also i said it before and i'll say it again. the fact that t2eb, the single most impressive writing project/challenge i've ever done, all happened in MARCH OF 2020. WHEN THE ENTIRE WORLD WAS SHUTTING DOWN AND NO ONE KNEW WHAT TF WAS GOING ON. AND I WAS THERE. WRITING MY T-FIC. LITERALLY WHAT WAS THAT
It was so much fun to screw with Roman, Virgil thought to himself. It was so easy to get a rise out of him- you didn’t even have to do anything bad. Just a harmless prank would get him completely riled up- and that’s all this was. A harmless prank.
Virgil had just enough time to hop back on his bed by the time he heard someone thundering down the hall towards his room. He straightened his face into something neutral just as Roman threw open his bedroom door, glaring at him with the most vitriol he’d ever seen on anyone else’s face.
“Where is he?”
Virgil raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“Cut the shit, Virgil,” Roman hissed, slamming his door and marching over to hover over Virgil’s bed. He shoved an accusing finger into Virgil’s face as he continued, “Logan saw you go into my room earlier, Patton saw you leave with something in your hands. So you have one second-”
He held up one finger in Virgil’s face, which Virgil swatted away.
“-to tell me where Mr. Bear is, or so help me Zeus, I will cut every single one of your hoodies into crop tops.”
Virgil stared at him for just a second before he burst out laughing. “I have never seen you so pissed before, and it’s because you lost your teddy bear?”
Roman scoffed, throwing his hands up into the air. “It’s because you violated my privacy and stole my most prized possession!”
“Well, maybe you should keep your door locked,” Virgil muttered, a smug smile rising to his face.
Roman turned to him with a fierce determination.
“So you admit you took him?”
Virgil shrugged. “Maybe. But if you wanna save your precious Mr. Bear, you’ll need to pay the price.”
Virgil didn’t know for sure what he wanted- maybe a one-time favor, or maybe a bunch of small tasks that Roman would have to complete for him. He didn’t know and didn’t care, but he was excited to find out how much the little prince would offer him-
The world spun as Virgil was suddenly pulled off of his bed by his ankles, hitting the floor with a loud thump. He tried to sit up, but he soon found himself pinned, both physically (because Roman was straddling his hips and holding his arms above his head with one hand) and figuratively (because Roman was looking at him with a deadly gaze that made his stomach flip in anticipation).
“Or,” Roman said, eyes narrowed and dark, “I could just make you tell me where he is.”
Virgil scoffed, but any potential retort died in his throat as he felt Roman slowly hiking up the hem of his t-shirt, exposing his stomach to the cool air of his bedroom.
“This is your last chance to tell me where you put him,” Roman murmured, hovering his free hand over Virgil’s stomach, “or else I’m gonna have to tickle you until you confess.”
Hearing that word made Virgil blush a bright red, and he fought the urge to hide his face in his forearm.
“W- what if I say I don’t know where it is?” he managed, trying and failing to revive his previous bravado.
Roman drummed his fingers against Virgil’s lower stomach, and the dark side bit his lip.
“Oh, but I think you do know,” Roman continued. His fingers began grazing all over the soft skin, making Virgil’s torso twitch under the light touch. Roman raised an eyebrow, and moved his hand back until he reached one certain spot that had made Virgil jump, scratching it just so with his nails. Virgil’s lips curled into a smile, but he was biting his cheek to keep his laughter from spilling out.
“You know, Virgil,” Roman said casually, refusing to move his fingers from the spot where Virgil’s stomach met his side, “this would all be over so much quicker if you just tell me where Mr. Bear is.”
“F- fuck off,” Virgil hissed. Roman hummed in consideration.
“No, I don’t think I will.”
And with that, he abruptly switched from gentle scratching at Virgil’s side to digging into his ribcage, all five fingers wiggling and prodding in between each of the bones. Virgil gasped at the sudden acceleration, and his laughter finally burst out of him.
“What’s the matter, giggles? You didn’t think I’d make this easy for you?” Roman’s hand moved higher, and so did Virgil’s laughter when he felt a flurry of fingers scratching at his exposed underarm. “Don’t you remember that I know all of your tickle spots? So unless you want me to keep tickle-tickle-tickling you, you should really think about answering my question.”
Virgil twisted his body, but Roman’s fingers merely followed him, briefly switching sides to give his other hollow the same tickly attention. His laughter just kept bubbling out of him, and he drummed his feet against the floor.
“Ro- Romahahahahan! Nahahahaha- not thehehehere!”
Roman acquiesced, moving upwards to flutter his fingers all around Virgil’s neck. It was a less intense feeling, but still wildly torturous, and Virgil threw his head back and forth as he cackled.
“Just answer the question, Virgil!” Roman insisted, although his voice was laced with amusement. “Can’t you answer a simple question? Or do you just love my tickles so much, you’re being bratty and stubborn just to get more of them?”
Virgil shook his head, cheeks burning. Like, fine, maybe he kinda sorta liked when Roman (or anyone, really) would... do this to him. And maybe that’s why he was refusing to just come out and tell him where the bear is. But Roman didn’t have to say that.
“Still not talking?” Roman asked, pulling his hand back and letting Virgil catch his breath. “I’m gonna get you, Virgil. Gonna get your very worst spot, and it’s gonna tickle real bad.”
Virgil had already started giggling again, and Roman wasn’t even doing anything. He watched as Roman slowly hovered his hand above his stomach once again, before extending his pointer finger in the air.
“This little finger,” Roman said lowly, “is gonna go right in your bellybutton. And it’s gonna wiggle and tickle all over that cute little hotspot, and it’s not gonna stop until you’re tickled to tears. So I’m gonna ask again: Where. Is. Mr. Bear?”
Virgil couldn’t drag his eyes away from Roman’s finger, ominously circling in the air. He took a deep breath, met Roman’s eyes, and resolutedly shook his head.
Less than a second later, Roman plunged his fingers directly into Virgil’s bellybutton, and the emo side full-on shrieked with laughter, knees jerking upwards and hitting Roman’s back. True to his words, Roman swirled and spiraled and corkscrewed that finger right into Virgil’s very worst spot, and it tickled like hell.
“R- Rohohohohomahahan! No! Nohohoho plehehehehease!” Virgil’s laughter was frantic and desperate, but he still refused to answer Roman’s question. He wanted to hold on as long as he could
Roman released his hands (Virgil was too weak to even try to fight back anymore) and starting squeezing up and down Virgil’s side while still attacking his bellybutton.
“Where is he?” he asked again, and he continued to repeat it. “Where is he, where is he, where is he, where is he, where-”
“Tohohohop- tohohohop drahahahahawer! Top drawer!”
Virgil’s body went limp as Roman slowed his hands, his laughter still pouring out of him. To his surprise, Roman didn’t get up right away.
“Say it again, Virge?” he asked. “I couldn’t quite hear you.”
He squeezed Virgil’s side again, and the edgy side light out an adorable squeal before he managed, “Top drawer! In the dresser!”
Roman patted Virgil’s flushed cheek before standing up, swiftly making his way to the dresser to look for his prize. Virgil simply laid there, feeling relaxed but somewhat sad. He knew Roman was only there for his toy, but for a while, it had been fun to play around, even if he was getting tickled half to death, and he kinda wished they could keep going-
He was pulled out of his thoughts by Roman standing over him, holding the small bear triumphantly.
“Found him!” he declared, making the toy ‘wave’ at Virgil, and despite himself Virgil couldn’t help but smile.
“Yeah, whatever,” he muttered, and allowed Roman to pull him up from the ground... and abruptly push him back onto the bed?
Virgil blinked in confusion. “What-”
Before he could finish, Roman bounced onto the bed next to him, placing Mr. Bear onto Virgil’s pillow carefully, before turning to face Virgil.
“You broke into my room, you stole my stuff, and you lied about it all,” he listed, giving the anxious side a sharp smile. “Don’t you think you need a punishment?”
