Tickletober 2023 - My Hero Academia - Class 1A - lee!Bakugo, lee!Midoriya
[see my other tickletober 2023 fics]
[ao3 link]
A/N: first my hero academia fic??? neeed!!!! angry boy need tickled sometimes. god help whoever does it tho.
Summary: Bakugo is all three things: loud, angry, and ticklish. One of them is less obvious than the others, and he wants to keep it that way.
Words: 1.4k
…
Loud, angry, and ticklish — these were among the many words that could describe Bakugo Katsuki. Like his quirk, he was often explosive with his voice and his temper. Ticklish, though? That was a pretty well-hidden feature, and one that not many would be willing to try with him! Not that anyone had in a long time.
Until today.
The sound of tittering laughter and chatter, much too loud and too cheery to be school-related, drew an already grumpy Bakugo toward the common room of the dorms. It seemed to be the place to be, he realized, when he walked in and saw most of his classmates relaxing around the couch, laughing and talking.
“What the hell are you all laughing about in here?” Bakugo barged in, asking loudly.
“Bakugo! Come on, Sero was just telling us the funniest story about—” Ochaco waved him over.
Bakugo cut her off. “Why don’t you losers stop sitting around laughing and wasting all day and get some goddamn work done! Ugh, Icy Hot and I have been working twice as hard as the rest of you because of our extra classes, and now you’re all slacking off?! It’s gonna be way too easy for me to surpass you! Where’s the challenge in that!? Now get off your asses and stop slacking!!!”
Everyone stared back at him, their giggling long gone.
“It’s Sunday afternoon Bakugo…” Momo sighed.
“Yeah, come on, even heroes need to rest.” Tsu added.
“It’s good for you to relax a little. We’re all still training super hard!” Mina assured her classmate.
“Shut up! You’re all just a bunch of slackers and losers!” Bakugo grumbled loudly.
“Would it kill you to relax? Maybe smile a little?” Kaminari asked.
Bakugo turned to look at him, glaring with fuming rage.
“We’re not even doing anything to bother you, Bakubro, come on!” Kaminari bargained. “If you want to keep studying then go back to your room, you don’t have to sit here watching us relax if you don’t want to join us.”
“I WANT YOU TO TAKE YOUR STUDIES SERIOUSLY SO THAT IT MEANS SOMETHING WHEN I KICK YOUR ASS!!!” Katsuki yelled back.
“Seriously, come on…” Kirishima sighed. “You know we’ve all been working hard, we deserve some chill time!” If he squinted, it almost looked like Bakugo was steaming with anger.
In the dorms, with his guard down, focused on arguing with his friends and surrounded by his classmates, Bakugo didn’t sense the approach of his childhood friend from behind until it was too late.
With a wide grin on his face, Midoriya had managed to creep up behind the grumpy, yapping dog that was Bakugo. He remembered something about his friend from a long time ago, and though he hadn’t tried it in many, many years, he was sure it would help here.
It was a matter of moments between when Bakugo was yelling back at Kirishima and Kaminari and when he finally felt the presence of someone approaching from behind. He ignored it for a second too long. Midoriya’s voice was friendly as it chided. “Kacchan, why are you being so mean?” And suddenly there were accompanying fingers pinching along Bakugo’s sides.
“—GET BACK TO WO-AHHIIHHH!” His rant cut off into a very un-hero-like squeal at the unexpected tickle. Bakugo’s face, which was already red with anger, ripened further as he slowly spun his head to look behind him at Midoriya. “What. The FUCK!!!”
“What just happened!?” Kaminari asked, smirking.
“Was that you Bakubro?” Kirishima said in disbelief.
“Deku, what did you just do?” Ochaco laughed.
“Oh my gosh! Bakugo are you ticklish?” Mina grinned, wiggling in her seat.
“That’s so cute!” Tsu agreed.
“Wait what? I missed it!” Sero turned to face him better.
Bakugo growled. “Deku…”
Midoriya’s eyes widened as he saw Kacchan shift his weight to launch an offensive his direction. “Wait! Kacchan, I’m sorry don’t kill meEE—” He quickly sped off with a squeal out of the common room and into the hall as Bakugo bolted after him as fast as he could without shooting out explosions.
“I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU, DEKU!”
“I’m sorry! I didn’t know you would react so much!” Izuku laughed as he raced ahead of his rival and old friend.
“SHUT UP AND PREPARE TO DIE!”
The rest of the class left them to it, not wanting to incur the wrath of a furious Bakugo as Midoriya just had. They were grateful to their classmate for allowing them to continue relaxing for a few more hours without having criticisms screamed at them. Bakugo had a point, but so did they. They would have to work hard but still relax hard, play hard.
Down the hall, Shoji picked up the sound of a scuffle before everyone heard crash and tumble followed by the familiar sound of Midoriya’s laughter… though this time it sounded much more frantic than it usually did after a good story or funny joke.
…
Izuku didn’t know what he had been thinking when he’d tried to tickle Kacchan for a brief second in the common room of their dorm… He had been yelling at everyone and looked so angry, Izuku just wanted to distract him for a moment and maybe get him to relax or smile a little. He remembered having tickle fights with Kacchan when they were kids. It had been a long, long time. This time, he got the jump on him, just for a moment. It was in front of their classmates, so other people now knew Kacchan was ticklish. It made sense that he was so angry, he was angry a lot. But, it had been nice to catch a hint of his smile. Even if he had embarrassed him a little.
Now that he’d done it, though, he realized too late the wrath he had provoked.
Izuku sped down the hall as fast as he could, trying to race back to his dorm room in time to try to lock himself inside—though… Katsuki seemed mad enough that he might just activate his quirk and blow the door down. He didn’t make it far enough to find out, though. Bakugo crashed into him, shouting obscenities as he knocked them both to the ground.
“Wait! Kacchan don’t! Not out here!” Midoriya yelped as Bakugo landed on him. He knew he was caught.
“Stupid Deku, see how you fucking like it!!” Bakugo growled, pushing Midoriya into the floor and kneeling over his thighs. He reached down, jabbing harsh, tickling fingers ruthlessly into Izuku’s sides. They squeezed up along his ribs and down to his hips. Izuku screeched out a laugh before flailing helplessly where he was already pinned. He tried to reach back behind him to grab or block a hand.
“KACCHAHAHAN— I’M SORRYHEHEHE!” Izuku shrieked through his laughter. “IHIHIHI- I CAHAHAN’T BREHEHEATHE!” He cried, kicking into the floor.
“Good! Die!!!” Bakugo answered, loud and angry, as he made a grab for Izuku’s wrist and hauled it up over his head.
“NOHOHOHO— STAHAHAHAHOP!” Izuku cackled.
Bakugo drilled fingers into his exposed armpit, and Midoriya felt tears welling in his eyes. Bakugo was ticklish, certainly, but Midoriya was… well neither of them had ever met anyone else so sensitive. How strange a trait for one determined to be the number one hero — to crumple and fall apart in the face of some simple tickling. Though, he wouldn’t call what Bakugo was putting him through ‘simple’.
The way Bakugo saw it, the others may have seen that he was ticklish, but if he could make enough of an example out of Midoriya, no one else would dare try it again. He hoped.
