#ticklish!mollymauk

[thebest-medicine]

Day 14: Soft

Tickletober 2023 - Critical Role - C2 - Caleb / Mollymauk - lee!Molly

[see my other tickletober 2023 fics]

[read on AO3]

A/N: Based on “Date someone who will give you back scratches when they’re reading or watching something next to you, and when you squirm they just smile because they know you love it and continue until you’re giggling up a storm. Better if they sigh slightly “You’re disturbing my peace” and tickle you more until you’re a puddle and they have the goofiest smile on their face.”

Words: 1.2k

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Caleb doesn’t look up from the page when Molly walks into the library. He doesn’t even look up when Molly makes it over to the desk, trailing a finger over the wizard’s hunched shoulders. “And how are you doing this evening, Mr. Caleb?” 

“Mm. Fine. And you?” Caleb replies, his gaze still focused intently on the text before him. 

“Just fine, myself—was wondering if you’d like some company.” Mollymauk hops up onto the table, watching for a look, a glance, a little more attention. But, Caleb is dedicated, persistent—something Molly admires about him greatly. He leans back and spreads out amongst the pile of books and scrolls, knocking a few to the floor. 

“You are just as bad as the cat, you know. Maybe worse.”

“And yet here we are in a home full of cats.” Molly’s voice is smug, teasing. “Do you just have a love for being close to beings that mess with you?”

Caleb rolls his eyes. 

There we go. The eyes aren’t on Molly yet, but they are torn briefly from the book. An in. 

Molly’s tail coils around Caleb’s wrist. “Take a little break with me, won’t you?” 

Caleb huffs an almost laugh. “Maybe, in a bit.”

Mollymauk releases his wrist, pouting. He taps his nails a few times, thinking. His tail flicks.

A few minutes pass. He spins awkwardly on the table, knocking off a few more books and nearly tumbling into Caleb’s lap; he turns his head to give him a look—a rather cute, pleading, eyes-wide, I-need-you-to-pay-me-some-attention kind of look. 

Caleb fights with a fond smile as his eyes flick up over the pages of the book to finally take it all in. “Alright, Liebchen.” He sighs, marks his page in the book, and closes it shut, scooting his chair back to stand. “Not a break, I’m not done yet, but… come.”

Molly sits up, stretches, and the pleased smile on his face is just as apparent in his eyes. He follows as Caleb gets up and makes his way to the much more comfortable, much better place to read —in Molly’s opinion. The sofa cushions are soft, and it’s long enough that Caleb can sit down and Molly can lounge about where he likes. The tiefling wastes no time crawling right into Caleb’s lap. He settles in face down, chin resting on his arms.

As soon as Caleb gets the book open and the bookmark safely set down, he reaches with the hand not holding up his reading materials to scratch gently at Mollymauk’s scalp.

Molly makes quite a few little sounds of approval as Caleb’s fingers card through his hair and he melts within a matter of minutes. Fingers slide gently down the back of his scalp, sending tingles down his spine as they travel down to his neck. Molly fidgets slightly, the feeling starting to prickle at the edge of ticklish. He hums, content and bubbly, against Caleb’s thigh and squirms into the nest of his own arms he’s made for himself in the wizard’s lap. 

The fingers continue, light and gentle and soothing, to make their way lower onto his shoulders and upper back. It’s considerably more ticklish, but still bearable enough to release all of the silly energy with a hum and a few squirms every so often. As Caleb’s fingers trail languidly over Molly’s shoulders, side to side, he reads away above him, by all appearances not noticing the twitches below. 

Each time fingers pass over a spot that hedges too close to ticklish to stay still, they continue on, not taking any extra time or particular care. But—the thing is, with how thoroughly Caleb is tracing over his back, scratching and caressing gently, he keeps going back to those spots, passing them over and over. And Molly already knows there’s a lot of them. It feels nice, it’s tingly and warm and close and just the right amount of teasing. He doesn’t want to give the wizard reason to stop any time soon, like squirming out of his lap after he just asked for attention. But also, he considers, maybe Caleb will abandon his studies and really have a go at him if he asks nice — it’s already gotten him this far. 

For now, Molly opts to keep quiet, as still as he can reasonably maintain, and enjoy the affection. He’s gone with the flow many times in his life, and Caleb’s flow seems like one he would very much like to follow.  

Caleb’s hand continues down, down, tickles along his back, down past his waist and Molly wriggles deeper into his lap and the couch. “Eehee- wa- heheheeEE—” He squeals into the crook of his elbow as Caleb’s blunt fingernails tickle softly over his ass, down toward the back of his thigh. “Fuck.” Molly hisses, muffled. The tracing, tickling wizard claw slowly makes it way down over his thigh to the back of his knee and Molly’s leg jerks closed involuntarily. “Nnggeh- naha shihit.” 

“Be careful with those.” Caleb says sternly, an unmistakable peppering of amusement in his voice. 

Molly whines quietly into his arms and lays his leg back out straight. 

The game continues to build pace slowly, one hand always on the book and the other slowly tinkering with various sensitivities he can find on Molly. His shoulder blades, the backs of his ribs, his spine, anywhere near the dip of his waist or tail, the small of his back, his knees, his thighs, his ass… no where was left safe and unscrutinized. And yet, it was still so delicate, earnest, curious, and innocent. Little tingles and sparks light up across Molly’s nervous system. He’s content to live within this afternoon for the rest of his waking hours. 

Then, the next time Caleb’s hand reaches up to turn the page of his book, it reappears just where the top of Molly’s thigh meets his ass. He gasps in a breath as the fingers wiggle, more deliberate and ticklish, over the skin there. They stay in that spot; unlike the skating, absentminded tickling of before — this has purpose, this has focus and intent. 

Molly tries to peak up at him, abandoning his arm nest to turn and peer behind him. He gets a face-full of book for his trouble. And a pinch to the back of his thigh. He squawks at that, kicking the cushions behind him. “MmPFF!” He reburies his face to try hiding the bright laughter threatening to spill over. 

“I’m trying to read, keep quiet down there.” Caleb, bemused, scolds cheekily from behind his book. 

Molly rolls his eyes and tries to sit up on his elbows while fighting off more laughter. Without looking, Caleb runs a few fingers clumsily down his tail. Molly falters and crumples back into the wizard’s lap. “N-no fair.” Molly whines through his giggling. “Are yohohou gonna read all night?” 

“It will take me a while, yes, if you keep distracting me.” Caleb replies, matter-of-factly.

[bow-of-aros]

Day Twelve: Mischief

Summary: Caleb's just trying to get some spell work done, but it looks like Mollymauk has other plans.

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Hey folks! Another pre-written one uploaded during a hectic family visit. Enjoy <33

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Okay. The first time that Mollymauk’s tail had ‘wandered over’ and slid across Caleb’s back, he could have excused it as an accident. It likely wasn’t, and Mollymauk hadn’t exactly looked all that remorseful, but he normally wasn’t, so Caleb had decided to let that one slide.

The second and third times had been a little more purposeful. The little zings up and down his spine drawing little squeaks out of him, but Mollumauk hadn’t even looked up from his new tattoo designs, so Caleb hadn’t said anything.

Who knows, maybe he really was just that focused and his tail really did have a mind of his own.

Nothing happened for a while after that and Caleb sunk back into the steady rhythm of making notes on all the different spells he was tinkering with. He’s certain that they could be made just a little more efficient if he substituted a couple of ingredients for—

“Nein!”

At some point, while he’d been lost in thought, Mollymauk had snuck his tail up under the folds of Caleb’s coat and was currently attempting to wriggle it underneath his book holsters.

“Nein? You’re working on nine spells?” Mollymauk didn’t even have the decency to look up from his designs at Caleb’s plight, “That’s pretty impressive, Mr. Caleb.”

Gottverdammt. Why had he picked a coat with so many buckles?

“Molleheheheheymauk! Get out of thehehere!”

The tail finally manages to worm its way under the strap and Caleb snorts before falling on his side, doing his best to curl around the weapon currently wreaking havoc on his ribs.

“Get out of where? I’m not doing anything,” He glances over, feigned disinterest crumbling as his trademark mischievous grin breaks through, “You seem to be finding that spellwork pretty funny though. Having a good time?”

“Nohohohohoho!”

Mollymauk just shrugs and turns back to his designs, tail somehow managing to maneuver upwards and Caleb’s laughter goes silent before pitching back into frantic cackles.

Click. Fucking finally he got his coat open.

Now, just to grab—

“Hey! Let go of that!”

Caleb flashed Mollymauk a mischievous grin of his own, fluttering his fingers over the tail in his grasp and receiving a panicked squawk.

“Alright, Mister Mollymauk. Let’s see how you like it.”

Mollymauk’s eyes went wide, and maybe Caleb could understand why he always seemed to fall prey to tiefling attacks.

“Wait! Wahahahait CALEHEHEHEB!”

Looks like it’s time to see what the fuss is all about.

[stray-tickles]

Concentration

Read on AO3

Summary: A tickle fight breaks out, but Caleb can't participate because he needs to concentrate on his spell. No, really.

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Jester hadn’t met any other tieflings before, besides her mama. Hadn’t met many other people, really, until she’d gone off travelling and found her group of friends. She hadn’t known what she’d expected to find out in the big wide world, but Molly was one that she’d never dreamed of.

Her mama had told her how not everyone felt the same as they did about things. How humans and half elves and orcs and goblins were a bit odd about touch in a way that she’d never understand. Jester had never been one to resist the urge to cuddle, to hug, to poke and play with those closest to her.

Molly, apparently, was the same. Jester had barely squeaked out a few giggles at his teasing prods to her belly when she pounced, fingers slipping past the edges of his coat to wriggle at his ribs and draw out delighted snorty laughter.

She giggled at how quickly he folded. “You could have asked, Molly.”

He definitely flushed at her words, illuminated by the edge of Caleb’s dome. “No- pfhaha- no fun!”

Jester could hear the others talking in the background, their voices coloured with amusement. Molly was curled up into a weak ball, twitching at her tickly assault, otherwise not resisting but to hiccup with laughter.

“You have such a good smile Molly, I should tickle you forever, then it would never stop!” Her fingers climbed to burrow into his armpits and earn a loud shriek. “Doesn’t that sound nice?”

Molly was laughing and kicking too hard to speak, but he managed a nod amidst his squirming.

Jester chuckled evilly. “Hehehe, did I find your worst spot, huh?” She continued to wriggle her now trapped fingers in his armpits, loving how dark purple he got. “Is this your tickly tickle spot?”

A soft voice just behind her made her jump. “Try his tail.”

Jester stopped in surprise, looking around to see a somewhat awkward looking Yasha, eyes fixed deliberately on the rain falling just past the edge of their little dome.

Molly wheezed for breath, feeling very warm and buzzy. “Traitor!” He shouted weakly, rolling onto his back for completely unrelated reasons.

“Oh?” That seemed to get Jester’s attention back on him. Presently, Molly wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or not. “Is she right?”

Molly swallowed nervously, that giggly anticipation swelling up in his stomach. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

She giggled. “I’m gonna find out!”

He could feel himself grinning, and made no move to get up. “Best of luck to you!”

Jester glared playfully and made a grab for his tail, which Molly smugly twitched away at the last second. He was chuckling by her third attempt to catch it, and was just about to say something mocking when he felt something that sent a shock up his spine.

Jester’s tail, which had apparently wormed its way under him to the giant weak spot that was his lower back.

His eyes locked on to hers with horror, noting her smug satisfaction. So it had all been a trick. “You little- SHIT!” Molly was interrupted by a loud shriek when Jesters tail started wriggling like a worm against his back, and also, horribly, allowing her to finally catch his tail, which she assaulted with fingers that fluttered so lightly he felt like he’d die.

And okay, Molly could admit that he loved this, loved the play and the laughing and the warmth and the touch, but that didn’t mean he could handle it.

He managed barely a moment of squealing laughter before the thrashing began, twisting and rolling around to escape her tail from poking and wriggling against his back as he cackled wildly, tugging frantically at his own tail if only for the chance to catch his breath.

Then Jester’s tail found the hem of his shirt, and the moment it touched bare skin Molly shot straight out of her grip with a scream, right out the side of the protective dome.

Jester burst out laughing, only laughing harder when Molly returned a moment later, plastered with rain and catching his breath.

“Oh, you think this is funny?” Molly asked playfully, then surprised Jester by pouncing past her, somehow tackling Yasha to the ground.

“No- Molly wait-” She managed, before clasping both hands hard over her face and giggling.

Jester cooed at Yasha’s flushed face and soft laughter, then let her eyes scan over the rest of them for her next target.

And, well. Their wizard’s ears were very red.

She grinned. “Oh Caaay-leb…”

He glanced up from his bedroll, jittery as usual. “J-ja?” Then caught the look in her eye. “Ah- no, no, nein!” He yelped, scrambling backwards away from her. “Nein!”

Jester snickered, following him and wiggling her fingers playfully. “Are you like, super ticklish or something?”

Caleb curled in on himself, locking his arms at his sides. “Nein!” Oh gods, this was bad, he could tell from Jester’s smirk this was bad.

Then a familiar clawed hand squeezed at his side and it became worse. “AHA- noplease!”

Nott snickered. “But Caleb, you just said you’re not ticklish!”

“Yeah!”

He was trapped between them, and Caleb knew, knew he was going to perish. “No- wait! The spell, I need- I cannot lose concentration!”

A lie. One he was honestly quite proud of given the circumstances, but one that they could very well see through.

Instead, Jester shrugged, a disappointed pout on her lips. “Ugh, right.” She paused. “You can recast it though…”

Nott batted her away, clearly cowed by the thought of letting the rain in, and the two backed off, leaving Caleb sitting on the soft base of the dome, watching Jester leap onto Fjords back and dig her fingers into his stomach in a way that had him cackling in seconds.

This was… good. This was what he’d wanted after all. He was not being attacked, not made to laugh like a fool, to shriek and squirm like Nott was after her attempt to get Beau backfired. He didn’t want to feel like that, even if they did look happy and close in a way that made Caleb’s heart ache. This was… better.

It wasn’t like he could bear to look any of them in the eye once they found out how godforsaken ticklish he was anyway. It had never been a trait that had felt like it fit him. Caleb was awkward and stuffy and dry, it- it didn’t suit him to drop to the ground giggling from the littlest wiggle at his stomach.

It was silly.

Besides, it had been years since anyone had felt comfortable and playful enough to tickle him, Caleb wasn’t sure it would even work, if he remembered how he was supposed to react.

He’d never known how to react to things properly. He felt his lips twitch up slightly. That had always been what felt so… easy, about being ti- touched like that. He had no choice in his reactions, no chance of saying the wrong thing when he couldn’t speak for laughing, his self-consciousness unable to bury his smile in the face of that bright sparkling silliness.

Ah, gottsverdammt. He wanted that.

He glanced over to Molly and Yasha, who had now switched places, Yasha’s fingers worrying at Molly’s ribcage enough to have him in fits of giggles, flushing dark violet and grinning so big it looked like it hurt. Caleb’s arms tightened around his sides, his sympathetic smile getting a little wider. He could almost feel it, Yasha’s fingertips softly but persistently plucking at his own ribs, melting away his resolve in a moment, turning his bones into goo.

