( ಠ_ಠ|^_−☆ )

[ At around what they both would assume to be 2pm, they stopped for a moment. It was at a giant, gentle hill slope that overlooked a beautiful view of forest and lake together. Kaelan handled reining in the horses while Icarus went ahead. ]

[ He stopped by a big tree with plenty of berries and plants around, even with a small pond for the horses to drink from if they needed to. ]

“Have a good rest! You’ll need it.”

[ He whispered to the horses, patting each one gently on the snout before walking away. He even gave a small wave before he walked out of sight. Kaelan loved animals, no matter how unique or ‘uncomfortable’ they looked. In fact, he spent most of his free time reading about different species in Glidensdale and how one would interact with them. His favorite were the Swallowtails, even though they were extremely dangerous. ]

“Icarus!!! I’m back!!”

[ Kaelan called, waving a gauntleted hand in the air crazily as he skipped over to where Icarus sat beneath the giant tree. Its branches spread outward towards the sky as if they were fingers to grasp something impossibly high. ‘They give very good shade!’, Kaelan thought as he plopped down next to Icarus—his armor clinking as he did so. ]

[ Icarus was taking this time to sharpen a dagger he had hidden in his boot (you never know when you’d need it), not looking up when he heard Kaelan coming over. ]

“You should speak quieter. You might attract the fluffles again.”

”I—that was one time!! And I wasn’t that loud!”

[ Icarus chuckled quietly at how flustered Kaelan got from a simple tease. Another one of the many qualities he thought were endearing about him. ]

“Anyways… the horses are resting. They should be in a pretty good position until we need them again.”

[ Kaelan said, hiding the flustered lilt in his tone as he swiftly changed the subject. Icarus didn’t even notice as he responded with: ]

“Good. Now we rest too. I’m tired.”

“Tired? Tired from what? You’ve just been sitting all day!”

“Not just from that, you imbecile. There’s other factors that come into play too.”

[ Kaelan huffed in annoyance at Icarus’s words as he laid back against the tree, adjusting himself to be in a more comfortable position. That position just so happened to be laying his head on Icarus’s shoulder. Icarus didn’t mind. ]

[ Kaelan dozed off for a bit, the two knights absorbed in the sounds of nature and everything going on around them as if they weren’t even there. Icarus truly loved moments like these where he could just decompress with Kaelan. Kaelan was one of the few people he felt he could actually be himself without people nagging him to be more extroverted. He hated when that happened. ]

[ The sharpening of his knife stopped as he put it back where it belonged. He took a moment to really look at his surroundings. The sun-dappled leaves, the coarse texture of the tree’s bark that they were laying against, and the magnificent presence of a certain someone next to him right now. ]

[ Kaelan woke up eventually. He was a bit groggy, but even then he was up and running soon after. Icarus was still very much not in the mood for running around, so he remained in the shade of the tree while he watched Kaelan do his own thing. ]

[ But Kaelan, being Kaelan, refused to leave him alone for long. Icarus had only blinked and Kaelan was standing over him. He jumped lightly at the sight before he calmed himself once again. Damn him and his silent steps.. ]

“What do you want?”

“I want you to play with me!”

“Really..? We’re not children, Kaelan. I’m not ‘playing’ with you.”

“But you never do!! We don’t even have to play! You can just give me attention or we can walk around!”

“I sat down here with the intention to stay like this for hours. I’m not getting up.”

“Uuuughh, fine…”

[ Kaelan groaned, going off to do his own thing again. He went to check on the horses, making sure they were alright before inevitably going back to bug Icarus. This time he mysteriously appeared beside him before speaking. ]

“Did you change your mind yet…?”

“No.”

“But why!!!!”

“Because I want to sit down.”

“Fine! I’ll leave you alone then.”

[ Kaelan huffed, shoving himself up off of the ground as he walked away. Icarus didn’t think that promise would last long. He was right, because he didn’t even have to look up when he felt the black knight’s presence again only ten minutes later. ]

“I thought you said you’d leave me alone?”