Midoriya’s other arm flailed and tapped out helplessly on the ground as Bakugo took advantage of every ticklish spot he could remember. The tickling hand even snuck down beneath him to claw against his stomach. “PL-PLHEEHEHEHEASE KACCHAN IHIHIHIHIHI CAN’T! CAHAHAN’T TAKE IT! AHAHA-STAHAHAHAHAHA—”
Katsuki leaned in closer, still tickling viciously. “Never. Ever. Fucking. Do that again.” He paused for a second, his hand freezing against Izuku’s sides. “Understand me?”
Izuku breathed in a few times, panting for air and giggling each breath out. After a few seconds, he spoke up. “Y-You mean like in front of people or just in general?”
Bakugo’s face went red as he shouted, “IDIOT!” and started tickling anew.
A/N: [continuation of day 10] Beau is determined to get Caleb to sing like a bird, even though she already knows the song.
[ao3 link]
Words: 1.4k
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“Ah, wait, Beauregard, there’s no need for—”
“Shut up, ya little shit. I know this was you. It has been for weeks now.” Her glare morphed swiftly into a smirk. “And I know just how to get you to fess up.”
“Wait—” Caleb stammered as he backed up toward her bed, cheeks lit up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about— please.”
“Wanna talk now, make it a little easier on yourself?”
Caleb was stubborn, they both knew it. Beau stared at him for a few long seconds, waiting.
He stayed silent.
Then, she shrugged, still smiling. “No, of course not. I figured. Don’t worry, they all talk eventually.”
She cracked her knuckles, the sound causing Caleb’s eyes to flick down to her hands. He swallowed, his legs meeting the foot of her bed. Shit.
“Now then.”
“Wait- please, I—” Caleb implored her, eyes wide. “I didn’t even do anything!”
“Bullshit.” She pushed him gently but firm onto the bed. He stared up at her like a caught rabbit, heart hammering in his chest. She almost felt bad for everything she was about to put him through. Almost.
It was easier than breathing to maneuver the wet mop of a wizard around on the mattress. She straddled his waist, crushing both hands to his sides with her thighs. Caleb put up a good show of squirming, but it wasn’t what anyone could truly call a fight. Beau loomed over him, her fuming annoyance from earlier already melting away easily to play. But, she had to keep up the charade.
And besides, she was curious to know how this tickle magic shit worked.
Caleb scrunched up under her, wincing as hands drew nearer. He bit his lip, shaking his head.
“Telllllll me. Or this is gonna get a lot woo-oorse.” Beau explained in a sing-song tease that seemed to derive from the mouth of a tiefling.
Caleb shut his eyes as he flinched hard just as Beauregard’s fingers touched down on his stomach, unmoving but steady. He took a shaky breath, making a frustrated sound in the back of his throat.
“What, you’ve moved on from denial to the silent treatment? We’ll see how long that lasts.” Beau snickered. “Let’s get you talkin’.”
Deadly, accurate, precise, and fast — so fucking fast. Beau’s damned fingers scribbled wild patterns and shapes lightly all over Caleb’s midriff. They traced along his belly and wiggled into the negligible space his sides and his arms. They prodded a few times at his lowest ribs and poked at his hips. Caleb wheezed, barely holding in a shout. He couldn’t help but snicker madly into his shoulder where he tried his best to hide. She started tickling quicker, pinching here and there too. Soon Caleb lost his battle and the room lit up with his laughter.
Beau laughed along triumphantly. “Now we’re getting somewhere. Maybe I need to go up a little higher?” She poked along his short ribs and he squealed.
“Nohohoho!” Caleb protested through frantic laughter. “Beahahaahau! Don’t- dohohohon’t!”
“Such a way with words. Care to tell me more about what you were up to in the store, then?”
“Neihihihin, plehease!”
“Well now. You’re just begging me to go for the ribs, then, you know.”
“Nohohohoho!”
“Yeeeeees!” Beau teased right back. She began the crawl, moving up from his lowest ribs slow and deliberate.
Caleb buckled, his legs kicking out as his head shook in protest. Not fucking there. “Wahahahait! Bitte, dohohon’t! PleheasEE NOHOHO—” He pulled his elbows in as closely as he could for protection.
Beau grunted in frustration, and through his cackling Caleb picked up her saying. “—stupid lanky arms in the way.”
A welcome respite came not a moment later when Beau took her hands away, and then she lifted her weight off of him. Caleb heaved a few breaths, unsure if it was over. When Beau looked back at him, though, and tugged one arm out before resecuring him in place, he knew it wasn’t.
“Wait, Beau no! Don’t!” Caleb cried, wiggling his arm frantically in an attempt to pull free of her iron grip.
Beau ignored him, moving his arm up and pinning it over his head with ease. Caleb practically whimpered under her, eyes big and scared like a lost puppy. “Look, man, you know what I wanna know. You don’t have to put yourself through all this.” Beau insisted. She wiggled her fingers toward his armpit to make him jump.
Caleb was the one to grunt frustratedly this time. He knew there was an out. And he knew Beau was as stubborn as he was. This was only going to end one way. Yet here he was, thinking instead of talking.
“Alright, you were warned.” Beau smirked and instead of returning to the crawl up his side and ribs, she started up at his wrist and marched her fingers down his arm. She already had him squirming by the elbow. He was trying to twist and wriggle away inches before she made it to his armpit. Caleb howled with laughter and frantic giggles as she scribbled in place for a while until he went from red to pink. Going for the kill, Beau tickled a bit lower, pinching and scratching at his ribs with nimble fingers.
Caleb was shouting with laughter, his voice wheezing and hoarse. His eyes welled up with tears that splashed in tiny pitters from the edges of his lashes. He couldn’t fight her off. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t take that fucking spot. Why did he have to be so damn sensitive on top of being so damn weak? Caleb tried to say something when Beau started digging her knuckles in to the tops of his ribs and Caleb shrieked.
A few moments longer, and Beau stopped, watching him catch his breath with an expectant look in her eye. Eventually, she prompted him, “well?”
“I- I, well, first of all, I hate you.” Caleb laughed shakily.
Beau made a grab for his rib cage again and Caleb yelped.
“Fine! Fine, ja, it was me. I’m sorry!” Caleb’s tickled-out grin added a comical look of insincerity to the apology.
“I told you, I know it was.” Beau huffed. “I wanna know how you did it.”
“It’s- it’s a spell.” Caleb explained, still giggling through his words. “Nothing of my own making, a relatively common spell — Unseen Servant. It can be used for lots of things, tasks, and whatever you ask really.”
“So it’s not a tickle spell?”
Caleb laughed at that, blushing more. “No, no that is simply one of many uses.”
“….Can Jester learn it, do you think?”
Caleb and Beau stared at one another, a look of worry on their faces before bursting into laughter.
“Alright. Well. I’m not gonna tell everyone yet.” Beau narrowed her eyes. “You gotta help me get Yasha with it though.” She winked.
Caleb nodded, and finally his hand was released.
Beau slide off to the side of him and patted his cheek, letting his noodle arms flail weakly back to cover his sides and wipe away the residual tingles of sensation.
He flinched when she moved to try to help him sit up, and she laughed. “Relax, I’m done.” She nudged him. “For now.”
Caleb crumpled in on himself in relief, a tiny sound slipping from him involuntarily that made Beau laugh even harder.
“Bold move, provoking us like that.. Secret’s safe with me for now but I’m not helping you whenever someone else figures it out. You’re gonna get yourself into trouble if you keep using it to set people after Fjord.” Beau raised her eyebrows with a smirk. “And when Jester figures it out.”