Virgil gaped, but as Roman pushed him to lie flat on the bed and once again hovered over him with wiggly fingers, he couldn’t hide his smile at how much fun this was going to be.
[aka “i have no self control and this now must go under a cut bc it is a) 6440 words of ridiculousness, and b) 100% self-indulgent”. thanks for sticking around, y’all. love ya, mwah]
It was a normal day in the Mind Palace. Patton and Virgil were cooking in the kitchen (well, Patton was cooking; Virgil was sitting on the counter and showing him memes on his phone), while Logan and Roman were resting in the living room (they had started out on opposite ends of the couch, but somehow had come together until Roman was lying against Logan’s chest, perfectly content to nap in that position for the rest of the afternoon.
Yeah, it was a very normal day in the Mind Palace. But not for long.
Logan couldn’t honestly tell you what was had started his playful mood. Maybe it was the way Virgil had come downstairs with no hoodie, one of the rare signs that he was feeling comfortable with physical touch today. Maybe it was the way Patton’s humming and singing as he cooked started to sound more and more like the nursery rhymes they were all so familiar with. Maybe it was the way Roman was nestled against his chest, looking so calm and so content, and yet all Logan could imagine was tickling him to tears.
He smiled softly, and he began moving the hand that was resting on Roman’s stomach in small, not-so-tickly circles. While he kept his gaze on his book, he took note of the way the Roman shifted subtly under his palm, crinkling his brow just a bit in his half-asleep state.
“Logan,” Roman warned lowly.
Logan pretended not to hear him, instead allowing his fingers to drift even lower on his stomach, giving a quick scratch below his belly button to make him jump.
“Logan!”
“Hm?” Logan finally replied, casually shifting his gaze from his book to Roman’s pout. “Can I help you, Roman?”
Roman huffed, the beginnings of a blush lighting his face. “Stop.”
“Stop what?” As Logan spoke, his hand sped up, moving to scratch all around Roman’s trapped tummy. Roman squeaked, pushing himself backwards to escape the tickles, but all that did was trap him even closer against Logan’s chest.
“Loga-an!” he insisted, fighting hard to keep his laughter out of his voice.
“Stop what?” Logan repeated, leaning down to graze his lips against the shell of Roman’s ear. “Stop what, Roman? I can’t stop unless you use your words.”
His breath against Roman’s neck, plus the teasing lilt of his voice, made the creative side squeal softly and try to scrunch his neck up.
“Why?” was all he could manage, his voice a high pitched whine.
Logan hummed in consideration. “Because I’m feeling particularly happy today,” he answered honestly. Roman stopped squirming for a moment as an ‘aww’ fell from his lips, smiling at Logan fondly.
Logan quirked a brow. “And you know what would make me even happier?”
He felt Roman freeze against his chest. When he spoke, his voice was low with anticipation, and his smile now had a nervous tinge to it.
“Tickle fight?”
Logan smirked. “Tickle fight.” And with that, he blew a large raspberry right where Roman’s neck met his shoulder, and the creative side gasped, slamming a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud.
“Why aren’t you laughing, Roman?” Logan asked, desperately fighting to keep Roman pinned against his chest. He knew he couldn’t hold him back for long, so he focused on breaking his resolve as quickly as possible. “If you’re not laughing, then this must not tickle. Do you want me to-”
He reached for Roman’s thigh, only getting one good squeeze in before Roman squawked, launching both of them onto the floor at an impressive speed.
They grabbled for a moment, but it was no use: Logan was quickly pinned underneath Roman’s weight on his hips, smirking down at him with a dangerous expression.
“I hope it was worth it,” was all he said before shooting both hands in to wildly scribble at Logan’s tummy.
Logan broke immediately, releasing a stream of high pitched giggles as he desperately batted at Roman’s quick hands.
“Ahahahahahahaha- Romahahahahahan!” he cried, but other than that made no move to actually stop him. Roman grinned. He loved how easy it was to make Logan break.
“Oh, Logan, you like experiments, right?” he asked brightly. “Can you help me with one? Does it tickle more when I do this-”
He trailed his nails all along Logan’s skin, from the bottom of his ribs to the top of his pantline, scritching and skittering the lightest tickles he could manage. Logan’s giggles came even faster, throwing his torso back and forth in an attempt to escape.
“-Or this?” Roman finished, abruptly switching to squeezing as much of Logan’s pudgy tummy as he could grab. Logan screamed, especially when Roman began twisting one finger into his bellybutton.
“Oh, calm down, Specs. This isn’t even your worst spot!”
Logan refused to reply, or maybe he was more ticklish on his stomach than Roman remembered, because his giggles only starting coming faster and higher pitched. His eyes, which had been frantically darting around as he looked for an escape, finally managed to focus on something behind Roman.
“Hehehehehelp- Virgihihihil!”
Roman’s eyes widened, and a quick glance behind him confirmed that the anxious side had made his way to the living room, and was now watching them on the ground with barely concealed amusement.
“So that’s why it got so loud in here, huh?”
Roman grinned. “Hey, Virgil, can I get a hand here? Mine are kinda full.” As he spoke, he began drilling his thumbs into Logan’s tummy, sending him further into desperate laughter.
Virgil looked between the two of them for a second. He put a hand to his chin, pretending to be deep in thought.
“Yeah, I could help you, Roman,” he pondered, ignoring Logan’s pleading for help below him. “Or...”
His eyes glinted, and before Roman or Logan could react, Virgil called, “Hey, Patton! Can we get some help in here?”
Logan gasped. “Nohohohohoho!”
Eyes wide with delight, Roman grinned at Virgil. “Hey, that’s not a bad idea, Virge!” Already his mind was buzzing with all the ways Patton, the Mind Palace’s other tickle monster, could help him. Two lers meant one could pin a lee’s arms while the other went to town on their tummy; one could focus on the upper body and one could focus on the lower body; plus, even Roman had to admit that Patton was the best teaser in the Mind Palace, and the thought of him using that talent on Logan was incredibly enticing.
He was so caught up in imagining the tag team tickles he and Patton would give to Logan, that he didn’t notice when Patton entered the room behind him.
“Oh!” Patton gasped, turning to Virgil with a light in his eyes. “Are we having a tickle fight?”
He wiggled his fingers towards Virgil’s stomach, but Virgil merely batted him away with a laugh and blush.
“Actually, uh,” he started, “They both asked for help, so I wanted to ask you...”
His eyes narrowed, and as he jerked his head in Roman and Logan’s direction, he continued, “Whose side are we on?”
Patton looked from Virgil to the others and back again. His smile grew, and he nodded at Virgil, moving to creep up behind Roman, who was still totally distracting with tickling Logan.
“You should probably give Logan a break, Roman,” Patton said sweetly, and after giving Logan’s stomach one more good squeeze, Roman relented, sitting back to admire the thoroughly giggly side below him.
“Go ahead and catch your breath, Teach,” Roman cooed. “Because I-”
He was cut off as Patton grabbed him from behind, pulling him off of Logan and onto the floor, where Patton easily straddled Roman.
“Roman,” Patton said with as much sterness as he could muster, “Did you give Logan a surprise tickle attack? That’s not very nice!”
Roman blinked in confusion. He shook his head, indignant. “What? No! Logan started it!”
Patton shot a look at Logan, who was curled up on his side and still giggling his head off. He turned back to Roman.
“It looks like Logan is all tickled out for right now, but I think someone else needs a little punishment,” he teased. Roman’s eyes widened, and over Patton’s shoulder, Logan was now sitting up, smirking at him smugly.
“But- not fair!” Roman sputtered. “Logan-”
“Was minding his own business until you got him all riled up, yes, we know,” Virgil interjected. He, of course, suspected Logan wasn’t quite as innocent as Patton may have believed, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t gonna let this opportunity to wreck Roman pass him by.
Kneeling to the ground, he managed to grab both of Roman’s wrists and pinned them to the ground. Smiling over Roman’s face, he continued, “Aren’t you so glad Pat and I are here to help?”