“Well.. I—“

“Leave it, Kae. You either sit down and take a break from hyperactiveness or you go back to exploring your weird little forest.”

[ As cute as Kaelan was sometimes, this was really starting to get on his nerves. But knowing Kaelan, he was persistent. He wouldn’t stay away for long—if anything, he’d continue clinging to him like glue. ]

[ And he was right. ]

[ Because a few minutes later (again), he felt those silent footsteps. ]

“Kaelan.”

“Icarus.”

“Don’t play coy with me. Sit down.”

“But I don’t want to!! It’s boring just sitting there!”

“Suck it up.”

[ Kaelan gave a sharp gasp as if offended by the mere thought of the words. ]

“How could you!?”

“Sit down.”

“Not until you give me proper attention!”

“Attention…? Oh, I’ll give you attention—“

[ Kaelan yelped as he was pounced on by Icarus. The two of them scuffled a bit as they rolled down the hill, Kaelan obviously not pleased with the action as he complained the entire way down. ]

“Hey!! Let me go!!”

“No.”

“Icarus!!!”

[ Kaelan whined, grunting as the rolling stopped. They had rolled to the bottom of the hill now with a dull ‘thud’, and Kaelan was pinned under Icarus. The taller knight’s hands were on either side of his head. ]

“Let me up!”

“You could easily get up yourself. Do it.”

“No! You’re the one that attacked me! You do it!”

“Fine.”

[ Icarus sighed, feigning surrender as he got up. Kaelan was just about to sit up too before he was snatched up by Icarus, dragged into his lap where the other knight sat. Icarus had his legs crossed, making it easier to place Kaelan there. ]

“Now then. I believe I have something well overdue, Kaelan.”

“Uh…uhm-“

“Getting nervous now? You were begging me for attention, but when you finally get it you chicken out?”

“I-It’s not like that!!”

“Then what is it like, then?”

[ Icarus replied, his tone perfectly leveled but still kind of annoyed at the same time. ]

[ Kaelan sat still for a second, trying to ignore the fact that Icarus’s gauntleted hand was very closely placed on his side. He glanced at it only for a split second, but Icarus seemed to catch on anyway. ]

[ In fact, Icarus’s tone switched completely when he spoke next. ]

“Oh.”

“….oh?”

“Yes, ‘oh’. I believe you think I was gonna do something to you, correct?”

“W-Well—“

“Did you think I was gonna tickle you, Kaelan?”

“No!!! Never! I mean-.. I-I-..”

“So you don’t want me to do that?”

“…”

[ Kaelan very quietly whispered something under his breath. Icarus didn’t quite catch it.. so he decided to use that as leverage. He moved his hand to be placed directly over Kaelan’s ribs. Kaelan was grateful for the coverage his helmet provided, because he was sure he was flushed red at this point. ]

“What did you say, Kaelan? I don’t think I heard you.”

“It’s nothing!!”

“Oh? Then if it truly was nothing, you’d tell me what you’re hiding from me. Correct?”

“Stop it!!! Let me go!”

“No. Instead, I think I’ll just do this..”

[ Icarus emphasized the ‘this’ by lightly moving his fingers over Kaelan’s ribs. The black knight stiffened almost as hard as a board, which only spurred Icarus on in his little mission. ]

[ He started with gentle flutters, occasionally poking at areas he knew were sensitive on his beloved. But when Kaelan didn’t make a sound (he was clearly holding back), he intensified it. He went from gentle fluttering to light scribbling, which was clearly affecting Kaelan a whole lot more. ]

“Silent now, are we? How cute.”

“Mhmhpff—“

[ Kaelan barely held back a muffled laugh as Icarus’s fingers scribbled across his ribs. It was a very bad spot already, so he knew he couldn’t last for long. ]

[ Seeing as Kaelan STILL wasn’t reacting, Icarus intensified it another notch. He did not hold back anymore. He went for every spot he could reach—Kaelan’s underarms, ribs, stomach, and even around his hips. Safe to say that broke Kaelan nearly immediately. ]

“waAAAHHAHAHAHA—!!! AHAHAH-STOHOOHOP!!”