Caleb swallowed nervously. “Well, as I said it’s, it’s not just a spell for… that. It can be used for all sorts of tasks. I think I should stick to those for a while.” He continued, answering a few questions Beau posed on the parameters of the magic.
“Sounds like a cool utility spell — I’m impressed.” She punched his shoulder as lightly as she could manage. He still flinched. “Why’d you even think to use it on us like that though? Had to know we’d figure it out eventually.”
“Perhaps I- perhaps I just wanted a chance to participate in your shenanigans without being constantly victimized.”
“Mmmm, and how’s that working out for you, buddy?”
Caleb laughed, letting his head lull back against the floor. “Ja…not so great.”
A/N: Perc’ahlia gang rise! They both seem the type to be ticklish but in denial about it and embarrassed. Revenge would be wicked.
Words: 480
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Percy’s fingers work their way down along Vex’s shoulder blades, tending to the sore muscles. As he works out a particularly tense knot, she lets out a delighted little sigh of relief.
Smiling down at her, Percy leans in to kiss the skin along the back of her neck. It shudders under his lips, another small noise escaping her throat—this time —she quickly transforms it into a sound of pleasure. It’s a clever disguise, but one that Percy could see through any time with ease.
“Ticklish there? Sorry.”
“What? No, not at all, darling.”
He leans back down to her neck; unlucky for Vex’ahlia, she can’t see the smirk on his face from her angle.
She hears him take a deep breath, tries to turn to ask him what he’s doing, and then the room erupts with noise. Loudest of them all is Vex’s shriek of surprised laughter. There’s the thumping of squirming limbs against the mattress, the silly sound rippling out of Percival’s mouth and across the skin of her neck, the laugh he lets out a moment later when he pulls back and starts massaging again, pretending as though nothing happened.
“You little bastard!” Vex hisses, barely holding in a laugh. She turns, pushes him away, and he’s smiling wide as he falls next to her on the bed.
Percy turns to take her in—blushing and failing to hold back a smile.
“‘Not at all’ ticklish, hmm?” He prods. “That seemed rather ticklish.” He skitters his fingers along the backs of her ribs.
“Not.” She digs in her heels, biting her lip to fight back a smile. Then, Vex’ahlia is on him, fingers wiggling deftly into his sides.
Neither of them are fighting off their laughter now, Percival from the tickling nails climbing under his nightshirt and Vex from the high of turning the tables on him.
“See how you fucking like it–” Percy hears her grumble before she’s ripping his shirt up and throwing the bottom of the fabric onto his chest and in his face.
“NO–” He utters, pawing the shirt back away from his face just as she leans in to blow raspberry after raspberry on his stomach.
Percy’s hands are tangled in her hair a moment later, his feet beating against the mattress as hers were just a minute earlier. He cries out a desperate laugh as she takes her time, fucks with him a bit longer, until he calls out. “Fuck, mercy! Please!”
She relents, satisfied in her victory to make up for the prematurely ended massage.
Percy heaves a few breaths. “Remind me never, ever to piss you off.”
“Better not even dream of it.”
She’s not sure she wants to push for him to get back to the massage tonight, though… despite what he may say, the temptation of revenge would be much too inviting, and she didn’t feel like taking any losses tonight.
A/N: Based on “Date someone who will give you back scratches when they’re reading or watching something next to you, and when you squirm they just smile because they know you love it and continue until you’re giggling up a storm. Better if they sigh slightly “You’re disturbing my peace” and tickle you more until you’re a puddle and they have the goofiest smile on their face.”
Words: 1.2k
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Caleb doesn’t look up from the page when Molly walks into the library. He doesn’t even look up when Molly makes it over to the desk, trailing a finger over the wizard’s hunched shoulders. “And how are you doing this evening, Mr. Caleb?”
“Mm. Fine. And you?” Caleb replies, his gaze still focused intently on the text before him.
“Just fine, myself—was wondering if you’d like some company.” Mollymauk hops up onto the table, watching for a look, a glance, a little more attention. But, Caleb is dedicated, persistent—something Molly admires about him greatly. He leans back and spreads out amongst the pile of books and scrolls, knocking a few to the floor.
“You are just as bad as the cat, you know. Maybe worse.”
“And yet here we are in a home full of cats.” Molly’s voice is smug, teasing. “Do you just have a love for being close to beings that mess with you?”
Caleb rolls his eyes.
There we go. The eyes aren’t on Molly yet, but they are torn briefly from the book. An in.
Molly’s tail coils around Caleb’s wrist. “Take a little break with me, won’t you?”
Caleb huffs an almost laugh. “Maybe, in a bit.”
Mollymauk releases his wrist, pouting. He taps his nails a few times, thinking. His tail flicks.
A few minutes pass. He spins awkwardly on the table, knocking off a few more books and nearly tumbling into Caleb’s lap; he turns his head to give him a look—a rather cute, pleading, eyes-wide, I-need-you-to-pay-me-some-attention kind of look.
Caleb fights with a fond smile as his eyes flick up over the pages of the book to finally take it all in. “Alright, Liebchen.” He sighs, marks his page in the book, and closes it shut, scooting his chair back to stand. “Not a break, I’m not done yet, but… come.”
Molly sits up, stretches, and the pleased smile on his face is just as apparent in his eyes. He follows as Caleb gets up and makes his way to the much more comfortable, much better place to read —in Molly’s opinion. The sofa cushions are soft, and it’s long enough that Caleb can sit down and Molly can lounge about where he likes. The tiefling wastes no time crawling right into Caleb’s lap. He settles in face down, chin resting on his arms.
As soon as Caleb gets the book open and the bookmark safely set down, he reaches with the hand not holding up his reading materials to scratch gently at Mollymauk’s scalp.
Molly makes quite a few little sounds of approval as Caleb’s fingers card through his hair and he melts within a matter of minutes. Fingers slide gently down the back of his scalp, sending tingles down his spine as they travel down to his neck. Molly fidgets slightly, the feeling starting to prickle at the edge of ticklish. He hums, content and bubbly, against Caleb’s thigh and squirms into the nest of his own arms he’s made for himself in the wizard’s lap.
The fingers continue, light and gentle and soothing, to make their way lower onto his shoulders and upper back. It’s considerably more ticklish, but still bearable enough to release all of the silly energy with a hum and a few squirms every so often. As Caleb’s fingers trail languidly over Molly’s shoulders, side to side, he reads away above him, by all appearances not noticing the twitches below.
Each time fingers pass over a spot that hedges too close to ticklish to stay still, they continue on, not taking any extra time or particular care. But—the thing is, with how thoroughly Caleb is tracing over his back, scratching and caressing gently, he keeps going back to those spots, passing them over and over. And Molly already knows there’s a lot of them. It feels nice, it’s tingly and warm and close and just the right amount of teasing. He doesn’t want to give the wizard reason to stop any time soon, like squirming out of his lap after he just asked for attention. But also, he considers, maybe Caleb will abandon his studies and really have a go at him if he asks nice — it’s already gotten him this far.
For now, Molly opts to keep quiet, as still as he can reasonably maintain, and enjoy the affection. He’s gone with the flow many times in his life, and Caleb’s flow seems like one he would very much like to follow.
