#tkltober

[myreygn]

tkltober day 11: Squeal

Treasure Planet - ler!Silver, lee!Jim

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John Silver took great pride in being smooth, an absolutely necessary character trait in his position of Legendary Pirate Who Almost Stole The Greatest Treasure To Ever Exist. He wasnʼt easily flustered, provoked, or thrown off balance (figuratively, in reality his leg was a true nuisance when it came to keeping balance), and he barely ever lost his cool.

Until he let Jim Hawkins into his life, that was. The boy had the very special talent of making even his closest friends very angry and his newest method of nuisance-ing was slightly bothersome at best and downright infuriating at worst.

“Nah.”

Silver whipped around to the boy so fast he almost fell over, his apron majestically waving after him and the sponge in his hand splattering water on the wall. “Whaddaya mean, nah?! These dishes donʼt do themselves!”

“Nah.”

“Donʼt you dare say that word again!”

Jim shrugged, an ever so slight grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. Little rat. “I mean, yeah, me neither though.”

“Jimothy Hawkins, this is my kitchen and I demand you-”

“Nah, itʼs my motherʼs.” Silver felt his eyelid twitch, but he kept his mouth shut - no disrespect to Mrs. Hawkins whatsoever was tolerated in this kitchen, no matter whose kitchen it was. Jim smirked. “If you really think about it, youʼre kinda in my kitchen.”

It definitely wasnʼt Jimʼs though. Silver let out a low growl. “Your last chance, scrub. Start doing the dishes now and I might consider not making a pastry out of you.”

They stared at each other for a few seconds, the old pirate trying to look as intimidating as possible and the young engineer weighing the pros and cons of giving in. Then the corners of his mouth twitched upwards. “Nah.”

Having anticipated the answer, Silver lunged forward immediately, but the reflexes of a sprout like Jim even outdid the speed of a skilled fighter, especially those of a skilled fighter whose glory days were long over. Ah yes, youth, the price for experience. Luckily, though the former might give you the momentum every once in a while, the latter always won in the end.

“AH- how did you- ehehey, stahahap!”

“Practice, lad.” Silver grinned and pulled both of Jimʼs wrists up to hold them in place with his robot arm. “I know a half-assed dash to the door when I see one.”

The boy let out a high-pitched string of giggles when a set of fingers wiggled into his ribs. “Ayehehehe! Sihihihilveheheher!”

“Yes, Jimbo?” The old pirate drilled his fingers into his victimʼs side with a smirk, making him shriek. “Care to do the dishes now?”

“Nah- no, nonono, wait, wahahahaiiit!”

“Was that a squeal I heard?”

Jim was too busy thrashing around in his grip and trying to protect his stomach to notice the fond twinkle in Silverʼs eye - and even if he noticed, he probably couldnʼt get a word in about it if he tried, too busy laughing and squealing.

“NAHAHAHAHA!”

“Yehehes,” Silver mocked. “And if you know whatʼs good for you, youʼll stop saying that word. ʼNahʼ, I canʼt even stand the sound of it. That squeal of yours on the other hand…” He chuckled softly when another one of said squeals echoed through the room. “I must say I rather like the sound of that.”

[myreygn]

tkltober day 3: Cuddles

Sk8 the Infinity - ler!Langa, lee!Reki

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“I’m booooored.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s the fifth time you told me.”

“Then why won’t you do anything about it?”

In moments like these, Langa likes to imagine that if looks could kill, Reki would at least be somewhat bruised. He’d never look at him too annoyed of course, he wouldn’t want to kill Reki! Who in their right mind would want to kill Reki?! “I told you, I need to finish this homework. I’m already way behind because of all the S races we went to this month. I might fail this class.”

“Okay but like, what’s more important, me or this stupid history class?”

“Reki!”

“Langa!” The redhead pouts at him. “Come on, please? Cuddles? Just a little bit!”

