Summary: Venti really hasāwhatāticklish palms? What does that even mean? Well, heāll happily show Xiao.
A/N: Whoo, finally. This has been sitting in my drafts for weeks. I just feel like everything I write is gross until I forget about it and can read it with new eyes. Any tips for that? Anyway, hope my first attempt at Xiaoven isnāt too off! Enjoy!
Spoilers for Mondstat Storyline
Itās a warm nightāas far as nights in Liyue goāthough thereās a persistent breeze that keeps the air from getting too humid or heavy. Xiao canāt say itās a coincidence.
Barbaā Venti, who sits across from him, made that clear when Xiao gave a passing comment on the heat. Perks of the Anemo Archon, he supposes.
When Venti suggested that Xiao make the trip to Mondstat to ācatch up,ā Xiao had to decline. A dayās notice was far too short to make preparations, and a trip to the City of Freedom didnāt āfreeā him of his duties to Liyue.
So when Venti showed up, unannounced, at Wangshu Inn asking for an adeptusā
Luckily Xiao was able to pick out his voice quickly, and drag him off to a quieter space, away from people.
The small parlor by the top of the inn is usually empty. Xiao doesnāt think heās ever seen anyone lounging at the table they have set there, not that heās ever really kept an eye out. That made it the perfect spot for him to take his āsurprise visitor.ā
And though the arrival was ā unexpected, something about Ventiās pleasant smile, after being rushed up a flight of stairs without so much as a greeting, is ā calming.
The tension in Xiaoās shoulders disappears about as quickly as it came. And before long, theyāre wrapped up in conversation. One would think that over centuries it would be easy to run out of things to talk about. But no, thatās never been the case. Not with Venti.
The unfortunate addendum to that is the fact that conversation often veers into the most strange and off-topic things.
āYour palms are...what?ā
Venti giggles, Xiao doesnāt know if itās at him or not. He doesnāt ask.
āMy palms are ticklish. Itās weird. I donāt know how I never knew that before!ā
Xiao doesnāt know why he knows this now, or why anyone would be expected to know that. He doesnāt even know what Venti means entirely.
āHow can your palms be ticklish?ā
Venti laughs again, bright and bubbly, almost certainly at Xiao now.
āLike this!ā
And just like that, Venti has Xiaoās hand in his own. Heās got it facing palm up and he gives no warning before sliding his fingertips from the bottom up.
It ā ah, what.
Thereās no conscious thought behind it, but Xiaoās hand clams up immediately. An unexpected noise tangles in his throat, getting partially out before he can bottle it.
For the first time since he brought Venti up, all he can hear is the whistle of the wind.
āNo way.ā
Xiao sees Ventiās sparkling eyes for a second before theyāre glued to Xiaoās hand. He tries to pry it back open, but with Xiao consciously clenching his fist, thereās no chance Venti would be able to do it. Not unless he wanted to drop the bard act and start some rumors in Liyue.
When this becomes clear to Venti, he changes tactics, peering back at Xiao, eyes big and lips pouting.
As if Xiao hasnāt been exposed to that for decades. He stares back, unfazed.
Venti groans, tugging at Xiaoās hand in his. āCome on, Xiao! I thought you wanted to know what I meant! Please? Just a little?ā
His voice is whiny, pleading and child-like, and Xiao must once again remind himself that archons come in all forms.
And yetā
Itās ā somewhat frustrating. He holds no contracts with this god butā
Venti keeps staring, eyes stubborn and bright.
Xiaoās fist slowly relaxes.
Venti doesnāt seem to believe it at first, but the titter of laughter that bursts in the air shows heās pleased. It also leads Xiao to believe this is the opposite of a good idea.
This time he takes Xiaoās hand in both of his, resting his own on the table top. Xiao can already feel the muscles in his arm tensing up, butā
Venti rubs his thumbs into the base of his hand, moving up and out. The motion repeats, stretching along the bottom of his hand and out towards the sides. He massages in a circular motion across the skin, smoothing it out with firm strokes of his fingers.
Itās nice.
Itās so nice that when the massage starts turning into something else, Xiao doesnāt pick up on it right away.
The touches become lighter, less rubbing into the skin and more skimming on top of it.
Then he changes positions, resting Xiaoās hand on top one of his while the other brushes along the lines of his palm.
His hand is lax from the massage, but Xiao can feel pinpricks of tingling sensation start to bloom. Feeling that makes his fingers curl up a fraction. Venti smoothes them back down.
