Pale Blue
What: Sleepy tickles, body positivity, fluff.
Word count: 1.2k
Universe: Canon
Who: Casper and Avery
Description: It feels weird to formalize this because it's so short, but I desperately needed to write something for comfort. This is a little messy, but... so are my feelings right now, so at least it's honest. Please forgive any typos or formatting mistakes. 💙
The humidifier whispered at our bedside as I laid in big-spoon position against Avery's back, the ice crystals inside his head reflecting our nightlight in tiny flashes.
With my arm resting on his ribcage, I studied the rhythm of his breathing, trying to figure out if he was still awake. We'd been in bed for around an hour according to my phone, which I'd just checked for the eighth time. I couldn't stop thinking about the audit in which I was mired at work, plus, my shoulder hurt from poor posture all week. I was tired, but I couldn't sleep.
I rolled over, nuzzling my head into my pillow to try and get comfortable. To my surprise, Avery rolled with me, his long arms wrapping securely around my body. He enveloped me like an oversized beanbag – when I spooned him, I was more like his backpack. Avery sometimes rolled over in his sleep, but as I felt his hand move with intelligence against my hip, I spoke into the dark.
“Are you awake…?”
“Mm… no.” He did sound sleepy. That cool palm slid up my body and under the hem of my t-shirt.
I exhaled slowly. “Good, you're not supposed to be.”
“I could say the same to you.”
His fingers traced down my bare tummy. I flinched.
“Why are you so tense~?” He asked.
“Aheh…”
“Relax your belly.”
I whimpered.
“Casper, relax for me~”
I bit my lip, but did as instructed, releasing my stomach muscles with a shaky exhale. As the pudge of my belly expanded into his palm, he gently grabbed at it.
“Mm, there we go~ I love how soft you are, here…”
My legs twisted as I turned my face into the pillow, muffling giggles into it as he fondled and teased my vulnerable tummy. My hands knew better than to interfere with this ticklish evaluation.
“A-Ahavery…”
“Yesss~?”
I could hear his smile. I squirmed against the cool softness of his body.
“That…!”
“Mhmmm~?”
I tensed again, my muscles knitting together. This was met with a punishing fingertip wiggling into my navel.
“Ah, ah~ You know better. Do I need to get mean~?”
“P-pleahease…” My ears burned.
“Please…? You want me to get mean?”
Oh, no.
“No, no wahahait-!”
“Well, who am I to turn down such an invitation?”
His curious fingertips turned into a plush claw as all five digits dug into my belly. My bubbling giggles turned into a geyser of laughter I had no hope of holding back.
“WAAAhahahaha!” My legs kicked, toes curling in futility.
“If you won't relax your belly for me… I want you to at least complete your thought from earlier, please… Tell me what this does to you.”
Avery's politeness made the demand twice as scary. I grabbed a fistful of blanket; anything to help me resist grabbing his hand. I knew what was down that road.
“I c-cahahahan’t!” I whined as he continued to wiggle his fingers into me, exciting all those wickedly sensitive nerves. I could barely hear his voice beneath my laughter; low, controlled. Amused.
“You know how much meaner I could be than this~ Is that what you want?”
“Nohohoho!” His hand scampered across my tummy, lightly skittering to a new spot and then digging in again, with random breaks to gently pinch my side or hip. With every attempt to roll onto my stomach, he simply pulled me back with his gentle strength. I could feel the restrained power behind that touch; hands that could easily unrest a tree from the earth handled my human body like a priceless Fabergé egg.
“Tell me, then…”
His index finger found the crease at the top of my thigh, pressing it like a child presses a streetlight button when there's an ice cream parlor across the street and five dollars in his hand. My reaction was explosive.
“WAAHAHAHAHAA! OKAHAHAY! OKAHHAHAY~!”
The handful of blanket was damp with the sweat of my palm as the tweaking stopped. A pause heavy with expectation fell over us.
“Well…?”
“It… it…” My blush was so hot, I was sure Avery could see it in the dark.
He chuckled against my back, placing a cool, refreshing kiss on the back of my neck. I wanted more… I wanted them all over.
“Sing for me, dewdrop…”
A single tweak into that crease made me jolt and gasp.
“Fihihine! It…” I tucked my head into the pillow. “...Tickles…”
“What was that? Apologies, I'm afraid you'll have to speak up…”
I felt swift movement behind me and even before the attack, I realized that I had pushed Avery's ler rage too far. In an instant I was on my back, cushy cloud cuffs around my wrists as they rested above my head, Avery's leg like a lap bar across my thighs. His hand spidered over my torso, scribbling under my arms, my ribs, my belly. I howled with laughter, my back arching uselessly.
“OKAHAHAY IT TIHIHICKLES! IT TIHIHICKLES!!” I cried through gale after gale of deep, hopelessly honest cackling.
“Oh, it does? It tickles when I do this? Hm! Could that be because you're ticklish?” He'd adopted a casual, playful tone as he laid beside me, propping his head up with one hand as he tormented me with the other.
“YEEHEHEHEHESSS!” What good was it to resist at this point? I didn't even bother tugging at the cuffs as he used a single fingertip to wiggle into one armpit, then the other, then back to a big, ticklish claw at my belly. I just laughed and laughed, letting it all pour out unimpeded by resistance.
“Very good~! My goodness, such hair-raising laughter, all from such a small amount of stimulation…”
He lifted my night shirt up to my ribs, then went back to gently pinching and grabbing at my belly pudge, patting, squeezing, and playing with it.
“I'm sorry, I just can't get enough of this.”
“Plehehehehease stahahahap thahahahahat~!” I protested in a combination of ticklishness and embarrassment. Much as I was a huge proponent of body positivity, I wasn't exactly immune to insecurity; I'd packed on a few pounds from work stress.
“I will never understand what you humans find shameful about fat on your bodies… especially here…”
He shifted on the bed, repositioning so that he could nuzzle his cool face into my exposed middle. He kissed and cuddled, making me giggle shyly.
“So soft and warm,” he cooed, peppering me with more kisses, the last one landing on my navel.
I felt the cuffs around my wrists dissipate. I reached down, stroking the rolling curve of Avery's head, even as my belly quivered beneath his touch.
“I love tickling you,” he said. “I love loving you. All of you, just as you are.”
The corners of my eyes felt wet as he crawled back up the bed, wrapping his body possessively around mine, pulling me into him like he was an oyster and I his treasured pearl. I tucked into him, his cool arm a relief against my cheek as I rested my head on his bicep. The world disappeared around us; we were a mote of sanity glowing amidst a blackness of merciless chaos.
“I'm so tired,” I whispered.
“I know, sweetheart. Can you sleep, now?”
“I think so.” My eyes were already closed; there was very little thought involved.
It was quiet. Avery's breathing slowed.
“Avery…”
“Hm?”
“Don't let go… okay?”
He pulled me in tighter. I felt his lips on the back of my head, nuzzling my hair.
“Never. Never, ever, ever.”