Caleb cleared his throat in a way that he hoped was just attention-grabbing enough, and unbuckled one of his books from its holster, finding that for once he wasn’t able to concentrate on the words on the page in the way that was normally so distracting for him, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that it was normally distracting. That he couldn’t maintain concentration while reading.

They all knew that.

Which was why it was so disappointing when they were all so distracted by their playful roughhousing to notice. After a few minutes, Caleb half-faked an irritated sigh and summoned his lights. It was getting to dark to read, which would be a problem if he was trying to read. It did have three globules of light circling his head though, and that had to be enough.

It was, to his eternal chagrin, not.

Mollymauk was curled up in a giddy giggly ball by the time Caleb realised that this wasn’t working, and decided to tuck himself into his bedroll and pretend to sleep. At least this way he didn’t have to look at them.

He didn’t quite notice Fjord’s now wheezing giggles come to a halt, nor the soft footsteps creeping over to him. In fact, Caleb didn’t notice anything at all until a hand snuck under the edge of his bedroll and a nail drew a very quick, very ticklish line up his foot.

“Scheisse!” He sat bolt upright, feet curling up to him and a hot flush laying claim to his face. It only grew hotter when he saw the mischievous grin levelled at him.

Jester giggled, hopping onto his knees. “Hiiiii Caleb.”

He swallowed. “Uh- H-hallo, Jester.” Oh dear.

She leaned closer, grin widening, and actually this might have been a mistake.

“So, you like, totally need to focus so the dome stays up, right?”

Caleb cleared his throat. “I-ah… Ja.” He barely resisted the urge to push himself backwards.

Jester pretended to think. “Is it super hard to concentrate when you’re sleeping?”

The question spurred a smug snicker from Molly, who was still giggly and floppy, snuggled up to Yasha.

“U-uh… ja.” Oh dear, he was getting jittery.

Fjord snorted an exhausted laugh. “Quit messing with him and get to it.”

“Ja!” Caleb blurted, then flushed red. “I-I mean nein, no!”

Jester laughed delightedly. She loved the game. “Sooooo… don’t stop messing with you?”

“Jester bitte!”

She grinned widely. “Maybe I should just let you go…”

By the way her eyes glinted, Caleb knew she had noticed his hesitation, his startled silence at her words, his lack of real protests. She knew that he wanted this, and the thought had him shrinking back and squeezing his eyes shut.

Jester held back a giggle. Well, if he was going to leave himself open like that…

Soft hands latched onto Caleb’s sides, followed by surprisingly gentle claws scratching at the fabric of his shirt and skin and he let out a loud squeak, flopping onto his side. He was already smiling, he could feel it, trying desperately to muffle further squeaks and giggles that the niggling, playful feeling elicited, shit.

Jester’s smile grew bigger. “Aww, Caleb you have such a sweet smile!” She cooed. Caleb’s hands came up to cover his reddening face, and her fingers shot up under his arms, getting a loud snort and breaking through what little control he had.

Caleb’s elbows snapped down too late, only trapping Jester’s hands in what was, apparently, a very ticklish spot, though he didn’t have the time to think about that given he was trying and failing to control his stuttering laughter. One eye cracked open and he immediately wished he hadn’t, when he saw the fond, knowing grin that Nott was giving him from her bedroll. She knew, of course she knew, and the thought had him burrowing into his own bedroll.

That playful laugh melded with his own squeaky giggles for a moment. “Where do you think you’re going?” Jester teased, even as Caleb burrowed deeper, away from her delightfully horrible claws. Not to escape, even in his growingly delirious state he didn’t want to get away. But there was nothing quite so delightful as being chased.

Fingertips vibrating under his arms already had Caleb cackling helplessly and writhing like a fish on a line, but when Jester’s littlest fingers started delicately scratching at his top ribs at the same time he screeched.

On the edges of sanity, a chuckle broke through. “Oh, this I gotta see.”

Schiesse.

Caleb wasn’t sure it would be possible to curl up into a tighter ball than the one he was in, but he tried his best, as he heard the footsteps coming closer.

It was a mercy that Mollymauk only moved the blanket aside enough to whisper in his ear. “Doing okay there, Widogast?”

Even his breath tickled, Caleb lamented, keeping his helplessly laughing face as hidden as he possibly could.

Molly laughed quietly. At a guess, none present had seen Caleb laugh before, or smile beyond that wry smirk he sported once in a blue moon. And this, this was something else. Who would have thought their wizard could get so melty? A quick glance to Jester confirmed it, they were definitely doing this again. Regularly, if he had any say in it at all.

He let his claws trace down Caleb’s neck experimentally, eyes widening at the full body shiver that ran through the wizard. Oh. This was too good.

Caleb… wasn’t sure if he was capable of thought, anymore. Jester’s hands had migrated to poking and squeezing at his abominably sensitive ribcage, and Molly, damn him, was tracing and scratching at his ears and neck, laughing just close enough that his warm breath brushed Caleb’s skin as well, and everything was tingles and static and tickles.

He hiccupped. “Please- ehe- ohno please!”

Jester’s hands slowed, Caleb could just about make out her disappointed pout. Mollymauk’s teasing claws only continued to trace and skitter around his neck and ears, wiggling teasingly under his chin as he leaned closer. “Please what?”

Jester caught on quickly. “Oooh, please keep tickling you?” She started gently kneading his stomach, getting wheezing laughter and a fiery blush in response. “Oh my gosh, Caleb, you’re ticklish, like, everywhere.”

Caleb whined, past the point of doing much other than curling up into an utterly ineffective ball. “J-Jehester please, Molly!”

Molly’s claws had migrated to wriggle under his arms. He leaned closer, amid the wizard’s incoherent begging. “Do you want us to stop?” He murmured, to quietly for any but Jester to hear.

Caleb knew the answer to that question. “Nein!” He squealed. “Nein!”

Molly pressed a long kiss to his cheek, smiling. “I thought not.” He grinned, then with a parting pat on the head, leapt away to wrestle one of Caleb’s legs from the blanket.

Knowing now that he was safe to, Caleb kicked playfully, as if he had any chance of deterring Mollymauk whatsoever.

He squeaked unexpectedly when Jester wormed her fingers around him to scratch at his lower back. She laughed. “Molly he’s almost as bad as you here!”

He grinned in return, getting a good grip on Caleb’s ankle. “If he were any worse, I think he’d die.”

Caleb cackled his agreement.

“Now, I hear humans have more toes than we do.”

What?

Caleb looked over at him in confusion, panting for breath. “Nein, I do not think-” Then he caught the evil smirk and flushed bright red.

Molly chuckled. “Well, I should count to be sure.”

Caleb mumbled incoherently into his hands, reaching to pull his pillow over his face and shrieking when Jester made as if to dart her fingers under his arms. She snickered. “Aw, I think he’s almost done, Molly!”

“Hmm.” Molly cocked his head at the blushing, giggling lump known as Caleb Widogast. He did seem pretty far gone. But he also seemed happier than Molly had ever seen him, tickle drunk and all.

Always nice to end these things gradually. “Guess I’ll have to take this slow then.”

He noted that Caleb didn’t protest.

He did giggle uncontrollably with every toe that Molly caught between his fingers, wiggling teasingly and scratching a nail up each. Cute.

Caleb was well past the point of doing even as little as curling up in a ball. His mind had become giggly mush, and all his body could do now was shiver and laugh, burying his face in his thin pillow to hide from the world, from anything that would end this sooner than it absolutely had to.

“Hm, you know, I think I’ve actually forgotten how many toes tieflings have.” Molly said, pretending to think, only to quickly knock Jester onto her back and grab her leg too. He smiled wickedly. “Let me check!”

Jester squealed delightedly, already laughing. “Molly!”

He only grinned back, swiping a nail up her sole and getting a loud laugh and sending Jester flopping back onto the ground, right next to a still giggly Caleb.

Molly quickly sat atop both legs, keeping them both pinned and laughing. “Okay, now count with me, you two!”

Jester snorted and burst into loud laughter the moment Molly started wiggling her toes, as much from the silliness as from the tickles. Caleb wasn’t much better, hiccupping with giggles and unable to even try hiding his wide grin from the world. Cuuute.

His eyes cracked open for a moment, squeezing shut again when he noticed Jester’s affectionate gaze on him, arms coming up to cover that smile again.

Oh, no, definitely not, Jester decided, and rolled as close to him as she could with Molly still tickling her like that. Caleb flinched with a loud laugh when she reached for him, only to melt completely into her embrace once he realised what she was doing, burying his face into her shoulder, unable to get rid of the smile for anything.

Molly stopped a moment later, grinning up at the two of them and barely needing Jester’s grabby motion to convince him to join the cuddle pile.

Jester smiled and pressed a kiss to that mess of red hair. Maybe not every human was as different from her as she’d thought.

[august-anon]

Revenge is a Dish Best Served With a Smile

For Tickletober Day 4: Weak Spot

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Fandom: Critical Role

Ship(s): Widomauk (though more implied than explicit)

Characters (lee/ler): Lee!Mollymauk/Ler!Caleb

Word Count: 1446 words

Summary: Mollymauk was getting a little too bold, thinking he could always get away with his tickle attacks. Wizards may not be known for their strength, but no one has ever said that Caleb isn't resourceful.

[ao3 link]

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Caleb knew he was an easy target. Wizards weren’t exactly known for their strength or agility, after all. The thing was, he never expected to become a target in his own party.

Ultimately, it had been Jester’s fault – with her particular brands of mischief and physical affection, it had only been a matter of time until weaknesses were revealed. But despite her position as their resident trickster, Jester wasn’t the one Caleb needed to keep an eye on. No, that was Mollymauk, taking advantage of Caleb’s sensitivities in every spare moment he could.

Internally, Caleb could just barely admit to himself that he didn’t necessarily mind it. Maybe, sometimes, when he was particularly tired (or blissed out post-tickle attack), he could even admit to himself that he liked it. Just a little. But that didn’t erase the fact that Molly was getting a little too bold, a little too sure of himself when it came to his attacks. Caleb knew he wasn’t untouchable, he’d watched Yasha and Jester take down Molly when he got a bit too cocky, but therein came the problem. Jester and Yasha were strong and quick – they knew exactly how to take Molly down in order to shut him up or exact their revenge.

But wizards weren’t exactly known for their strength or agility. 

Still, weeks of tickle attacks could not continue to go unpunished.

As it turned out, Caleb’s opportunity for revenge came packaged nicely in one such attempt. He had sequestered himself in his tavern room for the night, studying some new scrolls they had found on their latest adventure, when Molly found him. He sighed and allowed his eyes to flick up towards Molly for just a moment before returning to his scrolls, and Molly seemed to take that as his invitation into the room. The bed dipped next to him as Molly settled himself down, and he could feel the tiefling heat radiating off him as Molly leaned into his space.

“No merry-making for you tonight, dear?”

Caleb sighed again. “I do not make merry, Mollymauk. And in any case, I am busy with far more important things.”

Molly reclined on the bed behind him, curling a sly fingernail into the folds of his shirt, tugging slightly. “It’s just as well, I suppose. Beau and Yasha are trashed already, and frankly, it’s more than a little painful to watch.”

Against his better judgement, Caleb snorted. Mollymauk’s finger plucked at the loose edges of his shirt with more intent.

“Fjord’s well on his way there, as well. By the time I left, he looked half a drink away from slamming Beau and Yasha’s faces together himself.”

“Perhaps he should,” Caleb said absentmindedly, bringing the scroll closer to his face to squint at a specific rune.

He heard Molly let out a dramatic sigh as the bed shifted with his restless squirming. Then, he jumped as he felt a thin band begin to wrap around his waist. Glancing down, he saw Molly’s tail wrapped around his body, the spade of it hovering threateningly near his bottom rib. Molly’s fingernail had also found a new home, having managed to untuck Caleb’s shirt and slip underneath it to trace the curve of Caleb’s side just above his hip.

“Molly,” Caleb admonished, shifting his weight toward the nightstand in case he needed to swiftly get his scrolls out of harm's way.

“Yes, dear?” Molly purred.

“I believe it would be wise to quit while you are ahead. You’re distracting me.”

Molly chuckled behind him and sat up, pressing his chest to Caleb’s back. “Was that a threat, Mr. Widogast?”

“Perhaps it was.”

Molly chuckled, and Caleb flinched as Molly’s tail tightened around his waist, the spade of it beginning to wiggle into the space between his two lowest ribs. “Such confidence from a man in your predicament. Tell me, how exactly do you plan on wriggling your way out of this one?”

That was an excellent question, in Caleb’s opinion, because currently he had no plan. He didn’t even know if he wanted a plan yet, or if this was yet another instance Mollymauk would have his mirthful way with Caleb without consequence. But in either case, Molly’s tail’s ministrations were becoming ticklish enough to make him squirm. He couldn’t help the instinct to reach up and grab the thing. Molly let out a startled sound (much like a cat, Caleb thought fondly) and tried to wrench the limb away, but Caleb tightened his grip, smoothing his thumb over the spade of the tail to try and stop it’s squirming. Instead, the squirming (both from the tail and Molly himself) increased tenfold and Molly let out another startled noise – this one pitched far higher than the last.

“Alright,” Molly said, his voice high and wavering, “you’ve made your point. I can leave you to your boring old books, if that’s what you really want.”

Caleb hesitated, smoothing his thumb over the skin once more and gaining himself another frantic tug. “I apologize, am I making you uncomfor–”

“No!”

Caleb finally looked over his shoulder, finding Molly’s too-wide eyes already locked on his. His lavender skin had tinged a darker purple across his face and ears and all the way down his neck. As Caleb continued to analyze him, Molly swallowed heavily. Caleb narrowed his eyes. He knew this wasn’t an inappropriate situation – Molly and Jester had never expressed discomfort with their tails being handled before – but even if it was illicit, Molly wasn’t the sort to blush and squirm from those sorts of things anyway. He’d be more likely to flirt and tease and try to make Caleb blush instead – not that that was a particularly difficult feat.

Carefully, gently, Caleb brushed his thumb back and forth across the flat of the tail’s spade. Molly lurched forward, practically squealing as he curled up against Caleb’s back. A slow smile spread across Caleb’s lips.

“I see.”

“Caleb, don’t tease.”

Caleb let out an incredulous laugh. “And why should I not? You’re quite fond of teasing others in this position, are you not?”

Molly’s shoulders shook with suppressed laughter. “I still have my pride,” he ground out.

“Well, let me relieve you of that, then.”

Caleb brought his free hand up, spidering his blunt nails on the flat of the spade. Molly broke down into gasping giggles and went limp against Caleb, fingers clutching onto his shirt. His tail tugged for freedom, wiggled in Caleb’s grip, but seemed altogether too weak to be able to break free. Caleb chuckled and tickled his way down the length of Molly’s tail, watching as he arched his back the closer Caleb got to the base of it. He wondered what would happen if he tickled there and the spade of the tail at the same time, but he didn’t think it was possible with only two hands and the strength of a wizard. At least, not without some maneuvering, and he didn’t know if attempting to adjust them would trigger Molly’s revenge.

“I see why you do this so often,” Caleb said. “It is quite amusing to watch.”

