#ler!patton

[oliviaischillin1204]

Imagine Pre-Accepting Anxiety Virgil walking into the common room and seeing the Light Sides having a tickle fight. Now he has to find a way to keep his tough guy act while dealing with being a secret lee!

HAPPY TICKLETOBER EVERYONE!!! we're starting off strong with this ask, sent to me on jun 18 2020 lmaooooooooooo. if this prompt seems familiar, it's b/c it was also sent to @why-not-a-tickle-blog around the same time! (link to her story here!) and when i tell you've literally been working on this wip on and off ever since i got it,,,,, i am such a wip harder AJDFHGHDJ

and now, without further ado, let's let tickletober 2024 begin!

tickletober day 1- "anticipation"

word count: 7,580 words

So... the Light Sides were weird.

Virgil knew that way before he’d started hanging around their little group. From movie nights to sing-alongs to family dinners, they were overall obnoxiously chummy and irritatingly comfortable with each other.

Case in point: when Virgil finally managed to roll out of bed at about two in the afternoon, there was a strange sound in the air. Not Princey’s singing, or Logic’s lecturing, or even Morality’s incessantly cheerful... whatever he does. 

After reapplying his smeared eye shadow, he meandered out of his room and headed to the common area. As he got closer, it sounded like... laughter?

He huffed a sigh as he swung himself down the stairs.

“Can you all please keep it down--”

Virgil froze, one hand on the railing as he took in the scene before him.

There were the three Light Sides, but he’d never seen them like this. Princey-- ugh, fine, Roman-- was lying on the floor, but what caught Virgil’s eye was the state of disarray he seemed to be in. Next to him was Patton, sitting cross legged and looking similarly rumpled, and next to Patton was Logan, who was normal except for the blush riding high on his cheeks.

That wasn’t the weirdest part, though. The weirdest part was the way Logan was pinching at Roman’s knees and thighs with a careful accuracy, or the way Roman was reaching to vibrate his fingers all over Patton’s stomach, or the Patton had a hand on both Logan’s and Roman’s sides and was squeezing away with reckless abandon. Or the way all three were laughing together in delight at the tickle fight Virgil had somehow managed to walk in on.

Speaking of Virgil: when he processed the scene happening before him, he couldn’t help but let out a surprised little gasp. That noise, quiet as it was in the chaotic room, still managed to stop the other three in their tracks, and they all turned to look at him.

Patton, of course, was the first to speak. “Well, hey, Anxiety!”

“Um--” was all Virgil managed to say. His face turned hot, and he prayed that it wasn’t as bright red as it felt. He gripped the railing under his hand and avoided eye contact. “I--”

Roman scoffed, hurriedly sitting up and pulling away from Logan’s tickly hands.

“Is there something we can help you with, villain?” he asked brusquely, but Virgil got the feeling that he was more embarrassed that Virgil saw him getting tickled than annoyed that the anxious side was there. Still, his words were enough to snap Virgil out of his spell, and he managed to roll his eyes.

“I said,” he repeated, hoping his voice wouldn’t fail him, “would you please keep it down? You’re gonna wake the whole Mind Palace with your... game.”

There was the crack in his voice; Virgil knew it was going to come, and he felt himself grow even warmer. Thankfully, no one commented on it.

“Apologies, Anxiety,” Logan said, straightening his glasses. “We didn’t intend to be so loud. We got... carried away.”

Patton giggled, his hands creeping back to Logan and Roman’s sides. “’Carried away’ sure is one way to put it, guys--”

The other two swatted his hands away, but Virgil caught the flustered grins that adorned both of their faces. Their eyes darted back to Virgil, and he swallowed, suddenly feeling very out of place.

“Uh, okay, fine. Whatever. I’m going back to bed.”

He turned on his heel and marched up the stairs, ignoring Logan’s calls about maintaining a proper sleep schedule, as he tried to stop thinking about what he’d just witnessed.

It wasn’t working. All he could think about now was tickling. How often did the Light Sides tickle each other? Was it often? Who was the most ticklish, and who was the best tickler? Was it always the three of them altogether?

Would they let him join, if he asked?

Virgil’s eyes widened at the thought that just ran through his head. No. Absolutely not, no way, don’t pass go and don’t collect $200.

Like, fine, maybe there was a small part of him that was maybe, just a little, interested in the concept of tickling. And... maybe there was an even smaller part of him that found the idea of being tickled by the Light Sides-- any of them-- somewhat intriguing.

But, fuck. He was Anxiety, for fuck’s sake. He couldn’t like stuff like that. If he asked to be a part of their stupid little game, they’d never let him live it down.

... But. Maybe if he didn’t ask?

He slowly stopped walking as he thought it over in his head. It wasn’t an awful idea. The Light Sides were weird enough that maybe, if he played his cards right, he might be able to lure them into tickling him without him asking.

Honestly, if the idea had come to him on another day, he probably would’ve shoved it way back to the back of his mind and pretended it had no appeal to him. But he could practically still hear the Light Sides’ laughter ringing in his ears, and as much as he was loathe to admit it, he kinda wanted to be a part of their game. So his plan was made.

~

His first target was Patton, which made sense for a lot of reasons. Patton seemed to tolerate him more than the other Light Sides-- more than tolerate, to be honest; it was as if he actually kinda liked him. Another good thing about Patton was his attitude: while Virgil normally found that much cheer to be a little nauseating, he couldn’t deny that if anyone was going to start an impromptu tickle fight, it would be Patton.

“Thanks for helping me with these cookies, Anxiety!” Patton said, bringing Virgil out of his thoughts and back to the present situation. He leaned against the counter, trying his hardest to appear open and approachable.

“Whatever,” he replied. “I don’t really have anything better to do, so. Uh. Yeah.”

Fuck, why was he always so awkward?

Whatever-- at least Patton didn’t seem to notice or care; instead, he was focused on pulling out all of the supplies and ingredients and laying them on the counter.

“Okay, first up is the dry ingredients!” he instructed. “Kiddo, you wanna hand me the flour?”

Virgil nodded, pushing himself off of the counter. “Where is it?”

“It’s, uh...”

Patton paused, looking around he kitchen, and Virgil smirked a little as he was reminded that the paternal figure wasn’t nearly as good at cooking as he implied.

“Oh! It’s right up there!” he finally chirped, pointing past Virgil to one of the cabinets. Virgil followed his finger to the very top shelf of the cabinet.

His eyes widened. Finally, an opportunity.

As casually as possible, he moved to the cabinet and braced on hand on the counter. The other hand, he raised high in the air, stretching out his entire body and putting himself in a very vulnerable position. He even stood on his tiptoes as he stretched, hoping Patton would take the hint and deliver what Virgil wanted.

He reached for the flour for as long as he reasonably could, but after about ten seconds, he had no choice but to grab it and pull it down. He turned around, only to find Patton carefully measuring out baking soda, not even paying attention to Virgil’s attempts at vulnerability.

Virgil kicked himself internally, and after a moment he moved forward and dropped the flour onto the counter.

“Here,” he said shortly. Patton turned, giving him a wide smile.

“Thanks, bud!” he said earnestly, opening the bag and grabbing his measuring cup. “Wanna do this one for me while I get started on the eggs?”

Virgil blinked. He’d kinda forgotten that his whole excuse for hanging out with Patton was baking cookies. “Um, sure.”

Patton gave him yet another sunny smile, and Virgil felt compelled to give him a small one in return as he accepted the measuring cup from him.

The two worked together, measuring and mixing ingredients as Patton chattered away. It was-- kinda nice, to be real? Like, maybe Virgil should offer to do this more often, and if he weren’t in one of the most massive lee moods he’d ever been in in his life, he’d probably be able to appreciate it more.

“Alright, time to get these babies on a cookie sheet!” Patton announced, handing a big spoon for Virgil to use. “And afterwards, don’t tell Logan, but we’re totally gonna lick the bowl.”

Virgil nodded, but he didn’t wanna give up on his mission just yet. “Um... can I, uh, get anything else for you?”

Patton turned and looked at him, blinking in surprise before his smile brightened.

“Well, sure, kiddo!” he replied. “There are some chocolate chips on the top shelf, do we wanna add some of those?”

He pointed to the cabinet that was right above them, and Virgil’s heart beat faster. This was it.

“Sure,” he replied as casually as possible. “I’ll get them.”

He placed a hand on the counter to brace himself, and raised the arm closest to Patton as high as he could reach, pretending to scrabble around for the bag of chocolate chips for a few seconds longer than necessary. He even angled his body as subtly as he could, so that his midriff was practically in Patton’s face as he left himself totally exposed.

But nothing happened.

Virgil frowned, but after a few seconds grabbed the bag from the cabinet anyway, lowering himself back to the floor as he broke the seal on the baggie.

“Here,” he muttered, passing it to Patton without making eye contact. There was the slightest pause, but then the bag was lifted from his hand with no more than a cheery, “Thanks!”

Virgil felt himself suppress a sigh as he helped Patton mix in the chocolate chips. Well. On one hand, he got to spend some time with Patton (and even got cookies out of the deal). On the other hand, his genius plot to get tickled had failed with his first target. It was time for target number two.

~

The sound of operatic singing through the halls of the Mind Palace lead Virgil directly to his next target.

He sighed as he nibbled on one of the chocolate chip cookies he and Patton had made, trying to dispel some of his nervous energy before he reached the living room. It wasn’t even just nerves about his current... desires (although there were plenty of those inside of him right now) but-- fuck, he didn’t do this, he didn’t hang around in the common areas like the rest of them, and if it would be totally weird for him to even try, and they were gonna get angry at him, and it would make getting to know them even more difficult in the future-- 

“Oh, Anxiety.” 

A voice full of suspicion snapped him back to reality. He blinked and realized that he’d made it to the living room, where Roman was standing with some sheet music in hand, rehearsing for some musical, based on how loudly he’d been singing moments before.

“To what do I owe the displeasure?” he continued, eyes narrowed sharply. Virgil mentally shook himself and put on his trademark ‘evil’ smirk.

“Hey there, Princey,” he drawled, holding out the Tupperware container in his hand. “Wanna cookie?”

Roman peered down at the peace offering like it was a bomb. “From you? What, are they poisoned?”

“Yep, I poisoned the cookies,” Virgil deadpanned. “That’s why I’m eating one right in front of you, genius.”

He counted the look of embarrassed realization on Roman’s face as a small victory. 

“Well-- well, you might’ve poisoned all but one of them, just to throw me off!” Roman added haughtily. “So, ha!” 

Virgil raised an eyebrow at him. “Ha.” He looked at Roman for a moment more before taking another bite. “Well, you were rude to me, so now you get no cookies.”

“What-- hey!” Roman replied indignantly. He moved to Virgil, but the dark side easily held the box out of reach. “Anxiety! That’s not fair!”

“You’re gonna have to work a lot harder than that to get these cookies,” Virgil said smugly. He was all to aware of how exposed he was making himself-- it would take so little effort for Roman to grab his side, or scribble at his armpit, or...

But, as expected, nothing came of it, and instead Roman moved away with a derisive sniff.

“Whatever,” he said, turning away. “Even if they’re not poisoned, you probably added salt instead of sugar and cumin instead of cinnamon--”

Virgil narrowed his eyes in annoyance. “Hey, Patton and I made them together, and they’re actually good, so--"

Suddenly Roman's arm shot out, taking advantage of Virgil's distraction to swipe a cookie from the box. “Ha! Got one, thank you!”

Virgil blinked. “You--"

He cut himself off at the genuinely triumphant grin on Roman's face, and it took more willpower than he would've admitted to keep from smiling along.

"Yes, yes, you’re very smart," he said, flopping on the couch and rolling his eyes. "Shut up.”

As he reclined against the sofa, he let his eyes drift shut (insomnia's a bitch, even for a man on a mission to get wrecked), but very quickly it became clear that the other side was going to make a fuckin' production out of eating this cookie.

“Mmm... Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm!" Roman pondered with his mouth full. He waved his arms emphatically as he continued, "This is just the most scrumptious, the most divine, the most splendiferous cookie I’ve ever--”

Virgil's eyes snapped open. “Are you always this dramatic and loud? I’m trying to relax.”

That caught the creative side's attention. Roman turned to look at Virgil with his regular suspicion back in his eyes.

“Relax? Here?”

His tone made Virgil tense up behind his cocky facade. “What about it?”

A few second went by as Roman looked at him skeptically. “Nothing, it’s just... You’re always in your room, hiding away like a hermit in a cave.”

“Hiding?" Virgil repeated, eyes narrowed. "What, from you? Not likely.”

Roman moved closer, suddenly leaning over Virgil's laid out form and coming just inches away from his face.

“Aw, don't tell me that I scare you, little Anxiety?”

With that one sentence, Virgil mood came back even stronger than before. There was something in Roman’s voice-- either his teasing tone or his babyish words-- that made Virgil’s stomach do a completely rude and uncalled-for flip, but he merely rolled his eyes.

“The only thing scary about you is your ego,” he retorted. He scanned Roman up and down before closing his eyes again. “Otherwise, you’re just soft.”

Roman scoffed, turning to leave. “Shut up.”

“Make me, loser.”

He watched Roman’s back as he froze in place, and slowly the creative side turned back around.

“You wanna say that again?”

Virgil felt his breath catch, but he forced himself to stay calm. Now was his chance.

He opened his eyes, shooting Roman the cockiest smile he could muster.

“What, make me?”

The prince was glowering at him, his arms folded across his chest. When he spoke, it was in a deep, smooth voice that sent a shiver down Virgil’s spine.

“You don’t want me to make you.”

Virgil smirked, folding his arms behind his head and gazing up at Roman with a smug look on his face.

“I’d like to see you try, Princey.”

That was it. Roman’s eyes narrowed, dark and competitive, and Virgil had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing preemptively.

“You’re gonna regret that,” he muttered lowly, stalking over to Virgil and-- holy shit, he actually straddled Virgil’s waist and placed his hands on either side of his torso, and this was happening, this was happening, this was--

“Oh my goodness gracious, there it is!”

Roman voice derailed Virgil’s train of thought, and he blinked in confusion at the creative side, who wasn’t even looking at him anymore.

“What--?”

Roman laughed lightly, reaching over Virgil’s head and pulling something out from between the couch cushions.

“My sketchbook!” he said triumphantly, shifting off of Virgil and flipping through the pages. “Finally, I’ve been looking for it forever. I had this great idea where I can use a mix of paint and glitter glue to--”

Virgil’s head spun with the shift in the conversation as Roman rambled about his newest project. The anticipatory tension in his stomach started to lessen, leaving him feeling dazed and confused.

“Um, you-- so-- you--”

Roman wasn’t even listening to him; he easily stood up from the couch-- and Virgil definitely did not try to lean into his touch as he moved away, shut up-- and moved toward the door.

“I must get started right away! My paintbrushes aren’t going to wait any longer!”

He hurried out of the room, leaving Virgil alone on the couch, face flushed and mind full of visions of how exactly he wanted Roman to use those paintbrushes.

He dropped his face into his hands. Why was this so hard?

~

The rest of the afternoon passed without another little event like that-- Virgil had been so flustered, he’d had to go back to his room for several hours, alternating between screaming into a pillow at his own awkwardness, and daring to reminisce about the feeling of Roman's weight pinning him down.

This was such a bad idea. Not only were there a million ways it could go wrong (he could make a fool of himself, he could genuinely cross someone's boundaries on accident, his plan could be found out and his desires could be rejected-- the list goes on) but now he also had to deal with coming so tantalizing close to what he wants more than anything, only to have it slip just out of his reach.

He sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that night, flopping back on his bed--

pressed against the couch cushions, Roman easily holding you down with one hand as the other searches all over for the exact spot to make you beg for mercy, which you know he won't give you, he wants to make you scream--

Immediately he shot up again, face flushed. God, he was jumpy tonight, and that was saying something. He stood up, stepping cautiously around the piles of clothes on the floor to work some of his jitters out. He tried to recall some of the simple exercises Logan had shown him once to help relax him before bed: rolling his neck and shoulders, twisting back and forth to crack his back, raising his arms and stretching them high to the sky--

Patton right behind you, grabbing your hands and holding them nice and tight as he laughs and whispers in your ear, taking full advantage of your riding-up shirt to spider all over that one tickle spot just above your belly button--

His arms snapped down with a choked-off gasp.

Okay. Being in his room was fucking with him. That was definitely why he was feeling jittery and twitchy and sensitive to his own shirt rubbing against his skin. No other reason.

... He had to get out of there.

Grabbing his phone and flipping up his hood, Virgil slid back out into the hallway. It was later in the evening, past dinner time (well, past the time the Light Sides had dinner-- his dinner would involve cold leftovers eaten in front of the fridge at 2 AM) and the Mind Palace was quiet.

Well... mostly quiet.

Virgil crept down the hall to the top of the stairs. From the top, he could make out some sound coming from the living room-- no laughter this time, thankfully, but some quiet droning noises coming from the TV. Probably Patton or Roman-- Logan didn't watch much TV.

Virgil stood with one hand clasped to the stair railing like a life line. He gnawed on his lip, a fluttery, delicate feeling lighting up his chest.

He wanted to try this. There were very few things Virgil ever, ever wanted to try... but he wanted to try this. It was clearly something that was normal among the Light Sides, and-- and despite what he'd previously thought, they don't actually... seem to despise his company. This was-- this was something he could ask for, even just to ask, and even he could admit that the idea of one of them saying yes wasn't impossible.

All at once he lunged down the stairs, feet thumping loudly as he got closer to the living room. He would do it-- he'd go right over to the couch and shove his feet onto someone's lap and surely then, surely then, someone would take pity on him and just freaking tickle him already!

Virgil rounded the corner into the living room, and before he could question himself he hopped over the arm of the couch and threw himself down on the cushions, shoving his feet directly onto the lap of the side sitting at the other end of the couch.