They just stare at each other for a few seconds, then Langa pats his leg. “Come here.”

The way Reki’s face lights up as he scrambles into his lap almost makes Langa feel sorry about what’s gonna happen next but Reki brought this upon himself. He wants cuddles? Alright, he’s gonna get cuddles.

“See, that’s better, isn’t iHIT- Lahangahaha!”

“Yes, dear? What is it”

“Yohou knohohow whahahat!”

The blush spreading across Reki’s face turns it almost the same color as his hair and Langa wonders whether it comes from the nickname or the fingers digging into his sides. Oh well, it’s adorable either way. Langa buries his face in Reki’s neck and blows a small raspberry, making his boyfriend squeal.

“I thought you wanted cuddles?”

“Yehehes, cuhuddles nohot tihickles- nahahat theHEHERE!”

“Not where, here?” Langa can’t help but smiling softly at the way Reki starts flailing when the relentless fingers start wiggling into his tummy. “But I like this spot, you’re so ticklish there.”

“THAHAHAT’S THEHE POHOHOINT- DOHON’T!” Reki shrieks, curling over and trying to escape the hug.

Langa can’t be bothered. He has his arms wrapped around Reki in a vice grip, holding him secured in his lap and happily sneaking his fingers under his boyfriend’s hoodie to touch bare skin. Maybe even wiggle a single finger into his belly button - uh oh, there’s the snorts.

“EHEEK- LAHAHAHANGA, NAHAHAHA!”

“Had enough?”

“YEHEHEHES, PLEHEHEASE!”

“Will you let me do my homework in peace?”

“PROHOHOMIHIHIHISE, JUHUST STAHAHAP!”

“Alright, alright.” Langa chuckles softly to himself and ceases his tickle attack. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah.” Reki takes a deep breath and rubs his tummy. “Whoo- I’m sorry, I didn’t want to be annoying, I just wanted… yeah…”

“You wanted to cuddle.” A squeak slips out of his boyfriend’s mouth when Langa wraps his arms around him again and grabs his pen. “It’s okay, we can cuddle. You just have to hold still so I can take notes.”

The biggest smile spreads across Reki’s lips and Langa’s heart jumps. “Promise!”

[myreygn]

tkltober day 12: Bites/Nibbles

Haikyuu!! - ler!Osamu, lee!Suna

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“You’re a terrible host.”

Suna didn’t even bother looking up from his notes. “I’m busy studying, Samu. I told you I’d be.”

Osamu let out a huff. “Yeah, and I, your guest, am hungry.”

“Yeah, and you, my boyfriend who’s here five days a week, know exactly where the fridge is.”

“That’s not the point.”

The middle blocker sighed and finally glanced at his visitor who was sprawled out next to him on the bed and glared at him. “Then what is?”

Osamu sat up to throw an arm around his shoulders and lean onto him. Suna didn’t mind the sudden invasion of his personal space, just returned to his biology homework without waiting for the point. If Osamu had to throw his body weight on top of him like this to make it, it couldn’t be a good one. “The point is that you’ve barely given me any attention this entire time and fixing us a snack is the least you could do, for both of us. I’ve been here all day, haven’t seen ya eat a single bite.”

Oh, right. Damn, he had really been wrapped up in his stupid school work. Suna gave Osamu a pat on the head. “You’re right… let me just finish this, okay?”

“How long is it gonna take?”

“I just need to get through one… two more pages, then I’m done with this topic.”

“That’s too long.”

Even though Osamu sounded somewhat upset, Suna continued scribbling down notes. His boyfriend would get over it and besides, he had been behind on this shit since the school year started and he wasn’t so sure they’d let him play in nationals if he didn’t catch up soon. “After that we can make dinner, I promise.”

“Alright…”

And Suna thought that was the end of that, but of course it wasn’t. With Miya Osamu, there never was an end to anything revolving around food. “Hey- whahat are you doing?” He couldn’t help the giggle that slipped out when he felt a nose nuzzling into his neck.