Caleb’s hand continues down, down, tickles along his back, down past his waist and Molly wriggles deeper into his lap and the couch. “Eehee- wa- heheheeEE—” He squeals into the crook of his elbow as Caleb’s blunt fingernails tickle softly over his ass, down toward the back of his thigh. “Fuck.” Molly hisses, muffled. The tracing, tickling wizard claw slowly makes it way down over his thigh to the back of his knee and Molly’s leg jerks closed involuntarily. “Nnggeh- naha shihit.”
“Be careful with those.” Caleb says sternly, an unmistakable peppering of amusement in his voice.
Molly whines quietly into his arms and lays his leg back out straight.
The game continues to build pace slowly, one hand always on the book and the other slowly tinkering with various sensitivities he can find on Molly. His shoulder blades, the backs of his ribs, his spine, anywhere near the dip of his waist or tail, the small of his back, his knees, his thighs, his ass… no where was left safe and unscrutinized. And yet, it was still so delicate, earnest, curious, and innocent. Little tingles and sparks light up across Molly’s nervous system. He’s content to live within this afternoon for the rest of his waking hours.
Then, the next time Caleb’s hand reaches up to turn the page of his book, it reappears just where the top of Molly’s thigh meets his ass. He gasps in a breath as the fingers wiggle, more deliberate and ticklish, over the skin there. They stay in that spot; unlike the skating, absentminded tickling of before — this has purpose, this has focus and intent.
Molly tries to peak up at him, abandoning his arm nest to turn and peer behind him. He gets a face-full of book for his trouble. And a pinch to the back of his thigh. He squawks at that, kicking the cushions behind him. “MmPFF!” He reburies his face to try hiding the bright laughter threatening to spill over.
“I’m trying to read, keep quiet down there.” Caleb, bemused, scolds cheekily from behind his book.
Molly rolls his eyes and tries to sit up on his elbows while fighting off more laughter. Without looking, Caleb runs a few fingers clumsily down his tail. Molly falters and crumples back into the wizard’s lap. “N-no fair.” Molly whines through his giggling. “Are yohohou gonna read all night?”
“It will take me a while, yes, if you keep distracting me.” Caleb replies, matter-of-factly.
Tickletober 2023 - The Owl House - Emerald Trio - lee!Hunter
[see my other tickletober 2023 fics]
[read on AO3]
A/N: (now for a brief break from critical role lol) based on the cute photo from the thanks to them end credits. [continued here]
Words: 300
—
“No way!” Gus cried triumphantly. “Captain Avery would never lose to Chief Engineer O’Bailey!” His arms hooked around Hunter’s ribs, heaving him backwards and nearly on top of the other witch.
“Heh- that’s what you think!” Hunter chuckled, maneuvering his arms so that he could reach back and grab Gus around his middle. Hunter pitched forward with a laugh, tugging Gus up over his shoulder and onto the sleeping bag beneath them.
They struggled back and forth a moment, Hunter impressed but still moving a little slowly in this close sparring range to give his friend a chance.
Maybe he underestimated Gus’s hand-to-hand combat ability, he realized as Gus locked one arm around Hunter’s neck.
A moment passed. “Heh not bad, but—” Hunter’s eyes bugged out as he felt a scribbling set of nails against the back of his neck. Before he could stop it, a surprised squeal escaped his lips. “AHHHHIIIII HAH-”
“You forget, I know your weakness, O’Bailey!” Gus chuckled with an evil grin.
Gus’s fingers on the tickling hand skipped about, tweaking at Hunter’s ears and shoulders and neck and even the backs of his armpits. Hunter found himself giggling, hunched over, weakly slapping every so often at Gus’s hands when he could reach them or they tickled a particularly bad spot along his back or neck.
Hunter’s laughter grew as Gus’s fingers crept down his spine, tickling from the base of his skull to his shoulder blades. “Ahahaha- nooooohoho!” Hunter wheezed. He wriggled under Gus but let him continue his game, despite the allegations of cheating. Feeling more carefree and silly than he had in a long time—maybe ever, Hunter lost himself to giggling.
— That is, until Willow barged in moments later to even the odds.
Tickletober 2023 - Our Flag Means Death - Stede / Ed - lee!Ed
[see my other tickletober 2023 fics]
[read on AO3]
A/N: I’m weak for season 2 and I need soft sweet moments between them forever and ever. This is very late yes shhh #Tickletober2023butits2024
Words: 750
—
Stede slowly blinked open his eyes. There was a warmth next to him, it felt so inviting. He reached out, clumsy with the fog of sleep, until his hand met the warm skin of Ed’s shoulder. He sighed, content, wrapping the arm further around his bedmate. Ed sleepily turned to face him, eyes closed with a smile on his face.
“G’mrning.” Ed mumbled. He reached up with one hand to run a thumb over Stede’s fingers.
Nestled in the blankets, they whispered stories and ideas with each other for a long, drawn-out half hour, during which Ed had the pleasure of Stede’s soft affection - a hand twirling his hair, fingers traipsing gently down his arms, it felt safe. It felt like home.
Stede scratched just behind Ed’s ear and he nearly let out a purr. Fingers glided down Ed’s neck, leaving a grin and a shiver in their wake.
Stede smiled fondly. “Ah, ticklish?”
“Dunno mate.” Ed shrugged, a bit impeded by their current position. “I guess.”
Stede raised a brow, smile somehow both terribly endeared and a yet little sad. “You don’t know?”
Ed mumbled a confirmation, nuzzling a bit closer to Stede.
“Right, right. Who would try to tickle the great Blackbeard, hm?” Stede said, his eyes scanning down Ed’s body. He reached out cautiously, and brushed a finger, gentle and slow, over the skin just above Ed’s night pants, watching him with a blooming curiosity.
“Heh-” There was that shiver again, Ed’s eyes shooting open. They flicked from Stede’s hand to his face.
Stede’s smile was warm, playful. “I think you are, in fact…” Stede paused then. Ed was watching him, wide-eyed. Stede held his hand up. “Listen, say the word and I’ll stop, okay? Is it alright if I give it a try?”
Ed felt warmth blossoming along his cheeks. He rolled his eyes and looked up at the ceiling, wriggling onto his back and pulled his arms up over his head. “Sure, mate. Go nuts.”
But, loyal to the gentle nature of their morning, Stede did not in fact ‘go nuts’. Instead, he traced a few fingers, soft and wiggling, across Ed’s stomach.
Ed’s stomach sunk beneath the touch, sucking in as he snickered out a laugh. His arms twitched with the desire to pull down and protect himself. “Ehehe, Stede.”
Stede paused. “Is that you asking me to stop?”
Ed squeezed his eyes shut, blocking out the sensation a bit with the added benefit of not having to watch Stede watching him. “Did I say stop?” He answered after a few beats.
“No, you didn’t.” Stede hummed, pleased, and then Ed gasped as fingers pinched lightly at each of his sides. He sucked in a breath, wobbly with near laughter.
“Ticklish anywhere else, hmm?” Stede asked, trailing his fingers up to poke gently along Ed’s ribs.
He squirmed at that, wriggling side to side in an effort to alleviate the sensation and keep the tangle of laughter building up inside him, well, inside. It was a hopeless endeavor by the time Stede’s fingers traced their way up, up, up… Two fingers touched down in the center of each armpit and Ed’s arms came crashing down with a giggly shout of surprise.
