them close with one arm while his free hand goes to town wherever available. He says your laugh is his favorite song <3
- As a lee, Sam is the most adorable thing ever. He's like a puppy.
- His laugh is boyish in the best way. Very sweet and melodic. Tell him his laugh is better than his songs and he'll blush so brightly, it's so cute.
- Vibrate your fingers into his tummy and he's literally done for. Down for the count. A pile of giggles at your fingertips.
- Sam genuinely loves being tickled too. He will admit it, no questions asked. Sam thinks tickling is a lovely thing because he loves his friends and making them happy and this makes them laugh and be happy.
- Worst spot is his tummy and he loves to go after ribs and the spot where the ribs and sides meet.
🐸 Sebastian 🐸
- My husband for real life I love this man so much.
- Seb honestly prefers to be a watcher more than a part of the action. For example, if he's not the one getting got, he's the one holding down the lee while the third party gets them.
- Hugs from behind, holding arms up with one hand, that kind of stuff.
- While doing so, he might contribute a little with whispered teases into the lee's ear about how cute they're being. Depending on how close he is to the lee and how confident he's feeling, he might nuzzle his nose against their neck or blow on their ear. Little things to make them more giggly.
-Unless provoked by Sam or Abigail, the only person he confidently lers for is his dear farmer. Overworking? Tickles. Tired? Tickles. Looking extra cute? Tickles.
- Prefers light tickles to rough ones. Likes to see his lee giggly and flustered. Seb's main teases include "programming" on tummies and playing games on ribs and hips.
- The person who genuinely wants to give you a foot massage and ends up tickling you because you kept giggling when he reached certain spots.
- As a lee, Sebby has a wheezy laugh. Make a few huffs here and there. It takes a lot to get him to break and actually become giggly. Sam has the best track record for it with his dumb teases and jokes.
- Sam and Abby are extra soft with him because he doesn't lee often and they don't want him to not like it </3
- Sebastian gets squeaky when Abby uses her nails on his neck. And he melts when Sam goes for his back. Melt spot supremacy
- Sebastian's worst spot is his neck (and shoulder blades, but no one's found out about that yet). His favorite place to tickle is ears and hips.
Once again, if you have any requests, feel free to send in an ask!! I also do genshin impact, honkai star rail, and bungo stray dogs!
Firstly, thank you everyone for the support on my other hcs! You can check out my ones for Elliott here and Abigail, Sam, and Sebastian here
Pairing is Harvey x gn!farmer
Tags: @shyleereading
- Harvey is a lee leaning switch in my mind, who definitely knows a lot of the sciencey parts about tickling and will infodump about it if you'd like
- Rarely lers, only really does it if you want him to. At least on purpose
- If you're having a check-up, he'd do the doctor thing of checking your belly and give you a little tickle to see your smile. Harvey is very wholesome about it, saying he just wanted to see that smile if you ask about it <3
- His only real flustering tactic, as mentioned before, is telling you all the facts about tickling. Why we react the way we do, why we're ticklish in certain areas, the positives of tickling and being tickled. And he'll make sure to say "tickle" as much as possible, especially if you get flustered from the word itself
- Such a cute, sweet lee
- Pudgy Harvey supremacy, has a squishy belly to poke at (his worst spot but shhh)
- Loves softer tickles more than anything. Shyly hopes you'll tickle him when you cuddle
- Tickle him while he's talking about his planes <3 and sleepy early morning tickles too
- I'm sorry these aren't as good I don't interact w Harvey as much 😭😭
If you have any requests, feel free to send in an ask!! I also do genshin impact, honkai star rail, and bungo stray dogs!