“Just watching.” Lips were pressed to his skin and Suna flinched. This would’ve probably been very nice if his neck wasn’t one of the most sensitive spots on his body.

“Samu, that tickles-”

“I know.” A squeak slipped out of Suna’s mouth when Osamu softly bit him - it didn’t hurt, it just tickled like crazy. And when Osamu spoke, the smirk was audible in his voice. “I’m just getting an appetizer.”

“Samu, Sahamu, wahahAIT- gyahahaha!”

“That bad already?” Osamu let out a low chuckle that would’ve made Suna weak in the knees in literally any other situation - not when it was used to mock him though! “I haven’t even done anything for real yet.”

The only good thing about what followed was that the teasing stopped. A hand softly but firmly holding his chin prevented him from scrunching up to protect himself and a second hand holding his wrist made it nearly impossible for him to interfere with the relentless mouth his neck was being subjected to. The bites, kisses and even licks might’ve even been really hot if it weren’t for the fact that he was damn near crying from laughter in no time. Should’ve never let Osamu find out about this. Should’ve never let Osamu in his life in the first place. When he felt a nibble on his ear, it was officially over.

“SAHAHAHAHAMUHU! PLEHEHEHEHEASE, IHIHI CAHAHAHAN’T!”

“So you’re gonna get food with me now?”

“YEHEHEHEHES, JUHUHUST STAHAHAHAHAP!”

“Heh, alright.” Osame pressed one last kiss to his cheek before letting go of him and laughing softly when Suna slumped against him, trying to catch his breath. “You okay?”

Suna nodded and sat up with a groan. “I’m good, I’m good... Let’s get take out. My treat.”

“Really?!” He almost laughed at how excited Osamu got (why was he so cute, this was unfair) and quickly gave him a kiss.

“Yeah, really. I’m sorry for ignoring you all day.” A wicked grin spread his lips. “And I need to strengthen myself so I can get you back later.”

Osamu just laughed and stood up, holding out his hand for Suna to grab. “I can live with that.”

[myreygn]

tkltober day 29: Wake up!

Across the Spiderverse - ler!Miles, lee!Hobie

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It all happened too fast. One moment Hobie was right next to him, shouting something about teamwork being overrated and hey Miles, you should really change that suit design already, and then, not even a second later, Hobie was gone.

Miles grabbed the huge claw that had appeared next to him instead and pulled it to the ground, effectively wrapping the monster up in his webs while his heartbeat was pounding in his ears. His mouth had gone dry and he felt a headache approach - not now, damnit, he had to finish this, he had to- stop, focus. 

Somehow he managed to guide the monster safely to the ground and contact Margo at the headquarters. “Margo, I got a villain right in the town square, ready to go.”

“Iʼll send someone over, just stay there so we can locate-” 

“Itʼs not hard to find, heʼs huge, see you later.” He would apologize to her later for cutting her off, now there were more important things. Miles swung in the vague direction Hobie mustʼve been hit. What if he was buried beneath something? What if he was unconscious? What if he was… dead?

No! If anyone could survive a hit like that, it was Spider-Punk! Hobie, HobieHobieHobie- “Hobie!”

Miles dropped to his knees next to his friend and swiftly pulled the mask off of his face. Eyes closed. That was… good? Bad? “Hobie, wake up!” He was still warm at least, but even if he was dead, corpses wouldnʼt go cold that quickly, right? Miles felt tears sting in his eyes. “Wake up, Hobie, please- please, you have to wake up-” Pulse! He had to check for the pulse, right, shit, help, where was the wrist, fuck, what if-

“Wow, you really care ‘bout me, huh?”

Hobie’s eyes were open. He was awake. And he was smirking. Miles stared at him in disbelief for a moment, his heart seemed to stop for a split second, then he remembered to breathe. “Wha- you- I thought you were dead!”