Roman flushed. He tugged on his arms, but Virgil’s grip was secure.
“Please,” he started, a nervous smile forming on his face, “please, please, I didn’t do anything!”
Patton ignored him, instead looking to Virgil over his head.
“Where do you think I should go first, Virge?” he asked, skimming a hand over Roman’s trapped torso and making him squirm. “I mean, I know our little Prince is ticklish all over, but it’s so hard to choose! His tummy! His neck! His thighs! What do you think?”
Virgil hummed, looking down at Roman’s flustered, semi-murderous expression.
“You should probably go for his sides first, Patton,” he responded oh-so helpfully. “He’s super ticklish there, right, Roman?”
Roman clamped his mouth shut, but he couldn’t hide his bright smile as Patton began walking his fingers up and down his sides, paying a special amount of attention to the divot at his waistline.
“No! I’m not- not ticklish!” he managed, despite letting out little huffs of breath as he felt Patton scratch his fingernails against the soft skin.
Patton’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh? Not ticklish? Not ticklish at all?”
His fingers stilled, and Roman took a few quick breaths, shaking his head.
“Nope! Not at all, not ti-icklish no please!”
Patton quirked his head, the picture of innocent confusion as he began squeezing up and down Roman’s sides. “But you’re not ticklish, Roman! You’re so big and strong, there’s no way you have such a silly weakness.”
His hands moved up and down the skin, not hesitating to curl his fingers around to scratch at Roman’s back while his thumbs wiggling into his tummy. Roman bit his lip, throwing his head back and forth as he felt the laughter threatening to burst from his throat.
Patton finally stopped, allowing Romn to take a few deep breaths before locking eyes with him again.
“See? Not ticklish,” Roman insisted.
Patton nodded seriously. “Oh, of course. Not ticklish.”
The two held eye contact for a few seconds before Patton’s hands started to move- he reached behind himself, latching onto Roman’s thighs. Roman tensed.
“Still not ticklish?” Patton asked casually. Roman chest shook with barely concealed giggles. He took one more deep breath and opened his mouth to respond.
“Not- ahahahahahaha! Nohohohoho! Not thehehehehere!”
Patton quirked his head again, a teasy smile gracing his lips. “Why are you laughing, Ro-Ro? You’re not ticklish, right? Even if I tickle-tickle these cute little thighs, right? Aw, Roman, you’re such a big boy, of course you’re not ticklish!” His coos were awful, and Roman whined through his laughter, wishing he could hide his burning face.
His hands shifted to flutter his fingers on the soft skin of Roman’s inner thighs, and he bucked wildly, desperate to throw Patton off.
“Please- ahahahahaha- not there!”
“Not here? Okay!” Patton didn’t hesitate before shooting his hands upward to squeeze at his sides yet again, ruthlessly accurate.
Roman gasped with laughter, tugging even harder against Virgil’s grip. “No, no, no, nonono-”
“Yes, yes, yes yes yes!” Virgil replied, smirking at Roman’s growing panic. “Patton, don’t you think his armpits look a little lonely?”
Roman shook his head, but Patton smiled widely at Virgil.
“I was just thinking that, kiddo!” And with that, Patton began slowly spidering his fingers up Roman’s sides.
“Here they come, Roman,” Patton sang. “My wiggly, tickly claws are gonna make you laugh and laugh and laugh...”
“No!” Roman screamed, turning his body as much as he could. “Pat! No! I cahahahan’t- can’t take it!”
Patton giggled, melodious and sweet. “Sure you can! Just be a good boy and keep those arms up nice and high for me, okay?”
With one great scream, Roman yanked his arms out of Virgil’s grasp, slamming them down to his sides... just in time for Patton’s fingers to find their way into his hollows.
“Nohohohohoho! P- Pat- Patton!” Roman screamed, throwing his head back and writhing on the ground underneath Patton’s touch.
Patton pretended to gasp as he cooed, “Oh no! My hands are stuck!” His playful smile turned predatory as he sighed and said, “I guess I’m just gonna have to keep tickling you until you let them go, huh, Ro-Ro?”
Roman gasped, head weakly falling against the floor as Patton began scratching his fingernails all around Roman’s hollows.
Virgil smiled smugly, leaning over Roman’s laughing face as he taunted, “Well, that was pretty stupid of you, wasn’t it, Princey?”
Bright peals of laughter were Roman’s only response, because Patton’s fingers wiggling inside his armpits were somehow ten times more ticklish than when his arms were up. But despite knowing this, Roman could not make himself lift his arms again, keeping him in what was basically a ticklish hell.
Logan sat back and watched. Seeing Roman get tickled by the Mind Palace’s worst tickle monster was incredibly satisfying, but he couldn’t deny that he still wanted to play. His eyes drifted from Roman and Patton, to Virgil, who was merely watching the two of them with a cocky smile.
Virgil tsked as he stood up, eyeing down at the giggly creative side below him.
“I guess if you don’t want me holding your arms up, I can go ahead and get started on your feet-”
He cut himself off as he felt Logan grab his arm, pulling him off balance as he stumbled backwards into his solid chest.
“I’m sorry, did you think you were safe?” Logan said lowly in his ear, breath warm and tickly.
Virgil’s eyes widened. “What- you son of a bitch, I saved you!” His harsh words were slightly weakened by the fact that his mouth was turning up in a nervous smile, and his cheeks were quickly growing pinker, and his voice was a little too high pitched to be scary.
“And I thank you for that,” Logan replied stomberly, before he smirked. “And now it’s your turn, Virgil.”
He dove in to press a kiss on the back of Virgil’s neck, and the emo side couldn’t hide the squeal that escaped from his lips. He heard Logan chuckle lowly behind him, blowing warm air all over Virgil’s senstive ears, before pressing three more kisses right behind his earlobe.
Virgil jerked away from the tingly sensation, but Logan only followed him, and the two wrestled each other for the upper hand. Virgil squeezed Logan’s hip, making him jerk away with a yelp, but all Logan had to do was claw his fingers around Virgil’s belly, and the anxious side went down to the ground, Logan easily straddling his waist and pinning his hands below his knees.
“Please, Logan, please, you don’t have to do this-” Virgil begged, unable to stop his body from wiggling as Logan slowly rolled up his t-shirt to exposed his bare belly.
“Oh, I know I don’t have to do this,” Logan replied, giving Virgil a look that sent shivers down his spine. “But please understand, I want to do this. Very, very much.”
Virgil gasped as he felt fingers skittering up and down his sides, lightly scratching at his ribs. He giggled, leaning his body as far away from the touches as he could manage- which was, unfortunately, not very far.
“Virgil, how much do you know about anatomy?” Logan asked airily. Virgil’s eyes widened, and he shook his head wildly.
“No! No! Nohohoho, plehehehease-”
“So you don’t know anything about it?” Logan interrupted, eyes flashing with something dangerous. “Well, let this be your first lesson.”
He grazed his fingers up and down Virgil’s ribcage, and Virgil gasped, frozen in delighted shock for just a moment before falling into wild giggles.
“The human body has 24 ribs,” Logan stated, speaking loudly to be heard over Virgil’s laughter. “Would you like me to count yours?”
“No! No cohohohounting- hey!” Virgil’s protests ended with a squeak as Logan started wiggling his two index fingers against both of his lowest ribs.
“Oh, come now,” Logan chirped. “Here, I’ll even make it easy for you and count by twos. Let’s see now, there’s two... four... six...”
As he counted, he moved his fingers up a row, taking his time to prod his fingers all over and in between each bone on either side of Virgil’s ribcage. Virgil gasped and held his breath. He knew this game. He would not move. He would not move. He-
Logan wiggled his fingers on one specific spot halfway up Virgil’s ribcage, and Virgil had no choice but to squeal helplessly as his body jerked back and forth, desperately trying to escape Logan’s tickles.
Logan clicked his tongue in disapproval. “No, stay still, Virgil. Now I have to start over.”