“Oh! Oh shit. Ehehe— wait!” Ed giggled, and Stede pulled back right away.
“Alright there?” Stede asked with a bemused but cautious smile.
“Fine. Heh, just kinda, surprising.” He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck when he could get his arms peeled away from his sides. “Feels… weird.”
“Oh, it’s all in good fun. I know plenty of folks don’t like it though, I won’t do it again—”
“No! No.” Ed stammered. He took a breath, and a few ghosts of giggles slipped out. “It’s, uh, good fun, yeah, like you said.”
Stede practically beamed at him. “Mm.” He ran a hand gently down the side of Ed’s face, tracing along that chin he loved.
Ed’s heart nearly swelled from the sweetness of the moment. He thought it might burst. An out, quickly. “What about you, then, hm?”
Stede raised an eyebrow.
“Are you ticklish?” Ed smirked.
Stede’s nervous grin and blush were answer enough.
Soon, they were scrambling about the bed with laughter and shrieks and wiggling fingers. It would be a while before either of them received any morning briefing from the crew.
A/N: Caleb catches up to molly after the events of day 4: weak spot
[read on AO3]
Words: 4.5k
—
“Mollymauk.” Caleb’s voice calls out within the tower, an unusual hint of mischief to it. “Sooner or later I will find you.”
Molly ducks behind the door of Jester’s room, a giddy smile on his face. He slumps against the door on the inside, takes a deep breath — well, he tries to. His heart is still racing from running, and the giddy flutter in his stomach isn’t helping anything. He can feel the pleasurable ache of the smile wide on his face, no use in fighting it. His tail waggles back and forth anxiously as he fights down nervous giggles in his best attempt to stay quiet.
A minute or so goes by, and Molly nearly has his breathing back to an easy pace. He listens closely near the door.
When boots land on the floor of what sounds like the very hallway outside this room, Molly feels the butterflies in his stomach take off and flutter about. He sucks in a deep breath and tries his best to quietly scramble quietly toward the bed - or something, anything to try to hide behind.
The doorknob jingles. Mollymauk can hear Caleb snort out a little laugh on the other side, amused, no doubt, that Molly’d bothered to lock the door. A whoosh of a spell and flutter of amber light makes quick work of the obstruction, and Jester’s door swings open.
Molly’s half crouched, backed against the foot of the bed. He flinches, less graceful than usual, shuffling his way up to standing. “Ah, Caaa-leb,” he tries to sound casual, “what brings you to this neck of the– no aha no no wait! Wait!”
He scrambles up onto the bed and his voice raises by an octave or more when Caleb doesn’t say anything in reply, but instead starts into the room - with a determined and satisfied look on his face - directly toward Molly. He doesn’t even bother to close the door. There’s a smirk on the edge of his lips, and Molly notes briefly that it looks quite cute on him - but right now it also feels rather dangerous.
Caleb gets to the bed within a few strides, as Molly scurries backwards, stumbling over the sheets.
Caleb reaches out and takes Molly’s ankle in his hand. It’s firm, grounding.
“Oh no, you are not going anywhere - I owe you, for all your many, endless hours of tricks and teasing.”
Molly lets out a little anticipatory laugh, and he can’t help but smirk, eyes flicking to meet Caleb’s. “And- heh- and all the tickling?”
Caleb’s cheeks flush a bit despite his best efforts. But quickly, he schools his features, narrows his eyes. “Ja, yes, and all the tickling.” He breaks eye contact, looking down to squint at Molly’s foot; he takes a toe between his fingers with the free hand.
“H-Hey!” Molly snickers and wiggles his toes.
Caleb scribbles the fingers of one hand up his sole and Molly giggles.
“But not here. No.” He gives a little tug on the ankle he’s captured, scooting Molly toward him. Molly raises his eyebrows when Caleb barely manages to move him more than a few inches, and then he snorts out a little laugh at the wizard’s expense.
Caleb huffs. “Hmm- don’t worry, Schatz, I’ll give you plenty to laugh about.” He reaches up then and places the free hand on Molly’s waist.
Molly, who is giddy and nervous and sparkling with energy, wiggles a bit in response. He squeezes at Molly’s waist and brings the other hand up to squeeze his hips and tug him closer, then Caleb clambers his way all the way up on the bed, a leg swinging over Molly’s thighs to keep him in place.
Molly makes a face up at Caleb, looks up and down at the position he’s now in straddling Molly’s thighs, and winks. He tries to ignore how his stomach is swirling and fluttering with Caleb over top of him like this. He tries, “Oh? Bold of you, Widogast. I’m flattered, but-”
Molly is cut off when a finger presses to his lips. He makes an indignant sound against it. Molly could probably push him off, scurry away, put a stop to this without much effort at all, but… well… he is curious about this side of the wizard.
He wasn’t ever really opposed to being on the receiving end of tickling, but the thought of Caleb focusing on the newly discovered, horrible hotspot that was his tail sent shivers down his spine. Then, his attention shifts to the tingling, tickly sensation at his middle as Caleb pinches the sides of his hips, then he starts tracing fingers in a slow path toward his lower back.
“Mmm- aha- wait, wait- no no, not there-” Molly squeals.
“Hm. Not where? Not there? I suppose you can give me a good reason?...”
Molly makes a frustrated noise through his laughter. “I- heh, aha that’s just- mehean! No no don’t- Caleb!” He gasps when Caleb’s fingers squirm under his back all the way. “You- you can dish out whatever else you want- eeEE HEHE- I’ll- I’ll be good-” Molly’s rolling side to side on his back, trying his best to protect the most sensitive areas as precise fingers work their way under him and toward his back and tail. “Aha haha and, and I’ll- I’ll give you a break for a few days-” Molly grasps weakly at Caleb’s elbows looking up with pleading eyes, “a- a week? I-”
Without a word, Caleb scribbles at the base of his tail and Molly pitches forward suddenly with an extra hard laugh turned yell, smacking into Caleb’s chest before curling up into him, fists tightening around the material of his shirt.
“Eheheh- y-you’re going to kill mehehehe.” He whines into Caleb’s shirt.
“Hmm. No.” Caleb flattens a palm fully on Molly’s back, speaking low and sternly. “And you’re certainly not making any convincing points to deter me, Mollymauk.” He strokes one finger on his other hand gently down the first stretch of tail near his back, now exposed to the air.
Molly shivers and buries his giggling face into Caleb’s chest, muffling his laughter into it.
“And when you do things like this…” Caleb grins and pulls him back until he can force some eye contact.
Molly blinks up at him with a giddy, nervous smile.
Caleb lets his grin tilt up a bit into a satisfied smirk, then scribbles a few times at the first few inches of Molly’s tail. Molly cackles, keening forward again and nearly tumbling somehow both closer into Caleb and nearly out of his grasp at the same time. “I can see how you get carried away so easily, and so often.”
Caleb takes the tail in a firmer grasp, not tickling for a moment, but Molly knows he’s far from finished. He smoothes a thumb over the lavender skin and feels Molly’s form quiver and shift [shiver and quiff] at each light touch. Another approach then, if bargaining doesn’t seem to be working. “Ehehe- that’s- ha that’s true- hehe yohohohou’re downright ahahaadorable whehehehen yo-you’re out of your- ahaha your gourd with giggles!” Molly teases, cheeky through his growing laughter.
“Mm.” Caleb charms back. “Something we have in common, perhaps.”