“Nah, I’m good.” Hobie sat up with a grunt. “Didn’t hit me, just got tangled in my nets and threw me back.”

“But you were unconscious!”

“Just dizzy for a bit. Then I saw you had it handled and wanted to see how you’d react.”

Miles felt like a load was taken off his mind. “So… you’re alright?” He gave Hobie a punch to the shoulder when the punk nodded. “Good, then I can kill you!”

“Oh come on, you wouldn’t hurt me, riHIGH- hehehey, Mihihiles!”

“Shut up.” Miles pushed Hobie back and straddled him, scribbling all over his ribs. “You know you deserve this for making me worry about you on purpose.”

“Ihi wahahas juhust cuhurio- nahAHAHAT THEHEHERE!”

“But I gotta make sure you’re really okay.” He squeezed the older boy's hips, barely biting back a grin when that made him squeal. “Can’t have you be paralyzed or something like that. Do you feel this?”

“YOHOHOU LIHITTLE SHIHIHIT- GHAHAHA FAHAHACK, MIHIHIHILES! IHIT TIHIHICKLES!”

Now it was Miles’ turn to smirk. “Good.”

[myreygn]

tkltober day 5: "I'm not ticklish!"

Across the Spiderverse - ler!Pavitr, lee!Hobie

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“You should try.”

“I think you should, actually.”

“Are you crazy?! No!”

“Whoʼs crazy?” Pavitr grinned when both Gwen and Miles turned to him with a shocked expression on their faces. He had been working on his stealth skills and apparently the training was already paying off.

“Gwen is!” Miles regained his composure a little quicker. “Sheʼs telling me to tickle Hobie!” 

He yelped when Gwen hit him in the shoulder. “Duh, you were the one who said that thereʼs absolutely no way Hobie isnʼt ticklish! If youʼre so sure, why are you so scared?” 

“Iʼm not scared, I just think you should do it because you were like 'Hobie would totally not be mad at me if I tried to tickle him'!”

“I never said that! And my voice does not sound like that!” 

“Yes it does!” 

“No it doesnʼt! Stop changing the topic!”

“The topic of how youʼre gonna go and tickle Hobie?” 

“I said no! You do it!” 

“Iʼll do it.”

A beat of stunned silence, then Miles looked at him with wide eyes. “Are you serious?! Youʼre the crazy one!” 

Pavitr just shrugged. “Nah, donʼt worry about me. Like you said, thereʼs no way Hobie isnʼt ticklish. If he really wasnʼt, he wouldnʼt make a point of telling us so whenever the topic comes up.”

“Still,” Gwen chimed in from the side, “Hobieʼs stronger than you, heʼll overpower you.”

“Not if Iʼm faster.” Deciding that that was a good exit line, Pavitr used his webs to attach himself to the ceiling and then began crawling out of the living room and towards the kitchen where Hobie was busy fiddling with the stove, unaware of his impending doom.

Gwen and Miles were huddling up at the door to try and get a glimpse of what was going on. Hobie definitely noticed them, judging by the small smile tugging at his lips, but that wasnʼt a big deal. If anything they were further distracting him and while Hobie had a Spidey-sense of course, Pavitr had one too; he had a pretty good idea of when it would kick in. So when a barely noticeable flinch went through the punkʼs body, Pavitr was ready to strike.

“Pav, what the fuck!”

“Shh, just ignore me.” Pavitr wasted no time, immediately sticking his fingers under Hobie’s arms and feeling the punk stiffen. Aha. “I’m just running a test.”

“Pahav, what are you doihing- get off of me!”

“Nope.” Pavitr couldn’t help the big grin spreading across his face. That had definitely been a giggle! Determined, he stopped wiggling into his friend’s armpits and let his hands wander down the ever so slightly trembling torso. If there was a spot that made Hobie giggle, there had to be a spot that made him laugh!