“Nope. You wanted attention, right? I’m only helping you.”

“YOHUHUHU’RE NOHOT HEHEHELPIHIHING!! AHAHAHHAHA-“

[ Kaelan shrieked, trying to curl in on himself as one of Icarus’s hands suddenly shot up to his underarms. Another notoriously bad spot.. ]

“I don’t know.. I think I am. And you’re laughing, so I must be doing something right!”

[ Icarus commented innocently, one hand latching onto that deadly spot under Kaelan’s arm as the other one stuck to his stomach like glue. He was very talented with his hands, and was putting that talent into destroying Kaelan. ]

[ That combo nearly killed the poor knight, going into a fit of helpless laughter as the assault on his senses continued. ]

“NOHOHOHOO!! LET MEHE GO!! YOU—YOU IHIHIDIOT!!”

“Me? An idiot? I can’t believe that you just said that to me!”

[ Icarus pretended to sound all offended when Kaelan said that. He knew his beloved didn’t truly mean it (he never would), but he decided to not let his words go unpunished. Using Kaelan’s cape to his advantage, he wrapped it around the man haphazardly so that it’d take a good bit of effort to escape. While Kaelan struggled, the hand formerly on Kaelan’s stomach darted for his other underarm. Now both hands were latched onto one of Kaelan’s worst spots. ]

“AHAAHAEIIEEEHEHEEHE-“

“Ah. Bad spot, eh?”

“NAOOHOHOHOOO!!!”

“Seems like it.”

[ Kaelan clamped his arms down, trying to squirm away from Icarus with all his might. As powerful he was, he couldn’t escape with all his strength being sapped away from the relentless tickles. He kicked and struggled, flailing as hard as he could. One kick nailed a deep score in the ground when Icarus upped the speed a little. ]

“Deadly kicks you got there.. too bad you can’t respond. I wonder why.”

[ Icarus drawled on, enjoying the shrieky sound of Kaelan’s laughter. Another one of the qualities he loved about him.. but onto the task at hand. ]

“AaAAHAHAHAHEHIEHAHAEH—LEHEHET ME GOHOHOHO!!”

“No.”

“COHOHOME OHOHON!! PLEHAHAHAHESE?!”

[ Icarus huffed without a response as he heaved up Kaelan a bit, the curled up knight making it a bit difficult. Kaelan was now positioned with his back to Icarus’s chest. ]

“You seem to be enjoying this. It’s cute, really. Perhaps adorable. You should let us hear your laughter more. It could be a cure for any illness.”

[ Kaelan flushed even redder at the compliments. He knew he should be used to them, but it wasn’t any less flustering! ]

[ Kaelan was about to respond, but was cut off by his own shrieking again as the tickling ramped up. He felt tears pricking at the edges of his eyes as he covered his face with his hands (though there was no point given the helmet.. perhaps it was just a self-securing action for him), now just going into wordless and helpless laughter as Icarus continued the attack for what felt like centuries. ]

“Now for the finale. I’ll finish this off with a little flare, eh?”

“NOONOHOHOOOHOHO!!!-“

[ Kaelan tried to plead, pushing at Icarus’s gloved hands. To his relief, they went away.. only to grip him by the ankle. Instead of going for the feet like he thought he would, Icarus drifted a lone finger up Kaelan’s calf. Apparently it was a way worse spot than Kaelan remembered, because the kick that he released nearly kicked off Icarus’s hand altogether. ]

“Looks like I found the jackpot.”

[ Icarus said in a monotone tone of voice before shifting himself so that he could safely get the aforementioned spot without having to worry about getting injured by Kaelan’s kicks. ]

“WAHAIT!! WAHAHAIT! PLEAHASE!-“

[ Kaelan tried to plead, but it was already far too late. That deadly spot on his legs had fallen victim to Icarus’s ministrations. He shrieked time and time again as floods of the tickly sensation assaulted his body, his laughter going near silent at one point because of the mirth. ]

[ Only around fifteen minutes later did Icarus stop, and by then Kaelan was a mirthful mess; still being assaulted by the leftover ghost tickles. He let out quiet giggles as he breathed out, just laying there for a moment longer. ]

“Are you alright? I didn’t go too far, did I?”

