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oliviaischillin1204 · 1 month ago

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tickletober day 18- "tickle fight"

word count: 4,509 words

welcome to day 18 my friends!! this is a recursive fic (meaning a fic based on another fic) so i've gone ahead and linked the original story under the cut- you def don't have to read the og fic before this one, although i do recommend it bc i love it to absolute death and it's soooo cute jdfgdhj. also please don't @ the author abt this fic, just be respectful please, thank youuuu!

Once upon a time a very silly thing happened, and now all of the Sides were friends again. If that seems like an oversimplification, well, Patton sometimes felt that way too.

Of course, nothing about that whole situation- Roman, Remus, Virgil, and Janus being turned into children, with Logan and Patton having to take on the role of parents as they desperately tried to make everything go back to normal- had felt simple in the slightest while it was actually happening. But now that it was all over, after so many confessions, secrets, and long-overdue apologies had been shared, it was honestly surprising how easily the six of them had gotten used to acting like a family.

For example, tonight they were all sitting together on their absolutely massive couch, which was just big enough for all six of them to sit side-by-side with only minor squeezing (which none of them really minded, hence why no one had suggested they get a bigger couch yet). Roman and Remus had worked together to create it-- it was kinda cute, how much they now tried to collaborate on even the most minor of creations.

A movie was on the TV, but honestly, none of them were paying attention to it. Roman and Virgil were holding hands and murmuring lowly to each other, giving each other soft, shy looks as if they were completely alone; Janus and Remus were attempting to throw popcorn into each others mouths, too busy laughing to even notice how loud they were being; and Patton and Logan, each sitting on opposite ends of the couch, were overlooking the entire soft scene with unbelievable fondness.

Every now and then they would catch each other's eyes over the heads of the children-- the other Sides! Not children!-- and smile, tired and fondly exasperated at the others' antics. It was funny how comfortable and familiar the new dynamics around the Mind Palace already were; with Logan by his side, and the others all getting along for the first time in a very long while, Patton felt like this was exactly how things were meant to be.

Suddenly there was a small noise of confusion right next to him. He turned to find Remus holding a popcorn kernel in his hand.

"Uh, ex-cuse me," he said, leaning forward and holding the kernel up threateningly. "Which one of you nerdy prince wannabes threw this at me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Roman replied in a haughty voice. "Did you find that distracting? Having someone throw something at your head while you're trying to enjoy a movie?"

Remus cackled. "I didn't throw a darn thing at you, brother mine. I would never." He finished his sentence with a sickly sweetness, batting his eyelashes.

"Oh, so it wasn't you? What about all of this?" Roman gestured to the blanket he and Virgil had been sharing, which was now covered in popcorn crumbs and kernels.

Remus shrugged, grabbing another handful and popping it in his mouth cheerfully. "Don't know what to tell you, Princey. Maybe Pop-Goes-The-Emo needs to learn how to eat without making a mess."

"Maybe you need to learn how to aim," Virgil shot back. "I don't see how you keep missing Janus' mouth, considering how big it is-"

"Excuse me?" Janus replied, jostling Virgil with his elbow. "Why am I getting dragged into this now? I did nothing wrong."

"You started it!"

"No, Remus started it."

"I knew it!"

"Oh, bite me, you-"

"That's enough, now," Logan interjected, just as Patton was opening his mouth to do the same. A moment of worry seemed to pass over the four Sides causing mischief, but luckily Logan softened his tone and his expression as he continued, "I suspect that this is all in good fun, but I would like to check if anyone is upset about anything that's been said. We can easily pause the film if anyone wants to discuss any crossed boundaries with the jokes."

Virgil wiggled a little on the couch. "Aw, come on, Logan..."

"Oh, I'm sorry, does talking about feelings embarrass you?" Logan replied, making Patton bite his lip to avoid snickering. "Because I think it's rather more important that everyone here feels loved and respected."

Janus scoffed and fiddled with his pajama set. "Of course, because we're so good at respecting one another."