Molly simply made a wordless whine, curling further into Caleb’s back and side until his face was buried in Caleb’s hip. He’d all but melted otherwise, aside from his shaking laughter and the twitching of his tail. Caleb’s smile turned fond.

“I’d almost say you like this. It’s quite cute actually.”

Molly grumbled something unintelligible into the skin of his hip, and Caleb flinched at the ticklish feeling, his own tickling faltering for a moment. Caleb sighed and paused his revenge, weaving his hand into Molly’s hair instead to scratch at his scalp. If possible, Molly melted even further into Caleb and the bed, practically purring.

“Perhaps the rest of us should get revenge more often, ja?”

Molly tilted his head up just enough to be heard and said, “I certainly wouldn’t be opposed.”

“I’ll remember this for next time.”

Molly grinned at the promise, and Caleb couldn’t help but smile back. Absentmindedly, he lifted Molly’s tail to his face and pressed a quick kiss to the spade of it, forgetting the prickliness of his scruff. Molly’s eyes blew wide again as he squealed, high-pitched and near-deafening, and launched himself backwards on the bed, ripping his tail out of Caleb’s hand in the process.

A dangerous grin that felt very much like it belonged more on Molly or Jester spread across Caleb’s face. “Or perhaps I’ll make use of it right now. What do you think?”

Molly’s tail twisted into excited little curlicues between them. “I’d say you’re rather foolish for expecting me to go down without a fight twice.

[thelavendersquid]

Love Persevering (Tell Me How You Feel)

@amazingmsme and @thebest-medicine - The wait is over! Thank you both for your encouragement to write this fic!!!

Summary: Fjord wants nothing to do with the tickle fights his friends keep starting. Yet he can't help but be drawn to the subject and the memories it brings…

The Mighty Nein talk about feelings and process their grief for Mollymauk through the ticklish love language they all share.

Some grief and light angst but mostly tooth-rotting fluff.

My contribution to Mollymauk Week: Day 4 - Joy

Words: 7,028

AO3 Link

Sequel to No Words Needed but can also be read as a standalone

****

What is grief, if not love persevering?

****

Jester’s fingers scurry up Caduceus’ sides and he’s laughing immediately, stumbling sideways towards the tunnel wall and holding his hands up in a poor attempt to block her. Jester follows after him, laughing along as Caduceus’ back hits the wall and he throws his head back, squeezing his eyes shut tight and giving in to his laughter. He gives up trying to bat Jester's hands away and instead focuses on coordinating himself enough to retaliate - jamming his hands towards her armpits and wiggling as best he can possibly manage. His efforts are rewarded by a flinch backwards and sudden giggle. Caduceus can barely focus through his own giggles but he pushes forward, pressing his advantage, and feels Jester pull back slightly, succumbing to giggling.

Caduceus opens his eyes and finds her dancing from foot to foot, trying to escape his fingers without actually moving away. He laughs in an entirely new way, never stilling his fingers as they poke and prod up and down her torso and wiggle under her arms. Jester yelps and falls forward - throwing her arms around him and face planting into his stomach as she dissolves into full-out laughter.

That’s unexpected and Caduceus flinches as she does this, chuckling. Then he wraps his arms around her, pulling her in closer for a hug - as his fingers scribble up her back.

Jester shrieks. Heh. That trick always got his siblings too.

He feels Jester’s fingers pinching up his back just then - as she laughs into his stomach, which might be even more tickly. He’s laughing again.

Jester clings on tighter as Caduceus starts laughing - and he can’t let her win at hugging of all things, so he grips onto her even tighter in return. It’s a bone-crushing, tickly hug that has both of them laughing too hard for words. Caduceus can’t remember the last time he's laughed this hard and he’s reluctant for it to ever end.

Nonetheless, after a few moments it does - he slows his fingers and gently pulls Jester away so they’re facing each other. He squeezes her shoulder, still grinning ear to ear. “That was fun.” Jester beams back up at him. Caduceus looks up at the others - most of whom are looking distinctly uncomfortable. He gives them an easy grin. “You should try it, it’s a lot of fun.”

Jester spins to face the group too, looking delighted. “Yes! Oh Beau-oh! Are you ticklish?” She springs towards Beau, fingers wiggling and a downright evil grin on her face. Caduceus chuckles.

Beau, eyes wide as saucers and looking panicked, holds up her hand. “Wait, wait, no. I’ve got Caleb duty, I’m doing this, I’m busy.” She gestures frantically to her other shoulder, where Caleb’s hand rests.

Jester’s eyes travel up his arm to the glassy-white eyes indicating Caleb is watching them through Frumpkin at the moment. She turns back to Beau. “Alright fi-ne, but I’ll get you later.” She flashes Beau a grin which leaves Beau looking like she's seen a ghost - but with the faintest grin tugging at the corners of her mouth in return.

Jester spins towards the others. “Fjord! What about you?!”

If Beau looked panicked, Fjord looks downright horrified as Jester’s gaze lands on him. “Me? I, ah -“ he coughs and clears his throat, trying to bring his voice back down from where it seems to have leaped up an octave. “I don't have any idea what you’re asking.”

Jester has closed the gap between them with frightening speed. She flashes him that dangerous grin. “Yes you do. Fj-ord, I already know you’re ticklish!” And quick as lightning, her fingers scuttle up his stomach.

Fjord chokes on a gasp and reaches frantically for her hands. “Ah - Jester wait!”

Jester does not wait and Fjord fails to catch her hands, which means she continues wiggling her fingers over his stomach and up towards his ribs. She’s watching his face for any reaction.

It comes. Fjord sucks in a deep breath and clamps his mouth shut, biting down on his cheek.

Jester pouts at this and sets to work even harder. Her fingers poke and prod into the spaces in between his ribs. This has Fjord bending double and turning desperately away from her. Jester grins and flows with him. And Fjord can’t hold back a snort - which turns quickly into hearty chuckles he can’t manage to stop.

Jester laughs in delight and worms her fingers even higher, towards his armpits. Fjord splutters and dissolves into raspy laughter. “Jehehhehhehster ST-hahahahaha-stop ahahahahaha - STOP IT!”

Jester laughs along with him, following as he turns away from her even further. She glances over her shoulder, fingers still wiggling their way beneath Fjord’s armor. “Cad! Come help me!”

Caduceus is watching this with a slight frown spreading across his face. “Hmmm. Hold on a minute. Maybe you’d better give him a break.”

Jester catches something in his tone and turns around to face him. Her fingers on Fjord’s sides slow but don’t still entirely. She gives Caduceus a slight frown and he raises an eyebrow at her and nods towards Fjord. Jester turns back to look at her victim. Fjord is twisted as far away from her as he can possibly be, bent double trying to hide his face, tense as a board, and laughing through gritted teeth - clearly trying to stifle his laughter with little success. Behind the laughter he looks distinctly unhappy.

Jester’s frown deepens and she pulls her hands away. Fjord jerks away from her the moment he's free, turning so his back is to her. Jester blinks and drops her hands to her sides. “Fjord?”

Fjord is biting the inside of his cheek as hard as he possibly can to stop his chuckles. He coughs to clear the last of them away before growling over his shoulder. “Give me a minute. Go find someone else to torture.”

Jester's face falls. She turns to give Caduceus a sad look. He gives her a worried frown in return.

Fjord coughs a few more times for good measure. He can feel every eye upon him. He can also feel the heat rising up his neck. Ugh.

With a shake of his head, Fjord straightens up and turns to briefly face the group. His face is composed. “Come on. Let’s go.” His accent is firmly back in place and he stalks off down the tunnel, leading the way.

Fjord can hear muttering behind him as he walks away but he pointedly ignores it and walks on. Then - footsteps. And there’s Beauregard walking next to him, staring. Fjord glances over at her and she raises her eyebrows. Fjord clears his throat and gives a shake of his head, looking away quickly. Beau doesn’t say anything, but Fjord can feel her gaze locked on him.

Caleb, feeling Beau start walking again, drops back into his body. He blinks a few times to clear his eyes and looks around at the others with a frown. The energy has shifted so dramatically in such a short period of time. Caleb catches Beau's eye and raises his eyebrows at her. She gives him a shrug in return. Caleb frowns but stays quiet.

Jester stares after the others with a dejected look. She turns to Caduceus, who has collected his staff from where it was tossed aside. He gives her a sympathetic look, and slowly the two follow after the group, trailing behind alongside a confused-looked Yasha and Nott.

And so the group presses on in tense silence.

********************

It's several weeks before Fjord brings it up again. They’ve been busy, thankfully, and he hasn’t had time to let it occupy his mind. And mercifully, Jester and Caduceus have always left him out of their now-becoming-frequent tickle fights and ambushes on unsuspecting members of the Nein. The fact that Fjord makes a quick exit - or at least looks away awkwardly - whenever such events take place probably helps.

But he still can’t help but notice things.

It's not until the group is settled into their rooms at the next inn that Fjord says anything. The quiet night allows him far too much time to think, and he finds himself looking over at Caleb - who is definitely not asleep, Fjord can tell that much from his unsteady breathing.

He takes a deep breath and rolls over to lie on his back, staring up at the ceiling. A cough to break the silence, then - “Caleb? Can I ask you something?”

Darkvision allows Fjord to see Caleb visibly jump at the sound of his voice. He turns his head to face his roommate. “Ja, of course.”

“Do you like being tickled?”

There’s a spluttering sound from the other bed and Fjord sits up, alarmed - just in time to catch sight of the wizard in the middle of choking on his own spit. Caleb sits up too, coughing. He’s careful not to look at Fjord. “Ah. I’m sorry. I was not expecting that, is all.”

Fjord nods. Caleb coughs again and brushes an arm across his mouth before sliding back down into his bed. Even in the dark Fjord can see his face is a good two shades darker than before. This does not discourage him from continuing to press.

“I only ask because I’ve seen Jester get you several times now and you’ve never told her to stop or to knock it off, so-“

“Have you tried telling Jester to knock it off?”

Fjord chuckles. “Fair.”

Caleb gives him a hint of a smile, then turns away as it fades and sighs. “I….ah….” He trails off into silence without finishing the sentence.

Silence hangs between them for a long moment. Both staring at up the ceiling without a word. Finally Fjord breaks it. “I don't care, by the way. But can you tell me why? What about it do you like? It’s torture. How can you like it?”

This is met with a slightly strangled sound, then silence. Fjord shifts in his bed to look over at Caleb. The wizard is staring, wide-eyed, up at the ceiling.

Fjord sits up again, looking worried and regretting everything. He shouldn’t have brought this up. “Forget I said anything. We don't have to talk about it.”

Caleb does not respond, just continues staring at the ceiling. Fjord watches him worriedly for a moment, then slowly slides down into his bed. He can feel his own heart racing as he stares up at the ceiling himself. What was he thinking? Of course Caleb doesn't want to talk about it, neither would he if someone brought it up like this - in fact isn't that what Jester did when she grabbed him and reminded him what tickling felt like in the first place? And didn’t he react just as badly? Why would he think this would go any differently? Caleb didn't deserve this. How stupid and insensitive of him for dragging him into it.

With a swoosh, Caleb throws his blanket back and leaps out of bed. Fjord jumps. He pushes himself up. “Caleb?”

No response. Caleb swiftly crosses the room, pushes open the door, and steps out into the hall.

Fjord throws his own blanket back, his feet hitting the floor. “Caleb!”

Not even a glance in his direction. Fjord hurries out of the room. Blinking as his eyes adjust to the light in the hall, he sees Caleb knocking on the door next to theirs.

There’s a creak and the door opens. A sleepy-looking Caduceus stands in the doorway, blinking blearily at them. He takes in the sight of a frenzied-looking Caleb standing in front of him and a confused and scattered Fjord a few steps behind. His face shifts into a soft smile, and he pushes the door open and steps back to let them in. Caleb steps inside and Fjord, not seeing any reason not to, follows.

Caduceus shuts the door and follows behind them, rubbing his eyes. Across the room on the other bed, Yasha is sitting up and looking worried.

Caleb is standing in the middle of the room. He’s fidgeting with his coat and staring at the floor. “I am sorry to wake you both up, I don’t mean to be a bother…”

Caduceus just waves a hand. “Nah. Never a bother.” He waves towards the ground, gesturing for them to sit, before turning away to start making tea.

Yasha is already getting out of bed. “You’re not a bother, Caleb. Do you want some privacy?” She’s sheathing her swords and looking ready to leave.

Caleb shakes his head. “Nein. No. Stay, please.” He drops to the floor, sitting propped against Caduceus’ empty bed.

Fjord, for his part, stands in the middle of the room with his arms crossed. Caduceus turns around, carrying cups of tea. He hands one to Fjord before lowering himself down to the floor, sitting cross-legged and leaning against Yasha’s bed, gesturing for Fjord to join him.

Fjord reluctantly sits down across from him. Yasha has joined Caleb, the four of them forming a little circle in the middle of the bedroom.

Caduceus hands out tea. “So.”

Caleb takes his with both hands. “Danke.” He takes a deep breath. “Ah, I came here because Fjord was asking me about, ah…ti-“ He cuts off abruptly and looks down into his cup.

Caduceus takes a sip of his tea, waiting patiently. Caleb stutters and then trails off again, face growing darker.

Yasha is wearing a confused frown. “About what?”

Caleb takes a deep breath and tries again. “About ti…about kitzlen.”

This time both Yasha and Caduceus look confused. “What?”

Caleb takes a long drink of tea. Fjord sighs, rubs a hand over his face, and speaks up. “I was asking him about tickling. It’s really not a big deal, I shouldn’t have brought it up, let’s all just go to bed and not worry about it-“

He’s cut off by Caduceus’ sudden clarity. “Ahhh.” His expression has cleared into another soft smile.

Yasha’s face clears too and she leans back against the bed again. “Oh.”

Caleb looks surprisingly relieved, despite his face being about five shades redder than usual. He nods. “Ja. That. He asked me about ti…ah, that, and I would like to talk about it, but I…ah…I needed a mediator.”

“I don’t know what that is,” Caduceus says. “I can listen to the two of you talk if that’s what you want, though.” He takes another sip of tea.

Caleb nods. "That is exactly what I would like, thank you Caduceus.”

Caduceus gives him a smile. It's too full of knowing for Caleb’s liking and he looks away quickly. Caduceus’ smile widens.

Caleb takes a deep breath before heaving it back out in a sigh. He’s still staring down into his cup. “I - I do like kitzlen - ah, tick..tickling…Fjord.” He glances up at Fjord - who is staring at him in something like disbelief - before immediately going back to looking at his cup. “It’s a nice, ah, break. Like being inside Frumpkin. Or when I Polymorph. It’s nice to not have every single thought racing through my head. You know?”

Fjord nods slowly. He does know about racing thoughts. Beside him, Yasha is nodding too.

Caleb seems emboldened by this and presses on. He takes another deep breath. “I…like being stupid, sometimes. I am not, most times. Most times I cannot be. So it's nice to be able to sometimes, with people I can be stupid around. I can be stupid around you all and I am very grateful for it. And t…ah, tickling…it lets me do that. And also laugh. I have not laughed very much in my life, but I have never laughed more than I have with you all. And it feels…good.” His eyes dart up for a half-second, just long enough to see the group’s reactions.