“Nohohoho!” Virgil managed through his giggles, kicking his feet as Logan started from the bottom once more. “Logahahahan!”
“Don’t distract me, Virgil,” Logan practically sang. “Or else I’m gonna have to start all over again.” He wiggled his fingers at Virgil’s lowest rib, and the emo side dropped his head on the floor, covering his face with his hands as he giggled helplessly.
Meanwhile, Patton was still teasing and cooing at Roman, muttering too softly for Logan to hear him, but judging from how bright Roman’s blush was, it was highly effective. Out of his peripheral vision, Logan saw Patton dip in to blow a few well-placed raspberries against Roman’s neck, forcing Roman to squeal desperately as he writhed on the floor.
Logan turned his attention back to Virgil, smiling as he heard how frantic his giggles were coming now that Logan had finally reached his highest ribs.
“Patton just gave me a very good idea,” he confided in Virgil, mercifully pulling his hands away and letting Virgil slump limply on the floor, a goofy smile on his face. He froze in anticipation as he felt Logan slowly rolling up the hem of his t-shirt, lowering himself until his mouth grazed Virgil’s skin, feeling it jump and twitch under his lips.
“Logan, please,” Virgil begged, but Logan ignored him. Instead, he shot him a look over the rim of his glasses, smiling wickedly as he saw Virgil’s blush deepen.
“Now, Virgil, this might tickle.” And with no further warning, Logan blew a noisy raspberry right against Virgil’s exposed side.
Virgil shrieked, body jolting like Logan’s touch was an electric shock. He babbled incomprehensible pleas of mercy, but Logan ignored him in favor of taking a deep breath and blowing another raspberry, this time just to the side of Virgil’s bellybutton. Then one right below his bellybutton. Then one right on his belly button.
Patton finally looked over his shoulder, taking in Virgil’s wide smile and tear-stained cheeks ad Logan blew rapberry after raspberry on his uber-sensitive tummy. Patton felt his protective instincts, the ones that he felt when he saw Logan getting tickle tortured, kick in.
“Hang on, kiddo! I’m coming!”
He turned his attention back to Roman, whose face was turning as red as his sash.
“Alright, Princey,” Patton cooed, “Will you pretty please let go of my hands so I can go save Virgil?”
Roman screamed in response, shaking his head frantically. “I cahahahan’t! It tihihickles!”
“Aw, I know it tickles so badly. But if you can just lift your arms up, then the tickles will stop! Isn’t that what you want?”
The creative sides laughter only got louder- probably because Patton was now vibrating his thumbs into Roman’s highest ribs while still wiggling his fingers under his arms. Hey, just because he wanted to help Virgil, didn’t mean he was just gonna stop tickling Roman.
Logan, meawhile, had switched to spidering at Virgil’s hips with one hand while swirling a finger inside his bellybutton with the other, pressing kisses to his stomach whenever he got the chance. He glanced over his shoulder, smirking at Patton.
“It seems Roman doesn’t actually want you to stop tickling him, Patton. Please, feel free to tickle him for as long as you want. I’ll take good care of Virgil over here.”
Hearing Logan’s smug voice reminded Roman that it was his fault that Roman was getting tickled to death right now, and Roman still really wanted to see the usually stoic side get wrecked. So he mustered up all of his remaining strength, and forced his arms up, freeing Patton’s hands.
“Gehehet Logahahan! Pahahatton! Get Logan!”
Patton giggled and ceased his attack, placing a quick kiss on Roman’s forehead before turning on Logan, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
“Logi Bear,” he growled playfully. “Here comes the tickle monster!”
As soon as he heard Patton’s words, Logan abandoned Virgil and tried to escape, but he just wasn’t fast enough: Patton grabbed him around the waist and (gently) forced him onto the ground, lying face-down with Patton on his thighs.
“N-no, no, Patton please!” Logan begged, already giddy from all of the laughter in the room. But it was no use: Patton dug his fingers into Logan’s sides, wiggling his fingers against his pudge in a ruthless attack.
“A tickle-tickle-tickle-tickle, Logie Bear!” Patton cheered, laughing as Logan squealed and tried to buck him off. “Oh, are you squirmy, Logie? A squirmy little gigglebug? Aw, come on, Logan, don’t try to get away! I know you love my little tickle-tickle-tickles all over your tummy and sides! Just lie still and let the tickle monster tickle you, you sweet thing!”
Patton only laughed. “Sorry, honey! It’s your turn!” He began humming a light, teasy tune as he pushed Logan’s shirt as far up as it could go, easily baring his entire back.
“Hey Logan, do you remember this one?” He leaned closer, bracing himself with one arm so he could hover his mouth right over Logan’s ears, while the other hand began its slow, torturous climb up Logan’s back.
“The itsy, bitsy spider went up the water spout,” Patton sang, voice infuriatingly teasy and babyish. The song, plus the way his fingers were gently spidering up the back of Logan’s ribs, made the logical side scream and thrash his body as much as he could under Patton’s weight.
“Down came the rain, and washed the spider out!”
Patton dragged his nails down Logan’s back, scratching that wonderfully evil sweet spot at the back of his hips, and Logan howled, arms weakly reaching backwards to bat at Patton.
Patton avoided his arms with ease, shift backwards so he could hover his mouth over Logan’s upper back.
“Out came the sun and dried up all the rain!” And with that, Paton began kissing, nibbling, and blowing raspberries all over Logan’s shoulderblades. He squealed at the touch, his voice going even higher when Patton continued to flutter his fingers along his lower back.
“And the itsy, bitsy spider went up the spout again,” Patton finished, scribbling his fingers all up and down Logan’s spine. The logical side kicked his legs out, but the rest of his body lied weak and limp on the floor, completely overtaken by Patton’s tickles.
“Stohohohohop! Plehehehease!”
Patton hummed in consideration. “But you’re so cute when you get all giggly, my little Logan!”
“Nohohoho,” Logan whined, pressing his face into the floor to hide his burning blush. Patton tsked.
“Oh, yes you are!” he cooed. “My little gigglebug. My sweet little snickerdoodle. My ticklish little cutiepants!” As he spoke, he continued scratching his fingers in just the right spots on Logan’s lower back to send him further into hysterics, the teasing making him a hundred times more sensitive.
Virgil laid on the floor where Logan had left him, catching his breath from the ruthless tickle attack. He stretched his arms out, and managed to hold down one of Logan’s ankles, dragging his nails all the way down Logan’s sole in one swift motion.
“Na-ahahahahaha! Nohohohohohohoho! Ahahahahaha!” Logan’s laughter took on a wholly manic tone, suffering under the feeling of his two worst spots being tortured at the exact same time.
Virgil worked his thumb into Logan’s arch, snorting as he had to dodge Logan’s other foot.
“Watch it, Teach!” he called. “Can’t handle your feet getting tickled?”
“You- you- you know I cahahahan’t!”
Virgil tsked. “Too bad.” He corkscrewed his index finger in between two of Logan’s toes, and the logical side’s body siezed, his laughter falling silent.
Immediately Patton and Virgil pulled back, and even Roman sat up to make sure Logan got his breath back.
“You good, kiddo?” Patton asked, moving off of Logan so he could breathe unrestricted.
Logan coughed, nodding. “Yes, I’m- I’m fine, that was just-”
“Too much?” Virgil asked, guilt laced in his voice.
“Just a bit,” Logan admitted, “but I’m not upset, Virgil. I just can’t take both at once, but we can keep going.”
Patton giggled. “Aw, little gigglebug still wants some tickles?” he cooed, pinching Logan’s cheek. He shook his head, an embarrassed grin rising on his face.
Virgil hesitated, but he trusted Logan to be honest with him. Still, he sat back, a cocky smile on his face as he said, “Hey, Pat, maybe you should take the lead? We all know Logan’s got a lot of hotspots on his back. Why don’t you find them all?”
His grin grew as Logan swore and Patton’s gasped.