Electric tingles shoot up Molly’s spine as the wizard’s fingers start tickling along his spine with one hand, and down his tail with the other. They hook directly into his nervous system, and he can’t see Caleb’s face anymore, pressed to his shoulder and chest as he is, but he can hear - feel really - the light rumble of laughter. Molly imagines, briefly, the smug little smile that might still be on Caleb’s face. He kind of wants to look but… Well, he’s a little preoccupied.
When Caleb lightens his touch on a pass of the tail, he feels Molly tremble and go a little weaker in his arms. His laughter isn’t as frantic, either. Caleb hums curiously. “I don’t think you would mind too much at all if I stayed right here, hm?”
He was right, of course. Mollymauk liquifies further into his arms as Caleb traces delicate, ticklish, blossoming zings of sensation along the stretch of lavender tail.
The tickling stops briefly, and Caleb gathers the melting, giggling tiefling further into his lap. With one hand he draws him in close and loops his arm around Molly’s back. “Now, now. I’m getting distracted. Where was that spot again?” His fingers scritch lightly against the fabric of Molly’s cropped shirt, teasing at his ribs underneath. “Hm? Not here either.”
Mollymauk whines through his giggles and tries to bury his face in Caleb’s chest for the— he’s actually not sure how many times he’s done that in the past 5 minutes.
Caleb tickles down the sides of Molly’s ribs, light and teasing, before pinching at his hips and squeezing his thighs a few times. Molly snickers and gasps and curls ever closer.
“I appreciate the cooperative spirit.” Caleb chimes, voice still light. “Though I am not sure how you will fare when I do find that spot again, where was it, here?” Caleb worms one finger under Molly’s arm and tickles there. Molly snorts into his shirt and continues giggling.
They play this game a little while longer, Molly giddy and twitchy and worked up from the ever shifting tickles, and the promise of worse to come.
“Oh, wait, I remember now where it was my friend…” He takes the length of Molly’s tail in one hand, peeling it away from the minor safety of where it’s pressed against his back. In response it begins to curl and twist like a snake in death throes.
Mollymauk squeaks out a helpless little whine as Caleb runs his fingers down the length of his tail again. It tickles. It makes him shiver. It feels really, really fucking good. It makes his breath hitch. It makes his bones melt. It makes his brain blank out for a moment. Instead of figuring out a proper response to the sensation, Molly decides the best course of action is to melt again, and just crumples further into Caleb, laughing against his chest.
“The end is the really bad spot, hmm? Is it worse the closer I move down your tail?” Caleb smiles at him, teasing but genuinely curious. Molly, though, doesn’t notice as he’s got his face buried and his eyes slammed shut. But, he can hear the damn grin on the wizard’s face. And yeah, he probably- okay- definitely deserves every bit of this. But still-
Caleb’s fingers do just as he said and begin to scamper further along the length of the tail, trailing down in scratches and pinches and wiggles. Molly makes a high, desperate noise in between laughs and flicks his tail as much as he can.
“Hmm. Hold still.” Caleb tsks at him.
“I- hehehe- I can’t- Aha heh-”
Caleb sighs, lamenting. “Ah, I know I’m not known for my strength but…” He trails off, peeling the wobbly ball of Molly away from his chest. “I think it would be more efficient…” Caleb’s eyes lock onto Molly’s, bright and teasing. “If I could really use both hands, focus a bit better..”
Molly shakes his head, cackling out desperate laughs as Caleb rearranges and then pushes him forward onto the bed, face down. He hears a few arcane words being spoken behind him when he tries to start clawing his way forward a bit. But, it’s already far too late- Caleb’s spell takes hold with ease, a little bondage - well, trap spell - and also useful for getting revenge on a group of people hellbent on making you giggle for your life on the regular spell. Molly feels the familiar coil of warm magic around his wrists and ankles, and another along the end of his tail. He feels it pull his arms and legs outstretched on the bed, tail down between his legs near his ankles. He buries his face in the sheets. “Noooooo-” He giggles into the mattress, helpless. “That’s chehe- cheating.”
Caleb lets out a little laugh. “You are one to talk.”
He brings his hands down onto the small of Molly’s back, splaying his fingers wide. He feels the shiver and the little hic in Molly’s chest beneath his palms as his hands stretch out. He takes his time, drawing patterns and runes and glyphs and nonsensical shapes all around Molly’s lower back.
“No- heh nonono ahh hahaa heh ahaha wahahait-” Molly makes all sorts of wild sounds into the mattress, cackling and giggling and squeaking with laughter. The light touches are practically unbearable. He feels like crawling out of his skin. It’s terrible. It’s wonderful. He can’t stand it- well, he can, and he will- there’s not much else he can do right now but take it. But, well, he’s still going to whine and complain (even if he’s having fun). “Gods- Caleb!” Molly shouts against the bed through his laughter. “Ahahaha- s-somewhere else! Something else! Plehehehehease!”
Caleb hums in acknowledgement. “I will consider it. What do I get in return?”
“I hehe- I won’t kill you ahahahaafter this.” Molly growls cheekily, defiant.
Caleb laughs. “I see, by something else you meant something worse.” There’s a light pressure as Caleb’s skimming, sliding fingertips glide to a stop.
“NO-”
His hands press down fully against his back again, and when the next things out of Caleb’s mouth are not in Common, but something more arcane, Molly stiffens.
“Nonononono ha- ahaha not that! BAHAHA NOHOHOT THAT!” He cries when swirls of light, tingling, warm energy flutter from beneath Caleb’s palms and fingertips to brush along the nerves, dancing beneath his skin. Molly’s arms and legs struggle uselessly in their hold, hands and feet slapping against the bed.
Caleb picks up one hand to just a fingertip, then drags it, and the swirly, tickly magic, in a path down over Molly’s ass to where it curves into his upper thigh. “Hee HAHAHahaha- NO hehe I- I can’t-” Tingles dance and tickle along his back and the back of his leg, and Molly screams into the mattress between laughs.
“You know, I wonder how this might feel.”
Caleb draws back the finger that’s now made its way down to the back of his knee, ticklish tingles emanating in each direction from it. Then, Molly feels it again, right near the base of the spade of his tail. The other hand is still tracing ticklishly along his lower back, and ripples of energy pulse out from there as well. He wails into the bed, feeling a slight dampness near his eyes. He can’t even move his tail properly, let alone the rest of himself. Caleb’s hands are just tracing delicately, not even tickling all that much on their own. It’s- it’s just the fucking tingling, unbearably squirmy feeling of his fucking (wonderful) magic, buzzing just under his skin. He tries screaming some more into the bed to see if it helps relieve any of the ticklish energy building up in his nerves. It doesn’t. Fuck this spell in particular. Fucking cheating wizards.
“Any thoughts? Notes?” Caleb smirks as he draws his hands away from the skin, letting the tingling, magical tickle fade away.
Molly makes a disgruntled, keening cry into the mattress. His chest heaves as he tries to stop laughing and catch his breath.
“Nothing? Shall I keep going?”
“No wait- wait, I-I just need- ehehe a second-” Molly giggles into the bed, pleading. “Just a- a-”
“How about I give you ten? Hmm? Ten.”
Molly’s eyes shoot open as his squirming starts up with a renewed vigor. “No- please!”
“Nine.”
“Nohohoho-”
“Eight.”