Yasha and Caduceus are smiling softly at him. Fjord is staring right through him and looks distinctly uncomfortable, as if he just swallowed another orb.

Caleb takes a long drink of his tea. It helps. When he lowers his cup his face feels less flushed. He glances over at Fjord. “Does that answer your question, Fjord?”

Fjord blinks at him blankly for a moment, before giving his head a shake and sitting up quickly, clearing his throat. “Yes - yes, it does, Caleb. Thank you for sharing that.”

Caduceus gives Caleb a proud smile. “I’m proud of you for talking about that. You did great.” Caleb gives an awkward shrug and looks away, taking another sip of tea.

Caduceus turns to Fjord. “What about you Fjord? Why did you want to talk about tickling?

Fjord sucks in a deep breath and opens his mouth to respond. “Well, I…I…ah…”

Caduceus interrupts his stuttering. “Should Jester be here for this?”

This snaps Fjord out of it. He blinks and looks up at Caduceus. “Jester? Why should Jester be here?”

Caduceus gives a slight shrug. “It might be good for both of you. She was pretty upset after the last tickling incident.”

Fjord heaves a huge sigh and slumps against the bed frame he’s leaning on. He stares down into his cup. “Alright. Yes, she should be here too.”

“I’ll get her.” Everyone turns to see Yasha unfolding herself from the floor and making her way over to the wall dividing their room from Beauregard and Jester’s. She knocks softly. There’s a muffled sound from the other side - words that Fjord can’t quite make out - and then Yasha says, in her soft voice, “Can you two come over here? We’re having a discussion.”

There’s another muffled response and then a few seconds later, a knock at the door. Caduceus, who stood up to refill the tea, opens the door to let in Jester and Beauregard.

Beau rushes into the room, eyes darting around and looking ready for a fight. “Is everyone okay?! What’s going on?!” Jester follows her, looking concerned and just as ready for whatever they might face.

Caduceus holds out cups of tea towards both of them. Beau looks down at the cup, confused. Caduceus pushes it closer and she takes it on instinct, looking back up at him and then around at the others with a frown. “What’s going on?”

Caduceus hands Jester her cup and goes back to his spot next to the bed, lowering himself back down into a cross-legged seat on the floor. Yasha looks over to Beau. “I said we were having a discussion.”

“I thought that might be a code word for ‘we’re being held hostage, come help us!’” Beau carries her tea over and drops down in between Yasha and Caleb.

“Nah, we’re just talking,” Caduceus says, holding out a hand to beckon Jester over. She smiles and plops down next to him, taking a sip of her tea.

“What kind of conversation is this?” Beau asks before taking a sip of her tea.

“Yeah, are you talking about who you want to kiss or what?” Jester pipes up, waggling her eyebrows.

Caduceus sets his tea cup on the floor next to him and looks over at them. “Fjord was talking about tickling.”

Jester’s face lights up immediately and she spins towards Fjord. “Tickling?! Fjord, you were talking about tickling?! Oh, I’m so glad you called us over here, Yasha! Tickling is my fav-or-ite.” She smiles at Yasha, who returns it with a soft smile of her own.

Fjord’s face feels hot again and he busies himself with looking down into his tea once again so as to not have to look at Jester. Out of the corner of his eye he still manages to catch her face fall when she sees his discomfort. He feels something in his chest start to ache.

“So, where were we?” Caleb asks, setting his own cup down too. “I shared the depths of my soul, I believe it was your turn now.” He looks over at Fjord expectantly.

Fjord sighs into his tea cup before taking a breath and steeling himself. He swallows his feelings and looks up, expression - he hopes - settled back into one of confidence. “Right. Well. I was just asking what everyone thought about…well, tickling.” He raises his eyebrows as he looks around at the little group, doing his absolute best to look resolute and interested.

Jester gives him that bright smile again, although there's something sad deep in her eyes that Fjord wishes he hadn’t seen. “I loooooove tickling! It’s so much fun! Like, tickle fights - they're the best thing ever.” Her tail is wagging ever so slightly, tapping against the ground. Fjord can't help the smile that twitches onto his face.

“I don’t have strong feelings about it either way,” Beau says, across from him. Fjord turns to look at her and gives a nod. Caduceus turns as well and studies her for a moment, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. Beau catches his eye and flushes bright red. She turns back to her tea quickly. The faintest of smiles spreads across Caduceus’ face.

Caduceus turns back to Fjord. “I like tickling. It’s fun. I’ve always had fun with it with my siblings and sometimes my parents too - we got my dad one time, that was great.” He grins at the memory, an infectious look that the others find the corners of their lips twitching to match.

Fjord turns to Yasha. “What about you, Yasha? What do you think?”

Yasha has been looking lost in thought, gazing down at the ground. She looks up and says, softly, "It reminds me of Molly.”

Fjord blinks in surprise before looking down at the ground himself. He nods, and his voice drops to a whisper as he says, “It reminds me of Molly too.”

Yasha gives him a soft smile, which Fjord looks up just in time to catch. “It’s just, it’s everything that he was, you know? He was…Molly was…he was so carefree and he loved to have fun, and he loved to make people laugh - oh, he loved to make people laugh.” She smiles brighter, fond, eyes drifting up to the ceiling as the memory comes back.

Fjord nods. “And he was so touchy. He was always looking for a hug or trying to get closer.”

Yasha looks back at him. “Oh yes, oh yes, he loved to be hugged and held and cuddle. He loved touch. And he - he felt like a warm hug. You know?”

Fjord nods rapidly. His eyes have become wet with tears. “He did. He really did.”

Yasha sniffs and reaches up to wipe away a tear of her own. “That's why tickling reminds me of him. It’s all those things wrapped up in one - all that touchy-feely, carefree, fun that feels like a warm hug. And that's what he was too. He was all of those things in one.”

Fjord can feel the tears startling to trail out of his eyes. He looks down, furiously trying to blink them back. “He liked it, too.”

“Tickling? Oh yes, he loved it.” A wet smile spreads across Yasha’s face again as she wipes away more tears that are steadily streaking down her face. “He loved both sides of it. He would tickle me to pieces so, so often - and he loved it when I’d get him back.” She looks back up at Fjord with that shaky, soft smile. “Some of my absolutely favorite memories are of those times."

Fjord nods and wipes a hand roughly across his face. “He got me a few times. I wish I’d let him do it more often."

“He got all of us, I think,” comes Caleb's voice from across the circle. Fjord and Yasha turn to face him and see him wiping away his own tears. A shaky smile perseveres on his face anyway. “He really loved it.”

Beau, next to him, takes a shaky breath and nods. “He got me too, the jerk.” She rubs away the tears that are trailing down her already wet face, past the fond smile she can’t manage to hold back.

Jester sniffles and says, softly, “We had so many tickle fights. It was so much fun.” She pauses, staring off into the space, remembering. Her eyes well up with tears. “I miss him.” Her voice cracks as she says it. Caduceus puts an arm around her and she snuggles closer to him.

Beau is wiping her fists over her face. She sniffs. “We should have a tickle fight in honor of him. He would’ve liked that.”

Caduceus looks over at Fjord. “How are you holding up, Fjord?”

Fjord takes a deep breath and lets it out in a sigh, wiping away more tears. “I miss him too, Jester.” Jester gives him a watery smile. Fjord coughs and takes another deep breath. “I…I’ve been tickled before. When I was a kid. I was picked on, and I was quite often the victim of tickle, well…torture from the other kids. They were stronger than me so they could pin me down and I couldn't get away. I couldn’t get them to stop so I just had to take it. I hated it. It made me feel powerless and weak. But I could never quite manage to stop being ticklish. I hated that, I hated being so ticklish.” He looks around at the others with a tinge of hesitation. They're watching him - eyes soft and still glistening with tears.

Fjord sucks in another breath and goes on. “But with Molly….I don’t know. It always felt different when Molly would try to tickle me. It felt…warm, like Yasha said.” He trails off, looking up at the ceiling for a moment, and then sighs. “I regret fighting him off so much. He meant well by it.”

“It was his way of showing love,” Yasha says softly. She wipes away more tears and a shaky smile spreads across her face as she looks at Fjord and then around at the group. “He loved you. He loved all of us. So much.”

Caleb, Beau, Jester and Fjord all reach up to wipe away more tears that threaten to spill over. Caduceus finds his own eyes damp too.

Fjord nods and heaves a sigh. He turns towards Jester. “And I…I’m sorry for fighting you off, too, Jester. It’s always felt warm from you too.”

Jester gives him a smile. “Aww, I’m glad it does! I don’t ever, ever, ever want it to be mean, Fjord, I like tickling and I think it’s fun and I want it to be fun for whoever I’m tickling too. I just want to make them laugh.” She glances over at Caleb, who gives her a smile.

Fjord gives her a faint smile of his own. With another sigh, he turns to look around the group. They’re all still sniffling and wiping away tears that slowly slip out. But they’re also all smiling.

“I can see how much of a loving thing it is for all of you. It’s not mean. And I…I’d love to be part of that. But I’m not sure I can handle it. I’m not sure I can let go of that control.”

Caleb is nodding. Yasha and Beau look like they know the feeling he's talking about too. For a moment, as Fjord looks around at all of their faces, he senses for the first time that…he might not be alone in this. He'd never considered that this might not come naturally to the rest of his friends either.

Jester sits up, pushing away from Caduceus. She leans towards Fjord. “What if we tickled you for just, like, a few seconds? Just to see if you like it? Just to try it out?”

Caduceus looks up brightly. “A trial tickle!”

Fjord studies them for a moment. He looks down at his cup. Then he nods and looks up at Jester. “Yes. Let’s do it.” He throws his arms open. “You can have five seconds.”

Jester blinks in surprise. She had not expected that to work. She looks around the little circle. Her friends all wave her forward, grins spreading across their faces. So, a grin working its way onto her own face, she turns back to Fjord and shuffles over until she’s kneeling right in front of him.

Fjord blinks up at her with his best puppy-eyed face. A nervous grin is already threatening to break through.

Jester giggles, still tinged with emotion and a little sadness, and wipes away the last of her tears with the back of her hand. “Fj-ord! This is going to be so much fun.”

Fjord scoots backwards, closer to the bed. “Five seconds, remember? Just five seconds.”

“Of course.” Jester shuffles forward, closing the gap between them. She flashes him another grin - and it reminds him of Molly, she’s really perfected that terrifying look tieflings can have - and slowly lowers her wiggling fingers towards his stomach. Fjord bites down on his lip.

The second Jester's fingers make contact, Fjord feels every muscle in his body contract and tense. He tries to pull away but there's nowhere to go - he's already pressed himself against the bed frame as far as he can go. So instead he squirms to the side and tries to brace himself.

Jester’s fingers scribble over Fjord’s stomach and Fjord clamps his mouth shut to block out the noises threatening to spill out. He flinches away again as her claws pinch at his sides. Yep. This is every bit the torture he expected. The loss of control over his own reactions brings with it a dark cloud of memories, none of them good. He’s vulnerable, weak…small. It’s almost unbearable, and he’s about to open his mouth and yell for Jester to stop…when her fingers shift every so slightly. Up. To begin scratching at his lower ribs.

And all the emotions burst out of Fjord in a sudden bark of laughter he could never hope to hold back. “HA!”

Jester giggles. Fjord tries to bite down on his tongue again but doesn't quite manage it. Now that the dam is broken, laughter bubbles up out of his throat. “Ah-hehehehehehehahahahahaAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOHOHOHOHO!” And just like that, he’s rolling side to side with laughter, trying to bat away Jester's fingers that are scribbling and scratching over his ribs.

And to his surprise, he finds himself not hating it.

Actually…

It is kind of fun.

It’s just laughter after all, Fjord realizes. It’s an excuse to be silly and laugh. And it feels every bit as warm as he just described. It feels loving. It feels playful. It feels like every other time Jester tries to drag him into her silliness and make him laugh.

And just like all the other times Jester pulls them into her silly antics, he’s having fun.

Just as quickly as it began, it's over. Jester rocks back onto her heels, grinning down at him - Fjord realizes belatedly that he's somehow wound up on his back on the floor.

His second realization is that he's disappointed that she stopped.

“Sooooo, what did you think?!” Jester asks eagerly, leaning in towards him and still wearing that grin. But Fjord can see something else in her eyes - a glimmer of nervousness. Hesitation. Concern. Worry that maybe, despite her best efforts, he might still have hated it.

Fjord is panting for breath. He returns her grin almost shyly before looking away and muttering, “You don’t have to stop.”

Jester squeals and jumps on top of him, throwing her arms around him in a hug. “AHH Fjord! I’m sooooo glad you liked it!” Fjord jumps before realizing what she’s doing and puts his arms around her in return. Then he feels Jester’s fingers wiggling up his back and he snorts - before they work their way into his armpits and he's laughing again. He buries his face in her shoulder as the giggles take him again. “AHAHAHAHAH no that wasn’t fa-hehehehehahaha-air!” Jester giggles right along with him.

The rest of the group is chuckling too, watching this. Caleb turns to Beauregard. “A tickle fight in Molly’s memory, ja?”

Beau gives him a nervous grin and scoots back slightly. A rare playful grin leaps onto Caleb’s face and he grabs her arm before she can get away. The look of shock that flashes onto both their faces when that actually works makes them both burst out laughing. And then Caleb’s other hand is spidering up Beau’s arm and she’s giggling and flailing around for an entirely different reason. Caleb turns and calls over his shoulder, “Yasha! Come help me!” Yasha, grinning, grabs onto to Beau and holds her in place - allowing Caleb to bring the other hand into action on her sides and leaving Beau cackling with laughter.

Caduceus is grinning from ear to ear as he watches this tickly battle take place. There’s Jester attacking Fjord and making him laugh harder than Caduceus has ever seen. It’s a good look on him. Fjord is starting to try and return the favor, Caduceus can see. Unsuccessfully so far - Jester is one step ahead of him and making him slam his arms back down against his sides by going for his armpits every time - but Caduceus is confident he’ll power through and have a counter attack coordinated soon enough.

A few feet away from that, Caleb and Yasha are wrecking Beau - who has already managed to slip one arm out and latch it onto to Caleb’s ribs, leaving him bent over with laughter even as he continues scribbling his own fingers across her stomach. It’s hard to say which of the three are laughing the hardest - Yasha isn’t even being tickled, but she's laughing as if she is. Caduceus smiles.

A sudden warm breeze blows through the room, and Caduceus looks up, smiling, as he closes his eyes and leans into the Wild Mother’s embrace. He feels another swirling breeze and opens his eyes gently, sensing another presence - and jumps as he finds a mostly-translucent, lavender-colored, ghostly figure standing next to him.

Another warm breeze blows immediately. And Caduceus suddenly realizes he recognizes this figure - from stories, drawings, illusions. He’s seen those horns before, heard about those tattoos, seen that spade-tipped tail. A whisper comes through on the wind, a warm smile from the Wild Mother accompanying it - Mollymauk.

The figure gives Caduceus a smile. Then, before he can react, it’s diving forward into the tickly fray. Caduceus watches as the spectral purple tiefling darts over to Fjord and Jester and squeezes Fjord’s side a few times, before immediately spidering ghostly fingers up Jester's back. To Caduceus’ surprise, they both jump and squeal at the sudden touch. He blinks. They shouldn’t be able to feel that. But…somehow they can?