Immediately, he felt two inquisitive eyes boring into him in bewilderment.

"... Anxiety?" Logan asked. "Are you alright?"

Aaaaaaand there went all of Virgil's confidence. He hadn't planned for Logan to be there, not now, not when his mood was at an all time high and he was face to face with the person least likely to do anything about it.

Virgil ignored the tense, mortified feeling in his stomach. “Yup.” A beat, and then he pulled out his phone, as if he hadn't just jumped over the couch just to put his feet in Logan's lap--

“Can I... do something for you?” Logan continued.

Yes, you can pull my socks off and hold my ankles down and--

“Nope.”

Silence fell once again. Virgil was all too aware of his body, too tense to move a muscle or disrupt Logan any further.

“Is this comfortable for you? To have your feet on my lap?”

But... he'd come this far, he'd already pushed past the walls he'd built between himself and the other sides. If nothing else, if this plan failed and he never got what he wanted, at least he could say that he tried.

He shrugged. “Yeah."

He felt Logan's eyes on him a moment longer.

“Very well, then.”

Logan turned back to the TV, and Virgil felt himself wavering already. This was maybe his most ill-conceived idea yet-- they weren't even doing anything together, not really, and try as he might he couldn't think of any way to engage Logan in conversation about anything, let alone anything related to tickling--

“Hey, gang!”

Virgil froze, his stomach plummeting. He shot a desperate glance at Logan, but the logical side paid him no mind as Patton and Roman entered the room, carrying snacks and blankets.

“Ah,” Logan said, turning to the two of them without another glance in Virgil’s direction. “I had forgotten that was tonight.”

Virgil couldn’t help letting out a sigh of frustration, making Roman raise an eyebrow.

“Oh, and I suppose you’re just too cool to deign to join our movie night, huh, Doom and Gloom?”

“Now, Roman, don’t be mean,” Patton gently chastised, placing the snacks on the table and beaming down at Virgil. “We’re happy to have you with us, Anxiety! It’s about time you start joining our group activities.”

Like tickle fights? Virgil thought but didn't say. His ever-growing lee mood was making him feel all fuzzy, and all he could think about as he looked between the three other sides was Patton’s hands, Logan’s fingers, and Roman’s voice, all teasing and tormenting him in unison.

“Whatever,” he finally said, forcing himself to shrug blithely. “I don’t really care--”

He cut himself off with a choked gasp as Roman leaned down and abruptly picked up Virgil into a bridal carry. They stayed still as Patton sat down next to Logan, rearranging the blankets and chattering innocently about what movie to watch, but all Virgil could focus on was the feeling of Roman’s hands on his body and the teasy, squirmy feeling building up in his chest and stomach.

“Are you staying with us or not?” Roman asked lowly, and Virgil had to fight the urge to squeak as his warm breath hit his ear. 

“Uh-- sure.”

Roman hummed, and then he was leaning forward, dropping Virgil into Patton’s lap with his feet resting on Logan’s thighs.

“Woah!” Patton chuckled, looking at Virgil with amusement. “Comfy, kiddo?”

Virgil face flushed red. “I-- I didn’t--”

“He’s gonna stay anyway, and we all know he likes to sit in weird places, so,” Roman explained, flopping down on the couch next to Patton and throwing an arm over the back of the couch. He pulled a pillow into his lap and gently pushed Virgil back by his shoulder, until the Dark Side somehow found himself stretched between all three of them on the couch.

“Anxiety, is this acceptable for you?” Logan asked distantly, and Virgil peeked up to find him observing him closely. Virgil froze in his gaze for what felt like far too long, but eventually managed a short nod.

Patton clapped. “Awesome! Now we all get to hang out together. It’ll be so fun!”

He leaned forward to grab the remote, and Virgil swore he could feel his hands as they ghosted over his stomach. He squirmed minutely, both hoping that no one would call him out on how flustered he was, and praying that they would.

This was way more than he was expecting.

"Ah," Logan said as the movie began playing. "I do love this opening number."

He moved like he was folding his hands in his lap, but really, he placed his hands directly onto the tops of Virgil's ankles. The music started, and Logan-- Logan tapped out a rhythm against Virgil's skin, matching the tempo of the music on the TV.

Virgil clenched his jaw so quickly he wondered if they could hear it. It... didn't tickle, not really. The touch was too light, too quick, too inconsequential to really light his nerves in any way. But the anticipation was there, bubbling inside him, and he found himself shifting his legs restlessly at the touch.

"Is something wrong, Anxiety?" Logan asked, and Virgil paused. It-- it must've been his imagination, that spark in Logan's eye that matched the spark in Virgil's stomach. "No," he said, just slightly breathless. Logan hummed and returned his eyes to the screen.

Then his hands moved: one hand tapping more firmly against his ankle, and the other running its nails along the top of Virgil's foot.

Virgil tensed every muscle in his legs; it was so much worse this time-- not only did being stretched out make Virgil feel so much more vulnerable, but now there were two other people he had to hide his reactions from. Roman was right there, for God's sake, his face mere inches above Virgil's-- Virgil had to turn his head completely toward the TV just to hide the small smile that was already on his face.

He stayed in that position as the movie played, but he couldn't tell you anything that was happening on the screen. All he could focus on was Logan's fingers as they slowly migrated from trailing the top of his foot, to tapping directly over his socked toes, to drawing delicate circles along the ball of his foot. His other hand stayed on Virgil's ankle-- like a restraint.

Virgil felt flushed, and prayed that the dark lighting of the room would cover it. Distantly he heard Patton laughing, and he could feel Roman's chest rumble where it was pressed against his shoulder.

And then he felt Logan take all five fingers right to the center of Virgil's sole and tickle.

"Nah-hahaha!" Virgil screamed, yanking his leg back and just barely missing Patton's face with his knee. He felt both Patton and Roman jump underneath him.

"Anxiety, are you okay?" Patton asked in a panicked voice. He didn't even seem bothered that Virgil had almost thrown his knee into his nose.

Roman looked down at Virgil with bewilderment. "Jiminy Crickets, is the movie that funny to you?"

“Ah,” Logan said. “My hypothesis was correct.”

Virgil froze.

Patton quirked his head. “You have a hypothesis?”

Roman eyed down at Virgil suspiciously for just a moment more before gesturing to Logan. “Please, Teach, explain."

Alarm bells went off in Virgil's head. He was suddenly desperate to leave the entire situation before it was too late, but Logan's hand resting on his ankle felt like a vice he couldn't escape.

“Well," Logan began in his lecture voice, "for the past few hours, Anxiety has been expressing an interest in becoming closer with the three of us through quality time, amicable banter, and excessive physical contact. The physical contact is really what gave it away, but it all comes down to the fact that this change in behavior occurred immediately after Anxiety walked in on our... roughhousing this morning.”

Virgil was distracted by the way Logan tried to avoid saying the word tickle (and man, Virgil thought, it’d be so much fun to see him forced to say it, oh my god shut up brain) but Patton’s gasp of understanding brought him back to his present situation. He looked away from the moral side, but to his distress he found himself face to face with Roman, who was looking at him with a growing interest.

“Wait a minute,” he said slowly. Virgil squirmed.

“Shut up.”

“Are you telling me--”

“Princey, I swear to God, if you don’t stop talking right now--”

Suddenly Patton’s hand was on his leg, his fingers pressing in just above his knee, and Virgil’s words turned into a choked gasp.

Patton quirked his head. “Are you ticklish, kiddo?”

Virgil’s mouth opened and shut. “I-- I--”

And of course, Logan chose that moment to drag his nails all the way down Virgil’s foot, the hand resting on Virgil's ankle suddenly tightening to keep him from jerking away as his fingers wiggled right against Virgil's tickle spots.

Virgil couldn’t help it: he squealed, loudly, and immediately buried his face in his hands.

“That seems to be the answer to that question,” Logan said, sounding far too pleased with himself for Virgil’s taste. “The more important question, however, is whether or not Anxiety wants to be tickled. Although I believe we know that answer to that question, as well.”

Even with his face behind his hands, Virgil felt all three pairs of eyes on him.

"I--" he squeaked, then coughed, blatantly stalling for time as his mind spun in circles. "I-- um-- you don't-- I guess--"

"Kiddo, is that really what you've been trying to do all day long?" Patton asked gently. Virgil made one short, choked sound, and nodded rapidly.

"... So when I told you to be quiet earlier," Roman said slowly, "and you said 'make me'... that was you trying to get tickled?"

A beat, and then Virgil nodded again. He quickly debated the merits of allowing himself to be swallowed by the floor.

"Well..."

Logan's voice was laced with something that Virgil was wholly unprepared for.

"It would be a shame," he continued nonchalantly, "if Anxiety came so far out of his figurative shell only to not receive any recognition or praise for how difficult that must have been. Perhaps some positive reinforcement will help encourage him to continue this behavior in the future."

Logan didn't even have to finish his sentence before Roman dove for Virgil's wrists. Virgil yanked as hard as he could, but Roman was in a better position and easily managed to pull his arms above his head. Immediately Virgil's fight or flight instincts kicked in, and he was about to start literally kicking (even though his brain was screaming at his body to shut up stop it play dead holy shit they're giving you what you want) before Patton leaned as far over his torso as he could manage, keeping his middle pinned in place.

"Anxiety..." he cooed, actually cooed, and yup Virgil was totally gonna die. "Wanna look at me, sweetheart?"

It took Virgil a second to realize that his eyes were screwed shut in anticipation. He peeked out only to find Patton looking at him with the most soft, loving, mughy-gushy expression Virgil had ever seen, especially directed towards him. It made him feel like he was melting.

"When we play our tickle games," he continued, "we always say 'red' when we need a break. Is that okay for you, too?"

Virgil couldn't even speak, so he gave a jerky nod.

"For safety, we should proceed slowly," Logan said, "in order not to overwhelm him." The way Logan was talking to the others like Virgil wasn't there sent a small thrill down his spine.

"I disagree," Roman replied. "I think our poor, sweet Anxiety has waited much too long already." His upside-down grin made Virgil want to spit curses up at him, except he was pretty sure the only thing that would come out if he opened his mouth were pathetic squeals.

"Where should we begin?" the creative side continued, tracing his thumbs around the soft skin of Virgil's wrist. "His... bright red ears? Or his wiggly hips? Or his bouncy little tummy?"

"Fuck off," Virgil gasped.

Roman clicked his tongue. "Temper! Patton doesn't like swearing!"

"Oh, let him fuss," Patton replied. "This is all very overwhelming for him, it's okay! If I had known you liked tickling too, Anxiety, I would've gladly done it for you a long time ago!"

"I don't--"

Then Virgil gasped, and fell into helpless frantic giggles. In unison Roman and Patton swiveled their heads to look at Logan.

"There's no use in lying now, Anxiety," he said calmly, his fingers flicking and fluttering all over Virgil's soles. "We all know that if you didn't like tickling, you wouldn't let us do this at all. Ergo you must enjoy tickling, more specifically being tickled, otherwise you wouldn't have put yourself in this position in the first place. Does that make sense?"

Virgil couldn't answer, because he was in heaven. Or maybe hell. Logan's fingers were deft and torturous, flitting back and forth faster than Virgil could process. Belatedly he wiggled his feet, trying to hide one behind the other and continuously failing. And damn Logan for real for being so observant, because when he noticed the spot on Virgil's arches that made him kick the hardest, he focused all of his attention there, switching between his feet as fast as he could.

"Wait wait wait, waitwaitwhaihaihaiait!" Virgil couldn't believe the noises that were coming out of his mouth right now. He had never laughed like this around the light sides-- had barely ever laughed at all-- and now they were getting to hear him like this, his giggles embarrassing and dorky and loud--

So loud, in fact, that he barely even heard Logan say, "Patton, would you like a turn?" before ten fingers dove in to vibrate all over his vulnerable, ticklish stomach.

"Nah-ahahahaha!" The shriek that left his lips shocked everyone in the room, and Virgil used the confusion to yank his arms out of Roman's grasp, sitting up and trying to launch off the couch in the same motion. He would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for Patton's meddling arms around his waist.

"Woah!" Patton laughed out. "Easy now, kiddo! Don't wanna waist this chance to get tickled!" On cue he tazed his fingers where they laid in the divots of Virgil's sides, causing the anxious side to jerk and flop like a worm on a string. His hands grappled desperately for Patton's, but he made no progress getting them off before Roman's hand entered his vision.

"Come back here, Gay-Lee Shrilliams!" Roman sang. Blindly, he grappled for Virgil's wrists, grabbing one and yanking him back towards Roman's end of the couch. Virgil was disoriented, and took the time to inhale greedy breaths before he was suddenly flipped around again. Now Logan was sat straddled over his shins, Patton kneeling on the floor beside him, and Roman's chest was pressed against his back with his wrists in each hand.

For a moment there was silence.

"Well," Logan said curtly. "Let's try that again, shall we?"

And immediately his hands were clamped above Virgil's knees, and they were off to the races.

"Ahahahahahahaha!"

"There we are," Logan said, a hint of smugness in his voice as he prodded up and down Virgil's thighs. "We'll have to avoid any further interruptions if we're going to find all of your ticklish spots, Anxiety. Please behave yourself."

"I'm-- you-- nahahaha!" Virgil squealed; Patton had placed his hands on either side of his ribs, and was now squeezing them as if Virgil were a particularly squeaky bagpipe.

"Hold him down!" he called affectionately. "He's a squirmer!"

Virgil gasped through his laughter as the other two followed Patton's instruction; he could feel them rearranging their positions on his arms and legs in order to keep him even more stuck than he already was. Blearily, he turned onto his side as much as possible, facing the back of the couch and weakly attempting to hide his stomach from his ticklers.

"Uh oh, where are you going?" Roman asked, all sugar sweetness. "Is someone trying to hide away? Hm? Big bad Anxiety trying to run away from the tickles?"

Without warning he released one of Virgil's hands, and took it upon himself to use his free hand to investigate all over Virgil's exposed armpit. Virgil spasmed and shrieked. His free hand might as well have not been there at all, considering how absolutely useless it was at protecting his armpit, or his ribs, or--

"Uh oh," Patton cooed, voice sickeningly sweet, and Virgil could only look on in giddy terror as he wiggled his fingers in the air. "Don't think I just forgot about that tummy, Anxiety!"

Just like before, Patton pressed all ten fingers into Virgil's stomach fat, wiggling mercilessly; unlike before, Virgil couldn't shoot himself off the couch with Patton himself kneeling in the way. Logan and Roman had stopped their tickles, but only so they could restrain him even further to avoid another escape attempt.

"Nihihihiehehehehehe!" Virgil didn't even know what he was begging for anymore. For less tickles, or more?

"A ticky-ticky-ticky-ticky-ticky!" Patton sang. "Who's a ticklish goober? Is it Anxiety? I think it is!" He giggled as he easily avoided Virgil's free hand, darting back and forth as it fruitlessly tried to cover his stomach from Patton's wiggling fingers.

Through his teary eyes, Virgil accidentally made eye contact with Roman. He immediately regretted it: both because he saw something akin to actual affection in Princey's eyes (which, gross) but more because he watched that affection slip away to smug mischief.

"Hey, don't be greedy, Padre!" Roman announced. "I want a turn!"

And with that he let go of Virgil's other hand, but the anxious side had no time to do anything about that before he, too, was digging his fingers into Virgil's stomach. Virgil squealed again, arching hid back and curling in on himself over and over in an endless loop. While Patton had no trouble attending to Virgil's tummy pudge, Roman's hands were positioned at the top of his stomach just below his ribs, and he had no issues at all jumping up to pinch and massage along the sensitive bones every few seconds.

"Fascinating," Logan said, and oh god, why did his voice make Virgil feel even more trapped than he already was? "Patton, scoot down a bit. I'd like to try something."

Virgil felt Patton slide his hands slightly up Virgil's torso, still plucking away at his oversensitive nerves like guitar strings.

"Slow down for a moment," Logan instructed, and the others listened, thank God. Virgil took the opportunity to breathe, his eyes screw tightly shut. He couldn't handle seeing Roman's smirk, or Patton's giddiness, or Logan's studying stare.

"I've noticed something in his reactions," the logical side continued. "And I have another hypothesis."

Virgil should've opened his eyes.

If he had, he might've been prepared for when Logan's fingers descended all around his bellybutton and squeezed.

Virgil shrieked. He screamed. He yelled and hollered and wailed and every other synonym he could think of, except he couldn't think at all because Logan was flexing his fingers over and over and over again with terrible, ruthless accuracy. Virgil used all his strength to try to curl up, but with Logan on his hips, Roman behind his back, and Patton in the middle, there was absolutely nothing he could do to protect his tummy from ticklish agony.

"I think we found his favorite spot!" Patton cooed.

Yeah, no fucking shit, Virgil thought wildly. He could barely breathe, his face hurt from smiling, his head was melty with joy, and his innards felt as if he had swallowed a dozen butterflies that continued to dance around inside of him. He felt trapped, and teased, and embarrassed, and desperate, and he--

And he loved it. Oh my God, he loved it. Had he been missing out on this all along?

It took a long, long time before Virgil realized that Logan had stopped. His hands, warm and heavy, laid flat on his stomach, and his palms rubbed firmly against his skin. He blinked his eyes opened-- when had he closed them?-- and realized he was practically lying down again, having slid so much he'd ended up resting his head against Roman's thigh. It took another minute for him to realize that his hand felt strange; looking over, he flushed anew when he saw Patton's large hand wrapped around his own, fingers intertwined. Did Virgil do that?

Reality jolted back into him, and like a bear trap he sprang up and closed in on himself, shrinking away from any touch.

"Um-- I'm done-- red," he stuttered. God, why was he a loser? They had already stopped tickling him, he didn't need to say the safeword-- but his skin still felt alight with nerves, and despite how the whole experience had made him feel, he really didn't think he could handle anymore tonight.