“What a good idea, Virgil!” he replied. He turned his attention back to Logan, gently pushing him over until he was back on his stomach. Despite his grumblings, Logan really didn’t protest, assuring everyone in the room that he was still okay with the game.
As Virgil watched Patton give Logan some torturously light tickles in his most vulnerable spots, he was barely aware of Roman crawling over to flop down beside him until he felt a flutter of fingers at his neck.
“Gah! Don’t!” He jerked his head away, shooting Roman as much of a scowl as he could muster. The creative side smiled coyly at him.
“Call it revenge for holding me down earlier, ‘kay, Doom and Gloom?” Roman punctuated his sentence by scratching underneath Virgil’s chin, only to yelp as Virgil tweaked his hip in retaliation.
The two locked eyes.
Roman poked Virgil’s stomach. Virgil squished Roman’s side.
Roman scratched at Virgil’s lower ribs. Virgil squeezed Roman’s thigh.
Roman worked his hand into Virgil’s underarm. Virgil dragged his nails along the underside of Roman’s jaw.
That made Roman let out a short squeak. “No! Stop!” He reached around to tease Virgil’s upper back, sending him into giggles.
“Not- not until you stop!” Virgil retorted breathlessly, latching hs hands around Roman’s knees and giving them a fair amount of scratches.
The two giggly messes went around and around, prodding and teasing at each of the other’s tickle spots, both of them too tired to fully engage, but not wanting to be the first to give up. They leaned closer and pressed their foreheads together, their giggles rising out of pure giddiness from the silly game they were playing.
An ‘awwing’ sound brought them out of their game, and Roman and Virgil looked over, pulling apart as they realized they were being watched by Patton and Logan.
“Look at those cuties!” Patton said to no one in particular, watching them with a loving expression on his face. “I could just eat you up!”
Virgil and Roman flushed, gazes darting away from Patton’s teasing face, until Logan’s expression caught their attention. He was still teary eyed and pink-cheeked, but he was looking at them with a great intensity.
He pointed to Patton, making extreme eye contact with the others, and Roman and Virgil smirked, nodding. Patton looked between the three of them, and suddenly all four of them were on the same page.
Patton stood up quickly, pretending to stretch as he stepped away from the others.
“Oh, gosh, look at the time!” he chirped, moving backwards as his three friends all stood up and began moving towards him in unision. “I think I need to, um, water my hamster and feed my plants, so-”
He didn’t even finish his sentence before he spun around and took off running, the other three in hot pursuit.
“Patton!” Roman called, diving around the furniture, “just give in!”
“You know we’re not gonna stop until we get you, Patton,” Logan added, shifting on his feet like a goalie as he tried to anticipate Patton next move.
Patton was grinning wildly. “Catch me if you can!”
He dove out of the room and bounded down the hallway, laughing as he heard Roman and Logan arguing over whose fault it was that he got away.
He was just a few feet from his room at the end of the hallway before something grabbed his sweater, jerking him back.
“Thought you could get away?” Virgil asked, and now it was Patton’s turn to squirm at the feeling of warm breath against his ear. Before he could respond, he felt Virgil’s arms going around him and lifting him into the air, until Virgil was carrying him bridal style back down the hallway.
Patton squealed, clinging tightly to Virgil. “Virgil! Put me down now!”
Virgil hummed in consideration before shaking his head. “Nah, I don’t think I will.”
As they got closer, Patton could hear Roman and Logan’s voices getting louder. Roman and Logan, whom Patton had just tickled to near-death. Who were waiting to tickle him back. Who were not gonna stop untl he was a teary, exhausted mess.
Patton turned to Virgil, eyes wide.
“I warned you, Virgil.”
Patton took a deep breath and blew a raspberry right in the crook of Virgil’s neck, making his knees buckle as he squealed in desperation.
“P- Patton! You- nohohoho, stohohohop!” Virgil managed, laughter raising as Patton furiously shoved his fingers down to wiggle blindly at Virgil’s tummy and sides.
“I’m sorry, kiddo!” he replied. “I didn’t wanna do this!” Which was a lie, honestly, but Virgil couldn’t call him out on that, because now Patton was nibbling at his neck and collarbone, and Virgil’s arms were going weak, letting Patton get closer and closer to escaping.
“Pahahahattohohon! Nohohot fair!”
“Hm?” Patton replied, pressing his mouth against Virgil’s skin to send vibrations down his neck. “What’s not fair, kiddo?”
“Ahahahaha- it’s your turn!” Virgil screamed, falling against the wall for support. He gasped for breath, giggles streaming out even after Patton had pulled back.
“It’s your turn,” he repeated once more. “It’s fair.”
When he finally managed to calm himself, he cracked his eyes open slowly, shocked to find Patton just looking at him, not even trying to get away.
“... I guess you’re right, Virge,” he said softly, a nervous smile gracing his face. “It is my turn, huh?”
Virgil blinked in surprise before he smiled back, and he recollected Patton in his arms before marching back towards the living room.
“Got him,” he announced to Logan and Roman, who were watching the two of them like predators stalking their prey. “I think he’s sorry about earlier- aren’t you, Patton?”
He pinched the back of Patton’s thigh in his hold, and Patton gasped, clinging tighter to Virgil. He nodded frantically.
“Yep! So sorry!”
Logan and Roman watched him with twin expressions of softness mized with determination.
“We forgive you, Patton,” Roman said, stepping forward run his hand through Patton’s hair. “We know you just love playing with us.”
He pressed a small kiss to the top of Patton’s head, surprising the others with his tenderness.
“Indeed,” Logan said next, joining Roman to rub a hand up and down Patton’s forearm. “It was all in good fun, we know that.”
He gave Patton a kiss as well, this time on his temple. Patton giggled lightly, leaning into the touch.
“You know what else we know?” Virgil asked. He leaned close to Patton’s ear, fluttering his eyelashes to give him butterfly kisses on his cheeks as he murmured, “We know how much fun it is to get you back.”
His pressed his kiss underneath Patton’s ear, and the moral side squeaked, twisting his head away.
“Why?” he whined. Roman, Logan, and Virgil shared a look.
“Because,” Roman replied, “you’re adorable.” Kiss on the shoulder.
“And lively,” Logan added. Kiss on the neck.
“And fun,” Virgil said. Kiss on the nose.
“And gentle.”
“And ruthless.”
“And loving.”
“And soft.”
“And warm.”
“And perfect.”
“And fun.”
“Virgil said that already, Roman.”
“I mean, it’s true.”
It didn’t even matter, because Patton couldn’t hear them over his own giggles; each compliment was paired with a tickly kiss on his upper body, all over his face and neck and shoulders and chest. Virgil laid him down on the ground, easing up his polo shirt, and they kept going, scattered kissing and compliments all over his skin.
By the time they pulled back, Patton’s chest as heaving with laughter, his tummy as red as his cheeks from all of the kisses.
“Are- are you done?” he asked, unable to keep a note of disappointment out of his voice. The three of them shared another look before turning their devious smiles toward Patton.
“Just take advantage of the break, Padre,” Roman replied, patting his cheek with care.
“You’re gonna need it,” Virgil muttered. Patton turned to him, his stomach flipping at the ominous tone of voice.
“What- what do you mean?”
“I think we all know that was just a warmup,” Logan said. Before Patton could respond, Logan shifted just slightly, until he was hovering his hand right over Patton’s hips.
Patton’s mouth shut with a clack. Oh, no.
Virgil shifting backwards, easily settling next to Patton’s knees. “I mean, it’s gonna tickle really bad, but I know you can handle it.”
“Or maybe not. We’ll find out,” Roman added cheerfully. Patton looked at him with anticipation as he crawled over the floor, coming to settle at Patton’s feet.
Patton started giggling again, shaking his head in anticipation.
“No, no, no, no, no,” he babbled. None of them made any move to tickle him first; instead, they all hovered their hands right over his worst tickle spots, watching him with dangerous grins as he worked himself up into a hypersensitive state.
Fnally, he couldn’t take it anymore.
