Tickletober Day 1: Anticipation
lee!Ian; ler!Anthony
A/N: Heyyyy welcome to day one of tickletober :D I have lots of fun fics planned so be ready for a lot more! Also not only am I doing Smosh tk fics, I'm also doing Hatchetfield, and since I know that Smosh and Starkid fans overlap (myself included, obviously) I will post a link to any Hatchetfield fics I post on here in case if you guys wanna read it :)
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Ian was in a mood today.
An irritating, insanely annoying mood, that no matter how hard he tried, he simply could not get rid of it.
He's been having these moods for most of his life. Always flinching whenever a hand moved to suddenly towards his ribs, biting his lip to contain a goofy smile whenever someone wiggled their fingers as they were talking, completely oblivious to Ian's state.
But the thing that frustrates him the most whenever he's in one of these moods is whenever the dreaded t word is brought up.
You know the one.
The one that whenever it's said, he always finds an excuse to leave the conversation, blush quickly spreading up from his neck all the way to his ears. And then he'd go to the nearest bathroom to splash some cold water in his face while questioning why a simple word does this to him.
And Ian's flustered state gets worse by the fact that the others are definitely catching on to him, which makes him inwardly groan.
Look, he knows they mean well, but there are just some things he can't go to his friends about, who also happen to be his employees, so if it wasn't a no before, it definitely is now.
Besides, how in the world is he supposed to admit, out loud, that he can't be around something like a fucking word of all things. And if they knew what the word was, he'd never hear the end of it.
And another problem is exactly how often that word is brought up. Courtney is usually the cause of this, which isn't surprising considering how much insane lore they have, but still.
Sometimes Ian will just be spacing out, not paying attention, and a couple moments later, he picks a really bad time to start paying attention, since not even five seconds later, one of his employees decides to use that damn word so casually that it takes Ian a moment a second to register what was just said.
Flopping onto his bed, Ian rests his hands on his stomach and stares up at the ceiling. It's quiet, it's been quiet ever since Anthony…
No, Ian scolds himself. don't think about him. He didn't need you, so you don't need him.
He remembers when he would get these moods when Anthony was still around, unlike his employees though, Ian never felt the need to hide those fluttery feelings in his chest whenever that word was brought up when he was with him.
Well, Ian would still try to deny it and avoid any questions that Anthony asked regarding these moods, but instead of remaining stubborn like usual, he would immediately crumple under any and all of Anthony's questions.
Even though Ian hates him now, he can admit that that Anthony has a way of getting you to admit things.
Ian rolls onto his side in his pitch black room thanks to the night. He feels the side of his face and realizes it's hot to the touch.
He can't explain it, but it's not just the t word that causes him to have butterflies in his stomach, just the mere thought and memories of Anthony teasing him and wrecking him till he was breathless makes him feel… dizzy.
Which Ian wants to say it makes him feel dizzy in a good way, but he just can't. Because there is nothing good about what happened between them. Nothing.
Sighing to himself, Ian twists and turns in his bed, trying to find a comfortable position in order to finally go to sleep and calm his thoughts. After another minute or so of moving around, Ian settles for the same position as the first time he lied down.
With his back on the mattress, he closes his eyes and runs his index finger up and down his stomach in hopes of receiving the same type of affection that he's been craving for months.
When that doesn't work, he decides to circle his bellybutton. Sure, he finds himself squirming ever so slightly and his lips is turning upward, but it's not enough.
Ian gives up, dropping his hand down on the mattress. He just has to give up at this point, he has to accept the fact that no matter how hard he tries, he's never going to receive the same amount of stimulation that he once had.
Before finally drifting off to sleep, he ends up thinking one more thought.
Guess I'll suffer in silence for the rest of my life.
~~~
Years. It's been literal years since Ian started having this mood. And the worst part? It just won't stop.
But! On the bright side, Anthony's back! Yay!
Which leaves Ian in a very difficult predicament. Sure, he could just go up to Anthony and ask him for it, but would Anthony even want to?
It's been so long since they've actually seen each other. What if Anthony is disgusted by it and sees it as childish? What if he leaves again because Ian dared to ask such a weird and stupid question?
No. He can't risk it.
Ian is currently in the break room, sipping on a cup of coffee while scrolling through his phone. Today has been a relatively busy day, from recording videos and making sure his friends didn't do anything stupid, he's glad that he can finally sit down and-
"Alright, what's going on with you?"
Or maybe not.
Ian cranes his head and finds Anthony leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed and a skeptical frown on his face.
Taking another sip of coffee, Ian responds. "What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb with me!" Anthony exclaims, rolling his eyes. "You've been acting weird for, like, ever!"
"Weird how, exactly?"
Anthony scoffs. "I dunno, maybe the fact that you randomly leave conversations out of nowhere, you flinch whenever a hand comes near you, and you're always looking at my hands!"
As Anthony lists off his concerns, Ian shrinks into the couch, trying to make himself as small as possible. He stares at his shoelace, too embarrassed to look at Anthony in the eye. This is it, Anthony is finally gonna realize what's going on with him and he'll be so grossed out that he'll leave for good.
"Look." Anthony's gentle voice broke through his thoughts. The wait of the cushions shift next to Ian, signaling that Anthony had sit down next to him. "Everyone is just worried about you. I'm worried about you."
"Everyone?" Ian whips his head around to face Anthony, already sensing what the other man was gonna say next.
