#and were both shocked as hell at how similar the outcomes were akjerkjaejkrajekraekjrkjae

[giggly-squiggily]

Same thing with Maxie! Even though Courtney and Tabitha would be scared at first to try, since they don’t want to anger him, once they hear this laugh, they understand that he needed to be perked up :)

Mehehehehhehe! I'm officially making this the "Same day, different setting" dabble to the Archie one! Both men are getting cheer up tickles today! I've gotcha covered, anon!

File not found.

Maxie stared at his monitor for a long, long time. Three little words was all it took to ruin his day. Taking a deep breath, he cradled his head in his hands.

Then with a roar, he grabbed the Ghastly stress ball off his desk, throwing it as hard as he could against the wall. It bounced and rolled away unscratched.

“What happened? Boss?” Tabitha ran in, eyes wide at the sound. Behind him, Courtney poked her head over his shoulder, equally concerned. “Did something break?”

Maxie flushed, shamed. Then he slumped, waving at the monitor. “Tabitha, Courtney. Do either you know how to fix corrupted files?”

~~~

Two hours and three cups of coffee later- the files were found and restored. Tabitha slumped back in his borrowed chair with a satisfied huff, grinning up at the two. “Done! That’ll do it, boss.”

“I went ahead and backed up the rest. Just in case this happens again.” Courtney looked up from her tablet, munching away at the remains of her donut.

“Thank you two. Where’d I be without you?” Maxie sighed as he leaned against the wall rubbing away a headache. All day it’s been nonstop- every little bad thing that could happen did. He never felt so drained.

“Hm…Boss? You seem pretty stressed.” Tabitha noted the stress lines along Maxie’s forehead. “Why not take a break?”

“Yeah- we can go out to that new cafe down the road! They got better coffee than this sludge.” Courtney perked up, grimacing as she swished around her cup. “It’s a nice day too.”

“I appreciate the thought, but I have to finish my work.” Maxie began to make his way back to his desk. “If I recall, you two also-”

He never finished that thought as ten fingers attacked his ribs.

Now- Maxie wasn’t a bad person. He was just-well, intimidating. His subordinates did their best to avoid angering him the best he could. However- Courtney’s desire for coffee won over her innate fear in that moment as she tickled the absolute daylights out of the redhead. There was a brief, tense pause where both her and Tabitha were sure they’d die.

And then…

“EEEH! Ehehehehehehehhehaahhha! Co-Courtnehehehehhehy! Pfft-sthahahhaap thahahahhahaht!” Maxie doubled over, trapped within her clutches. “Enohohoohohough!”

“Holy- it’s working, Tabby! Get over here and help me!” The girl cried in glee, too afraid to stop as she carried on poking and prodding along his torso. Tabitha was quick to join in, going for Maxie’s belly and hips. “Ready to take a break, boss?”

“Gehehahahahhhahaha! Ehehehhehehe! *wheeze* Fihihihihine, fiihihihine you wihihiihihn!” Maxie cried, gasping for air as the fingers tickling him came to a halt. He leaned on his knees, gasping for air as his admins shuffled about, coming to stand a safe distance away. “Yohohohu two…”

“Eep, sorry boss-”

“Whehere’s this cafe? I wouldn’t mind an eclair.” Maxie’s question left them shocked, eyes wide as they shared a look. Then Courtney was leading the way, raving about the treats as the three of them began the walk over.

Maybe a break wouldn’t be so bad afterall.

Send me a headcanon and I'll write a dabble for it!