His fingers persist, tracing the lines in his skin and then making his own. Swirling shapes and symbols onto the canvas of Xiaoās palm with a small smile of his face.
Xiao...can feel it growing. The tingling feeling from before, almost like when his uses his vision. A light prickle at the end of his arm accompanied by a coolness from the wind.
This is just ā more. More tingling, a feeling that sparks in his palm and trickles up his arm. Itās also different, because itās not cool. If anything, itās warm. He can feel it in the building tightness of his arm, in the heat by his neck.
He feels a pull at his lip. He bites back before it can be seen.
Venti keeps going, light brushes that leave no space untouched. Focus that goes over and over the places that make his fingers twitch.
Eventually Xiao finds himself pressing his face into his other arm, flat on the table. Heās hardly moved and yet he breathes heavily through his nose. His arm is tense, buzzing with built up sensation, but his hand remains open.
Venti stops for a moment. Xiao takes a shaky breath. Then he scribbles all four of his fingers, short nails and all, from the bottom to the top of Xiaoās palm, a wavy waterfall motion.
Finally, Xiaoās hand curls up, catching Ventiās fingers in his own.
His head jerks up from the table, a breathy ās-stohopā falling his lips.
In looking back at Venti, still lost for breath, Xiao finds him staring back. His gaze is locked on, equal parts fond and mischievous. It makes Xiaoās throat tighten up, makes the hairs of his neck stand on edge.
Itās a good thing his self-defense skills have been honed over centuries.
He puts his hand out, cupping it distinctively. Heās looking to hold something, not offer himself up for more of the bardās demonstration.
Venti looks confused for a moment. Xiao pointedly looks at his hand.
āItās only fair.ā
Then it clicks, and Venti laughs, pulling his hand out of Xiaoās before placing itāpalm upāin his outstretched one.
Xiao quickly finds that Venti shows no restraint in his reactions, though that would be expected of the God of Freedom.
His giggles float like a song on the wind, light and airy to the ear. He cushions his cheek on his arm, eyes shut as he laughs. He canāt see the small smile that slips its way onto Xiaoās face as he marks listless characters onto Ventiās inviting hand.
A/N: Never tried posting any of my HCās before, but I chose a few and wrote a little messy thing based on āem. Pretty fun, might try again if I can think of anything~
Warning(s): bodily pinning
Kaeya is squirmy, stating things that are obvious.
Heās not coordinated enough to get himself free most of the time, butāBarbatos aboveāhe will still try his hardest. Kicking, jerking, wiggling whatever he can like itāll dampen any of the ticklish feelings coursing through his body.
Albedo knows this. Heās also come to realize something that happens as a result.
Something he could use to his advantage.
Because Kaeya can keep from laughing, reacting much at all really, for a long time early on. Heās almost impossible to break if heās not attacked swiftly, in a place too sensitive for him to stop himself.
Butā
If Albedo plans accordingly, he can take advantage of his newfound information.
The first time he tries it out, he has a prediction, but heās not certain how things will end up. Thatās a test for you.
But when he shifts beside Kaeya in bed, rolling onto his sideāover Kaeyaās arm that rests underneath himāto grab his other arm, heās able to pin it above his head without much resistance.
Kaeya can barely raise his eyebrow before heās wide-eyed and holding his breath.
Albedoās free hand traces firm, slow circles under his arm. Two fingers, a careful pace, pressing with enough pressure that thereās no way to ignore the electric current zipping up and down his left side.
Kaeya doesnāt laugh, itās notāitās not that bad, but his shoulder twitches, elbow making it an inch down before Albedoās hand tugs back.
Ohāwowāheās, umā
Kaeya blinks once, twice. He can feel heat building by his ears, washing down his neck. Albedo...hasnāt changed his pace, his method, but it...tickles more.
Why does it tickle more?
Kaeya can feel his throat spasm around compressed laughter. His eyes squeeze shut, head falling back when Albedo does a quick spiral into the center of the hollow.
Itāit tickles. Why does it tickle so muchā
He doesnāt notice the noise heās making, the clipped off whines that catch in his throat before they can free the laughter that flutters in his chest. Heās focused. Heās so focused. Because it tickles so much more than heās used to, and he canāt bring his arm down. He canāt stop it. He canātā
The same slow, circular track. It never changes. Never speeds up. But itās all it takes for Kaeya to crack, arching his backāthe bit of movement he can doābefore bursting into frantic, panicked giggles.