Virgil didn't know why it surprised him that all three of moved back, Logan and Roman scooting to either end of the couch and Patton leaning back on his haunches. It surprised him, but it shouldn't. Because they're them. The light sides, the "others" as he'd always thought of them-- they were nice. Fun. And they cared.

"So..."

And of course, there was Princey to ruin it. Virgil dared to shoot his eyes over and was met with the smuggest goddamn look he's ever seen on Roman's consistently smug face.

"Was it everything you hoped for, sweet Anxiety?" he crowed. Immediately Virgil dropped his face into his hands and groaned.

"Aw, there he goes! Too much sweet talking for such a sourpuss like you?"

Virgil hissed at him, only to hear twin snorts from the other two Sides. He looked up, betrayed.

"Apologies, Anxiety," Logan said, biting his bottom lip as he smiled. Patton was covering his own mouth with both hands. "I can assure you we hold no judgement or mockery for you. It's just that this entire display was... objectively adorable."

"Noooooo..." Virgil whined. He slid down in his seat and covered his face again. His cheeks burned against his palms.

It was only a few seconds before he felt a tap on his knee, and after a moment he lowered his hands enough to peek out beyond his fingers. Patton was there, ducking his head a bit to catch Virgil's eye.

"Was that fun?" he asked gently. A beat. Virgil nodded. "Would you like to do it again?"

Virgil snapped his arms down to his sides and slammed back against his seat. Patton raised his hands placatingly.

"In the future!" he said. "I just mean..."

He looked at the other two Sides before confirming, "Well, I think we all had fun. And we can work out what exactly you're comfortable with later, but... I hope you'd like to do that again sometime."

"Please--" Virgil blurted. "I mean. Yes. I want to. Again."

"Good," Logan said. "Now lay back down."

He looked over, inquisitive, only to flush again as Logan leaned back and patted his lap.

"You can't seriously think I'm gonna fall for that."

"We are not going to tickle you again unless you explicitly ask for it," Logan said (and wow, now Virgil was gonna have to store that away in his anxiety-fantasies, not getting tickled anymore unless he uses his words). "You've just been exerted very quickly in a very short amount of time, you've been anxious and twitchy all day prior to this evening, and even now you're struggling to remain upright."

Virgil blinked; it was true. His head was lolled back against the cushion. His body was tired, it's true, but his mind felt somewhat hazy, somewhat calm. He blinked slowly.

"... Are you gonna put the movie back on?"

Roman scoffed. "Of course we are. We know you need background noise, Sleeping Beauty."

Right. Of course they knew that. Because they knew him, now.

Virgil fidgeted, then nodded. "I'd... I'd like that."

And he did.

[trashyswitch]

Day 7: Fidget

Virgil had been fidgeting all day, and Patton is worried about him. When he asks Virgil what's bothering him, he's left completely shocked by the answer, but still eager to help.

A day late...Could be worse. I hope you enjoy! And Sanders Sides is back for Tickletober!!!

Patton had been aware of Virgil’s quirks for a while now. He knew that any sort of loving action would make Virgil embarrassed and surprised. He knew Virgil didn’t really like hugs, unless it was a special occasion. And Patton especially knew that Virgil fidgets when he’s really anxious or nervous. 

And Virgil had been fidgeting a lot lately…

One day, Patton decided to sit down beside Virgil while he was playing a video game. 

“Hey kiddo.” Patton greeted. 

“Hey.” Virgil muttered, flicked his wii remote to the right, watching the screen as the dog ran down the field. 

“Playing frisbee?” Patton asked. 

“Yup.” Virgil muttered, grunting as the frisbee hit the ground before the dog could catch it. “I keep messing up.” 

Patton looked towards Virgil with slight worry. “Would it be easier if you stood up and played?” 

Virgil sighed and threw the frisbee again. “Nope. I don’t want to.” Virgil replied, watching the dog run for the frisbee. “Come on, come on, come on-” Virgil let out a breath. “Oh thank god…She got it.” Virgil mumbled. 

Patton smiled and clapped his hands. “Yay!” He cheered. 

Virgil smiled slightly and picked up the frisbee before throwing it. “Go on.” Virgil told him. 

Patton looked at Virgil. “Huh?” 

Virgil looked to Patton. “I assume you wanted to talk about something?” Virgil asked him. 

Patton was a little thrown off guard. Maybe his intentions were more obvious than he thought. “Y-Yeah…I did.” He replied. 

“Okay. Then shoot.” Virgil told him. 

Patton sighed and looked down at his own lap. “What’s been bothering you lately?” Patton asked. 

Virgil took the frisbee and threw it again. “Nothing’s been bothering me.” Virgil told him. “Why?” He asked, looking over at Patton while the frisbee soared in the air. 

“Well…you’ve been very fidgety lately.”  Patton admitted. “I thought you might’ve been anxious about something.” He explained further. 

Virgil looked at the high score. “When was I fidgeting?” Virgil asked, clicking the home button to go to the home menu. 

Patton bit his lip. “Earlier today, when we were lying on the couch.” Patton told him. 

Virgil froze for a moment, staring in front. He slowly put down his wii remote and looked at Patton. “Uhhh…” Virgil bit his lip and lowered his head slightly. “Well…” 

“Why were you anxious?” Patton asked. 

Virgil let out a shaky breath as he recalled what was going on in that moment. His head had been all over the place during that hour. He could remember the exact words that were filling his mind while he laid with Patton on the floor of his room. 3 simple little words wouldn’t stop repeating themselves…

“Virgil?” He heard beside him. “You’re doing it again…” Patton told him. 

Virgil looked down at his own hands, and noticed he was fidgeting with his fingers again. He supposed just the thought of those 3 words were enough to make him act like this. Dammit…why do his hands always reveal his inner anxiety? Sensing no other option, Virgil finally spoke up. “It’s…not what you think it is…” Virgil tried to explain. 

Patton tilted his head. “Oh?” 

Virgil let out a breath. “It’s not…It’s not anxiety…It’s a nervous tick.” Virgil admitted. 

Patton softened his expression a little bit. “A nervous tick?” 

Virgil nodded his head. “I was nervous because…I wanted to ask you for a favor.” He slowly explained. He huddled his hands closer to his chest as he finally sputtered out the words. “P-Pleasetickleme…” 

Patton widened his eyes. “What? Can you repeat that?” He asked. Patton thought he had caught the words, but he really needed to triple check. 

Virgil whined. “Can-Can you please tickle me?” Virgil asked, looking at Patton with a look of desperation and fear in his eyes. His fidgeting had intensified from this question alone. He looked like he was going to explode if he didn’t fidget. 

Patton raised his eyebrows and slowly smiled. “Really?” Patton tilted his head slightly with a look of curiosity. “You want me to tickle you?” He asked. 

Virgil whimpered and hid his face with his fidgeting fingers. “Mm…Mhm…” He mumbled. 

Patton’s smile grew teeth as his whole face brightened. He walked up to Virgil and very gently grabbed his outer elbows. “Virgil…” 

Virgil tensed up slightly, fearing the worst. He knew Patton wouldn’t ridicule him…but he knew very well that Patton could tease him…Or worse, Patton may reassure him with a saddened tone of voice. Though he knew Patton meant well, the saddened tone would tell Virgil that Patton felt betrayed. Patton likely thought Virgil already trusted him…and if that were the case, then why didn’t Virgil ask him earlier? All of these were thoughts that went through Virgil’s head. 

Patton let out a slow breath. “Do you trust me?” Patton asked him calmly. 

Virgil opened his eyes with slight surprise. “Y-Yes…I do.” he replied. 

“Okay.” Patton almost whispered. Patton very gently moved Virgil’s hands down, and placed both his hands onto his shoulders. “Where would you like me to tickle you?” Patton asked him with a gentle smile. Everything about Patton’s attitude was non-threatening…more non-threatening than usual. It was…a little odd, but not unwelcome. 

Virgil looked at Patton as he lowered his hands with a small blush. “Uhhh…” He giggled a little bit. “My…My neck…” He admitted. 

Patton smiled brightly. “Feather? Or fingers?” He asked next, summoning a feather in his left hand while wiggling his right fingers. 

Virgil smiled a little bit more as his blush deepened. “Hehehe…Hehehe…F-Feheather please…” He muttered awkwardly. 

Patton moved the feather to his right hand. “Now:” Patton pointed the end of the feather at his face. “I’m only gonna tickle you, if you let me. Meaning you’re not allowed to hide your entire neck.” He warned. “You can hide one side of the neck, but not your whole neck. Okay?” Patton explained. 

Virgil nodded his head. No hiding his whole neck. That’s doable. “Okay.” he replied. 

Patton started right away. He started off fluttering the feather right under his chin. “Tickle tickle tickle~” Patton teased. 

Virgil squeaked and hid the front of his neck. “eEEK! Nohoho!” He giggled. 

Patton smirked. “How about…” Patton fluttered the feather on the right side of his neck. “A flutter-flutter-flutter here?” Patton teased. 

Virgil giggled and curled to the right. “Hehehe! Hehehehe-!” 

“Awww, such a cute little giggle!” Patton teased. “Maybe a little flutter here?” Patton moved the feather to the left side. 

“Hehehe- hahahaha!” Virgil’s giggles grew into laughter as the feather fluttered against his lower neck, and up towards the jawline. “Pahahahat- Hahahaha! Hehehehee!” Virgil looked away from Patton, too embarrassed to even look at Patton at this moment. 

But Patton didn’t really need to look very hard. He knew Virgil was embarrassed about this whole thing…And despite all his reassurance, Patton knew he’d never believe him. But the fact that Virgil wasn’t covering up his entire face with his hands, told him everything. Virgil didn’t feel a need to completely cover his face because…there was a little bit of trust there. Virgil trusted him enough to off-handedly show Patton his flustered face. 

Patton’s feather fluttered down the jawline, back towards the chin. 

“Hehehehe! Pahahahat-!” Virgil laughed. 

“Yeeeeesss?” Patton responded. 

“Ihihihit ticklehesss!” Virgil told him. 

“Really?!” Patton gasped. “You mean to tell me…” Patton fluttered the feather against his lower neck. “THIS tickles you?!” Patton reacted. 

Virgil covered his mouth and squealed. “Pahahahat!” He shook his head. “Nohohoho teheheheasihihihing!” Virgil reacted. 

Patton giggled. “No teasing? But that’s not fair!” Patton gently placed his fingers under Virgil’s chin to keep it up, before fluttering his feather under the chin. Virgil bursted out giggling and laughing right away. “Pahahahat! *snort* Cohohome ohohohohon!” Virgil giggled. 

“You poor, unfortunately ticklish soul!” Patton teased, somewhat referencing Ursula from The Little Mermaid. “♫So shy, so thrilled~!♫” Patton sang in the same melody as the song. “♫This one wanted to be tickled-♫” Patton pointed to Virgil. “♫-This one chose to trust his dad-♫” Patton pointed to himself. “♫And do I help him?♫” Patton fluttered the feather in Virgil’s face. “♫Yes indeed~♫” Patton declared as he tickled the front of his neck. 

Virgil snorted again and squeezed his eyes shut. “Mehehehehean.” Virgil mumbled. 

Patton tilted his head while raising an eyebrow. “Mean, huh?” Patton asked. 

“Yehehehes!” Virgil replied. 

“That isn’t mean.” Patton got rid of the feather and tickled both sides of his neck with his fingers. “Now THIS is mean.” Patton declared. 

Virgil squealed and cackled, trying to stop his fingers with his hands. “HAHAHAhahaha! Hahahaha- Nahahaha!” Virgil snorted and gave up his defenses to cover his mouth instead. His stupid snort was making itself known, and he didn’t really like it. Patton stuck out his lower lip. “Aww…I like your snort.” Patton admitted. 

Virgil opened his eyes and took one glance at his Padre’s sad face…and sure enough, that was all that was needed to drop his defenses. Virgil slowly removed his hands from his face, showing Patton the visibly red face in its entirety. 

“There it is!” Patton tickled under his chin a little, before booping his nose. 

Virgil giggled a bit at the chin tickles, before going cross-eyed with surprise at the nose boop. “Huh?” Virgil looked back towards Patton. “O-Oh…Heheh…” 

Patton placed his hands onto his cheeks. “Do you want me to stop?” Patton asked him. 

Virgil bit his lip and looked away slightly. “Uhh…N…No…” He mumbled. 

And that was all that was required to continue the neck tickles. 

[why-not-a-tickle-blog]

Patton walked into the room to see all five of the other sides. Perfect!

“I’ve been in a ler mood allllll day,” Patton announced. “I’m gonna go get some tools, and when I return there’d better be a little lee waiting as a sacrifice or else I’ll be coming after each one of you~”

Patton happily walked away, a spring in his step. He trusted them to do the right thing.

He happily picked out an assortment of feathers, brushes, and other fluffy things. This was a day to tickle gently until the lee melted into an adorable little puddle, exhausted and giggly.

Patton returned to the living room to see a very pink and shy-faced Roman. He was laying on the ground, already a bit squirmy. His own sash and Remus’s were tying his hands to the legs of an armchair, holding his arms up above his head. Logan’s tie held his ankles together, and there was a black belt connecting his ankles to the leg of the coffee table. Roman’s shirt had been removed, and Virgil’s hoodie was draped over him to keep him warm until Patton got back.

Patton’s eyes sparkled. How wonderful~ And they all participated, betraying poor Roman. An excellent excuse to wreck each and every one of them.

He sat on Roman’s hips, delighting in the teeny squirms underneath him.

“You ready to laugh for me?”

[rosileeduckie]

Mean, but Sweet

After all this, I don't know, the naughty list doesn't seem so bad...

Patton can be very mean, if it makes someone else happy 😈💙

Potential warnings: none. Sanders Sides, Janus/Patton tickle fic.

A Squealing Santa Christmas gift for @trashyswitch! Hoping it's worth the wait, and wishing you the happiest new year! 😊😘 Thanks so so so much @squealing-santa Hypah our hero for hosting this year!! Lots of love for everyone who participated; congrats everybody!! ❤❄

Word count: 6,406

~*~

There’s something very attractive about winter. The season is uniquely deep and dark, and Janus can’t help but thrive when there are shadows aplenty, easy to hide in and hide things in. A societal expectation to make nice with everyone also leads to the hilarious sight of people performing their “best life” routine by lying through smiling teeth and juggling a million more responsibilities that, no, they definitely don’t need help with. What could he say, it all made Janus feel very at ease, in the presence of deceit wrapped in pretty paper.

But, then, he wasn’t so cynical this year. He blamed his cohorts for melting his too-small heart over the course of the year to the point where he could now appreciate the whimsy that twinkling fairy lights give to a chilly winter evening. Still dark, but warm, too.

Metaphorically and literally warm–it was not quite a winter wonderland outside the house. Still, the lower temperature and earlier sunset and merry decorations and seasonal flavors in Janus’ mug and the obnoxiously patterned and colored sweater on his body really did make it feel like Christmas. Certainly, the Mind Palace could have been nestled in a snow globe setting if the Sides so desired, but they were partial to their host’s house in Florida. It wasn’t a white Christmas, but it was cozy and homey and–Janus could begrudgingly admit–nice.

Janus was skillfully juggling two mugs as he walked into the living room. In one hand, he carried a peppermint mocha in a plain red vessel, simple and hot. In the other hand, he held a mug covered with scenes of snowmen decorating a pine tree with little birds. The contents of that mug were just as extravagant and sweet: gingerbread spiced hot cocoa completely obscured beneath a layer of marshmallows, whipped cream, and sprinkles.

When Janus set the dessert in a cup on the coffee table, Patton looked up and smiled, his eyes really sparkling under the lights of the room’s opulent tree beside which he sat. The mug was just the newest addition to Patton’s station at the coffee table. Before him were a few sheets of notebook paper, a quill and ink, and a desk lamp and extension cord, which Janus stepped carefully over to sit on the couch just behind Patton.

“Aw, Janus!” Patton beamed, setting down his quill to reach for the mug. “Thank you!”

Even if the gap was seeming to narrow these days, Janus couldn’t help but marvel at how different he and Patton were sometimes. What an easy but incredible show of trust; any of the other Sides would have asked Janus what he wanted in return for such a thoughtful and good deed. (He would have answered “nothing,” but whether or not that was true, who could say?) “Not a problem,” Janus replied, taking a sip of his own drink. “How’s the naughty list looking this year?”

Patton giggled. He had a mustache of sweet fluff on his lip as he set down his mug and drew his quill. “Oh, I can’t say about that. But I do know Santa will have lots of ideas as to what to get you kids if you DO stay on the nice list.” He dipped the quill tip in his inkwell, humming with an audible grin. “Of course, I can’t imagine why you WOULDN’T be on the nice list…”

Janus crossed one leg over his knee and tapped his foot in a subtle but delighted rhythm. “Patton, lying at this time of year?” he tutted. “That nice list is slippery, you know. And lying around me, no less.” Janus leaned forward enough that the hissing chuckle that spread his lips into a smile could tickle Patton’s ear. “Is that my Christmas present?”

Ducking out of reach with a snort, Patton replied, “It’s not lying if I believe you all deserve the best gifts.” He turned to give Janus a boop on the nose with the fluffy end of his quill. “And it’s NOT the gift I have written down, I’ll have you know.”

For a moment, Janus’ eyes caught on the feather–a beautiful thing of blue and iridescent greens and purples that felt as soft as it looked–but curiosity shook him free, and he looked past the writing tool, blurring the beautiful colors as he focused his gaze on the page of just-dry ink. “It’s not?”

“Hey now!” Patton threw out his arm and leaned to one side so as to block Janus’ view. “No peeking!”

Undeterred, Janus didn’t fall back, just snickered and looked at Patton levelly. “What? I hardly need to know what you think I need for gifts.” He rested his chin in his hand, batting his eyelashes and tapping his cheek with his index finger. “But, say, what if I need ideas for our gift swap with the others? You know how hard Logan is to buy for.” (Untrue; Logan wasn’t hard to buy for, just irritatingly specific, which took out all the fun of surprising someone with their gift. Janus did love a good surprise.)