“When are you gonna start?”
“When you ask,” Virgil replied immediately. Patton flushed.
“I don’t wanna ask!”
“Then I guess we’ll never start,” Logan finished. His fingers twitched, causing Patton to jerk his hips away, to no avail.
“We can just stay right here, Patton,” Roman said, voice low and teasy. “Just feel our fingers, wiggling so close to your vulnerable little tickle spots. Can you feel it? Does it tickle already?
He could feel it, and it did tickle already, but that didn’t mean he could just outright say it.
“How about this?” Virgil added. ‘Let’s make it a countdown. When we hit zero, you ask us politely to tickle you to death. If you don’t ask, we’ll try again. And again. And again. All night long if we have to.”
Patton’s giggles were bubbling up in his chest.
“Three...”
He couldn’t do this. He was going to die.
“Two...”
... But he wanted to do this.
“One-”
“Tickle me please!” he blurted, slamming his hands over his mouth. But it was too late.
The second his words were out, all three of the others dove in to attack him simultaneously.
And it was around this moment that all three of them remembered something about when the Mind Palace’s biggest tickle monster finally gets wrecked:
Patton was a screamer.
He shrieked relentlessly as Logan starting drawing delicate designs all over Patton’s hip bones, as Virgil squeezed the spot just above his kneecaps in rhythm, and as Roman scratched a nail along the wrinkles of Patton’s feet. There was hardly any actual laughter,just wordless wails of gleeful agony, but as the other sides sporadically paused their individual attacks to let him catch his breath, there was nothing that could stop the furious giggles easily spilling from his lips.
And then Logan would switch to vibrating his thumbs in the divots of Patton’s hips, and Virgil would work his hands underneath Patton’s legs to tease the soft skin of his knee pits, and Roman would work his fingers underneath and in between each and every one of Patton’s toes, and the screaming laughter would start anew.
“A tickle-tickle-tickle-tickle-tickle, Patton!” Logan cooed, taking on Patton’s favorite form of babytalk. “Tickle-tickle here, and tickle-tickle there, and tickle-tickle everywhere!”
“Aw, can Patton not handle some tickles in his most favorite spots?” Virgil asked. His fingers played hopscotch over Patton’s kneecaps as he continued, “Just sit back and take it, Popstar. We all know how much you love it.”
“Where’s that spot, Padre?” Roman called. “I know there’s a spot under one of these toes that makes you scream all high-pitched and crazy- oh, there it is! I think I’ll stay here a while, how about that?”
This game went on for an undetermined amount of time- by the time Patton, voice hoarse and scratchy, finally gave his safeword, the sun was setting, casting the room in a warm glow.
No one spoke for a while, until Patton raised his weary head. He waved at the three of them vaguely.
“C’mere.”
After a moment of hesitation, Logan, Roman, and Virgil all moved to join Patton in cuddling on the floor.
Logan summoned water for all four of them, and Patton summoned all of their favorite snacks, and Virgil dragged all of the blankets and pillows in the room onto the floor, and Roman snapped his fingers and started a Disney movie on the TV.
The four of them curled up together, warm from the blankets and from their laughter and from each other. They didn’t have to talk about it. They all knew they felt the same.
It wasn’t a completely normal day in the Mind Palace. But it was a good one.
“No,” Virgil insisted, his eyes wide in fear. He crawled backwards on the floor, desperately trying to get away from the two figures looming over him.
Deceit’s eyes were dark, four of his arms extended and ready to strike. “You brought this on yourself. You shouldn’t have tried to get away.”
“Please, I didn’t mean it, I won’t do it again-” Virgil babbled. He felt a wall against his back.
“Oh, damn right you won’t do it again!” Remus crowed, his gleeful smile just as terrifying as Deceit’s stoic expression. He cackled as Deceit shot out two arms to trap him in place aginst the wall. Remus knelt down next to Virgil, who was fruitlessly attempting to worm his way out of Deceit’s hold.
“Know why?” Remus asked, bringing his face close to Virgil’s terrified expression.
“Because we’re never gonna let you go again.”
With that, Remus leaned forward and blew a huge raspberry on Virgil’s neck.
Immediately the emo side’s demeanor went from scared to giddy, his face scrunched up in laughter as he kicked his legs frantically.
“No no nonono, Remuhuhus!” he squealed, his laughter rising as the creative side merely burrowed deeper and blew another raspberry, making sure that he wiggled his mustache enough to tickle Virgil’s sensitive skin.
“Hm?” Remus hummed against the skin. “What’s up, Stormy?”
Virgil couldn’t respond; his attention was rather forcefully grabbed by two hands digging into his sides, the thumbs wiggling mercilessly into his stomach.
“Deedee!”
Deceit snickered. “Aw, Virgey, are you having fun?”
He shook his head, but no amount of protests could hide the goofy smile on his face. Remus and Deceit shared a look before attacking Virgil’s neck and belly button in unison, making their victim shriek with laughter as he desperately attempted to curl away from the tickles.
The two lightened up their tickles for a moment, letting Virgil catch his breath. He was silent for so long that Deceit and Remus dropped the act, coming closer to him to ensure that he wasn’t hurt.
Virgil’s eyes darted open just as the two of them were face to face with him.
“I think,” he said, eyes darting between the two of them, “that someone else needs a turn.”
Without warning he leapt forward, grabbing Remus and pinning him to the ground, scrambling to sit on his thighs. He wasted no time in digging his hands into the creative side’s hips, relishing in the way Remus immediately broke into full cackles.
“V- Vi- Virgihihil!” he gasped, his laughter coming faster as Virgil moved one hand to claw at his tummy while the other stayed spidering at his hips.
Remus turned, weakly raising an arm to Deceit. “Dehehehe- hehehelp!”
Deceit paused for a second, looking between the two of them before smiling.
“With pleasure.”
Remus watched through bleary eyes as Deceit extended four arms, moving them down past Virgil, toward Remus’... legs... oh, fuck.
“No! No no nonono, Deedehehehe!” Remus’ pleads went ignored as Deceit used two hands to torture Remus’ knees, while the other two slipped off his shoes and went to town on his soles and toes.
Remus writhed, throwing his head back and forth. Virgil slowed his hands, watching with delight as Deceit wrecked Remus’ two worst spots.
Remus looked up into Virgil’s teasy face. A lightbulb went off over his head. Through his wild laughter, he subtly pointed to Deceit, making rather intense eye contact with Virgil as he did so. The emo side seemed to understand, because he casually swung himself off of Remus’ body.
Deceit paid him no mind, having too much fun tormenting Remus’ little piggies while tracing shapes behind his knees. He was having so much fun, in fact, that he was completely unprepared for Virgil and Remus lunging forward, each of them grabbing two of Deceit’s arms in their hands, yanking him within their reach.
“What?” Deceit started, shocked at their brevity. He opened his mouth to complain, but then each of them let one of his arms go, using their now free hands to begin poking and prodding all along his ribs.
“Ha-!” Deceit squawked, flushing at the undiginified sound, but he could barely think about that when Virgil and Remus were now expertly tag teaming on his ribcage, Virgil pinching up one side as Remus pinched down another.
“Oh, I just love a little payback,” Remus crowed. “Don’t you, Virgil?”
Virgil didn’t respond, just chuckled darkly, the sound sending shivers down Deceit’s spine. He tried to reach his other two arms out to pull them off or tickle them back or anything to make it stop, but he was wholly shocked by Remus and Virgil darting their hands in to wiggle their fingers at his, now exposed, armpits.
“Uh oh!” Virgil mocked. “Double the arms, double the pits...”
“Double the tickles!” Remus finished, and the two continued, alternating between Deceit’s ribs and his pits.
Deceit laughed and laughed, thrashing fruitlessly to escape. He could barely focus on anything, but he eventually came to a belated realization: he only had 4 arms right now. Which meant...