Albedo smiles, continuing the same consistent pace.
Test complete, with rather positive results he must say.
So yes, Kaeya is very squirmy. So what happens when thatās taken away from him?
Well, itās obviously not something he encounters often, and in the throws of sensation and confusion, thereās not much room to think clearly, even if itās thereās only one thing on his mind.
An echo chamber of his own making. Unable to move and release the energy pent up and brimming inside him, but unable to stop trying, to stop thinking of it. It must really take a toll on his defenses.
Albedo is eternally curious, and infamously intelligent. Kaeya (and himself) are usually his test subjects.
Kaeya is one (1) squirmy wormy, and if he cannot squirm, his grip on his cool lowers exponentially.
To get anything out of Kaeya, Albedo must be quick and deadly. Being too little of either has definitely resulted in positions being reversed.
Not an HC, but Kaeyaās hand was this close to Albedoās ribs the whole time, which couldāve been disastrous if he were able to act on that information. Sometimes Albedo is willing to work with a bit of risk.
I donāt know if you take requests but some time in the future we NEED to see Leon getting his sensitive tummy gnawed own by his mischievous boyfriendās little fangs! āŗļø
When you wanted kisses but he gives u nibbles (also idk why I challenged myself to draw the weirdest positions for this one, but I did)
Easter Fic - Shorter x Ash x Eiji (Collab with @ticklygiggles)
A/N: Happy Easter everyone! Thank you Mia for the great idea to write this fic, I loved writing this with you. Looking forward to our next one!Ā
Summary: Eiji learns about the tradition to search for eggs to celebrate Easter, and his boyfriends Ash and Shorter are more than happy to indulge him. But also indulge themselves!Ā
Word Count: 3011
āYouāre lying.ā Shorter canāt help but bark out a laugh, seeing Eiji frowning and pouting a little. āYou see? Youāre laughing, so youāre lying!ā
āIām not!ā He laughs again, grabbing one of Eijiās hands between his. āI really am not! You can ask Ash when he comes back!ā
That was half an hour ago and Ash hasnāt come back yet, but Eiji hasnāt forgotten what Shorter said to him, either. His insides filling with excitement just thinking about it: egg-hunting on Easter? That sounds quite fun!
Shorter said that people hide chocolate eggs for kids to look for them. āI mean, usually kids look for them, but anyone can do it,ā he explains with a smile on his face. āAnd not only chocolate eggs, they also hide other candies!ā
Eiji had heard about this egg-hunting, but he thought it was simply a joke, actually, heās still not quite sure about it yet, after all, Shorter enjoys to prank him to no end, just for the fun of it.
āIām back!ā Shorter and Eiji poke their head from the couch to look at Ash kicking the door closed, his shoes still on and leaving dirt as he walks in, making Eiji cringe a little. āWhat were you guys-ā
āAsh!ā Eiji jumps off the couch. āIs it true?ā
āErmā¦ā He looks at Eiji and then looks at Shorter, he sees a little smirk on his face and he canāt help but sigh. āWhat is?ā
āIs it true that on Easter Americans go egg-hunting?ā Ash smiled fondly when he notices how Eijiās eyes are sparkling with excitement. Adorable.
āIt is true, Eiji.ā Ash and Shorter wink at each other while Eiji twirls around and rambles excitedly about how he never knew and that in Japan they barely celebrate, that Easter is normally so bland apart from maybe a few special donut shop specials and he would be so happy if he could experience Easter in a fun way and-
āEiji!ā Ash says, grabbing Eijiās hand and interrupting his excited rambling. Eiji looks at him with sparkly eyes.
āYes?ā he replies, joy already dripping from his face. Ash and Shorter chuckle.
āThen letās do it. I just came back from the store and brought these to eat, but wouldnāt mind having some fun with them before we eat,ā Ash says, patting his shopping bag, and the sound of packed candies makes both Eiji and Shorter smile.
āEgg-hunting for Easter hm? I say why not. Letās hide them, then Eiji can find them.ā Eiji nods merrily in agreement.
āYes! Please hide them from me!ā He already covers his eyes, but Shorter steps closer and grabs one of his hands, moving it carefully away from his face so he can peek at Eijiās single exposed eye that curiously looks back at him.
āBut if you fail to find them allā¦ ā he says, and suddenly Ash is very close on his other side, his lips close to his ear and his breath tickling him: āWe will punish you.ā
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