"We do respect you," Patton replied, making Janus flush from the earnestness. "I know that after everything we've been through, we all respect each other, even if showing that respect is a work in progress. But the one thing that never changes is how much we love each other. I love you all so much!"

"Thank you, Patton," Roman droned; he too looked a little embarrassed, but his voice was good-natured. "And I apologize for anything I've said here that was uncouth. It was all intended in good fun."

"Same," Virgil said. "Sorry, Jan. About the thing I said about your mouth."

"Well, I suppose if I must accept your apology..." Janus replied. Logan fixed him with a stern look, and he huffed. "Yes, of course, you're forgiven, Virgil. And I'm sorry as well. Even though I literally don't think I did anything wrong."

"Sorry for being so silly! Can't help it!" Remus chirped. "Don't need any apologies, though. None of this actually pissed me off or anything."

"That's good," Logan replied. "Because you are definitely cleaning up your popcorn mess after the movie is over."

Remus gaped as the others burst into laughter. His lips turned into a dangerous pout, flopping back into the sofa and crossing his arms.

"Aw, come on, Remus," Patton chimed in. "I'll even help you do it! We'll get it all cleaned up in a jiffy!"

"Blah, blah, blah," he muttered, looking for all the world like a toddler put in time out.

It was all on instinct, really; Patton saw a grumpy child, and he knew what to do to fix it.

Before he could stop himself, Patton's hand made a claw shape and he vibrated his fingers directly into Remus' side.

The result was immediate, and extremely loud-- Remus shrieked, launching forward in an involuntary attempt to get away from Patton's squeezing hand. He tumbled forward and landed on the ground, scurrying backwards as he panted from the shock.

"Jesus fucking Christ and all his dick-ciples, Patton, why?" he asked, voice high and shrieky.

Patton was very aware of how all of the Sides were looking at them-- both in shock at Remus' outburst of laughter, and to see how Patton would react to his language-- but Patton didn't care. Something warm and familiar was rising in his chest, and he smiled lovingly down at Remus.

"What, you think I don't remember how to cheer you up?"

There was a beat, and then everyone else had a brief moment of fond embarrassment as they realized what Patton was talking about. They didn't talk about it much, about how Patton and Logan had taken care of them all when they had magically transformed into children, but it was never forgotten, even though the rest of the Sides (including Logan) still found the whole experience a bit awkward.

Patton turned to the others on the couch, his smile growing as they squirmed. "Come on, don't you all remember?"

He had only meant to keep teasing them, but at that moment Virgil's eyes widened to the size of quarters, and without further ado he shot up from the couch as well, jostling Janus at the same time and making the snake Side fall against Patton.

"No, I know that look, and I'm not doing this," Virgil insisted as he stepped to the other side of the room. But his eyes were bright, his cheeks were getting flushed, and there was a smile on his face that was obviously becoming harder to hide.

Patton bit his lip. "Oh, you don't wanna do this? That's alright-- what about you, Janny?"

And with that, Patton reached down and grabbed Janus as best as he could around the waist, curling him into the crook of his arm and mercilessly tickling his stomach with one hand.

"Wait wait wa-ait!" Janus gasped, hands shooting down in a desperate attempt to pry Patton's away from him. "Nnnno, Patton, this is ridiculoussss ahahahahaha! Nohohoho!"

"Aw, Janus remembers!" Patton cheered. A nervous giggle forced its way out of Remus' mouth, still on the floor as he watched his boyfriend getting tickled. Roman narrowed his eyes.

"Look what you've started," he accused, pointing a finger at his brother. "Patton's never gonna let go of this now!"

"Oh, piss off, Pissy!" Remus snapped back, a manic smirk on his face. "You started it, throwing popcorn at my head!"

"You're right," Roman said. "I should've thrown the bowl."

Remus gasped, affronted, and before he could stop himself he reached out to grab Roman's ankle with one hand, his other hand clawing down the sole of Roman's foot with reckless abandon.

Roman made a noise in between a gasp and a squawk. "No!"

He yanked his foot back, but miscalculated, and suddenly he felt rather than heard Logan's breath get knocked out of him as Roman's knee collided with the logical side's chest. Roman flushed a little; he didn't realize he'd been leaning so far into Logan's side.