Eyes narrowed, Patton considered this before shaking his head and turning back to his makeshift desk. “No peeking,” he reiterated firmly. “Sensitive information here, for no one’s eyes but Mr Claus himself.” He paused, musing, then smiled. “Or his secretary. He is a busy guy.”

Janus nodded with a humoring hum. He sipped his coffee, nonchalantly scooting on the couch to be closer to Patton. If the scribe noted the movement, he didn’t mind, even leaning back against Janus’ calf and continuing to write. Janus waited a moment, then another, letting Patton’s guard slowly fall. The snake was hardly invested in letters to Santa Claus, but he did enjoy teasing and getting a rise out of Patton. And, who knows, maybe Janus would end up with someone with a scant wish-list and need a gift idea or two to fall back on. When the air felt calm enough to chance it, Janus leaned forward to peek over Patton’s shoulder.

Quick as a cobra, Patton had whirled around, brandishing his feather quill at Janus. “AH!” he admonished, tipping his head to one side and flashing a warning smile. “You better watch out.”

“You better not cry,” Janus replied with a smirk, leaning back a bit with his hands and mug raised placatingly. “Or what, Patton dear?”

Patton’s lower lip puffed out thoughtfully, and he hummed, clicking his tongue a few times. Janus waited, eyebrows raised and lips crookedly elevated. Then, Patton’s scrunched up thinking face relaxed before brightening into a big smile. He didn’t answer Janus’ question, just turned back to his list. Moreover, he didn’t move away but stayed close enough to be leaned up against Janus’ leg and, potentially, surely, observed by Janus’ looming eyes. The risk was worth the reward, and it would have been punishment to both of them to move apart. (It was nature for a Side, however deeply buried; even the prickliest of them liked company and a cuddle. And pushing their luck.)

Janus took a long sip from his drink and sighed, opening his mouth exaggeratedly wide both because it felt nice and because it tended to freak out any Sides who saw. He leaned forward, reaching purposely past Patton to set down his mug on the far side of the coffee table, securing for himself the perfect view of Patton’s cursive scrawl as well as the ideal perch to view it from, his chin resting upon the soft sweater fabric of Patton’s shoulder. Actually, it was cozy enough there, warm and soothing to the tune of Patton’s breathing and humming, and hard enough to read Patton’s handwriting from that distance, that Janus was content to close his eyes and not even try to peek. So he jumped a little, blinking in confusion, when Patton spoke again, but not quite to his current companion.

“‘And what do I ask of you dear Janus? Well, Santa, that’s quite simple. For my dear Janus, I want him to get the biggest and best–’” Patton paused, striking through the last word of his dictation with a flourish. “‘–the WORSE lee mood for Christmas.’”

Patton glanced sideways at him and smiled when Janus snickered. His head bobbed a bit atop the pleased wiggle that shook Patton’s shoulders. It wasn’t exactly a difficult thing to ask for for Christmas. The Sides, different as they could be, could all find fun in being tickled or making someone else laugh, so moods longing for one or the other were not uncommon. Sure, Virgil was more likely to be yearning for an onslaught of gentle belly tickles, whereas Remus would be more often found with fingers twitching in hopes of digging up screams from between someone’s ribs, and Logan could slide back and forth along that scale in a second. But still, it was a safe bet that someone in the Mind Palace was hoping to be or happy to be tickled. Because even if, somehow, no one was actively in a lee mood, one could pretty easily be teased out. Janus fell in the middle of the chaos, fluid like Logan in the part he was ready to play–tickle monster or squealing victim–and not one to be easily teased into a mood–not to be knocked over with a feather, so to say. Sure, seeing Patton twirl his feather quill thoughtfully and being actively threatened with a lee mood–not even being tickled, just infected with the desire to be–may have flustered Janus well enough, but he was cozy enough where he sat to weather the attack. So he only smiled, smug, closing his eyes and staying cuddled up, however awkwardly leaning, up against Patton’s shoulder.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have been so trusting.

“‘The kind of lee mood that makes you feel so warm and giddy and fuzzy,’” Patton went on, and Janus could hear the big smile around his words, “‘like just thinking about being tickled makes you feel tinsel between your toes and snowflake soft feathers on your belly. I want him to be so happy and flustered that he can only giggle and hiss and do that cute thing where he shakes his legs and taps his feet.’”

They didn’t live in a place with snowy winters, but Janus felt a phrase often used in that region come to mind: deceptively sunny. It was the scenario when one looked out the window to marvel at a beautiful winter landscape, blanketed in crystalline snow and brilliant beneath a crisp blue sky and bright sun, only to step outside and take in a breath that felt like a crackling snap in the lungs. Sunny, but cold. That was Patton. Warm, friendly, happy, but, just beneath, positively wicked. Freezing cold and sharp under a pretty sun, a hot spiced drink under sweet white fluff. Janus felt his stomach turn, swoop like at the drop in a roller-coaster, and burst with a blizzard of butterflies. He couldn’t look away from Patton’s quill as it bobbed, scrawling teases into paper that Janus was suddenly jealous of. Okay, maybe he was easier to tease a mood from than he cared to admit.

And perhaps Patton could read his mind, because he conveniently exclaimed, “‘Oh, and teases! Yes! He needs to get all the teases that make his cheeks go red and his scales change color!’”

Janus’ scales were certainly not doing anything of the sort when Patton paused in writing. He pursed his lips, smiled, and jumped back into his letter.

“‘And, you know, I think this mood’s gotta last until Christmas day, so maybe you can send him some tickly dreams in the meantime, too! Maybe twelve days of them would be fitting?’” Patton’s tongue poked between his top and bottom teeth as he giggled. He cleared his throat, donning a more serious face for continuing his letter to Santa. “‘If that’s too much, don’t worry about it; I’d be happy to take some of the work off your hands. I’m actually writing this letter to you with a beautiful feather quill I got for my birthday–Roman said he just knew I’d get a kick out of being fancy while writing letters. But it’s a beautiful plume, my favorite kind of teal blue and so soft to the touch.’”

‘Writing’ was a stretch; Patton wasn’t even touching the pen to the paper anymore, just twirling the pretty thing between his fingers. It was as long as a hand, with the non-writing end fanning out into a subtle fluffy curl. Its fibers seemed to float lazily as Patton waved the quill around, and Janus imagined they were so delicate as to not even be felt–until they found a place so sensitive on the body that they wouldn’t be ignored. Janus’ usually dark eyes and slitted pupils were bright and dilated, focused so on the gossamer feather that he took little note of Patton looking sideways at him, watching his reactions, with a grin.

Patton sighed dreamily. “‘I bet it would feel so nice tracing down Janus’ neck or around his belly or along his hips. Or circling every scale he has.’” When he smirked at Janus, he would have seen the scales on his face flushed a dark brown-gold. “‘Maybe what I should actually ask you to bring is a good tickle session for Janus on Christmas, and I can do the teasing the twelve days before. Whatever you decide, please know that I am a very good judge of character, and I know that Janus has been SO good this year–’”

Janus’ stomach did another giddy loop-de-loop when Patton chuckled and adjusted his glasses.

“I suppose you’re right, Jan; I should be honest, shouldn’t I?” Patton winked, and Janus’ face may have been warm enough to toast marshmallows on. “‘I know that Janus has been VERY naughty this year, and, so, deserves only the sweetest, meanest, most thorough lee mood, teasing, and wrecking that he’s had all year. And, if your present to me is that I get to deliver this for Janus, I certainly wouldn’t complain. Sincerely yours, Patton.’”

Patton’s smile didn’t falter when Janus stood abruptly from his seat, but his eyebrows did rise expectantly. “I’ve finished my coffee,” Janus answered before Patton could ask. “If you’ll excuse me.” Clutching his half-full mug tightly in his hand, Janus skirted widely around the coffee table and death sentence of a Christmas list. He stopped short at the bottom of the stairs, turning to give Patton a forcibly cool nod. “Thank you for your company.”

After a few startled blinks, Patton snorted and held a hand to his rosy freckled cheek. “Signed, sealed, delivered,” he said to Janus with a grin and a shake of his head. “It’s a little too late to try and get on the nice list now~”

Janus fled calmly up the stairs, ears flushed at the last sight of Patton waving the feather quill to him in farewell.

~*~

The teal fluffy feather was all Janus could see, later–minutes? hours? days? he really couldn’t say–when he lay buried beneath his duvet, trying to pat the heat and smile from his cheeks. The trick really was not to think about it, all the lovely teases Patton had wished for him, but how could he do that when that damn feather was running rampant in his brain, dusting all his thoughts to make them tickly. He had just finished his coffee, too, so he couldn’t even hope to drift off for a cozy little nap. It’d be just his luck though; he’d probably get a dream that would fluster him awake or the second he awoke.

With a huff of a sigh, Janus threw off the covers. If the call was coming from inside the house, there was no point in hiding; if his mind was the monster, a blanket wasn’t going to save him. Besides that, the heat of his sweater and flushing cheeks was beginning to make the bubble of space between his blanket and his bed feel like an oven. He sat up enough to free himself from his sweater and dropped it off the side of the bed and onto the discarded blankets before falling onto his back. If his mind was going to torture him, at least, his body could be comfortable.

But, Janus’ mind sang unhelpfully, now he bore even less protection if some lovely monster slithered down the chimney to leave tickly stardust in his socks and pin him to his bed and–

The pillow previously behind Janus’ head was wailed frustratedly into before it, too, was thrown off the bed. Janus forced himself to take a long, slow breath, burying his fingers in the fabric of his sheets. Okay. Clearly, the lee mood was too grand already to try and wall completely off. Trying to ignore it (and ultimately failing to do so) was just making him irritated. But then, he was too worked up and embarrassed to act on his wants, to ask for it. The very thought was mortifying. Maybe there was a safe middle ground. Maybe he could let the dam leak a little, let the thoughts trickle in. He could handle that, he wouldn’t drown. (He would be dramatic, but he wouldn’t drown.) Surely, he could let himself think about it, a little. Patton had already infected him with the feather fever, after all. Janus figured he might as well try to enjoy it.

Breathing came slower and easier when Janus brought himself to that compromise. He could close his eyes, rein in his agitated leg twitching, wade gently into the pool of his mind.

The image of the quill came back to his mind, and he welcomed it, accompanied it with soft touch from his own hand. As the cerulean feather twirled about, dancing amid the sugarplum visions it had made of his thoughts, Janus traced his fingertips over his belly. With his eyes shut, he could almost pretend the feather to be the perpetrator of the feeling, the gentle swishing back and forth along the border between skin and scales. It was a lovely feeling that made his stomach--just beneath the light show of beautiful sensation--ache with longing.

What else could he imagine? Patton had given him a few cheesy seasonal teasing suggestions, which was kind since Janus wasn't the most creative of the Sides--not the least, but not the most. Janus pictured tinsel, silver and shimmery and soft, threaded between his toes and sawed delicately. His breath caught for a moment, and his toes scrunched against the imaginary sensation. How tauntingly on the edge of feeling.

What else could he imagine? Through his closed eyes, he could see the feather swirling gentle but relentless loops around his belly and scales. He could see the tinsel under his toes. He could see Patton’s smile, his fingers curling and uncurling above Janus’ quivering abdomen. Just a little closer…

Janus sat up, burying his flushed face in his hands. Twelve days of anticipation like this would be its own torture.

A knock to the rhythm of ‘Jingle Bells’ sounded from his door. Janus gave his red cheeks one last chastising pat, floundered for a moment on where to lay his limbs to act natural, and settled on resting his hands on his knees. “Come in.”

When the door opened, the first thing to enter was the bright red and white of a Santa hat, followed by Patton’s merry smile. “Hey, kiddo! You busy?”

“Depends,” said Janus with a hollow scoff. “Did you need more help planning holiday torment, or did you want to bake cookies or something?”

Patton snorted, wiggling his shoulders proudly as he fully entered the room and shut the door. He clasped his hands behind his back, swaying his hips forward and back. “Mm, a bit in between,” Patton decided. “Mean, but still sweet.”

Janus swallowed, trying very hard to bar the dam of his thoughts to keep his hopes from running away from him. “Oh?”

“Well, Santa got back to me,” said Patton, leaning back against the door and crossing his arms with a big sigh. “I know, no time wasted; he is a professional, after all.” He shook his head and smiled sadly, but his eyes were sparkling. “But he said that even he couldn’t make a lee mood and wrecking as wonderful as I asked for in such a short turnaround. So!” Patton adjusted his hat and stood tall, beaming. “He said I should most certainly fill in!”

For someone whose thoughts had just been flooded with elated relief, Janus’ mouth was quite dry. He wouldn’t have to wither away the winter waiting. Patton’s hands and feathers and tinsel and smile were near and real. Janus felt a funny mix of gratefulness and annoyance, seeing as how Patton had been the one to drop him into such a state in the first place. But then, he was too excited already to be annoyed. “Oh,” he said again.

“If you’re not busy.” Patton took a step further into the room.

“Well–” Janus started to say.

“You don’t look busy,” said Patton. Two more steps took him to the edge of Janus’ bed, where he stood, head cocked and smile crooked. “You look like you were expecting me.”

Such rare smugness from Patton was enough to snap Janus from flustered to–well, he was certainly still flustered, but also–indignant. His mouth hung open, and, when no words miraculously filled the empty space, Janus stuck out his forked tongue.

“Don’t be naughty,” Patton chastised with a giggle. “I wrote you a song. May I sit with you and sing it for you?”

Janus nodded, pushing himself up with his hands so as to scoot back and make room for Patton on the bed, but Patton stopped with a gentle hand on his knee.

“Lie back and get comfy,” Patton instructed with a grin. “It’s not a short song.”

His sweater and blankets had already been tossed to the floor; Janus had neither protection nor a saving excuse when the heat in his face spread to his ears and down his neck. He lay back, resting his hands on either side of his head, and, mercifully, Patton commented on neither Janus’ flush nor his eagerness. Instead, Patton whistled a little yuletide carol, climbing onto the bed and kneeling over Janus’ legs. He didn’t settle yet, but turned his torso toward the foot of the bed and tugged off his Santa hat, holding it behind his back and out of Janus’ sight. But Janus could still hear as the hat was held open and its previously unseen contents came tumbling out, rattling like cartoon pots and pans fell onto the sheets. Janus had a guess as to what the hidden pile may have included, but he couldn’t fathom how Patton had managed to hide such a trove so impossibly under his hat. Said hat was placed on Janus’ head as soon as Patton had turned to face forward again, the puff of it being booped on Janus’ nose. Janus' face scrunched up in feigned distaste and fruitless effort to keep from smiling anticipatorily.

Patton adjusted himself to kneel fully and comfortably on Janus’ legs, reaching behind him for a moment to neaten up the mystery gifts from Santa’s hat, then faced Janus once more with a smile. “Alright.” Leaning forward a bit to hunch his shoulders and flex his fingers, Patton began to softly sing. “On the first day of Christmas, I count on my merry lee~”

Janus let out a groaning chuckle. Of course, Patton would come up with the silliest teasing twist on a seasonal song. A song which–Janus realized, derision turning to giddy panic–often had twelve verses that only got longer. He yelped, startled from his thoughts by a sudden whispering soft sensation swirling over his lower belly, and came face to face with the evil feather that had started the whole ordeal. Patton circled the teal feather around Janus’ navel, grinning at the smile straining to be free from Janus’ bitten lower lip.

“A giggle button on his belly~” Patton set the feather by his knee and reached behind him with both hands. “On the second day of Christmas, I count on my darling lee…” And, instead of grabbing a new tool, Patton scribbled his fingers up and down Janus’ soles, prompting a squeal and buck from the man. “Two wiggling feet,” Patton sang, before swinging his hands back in front of himself to dance upon Janus’ stomach once more, “and a giggle button on his belly~”

Second verse cleared, ten more to go. It was too late for Janus to curb his smile–the thing had taken off and spread its wingspan across his cheeks–but he could keep from laughing, he could. He had to. Because, of course, it wasn’t just ten more verses in single phrases; it was ten verses consecutive to all the verses that came before. Janus’ mind was too scrambled to do the math on how many teases in total he was about to endure–he was excited to endure.

“On the third day of Christmas, I count on my dashing lee…” Patton fell forward, hovering above Janus nose-to-nose and grinning. The heels of his hands came to rest on Janus’, his fingers sliding up Janus’ palms until their digits were parallel and easily intertwinable. Janus didn’t know whether this move was a moment of mercy early on or of false security, and he tried to hold Patton’s hands and take as deep of breaths as his cantering heart would allow. Patton squeezed his hands once before curling his own fingers inward. Janus’ eyebrows furrowed in confusion before shooting up in realization, just in time for Patton’s nails to scratch delicately along the palms of Janus’ hands. “Three pairs of twitchy palms~”

Janus snorted, and he would have blamed the tickling, if anyone had asked. No way, no way, was Patton going to get him to unfurl his other two sets of arms into a visible and tangible state. Even if doing so would gain Janus four more terribly ticklish spots to be doted upon… No. He would not so willfully participate in his own demise.

Most all his resistance dissipated into delighted terror when Patton drew back, aiming his wiggling fingers behind him until they touched down to rake Janus’ heels. “Two wiggling feet~”

Janus held his breath and clenched his jaw. He’d already let a little laughter sound loose; even if it was a relief to do so, it was too early in the marathon to let himself go. Wasn’t it?

“And a giggle button on his belly~”

Poor Janus arched his back and threw his head into the mattress as Patton’s fingers danced around his stomach, trailing long slow paths from the bottom of his ribcage to the top of his hips and back up again. On the second trip, Patton changed techniques, using one hand for featherlight skating down Janus’ sensitive skin and using the other for just a bit rougher scratching down his scales. At last, the giggly dam crumbled, and, albeit through his grinning teeth and scrunched nose, Janus began to laugh, a hissing breathy happy sound.