Although his ribs apparently weren’t it. Pavitr felt his enthusiasm fade away slowly and by the time he had reached the sides, Hobie had already turned around, his arms crossed in front of his chest and cockily smirking down at him. “Nice try, muppet. You know I’m not ticklish.”

“Uhm… I tried my best?” Pavitr’s fingers slowly came to a stop and he gulped. Not good. He had to think fast.

Hobie cracked his knuckles. Shit. “Yeah well, your best wasn’t good enough.”

“Then maybe this will be.” It was an act of desperation, bringing his hands down and squeezing the older boy’s hips; a final attempt to maybe, somehow, distract him enough to get a bit of a head start. Safe to say Pavitr was absolutely amazed when Hobie toppled over with a squeal.

“AEEE- PAHAHAHAV!”

“Why dear friend, that’s my name. How may I help you?” Not giving the punk a chance to turn the tables on him, Pavitr continued to prod and squeeze at his hip bones, carefully guiding his head away from the cupboards when Hobie went down. “I thought you said you weren’t ticklish.”

“IHI LIHIED, I LIHIHIED! PAHAHAHAV!”

“Tsk tsk, you know lying isn’t very nice.”

“NOHOHOT THE HIHIHIPS!”

“Hm, yes the hips.” Pavitr flashed a toothy ‘told you so’ grin at Gwen and Miles. “Wanna help?”

[myreygn]

tkltober day 10: Ghost

Sk8 the Infinity - ler!Kojiro, lee!Kaoru

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His breathing was the only noise around. Every rustle of his clothes echoed back at him and Kojiro felt a cold shiver run down his spine - no wonder Kaoru was such a jackass, living all alone in this huge house would drive anyone insane. Good thing he had Carla, although Carla was not as loyal of a companion as he probably thought her to be. Her master would be home soon and the AI wouldnʼt say a single word about the intrusion. Kojiro smirked. Giving him the password to order Carla around was the biggest mistake Kaoru had ever made in his entire life.

The rattling of the key in the door was the only warning he got before the robotic voice started booming through the hallway. “Welcome home, master.”

“How are things going?”

God, he sounded so smug. He knew exactly how much of a pain he had been today and he was relishing it.

“Everything is as usual, Master.”

If Kojiro couldʼve snickered without immediately giving his location away, he would have. That would change in a minute.

He waited patiently until Kaoru had taken off his shoes and walked past the niche he was hiding in before he turned off the lights. Kaoru stood still immediately and in the dimmed light falling through the windows, Kojiro could see him tilt his head up to look at the ceiling. “Carla, turn the light back on.”

As soon as the lights were back on and Kaoru had went on into the kitchen, Kojiro snuck down the hallway and turned off the light once more before hiding in between Kaoruʼs fancy coats.

“Carla! The lights!” Kaoru sounded irritated. Time for the next step. When Kojiro loudly opened and closed the storage room door across from him, the kitchen went dead silent for a moment. Jackpot.

“Carla, whoʼs in here?” There was now a slight edge to Kaoruʼs voice and Kojiro felt a giddy excitement bubble in his chest when the AI confirmed that there was indeed no one here. Heh. He was like a ghost. Or a ninja. A ninja-ghost!

Footsteps approached the hallway and Kojiro grinned at the sound of Kaoru angrily muttering under his breath. “Damn computer… what the hell… that's what I need, a fucking haunted house!” The perfect cue.

“Boo.”

Kaoru screamed and nearly jumped out of his skin, whipping around to him. “Kojiro- hehehey!”

“Surprise.” Kojiro smirked, wrapping his arms around Kaoru even tighter and wiggling his fingers into his sides. “You didnʼt really think I would just let you off after you got on my nerves all day, hm?”

“I- ghahaha, hohow dihihid yohou-” Kaoru squealed and doubled over, but there was no escaping the tickling. “Gehehet ohoff of mehehehe yohou stuhupid mohohonkey!”