"Sorry, Logan--!" His voice was cut off with a small squeak by Logan suddenly wrapping his hands around Roman's calf, holding his leg in place.

"Where are your manners, Roman?" he asked. His face looked normal, but his voice was laced with something that made Roman want to giggle just hearing it. "I believe you owe me an apology."

"I already di-ihihhid!" Poor Roman couldn't even finish his sentence before Logan started squeezing all over his trapped leg, from the back of his calf to just above his knee to the soft squishy parts of his thigh. Now both his and Janus' laughter filled the room, along with Remus' delighted giggles as he watched from the floor. Virgil was still standing in the corner, tugging on his hoodie sleeves and failing to hide his shy smile.

Remus narrowed his eyes at the emo Side. "You're just gonna hide out in the corner like a scaredy-cat, huh, Vee?"

"Fuck off," Virgil snapped back, but the effect was lost with how flustered he sounded. "You're not getting t- you're just sitting there, too!"

"I'm not just sitting here!" Remus shot back, scrambling to his feet and facing Virgil with a Cheshire smile. "I'm saving my boyfriend!"

With that, he lunged to Virgil, managing to grab the anxious Side even as he hissed and jerked away from Remus' grasp. Remus tightened his arms to hold Virgil against his chest, and dragged him over to Patton's side of the sofa.

"Special delivery!" he announced. "Care to swap a snake for a spider, Patty Cake?"

"Plehehehease!" Janus squealed, giggling like crazy

"Hm," Patton mused, smiling up at Virgil, "normally spiders scare me, but I think that one looks like a real cutie pie!"

"Patton- fuck off, Remus!" Virgil shrieked; Remus pushed him forward into Patton's lap, and as soon as Patton released Janus to catch Virgil, Remus was yanking Janus onto his feet and dragging him back across the room toward the safe spot. Still giggling, Janus gripped Remus' arm to stay upright as he caught his breath.

"Thank you, darling."

Remus preened and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Anything for my boo!"

"Ja-nus!" Virgil said. "You traitor- ahahahahaha!" His words were lost as Patton began haphazardly squeezing his sides and stomach, his large hands moving too quickly for Virgil to block.

"Plehehehehease!" Roman squealed; he'd tried to crawl away from Logan, but it was hard with how the logical side was rapidly switching between pinching his thigh and his stomach. He pointed a wobbly finger at his twin. "Rehehehemus!"

"Sorry bro-bro, but I ain't coming anywhere near you right now," Remus replied. "Someone else is gonna have to save you!"

Roman shook his head, forcing his laughter down just long enough to yell, "Logan get Remus!"

Logan chuckled lowly. "Oh, interesting. You think it's Remus' turn?"

Roman nodded desperately. Logan cast his eyes up to Remus and Janus, holding hands with nervous, giddy smiles on their faces.

"Hmm..." Logan said. All of a sudden he released Roman and stood up from the couch in one fell swoop. He wasn't much taller than Remus or Janus, but the way he rolled his shoulders and stretched made them feel very small.

"Remus, come here," he said simply.

"No!"

Logan took one step forward. "Remus..."

"Fuck no!" Remus stepped backwards, dragging Janus along with him.

"Come here-" was all Logan could get out before the chase began. Remus darted around the couch, Janus giggling madly in his wake, and Logan followed with an uncharacteristic playfulness.

Roman, catching his breath, managed to point and laugh as Remus ran. "Your turn, Dukey!"

"Fuck off!" Remus shrieked. Suddenly his heels dug into the floor, yanking Janus to a stop; Logan had reversed direction, and was now coming towards them head on. The two of them screamed, both in fear and delight, and darted in the opposite direction.

"Come on, Professor!" Roman called like a sports spectator. "You can catch them! Go for Janus first!"

"Excuse me?" Janus gasped. He paused just long enough in his running to flick Roman's ear.

"Hey!"

"Haha, nice!" Remus crowed. "Good job, babe!"