Patton hummed, pleased, and sung on. “On the fourth day of Christmas, I count on my cutie lee…”  From where his hands splayed on Janus’ waist, it was easy as fruit cake for Patton to slide them around until he was holding Janus in a hug, warm but made menacing by his nails sudden scurrying into Janus’ lower back. “Four spine-y squeezes~”

Grabbing at his hat to hold himself still, Janus cackled, shoving his back down into the mattress in attempt to make the spot inaccessible for Patton, but to no avail. Still, he didn’t even have time to get used to the sensation before the song went marching on. Patton gently pried Janus’ hands free to scribble into his palms, fell back onto his legs to skitter down his soles, and bowed forward to dig into the soft flesh of his stomach.

“On the fifth day of Christmas, I count on my love-a-lee…” The flurry of movement from the last verse had paused, and Patton lay, for a moment, his cheek still on Janus’ panting midsection. Janus kept his guard up, though. Haggard as he was, he felt vindicated when he saw the mischievous twinkle in Patton’s eyes immediately before he took a big breath and blew a vibrating raspberry in Janus’ belly. The hilarious and heinous weapon was matched in volume by Janus’ wail of laughter. “Five raspberries!” Patton lifted his head, beaming. Janus shook his head, too breathless to form words and soon swept up once more in a tidal wave of howling humor as Patton planted one, two, three, four more raspberries on Janus’ tummy. It certainly didn’t help that all the Sides had slight stubble growing recently; the scratch of Patton’s peach fuzz, especially on Janus’ scales, made for the most awful raspberries he’d probably ever felt.

No rest for the wicked; Patton’s song carried on. Janus, through quite brutal a memorization process, was starting to get used to the pattern mentally, but not physically. The jumping from spot to spot was too sudden and speedy for him to get used to anything, so all he could do was brace for what he knew was coming next. Four scribbles down his spine (and shoulders, which Patton did not need to be so mean as to target), three pairs of palms subject to little but effective scratches, two feet menaced this time by that damn blue feather, and one belly button turning pink from aching laughter and attention.

“On the sixth day of Christmas, I count on my dearie lee… six ticklish armpits~” 

Another pause, during which Janus gulped giggly breaths before cracking an eye open. Like spiders cut loose from their webs, Patton’s hands descended, diving into Janus’ uppermost armpits with clawing fingers.

It was good that Janus had already let his laughter loose, because, when the newest bout of cachinnation rocked his frame, he needed all his resolve to hold his arms still. His grasp was white-knuckle tight on his arms and hair, and his laughing grin was wide enough to make his cheeks burn from the ache of exertion as well as the heat of elation. And then Patton took the elevator down to the next floor of terribly ticklish underarms. Janus’ elbows strained to flap, and his head whipped back and forth, shoving one chortling cheek and then the other into the bedspread. How long could this verse possibly be?

Another brutal raspberry to his belly amidst the armpit assault prompted a shriek from Janus. He couldn’t verbalize how unfair it was to double up on spots, and Patton’s explanation was hardly sympathetic. “Five!” Patton crowed, burying his face in Janus’ stomach to deliver vibrating lips and nuzzling stubble with each syllable. “Rasp! Ber! Ries!” For as much effort as Janus was using to keep still (aside from his thrashing laughing head and heaving stomach), he was startled at how easy a time Patton had muscling him halfway onto his side. That was definitely why he squealed, and not because Patton had finally moved down to scribbling into his lowest armpits with one jumping hand and feathering his lower back with the other.

“Four spiney squeezes~”

It was small but a mercy still that Patton didn’t make Janus release his ironclad grip on his own arms for the next stanza, settling instead on brushing that evil plume along his forearms and into the crooks of his elbows. (The song’s alignment to Patton’s actions had been askew from the start anyway, but Janus was having too much fun to nitpick.)

“Three pairs of twitchy palms~”

Perhaps unintentional, but there was another brief respite for Janus in the few seconds between Patton pulling back from his upper body to reach back for his feet. Very brief, maybe long enough for one guffaw to have a longer inhale than the rest before tumbling once more into wailing laughter as Patton’s fingers scribbled into his arches.

“Two wiggling feet~”

Patton pounced forward and giggled when Janus snorted amid his laughter, only to place a teasing kiss on his stomach.

“And a giggle button on his belly~”

If Janus wasn’t half-past loopy already, he would have marveled at Patton’s masterminding. This session was pure psychological evil. Janus was all heightened nerves and anticipation; after the reveal of what spot would start the new verse, he technically knew what was coming next, but he was still awash in thrill and terror, like he was experiencing each spot anew.

He also would have applauded six ticklish hands for Patton’s composition skills. Once they’d gotten to the tenth verse, it was a very smooth and terrible line up from Janus’ toes to his knees to his thighs to his hips. The next, eleven, was not so limited in its geography but its choreography, but Patton performed it wickedly. That beautiful quill was the star of it, and Patton made use of his ‘eleven feather swishes’ to waltz up Janus’ tummy, across his chest, dipping into his armpits, to his neck and ears–eleven was so many swishes. If he’d had the wherewithal and malice for it, Janus would have thrown Patton six calling birds for his villainy.

The echoes of the last verse and laughter lingering in the corners of the room, Janus lay, limp and gulping air through lingering giggles, eyes shut and an utterly relaxed smile upon his lips. Patton lay as well, still and content, his cheek resting on Janus’ stomach and his index fingers tracing the scales on his sides.

“How ya doin’, kiddo?” Patton asked with a sigh, chuckling when he received only a happy hissing exhale in reply. “I’m glad.” He sat up, tapping a little tune on Janus’ tummy and biting his lip. “You think you got it in you for one more verse?”

Janus’ eyes scrunched further shut, and he giggled at the mere thought of Patton’s proposal. He peeked through one eye and nodded.

“Okay.” Patton’s soft, fond smile sharpened into something sinister. “But, you know, darn it, I think I’ve forgotten the words. Do you remember them? Think you can sing it for me?”

Janus snorted at that. Yes, an excellent idea, let the snake whose brain had been reduced to happy goopy goofy mush come up with the words to the teasing song that had been his detriment. Don’t let him sink fully into elated sleepiness, make him force himself to stay awake enough to bear a bit more, draw out the session a little longer to make it truly the best Christmas gift… Upon deliberation, Janus could see the appeal. Mean but sweet, indeed. Janus pulled himself up, physically and mentally, assuming the familiar position of bracing his own arms and coaxing his mind from the edge of sleep. He’d certainly heard the verses enough times to know the words. He cleared his throat, voice hoarse and happy from laughing so long. “On the twelfth day of Christmas, the tickle monster gave to me: twelve heaving ribs– PATTON!”

The newest rendition of the song had been softer, wavering a bit, compared to Patton’s more confident and lilting tone. Well. It had been quieter, until Patton had unleashed hell upon Janus’ ribs. Vibrating, scratching fingers followed the furrows of the bones, left to right, and then raked down them like a washboard. Rinse, repeat.

Oh, Patton had been going easy on him all this time. That whole marathon thing had just been a prelude to the real event: the sprint.

“Yes, Janus dear?” Patton grinned. “Go on, just waiting for you to sing the next bit and tell me where to tickle!”

OH, not even a sprint–a sprint implied pushing it to the limit for a short time. This pseudo-sprint’s pace was to be determined by the man whose legs had been jelly for the past ten minutes. So it could have been a short time, if Janus let his shrieking, snorting laughter overtake him, or it could take as long as it took him to think coherently while being tickle tortured. A very, very long time. He really must have been on the naughty list.

Like with the previous, Janus had barely crowed out the next verse before Patton had that damn feather darting everywhere it could reach, his neck and ears and stomach mostly, until it could fly back to saw between his toes for the tenth day of Christmas. The feather flipped to scribble the quill end under Janus’ toes as Patton’s other hand squeezed up until it reached his knee. Nine. Both hands dove in to spider and scratch his thighs. Eight. Then to massage their thumbs into his hips bones. Seven.

Janus was a gay mess of exhausted but elated guffawing and kicking feet and flapping elbows. He could barely get out the words to direct Patton where to tickle next. If he’d been asked to lead a verse earlier in the session, he might have mucked up the order a bit on purpose to make it easier on himself. That option was out the window now, as he could hardly keep up with calling out spots as Patton was actively tickling them. He was swept up in the speed and brutality of the menacing of different spots, all scribbling nails and stubbly kisses. Patton was laughing with him, cheeks red from the upped pace of the activity and smile wide and beaming from getting to make Janus feel so happy and safe. He was jumping and falling between spots on the final countdown, half leading and half following Janus’ howling hymnal. With one final raspberry to Janus’ navel, the both of them collapsed in a cuddly heap, Patton rolling off Janus' body to hug him properly.

Eyes heavy and chest heaving as he took slow, deep, relaxing breaths, Janus gave Patton a boop on the nose with the Santa hat that sat crooked on his head. “Merry Christmas, meanie.”

“And a sweet New Year,” Patton giggled, reaching over the side of the bed to grab the duvet and wrap them both up in it for a well-earned snuggle.

[fluffomatic]

Patton is a ding dang tickle monster!! And of course he adore tickling his dark strange son. There's this video on YouTube, Virgil is nervous about an interview Thomas has and Patton tickles him to cheer him up. I have watched this dang video so many times. It's the reason I wanted to draw this so bad! Giggly, squeaky Virgil is my favorite thing and it is absolutely Pattons favorite thing too~

(My art don't repost but please reblog)

[fanderficreader]

Sometimes You Just Gotta Relax.

(TickleTober Day 6 “Cuddles”)

Words: 1,099

Ships: Moxiety (either platonic or romantic, idc)

TW: None.

Virgil didn’t know why but he was in a very touchy feely mood today, and it unsettled him. He’s not the touchy feely type. So why he was in the mood to be in the sweet and warm embrace of a loved one, and never let go until the day he died was beyond him.

But nonetheless he still felt these feelings, and it seemed as though they weren’t going anywhere. So, he said ‘ah, f** it.’ And acted on the feelings. Which is why he was now standing in front of Pattons door.

He hesitated at first, but then, he begrudgingly knocked on the door awaiting the sweet welcoming words of his favorite friendly father figure figment. Just then, he heard a ‘Come in!’ And opened the door.

There on the bed laid a happy and content Patton on his stomach, coloring in a ‘Winnie The Pooh’ coloring book. “Hey kiddo!” He looked up to see his dark strange son looking at him, with a small loving smile. “What can I do ya’ for?” He asked, in his signature dad voice.

“Oh nothing.” He replied. “I just kinda wanted to… uh- well, I just thought you would wanna maybe… er- do you think we could, maybe, possibly…. Cuddle…??” It took him painfully long to blurt it out, but, when he finally did Patton looked at him with an excited ear to ear smile.

“Well, of course kiddo!! I’d love to!” He exclaimed. He shifted so he was now laying on his back, with his head against a propped up pillow. He then patted a spot next to him, for Virgil to lay. Virgil slowly walked over, hands shoved deep in his pockets. He gave a half smile at Patton, and then plopped himself down next to him, immediately cuddling up to the cardigan wearer.

“You wanna be little spoon?” Patton asked in a loving voice. Virgil nodded, shoving his head deeper into Patton’s chest to hide the growing blush. “Aww, you’re too cute to handle sometimes Virge…” he said stroking Virgil’s hair to soothe him, and relax him. His breathing leveling out as he quickly muttered out “nno’ cute…” he said in a sleepy tone, before inevitably falling asleep.

After about half an hour of relaxing scalp scritches and head rubs from Patton, Virgil then started shifting slightly as Patton switched from head scratches to shoulder scratches. “You alright there Virge?” As Patton asked that he then proceeded to take his scratching fingers downwards to Virgil’s lower back.

That’s when he started squirming back and forth. “Ohh, I get it.” Patton just then had the realization of what was happening. “Are my back scratches tickly tickling you?~” he asked in a borderline baby voice. That’s when Virgil started quietly whining, the little back tickles were bad enough but Virgil couldn’t handle the teasing too!

Yes, I know what you’re thinking. ‘Oh but he’s still asleep’ and to that I say he is slightly asleep. The more and more Patton keeps up the tickling -albeit very slight and gentle and light tickling yes, but it still tickles- the more and more awake and coherent he becomes. “Hey Virgie~” he called out. “I think someone’s about to get tickled in their favorite spot~” he said before fluttering and lightly scratching behind Virgil’s ear and in the crook of his neck.

If he wasn’t awake before, he was now. That had woken him up enough that he was now a puddle of light squeaky giggles. “Your gunna kill me with cuteness!! Stop bein’ so darn adorable!~” he said in a teasing tone. “EHEHEHheheh!! PAHHAhahaehehe!” He was a squirming scrunched up pile of laughter. “Aww, is this your melt spot?” Patton asked as he fluttered at a spot where Virgil’s jawline met his neck. When he did that Virgil just laid there with his neck half scrunched up and just melted into the touch.

“Oh… my g- Are You Purring!?” Patton started hearing low vibrations in Virgil’s giggles that almost sounded like purrs. “Nohohaha, Ihhhehehmhm nohahat!” He protested. “Mhmyyeheh voice ihisss juhusst sscrahachhyyehe!” He managed through the remaining giggles. I say ‘remaining’ because Patton was so thrown off by the sound that he unknowingly stopped tickling Virgil.

“Well either way, it’s adorable!” He said, with a genuine smile on his face. With that, he started the tickling and fluttering back up again. After a while Patton got bored, so he decided to pull Virgil up into his lap so he could explore other possible tickle spots. “Hmm…” he gave Virgil’s right lower ribs an experimental poke. Which resulted in Virgil clamping his arms to his sides and letting out a slight giggle.

Patton, liking the result he got, continued with the same motion on every other rib, and he got the same reaction every time. By the time he was satisfied, Virgil was a giggling panting mess. He loved every second of it. Patton then gave other experimental pokes all over Virgil’s tummy, and he was a giggly, squeaky, wiggly mess.

“Do you wike having youw tummy tickwed?~” Patton asked in a baby voice, that made Virgil audibly whine and cover his rising blush, as Patton kept poking around his stomach. That is, until he found a spot that made Virgil squeal and hide his face more. “What was that Virgie-Wirgie?” He poked it again and got the same squeal, but this time it earned him a few leg kicks and an ‘Ack!’. -which he was very proud of-

“Is this little button right here whats making you all squirmy?~” if Virgil could protest his teases right now he would, but he couldn’t. He was too busy being flustered by them to fight them, right now. Virgil was pulled from his train of thought though, as he felt a poke delivered to his navel. He gasped and laughed briefly.

“Oh~ Is this a good spot??~” Patton asked, delivering another poke and a quick flutter to his bellybutton. Patton was a little taken aback at how eager Virgil was to respond, and not only respond but give a nod. After about another 20 something minutes of this, Virgil was getting a bit restless. So, when Patton finally delivered a good 2 and a half minutes of armpit tickles Virgil signaled that he was done.

“You tired kiddo?” Patton asked, before Virgil even nodded Patton was already laying them back down on the bed, to have a nice nap together. With that, Virgil could confidently say today was a good day.

And, he wouldn’t be opposed to spending any other days just the same…

[notnobot]

Lee moods part 1 (logans mood)

TICKLE FIC

Notnobot, "Hello people!!! This is my first fanfic with the sanders, so bare with me. I would also like to announce that I will be starting to take requests for fics, no art because I don't do art, I will be making a request thing a mugig that will tell you what you can request, sorry forgot the name of the stupid thing, please remind me if any of you get the chance. Oh, and ENJOY!!!"

Logan was lying on his bed in one of the biggest lee moods a person could endure, fantasizing about the dreaded t-word while he stretched himself out and hung his feet over his bed. What if someone had been hiding under his bed, then slowly started to drag their fingers over his feet. Or what if someone, maybe patton, came into his room just to tickle his tummy until he was out of breath. Those both sounded pretty nice right about now, logan thought.

After about ten whole minutes of swimming in a six foot deep lee mood, logan decided to head to the living room in hopes someone there would be willing to tickle him.

As he walked towards the living room, he could hear someone laughing. He entered the living room only to see roman on the couch being tickled by patton.

"Ehehehe, pahahaAHAHAHA! NOHOHOHOAHAHAHAHAHA PLEHEHEHEHEASE" Roman laughed as patton found an extra ticklish spot near his armpits, not noticing that logan was standing on the threshold of the living room door, only able to watch in pure silence.

Patton, on the other hand, did notice logan. "Wanna help? He is a pretty wiggley wiggle worm, could use an extra pare of hands." Patton asked cheerfully. Logan just stood there and started giggling.

Patton, being the one and only tickle monster of the mind palace, realized that logan had been in a lee mood. Oh yeah, he was in trouble now.

Patton stopped his attack on roman the second he realized this. Roman, once he caught his breath, saw Patton's face and knew someone was in a lee mood. He turned around only to see the mind palaces pocket protector, red in the face, giggling.

Both patton and roman had the same mischievous look on their faces. Roman had actually gotten up and picked up logan to bring him over to the couch, and guess what, logan gave absolutely no fight what so ever. All while Patton was wiggling his fingers waiting for logan to be brought over to him to give him the tickles he so very much wanted.

"Lee mood, huh? Well, don't worry, my ticklish friend, you will get the tickles you so very much want and deserve." Roman teased as he flopped logan onto the couch so his tummy was open for tickling.

Patton sat on his legs so he could tickle his tummy, ribs, and sides while roman was standing by his armpits, ready to tickle at any given moment. Logan didn't even protest. All he did was giggle, waiting for the tickles.

"Pick a number, Lolo." Said patton excitedly. For a moment, logan just giggled, thinking about what the number could mean. It could mean the time they tickled him for, or it could be the time he must wait to be tickled.