“Carla let me in.” He squeezed his friendʼs hips, just to hear him squeal. “Itʼs two against one here, so if I were you Iʼd watch my tone. The only thing I wanna hear from you is Sorry.”

“Oh screhehew- GHAHAHA! NAHAHAHAT THEHERE! MOHOTHERFUHUHU-”

“Nope, thatʼs not the word.” Kojiro chuckled softly as he squeezed Kaoruʼs thigh with one hand while holding him upright with the other. Knowing Kaoru, theyʼd be here for a while.

[myreygn]

tkltober day 9: Lie

Across the Spiderverse - ler!Hobie, lee!Gwen

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The bed creaked in decrepit protest when Gwen slumped into the mattress, kicking her shoes to the other side of the room and letting out a deep sigh. That was her first action after barging into his apartment via portal and according to social etiquette, she had yet to say even a word to him, but in Hobie’s humble opinion, the deep shadows under her eyes were saying enough.

“Anything else?”

Another sigh. “Sorry.”

He waved it off and rolled on his stomach to lie closer to her, softly bumping her in the process and smiling, just in case she’d look up at him. She didn’t. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah.” She sounded tired. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

“Mhm.”

A few beats of silence; nothing, not even a brief moment of eye contact. Hobie barely held back a sigh on his own and stood up. “Tea?”

Silence again, but there was a slight hesitation to it now. He didn’t push. Sometimes easy questions weren’t easy to answer. After some more silence, Gwen sat up, looking at her hands as she anxiously picked at the skin around her nails. “Can I get a hug first?”

Hobie felt his heart crack ever so slightly and quickly sat down next to her, pulling her in for a hug. The tension in her shoulders was insane. He hummed softly and took one of her hands, locked their fingers. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

“Do I have to?”

“‘Course not.” Hobie pulled away from her a little to look into her eyes and this time, she met his gaze. “But I’ll be here if you change your mind.”

Gwen looked like she was about to cry for a brief moment, then she quickly reentered the hug with him and he pulled her in a little closer. “I know… thank you…”

“Sure.” The silence settling over them now was contempt, peaceful almost, and he felt the girl relax a little. “Can I offer you some tea now? Or, I don’t know, anything else?”

“Depends.” Her voice was slightly muffled from where her face was buried in his chest. “What else can you offer?”

“I have a few smiles in stock.” Gwen squeaked in surprise when he softly wiggled his fingers into her sides and he couldn’t hold back a slight grin. “Maybe even a giggle or two.”

“Hngh- Hobie, you- heh-” She pressed her lips together just as the aforementioned giggle threatened to slip out, but Hobie saw the corners of her mouth twitch upwards.

“Me? Lil’ ol’ me? What about me, Gwendy?” He moved his hand up to her ribs to scribble there, chuckling when the blonde twitched and let out a snort. “That was cute, do it again.”

“Hobi-ehehe, yohou dihihipshahaha nahaha!” Gwen clutched onto his shirt a bit harder, trying her best to not block him with her arms and finally not holding her laughter back anymore.

“That’s what I like to see!” Hobie drilled his fingers against one of her ribs, earning a squeak. “If I admit I’m a dipshit, will you promise not to lie anymore?” He felt her go a little stiff and quickly pressed a kiss to her head. “I’m not mad, Gwendy. I won’t push. Just know you can be honest here, ‘kay?”

Gwen relaxed almost instantly and nodded, then a fresh wave of cackles took her off guard. “Nohohot thehehere!”

“Alright, alright.” He went back to her sides, now using one hand to stroke her hair out of her face. “Don’t wanna kill you, aye?”

Gwen didn’t seem too eager to answer him and Hobie smiled, continuing the soft tickling until all of the tension had faded from her shoulders. He then stopped moving his fingers, instead caressing her back and letting her giggles die down. “Better?”

“Way better.” She smiled up at him. “Thanks.”

“Any time, Gwendy.”

“I’ll still take that tea.”