Anthony glanced away briefly. "Yeah, I mean, they said that you've been doing this for awhile after I left." There's a brief pause in his sentence before Anthony clears his throat. "But that you stopped after month or so, or you got better at hiding it or something. And Shayne told me that you've been doing it again after I came back."
By the end of the explanation, Anthony's brow is creased in obvious concern. He stares at Ian with so much care that he almost blurts out what's been bothering him for the past couple years.
"So, can you tell me what's going on?" Anthony asks, so full of love and gentleness that makes Ian's face heat up.
"I-" Ian starts, before pausing abruptly. Is this really all it takes to spill something he's been holding onto for years? Cause that's the case this is a bit pathetic. "I just-"
Instead of answering anything coherent, Ian grabs a nearby pillow and puts it over his face, groaning.
"That bad, huh?" Anthony asks softly, wrapping an arm around him while Ian rests his head on his shoulders.
"It's embarrassing!" Ian exclaimed, burying his face in Anthony's chest.
"Embarrassing? Come on, it can't be that bad."
Ian peeks up at him, only to hide his face when they make eye contact. "It is!" He insists.
Anthony chuckles. "Dude, I'm your best friend, nothing you could say could be worse than anything I've seen you do."
At that sentence, Ian's face immediately heats up, but he perseveres. "Promise?"
"Promise."
He takes a deep breath and tries to think of a way to correlate his thoughts without using the word.
"Okay… well, you remember a couple years ago, I'd get these certain moods… and, well, you'd…" Ian stops and wiggles his fingers.
Ian risks a glance up at Anthony, and at first his stomach drops when he sees him frown in confusion. He can tell that Anthony is really trying to gather what he's trying to say. After a few devastating moments, his face shifts from confusion, to understanding, and a bit of something else that Ian is too scared to dig into right now.
"Oh." Anthony replies simply, as if this was the most normal thing in the world. "You mean tickling?"
At the mention of the word, Ian fully faces away from him, face blazing red. Still, he couldn't deny it anymore, not after craving it for so long. So, he bites the bullet. "… maybe."
Anthony stays quiet for a second, but doesn't release his hold on Ian. If anything, it tightens.
Without any warning, Anthony takes his hand that isn't around Ian and starts scribbling all over his belly, making him burst out into boisterous laughter and kick his legs.
"Why didn't you just say so?" He hears Anthony ask over his laughing. "I thought something was really wrong!"
"IHIHI'M- I'M SORREHEHEHE!" Ian tries to get out, face burning.
"And," Anthony added, ignoring his pleading. "You had everyone else worried too! All of this over tickling? And apparently you've been hiding this for years?"
"AHAHAN- AHAHAHANTHONY!"
The man in question took his other hand and lightly scritched Ian's neck, but it was just enough to send in Ian into utter hysterics.
"Guess I just gotta make up for lost time then."
Anthony suddenly pinned Ian on the couch, one hand pinning his arms above his head and the other hand resting on his side. Luckily, Anthony knew that his stomach was his worst spot, so he was merciful enough to give him a small break.
Ian held his eyes shut with a wide smile plastered on his face. When nothing happens, he cracks an eye open.
His best friend is staring down at him with the most shit eating grin known to man. His eyes twinkle mischievously as he looks over Ian, no doubt going over tickle spots in his head.
Anthony starts scratching his finger on one of Ian's ribs, right below his armpit. Immediately, Ian starts giggling from the simple action.
"Damn, this giggly over just one little finger?" Anthony teased, making Ian squirm.
"Nohohooooo…" He ends up whining.
"No? No what? No more tickles?" Anthony asked, feigning obliviousness. "'Cause if that's the case, guess I'll just leave you alone-"
"Dohon't you fucking dahahare!" Ian tried to sound fierce or whatever, but he knows it definitely fell flat.
The other man smirks devilishly down at him. "I knew you were gonna say that."
Ian moves his head from side to side in some attempt to hide his blush, which only gave Anthony mors ideas.
"Hey, come on, no need to hide your face, it's just me." He practically cooes. That combined with the gentle scratching on his rib is driving him crazy.
"Cahan you juhuhust do it alrehehedy?" Ian asks quietly, but Anthony picks.
"Alright, since you asked so nicely."
Immediately, Anthony formed a claw with his hand, granting Ian momentary relief before he felt five fingers dart into his armpit.
Ian starts struggling to pull his arms down with Anthony's iron grip holding them up.
"Really? It's only one spot!" Anthony says, moving down to his ribs, causing him to arch his back.
"Shuhuhut uhuhuhup!" He practically squealed, no matter how much he kicked his legs and tried to wiggle away, Anthony's hold on him was not letting up anytime soon.
Anthony gasp dramatically. "Did you just tell me to shut up? Oh, you're gonna get it now…"
"Wahahait whahahAHAHAHAT! NOHOHOHO WHIHIHIHIHI?" Ian's laughter immediately rose up several octives as Anthony immediately started blowing raspberries and nuzzling into his belly.
In just a matter of moments, Ian was breathless, face heating up from not only being flustered beyond belief, but from all of the laughter. Tears of mirth stream down his face and he flails his arms after Anthony released them, now just tickling Ian's sides while going to town on his stomach.
And Ian is loving it.
Unfortunately, Anthony did have to stop after awhile considering the fact that Ian had to breath. So after one last raspberry, Anthony lifts his head and stares at his best friend's disheveled, flushed face.
While taking in a couple breaths of air, Anthony says. "You know, maybe next time just tell someone if you wanna wrecked."