Logan thought that it was more likely that it was for the time he had to wait to get tickled, so "ehehe twohohoho plehehehase!"

"Two, it is!" Roman said, "Would you like to count down for us logan?" Logan looked at the two with a flushing face. They were really gonna make him do that?!?! Of all the ways to tease him! Well, logan thought, it's only two seconds.

"Ohohkahay," Logan started, "twohohoho, ohohone, zerohoHOHOHO!" Logan laughed. Roman was softly tracing circles inside his armpits while Patton was digging into his tummy. The ticklish sensations were unbearable, but he loved every last second of it.

"Awww, my cute little nerd is all giggly and cute. What more could a dad ask for?" Patton cooed.

"Yes, he is pretty cute, isn't he?" Roman answered,

After about five minutes of tickling, their favorite nerd, roman had to get it really going, for logan's sake, of course.

"Hay Patton, isn't it time for our afternoon snack?"

Patton looked at roman with the most mischievous, sly smile that roman had ever seen. "Oh, how could I have forgotten our afternoon snack?! We must find a suitable snack for today, but what?"

The two were talking as though there was not a laughing, wiggling logan right in front of them. His giggles, laughs, and snorts filled the room. He was truly lost in tickles, drowning almost.

Roman looked down at logan to see he was still holding up quite well for how long they had been tickling him, so why not tickle him a little more intensely, right?

Roman gave patton a sly grin, and in a smooth voice, he said, "Well, raspberries are very tasty and nutritious. Why not have some of those?"

"NOHOHOHOHO NOHOHOHOHOT THEHEHEHE RAHAHSBEHERRIEHEHES!" Logan protested, not meaning a single word of it.

With that, patton pushed up logan's shirt and blew raspberry after raspberry on his poor tummy.

"NOHOHOHOHOHOHO! HAHAHAHAHEHEHEHEH! IHIHIT'S SOHOHOHO TIHIHICKLEHEHEHE!"

Patton stopped with the raspberries but kept his face on logans belly to soak in all his beautiful laughter. Roman, however, had moved down to logan's ribs to keep him giggling, but no longer laughing as hard as he was with the raspberries.

Roman had stopped with his tickling to let logan calm down. Patton went to fetch him a glass of water while roman got him some apple slices. Logan gladly took all the snacks and drinkage he was offered before sitting on the couch leaning on patton.

"So," started patton, "was it all you wanted?" Logan cuddled closer to patton and nodded, with the biggest smile any of them had ever seen logan wear.

He was happy, they were happy, everyone was happy, even virgil! All the laughter had concerned him, so he came downstairs to find logan all smiliey and roman and patton all happy as well. Virgil had joined in to cuddle logan while he was still happy and smiley.

"All tickled out, huh?" Asked virgil with a small smile already forming on his face. Logan looked up at him and nodded, cuddling back into virgil as well as patton. In the end, they all took a nice relaxing nap on the couch.

The end

Sorry, it's short, guys. I didn't have much time to make it. Hope you all enjoyed it, because I enjoyed making it for you! More will be coming soon!!!

[gingerlee-holds]

Pillow Fort Pick-Me-Up

this is a sanders sides ficlet for @jinleebelee! i hope they have a great birthday and a great year ^^

Lee!Virgil x Ler!Patton (interpret how you wish)

Virgil jolted awake, breathing fast, the nightmare sticking in his mind. He quickly looked around to make sure he was not still in danger.

'Nope,' he thought. 'Still in Patton's pillow fort-'

The six sides had all spent the day building a pillow fort in Patton's room, and towards the end, it was getting pretty late, so they each fell asleep one by one. Roman and Logan dozed off first, mid-argument. Janus thought he would be sneaky and pretend to fall asleep to trick everyone, but then he drifted off. Goober. Remus somehow fell asleep with his butt in the air, leaving only Patton and Virgil awake. Patton gave Virgil one more comforting hand squeeze before he drifted into dreamland, making Virgil the last to fall asleep, as usual.

Now, he found that he was the first one awake, except that this time, he hated the loneliness that came with it. Virgil looked over at Patton, still asleep. Then, nudging him gently, he mumbled, "Pat…?"

The morality side mumbled and rolled over. "Yeah, kiddo?" He opened one eye sleepily and grinned.

"I had a nightmare…"

"Well, makes sense, ya didn't put sugar under your pillow! No wonder you didn't have sweet dreams!"

Virgil smiled softly. "Pat…"

Patton sighed playfully. "Okay, kiddo, c'mere!" He pulled Virgil closer, wrapping his arms around him. "Green, yellow, red?"

By this point, this had become a routine for the two. Whenever Virgil was upset, Patton adored using a particular method of cheering him up.

"G-green…"

"Perfect~!" Patton wasted no time, gently tickling Virgil's soft belly, sending the anxious boy into giggles. "And now it's time for Thomas' Giggly Side to make an appearance~!"

"Nohohohohooo, shuhuhut uhuhuhup!" Virgil smiled and felt his fears and the nightmare slip away as he allowed himself to become putty in Patton's hands.

Patton leaned in close, whispering, "Shhh~ You don't wanna wake up the others, do you~?"

Virgil whined softly and was about to cover his mouth with his hands before Patton swirled a finger into his belly button, causing his arms to shoot back down. "W-WahahaAhAIT-!!"

"Yes~?"

"IhIhiHiT TIhiHihickles!!!!!"

Patton grinned, his fingers moving to tickle Virgil's armpits. "Good! That's the point, kiddo!" He leaned in to place a quick raspberry to his neck.

"EEHEEK!!! VIHIHILLAIN!! DAHAHARK SIHIHIDE!!!"

Patton gasped indignantly. "Those are fighting words, kiddo!" His scribbling over his belly focused on Virgil's belly button, eliciting squeals and cackles from the anxious side.

"PAHAHAHHAHAHAHT THAHAHAHAHAT'S SOHOHOHO BAHAHHAHAHAD!!!!"

"Take it back!"

"FIHIHIHINE YOUHUHU'RE AHAHHAA GREEHEHEHAT SIHIHIDE!!!"

"And~? What else?"

"YOUHUHU'RE THEHEHE BEHEHEHEHST DAHAHAHHAAD!!!"

"And~?"

"AHAHAHAND THEHEHE BEHEHEST LAHAHAWYER!!"

"Atta boy!" Patton's tickle attack ceased, and he hugged Virgil close. "Feelin better?"

"Yehehehheah, Ihihi ahaham!"

"Good!"

Patton hummed softly as he rubbed Virgil's back, and they fell asleep soon after.

"That… was adorable. I am without words." Logan, and all the other sides for that matter, had long since been awoken by Virgil's laughter, but none of them interrupted the moment.

"Oh, yes, it was absolutely horrible, I hated watching every second of it." Janus was smiling warmly at the sight of the two boys cuddling.

"Alright, gang, let's let the cuties rest, and we can tease them plenty about it tomorrow," Roman said. So they all snuggled closer together, and soft snoring once again filled the little pillow fort.

[i-tis-fight-or-flight-peoples]

Virgil lee mood

Virgil is once again in a horribly strong lee mood, flustering scenarios filling his head leaving him a blushing mess though nothing was happening.

What if someone decided your there tickle toy for the day and tied you to your bed and tickled you endlessly-- tears streaming down your face with you no longer being able to beg for mercy and being to tired to squirm before they decided to give you a break-- continuing like that for hours...

Virgil giggled faintly at the thought. Before his mind was able to create another scenario there was knocking on his door. "Kiddo? Roman wants to show us something he created. He wants us to see it."

"Okay," Virgil says loud enough for Patton to hear through the door. Roman probably has another sword to show us, Virgil thought as he grabs his hoodie from his closet door knob.

Virgil enters the living room with his hood up-- trying to hide his flustered face without people noticing-- and his hands in his pockets. He sits between Patton and Janus. He leans himself onto Patton as he looks at Roman-- who was now standing in front of the group.

"I have gathered you all here to show you my new amazing device I have made." Roman says as he pulls out a white scanner thing. "I just wave it over a person and it shows you how much of a lee or ler mood their in. I'll demonstrate. Patton would you mind being my test subject?" Patton shakes his head and gets up to stand next to Roman. "Okay," Roman says as he turns on the device and waves it over Patton's torso.

He shows the group the screen. "Woah, that's a high ler mood," Roman says before laughing faintly. "I was wondering if we could test it on everyone, those who would not like to come up here may sit, but I would really like to test it on everyone, if no one would mind." Not even Virgil said no, no one said anything though, they just nodded or let Roman wave the device over them. He would look at the screen and ask if it was right before showing the others unless asked not to.

When it was waved over Virgil, Roman's eyes went wide with shock. Virgil didn't get a chance to say anything before Roman showed the others who were also surprised. Virgil wasn't known for liking that type thing.

Next thing he knows everyone has a snarky smirk and he is pinned to the couch. "So you have the highest lee mood out of everyone and never once told us." Roman said with a teasy tone. He leans down and whispers, "Are you green stormcloud?" Virgil giggles at the breathy whisper tickling his ear. Without thought Virgil nods with nervous giggles filling up his throat.

Roman nods at the others slightly, always waiting for the ok of the person before tickling them to the grave. Before Virgil could have another thought he was full of endless giggles, snorts, laughs, and squeaks. No one could deny how adorable he was as he laughs his head off.

The four (4) of them didn't let his lee mood go until it was gone and that whole day was full of Virgil's endless happy laughs, giggles, and whatever other noises he happened to make.

This one isn't that long but it put me in a slight lee mood. Hope you enjoy<3 (good feed back, reblogs, and likes are very much appreicated along with ideas...idk how to open the request thingy though so put it in # or comments plz<3)

[fictitious-fluff]

This was written in 2021. (Old Fic) Just posting it to log my progress as a fic writer

-

The One and Only

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Pairings are in the tags

Masterpost

Logan had never ever understood how tickling worked. Of course he knew how it worked, study wise, but he never got to experience it before. The others had tried to tickle him before but it was useless. Logan figured it was because he was more of the logical side, thus he wouldn't be able to feel these sort of things. Though, he could feel pain, like when he gets paper cuts. However, Patton wasn't buying it, everyone had to be ticklish... Right? At least one spot, just one! He had never seen Logan's real laugh or smile. Only a smirk or two, that's all. He was determined to see a real grin from Logan. This resulted in random sneak attacks from Patton, trying to find a spot. But as expected, no reaction..nothing. Day by day Patton was loosing hope but he still wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Popcorns' ready!" Roman shouted as he walked over to give a princey bow to everyone, giving them their popcorn in the process.

Logan and Virgil rolled their eyes as they took the popcorn. Roman then plopped himself next to Patton and Virgil, joining all 3 of them in watching Frozen 2. Logan however, wasn't watching the movie as usual. Instead, he was reading a book about the movie. At the scene where Elsa's mother was singing "All is found", Patton jumped out of excitement because kid Elsa and Anna were just too cute! In the process Patton's arms brushed ever so slightly against Logan's arm (the part between the inner elbow and your hand). This made Logan jerk ever so slightly, but enough for Patton to realise it. Logan was fully aware what just happened from everything he had known about tickling. This made Logan's heart race. He didn't want to be squirming or making a fool of himself in front of Patton, let alone the others! He had seen how it affected the rest before and he knew he had a reputation to keep up. A usually formal and serious person giggling? No way. He couldn't allow that to happen. However something about that light sensation felt oddly nice.

"What was that kiddo?" Patton questioned, his eyes glistening with excitement.

"Nothing Patton, just hit an exciting page. That's all. " Logan stated while having the same look, while in reality he was freaking out yet weirdly excited too.

Virgil turned and smirked, "You sure teach? I have a lot of experience when it comes to recognising people getting anxious. You seem pretty anxious to me right now"

"Stormcloud's right Logan, I can see that grip getting tighter on that book." Roman added, also smirking.

For once Logan had nothing to say. Not wanting to continue this conversation, he just rolled his eyes and went upstairs, a small blush starting to spread across his face. Although Logan tried to act cool, everyone already knew, and there was no denying it.

The next day Patton had woken up early because he was really excited. He had seen the blush on his face and had immediately recognise that look. He had experienced it before as well as seen Roman and Virgil act that way. However when Patton tried to unlock the door, it appeared to be locked. Logan was cleaver enough not to leave his door unlocked but Patton had a trick up his sleeve. He went down to the living room and took a paper clip from one of Logan's paper clip drawer and pried it open so that it was almost like a small, long pole. Patton quietly sprinted upstairs and carefully wiggled the paper clip in the lock of the door knob. "Click" Success! The door had been unlocked. Now it was time to wake up the sleeping beauty. Patton twisted the door knob and open the door slowly. Patton's heart pounded excitedly as he saw Logan in the perfect position possible. Logan was on his bed, one arm drooping down to the side , the other next to him. Patton slowly crept towards Logan and grabbed Logan's arm very gently. He then started to trace light circles around Logan's arm. This caused Logan to start smiling in his sleep. The sight was absolutely adorable. Deciding to get down to business, he started to scribble in random patterns across Logan's arm.

"Wait, Pat-TTOOONNN WHAHAAHAATT AARRHAAAHAHA YOAHHAHAAA DOHAAA-" Logan shrieked frantically, shocked from the sudden and immense sensation coming from his arm. As he started to comprehend the situation, his laughter became less frantic and more.. Joyful? He hated and loved every second, he didn't really understand why or how but he did.

"Aww what's wrong LoLo, someone's ticklish? Not gonna lie kiddo you're really cute when u laugh." Patton cooed.

Logan shook his head, a light blush spreading across his face as he tugged at his left arm. His legs frantically flailing everywhere.

After about 30 seconds Patton decided to use what he bought. Patton gave Logan a small break and started digging into his pocket and pulling something out. Logan giggled from the phantom tickles as he tilted his head towards Patton and saw what he brought.

"Since you've never experienced this before, I think I should make this even better by introducing my little friend" Patton smirked as he pulled out none other than an electrical toothbrush. Logan's eyes widened, trying to pull away as the brush inched closer. When it finally made contact with Logan's arm, oh he had lost it. His hands clenched, legs kicked, trying to stop the tingling feeling of the devastating brush. Logan started shrieking, snorting and laughing uncontrollably, things he thought he'd never be capable of, until now.

"Did you just snort Logiebear? That was adorable!" Patton squeeked in amazement.

"Look at those two, teach's smile sure is something." Virgil said. The laugh coming from Logan's room had woken Roman and Virgil up. The two were now standing at the door watching as Logan thrashed and screamed.

"Something extraordinary, kind of like yours stormcloud." Roman commented. Virgil nudged him on the shoulder, a blush forming as he looked away from Roman.

Roman snickered "Hey, it's true, Patton would agree."

Logan then started wheezing and that was when Patton finally stopped.

"Had fun there kiddo?" Patton asked, rubbing Logan's arm. Logan shook his head, his blush deepening.

"Oh come on I know you did, you didn't even try to stop me with your free arm." Patton joked.

"hnrgh.. I guess I did enjoy the experience of gargalesis.." Logan mumbled, showing his softer side to Patton.

"Uh.. Logan? Do you want to cuddle? If you are ok with it of course." Patton questioned.

Logan gave a heart warming smile and opened his hands. "I welcome you with open arms Patton."

Patton happily jumped onto Logan, afterwards realising something. "Was that a pun?"

A chill ran down Logan's spine as he realised what he said. "Uhm. Not an intentional one, please do not ruin this moment for me Patton."

"Ok okahehey" Patton giggled as he layed on Logan. The both of them stayed like this for a while to say the least.

[oliviaischillin1204]

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.

[trashyswitch]

The Search For The Missing Laugh

A special person by the alias ‘Anne Onymous’ has sent me this fanfic to be submitted! And I think today is a better time than any. This is Anne’s fanfic, and I hope you all enjoy. :D

A special person by the alias ‘Anne Onymous’ has sent me this fanfic to be submitted! And I think today is a better time than any. This is Anne’s fanfic, and I hope you all enjoy. :D Give this person some love!!

Patton had been telling dad joke after dad joke since breakfast. While Roman and even Virgil gladly laughed at his witty wordplay, Logan hadn’t even cracked a smile. Still, that didn’t stop Patton from telling all the jokes he had left in him after Roman and Virgil went to help Thomas with something. “Why were the elephants late for their vacation?” Patton asked. Logan merely sighed in response. “Because they forgot to pack their trunks!” Patton exclaimed before laughing at his own joke. Logan groaned, wishing Patton would just stop. “Aw, come on, Logan. That was funny!” Patton chirped. “Perhaps to you, but not me.” Logan said. “Probably because you have no sense of humour.” Patton grumbled, crossing his arms. “I’ll have you know that I do have a sense of humour, I just don’t find your jokes funny.” Logan informed. Patton pouted. Logan never laughs at his jokes. He never laughs, period. He just wanted to make his friend laugh, but how? Then it struck him. There’s one thing that makes Thomas and the others laugh. It was risky, it may not even work, but it would be worth it if he could pull it off. “Oh dear. I think I see what the problem is.” Patton said. “You need to get better at comedy?” Logan suggested sarcastically. “No. You lost your laugh.” Patton said. 

Logan did a double take to ensure he heard Patton right. “Lost…my…laugh.” Logan echoed. “Yes. But don’t worry, Logan. I consider myself a Hufflepuff and Hufflepuffs are good finders. Not to brag, but I have quite the skill of finding laughs and getting them out in the open, so I’ll help you find it.” Patton rambled, pulling Logan into a cuddle and grabbing his wrists to raise them above his head. “Patton, what are you…?” Logan protested but was silenced when Patton gave him a look that filled him with…excitement? Unease? He wasn’t sure, but he stayed quiet and kept his arms up. “Now, the trick is to look for hiding spots on your body. You see, sometimes instead of coming out of our mouths, laughs like to hide in other body parts or just get stuck there. Like the armpits for example, they fit pretty snug in there.” Patton said, poking and prodding the mentioned spot. Logan’s mouth curled into a grin as he tried his best not to laugh. “Excuse me, Logan’s armpits. Have you seen Logan’s laugh today?” Patton asked, as if this was a normal situation. Logan almost snickered at Patton’s silly behaviour. Him talking to his body parts as if they could talk back was so ridiculous, it was almost worse than the tickling. 