"Be nice, Janus..." Logan called. He managed to get close enough a few times to trail his hand across Janus' back, making the snake Side yelp every time.

"Nope, I'm out!" he called, yanking his hand out of Remus' grasp. He immediately stepped to the side, out of Logan's reach; lucky for him, the logical Side seemed dead set on catching Remus now, and they continued to run and duck around the furniture.

"Woah!" Patton said when Remus accidentally jostled his legs as they ran by. "Careful, kiddos!"

"Pahahaton," Virgil groaned. His face was dark and there was an adorable dimple on his cheek that just made Patton wanna coo. "We're not-- not kids!"

For a moment, Patton slowed his squeezing tickles as he readjusted Virgil, nearly pulling the other Side on his lap.

"Wanna know a secret?"

Virgil looked up at him, confused, and squeaked as Patton leaned his head down.

"You're always gonna be my kiddos, Virgey," he whispered in Virgil's ear. Virgil's blush couldn't get any hotter, especially when Patton began snuffling all over Virgil's neck and ears.

"Nahahaha!" he whined, feet banging on the floor. "Hehehehelp!"

He leaned his head against the back of the sofa just in time to catch Janus' eye as he continued to move in wary circles around the room.

"Jan!" he squealed. "Plehehease!"

Janus looked at his brother's face and softened like a wet tissue.

"Patton, honestly," he said, moving forward to stand next to the couch, "I think this... mortifying experience has gone on long enough, don't you?"

Patton looked up at him as he continued to tickle Virgil's sides. "Nope!"

"Perhaps it's time we let this game come to a conclusion?"

Suddenly Roman was behind Janus. "Perhaps not." And with that, he pushed the snake side over the arm of the couch, making him fall face first directly into Patton's lap.

"That's for flicking my ear!"

Patton made a noise of delight that was barely audible with human hearing. "Oh, thank you for the gift, Roman!" He shifted in a way that implied years of practice until he was holding both Virgil and Janus on each of his legs. His arms wrapped around their midsections and began haphazardly tickling their tummies in unison.

One would think that Janus and Virgil were actually biological brothers, the way they both clutched Patton's arm and threw their heads back in laughter in the exact same way.

"Janny!" Remus cried, looking both delighted and affronted that his brother had pushed his boyfriend directly into Patton's tickle trap. His steps faltered, just for a moment, but that was all it took before Logan could grab him around the waist and drag him (not so gently) to the floor.

Logan smiled like a mad scientist who'd brought his creature back to life. "Got you."

"Wait wait wait wait fuck no--" was all he could get out before Logan dug into his stomach with rapidly vibrating claws. Remus screamed, feet drumming wildly on the floor as Logan tickled him to pieces.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuhuhuhuck!"

"Language," Logan chastised lightly, like nothing out of the ordinary was happening at all. "Everyone else has had a turn, Remus. This is only fair."

"I don't need a tuhuhuhurn! This is-- hehehey!"

Remus couldn't even finish his protests before another pair of hands made their way to his sides. His eyes shot open only to see the smirky, snarky face of his twin hovering above him.

"Oh, we could never leave you out of the fun, dearest brother of mine," he sang, squishing randomly on any part of Remus' torso that he could reach. "I thought you liked playing silly games?"

"Go easy on him, Roman," Patton called out; he'd mostly stopped tickling Virgil and Janus, and was now merely holding the two of them as they got their stray giggles out. "Don't hurt him!"

"Oh please, he loves this," Roman replied. Remus screeched in indignation.

"Bullpoopy!"

Roman raised an unimpressed eyebrow. He shot his hand underneath Remus' jaw to scratch his nails along his neck, and Remus squealed, head scrunching into his neck like a desperate turtle.

Logan let out a small laugh himself, slowing down his tickling as everyone watched Remus fall into the most helpless giggles any of them had ever heard.

"Oh, goodness," Patton whispered, clearly delighted. Virgil was outright snickering at his friend's demise, and Janus' was watching on with a hopelessly romantic expression on his face.

