#and my friend/roomie has a poker set and table

[matelaval]

hosting is so incredibly fun

[italeean]

A stick(L)y situation

Kaveh invites Cyno and Tighnari to his place after the delicious lunch at Pardis Dhyai... better yet, he invites them to Alhaitham's place

A/N: Hellooo!! How're you doing? 🥰 Just as I promised, the fic is coming out today and I hope it's as awesome as the characters I got to write for!! This is a request for one of those followers that was here from day 1 and has always supported my writing and has encouraged me during the times in which I lacked inspiration 🌸 Non ci sono parole per dirti quanto apprezzo il tuo sostegno 💚🤍❤️ (there are no words to tell you how much I appreciate your support)

DISCLAIMER: This is a tickle fic, if it's not to your taste I don't suggest you read it

"I still don't understand what this is all about..." Alhaitham mumbled as he prepared his Sabz Meat Stew with such a grumpy expression that the bad mood could be felt in the whole kitchen. "I told you already!" Kaveh's voice resonated louder than necessary "Cyno and Tighnari invited us to celebrate Collei's academic progress, it's nice to invite them back."

"Oh so invited them to MY place without telling me about it until two hours before their arrjval?" The Acting Grand Sage said with such a sharp sarcasm that could've cut through titanium. "Well... I knew you'd say no... and I live here too, so it's kinda our place now! Even if no one knows I actually live here... b-but I'm older anyway so you gotta listen to your senior..!"

The younger man let out a dry laugh at Kaveh's nervous tone. If that was meant to be authoritative, he couldn't imagine how he handled nasty clients. "I suppose it's too late to cancel the invitation anyway, so you better finish that Fatteh quickly and set up the table. What are you even doing? It's food, not a model of your buildings."

"Ugh you..! Cooking is a form of art, and the presentation is essential when you serve something to a guest!" The blonde exclaimed with such indignation that one would've thought Alhaitham had just said something blasphemous. "Whatever... food is supposed to be digested and decomposed, I don't see why the effort should be worth it..."

A knock interrupted the philosophical debate about how the food should be served. Kaveh quickly fixed his hair and went to the door. "Welcome guys! Alhaitham was so nice to offer his own place to have this dinner!" He exclaimed with such a rigid tone that Alhaitham internally facepalmed.

A great way to not let them understand that the two of them were roomies...

Fortunately, the Archons were on the architect's side and he managed to quickly change topic. "Oh? Where's Collei?" Tighnari sighed "A friend of her had invited her to Mondstadt to celebrate her progress some time ago and she forgot to tell us... but she made some Pita Pockets for us to make us forgive her." The fennec fox handed a cute package full of Pita Pockets made like only Collei was able to do.

"Oh well... that's a shame, but I'm glad she got the opportunity to travel again and that she made such a nice and caring friend!" Kaveh said cheerfully. "Oh yeah, that Sucrose girl seems really nice, although she's a little shy... actually really shy..." the dark-haired guy added.

"That probably makes her the perfect match for Collei though..." Cyno thought out loud, "although her deck is no match for Collei's one... for example, have you seen how she deploys..." After ten minutes of rambling, Tighnari managed to stop the long haired guy's monolog about the smartest way to play TCG.

"Anyway," Kaveh continued "celebrating Collei's progress without Collei doesn't make much sense... so we should totally make another dinner! I'm sure Alhaitham would be delighted to have us here again to bring life to this place!"

Alhaitham sighed, already annoyed by all that noise and all that chattering. He breathed deeply and tried to put on his usual poker face. It was just a dinner after all... a couple of hours and they'd be gone...

Four hours had passed, it was 11 pm, and a very grumpy Alhaitham was sitting on his couch witnessing the match between Kaveh and Cyno to decide the TCG champion.

Kaveh was destroyed in three quick rounds, which made the Scribe let out the first chuckle of that evening. The older student, on the other hand, pouted at that humiliation. In his defense, Cyno had brought a special liquor from the Desert and he had gone a little overboard with drinking, so he wasn't exactly in top shape when he dueled against the King of Invokations.

"Shut up Alhaitham! This isn't funny..! I just had bad cards and bad luck with the dices..!" The blonde tried to justify himself, although that didn't affect the smug smile that was adorning Cyno's face. "Please, even a Sumpter Beast would've played a better match..." the silver-haired man replied without hesitation. Even Tighnari had to chuckle at that comparison, the idea of a blond and fancy Sumpter Beast sounded hilarious.

Kaveh became red in the face and squinted his eyes at his (secret) roommate. He was just a little tipsy, so he was sober enough to have control over his thoughts, actions and movements. "You wanna laugh, you brat? I'll give you something to laugh about!!" His hands found the Scribe's hips and they squeezed roughly and mercilessly.

Tighnari and Cyno looked at the scene with a dumbfounded expression while Alhaitham kicked the air with his legs, doing his best to hold back his laughter.

"You didn't even smile throughout the whole dinner and the first laugh you have is at your senior?? This will teach you some manners!" The blonde gestured his friends to join him, and surprisingly they looked at each other and actually did.

"Yeah, you absolutely need to laugh more. It's good for your health, you know?" The fennec fox grinned as his hands latched on the Acting Grand Sage's knees and squeezed gently but firmly.

"Well..." Cyno's voice behind him made Alhaitham jump, "it seems like you're in a rather... stickly situation..." Everyone sighed... better yet, Alhaitham would have if he hadn't been busy holding back his laughter. "Do you get it? People usually say 'you're in a sticky situation' so I put the word 'sticky' and 'tickly' together"

After the lack of reaction, Cyno gave up on explaining his joke and let his wiggling fingers descend on his friend's neck. A snort came out of the Acting Grand Sage's mouth, although he didn't really have the composure of an Acting Grand Sage in that moment, and the dam finally broke.

Low pitched giggles came out in a stream as the poor Scribe squirmed and tried in vain to get away from the six evil hands that were gently and playfully tormenting him. "Thihihis ihihis childihihihish!!" He whined between his giggles, his cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

"That's what you get for laughing at your senior!" Kaveh yelled proudly while he poked all over his poor roommate's torso. Tighnari chuckled "I wonder what happens if I get behind here..." His nimble fingers sneaked behind his knees and scribbled relentlessly, making the silver-haired man go into another fit of cackles.

"Thihihis ihis thehe lahahahast timehe Ihihi invihihite yohohou herehehe!!" Everyone let out a fake gasp "You don't mean it..!" The architect exclaimed, now fully in his drama queen mode, "I didn't wanna do this, but you left me no choice. Behold my final ace up my sleeve guys!!"

After that probably ridiculous battle scream, probably dictated by the liquor, Kaveh sneaked his hands behind his roommate's back, targeting the back of his ribs. The shriek that left Alhaitham's lips didn't even sound like it could come from him, but Tighnari and Cyno quickly recovered from the surprise and followed the blonde's lead.

With six hands all targeting his most sensitive spot, it took less than a minute to make Alhaitham's body go limp. His laughter got completely silent and even a tear formed in the corner of his eye. The three friends took it as their signal to stop, which they did.

After the young Scribe recovered from the merciless tickle attack and the embarrassment, Kaveh looked at him smugly once more and said in a proud tone "Now that you got something better to laugh about than your senior, wanna play another round of TCG?"

Cyno immediately agreed, and he quickly convinced Tighnari with a pair of wide puppy dog eyes, and Alhaitham ended up joining too.

Although he'd never say it out loud, he was sure he'd invite the guys and Collei one more time for a nice dinner and a night of genuine, lighthearted fun.