The specter dashes across the room and grabs Beau’s foot, scribbling claws across the bottom and leaving Beau shrieking with laughter in a whole new way - while its tail wiggles underneath Caleb’s arms, making him choke on a squeal and dissolve quickly into giggles. Wearing a bright grin, the ghostly Molly lets the two of them go and throws itself into Yasha’s lap, claws wiggling against her stomach. Yasha yelps and bends double, giggles spilling out.

The specter turns to look at Caduceus - grinning brightly from its place in Yasha’s lap, fingers now working their way up across her ribs. It sees him watching and pulls one hand away to gesture towards him - a beckoning motion.

Caduceus doesn’t hesitate. With a soft smile, he stands up and goes to help Fjord coordinate his still-unsuccessful counter attack on Jester. Taking a note from the specter, he spiders his fingers up her back. It works for a moment - she squeals and bursts out laughing - “Caduhahahahahaceus! Hahahahaha nohohoho!”

But Fjord is no help in this attack, and Caduceus quickly finds himself pinned underneath Jester as she spins around and lost to laughter before her fingers even find his sides. He doesn’t protest.

Jester has mercy on him after a moment, letting up and turning back to Fjord, who has been laying on his back panting for breath. But instead of attacking him again, she says, “Fjord! C’mere! Look, Caduceus is, like, really ticklish on his ears.” And suddenly her fingers are scratching the back of his ear and Caduceus is giggling again and trying his best to squirm away. Moments later he feels a second set of hands on his other ear - Fjord, the traitor. He yelps and gives up trying to get away in favor of bursting into laughter. Fjord and Jester both start laughing along with him, which somehow only makes him laugh harder. It feels good.

CRASH!

All tickling ceases as everyone jumps and looks, startled, in the direction of the door. Bursting through the doorway is Nott, crossbow loaded and ready to fire. She swivels side to side, aiming the crossbow wildly while she looks for a threat. Yeza peeks out nervously from behind her. Nott looks around and slowly lowers the crossbow at the sight of all her friends staring at her. “What’s going on?! We heard screaming and thought you were under attack!”

Beau, currently on the floor being held in place by Yasha while Caleb looms over her, fingers stilled in place on her stomach, shouts, “We are!”

This snaps the others out of it. Chuckles start spreading around the room again. Nott looks confused.

Jester beams over at Nott and Yeza, fingers still on Caduceus’ ears, who is taking the blessed opportunity to catch his breath. “We’re having a tickle fight! Come on, come join!”

Nott stares at them all for a moment. She looks unimpressed and gives a shake of her head. “I'm not ticklish.”

A set of fingers from behind her suddenly squeeze just below her arms and Nott yelps. The others, watching, giggle. Nott spins around and comes face to face with a grinning Yeza.

“What was that about not being ticklish?” Yeza asks. Nott’s face flushes and she looks away. Yeza reaches out to grab her - and misses, as she's gone in a flash. She peeks out from behind Fjord, doing her best to stifle the grin that's working it's way onto her face. Yeza laughs and leaps forward, fingers wiggling. Nott yelps again and ducks behind Fjord.

Fjord is laughing. So is Caleb, as he ditches Beau to jump forward and try to catch Nott. Nott dodges him easily but looks like she's trying not to laugh - and seconds later gives in, joining Caleb and everyone else in laughter.

Just like that, the battle is back on. It’s Beau who manages to grab Nott first and holds her still as Yeza demonstrates her most ticklish spots for the rest of the group to exploit. Nott is howling with laughter, but eventually manages to coordinate herself enough to get out, “He's ticklish too! Get the back of his knees!” It's unclear whether she's talking about Yeza or Caleb so the others split their attention between both - and find that knees are a bad spot for both, leaving them both rolling with laughter.

This back-and-forth, all-out, giggly battle goes on for another minute. Caduceus, every time he opens his eyes, seeing the lavender specter laughing right along with them as it dodges in and out of the fray. It makes him smile.

BANG, BANG, BANG!

The group freezes again. This time they all look alarmed as they look up towards the door.

A voice comes through. “Can you quiet down please?! It's almost midnight - we’re getting complaints!”

There's a pause. Then Fjord - suddenly composed and voice smooth, if slightly out of breath - calls out, “Yes, yes of course! Our apologies! We’ll quiet down.”

The group waits with bated breath. There’s a huff on the other side of the door and then footsteps walking away.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. The group glances around at one other, make eye contact…

And collapse with laughter.

Fjord falls over onto Jester's shoulder, who’s rapidly making her way towards the floor and landing on top of Caduceus. Caleb is losing it, leaning fully onto Beauregard, who’s collapsed onto Jester. Nott and Yeza are leaning against each other and Yasha. All laughing too hard to speak.

“Oh my gods, we’re the worst!” Beau practically yells. This is followed by a chorus of shushing, which only makes them all laugh even harder.

Eventually the laughter trails off. Caleb wipes tears away from his face and readjusts himself to rest his head against Beau’s stomach. He holds out a hand, beckoning the others over. Jester, seeing what he’s doing, leaps over to cuddle up next to him and Beau. Nott pulls Yeza over and takes his other side, snuggling close. Caleb pulls them both in even closer. Yasha slides over and throws an arm over Jester and Caleb. Fjord lays down next to Beauregard, who looks over at him before grabbing his shoulder and pulling him in closer. Fjord reaches out to grab Caduceus and pulls him along.

Caduceus, as he snuggles in close to Fjord, Beau, and the others, watches as the purple specter worms its way into the cuddle pile too. It - he, Molly - drapes across the top of all of them. Arms threading their way in between to wrap around Yasha and Jester, legs worming their way underneath Fjord and Beau, tail wrapping around Caleb and Nott. He seems to almost melt into the group, in the way only a truly boneless ghost-like specter can. And the others unconsciously respond to him - wrapping their arms around limbs and a tail that aren't really there…and yet, perhaps, are there after all.

No one else seems to see this figure. But that's okay, Caduceus decides. They can all feel him. And isn’t that what really matters, in the end?

Caduceus catches Fjord’s eye and gives him a smile. Fjord returns it. He looks happier than Caduceus thinks he’s ever seen him.

Another, softer breeze blows through the room. Caduceus and Fjord both close their eyes as they feel its embrace. And there, surrounded by the warmth, still lingering smiles, and slowly steadying breathing of their friends, they drift gently to sleep.

[tickle-bugs]

Ahh bug! You know I’m Weak for anything with Caleb Widogast 👀 Maybe with devious ler Molly? (And/or Essek 👀👀)

Oh drat forgot the second part of that—phrase to go along with Caleb/Molly (& also maybe Essek): “Come now, how are you still so *sensitive*, hmm?”

ily lexi mwah <3 also sorry if i have butchered ur boys but i still hope u enjoy this <3 started thinking about molly being overly cautious with courting caleb because his feelings are real and caleb being like. i wanna kiss you so bad please stop pretending to be normal. which led to this

Resonance

not rly nsfw but the first half is somewhat suggestive? intimate? *vague handwaving* just keep that in mind idk

Caleb’s not sure what they’re doing here, really. Molly’s draped and redraped himself over Caleb every which way for the past hour, but they haven’t gotten close to the substance of their evening’s meet. Caleb had long-since shucked his coat and scarf, but not quite the rest of his clothes--that was supposed to be Molly’s job, or so he thought. 

Molly’s invitation to join him for the evening had been whispered to him over a too-expensive glass of whiskey. Molly’s eyes were lidded, his forked tongue curled--Caleb had thought he’d read every sign correctly. But here they were. Stalled. 

“Mr. Mollymauk--” He tries, but Molly coos at him.

“So formal? I thought we were closer than that, dearest.” Molly blinks languidly and settles down properly atop Caleb. They both sink just slightly into the mattress as he does. Molly walks his fingers down Caleb’s abdomen, pauses at his waistband, then walks them back up. 

Always with the teasing.

“Mollymauk. Molly.” Caleb watches him warily. When claws don’t yet again touch down, he swallows and continues-- “What, ah, are you trying to accomplish here?” 

“I’m glad you asked. You see, I’m quite fond of you, Caleb.” Molly fiddles with one of his holster buckles. It catches the light of the inn lanterns in mesmerizing patterns far too grand for such dull brass. 

“Oh.” Caleb’s face grows warm. “I am…fond of you as well.” 

“Hm, thank you. I would hope so. Otherwise, this whole thing would be quite awkward.” Molly’s laugh is rich and boisterous. Caleb turns the tones of it over in his mind. 

“When you said you wanted, ah, companionship for the evening, I’d thought you meant--”

“Sex?” Molly’s tail sways behind him. “Is that what you’d like?”

“Did you…have something else in mind?” Caleb winces at his own indelicacy. Molly looks touched--no, maybe fond? It shouldn’t baffle him so much, he knows, but the visual proof is…unbalancing. 

“With you? Ideas beyond number.” Molly’s piercing gaze pins Caleb further still to the bed. He’s beautiful in an elusive sense. When Caleb gazes upon Molly, he gets the distinct sense that somehow he’s going to disappear, as if someone so breathtaking could only exist in tricks of the mind. 

Caleb’s face heats to a point of concern. Molly chuckles, low as the lamplight. 

“I digress.” Molly leans close enough for their noses to touch. “I’d like to conduct an experiment, Caleb. Involving you.”

“Oh?” Caleb cannot for the life of him keep his eyes away from the softness of Molly’s lips. 

“Yes, if you’d let me.” Molly’s hand finds his, both scarred in different ways. It’s one of the few times that feeling heat in the palm of his hand has been welcome. 

“Do what you will.” Caleb nods. 

“That’s the spirit.” Molly beams and pulls Caleb’s hand up his body, skirting along his thigh and the soft silk of his shirt, until finally their hands, as one, rest on his sternum. The warmth of Molly’s skin is a kiss that blooms. 

“You feel that?” Molly hums, and it resonates through Caleb’s fingertips. He’d always thought Molly was a bit thin, but the way breath moves through him…it reminds Caleb of Nott’s brief and consuming obsession with blowing into glass bottles like flutes. There’s a pitch to Molly’s resonance—not one he’s equipped to understand, but there nonetheless. 

“They say you can hear a soul best through laughter or through tears. I prefer the former.” Molly gestures flippantly, brushing his thumb over the back of Caleb’s hand. As he speaks, Caleb can feel the rise and fall of his breath, the resonance of his voice--as if Molly’s entire being has been shaped to carry sound to the very tip of his horns. The jewelry hanging from his ears and horns jingles of its own accord, like a windchime. 

He’s the loveliest windchime I’ve ever seen, Caleb thinks, a bit hysterical. 

“I want to hear what your soul sounds like, Caleb.” 

It’s so intimate and innocent that Caleb finds his breath utterly lost. He blinks up at Molly and tries to counteract the sudden and reeling incoherence of his mind. 

“Not the most resounding enthusiasm, but I understand.” Molly stands and brushes himself off. The aloofness of his tone is betrayed by the way he can’t seem to quite look at Caleb. It must be so easy for him to escape this way. Mollymauk, ever-balancing on a tightrope, with the most convincing lack of fear of falling.

“Wait!” Caleb grabs Molly’s wrist before he can slip away. Gently, he tugs him back down. Molly’s eyes shine alluringly in the dim. 

“I was…caught off guard. No one has ever expressed an interest of this kind to me before.” Caleb slides his hands up Molly’s thighs. He gives a comforting squeeze, at least what he hopes is comforting, and Molly twitches with a quiet laugh. 

“Shame.” Molly’s gaze roves over Caleb appreciatively, but not with the hunger he expects. It’s constructive. Encompassing. Warm. Caleb basks in it, even as Molly grows uncharacteristically quiet. He takes one of his claws between his teeth as his stare grows distant. 

“What is rattling through that brain of yours, hm?” Caleb knits his brow. Molly sits up a bit, stretching their intimate bubble. Caleb clenches his fist and concentrates on not keening after him. 

“How thoroughly I’m about to ruin the mood,” Molly mutters, likely not meaning for Caleb to hear. Caleb furrows his brow, but before he can speak, Molly kneads curiously into his stomach. 

A chuckle bubbles from a deep, unknowable place in Caleb, somewhere nestled just beyond the darkness clinging listlessly to his soul. Then another, then another, until his whole body is racked with quiet sounds he tries to smother. Claws trip maddeningly upwards to his ribs and Caleb cracks into snickers that overwhelm him with force. He slams his arms back down towards his sides and curls as much as physically possible. 

“Scheiße, Molly--”

“Do you want me to stop?” Molly stills, stiff and unnatural. He reminds Caleb of a wild hare, all of his muscles coiled and ready to flee--except for his tail, of course, which lashes in nonsensical patterns as if it has a life of its own. 

He’s nervous, Caleb realizes. How endearing. 

“Did I say ‘silvervine’?” Caleb huffs, still battling the wobbly smile on his face. Molly’s eyes widen.

“No, I suppose you didn’t.” Molly chuckles, shaking his head. Before Caleb can think to steel his defenses, Molly drags his claws down every inch of his captive torso that he can reach. Caleb jackknifes with the kind of giggles that fizzle in his lungs before they leave. It’s a maddening type of touch and he kind of wants more, but Molly continues in his steadfast teasing.

“You’re going to be the death of me, Caleb Widogast,” Molly murmurs, leaning down to kiss him sweetly. Caleb laughs into Molly’s mouth, soft as he imagined, and allows himself to fall slowly apart. 

…

Caleb’s love, it turns out, is born from the same place as his laughter. Both have become easy to coax into the light with time. Like weeds breaking free of cobblestone streets, love has gripped the hopeful parts of him and refused to let go. Love has made him all the things he feared it would--weak, compromised, and clouded--and he wouldn’t trade it for anything, mortal or otherwise.

“Liebling, I have research to complete.” Caleb pauses at the bookshelf, letting Molly coil his arms around him. Molly’s face finds its usual place between his shoulder blades for a moment before his hands slide a bit…lower. 

“Conveniently, so do I. My thesis is on the kinds of noises you’ll make when you’re overworked and I have time.” Molly’s breath curls hot against his ear. There’s a sweet center to the devilish lilt of his tone, though, and it makes Caleb smile. 

“I’d love to hear you defend this thesis of yours, hm?” He turns to face Molly and the full force of his pout. 

“You have utterly killed the mood,” Molly grumbles, but his tail is busy curling in content little loops. Caleb hums noncommittally and kisses him again, far more occupied about the way Molly’s cheeks squish between his hands when he smiles. 

“If you can be patient, perhaps I’ll make it up to you.” Caleb shifts his grip to hold Molly’s chin, brushing his thumb across his bottom lip. He likes the spark of excited desire that flashes through Molly’s eyes. 

“Promise?” 

“However you’d like.” Caleb kisses him once more, more to sate himself than anything. Molly throws himself upon the nearest divan with expedience. As he settles in among the cushions, Caleb thumbs through the nearby shelves and starts a stack of relevant texts on one of the worktables. 

The first hour rolls by without much event and by the second, Caleb is focused enough to ignore Molly’s dramatic sighs. By hour three, Caleb’s read what he needed. Some for research, some for pleasure, but he’s taken in enough to make his mind buzz.  

Molly’s arms wind around his waist and Caleb jumps, then settles.