"This is what you get for starting it all!" Roman declared, every inch of him clearly full of mirth. Logan peered down at Remus' bright red face, and brushed a bit of hair back from his sweaty forehead.

"Is that a very ticklish spot, Remus?" he asked. "Don't be afraid to tell me. I'll merely keep a note of it for later."

Remus shook his head. "I-- I--"

Immediately, Logan and Patton made eye contact. Remus sounded more wheezy than he had a moment before.

Their mouths opened at the same time, but to their surprise Roman had already pulled his hands away, a worried twinge in his eyes as he watch Remus calm down.

"Are you okay?" he asked immediately. "Did I go to far?"

Remus coughed once, causing Virgil and Janus to look even closer with matching nervous frowns to see if he was okay.

"I..." Remus said slowly. "I'm..."

Silence, for a beat.

And then Remus attacked: sitting up, pushing Logan away, and body slamming Roman until he was flat on the ground, all in one swift move.

"I'm gonna get you, Ro-Bro," he hissed, and there was nothing but giddy joy in his voice as he began tickling his brother right back.

Everyone in the group jumped as Roman screamed, loud, at the surprise tickle attack. There was a scrabble of limbs as the twins wrestled, shouts of laughter filling the room and making everyone giggly again.

"Play nice, boys!" Patton called out. Remus looked up, his tongue poking out of the corner of his cheeky smile.

"Yes, Daddy!" he replied. The he immediately dove down and blue a raspberry against Roman's tummy. The other side shrieked yet again.

"That's not nihihihice!"

Remus cackled evilly, and Patton considered stepping in himself to give that stinker a taste of his own medicine, but before he could move someone else beat him to it: Virgil, who wiggled off Patton's lap and onto the floor, crawled over to the two wrestling Sides, and attacked Remus' ribs with a flurry of fingers.

The snort that Remus released cracked through the room, and now he was the one laying on the floor, writhing helplessly as Virgil attacked him.

"I got you, Princey," he called over the fray, smirking at his boyfriend as Roman caught his breath. "Now hurry up and help me finish him."

Roman grinned brightly. "With extreme pleasure."

He dove in as well, and between the two of them Remus was well and truly screwed, batting at the four hands that were now wrecking him from every side. He tried to give back what he was getting, but it was just too easy to overpower him.

Logan's chuckles were low, but Patton could hear them despite the noise in the room. The two locked eyes and shared a secret smile before Logan's eyes drifted over to Janus, still half-sitting on Patton's lap.

"What about you?" he called. "Don't you want to help Remus?"

"He got himself in that mess," Janus said, cheeks flushing again as he looked at the tickle fight in the middle of the room, "and I'll have nothing to do with it."

Like a horror movie jumpscare, Remus shoved his upper body towards the couch, making both Janus and Patton squeak with surprise.

"Yes you will!" he said between giggles, and before anyone else could react he grabbed Janus haphazardly and yanked him backwards, making them both tumble back onto the floor-- and into the middle of Roman and Virgil's tickle attack.

"Human shield!" Remus screamed. He locked his hands behind Janus' back, keeping his boyfriend trapped on top of him.

"Wait-- no! No, no, Remus, nohohohoho!"

But it was too late: Roman and Virgil took no time at all diving in to tickle Janus all over his back and sides as he shrieked and squealed and squirmed.

"Evil!" Janus shrieked, trying desperately to push off of Remus' chest. "No-- no kisses until you letmegohohoho!"

Virgil cooed, leaning closer to Janus' ear. "Aw, you don't wanna kiss your boyfriend? Sucks for you, Jan." He finished the statement with leaning over to press a kiss to Roman's cheek, causing their respective brothers to make noises of disgust.

"You're dissssssssssgusting!" Janus gasped through his laughter. He gathered his strength and shoved Roman away from his little brother, drilling his fingers into Roman's ribs as the other side fell back on his haunches.

"Nah-- ahaha-- no!" Roman gasped. He keeled forward, grinning and giggling against Remus' stomach. Virgil tried to reach forward to push Janus' hand off of Roman, only for Remus to easily grab the anxious side's wrist and hold his arm out for Janus' other hand to dive under with wiggling fingers.