“Hmm, guess they don’t know. Maybe your ribs know. The ribs are a really good spot since there’s so many rib bones to fit between.” Patton narrated, spidering his fingers up and down the logical Side’s ribcage. Logan was now biting down on his lips in hopes that if he doesn’t laugh then Patton will give up and leave, but the fact he was practically narrating everything and doing something as silly as trying to have a conversation with his body parts wasn’t helping. Not to mention he’s never been tickled before, so he wasn’t used to it and had more difficulty fighting it off. “Hi there, Logan’s ribs. Logan lost his laugh, do you know where it’s hiding?” Patton inquired, gently scratching between each rib. He was disappointed by the silence, certain that Logan would’ve cracked by now. But he wasn’t giving up. “Guess my guessing skills are a little off today. Better keep trying. You know, the toes are a pretty good hiding spot too. Laughs can hide under or between them.” Patton said as he released Logan from their cuddle and moved down to his feet. Patton wasn’t sure if Logan was taking a break and getting his strength back, or forgot he could simply leave because he didn’t protest or make a run for it as he put his ankles in a headlock and removed his socks. 

“Pardon me, Logan’s toes. Are you hiding Logan’s laugh by any chance?” Patton asked, wiggling his fingers under the sensitive digits. Finally, the dam burst and Logan broke into a fit of surprised laughter. “HAHAHAhahaha! Nohohoho! Pahahattohohon! Hahahahahahaha!” Logan squealed, wiggling and fruitlessly attempting to pull his feet back. “Yay! You got your laugh back! But it doesn’t sound like it’s coming from your toes, it sounds like it’s coming from somewhere else. Oh well, guess we gotta keep looking!” Patton exclaimed. Logan was so embarrassed. After seeing him in this state, Patton will never take him seriously again. Oh well, that’s a future problem. For now, he hasn’t laughed like this in a long time, might as well try to enjoy it. “Another great place for a laugh to hide in is in the bellybutton.” Patton said as he moved his tickly hands up the back of Logan’s knees then across his thighs and over his hips until he reached his belly, enjoying every snicker and giggle that came out of Logan along the way. “How do you do, Logan’s bellybutton? Were you the one hiding his laugh the whole time?” Patton asked as he straddled Logan’s thighs, moved his shirt up and began circling his finger around the mentioned spot. Logan couldn’t help but let a few nervous giggles slip out as he squirmed in anticipation, never feeling so flustered in his life. Boy, was that statement about to be made wrong.

“Round and round the garden, like a teddy bear…” Patton sang, holding back snickers of his own when Logan covered his mouth to muffle his embarrassed squeal. “One step…two step…” Patton continued, walking his fingers closer to the naval before noticing Logan’s hands shot under his glasses to cover his eyes. Using his free hand, Patton gently removed Logan’s glasses and placed them on the coffee table. He didn’t want them to get broken during their fun. “There. Now, where was I? Oh yeah. A tickly under there!” Patton exclaimed, wiggling the digit in the bellybutton. “GAHAHAHAHAHA! PAHAHATTOHOHON, WHYHYHYHY?! HAHAHAHAHA!” Logan bellowed, thrashing around and pounding his fists on the couch. “Yup, this is definitely where all your laughs were hiding. Better make sure we get them all out so this doesn’t happen again. Good thing that song usually lures them out.” Patton commented, not that Logan could hear him over his own loud boisterous laughter. He couldn’t focus on anything other than the unbearably ticklish sensations in his navel, astounded that something as simple as a wiggling finger there could make him laugh this much. It was…exhilarating. And exhausting. Thankfully, Patton finally stopped. But he wasn’t done yet, not by a long shot. 

“I think we’re making some real good progress. Your laughs are coming out just fine, but there’s still a few stubborn ones still stuck. Good news is, sometimes they come out of hiding for a good joke. Knock knock!” Patton said. After catching his breath, Logan decided to indulge Patton against his better judgement. “Who’s there?” Logan asked. “Me, the dad joke king, here to tickle his way into your heart! Tickle tickle tickle! Cootchie cootchie coo!” Patton replied, tickling nearly every and any tickle spot on Logan his hands could reach. His ribs, his armpits, his tummy, even around his neck and ears. “Thahahahat’s nohohohot evehehehen a johohohoke! Hahahahaha!” Logan protested through his non-stop laughter. “Then why are you laughing so much?” Patton teased, watching Logan squirm side to side. As he observed the unusual wiggling closely, it appeared like Logan was trying to untuck the rest of his shirt, rendering his sides vulnerable. “Awww, does little Logi want his Sanders Sides tickled? All you had to do was ask me nicely!” Patton teased, lifting his shirt all the way up to his ribs and squeezing his sides. Jackpot. Logan practically melted at the touch. He occasionally squirmed, but he stopped trying to wiggle away and his laughter was bubbly and happy.

“Hahahahaha! Ihihit tihihickles! Hahahahaha!” Logan giggled. “Aww, does it tickle? Does it feel tickly and make you giggly? Is Logan a ticklish little cutie?” Patton teased, kneading and spidering over Logan’s sides with a few squeezes and pokes mixed in. Logan couldn’t help but squeak and squeal at the changing tactics, Patton seemed to completely randomise the order so he couldn’t predict what was next, each new surprise method seeming to tickle more than the last. “Boy, all this laughter-looking has made me hungry. You know what I’m in the mood for?” Patton asked. Logan shook his head, no idea what was coming. “Some raspberries!” Patton exclaimed before blowing into Logan’s belly, making the logical Side burst into belly laughter. This was somehow more ticklish than the bellybutton tickles yet not as unbearable, and definitely more fun. However, it was just as hard on his lungs. “AHAHAHAHAHA!!! PAHAHAHAHATTON, PLEHEHEASE STOHOHOHOP!!!” Logan cackled. “Aww, just one more?” Patton fake-whined. He was just joking, but Logan seemed to actually be considering his rhetorical request much to his amusement. “Fine, just get it over-WIHIHIHIHITH!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” Logan shrieked, surprised by the unannounced raspberry on his tummy. “Ok, I’m full now.” Patton said when he finished, getting off Logan.

Logan curled into himself, letting the remainder of his giggles out as he caught his breath. Even though Patton had stopped, it was like he could still feel the phantom vibrations and tickles on his body. He’d never admit it out loud, but that was amazing. Once his breathing steadied and he could think clearly again, he remembered his glasses on the coffee table and put them back on, surprised to see Patton holding out a glass of water. “Oh. Thank you.” Logan said, taking the glass and sipping carefully as Patton sat next to him and rubbed his back. “You good?” Patton asked. “Yes Patton, I’m perfectly adequate.” Logan replied, putting the glass down. Patton pulled him into a hug which Logan cautiously reciprocated. “Don’t worry, Tickle Time’s over, only Cuddle Time now. But it’s good to know that now I have a way to make you laugh.” Patton remarked. “Well, there goes my dignity.” Logan sighed. “Huh? What do you mean?” Patton asked, letting go and facing Logan. “Patton, don’t patronise me. I know that after what just happened, it’s highly unlikely you’re ever going to take me seriously again.” Logan huffed. After that harsh confession, Patton’s expression went from confused to concerned very quickly. 

“Why would I do that? Just because you’re ticklish, doesn’t mean you’re any less smart than you were before. It doesn’t change anything. Besides, I’m ticklish, Roman’s ticklish, heck, even Virgil is ticklish, but that’s just because we’re a part of Thomas and he’s ticklish. It’s just natural, it’s no big deal. You’re still the smartest person I know and I’m always gonna listen to you.” Patton assured. Logan was quiet as he took a minute to process what Patton said. “I know you don’t consider yourself a feelings-y kind of Side, so if it makes you feel better, I promise not to tell the others about any of this.” Patton added. “Thank you, Patton.” Logan said. Patton pulled Logan into another cuddle and laid down. Logan returned the embrace and rested his head under Patton’s chin. “Now that the moment of concern has passed, do you suppose you could perhaps once again stimulate my sides with gargalesis?” Logan asked shyly. “Is that fancy-talk for “please tickle me”?“ Patton teased. Logan blushed and nodded. Patton smiled and wiggled his fingers into Logan’s sides, making the logical Side giggle and snuggle into him more. Little did they know that Virgil and Roman were back and watching them from the top of the stairs. Roman initially took his phone out to get some blackmail material but Virgil snatched it, making Roman pout. The two watched on quietly as their resident glasses geeks had their moment.

The End.

[why-not-a-tickle-blog]

Virgil’s Voice

Roman walked into the living room, gently leading a blushing Virgil. Virgil was dressed in a loose tank top and shorts, with a ribbon loosely binding his wrists together and a soft headband covering his eyes.

“Greetings, book nerd and Padre, I have an announcement to make,” Roman said proudly, looping an arm around Virgil’s waist. “This darling ticklish emo would very much enjoy a thorough tickling, with several conditions.”

Patton leaned forward, curious, and Logan raised his eyebrows.

Roman grinned. “He has a few requests for the type of tickles we provide, but the most important is that he would rather not need to talk. As such, I will be his voice. We have discussed this all very thoroughly beforehand, right Virgil?”

Virgil nodded, biting his lip nervously.

Roman guided Virgil with the arm around his waist into the center of the room, and taking the ribbon gently, raised his arms above his head.

“If you two would enjoy participating, I’ll ask that you begin with soft traces and gentle scribbles.”

Patton was the first to stand, approaching Virgil and starting with just placing his hand against Virgil’s side.

“A very good choice, Patton,” Roman praised, both to show appreciation for Patton’s participation and also to inform Virgil of who was touching him. “He would very much appreciate if you tickle his sides and ribs.”

Virgil let out a little giggle, even before Patton did anything else.

“Aww, my cute little kiddo~” Patton coed, tracing his fingers just under the edge of Virgil’s tank top.

Virgil burst into light, easy giggles, slightly wiggling back and forth.

Logan was enticed closer by the happy sounds, and approached Virgil from behind, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Ahh, there you are, Specs,” Roman said. “If you choose to go after his armpits, do so gently, we want plenty of warmup.”

“Are you certain you’re comfortable, Virgil?” Logan asked.

Virgil nodded and leaned against Logan.

“He’s experiencing a desire to be non-verbal at the moment,” Roman explained. “I’m sure when he gets his words back he’ll be happy to explain more to you himself.”

“I see,” Logan said, in a tone more of curiosity than understanding. “I would enjoy that conversation with you, Virgil, when you’re ready.”

Virgil nodded again, tipping his head back to smile in Logan’s general direction.

Logan’s face grew very soft, and he trailed his fingers gently over Virgil’s neck, spidering softly just under his ear.

Virgil snickered and scrunched up his shoulders slightly, but then deliberately tipped his head to expose more of his neck to Logan’s fingers.

“Awww, you’re so ready to be tickled~” Roman teased gently, tracing his free hand ever so gently in one of Virgil’s armpits, and standing so that Virgil could lean against him.

Virgil melted into the soft tickles, giggling and blushing at the gentle teases and affection from the three of them.

Patton moved slowly from Virgil’s side to his belly, squishing and scribbling lightly, which made Virgil go from giggles to laughs.

Logan also shifted spots, tracing in Virgil’s other armpit similarly to how Roman was, but in a more fluttery scribbly way.

Once Virgil had been tickled gently for several minutes, and was starting to lean heavier on Roman, Roman sat down on the couch with Virgil in his lap. Roman lifted Virgil’s bound hands up and behind his head, and rucked up his tank too so that all of his belly was exposed.

“If one of you would be so kind as to take care of his feet, and the other his belly and especially that giggle button,” Roman said with a grin. “I will tickle under his arms, and we can all enjoy the laughs and snorts and other delightful sounds our gigglebug will surely make.”

Virgil gave a giggly whine, trying half-heartedly to hide his face in his arm.

Roman scribbled gently in both his armpits, and Virgil quickly melted against him, giggling and squirming adorably.

Patton sat down on the floor, taking Virgil’s feet into his lap, and spidering up and down his soles.

“You have the most important spot,” Roman told Logan. “He’s less ticklish on his feet and armpits, but his giggle button will truly have him drowning in tickles.”

Logan’s grin was large and sneaky as he summoned a small makeup brush.

Roman nodded emphatically, scribbling down Virgil’s sides and holding his hips.

The instant the brush touched Virgil’s bellybutton he squeaked, and then snorted, his squirming increasing greatly. Roman wrapped his arms around Virgil’s hips to hold him in place.

He and Virgil had discussed what to do if either of the others summoned a tool, and which tools Virgil was comfortable with and where. A makeup brush on his bellybutton? Not only ok, but desired. Roman would’ve summoned one himself later on if Logan and Patton hadn’t thought of it.

Virgil’s squeaks and snorts and laughter were absolutely delightful, and Logan clearly thought the same, as he happily continued brushing in and around Virgil’s bellybutton.

“Can I have a tool too?” Patton whispered, trying to get Roman’s attention without alerting Virgil.

Roman summoned a small round brush with stiff bristles for Patton.

Patton grinned and mouthed ‘thank you’, before going to town on Virgil’s feet with the brush, and reaching up for the backs of his knees with gentle scribbling.

Virgil held out for several minutes before tapping his fingers twice against Roman’s head, the signal for slowing down a little.

Roman released Virgil’s hips, so he could more successfully evade the makeup brush, and went back to gentle tracing in Virgil’s armpits.

Virgil’s laughter and giggles were getting a little tired sounding, but Roman waited for his next signal. It was nearly five minutes later, when his wiggling could no longer escape Logan’s relentless brushing on his sweet spot, that he tapped three times.

“Alright, it seems our giggly dear is tiring out,” Roman said for him. “You don’t need to stop immediately, but let’s slow down and be done in a minute or two. If one of you would so kindly fetch a sweet drink and perhaps a snack, we would be very grateful.”

Both Logan and Patton hugged Virgil once they were done tickling him, murmuring praises and affection and love.

Logan went off to get the drink while Roman gently rubbed all the tickly spots. He lowered Virgil’s hands back down to his lap, pulling the ribbon free and rubbing his wrists and shoulders to be sure he wasn’t sore. Virgil readjusted the headband to keep his hair out of his quite pink face.

“Was it all you had hoped?” Roman asked.

Virgil’s smile told him everything he needed to know.

Virgil curled into him, and Roman held him close in a cuddle. “I’m glad.”

[smileheart110]

You’re going to tickle me first, right?

Kanene’s note: One day I will carefully plan beforehand a title. But that day is noooot today! sdfghjfrgtyujikdfgh.

I consider this the last story from that idea of lers + lees in more different scenarios. I already did all the sides and I am very proud of the results! Thankys for all the support <3333

Warnings, fun facts, random things and stuff:

* This characters don’t belongs to me! They all belong to Sanders Sides!

* This is a SFW tickle fanfic, so, if you don’t appreciate this kind of content, please, look for another blog. There are a plenty of fabulous arts in this site!!  ^w^)b

* This is Ticklish!Logan with Ler!Patton and Remus. Their relationship can be viewed as romantic or platonic. Around 2.300 words.

* Some fabulous works that inspired me with the idea and the teases (they’re from bnha)

* Sorry for any spelling, pontuation and grammar mistakes! Any and every advice is very very welcome! \(-w-)/

* Take some time to remember about the litol cool things that you saw today! Fanfic, series, movies, a bird or a beautiful flower… anything that maded u happy! Drink water, sleep and eat! Today is another day and I’m proud that we’re both still here.

[~*~]

“Looking good, hot stuff.” Arms hugged him from behind and Logan scoffed, as usual when confronted by feelings, behind his cup of coffee, drinking the remains of the liquid in a few gulps as he relaxed on the warm chest behind him. The morning was quiet and Patton’s humming on the kitchen was one of the few sounds that cut the air. Logan let his attention swim back to his book when the other began to nuzzle his neck, a small ‘tsk’ escaping between a tiny smile when his mustache hit a sweet spot on his shoulder.

They both knew what that meant, after all, Remus wasn’t fond on keeping a subtle demeanor and they already had played this exact game thousands of times before.

“Remus…”

“Tickle me, Logan!” The pout was crystal clear on his voice, discarding the need of the other adult to turn back to notice it. “It’s been almost a week since last time! And. I. Need. My. Daily. Doses of. Tickles.”

Keep reading

[just-your-average-author]

A Sleeping Dragon

“This movie is completely unrealistic!” spoke out Logan, completely and utterly exasperated during Wreck it Ralph. Family movie nights never went according to plan. “There is no possible way video game characters could interact in that way and frankly, the way the inner workings of electrical units are portrayed is ridiculous.”

Roman sighed. He looked down at Virgil who was laying into him fast asleep. “Logan, it’s just a movie. It's a silly movie. It isn’t meant to be realistic.”

Patton giggled. “Yeah, Lo! It’s just a movie.”

Logan huffed. “I don’t see how someone could enjoy a film when it is so blatantly ridiculous.” Roman rolled his eyes, while Patton just giggled again. “It should have at least some aspect of a realistic component to it.”

”Just watch the movie, Specs,” huffed Roman in annoyance.

Virgil, who was curled up napping in between Roman and Patton with his head in Roman’s lap, stirred. He grunted, very annoyed. “Who woke me up?”

All three sides froze. You did not want to be the person who woke Virgil up. He didn’t sleep much, so when he did, he expected to not be disturbed.

“Well? I’m waiting,” demanded Virgil, now sitting up straight. He looked around in question, arms crossed.

Roman blurted out, pointing an accusatory finger toward the logical trait in the recliner. “Logan was complaining about the movie!”