Molly wails and wriggles his tail where it’s bound magically behind him.
“Seven.”
This stupid fucking kinky wizard bondage spell lasts for an hour. He’s not as keen of mind, but Molly’s fairly certain it’s not been more than 10 minutes since Caleb started his (well deserved) revenge fuckery…
“Six.”
“I-I hate you so much.”
“Five. No you don’t.”
Mollymauk grumbles something into the sheets.
“Four.”
“Yes I do.” Molly shoots back, always the right amount of bratty to make things just a little worse for himself.
“Three. Why are you lying to me, do you think that’s wise?”
“I’m not!”
“Two. Hmm, well, I happen to know you don’t hate me. Just like I know you don’t hate this one bit.”
“Oh fuck you!” Molly squeals.
“One.”
Caleb scritches over the spade of Molly’s tail and the arch of Molly’s foot. The tingling magical sensation from before still emanating from each place pale skin touched lavender skin.
A beat of silence goes by, Molly’s body tending every muscle, before he’s screaming in laughter into the bed.
“You’d better quiet down, or you might attract some help - not for you, natürlich.”
Molly’s laugh is loud, desperate, starting to go hoarse. He sounds like he’s trying to say something between his unending bouts of laughter - argue, beg, curse - but he isn’t doing a very good job of it.
Molly’s laughter turns to near silent wheezes as his eyes spill over with tears onto the bedspread. One of the last thoughts he registers consciously in his brain is how he simply must wind the wizard up like this again some time.
Caleb eases up, drawing back his evil, evil hands once again. He traces one finger ticklishly down along Molly’s spine before fully pulling away, taking the tingly magic fully away.
Molly sucks in a breath, coughs a bit into the bed. Caleb goes to rub his back with one hand, and he flinches for a moment before realizing the wizard’s tickle magic has gone and melting into the bed.
He manages a few deep breaths before he hears a familiar giggling voice in his head.
“Oh my gosh, Molly was that you? You just screamed so loud I bet everybody in the tower could hear you! You sound like Caleb!”
“Shit.” He says out loud, deflating with a laugh.
Caleb knits his eyebrows, taking in Molly, before he’s interrupted by the sweet sound of Jester’s laugh down the hall.
“Shit. Shitshitshitshit.” Molly starts squirming again with a renewed vigor. “Oh shit. No- no! Fuck.”
Caleb laughs at his expense, whispering to Molly with a grin. “Ohh. Ja, I’m very familiar with that feeling.” He scratches a little at the backs of Molly’s ribs, earning a snort into the bed.
A few seconds later, Jester bounds into the room with a look of mischievous glee. “Sooooooooooooo. What are you guys up to?” She prances over to the bed. Jester grins at Caleb and crawls her way onto the bed on Molly’s other side. She’s laying on her stomach, chin in her hands, kicking her feet as though they’re school age and playing a juicy game of truth or dare.
Caleb gives her a smug smile back.
Molly turns his head to hit her with his best pleading eyes. He sucks in a few nervous breaths. “T-Tiefling solidarity?” Molly tries with a tear-blurred blink up at Jester.
“‘Tiefling solidarity’ that’s why I’m going to help.” Her grin widens and takes on a little evil glint. She reaches out to pinch a line down Molly’s side, armpit to hip.
Molly starts hiccuping out little laughs right away. She moves up and down his side slow and methodical, tending to the skin with a sensitive but precise hand. Caleb’s tracing lightly over his back and shoulder blades. And Molly is starting to forget everything except for how much this is starting to really tickle- and they hadn’t really even started yet.. “Nohohoho- no ehehevil- not- not fair- ehehe t-two on one- ha eeehehe.”
Caleb snorts in what sounds like disbelief. He leans down to catch Molly’s eye. “Are you being serious?” - He is reminded of the many times Molly (but sometimes Jester, or Beau.. or Veth) had gotten practically everyone else involved in trying to absolutely wreck Caleb. - “I should call every other person in this tower over here right now just because you said that.”
“Oh!” Jester chirps. “I can call them!”
Molly whimpers between giggles. “No- no no hehehe please- no I- h heh eeeeee he hehe I’m sorry-”
“Sorry for what?” Caleb asks, clearly amused, gliding his fingers up to press gently under Molly’s arms, barely twitching.
“For… hee ehehe-” A little spark of mischief flares up in his chest. “For how bahahad I’m g-going to hahahave to get you both bahaAHAHACK FOR THIHIHIS- SHIHIHIT AHAHAHA NO!” Molly starts cackling wildly again as Caleb starts tickling at the first sign of snark.
“Hmm. Seems he will need quite a bit more- he’s never this.. mouthy by the time Yasha’s done with him.” Caleb relays to Jester.
She’s snickering proudly and trying to catch peeks of Molly’s giggling face. His arms strain against the magical restraints - they’re comfortable along his wrists and ankles. His legs and tail wiggle as much as possible (not much).
Unfortunately, unbeknownst to him, this seems to catch Jester’s eye. He gasps when he feels Jester sit over his knees, facing his feet and- and the tip of his tail. Oh Mother of fuck.
Caleb starts drawing arcane shapes and symbols (or perhaps it is truly incomprehensible nonsense— Molly’s not in a place to pay attention to the details) all along Molly’s back. His shoulder blades, his neck, his spine, around the sides of his ribs and torso, and maddeningly low on his back. Nowhere is spared. Caleb also, of course, keenly picks up on each spot that produces an interesting reaction (there are many).
Caleb’s hands are making a pass back up from his lower back when Molly feels Jester’s fingers curl against his toes. He snorts through his already desperate, wild laughter. “OH NOHOHOHO- AHAHA!”
“Hey Mol-ly, do you know which one of your toes is the most ticklish?”
“Nohohoho!” He cries.
“Well.. I think we should find out.”
Molly whimpers again between cackles, trying to squirm side to side for any relief from the electric sensation. His toes scrunch, but Jester’s quick, and she’s already in there. It doesn’t help much.
She doesn’t start her little experiment right away, instead opting to scratch her nails lightly underneath his toes as much as she can. Caleb’s still hard at work taking him apart inch by inch on his back. Molly feels like he’s about to start seeing stars or hearing colors.
Jester makes a frustrated sound before the tickling lets up a moment on his feet. Then, Caleb’s own electric touch seems to fade, distracted by not quite gone. Molly gladly takes the moment to breathe. He hears them murmuring something.
“—so you need to make some little adjustments to your spell okay! For next time!” Jester is happily whispering, her tone almost scolding. “How am I supposed to work with this?”
Caleb lets out half a laugh. “Okay, let me see if I can help.”
Then, Molly’s wheezing as he feels the weight of Caleb lift off of his back. “Wait- hehe wait- what are you doing?” He manages.
“I think you’ve earned yourself one of Jester’s lovely pedicures.”
Molly whines into the sheets, balling his fists and trying again to curl his toes. No such luck. He feels Caleb’s hands move under his ankles to down to where his toes are pressed frantically into the bed. Precise, practiced fingers pull back on his toes. Molly fights it a bit, with a strangled little growl of frustration.
Then, the tingling, tickly magic from before is radiating from the tops of Molly’s toes, every spot Caleb is touching him. “NOO- hehe HAHAHA NOT FAIR!”