He screwed his eyes shut, digging deep within himself to concentrate on manifesting his other two arms. He kept them low to the ground, out of sight of his current torturers. While Remus and Virgil taunted him, Deceit was focused on snaking (pun intended) his arms behind the two of them, slowly raising his hands in the air, hovering them over their backs, until-
Virgil and Remus jumped and squealed in sync at the feeling of fingers skittering up their spines. They whipped around in confusion, only to fall backwards into mirthful giggles as each of the hands darted forward to attack their tummies.
Deceit sighed in relief as they released his other arms in their laughter, allowing him to move forward and lean over them ominously.
“Oh, that was very, very silly of you,” he said, eyes narrowed. “Looks like the Tickle Monster is gonna be busy for the rest of the day.”
It was a calm, comfortable evening. The lights were low, the blankets were warm, and the TV was providing a pleasant background noise as Patton and Deceit cuddled on the couch.
Although they had started the night sitting next to each other, the two sides had moved closer and closer to each other until Deceit was practically curled up in Patton’s lap, their hands clasped together in front of him. It wasn’t often that the snake side was so open to physical touch, but Patton certainly wasn’t complaining.
“Tired, lovebug?” he asked as Deceit yawned for the third time in as many minutes.
“Mhmm,” was the only reply he got. Patton smiled softly and pulled the other side a little closer to his chest, unwittingly prodding his fingers into Deceit’s side as he did so.
In his half-alseep, blissed out state, Deceit’s genuine reaction to the touch was a small, light giggle.
“No,” he whined, actually whined. He batted Patton’s hand away. “Tickles.”
The silence that followed his offhand comment should’ve set him off that something was going to happen, but it wasn’t until he caught a glimpse of Patton’s smile in his peripheral vision that his brain caught up with his mouth.
“You’re ticklish?” Patton asked, glee and mischief lacing his voice.
Deceit stiffened, suddenly much more awake than he was a moment ago. “Absolutely not.”
“But you just said-”
“I was lying,” he interjected, but his voice lacked his usual cool confidence.
“No, I think I know what you sound like when you lie, sweet pea,” Patton teased. “Plus, I definitely heard you giggle just now.”
Deceit squirmed, a blush already warming his face at Patton’s words.
“Well, you misheard me, because I’m not ticklish,” he muttered.
Big mistake.
Patton tightened his grip around Deceit’s waist, pulling him closer and resting his head on his shoulder.
“Now that? That’s a lie, honeybunny.” And with that, Patton began bouncing his fingers up and down Deceit’s ribs.
Deceit gasped, slamming a hand over his mouth. Patton laughed lowly in his ear.
“I thought you said you weren’t ticklish?” he asked, leaving little pinches as he wiggled his fingers up and down Deceit’s ribcage. He could feel Deceit’s chest bouncing with the effort to not laugh. It was an adorable attempt, truly. But it wouldn’t last long.
“Uh oh,” Patton cooed. “Does someone have some giggles stuck in their tummy? I think I should help you get all those itty-bitty giggles out, huh, bumblebee?”
His hands moved lower, scribbling all over Deceit’s tummy and laughing as he watched Deceit’s hands jerked to grab at Patton’s, leaving his barely-contained smile out in the open.
“Oh, Deedee,” Patton sang, making Deceit scrunch his neck up at the tingly sensation. “Don’t ya wanna laugh for me?”
Deceit lost his grip on Patton’s hands, and his body as they spidered up his sensitive sides until they sat in Deceit’s armpits- not tickling, not moving, just there.
The two sat there for a minute before Patton leaned closer to Deceit’s left ear, ghosting his breath over his scaled skin.
“Three...”
Deceit’s eyes widened, and he tried to squirm away, but he quickly found that any movement at all made Patton’s fingers tickle his armpit.
“Two...”
Patton’s breath was warm, and it sent phantom tickles down Deceit’s spine. He shook his head, but he knew what was coming.
“One.”
Patton began scratching his fingers all over Deceit’s hollow, while blowing a raspberry behind his left ear at the exact same time.
Deceit screamed with laughter, completely blindsided by the double tickle attack on not just one, but two of his worst spots. He writhed on Patton’s lap, struggling against his instinct to keep his arms clamped at his sides, because the fact that Patton’s hands were ‘trapped’ against the sensitive skin made it tickle so much more.
“Oh, so you are ticklish!” Patton crowed. “Tickle tickle tickle, my little chickadee! Kitchy kitchy goo!”
Deceit squealed, Patton’s words sending sparks through him. Then he heard Patton take an exaggeratedly deep breath, and he barely had time to say “Please!” before Patton was blowing another raspberry, this time on the back of his neck.
“Nahahahahahahaha! Pahahattohohon! Ahahahahaha!”
They played this game for a while, Patton tickling and teasing Deceit while Deceit fell into hysterics on his lap. After what felt like forever, but was only a few minutes, Patton finally pulled his hands out and rubbed them soothingly over Deceit’s forearms, pressing a couple kisses to his neck that made him shiver.
“Sorry, dearie,” he murmured. “I know you don’t like it that much-”
“I didn’t say that!” Deceit burst. He immediately wished he could take the words back, but as he looked at the surprised expression on Patton’s face, he merely sighed fondly.
“I didn’t say that,” he repeated, grabbing Patton’s hand and lacing their fingers together, bringing it to his lips and giving him a kiss. Patton smiled wider than he thought was possible.
“Then can I keep going, snickerdoodle? Please?”
Deceit sighed again, but his good natured smile on his face betrayed his act.
“This is not fair, this is not fair, this is not FAIR!” Remus screams broke down into unintelligible laughter, occasionally snorting as Deceit hit yet another tickle spot.
“What’s not fair?” Deceit challenged, his two middle hands vibrating their thumbs into Remus’ tummy. “If I have six arms, I’m going to use them.”
Remus couldn’t respond to that, too busy kicking his legs as Deceit managed to pinch and squeeze at both of his knees at the same time. With his arms being securely pinned by Deceit’s final pair of hands, the creative side had no choice but to take whatever Deceit did to him.
“Hm, I think someone might have a little tickle spot or two,” Deceit drawled, completely comfortable as he watched Remus fall apart below him. “Don’t struggle, honey. Think of it as just me using a... ‘tactical advantage’.”
His fingers suddenly skittered outwards to spider up and down Remus’ sides, while his other two hands crawled even lower and started tweaking his toes.
Remus gasped, pulling his arms in any attempt to free himself from Deceit’s grip, but Deceit only laughed.
“Oh, does someone think they can escape?” he cooed. “Poor little Remus, stuck in my trap. Nowhere to go and no one to save him!”
Remus was in a giddy panic. The tickles were driving him crazy, and Deceit’s snarky voice felt like bugs crawling across his skin, and he couldn’t do this, he was going to die giggling on the floor like a fool all because of Deceit and his goddamn six arms.
Remus’ eyes burst open. Idea.
He let himself fall even further into laughter, thrashing his body and screaming just a bit louder than he naturally would. He snuck a peek at Deceit’s face, took in the joyful expression he got whenever he got the chance to tickle Remus to death, and after a few moments, he felt Deceit’s hands slow, his fingers resting in the dips of Remus’ hips and underneath his toes.
“Aw, does somebody need a little break?” he asked sweetly, shifting slightly in his position on Remus’ hips. “Get your breath back, darling, because when I start again I’m not stopping-”
In a flash, Remus was lunging at Deceit, startling him enough to make him fall backwards and accidentally release Remus’ hands. With the agility of a man who’d spent his entire life dueling with his brother, Remus threw himself on top of Deceit, reversing their positions.
Deceit paused in shock before laughing incredulously. “Oh, if you thought it was bad before, you are gonna get it now-”
But Remus only grinned, because at that moment there was a flurry of movement and green, slimy skin, and suddenly Deceit was rather thoroughly pinned by Remus’ own tentacles.
There was a beat of silence before Deceit began tugging at his bonds, his cocky expression dropping into one that could only be described as fear.
“Let me up and I’ll do anything you want, anything, Remus, I’m serious!”