Logan glared at Roman in indignation. “Oh, I’m sorry. Am I not allowed to speak during the whole movie?” he inquired angrily. He turned to Virgil. “Besides, I would have dropped it if Roman would have just nodded and agreed with me. But no, he had to argue,” he added scowling.

Virgil hid his smirk and instead raised an eyebrow. “Oh, is that so?” In reality, he never actually got mad when he was woken up. He just liked messing with the others (especially Roman) however he could. Virgil figured he could have some fun with this.

”O-oh, well-” stuttered Roman.

“I thought I heard something other than Logan’s voice! I heard someone else who was frankly quite louder than Logan!” interjected Virgil looking up at Roman. Roman paled.

“Ah well, I was just defending the movie that’s all,” he replied, trying to hide his fear and failing miserably. “Simply making conversation.”

Virgil smothered a grin. He loved making Roman nervous. “Well, Roman, we all know you’re a lot louder than Logan; it was probably you who woke me up.”

“Now that’s not always-“

Roman was cut off by his yelp, feeling a poke at his ribs. “No interrupting!” scolded Virgil, this time forgetting to mask the grin and the obvious enjoyment he was getting out of this.

Roman blanched as Virgil’s intentions were made clear. “Virge, I’m sorry! Honest! You can go back to sleep, and we’ll all be quiet okay?” He glanced around to see if any of the other Sides would lend a hand. Logan was pretending to be fascinated by the movie suddenly and Patton was also suddenly too ‘preoccupied‘ to notice. He began to grow very nervous as Virgil crept up closer to him.

“Well, I’m already awake now thanks to you-“ he poked Roman’s side again who squeaked at the touch. Virgil‘s evil smile took up his whole face. “I’m very upset, Roman. My sleep was disturbed.” Roman began whining and backed into the arm of the sofa as Virgil continued to get closer. Patton and Logan finally turned their attention to the two traits in the middle of a standoff.

“Don’t hurt him, Virgil!” pleaded Patton.

“I appreciate your concern, but don’t worry Pat. I won’t hurt him. Physically anyway. His pride might be a little bruised.” Virgil smirked again. Roman continued to plead with the darker side despite knowing full well that nothing would stop what was about to happen.

“Come on, Virgil, please! I promise it won’t happen again! I- EEP!“ A pinch to his side.

“Too late, Princey. In all your years of being a prince, has no one told you the most important rule?“

Virgil paused as if trying to build up even more anticipation. He leaned in so close, that Roman could feel the anxious Side’s breath against his neck.

“Don’t wake a sleeping dragon.”

With that, he pounced on Roman and scribbled all over his torso immediately causing the Prince to break into frantic cackles. He mercilessly tickled all over and despite Roman’s defenses, Virgil was just too fast. Every place he tried to guard, the anxious side would just tickle somewhere else. Roman was hysterically laughing and resorted to calling for help from the others.

“HEEHEHEHELLLPPP!!” He cried through his desperate laughter.

“You shouldn’t require our assistance. You should be able to fight him off yourself. If I’m not mistaken, you supposedly have beaten this so-called ‘Dragon Witch’ which, judging by the name, would seem much more dangerous than the tickle monster,” replied Logan, a teasing smile encompassing his features.

”Oh I’m not sure about that Logan,” joked Virgil. “The tickle monster is pretty vicious.”

Poor Roman turned a bright red. “Stahahahahahahap teheheheasheheing!!”

“Aww Lo, look he’s blushing really hard,” Patton gushed.

Roman just blushed harder at that, the teasing was killing him. He was laughing himself hoarse while Virgil just snickered with no signs of stopping anytime soon. After what seemed like hours, Virgil noticed Roman’s laugh becoming more breathy.

“Well, Princey,” Virgil began. Roman was beside himself laughing, as Virgil’s hands were shoved in his armpits “I think you might have learned your lesson.” Roman nodded frantically. “Okay, okay. I’ll stop on one condition. You say, ‘Virgil, you are the best side in the entire world and I would be nothing without you, and I promise to never disrupt your sleep ever again.’ Can you say that?” Roman squeaked as a response. Virgil chuckled knowing Roman couldn’t possibly; he was laughing way too hard.

“VIRHIHIGLLE YOHOHOHO ARHAHAA AHHHHH!”

“Yes? I am what?”

“BEHEHEHEEHEST SIHIHIHIHDE- OHOHOHO MYHHYHY GOHOHOSH!”

Virgil laughed. “And?”

“IHIHIHI CAHAHAHANT REMEHEHEMBER!!” Roman cried in desperation. Virgil started to feel a little bad.

“Alright close enough.” He finally stopped and poor Princey fell limp, giggling and wheezing for air. Virgil smiled down at him. “Sorry dude. May have gone slightly overboard,” he apologized.

“Hahaha, my stohohomahahach, ohoho mahan.”

Virgil helped him sit up and got him settled. Roman was exhausted, so Virgil let him lay in his lap. “There you go, Sir Sing-a-lot,” Roman mumbled a thank you. The roles were reversed as Roman laid napping on Virgil and the rest of the bunch were threatened to stay quiet by Virgil, lest they get the same treatment Roman did. They all watched the movie in silence.

[fluffomatic]

I have read this story like 50 times now. It is absolutely INCREDIBLE. Gosh it's so freaking cute!!!!

Undercover Ler

Sanders Sides Prinxiety (could be seen as platonic or romantic. i think romantic personally)

Summary: Roman is secretly a ler in the tfb community. Then he gets a golden opportunity to tickle someone for the first time. How could he not give it everything he has? [WARNING: THIS IS A TICKLE FIC]

woo back to sanders sides tickle fics. its been a while huh? and with 2k words, too.

---

"The past, present, and future walk into a bar. It was tense!" Patton giggled as he told his joke. Roman laughed loudly, always enjoying a good pun. The two were sat in the middle of the couch together with Patton's little brother, Virgil, sat at the end on his phone.

Roman was there for a sleepover after their play rehearsal at the local theater. He was really close with Patton and had heard quite a bit about his moody little brother, but this was the first time they were actually hanging out together.

"Why are frogs so happy? They eat whatever bugs them."

Roman clapped his hands and leaned forward in a good laugh whilst Patton giggled along. Roman looked over Patton's shoulder to see Virgil covering his mouth with his hand. Patton followed his gaze and looked back to see it too.

Patton smirked. "Did you hear about the man who was accidentally buried alive?  It was a grave mistake."

Virgil let out something akin to a muffle giggle behind his hand.

"That's it!" Patton lunged at Virgil in an instant.

"Pat, no! Get off!"

"You know how this works, mister. No covering your smile!" Patton and Virgil were wrestling for top position now with Roman completely in the dark as to what was going on.

"I'm sorry, okay?! Not in front of Roman!" Virgil whisper-shouted that last part, clearly hoping Roman wouldn't hear, despite him being two feet away.

"Too late for that!" The eldest brother shouted with a playful smile.

"What's... happening?" Roman asked.

"He's bullying me!" Virgil shouted.

"I am not!" Patton laughed. "The deal is, you cover your mouth, you get-"

"It wasn't a deal! You forced it on me!" Virgil continued grappling with Patton for the upper hand, until Patton grinned with an evil gleam in his eye.

He leaned down and blew a raspberry on Virgil's neck.

Virgil shrieked and threw his hands down to protect himself, allowing Patton to scribble his fingers over every inch of skin he could.

"Tickle tickle tickle!"

Virgil fell into frantic laughter as he tossed from side to side and kicked his feet helplessly.

Roman felt his cheeks warm and his heart quicken at the sight. His friend was tickling his little brother, quite adorably so.

Roman was, what he called, a ler: short for 'tickler'. He absolutely adored tickling and especially tickling people. It was his special interest. And, while he loved tickling, he kept it a secret from the people in his life because, well, it was rather embarrassing.

He's always wanted to tickle someone. Really tickle someone. And now, the cute emo was super ticklish and being tickled right in front of him!

And holy shit that laugh. It was so adorable!

Patton relented and stretched. "This is why you shouldn't cover your smile. Cause I'll getcha and make you laugh super hard!"

"That was adorable." Roman couldn't help but comment.

"You wanna try tickling him?" Patton offered while Virgil gawked at him.

"Yes!" Roman tried not to sound as enthusiastic as he felt.

"Don't you dare!" Virgil growled, but didn't make much of a move to escape.

Roman plopped himself on Virgil's legs with an eager grin.

"Wait, let's test him, first." Patton snickered. "I lost my job at the bank on my very first day.  A woman asked me to check her balance, so I pushed her over."

Virgil's face contorted into reluctant smile and he, again, slapped a hand across his mouth.

Patton giggled. "He loves puns as much as me but he's too much of a tough guy to just laugh at them."

"Didn't Patton say that if you cover your mouth, you get tickled?" Roman grinned as Virgil's wide eyes. Roman was beyond excited getting to tickle someone, and someone so cute!

"D-Don't!"

"Where's your worst spot, hm? I wonder..." Roman got to work. He let one gently trail over his shirt-covered ribs with just enough pressure to tickle, while his other hand poked and prodded all over his torso.

Though his mouth was obscured by his hand, the crinkling of his eyes was all Roman needed to know he was smiling wide. His other arm was glued to his side. He was clearly trying to hold back his laughter.

Oh he was gonna have fun with this.

"Worst spot?" Patton tapped his chin as he thought to himself "Well, he's kinda just ticklish all over!"

"Everyone's got a spot that tickles way more than the others. It's like, the rule of being ticklish." Roman chatted as his poking turned to skittering.

Virgil squeaked and tried to curl in on himself while his hands were cataloguing every sensitive spot on his abdomen. It didn't take long to see that his squirming and squeaking picked up every time he lingered on his belly.

Not yet, though.

What he really wanted was to go full tickle monster. Bring out some baby talk, explore all over his body, probably go for his feet, but they didn't know each other that well, so he was only going to do what it seemed Patton did to him regularly.

For now, he'd work with what he had access to. Ribs, underarms, belly, neck, ears, hips, and his hands, too, if those happened to be ticklish. That was plenty for now.

He was curious if his belly would turn out to be his worst spot, if so, that would be the grand finale.

He sent his tickling fingers out to find a more rewarding goldmine, if any. One hand went to lightly wiggle its digits at his underarm while the other gently skittered fingers under the younger man's chin.

Virgil jolted and his arms shot up to protect his neck.

So his neck is more ticklish than his underarms. Got it.

Virgil was shaking his head back and forth and his eyes were getting more crinkled. He was grinning big behind that hand.

"Just let it out, Vee. It'll feel better once you laugh!" Patton said as he watched Roman tickle his brother with an excited grin.

So his neck was bad, not as bad as his belly, though.

He was starting to really miss that laugh. Time to kick it up a notch. He put a bit more pressure into the five digits skittering across Virgil's neck and gave a few scratches to his upper ribs below his underarms.

Virgil squealed and erupted into uncontrollable giggling and Roman's heart just about melted at the sound.

"Aw, did Roman's tickling get you giggling?" Patton cooed. Virgil's cheeks dusted pink but he didn't give a verbal response.

"Let's get those arms down, shall we?" Roman smirked and scribbled his fingers below Virgil's navel for just a second.

Virgil lurched forward with a loud bark of laughter and grabbed Roman's hands. Roman didn't give him time to think before he snagged a hand and held it palm-up. He quickly began scribbling his fingers at the palm and laughed victoriously when Virgil squealed and threw himself back down on the couch, laughing the whole way.

"There's that smile!" Patton cheered and poked Virgil's cheek.

"Yohohohou guhuhuys SUHUHUCK!" The younger laughed as Roman squeezed his ribs.

"I didn't know hands could be ticklish! How'd you know that, Roman?"

"Oh, uh, I have a friend with ticklish hands."

That was a lie. The truth involved a lot of fanfiction and research about tickling.

"It's so cute!" Patton noticed Virgil trying to wrestle away Roman's hands and tsked. "Uh-uh. None of that!" He grabbed Virgil's hands and hoisted them above his head.

"Pahahat, plehehehease, dohohon't!"

"Just a little more, kiddo. We need to make sure you don't try that hand thing again!"

"Indeed. A good tickling will teach you a lesson." Roman nodded and skittered his fingers over Virgil's sides, relishing in the increased strength of the emo's laughter.

"Cootchie coo, kiddo!" Patton cooed. Virgil flushed a bit pinker at the comment and Roman grinned. If Patton could tickle talk, then he had no problem doing it himself.

"Looks like the tickle monster's coming for his next victim." Roman lifted his hands in the air, off Virgil and wiggled his fingers menacingly.

Virgil's eyes widened at the sight of those claws and he continued giggling his head off despite the absence of any actual tickling.

"Where's he gonna go? Perhaps... here?" Roman lunged his hands towards Virgil's belly, causing said man to burst into laughter and thrash to the side.

"NOHOHAHAHAHA!" He cackled with eyes screwed shut. It took a moment for Virgil to realize his fingers never made contact, and he had just cracked up for no reason. When he opened his eyes he saw Patton and Roman grinning at him.

"Did the tickle monster really get you that bad without even touching you?"

"You're EVIL!" Virgil shouted, bright red.

"No, dear Virgil, THIS is evil." Roman chuckled to himself and eyed Virgil's belly with his shirt now having ridden up above the navel to expose it all. He dove his tickling hands to Virgil's pudgy ticklish tummy, for real this time. One hand went to squeezing and kneading while the other quickly but softly skimmed fingers over the bare skin.

Virgil went absolutely ballistic. He thrashed as hard as he could, cackling and screeching in the most hilarious and adorable way.

"NOTTHERENOTTHERENOTTHERE NOHOHOT THEHEHEHERE!" He thrashed and pulled and jolted but Patton never let go of his arms. He was stuck laughing helplessly as Roman had the time of his life, tickling the sense of out him.

"Yes, there! This little tummy is never safe with the tickle monster around!"

Roma had been paying attention. He had started with two different tickling techniques, his left hand rough while his right hand was more gentle. Virgil was most often thrashing away from his right hand.

And so...

Virgil's laughter instantly grew louder and more desperate when both of Roman's hands were softly fluttering and skimming over his skin. And when Roman dipped a finger into his navel to swirl around, he out right screamed.

"STAHA- STAHAHAHAPPIHIHIT!"

Roman picked his hands up with a satisfied grin. "The tickle monster will relent for now."

Patton giggled and released Virgil's arms which rocketed down to protect his belly.

The purple-haired man panted between fits of giggling and Roman was filled with smug satisfaction.

"Wow, Ro. You got really into that."

Roman sharply inhaled and felt his face go pink.

"You were doing like, tickling techniques! Where'd you learn to tickle like that?"

The princely man coughed and rubbed his neck. "Ah, well, um... I was just, uh... Oh, Remus! Remus and I had a lot of tickle wars as kids."

"Oh, so you learned some really intense tickle torture from him, huh?"

The word tickle torture made Roman stiffen.

"Yep!" He turned his eyes to Virgil who was staring at him with a curious expression. Patton was easy to trick but Virgil was a more suspicious person.

"Anyways, I need to be getting home soon. I left my stuff upstairs so I'm gonna go grab it!" Roman sputtered and pretty much ran up the stairs.

Patton giggled and shook his head. "You okay, Vee?"

Virgil had finally wiped the smile off his face and nodded. "Yeah. I'm gonna go check in on him. Be right back."

"Alright. Have fun!"

Virgil trotted up the stairs to see Roman shoving his clothes in his bag. He cleared his throat to get his attention.

"Oh, um, hello, Virgil. Uh, sorry if I took things too far down there."

"No, you're good. I was just wondering, uh..." Virgil cleared his throat and felt his face go red. "Does the term TFB mean anything to you?"

Roman's eyes widened. "Like... the TFB community?"

Virgil's eyes matched Roman's in size. "Y-You're a ler, right?"

Roman nodded and flushed pink. "A-Are you perhaps... a lee?"

Virgil fiddled with the hem of his hoodie and nodded. "Mm-hmm."

Roman's face lit up into an excited grin. "Did we both just live our fantasies down there?"

Virgil smiled wide despite himself. "Y-Yeah."

Roman bounced on his toe and began clapping. "Oh my gosh, are you on tumblr? That's like the place for tickling content."

Virgil bit his lip. "Yeah. You wanna, like, exchange tumblr handles?"

"Oh, absolutely!" Roman quickly fumbled in his pocket for his phone. "What's your handle?"

"Uh, it's, um... Anxious dash and dash... t-wordish."

Roman opened the tumblr app on his phone and punched in the name. "Hm, nothing came up." He showed him what he had typed. 'Anxious-And-Twordish'.

"Uh, no, like, the actual T-word."

Roman's confusion morphed into a teasing grin. "Can you not say the t-word."

Virgil pulled up his jacket to cover part of his burning face. "S-Shut up."

"You can't, can you? You can't say tickle."

"I said shut up!"

Roman laughed a deep and amused laugh. "Oh, Stormcloud, I am going to tease you about that forever." His grin grew even wider when he saw Virgil repressing a wobbly smile at that comment. "Oh? Do you want me to tease you?"

"W-W-What? Pssh, no. That's be... stupid." Virgil stammered as he shrunk back further into his jacket.

"Oh? Maybe I could point out that I only stopped because you told me to stop. It was the first time throughout that whole tickling you said 'stop'. Almost like you were enjoying it, hm?" Roman snickered as Virgil went beet red.

"Listen, you gonna follow my tumblr or what?" He said, ignoring his growing smile.

Roman made a big show of hitting follow. "I'll message you tonight. We have a LOT to talk about."

"Okay okay, but not one word about this to anyone else, got it?" Virgil shoved a finger into his chest and glared at him.

"I got it. Gotta keep up your aloof tough guy appearance, huh?" Roman tweaked his side, eyes twinkling in satisfaction at the little giggles it elicited.

"Yeah, whatever. Now get out of here, Princey." Virgil playfully punched his arm and ran down the stairs.

Roman had never been more excited to get home and open tumblr.