“One of these days, I’ll put a bell on you.” Caleb reshelves a few tomes with a reverent hand. 

“Caleb, you must know by now that patience is not my strongest suit.” Molly presses his face between Caleb’s shoulderblades again. Caleb shivers from the very tips of his toes and bites back a chuckle. Molly tends to grow needy when he’s ignored, they both know this, but the varying levels of petulance always make things entertaining. 

“I am aware.” Caleb continues reshelving, a little faster now. Molly nuzzles into Caleb’s back again and, oh, he’s purring. That would be exceptionally sweet if Molly’s body didn’t carry the resonance like a tuning fork, right to the tips of his horns where they’re pressed into Caleb’s spine, making it tickle terribly. Caleb bites his lip and forces back the tide of laughter building in his shuddering chest. 

“Come now, darling. Are you still so sensitive? I can feel you trying not to laugh.” Molly drapes his arms over Caleb’s shoulders and speaks into his spine, languid but calculated. It’s a nonsensical question but Molly himself is nonsensical, just as much a trickster as the shadowed being to whom Jester accredits her mischief. 

“M-Mohohlly.” Caleb shivers, snickers jumping free in short and bright bursts. Caleb can hear Molly’s grin without needing to see it, but it doesn’t prepare him for the bundle of tiefling suddenly clambering atop his back. Molly should know better than this, really--Caleb has gotten stronger, but he is not strong. 

“You’ve kept me waiting all this time and you have nothing to say for yourself?” Molly unleashes a flurry of kisses behind Caleb’s ear and the dam falls before he has a chance to defend it. Breathy, frantic giggles flow from Caleb with a fervor, spinning around the two of them in the warm, empty library. 

“Well, that’s not a very good defense. We’ll have to work on that,” Molly grins, speaking directly into Caleb’s neck. Caleb squeals and doubles over, landing somewhere between Zemnian and Common as he tries to shake Molly loose. Molly laughs and tickles his stomach, sending Caleb snapping upright with a dangerous sway. 

“Tongue-tied already?” Molly leans back a dangerous amount, forcing Caleb to back up towards the divan to avoid a nasty fall. They collapse on it in a tangled heap of shouts and curses. Caleb immediately grabs Molly’s hip in his hand and starts murmuring an incantation. He can feel the gentle sparks of magic beginning to take effect--and Molly can too, if the sudden hitch in his breath is anything to go by. 

“Ah-ah, none of that. You casters never play fair.” Molly worms his fingers up, up, until he can fiddle with the ribs supporting Caleb’s beloved book holsters. The magic, along with Caleb, dissolves into sparks and high-pitched bouts of noise. Caleb writhes and shrieks, his hair flying loose of its ponytail and into disarray. Molly rubs his knuckles between the grooves of his ribs and Caleb arches with a shout. Molly laughs and starts tickling at the back of his ribs. 

They roll around like unruly kittens, kicking cushions every which way as if it were a sport. Molly still lands on top of him, breathless and vibrating with joy. He chirps something that sounds suspiciously like ‘squishy wizards’ before tickling up under Caleb’s arms, taking ample time to try and wiggle beneath the straps of the holsters. 

Caleb grabs at Molly’s thighs to brace himself, and Molly snorts. It’s a quiet sound, cushioned by soft laughter, but it’s there and it’s beautiful. Caleb knows Molly’s ticklish, of course--ample time with Jester has taught him what to expect of tieflings--but he’s never heard him make such an adorable noise before. 

“Mollymauk,” Caleb says, a little breathless, but he’s grinning wider than he ever thought possible. Molly’s nervous grin is delectable. 

“Surely we can talk about this--”

“I think you’ve talked enough, don’t you?” Caleb pulls Molly close by the ankle and starts kneading at his inner thigh. Molly wails, thrashing so hard that his top half slides off the divan and onto the floor. A slapdash mix of giggles, snorts, and wild cackles burst out of him, enough for Caleb to coo at him and bury his stubble into the stretched plane of Molly’s stomach. 

Molly muffles a blood-curdling shriek into a wayward cushion. Caleb laughs and tickles harder. 

“I have a thesis on the kinds of noises you’ll make--”

“C-Caleb!”

[amazingmsme]

Current list for tickletober:

1. Anticipation- Miguel & Peter B ft. Spider Gang (Across the Spider-Verse)

2. Accidental- Hobie & Miguel Across the Spider-Verse)

3. Cuddles-

4. Weak Spot-

5. “I’m not ticklish”- Artagan (aka The Traveler) Fjord & Beauregard (Critical Role)

6. Chase-

7. Flustered- Simon, Marceline & Bubblegum (Adventure Time/Fionna and Cake)

8. Truth-

9. Lie- Iceman & Slider (Top Gun) prompted

10. Ghost- Spiderkids, Peter B & Miguel (Across the Spider-Verse) prompted

11. Squeal-

12. Bites/Nibbles-

13. Sneak Attack- Arthur & Tommy (Peaky Blinders) prompted

14. Soft-

15. Tickle Fight- David & Alexis (Schitts Creek)

16. Unusual Spot-

17. Interrogation- Narrator & Stanley (The Stanley Parable) prompted

18. Magic-

19. Arms Up- Rooster, Phoenix & Hangman (Top Gun Maverick) prompted

20. Relentless- Nandor & Guillermo (What We Do In The Shadows)

21. New Discovery- Agent Cooper & Sheriff Truman (Twin Peaks) prompted

22. Ticklish Kiss-

23. Incoherent- Mike, El & Nancy (Stranger Things) prompted

24. Pinned- Edgeworth, Phoenix & Larry (Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney) prompted

25. Gang Tickles- Paul, Ted, Bill & Charlotte (The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals) prompted

26. Counting-

27. Hysterical- Caleb, Mollymauk & Essek (Critical Role) prompted

28. Massage- Bones & Kirk (Star Trek) prompted

29. Wake Up!-

30. Caught- Narrator & Stanley (The Stanley Parable) prompted

31. Aftercare-

Any suggestions for the remaining days are much appreciated! I’d love to write for some of my newer fandoms/stuff I haven’t written for before.

Really in the mood for:

Red white & royal blue

Barbie

Fionna & cake

What we do in the shadows

Moonknight

Peaky Blinders

& of course the main fandoms too

[tickle-bugs]

HELLO?????? H E L L O???????? CLEANUP ON AISLE BUG IM FUCKING DEAD

get connected (for 250 gp)

Fandom: Critical Role

Characters: Mollymauk, Essek, and Caleb

Word Count: 3.7k

A/N: You all know what the fuck is up. Expansion on this. Read on AO3

“It’s a necromancy spell, technically,” Essek’s saying, “but it can work for all kinds of things, not just damage.”

“Could it be used to transfer spell effects?” Caleb asks, scribbling furiously in his notebook.

Essek runs a hand through his hair. “I have not been able to crack that, no—my current understanding is that may require another spell entirely. I can devote more research to that, if you would like.”

Gods above.

Wizards are boring.

Mollymauk flops backwards over the edge of the chaise. He can’t even tell if they’re flirting anymore, that’s how boring they are. Molly’s flirting radar is seasoned.

“So, not spell effects. But it has power. For example—” Essek starts flipping through notes— “I’ve found that it responds to a variety of stimuli. From what I can tell, it seems to be anything that’s sufficiently affecting the subject’s essence. Hence, the name of the spell.”

Mollymauk feels his ears perk up.

Keep reading

[bow-of-aros]

Day Twenty-Nine: Magic

Summary:

Mollymauk's been messing with Caleb for the past couple days, and Caleb decides it's high time to return the favour.

Hey folks! This is simultaneously half-assed and probably one of my longer Critical Role ones, so I'm not totally sure what to do with that. I think it's pretty fun though, so I hope that y'all enjoy!! <33

Mollymauk had been pushing his luck as of late.

Sure, he’d already had a penchant for messing with the people in their little family, paying special attention to the so-called “grumps” which basically only included Caleb and maybe Beau on occasion if he was feeling lucky.

But he’d been growing bolder in the past few days. Especially since he’d discovered Caleb’s weakness. Or his “Human switch” is Molly was to be believed.

“One poke and boom! Real human Caleb with a real human smile!” Were his exact words.

His little attacks had been growing more and more frequent. At this point it didn’t matter if they were on an isolated road or a crowded tavern, Molly had gone from tickling him every few days, to every day, to multiple times a day.

It was always in the brief moments when Caleb was distracted, engaged in conversation or reading a book, there was always a purple tail poking at his torso pulling out some humiliating noise or another.

Caleb didn’t exactly mind it per se, but the brief attacks left him an anxious, jittery mess. His guard was almost always up, his eyes were constantly darting over his shoulder, and he was getting tired of it.

He thought about having a proper conversation with Mollymauk about it, but he didn’t want to upset the tiefling, and it truly wasn’t that serious.

So, instead, Caleb figured that he could give Molly a taste of his own medicine.

It didn’t take much planning, truth be told. Caleb’s not exactly the sneakiest of the bunch, but, he does know the spell Unseen Servant. Schmidt was going to be his partner in crime.

It went off without a hitch.

He started cautiously, sending Schmidt to goose Mollymauk’s sides when he was standing next to Jester, earning a startled squawk and immediately sparking a battle between the two of them.

Then, Schmidt would claw into his ribs in a crowded marketspace. The shriek he’d let out had earned his a few stares but was quickly forgotten.

Once, before going to sleep, he’d had Schmidt swipe a line up Mollymauk’s spine and the resulting scream had been deeply rewarding. Caleb had nearly lost the battle of impassivity as he watched Molly launch himself an impressive distance into the air.

Molly’s own attacks began to dwindle as he fell into the same cycle of vague paranoia that Caleb had. Except he didn’t know who to retaliate because it just couldn’t be Mister Caleb no fun Widogast.

Maybe it was time to finally talk to him.

That night, Caleb ensured that they would be taking first watch together and angled himself towards Mollymauk when he took his seat beside him.

“Mighty fine evening, wouldn’t you say, Mister Caleb?”

Excellent. Caleb didn’t even have to start the conversation. “Yes. It’s always nice when I’m not actively freezing.”

Molly huffed out a surprised laugh at the joke, shoulders relaxing as he stares out into the twilight sky.

And then Caleb has Schmidt poke him one last time in the side, just for fun.

“HEY!” Molly’s head whipped around to where Schmidt stood, completely invisible, and then back to where Caleb was sitting, proud smirk on display for all to see.

Molly pointed an accusing finger at him, “You?!” He stammered for a moment, at a loss for words for a moment and eventually settling on, “How? Why? I thought I was losing my damn mind!”

Caleb started ticking off the answers on his fingers, “Unseen servant, for revenge, and ja, how do you think I felt? I am already on edge all the time! I have been unable to relax over these past few days.”

At least Molly had the wherewithal to look a bit guilty at that, which made Caleb feel a bit better.

“Shit, yeah. I guess I got a little over-excited there.” Molly shot him an apologetic grin, “I’m sorry, Caleb. I’ll make sure to cut it out.”

And that brought up a whole new problem. Caleb could already feel his face getting red.

“Ah, well, I don’t entirely mind it, Mollymauk. But—” Caleb was sure to cut off Molly when he opened his mouth, glee colouring his features, “Not all the time. And I truly cannot handle being held in suspense, I really would prefer if I could see it coming so that I can at least get some sleep at night.”

Molly was silent for a while, then held his hand out, “I think you’ve got yourself a deal there, Mister Caleb!”

Cautiously, Caleb reached out to shake his hand and, to his surprise, was allowed to draw his hand back.

About two seconds later, a mischievous grin spread across Molly’s lips and he lifted his hands in order to wriggle his fingers at Caleb.

“Now, is this enough warning for you?”

Nobody could say that Caleb couldn’t think quick on his feet because, the second he saw Molly’s weight shift forward, Schmidt’s hand shot out and wrapped itself around his tail. Molly only had enough time for his eyes to widen as Caleb directed fingers to scratch at the underside of his tail and he pitched face forward into the dirt.

“CahaHAHAHAHALEB! Nonononono SHIT! I CAHAHAHAN’T!” He looked up at Caleb through pleading, watery eyes, and Caleb simply smiled back down at him.

Yes, he could get used to this arrangement.

[august-anon]

Hey! I just started watching critical role and im lowkey obsessed. If you like the idea, can i please request #9 “Hey, cheer up” with Molly and Caleb (romantic or platonic)? And no pressure since you said you were hesitant about writing for that fandom. thanks!!

no longer taking these prompts, just catching up!

------------------------------

Of course of course!! It's been a While now since I last watched an episode, so hopefully this isn't too OOC lol -- hope you enjoy it!

------------------------------

Cheer Up

Fandom: Critical Role: Mighty Nein

Ship(s): Widomauk (can be read as platonic or romantic! or pre-slash lol)

Characters (lee/ler): Lee!Caleb/Ler!Mollymauk

Word Count: 455 words

Summary: Caleb seems a bit sour after things don't go his way in a magic shop. Mollymauk endeavors to cheer him up.

[ao3 link]

-----------------------------

“Hey,” Mollymauk said, bumping their shoulders together. “Cheer up. We’ll find another magic shop. Spells galore.”

Caleb stared down into his untouched ale. “I am not upset.”

Mollymauk leaned over the table and slid into Caleb’s vision, just for Caleb to be able to see him raise an eyebrow.

“I am not.”

Mollymauk hummed, sitting up and downing the last of his ale in one smooth motion. He shoved Caleb’s full drink in the direction of Nott. “Mind swapping roommates for a night?”

Nott narrowed her eyes, but they were hazy with the alcohol she’d already consumed that night and they were quickly drawn to the fresh tankard slid in front of her. Jester jumped in, nearly knocking over Nott’s chair.

“Ooh, we can have a girl’s night! Beau, Yasha – what do you think?”

“What, and Fjord gets a room all to himself?” Beau’s outraged gesture went wide, nearly knocking Caleb in the nose if not for Molly pulling him back.

Instead of listening to the ensuing argument, Caleb found himself tugged out of his seat and toward the stairs. Mollymauk kept a firm grip on his wrist, even as he unlocked the room he decided would be theirs for the night.

“What are we doing?”

“We are going to get a smile on that face if it kills you, which it just might, I’m not sure – when’s the last time you smiled?”

Caleb gave him a flat look. Mollymauk gave him a salacious grin that quickly fell into a wince.

“And then, we are going to get some real rest. Seriously, you look like shit. Have you been sleeping at all?”

“And how exactly do you intend to get me to smile?” It felt like the less loaded question of the two. “I don’t suppose you know any good jokes.”

“Oh, I know plenty. I lived in a circus, after all.” Molly guided him towards a bed, pushing him to sit at the edge of the lumpy mattress. “But I have a much more foolproof method in mind.”

Caleb raised an eyebrow. “And that is?”

Mollymauk lit up, his tail twisting into mischievous curly-cue’s behind him as he raised his claws to wiggle in the air between them. Caleb felt all his air leave him in a rush and desperately hoped the flush rising to his cheeks would be hidden by his beard.

“Tell me, Mr. Widogast – are you ticklish?”

Scheiße.