“Giving up already?” Remus asked. Deceit nodded immediately.
“Yes, yes, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, please let me go, please don’t tickle me-” he babbled. He never was afraid to beg, Remus recalled.
The creative side hummed, pretending to ponder, before shaking his head with a cackle.
“Nah!”
And with a snap, one tentacle began hovering over Deceit’s torso. It gave a little wave to Deceit, who was still shaking his head and begging for mercy, before coming to play with Deceit’s ribs.
Oh, Remus wished he had a camera with him. To see the great Deceit immediately break down into the most helpless, desperate laughter you’ve ever heard, all from one little tentacle playing hopscoth across his ribs.
“Rehehehehehemus!” he squealed, voice somehow going even higher when another tentacle starting wiggling along the other side of his ribcage, while even more took their places in all six of his underarms. “Plehehehehehease!”
Remus merely laughed, settling back to watch his tentacles take Deceit apart without him even having to lift a finger.
“Aw, don’t struggle, honey! You should be proud of me, you know, for using my ‘tactical advantage’-”
Roman held his hand steady, tracing a series of complicated shapes across the canvas.
“Just gotta go slowly...” he muttered to himself, tongue sticking out in concentration. “Slowly... slowly... slowly... there!”
He pulled back, triumphantly looking at the intricate designs he’d painted all across the left side of the canvas.
“Wow, that looks so cool, Roman!” Patton said from his position across from the creative side. Roman smiled at the praise.
“Why, thank you very much, Padre!” he replied. “And may I say, your drawings are incredible as well! They’re very you.”
Patton smiled down at the right side of canvas, littered in doodles of tiny hearts, houses, and cat heads. “Aw, thanks, kiddo! I’m no fancy-schmancy artist like you, but sometimes, inspiration just hits me, you know?”
“Excuse me,” Logan interrupted, “would someone hand me a towel? The canvas seems to be working against me, and I’ve once again smudged my work.”
Patton passed him a small towel, and as Logan began wiping away a section of his painting, Roman said, “You know, Teach, you don’t have to be so detail-oriented. It’s art! It can be messy!”
Logan hummed, leaning over to repaint the section he’d just wiped cleaned. “Speak for yourself. My ‘artistic vision’ is clear-cut and sensible.”
“Mine is whatever I feel like!” Patton added, dipping his brush in the paint and drawing random lines across the canvas. “Like, maybe I’ll draw stripes, or maybe I’ll draw polka dots! Who knows?”
“My art is an extension of myself,” Roman said grandly, adding onto his own drawing. “I follow the lines of the canvas, letting my brush guide me, until something wonderful comes out-”
All three stopped painting as a high pitched shriek pierced the air. Logan sighed as he once again moved to wipe away his work, and Roman leaned over the canvas with an irritated frown.
“Virgil, excuse me, do you mind? We’re trying to have a conversation.”
Virgil couldn’t respond, instead focusing on wheezing out more laughter as Patton began doodling yet another cat on his side.
“I cahahahan’t- I cahahahahan’t,” he gasped. “It’s too much.”
Patton made a noise of sympathy. “Aw, but we’re not even trying to tickle you!”
“Indeed,” Logan interjected. “If we were trying to tickle you it would feel like this.”
He gently clawed his hands around Virgil’s hipbones, careful not to further smudge his painting. Virgil gasped and broke into peals of laughter, his legs desperately trying to curl in, but Logan’s weight on his legs kept him vulnerable.
“Nahahahaha- Logahahahan! D- dohohon’t!”
Logan pulled back, picking up his brush as he once again tried to paint the strip of skin between Virgil’s hipbones.
“See? It feels completely different, doesn’t it?”
Virgil didn’t respond, just threw his head back and laughed helplessly.
“Are yohohohou almohohost done?”
Roman hummed. “Oh, I don’t know. We still have an awful lot of paint left, and I don’t wanna waste a drop.”
He suddenly began flicking his paintbrush against Virgil’s ears, forcing the emo side to slam his head down defensively.
“Na-ahaha! Cheheheating!”
Roman laughed. “Not cheating, more like taking an artistic risk.”
He wormed the brush out from beneath Virgil’s ear, and began tracing paint all underneath his jaw, sending him into desperate giggles.
“Pahahahatton,” he begged, “hehehelp mehehe!”
“Hm?” Patton asked, looking up from his work. “Oh, sorry, kiddo! Got a bit distracted. I decided to write some little notes for you! Do you like them?”
Virgil craned his head, still giggling from Roman’s attack, to read what Patton had written in small letters up and down his ribcage.
Tickly little emo!
Virgil <3′s tickles!
BIG tickle spot here -->
Cutest little stormcloud!
We <3 U Virgil!
Virgil groaned, head falling back onto the floor as his face burned.
“I hate you.”
He was joking, everyone knew that, but for some reason the way Patton went deadly still at Virgil’s words made him nervous.
“Oh, I just thought of something we can all do together!” Patton said, voice smooth and calm. “Roman, will you pass me the paint bottles, please?”
Roman raised an eyebrow at Patton’s request, but passed him the three paints they’d been using- red for Roman, light blue for Patton, and navy for Logan.
Patton popped open the tops and upturned all three bottles of paint onto the center of Virgil’s stomach, which was still mostly bare. Virgil gasped at the cold, wet feeling of the paint of his skin.
“Patton?” he asked cautiously, but Patton ignored him.
“Roman, Logan,” he said instead, lifting his hand to hover over Virgil’s most sensitive spot. “How about some finger painting?”
Virgil’s eyes widened. “Wait-”
They did not wait. As soon as Roman and Logan lifted their hands above the pile of paint on Virgil’s belly, all three sides dig in at once, making Virgil’s laughter explode out of him.
This was so much worse than painting with the brushes. All he could feel were six slick hands, clawing and squeezing and scribbling at his belly all at the same time. Roman and Logan stuck to the outskirts at first, while Patton wasted no time in digging a finger directly into Virgil’s bellybutton.
“Tickle tickle tickle, my little stormcloud!” he cooed. Virgil’s peals of laughter were loud and bright and intoxicating.
Around and around they went, each of them making sure they covered every single inch of Virgil’s tummy. Of course, they all continued to return to his bellybutton, usually with the excuse of “getting all of the extra paint out of there!”, which allowed them to claw at the inner walls of Virgil’s tickle spot as much as they pleased.
After some time had passed, they eventually relented, each one giving Virgil’s belly one more good squeeze before pulling their hands away.
Virgil’s chest heaved, laying limply on the floor in a giddy daze.
“Aw, look!” Patton cooed. “We made purple!”
Virgil craned his neck to look at his stomach. Patton was right: each of their paints had mixed together to form a large coating of dark purple paint all over Virgil’s tummy.
“Purple just for you, Virgil,” Roman added, pinching Virgil’s cheek teasingly. Virgil jeked away, but he could tell there was now a streak of paint on his face from the way all three of them laughed at him.
“Whatever, whatever,” he muttered without malice. “I’m glad you had fun.”
“Oh, we had so much fun, Virgil! Thank you for being such a good canvas!” Patton replied, just barely stopping himself from hugging Virgil and getting paint all over his clothes.
Virgil sighed. “Guess I should go wash off now-”
He tried to sit up, but Logan’s hand on his hip made him go still, allowing the logical side to push him back down onto his back.
“Actually, Virgil,” Logan stated, “it’s imperative to the health of your skin that you get every bit of paint off. This task would be very difficult to complete by yourself, seeing as there are parts of your body that would be challenging for you to fully clean on your own.”
Virgil’s eyes widened in giddy panic as Logan summoned a bucket of water, several soft wash cloths, and three large scrub brushes. Roman chuckled and went straight for a brush, while Patton giggled as he grabbed one of the wash cloths and dipped it in the water.
“Don’t worry, Virgil,” Logan continued, an uncharacteristically evil smile on his face. “We’d be more than happy to help wash all that paint off of you. No matter how long it takes.”