Jester makes a delighted little sound and starts tickling just under the stem of his big toe, resuming her little game. “Which one tickles more? This one or this one?” She asks more than once alongside other probing questions. All the while, Molly wails and cackles into the bed. He tries to answer, sometimes. When he doesn’t, it just earns him more sparks of ticklish magic flooding his system through his feet.
A short while later, Jester is confident she has found the best possible location and technique to get Molly screaming into the bed. She wears a proud grin as she starts tickling along the rest of his soles.
Molly’s on autopilot, laughing and giggling and squirming where he’s held.
Until, that is, he feels Widogast release his toes. Then a single finger brushes over the skin of his tail, just at the end. Molly yelps. His begging starts up anew. When Caleb’s little tickling magic sparks through the nerve endings there a moment later. Molly shrieks, screaming wildly into the bed until he loses his voice.
They don’t keep it up for too long — Molly’s crying and babbling and hoarse with laughter, and they don’t want to actually kill him.
Caleb runs a hand down the length of Molly’s tail, gently tickling. Jester shifts her weight off of Molly’s legs and allows Caleb to run the hand up his spine, then up to his neck, around to cup his chin. Molly purrs into it unabashedly. “Mmmrrrrr- you’re meheehehean-” Molly pouts delightly. “Next time I’m- I’m gonna find out… which of your ribs is the most ticklish…” He mumbles out as he pants for breath. The flickering, magical, grounding restraints on his extremities suddenly fade — not that it changes much. Molly just melts into the bed.
A hum. “Yes, yes, you’re very intimidating right now.” Caleb smirks down at him. He arranges himself toward the top of the bed and guides Molly’s head in his lap and begins to run fingers through his hair, trace along and massage his horns.
“I’ll remember tha- Mmmpf-hmmm.” Molly mumbles bonelessly as Jester crawls up to cuddle into his side.
Caleb pets and attends to him like a lovely, silly cat. Molly rubs into the contact unabashedly, shifting himself so he’s laying more on his back and side.
Once Molly’s breathing seems to have returned to normal, Caleb speaks up again. “That wasn’t too bad, hmm?” He asks, calm, but a hint of nervous energy in his voice.
Checking in. Of course he didn’t want to push Molly too far (a hard task to accomplish anyway). Molly’s heart swells at the thought. But before he can think to answer—
“No way! He totally had so much fun- right Molly?” Jester exclaims, interrupting before Molly can think about how to answer. “Look how melty he is.” She squeezes around him in a tight, cuddling hug. “And I mean, come on, he tried to hide in my room.” She snorts. “I think he got exactly what he wanted.”
Molly’s cheeks warm at her answer. “Y- hehe yeah- yeah, rub it in some more, why don’t you- heh- rrrrrr mmmmph-” Molly starts to answer but it morphs into a purr as Caleb rubs at the base of his skull. He has to do this again some time, Molly thinks. He could scheme and ponder when he woke up, though.
Mollymauk drifts off slowly, glowing, gooey and tethered to the material plane by all the points of contact with his beloved companions.
Tickletober 2023 - Our Flag Means Death - lee!Stede, lee!Ed
[see my other tickletober 2023 fics]
[read on AO3]
A/N: Happy season 2 premiere day! Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!
Words: 784
—
Stede is nearly choking with laughter on the sofa, squirming and kicking as Ed tickles his way down his sides. In desperation for a break, or at least a breath, Stede reaches out wildly toward Edward’s nearby sides. He squeezes.
Ed lets out a little, curious grunt, but he doesn’t flinch away or laugh. “No ya don’t.” He stops tickling briefly to tug Stede’s wrists out of the way. “Won’t work anyway. I’m not ticklish.”
“What?”
“Yup.”
“No way, everyone is somewhere.”
“Not me.”
“You’re serious? You’re telling me you’re not ticklish?”
“Nope. Not in the slightest.” Edward assures Stede, leaning over him with a smile as the gentleman pirate catches his breath.
“Are- are you kidding me? That hardly seems fair.” Stede complains, smile plastered to his face. He pants, trying to get in a deep breath without laughing it out halfway.
“Don’t know what to tell ya mate. Just ain’t me.”
“Oh, surely at some point- somewhere-”
“Nope. No chance. Never been. Never- am? Was? Never…” Edward trails off, looking up as he tries to think of the proper wording. He closes his eyes and takes a breath, pinching his nose. “Look, bottom line. Blackbeard is not ticklish.” He goes for the most serious tone he can for the conversation they’re (somehow) having.
Stede can’t hide the quirk of a smile on his lips. “Perhaps Blackbeard is not…” He leans forward, feeling bold. “But what about Ed?” Stede clocks the slight falter in Ed’s confident expression and wiggles his fingers in a tease. “Hmm?”
“Same difference. Won’t work.” Ed shrugs - so nonchalant, extremely casual. He definitely does not look at Stede’s hands.
“You don’t mind if I give it a try, then?” Stede grins wider.
Ed snorts at that. He rolls his eyes and purses his lips when he finds Stede watching him with a devious grin. “Be my guest.” He gets up from the couch, standing beside it with his arms outstretched.
Stede rights himself on the couch and sits before him, moving a cautious finger forward to poke at a few different spots along his sides, ribs, belly. The firm touches don’t seem to illicit much of a reaction, just a smug little smirk as he watches Stede’s attempts.
Stede thinks he sees something - or, almost something - when he spiders a hand curiously over Ed’s middle. But, it’s gone just as quick, hidden beneath a veneer of smug stoicism.
Stede complains the whole time. “Not even here?” “Seriously?” “Come on, there has to be at least one spot that will get a laugh out of you.” Each is met with a snarky response.
“Are you done?” Ed asks with a bored shrug.
“No.” Stede demands. “Sit down.”
Ed gives him a weird look. And then, his smile is back; he laughs a little, “You’re so fucking odd, mate.” He sits down obediently on the couch next to the other man.
Stede reaches down and scoops up his ankles, teetering Blackbeard back haphazardly onto the couch, terribly off-balance. “Hey!” Ed shouts, accusatory.
Stede ignores him, fiddling with his boots. Ed kicks a little, indignant.
Stede turns to look at his disheveled face, lying back on the couch. “What, are you worried about these?” He taunts with a smile.
“I didn’t know you were gonna fucking throw me- but, no, like I said-” Ed banters back. He tries to recall a situation in which someone had ever tried to tickle his feet. Hmm. Plenty of people had tried plenty of times to grab at his sides. He knew the tiny zing to expect and could block it out quite easily. He didn’t really have anything to go off of here.. “I’m not fucking ticklish, so you might as well-”
“Might as well try, hmm?” Stede grins, slipping off one of Ed’s boots.
Fingers zip down Edward’s socked foot experimentally as Stede watches. Ed’s eyes flick straight to his foot, his foot that just twitched under Stede’s fucking touch. Shit.
It’s hopeless to block the bark of a laugh that Ed lets out when Stede flies in with both hands wildly, chasing the tiny flinch in search of further tickle spots. Ed can hear Stede laughing too, triumphant, pleased.
“You’re such a liar!” Stede chastises with a tease. “You know what we do with liars on this ship?” He’s down to one tickling hand as the other holds Ed’s now captive ankle as it squirms.
“Nohoho-” Ed cackles as fingers scribble under his toes and down the ball of his foot.
“No? Well, I’d be happy to show you.” He tugs Ed’s sock off in a quick motion, then dives back in to give the laughing captain a taste of his own medicine.