“Mr. Mollymauk–”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

As Caleb was tackled back onto the bed, he spared his last coherent thought to hope that they didn’t get a noise complaint. He wouldn’t want to explain to the rest of their party why he and Mollymauk had gotten kicked out of the inn.

[wordstrings]

Chapter one of three?? Oh, Poe, you are fabulous. (Do heed the rating, folks.)

Chapters: 1/3 Fandom: Critical Role (Web Series) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Jester Lavorre/Mollymauk Tealeaf/Caleb Widogast, Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast, The Mighty Nein/Essek Thelyss, The Mighty Nein/Caleb Widogast, The Poly Nein - Relationship Characters: Caleb Widogast, Mollymauk Tealeaf, Jester Lavorre, The Mighty Nein, Essek Thelyss Additional Tags: Tickling, Dom/sub, Threesome - F/M/M, Courtship, Wrestling, Playful Sex, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Bisexuality, Drow (Dungeons & Dragons), Courting Rituals, Gifts are Essek’s love language, critickle role, All Tieflings Are Knismos, Overstimulation, Begging Series: Part 3 of Shadowgast + the Poly Nein Summary:

If he was being entirely honest, there had been a bit of a post-ciotal haze fogging his brain when he’d agreed to let Essek ‘court’ him. Why did he need so much time to prepare? Caleb was starting to get nervous.

On the first day of drow courtship, personalized presents lead Caleb into a slippery situation with his tickly tiefling lovers.

[thelavendersquid]

Fic Masterlist

Doing You A Favor - Original Characters

Forrest learns it's Do A Grouch A Favor Day and enlists Faron's help to bring some laughter to their favorite grumpy guardian angel.

No Words Needed - Mighty Nein (lee!Caleb)

Caleb fails his intimidation check and the Nein use their squishy wizard as a distraction.

Love Persevering - Mighty Nein (lee!Fjord + others)

The Mighty Nein talk about feelings and process their grief for Mollymauk through the ticklish love language they all share.

Weak Spots - Mighty Nein (lee!Essek)

Essek denies having any weak spots. It doesn’t take long to determine that is a lie.

Nine Eyes to Feel With - Mighty Nein (lee!Lucien)

Local all-seeing tiefling finds himself more ticklish than he expected.

[tickle-bugs]

Strongman

Summary: Jester is determined to prove Fjord as a good recruit for Molly's carnival. Fjord proves himself excellent entertainment, after all. Spoilers for the beginning of Campaign 2 if you squint really hard.

They’re a strange bunch, these ones. Molly’s in the business of the wild and curious, sure, but nothing is wilder or more curiouser than his traveling companions. Not a single one of them belong together--Caleb and Nott are too flighty to be trusted, Beau’s brashness makes her a pain in the ass, Fjord is too good, Jester too impulsive, and Yasha is perfect in every way.

He loves them all immeasurably. He’d die for them, even. A surprising thought this early in their travel, but something that brings him an odd measure of peace.

“Mo-lly~!” Jester’s voice is as harsh as it is sweet.

“Hm?” He looks up from his tarot spread as Jester bounds over. She skids to a stop and rocks on her heels, the frills of her skirt swaying with her.

“I have a new recruit for your show!” She takes Molly’s hands in hers and yanks him to his feet. He is under no circumstances reopening the circus, but he’s not about to crush the sparkle in her eye.

“Is that so?” Molly links their fingers together more for his own benefit—Jester would lose him otherwise. She’s like a puppy but with the wrath of the gods and a hankering for chaos.

“Introducing the strong, the brave, the handsome….Fjord!”

“Huh?” Fjord’s head snaps up.

“I was telling Molly that you could join his Carnival!” Then, she leans in close to Molly: “He’s very weak but pret-ty cool.”

“Aw, no. ‘M not really built for, uh, performance.” Fjord clears his throat and sinks into himself a little bit.

“That’s not something you want to admit out loud, but I’m sure you’re better than you give yourself credit for.” Molly curls his tongue a bit.

“Wh—circus performance. Not built for—never mind.” Fjord sighs into his hands. Jester bounces up and down on the balls of her feet.

“Fjooooord—“ Her whine seems to carry on for ages.

“What is it you want me to do, Jester?” He sighs deeply and resigns himself to stand.

Molly holds back a grin. It’s beyond entertaining to watch this half-orc—who’s nearly as imposing as Yasha herself—cave without a struggle to Jester’s demands.

“Um…uh….Oh!” She darts over to the nearby shops, running in front of a few storefronts and shoving people at the way as she goes. She gets distracted by a dressmaker’s shop window and presses her face against the glass, tail waving in excited patterns, but then she’s off again like a rocket. She snatches a few apples from a fruit stand and skips away, leaving the owner to yell at her retreating form.

“Jester!” Fjord’s booming reprimand slides off of her completely, much to his apparent distress, but Caleb is already making his way to the disgruntled shop owner, coin purse in hand.

“Okay, so. I will throw the fruit at you. You will show off your incredible, amazing, fantastic—“ She makes direct, piercing eye contact with Molly— “circus-worthy dexterity and cut it with your big knife!”

“It’s a falchion—alright. Sure. Why not?”

“Don’t embarrass me.” Jester points at Fjord. Her serious expression falls more on the side of a pout than anything else.

“I won’t, darlin’. Toss ‘em.” Fjord summons his falchion in a rush of salt water and gives it a twirl. Molly backs up towards Jester.

She unsticks her claws from the apples she’s grasping and shuffles them in her arms, face pinched in concentration. There’s a moment of tense staring. All breathing ceases.

Wham! The first apple speeds through the air. He meets it with his blade and sends two perfect halves spinning to the floor. He’s not quite as ready for the second one—he takes a reverse-grip backwards slice that cleaves the next fruit a little messily.

Jester lobs the last one directly at Fjord’s face. He extends his blade. The apple sticks perfectly onto the tip with a satisfying thunk. Fjord unsticks it and bites into it. Jester erupts into an enormous wave of applause and cheers. Her elbow in Molly’s side encourages him to join in.

“Thanks.” Fjord gives a half hearted bow as he chews. Jester yanks on his cloak.

“Ah ah, you’re not done!” She takes the apple from his hand, bites it, then puts it back. He rolls his eyes.

“I’m not?”

“Of course not! You showed us brave, you always show us handsome, now you have to show us strong! That’s how I announced you! The strong, the handsome, the brave!” Jester lightly smacks Fjord’s chest to emphasize each point. Somehow the last slap ends up making direct contact with Fjord’s backside.

“Do I really?” Fjord turns to Molly in search of reason—oh, he should truly know better. Molly takes a seat on the grass.

“Nothing kills a business quicker than false advertising, my friend.” Molly crosses his legs and leans forward.

“Fine—“ he takes a final crunch of the apple— “What am I doin’?”

“C’mere.” Jester waves him over. Fjord takes one nervous step, then another, then another until Jester gets frustrated enough to grab his bicep.

“What’re we doin’, Jes?” Fjord shuffles in place. Jester unclips her cloak, then his, and lobs both in Molly’s direction.

“Pick me up.” She throws her arms up.

“Okay…?” He hoists her in the air. Jester poses dramatically, hoisting and extending her legs every way she can think of. Fjord is a bit confused but he has the spirit--he rotates the both of them slowly.

“Gotta be honest, not sure what’s happening. Still a fan. Bravo.” Molly claps politely.

“Honestly, I just wanted Fjord to pick me up.” Jester climbs around to sit squarely on Fjord’s back. She hooks her chin over his shoulder and beams.

“Figures.” He sighs and locks his arms under her knees. She nuzzles into his neck and giggles.

A few rumbling chuckles rise into the air, like stormclouds rolling over a prairie, and all available eyes snap to Fjord. It takes him a second to notice, bless his heart. By then, it’s already too late.

“Fjord, darling—“ Molly’s tail lashes side to side as he strolls over— “Do you have something to share with the class?”

“Now. Molly, we can talk about this—“

“I’m sure you’d love that, but I’m not particularly interested.” Molly curls his fingers around Fjord’s waist, tap tap tapping, and the poor thing’s already nearly halfway to the ground. He goes cross-eyed trying not to drop Jester while dodging Molly’s hands. Jester fully buries her face in the crook of Fjord’s shoulder to pull more of those chuckles to the surface.

“Uh oh,” Molly sing-songs, “You’re in a bit of a pickle.”

“A-Am I?” It’s nearly a squeak.

“Oh, yes.” Jester drops off Fjord’s back and sidles up next to Molly, “You are.”

“We’re all adults. We can figure something out.” Fjord tries to pry Molly’s hands away. They ripple into his sides in response. Fjord doubles over and snickers.

“Of course. We’re nothing but reasonable.” Molly keeps twitching his fingers.

“Wise, mature—“ Jester pinches Fjord’s ass and giggles— “adults.” The three of them stare at one another as the air falls quiet.

Fjord makes a run for it.

“Why are you running?” Jester yells after him.

“Let him run. It’s more fun this way.” Molly grins wickedly and saunters after Fjord, whistling all the while. Jester skips besides him.

“Hey, Fjord. Where are you off to in such a hurry?” Yasha sets her blade back in its scabbard.

Fjord scrambles up Yasha’s form, locking his legs around her waist. She squeaks in surprise, reaching back for him, but Fjord climbs higher and higher, until he drapes himself over her shoulder like Frumpkin does Caleb.

“What--” Her eyes land on the two hungry-looking tieflings before her-- “Oh.”

“I apologize for this, I really do, but help me.” He points at Jester and Molly.

“What are you two doing to him?” Yasha’s hand comes up to cradle Fjord’s back, keeping him steady on his perch.

“Yasha, dear, we’re going to have to ask you to hand over that rather dashing half-orc scarf you’re wearing.” Molly tucks his hands in his pockets.

‘We’d hate to have to take him off of you.” Jester’s voice is all innocence but her eyes belie the full depth of her mischievous intent.

Yasha crosses her arms.

“I dunno, I’m kinda attached to him.” She gives Fjord an affectionate pat on the back. The idea of a playful challenge sparkles so proudly in her eyes.

Molly would never be so foolish as to face her on his own unless he was looking to be pinned and wrecked--and, to be fair, he usually is--but having Jester at his side is enough to bolster his confidence.

“Last warning, flower,” He smirks, fingers twitching at his side.

“Try me, Molly.”

Molly rushes her.

Yasha grabs him by the back of his coat like a scrappy kitten by the scruff. He’s not sure what comes first: being lifted into the air or the devious fingers up his spine, but both sufficiently knock the wind out of him. He kicks and lets out a strangled yelp.

“W-Wait!” He tries to shove himself out of her grip but she simply readjusts, pulling him flush against her. She grabs fistfulls of his sides and kneads with delicate care. Molly speeds past snickers and straight into shrieking hysterics. His shoulders are shaking too much to coordinate any sort of escape.

“Jester!” He squeals when hands start to fiddle with his tail. She snickers at him. He does his best to curl his knees and tail to his chest but Jester won’t let go, the traitor.

“Yasha!” Molly wheezes and shimmies.

“I’m listening.” He can hear her smiling. Fjord’s also laughing, thinking he’s safe on his perch. Molly makes a few errant swipes at him but it’s clear that it’s time for Plan B.

“L-Look behind you!” Molly squeaks. He prays.

Yasha turns, still tickling, albeit slower now--bingo.

The perfect distraction.

Jester leaps with a triumphant battle cry, claws finding delicate purchase on either side of Yasha’s ribcage. Yasha drops Molly like a hot pan.

“S-Sorry!” Yasha leans over, trying to check if Molly’s alright, but she just crumples into his lap in a giggling heap.

“You’re so cute,” Jester wails, almost genuinely distressed. Yasha curls up as much as someone her size can. Molly brushes her hair away from her face and Yasha screeches out her next peal of laughter--right, claws.

“I have to agree,” Molly hums, tracing her claws down the length of her neck. She pounds a fist on the ground and coils further inward.

“Jester, we have got to work on our teamwork.” He pokes her side to make his point.

“So we’re officially a team, then?” She vibrates at the prospect. Molly grins.

“Us tieflings need to stick together! How else will we witness such charming smiles?” Molly presses into the divots of Yasha’s ribs and she releases the most endearing screech.

“Noooo,” Yasha melts into a barbarian puddle, clutching her torso with soft snorts. Molly’s touch drifts to the back of her ribs because he’s mean. Yasha squeaks and releases a flurry of other high-pitched noises that surround them like snowflakes.

“You are! You’re adorable—Wait a minute.” Jester’s head pops up and swivels ominously over her shoulder.

“Get back here Fjord!” Jester kicks up clumps of grass behind her with the force of her run.

“Stay away from me!” A laugh cracks his baritone beautifully as he flees. Gods, that smile. Molly reigns his breath in before he loses it entirely.

“I have other business to attend to. You understand.” He kisses Yasha’s forehead quickly, not wasting an opportunity to scritch behind her ear. The shivering giggle that leaves her is more than worth sacrificing his head start.

Jester tackles Fjord full force and they both topple to the ground at Caleb’s feet. She cackles in triumph and shoves her hands under Fjord’s arms--the sound that leaves him is less than dignified. As he runs up, Molly can see Caleb mentally discard his plans for the afternoon to intervene.

“Ah-ah, Jester. I think you’re going to kill him.” Caleb chides, pulling her hands away gently. Jester splutters, flabbergasted, until she catches the gleam in his eye. Cheeky bastard, that wizard.

“Thank you--” Fjord sighs, head thumping to the ground. Molly takes a seat.

“Sometimes, when you want to crack a tough egg…” Caleb takes a quick, deep look at Fjord before his fingers gently find purchase in the softness of his lower sides. He makes a startled, urgent noise before that gorgeous smile resurfaces. He fights down any sounds beyond that.

“Hm.” Caleb frowns. He gives his patented ‘scary wizard’ face before he allows his fingers to roam, tripping gently over Fjord’s skin like a musician caressing a beloved instrument. Fjord snorts and Molly can’t help but gasp aloud.

“Caleb, you s-sohon of a bihitch.” Fjord giggles, a sound that Molly didn’t even know he could make. His fist comes up to muffle himself.

“Tch. Watch your mouth, schatz.” Caleb’s hands jump quickly under his arms and latch in. Fjord slams his head back and wiggles violently, heels drumming as much as they can beneath Molly’s weight.

“I’m impressed.” Molly bumps Caleb’s shoulder. After a hesitant moment, he returns it.

“Ja, well, it is good to understand your friends.” Caleb pulls his hands away and pats Fjord on the chest. Molly watches, intrigued. Perhaps he’d underestimated their wizard. Hm.

“That it is.” Molly tears his gaze away from Caleb. “Sweetheart, I’m going to ask you this once. Where are you ticklish? I’ll need a full list.” Molly slides to perch on top of Fjord, tail swishing happily behind.

Fjord sticks his tongue out and Molly barks out a laugh. He slides Fjord’s hands underneath his knees and settles back down.

“Your funeral, then.” Molly gingerly works his claws beneath the straps of Fjord’s armor and into the flesh there. Fjord’s entire being scrunches. He gives himself away so easily and it’s unfairly endearing.