[myreygn]

tkltober day 14: Soft

Black Butler (Book of Circus) - ler!Beast, lee!Joker

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Beast awoke with the unmistakable feeling that something was wrong. It was like her sixth sense was tingling and she couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she couldn’t just go back to sleep without at least making sure that there were no intruders or anything. With a sigh of defeat, she got up and wrapped herself in the dressing gown she had carelessly discarded onto the floor just a few hours earlier. Until then, sweet warm bed.

The night air was chilly and she could smell the nearing winter. They would have to dig out the extra blankets soon and she was really not looking forward to running around in her show outfit all day. Oh well, what are you gonna do.

Beast felt her heartbeat quicken when she heard the sound of steps coming in her direction, the grass rustling quietly, but she relaxed almost immediately. Those steps sounded familiar. She quickly made her way around Jumbo’s tent. “Joker?”

Said man froze on the spot, looking at her as if she had caught him doing something forbidden. “God, Beast, don’t scare me like that… shouldn’t you be asleep?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” She examined his face a little closer. He had taken off his makeup. She had always thought that it made him seem younger and older at the same time; younger because him taking off the makeup and letting down his hair, to her, was somehow symbolic for taking off the showman mask he wore every day and older because she always forgot how pale he actually was, how he looked when he hadn’t eaten properly for a while and how deep his eye bags were. Goodness, his eye bags…

Joker lowered his eyes as if he had seen her gaze fixate on the dark circles under them (he probably had, he was too observant to miss it) and Beast only hesitated for a brief moment before she walked over and softly took his hand. His actual hand, not the prosthetic, although even that felt oddly cold. Or maybe it was hers, she couldn’t tell. “Let’s go.”

“What are you-”

“I’ll keep them at bay.”

That made him shut his mouth. He knew that he was a good liar, but he also knew that she was really good at catching him off guard. And he knew that she knew. About the late night anxiety, about what the nearing winter did to him, did to both of them, she knew about the nightmares. She didn’t fully understand, couldn’t fully understand, but she knew and they both knew that sometimes, that was enough.

Joker’s bed was cold and Beast briefly wondered for how long he had been wandering around when she pulled the blanket over both of them and wrapped her arms around him, softly caressing his back and hoping it would make the tension in his shoulders fade. It didn’t.

“What is it?” Is it me?

“I’m so tired.” It’s not you, it’s me.

Beast swallowed down the lump in her throat. Not now. Not when they’ve had different versions of that same conversation a thousand times before. “Just close your eyes, okay? I’ll stay here. Sleep will come eventually.”

“It won’t.” The exhaustion in his voice broke her heart. “I tried, I… it just won’t.”

“Hm, have you tried this?” She softly dragged her nail along his spine and couldn’t hold back a smile at the quiet giggle he let out. “Maybe that’ll tire you out.”

“Beheast, I- nohot thahat…”

“Oh, yes that.” She kept her voice as quiet as possible, barely a whisper, as she scribbled her nails over Joker’s shoulder blades. Partly to make falling asleep easier for him, partly to be able to listen to his breathy giggles better. On the rare occasion they managed to gang up on and properly tickle him, he was usually more the type to cackle and snort his way through and to witness this soft and, frankly, adorable side of him was a privilege. Not that his snorts weren’t adorable. Everything about him was at least somewhat adorable. She quickly returned her focus to his shoulder blades, carefully drilling her fingers into the bones and scratching at the spaces in between, making him squirm in her arms.

“Nohot thehe- gahahad, Beheheast, ihit tihihickles- nahahat thehe neheheck, plehehease!”

Beast chuckled softly and gave his neck one last pinch before stopping her attack and putting her hand on his back to steady him as he slumped into her arms. “Have I tired you out already?”

No answer, just quiet, even breaths. She smiled and pressed a careful kiss to his forehead before closing her own eyes. Deep down she knew that there wouldn’t be any more nightmares tonight.