Around and around and around it went-- hands and fingers and curses and teases and giggles flew. Roman blew breathless raspberries against Remus' tummy while Janus fought to keep his fingers vibrating wildly under Virgil's arm. In turn Virgil dove down to scrabble his nail's blindly against Janus' back, while Remus did the same on either side of Roman's neck. The peals of laughter rose and melded into one loud happy harmony, and it wasn't long before the four of them were breathless with giggles, tickling without even seeing who they were attacking.

It was messy, chaotic, and perfect. Just like their family.

Patton wasn't sure when things had started to slow down. All he knew was that there was a sudden drop in the volume of the twins laughter-- it seems they had finally tired themselves out, and were now panting heavily from their disheveled positions on the living room floor. Virgil's giggles still rang through the air, albeit less desperate and more happy than anything else, until Janus relented with one final squeeze to his brother's belly before he, too, flopped back to the floor.

There they lay, those four Sides, curled like pretzels in a giant puppy pile, catching their breath and letting their last few giggles peter out. Patton took the time to examine the room: furniture shoved out of place in the mad scrambles to escape the tickles, the couch cushions were pulled out and squashed against the floor, and there was popcorn everywhere. He made eyes with Logan, expecting to see that familiar chagrin he knew so well, but was instead greeted with a look of nose-wrinkled affection.

"Blankets?" he mouthed, and Patton grinned. He reached over and grabbed one of the blankets they'd been using on the couch, and without warning threw it over the four Sides on the floor.

"Ah!" Virgil yelped first; he was the only one who saw it coming, but that half-second warning wasn't enough to save him or the others from getting absolutely draped in the oversized blanket. "D-- Patton!"

"Hm?" Patton said, grabbing the other two blankets and flinging them on the pile with ease. "Can't hear you!"

Someone was giggling again from inside the pile, probably Remus. Janus emerged first, his hair adorably mussed.

"Patton. Why."

"You looked so comfy! I wanted to help!"

"You could've helped us off of the floor."

"Aw, but you looked so cute down there." Patton giggled, lightly kicking at Janus' shoulder, causing him to hiss with displeasure.

Logan gave a light laugh. "You all did just play a very strenuous game." He reached out and patted a random ankle that was sticking out of the pile; it jerked back in over-sensitive self defense, Roman's gasp of laughter giving away its identity.

"Remus started it," came his muffled response. Remus blew a raspberry, worming his way out from underneath the covers.

"Oh, please, I didn't do shit! It was Pattycake!"

"Yes, it was!" Patton said proudly. "And I'd do it again!" Without warning he slid himself onto the floor and grabbed Remus around the waist, holding the squawking Side in a tight hug.

"My little kiddos," he cooed, and yes he knew he was laying it on thick but that was part of the fun. "Having so much fun together! It makes Logan and I so happy when you all play so nicely, I'm very proud of you--"

"Fine okay enough!" Janus shrieked; Virgil was reduced to desperate hissing as Roman buried his face in his hands. Remus pretended to gag, but Patton could feel how tightly he was returning the hug.

"Alright," Logan said warmly, silencing the group. "Let's regroup. Roman, Janus, will you fix the pillows and blankets, please? Virgil and Remus, go get some more snacks-- preferably ones that won't make a mess when thrown."

Patton watched as the other Sides, with good-natured grumbling, began working together to get their movie night back on track. It made something heavy in his chest get a little bit lighter.

He started when he realized Logan had joined him back on the couch, this time sitting right next to him. The two locked eyes, unable and unwilling to stop the soft smiles growing on their faces. Logan fumbled for Patton's hand, and he turned it over so they could lock their fingers together.

It was just another silly day in the Mind Palace. And there were so many more to come.

#my posts #my writing #tickling #tickle fic #tickletober 2024 #augtickletober2024 #tt24 #sanders sides tickling #ler!patton #ler!logan #switch!remus #switch!virgil #switch!janus #switch!roman #drafted on oct 10 2021

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