“Where’d that silver tongue go?” Molly scritches a finger beneath Fjord’s chin, distressing the stubble, and he shivers. Wobbly giggles find their legs as Fjord tosses his head from side to side. So much to explore, so little time. So little hands, actually--

“Where’s my backup?” Molly pops up. “Jester?” He whips around and sees Jester perched similarly on top of Caleb, plucking at his ribs like a kitten with yarn. Figures. He can’t even blame her, honestly. The wizard’s wheezy laughter is more alluring than any siren’s call.

“Seems like it’s you and me, hotshot.” Molly leans close, almost so their noses touch. He ever so-slowly walks his fingers up Fjord’s side. His expedition ends beneath Fjord’s arms, one finger in each hollow. He’s squirming like a worm on a hook, cheeks puffed to try and regain some ground.

“Y-You’re a chatty motherfucker, ain’t ya?” Fjord flinches hard at the gentle scrape of claws. Even then, he’s smirking. Molly stops cold for a second.

“Oooh, poking the bear. That’s real wise in your position.” Molly worms his fingers underneath the bottom edge of the leather chest plate and Fjord nearly explodes. He tries to sit up but his abs can’t support him and the golden laughter ringing through the field. Stuttered half-pleas and curses begin to find their way in between bouts of overflowing giggles and frantic snickers--gods, it’s almost infuriating that Molly hasn’t experienced this sooner.

“I can’t believe we’re bunking together and I didn’t know this. This’ll make our sleepovers much more interesting.” Molly worms his tail underneath one of Fjord’s flailing legs and wraps it round, mainly to discourage him from kicking. How interesting, then, when Fjord shrieks at the contact.

“M-Molly!” His voice spikes into a scandalized upper pitch. He throws his head back and arches upwards. With nowhere to hide that gorgeous smile, it melds wonderfully with the midday sun. Molly gets an idea. The kind where you can’t help but grin. The kind where if he’d been a little shorter and aligned with a certain chaos god, he would’ve definitely cackled evilly.

It’s a little uncomfortable to use his tail this way, but Molly is willing to be a little sore. He starts gently scratching at the inside of Fjord’s thigh with the spade tip of his tail while he squeezes with the body of it. His brows furrow a bit with concentration but it’s more than worth the hysterics below him.

“No need to shout. What are you so excited to share with me?” He puts his hands on his hips while his tail continues its work. Fjord’s face pinches in exasperation that cracks quickly under the weight of his own laughter.

“Ffffuck! Molly, M-Molly it tickles, pleahahahase—“

“Oh? That’s quite the predicament you’re in.” Molly tuts and crosses his arms. Fjord’s cute like this. Shame he doesn’t see it more often. He gives another squeeze for good measure.

“I am going to kill you.” Fjord yanks a hand out from under Molly’s knee and grabs a fistful of his shirt.

”Promise?” Molly’s eyes flick down to his lips. He tickles at Fjord’s stomach again--he’s the foremost expert on poking the bear.

Molly catches that wicked glint in Fjord’s eye--the one he’s gonna have to try and summon more often--before his world turns upside down. Within seconds Molly’s gazing up at Fjord, held to the ground by a strong forearm.

He tries not to look too excited.

“Hey, what—are you guys fucking tickling Fjord and Caleb? Without me?” Beau’s yell echoes like a shot. Fjord’s head snaps up in her direction. Something like disappointment nestles in Molly’s core.

“Fuck off, Beau!” Fjord’s heels send fresh dirt and grass flying as he scrambles away. Caleb gives Jester’s hips a quick 1-2-3 squeeze and uses her surprise to roll out from under her. He runs after Fjord.

“Caleb!” Jester swipes at him and grabs an ankle.

“Fjord!” Caleb yelps and leaps out of Jester’s grip, occasionally glancing back at the Tiefling on his heels. Beau carves through the space like a train and barrels after both of them.

[amazingmsme]

can i ask what fandoms the rest of your tickletober fics are for? :o curious if you have any more tma ones!!!!

I don’t remember when this was sent, but I do have a list of my tickletober pairings & fandoms. Even tho I’m not done with all the fics, I do plan on posting them once I write them! School’s been keeping me busy & then holiday baking, but I’m trying to catch up! We had to put one of our dogs down towards the end of the month & I got behind & have been playing catch up ever since

1. Anticipation- Miguel & Peter B ft. Spider Gang (Across the Spider-Verse)

2. Accidental- Hobie & Miguel Across the Spider-Verse)

3. Cuddles- Barbie & Ken (Barbie)

4. Weak Spot- Tommy, Alfie & Arthur (Peaky Blinders) prompted

5. “I’m not ticklish”- Artagan (aka The Traveler) Fjord & Beauregard (Critical Role)

6. Chase- Jon & Michael (The Magnus Archives)

7. Flustered- Simon, Marceline & Bubblegum (Adventure Time/Fionna and Cake)

8. Truth- Tommy & Ada ft. Shelby family (Peaky Blinders) prompted

9. Lie- Iceman & Slider (Top Gun) prompted

10. Ghost- Spiderkids, Peter B & Miguel (Across the Spider-Verse) prompted

11. Squeal- Lucas & Max (Stranger Things) prompted

12. Bites/Nibbles- Alex & Henry (Red White & Royal Blue)

13. Sneak Attack- Arthur & Tommy (Peaky Blinders) prompted

14. Soft- Prismo & Scarab (Fionna & Cake/Adventure Time)

15. Tickle Fight- David & Alexis (Schitts Creek)

16. Unusual Spot- Simon & Fionna (Fionna & Cake/Adventure Time)

17. Interrogation- Narrator & Stanley (The Stanley Parable) prompted

18. Magic- Jon, Tim & Martin (The Magnus Archives)

19. Arms Up- Rooster & Hangman (Top Gun Maverick) prompted

20. Relentless- Nandor & Guillermo (What We Do In The Shadows)

21. New Discovery- Agent Cooper & Sheriff Truman (Twin Peaks) prompted

22. Ticklish Kiss- Steven, Marc & Layla (Moonknight) prompted

23. Incoherent- Mike, El & Nancy (Stranger Things) prompted

24. Pinned- Edgeworth, Phoenix & Larry (Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney) prompted

25. Gang Tickles- Paul, Ted, Bill & Charlotte (The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals) prompted

26. Counting- Arthur, Tommy, Ada, John & Michael (Peaky Blinders) prompted

27. Hysterical- Caleb, Mollymauk & Essek (Critical Role) prompted

28. Massage- Bones & Kirk (Star Trek) prompted

29. Wake Up!- Peter, Steph & Ted (Nerdy Prudes Must Die)

30. Caught- Narrator & Stanley (The Stanley Parable) prompted

31. Aftercare- Grace & Max (Nerdy Prudes Must Die)

[wordstrings]

This whole AO3 series is immaculately written, what the hell.

Critical Role: Please

(Read on AO3)

Rating: Gen

Summary: “Why, Mr. Caleb,” Molly purrs, pressing down just a hair more, “don’t tell me you’ve forgotten already.”

He makes an adorably strangled noise. “I - I don’t-”

“I told you I was going to make you ask this time, didn’t I?”

Molly finally gets the chance to do exactly what he wants, even if it’s not as straightforward as he’d like it to be.

Wordcount: 5.1k (I KNOW)

A/N: It’s the first time I’ve finished a series-adjacent thing! And also me going just. Fully insane over consent and guilt complexes so feel free to scroll down if that’s not your thing - there’s tickling at the bottom, I promise :)

Also, real heavily inspired by @ticklishnonsense‘s widowmauk fic because how could it not be

—

Molly’s been thinking about Caleb Widogast a lot, lately.

He thinks about him on cold evenings when their little group of assholes jostles for space around a fire, knowing that Caleb is on the other side staring just a little too intently at the flames. He thinks about him when he hears the clipped but entirely sincere affection that Caleb showers Nott and Jester with during long days of travel.

He thinks about him in one of the last moments before Lorenzo stabs that glaive through his chest too - wonders, stupidly, if this is going to be what sends Caleb running off into the woods and back to whatever pitiful life he lived before crawling his way far enough out to meet them.

And now, after a lot of bandages and spellcasting - and maybe a diamond, he’s still fuzzy on the details - he’s thinking about Caleb Widogast again. Largely because Caleb is currently sat up beside him in bed, keeping him company during his convalescence.

Keep reading

[spritewrites]

day 9: (mad) scientist

Sequel to Get Connected

It’s always nice when Essek is so cooperative and generous with his spells. Molly didn’t even have to threaten him this time.

“Well now, let’s see…” He cracks his knuckles, and the little blue tiefling girl between his knees grins in anticipation. “Where would you like to start?”

Jester bites her lip thoughtfully. “Mm… Stomach, maybe?”

There’s movement out of the corner of his eye, and he casts a quick glance aside to where Caleb has wrapped both arms around his middle.

“Just get it over with,” he breathes, not meeting either of their gazes.

Mollymauk grins conspiratorially at Jester. “Come now, do you really mean that?”

Seemingly despite himself, Caleb peeks up at him with a look that tells him all he needs to know. Mollymauk prods Jester in the side, earning two distinct high-pitched yelps for his mischief.

“Excellent.”

Immediately, he’s tickling over the curve of Jester’s tummy, nails dancing over the plush softness of her dress. The jewelry on her horns jingles as she throws her head back, giggling wildly.

“Oh—oh, ahaha, you—you’re very ticklish, Caleb—” she squeaks, wriggling. Delightfully, she isn’t trying to get away at all. Not uncommon, at least, not for her, but it does make tormenting the wizard a bit more of a sure thing.

For his part, Caleb’s got both hands clamped over his face, presumably in some hopeless attempt to hide his blush. His shoulders are shaking in silent laughter, overwhelmed by whatever combination has been created of Jester’s ticklishness and his own crippling sensitivity. It’s dreadfully endearing, all told.

“Is he more ticklish than you, here?” Mollymauk asks, half-teasing and half-curious. Jester nods, which. Cute. He makes a mental note to keep track of this sort of thing; maybe he should talk to Beau about keeping statistics. “I see. How about here?”

His fingers brush lower, over the tops of her hipbones, and she squeals and grabs his wrists in a rush. “Nohoho—I mehean, no, but also—ahaha, not there, Molly!”

“Oh, is this a good spot?” Mollymauk’s claws pinch at the squishy bit at the bottom of her tummy, his thumbs massaging just inside the bowls of her hips, and Jester screeches, all fangs and flushed cheeks.

“Nnahaa—oho, please! Plehease!!”

“Begging already?” Mollymauk teases, but she doesn’t get a chance to defend herself. Caleb is flopping over a few feet away, stamping his feet on the carpet in desperation.

“Eeehe, enough, enou—Scheiße, arschloch! Erbarme dich!” he snorts, laughing helplessly into his hands. He looks good enough to eat, wriggling like an overstimulated kitten and letting out the most adorable sounds. He actually squeaks when a stray tickle brushes the outer edge of Jester’s belly button.

Mollymauk tries not to blush. It can be tricky to notice on a tiefling, but Jester could see right through him if she caught a glimpse.

Jester’s looking a little purple herself, which isn’t too surprising—it’s usually her hips that break her. And if she survives that, there’s always her thighs. But of course, Mollymauk wouldn’t want to be selfish with Essek’s spells. And Jester could go all day, but the wizard can be much more finicky. Best to get his plans in motion sooner rather than later.

In one swift move, he flips the tiefling between his knees. Jester lets out an “oof” as she lands facedown in the carpet, giggling into her smushed nose.

“What’re you—eep—”

Molly’s hands are already scurrying up her sides again, fiddling with the backs of her ribs in a way that makes his two victims cackle.

“I have a hypothesis,” he says, grinning as Jester’s fists find carpet and hair and everything in reach except his tickling fingers. “And I’d like to test it out.”

“Hyp-ah, hee, a hypothesis?” Jester squeaks. Mollymauk’s dancing touch converges on her lower back, just above the base of her tail. He glances at Caleb exactly in time to see him spasm, his eyes widening.

“N-nohoho, Molly, no—”

Oh, good. He’s figured it out.

“You remember what I said last time, I assume?” Mollymauk asks him. Caleb looks like he’s trying to decide whether curling into a ball would be a good idea. “A secondary experiment?”

His fingers have not stilled on Jester’s back, and one claw tickles ruthlessly at the spot where her tail meets her back, exactly where it always drives him crazy. Sure enough, Jester squeals and kicks, feet thumping against the floor.

“Mehehean!” she cries, but it pales in comparison to the shriek that Caleb lets out as his entire spine attempts to fold in half.

Mollymauk smiles.

“The t-tail is unfair, M—oho, HA!” Lithe violet fingertips scamper up the length of Jester’s tail, anticipating each defensive twitch and wriggle with grace and mercilessness. Claws graze over the ridges, seeking the spots that work best on Molly’s own tail— about six inches up the underside, the one that Yasha knows about near where it hangs by his knee, the smooth stretch just before the spade at the tip. Jester responds beautifully, squirming and shrieking with laughter, succumbing to the instinctual panic but still staying generous enough not to whip her tail out of reach.

Caleb doesn’t even maintain a fraction of that control. He’s screeching into the floor, beet red and smiling wider than Molly’s ever seen, waving his hands frantically at an empty space behind his back. Once, he attempts to crawl over to the tieflings, to… stop them? Encourage them? Tough to say, but regardless, Mollymauk scratches just under the spade of Jester’s tail and he collapses with a wail.

He seems not to know what to do with himself—he’s long lost his ability to speak, much less explain himself, and has resorted to some kind of wild thrashing that might be helping… if he had a tail. Without one, he just seems to be doing his best impersonation of a beached octopus.

Well. Hypothesis answered.

Still, no one could begrudge Mollymauk a little extra fun.

Devilish, he flutters the tips of his claws over the very end of the tail, and Jester and Caleb squeal, their loudest yet. Jester’s is so high-pitched that it sounds like she’s trying to echolocate, and Molly just can’t help himself—he bursts out laughing, dropping Jester’s tail and pressing his forehead in between her shoulder blades with the force of his mirth.

Her whole torso is shaking, quivering with the vibrations of leftover giggles that peter out like a sputtering candle flame. She’s just too adorable, Mollymauk has to give her another goose to the ribs. Her squeak nearly makes him collapse into giggles again, but he manages to control himself enough to look over at their resident puddle of wizard.

Caleb’s still red from the tips of his ears all down his neck, and his chest is heaving under his book holsters, trying to control the last few threads of laughter that are leaking from the corners of his mouth. He notices Molly looking, and buries his face in his hands.

Molly grins. “All right over there?”

Caleb hiccups. Cute.

“Well,” Molly says cheerfully, scritching fondly between Jester’s horns and smiling when she purrs, “my curiosity’s sated. I’ll have to come up with another hypothesis for next time we’re at an inn, hm?”

“Ooh, yes, there’s so much else!” Jester beams, wriggling around between Mollymauk’s knees until she’s face-up again. “I wonder if Yasha’s wings are ticklish?”

“Only one way to find out.”

Mollymauk jerks his head up, whipping around to stare at Caleb. The wizard’s wearing a sheepish little grin, peeking out from between his fingers.

“I mean…” he continues, “if the two of you would like, of course.”

Fuck. That’s hopelessly cute. Mollymauk can’t not tickle him.

He only barely hears Jester’s screeches of “The spell, Molly!” before he’s on Caleb with wriggling fingers, and gods, all three of them are already giggling.