“No, no. I’m quite alright.. just a bit exhausted.”

“So you see my point now.”

“Shuhut up, idiot. You wrecked me half to death.”

“And you were loud enough to alert all the lands. What if a Frostholt warrior heard? Then they’d know the great Peacekeeper has a deadly weakness.”

“Just lehet me rest, Icarus..”

“Fine. But what if I decide to demand your attention? What would you do then?”

“Exactly as you did to me, if you don’t help me up.”

“Alright, alright..”

[ Icarus sighed, helping Kaelan up and helping him walk back up the hill to the tree they were formerly lying under. They were supposed to be back on the road hours ago.. but Icarus didn’t care for the consequences. He’d let Kaelan rest.. then they’d get back on track. ]

—

“NO!—“

[ Before he could protest further, a painful jolt lanced across his body. His head felt as if it would explode, and he collapsed near the roots of the oak tree he was standing under. He felt the control of his body slipping, the pain in his head easing slightly to make way for The King’s vast consciousness. ]

“I WAS NOT LYING WHEN I SAID YOU WERE PATHETIC.. YOUR BODY HAS GROWN WEAKER, DEREK.”

“Shut up. Give me my body back.”

“I DON’T THINK I WILL. YOUR FORM MAY HAVE ‘NERFED’ MY FULL CAPABILITIES, BUT THAT WILL NOT NEGATE MY GOALS.”

“…”

“SILENT AGAIN? DEREK, DEREK, DEREK… YOU NEVER LEARN, DO YOU? I THINK I’LL PAY A VISIT TO YOUR FRIEND. AVERY, IS IT?”

“WH—.. STAY AWAY FROM HIM!!!”

“HAHAH! DEFENSIVE, ARE WE? THAT ONLY CONVINCES ME FURTHER.”

[ D3rLord3 could only watch as his own body moved without his command. He tried fighting back with all he could, but all it did was cause a slight stutter in The King’s steps as he approached the house where he and Avery lived. He knew what was going to happen wasn’t gonna be pleasant, so he pleaded internally that Avery would catch onto what was happening before The King was able to do anything. ]

———

[ Avery was milling about the house, sorting through different chests and such before he heard footsteps approaching. He suddenly felt a small sense of impending doom as he turned around. The wooden oak door creaked open, and in came D3rLord3. ]

[ Something was wrong. He was moving stiffer than usual, he had this weird air about him, and the eyes.. the eyes. They weren’t the usual warm and golden brown of his Derek’s eyes. They were wide. Yellow. ]

[ The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. The King in Yellow was in control of him, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. At least, it seemed like that… ]

“aVERy.”

[ Said ‘D3rLord3’, stepping forward with a sort of inhuman confidence. The door slammed shut behind him without him even turning towards it… his voice sounded off, too. It sounded normal—but there was just something that unnerved Avery. ]

“U-Uh… Derek-?”

“CoME HErE.”

[ ‘D3rLord3’ commanded. Avery stepped back—but as soon as he blinked, ‘D3rLord3’ was right in front of him. He jolted and stumbled backwards against the wooden counter. He fumbled to grab something, but ‘D3rLord3’ had already pinned his left hand against the kitchen counter. ]

“YOUr LittLE FRIENd seeMS to HOLd yOU DEAR.”

“Wh—..king??”

“YES. I aM SUrpRISEd it toOK you thIS LoNG to NOTicE.”

[ Avery gulped as his mind raced through several possible solutions. He couldn’t just push him away—The King’s brute strength was too much for that. He couldn’t outsmart him either.. there was nothing he could do! ]

[ Then one thing came to mind. It was utterly stupid and admittedly a bit embarrassing, but it was worth a try. It wasn’t like he could do anything else, anyway… ]

“noW.. I beLIEve I willAAHAHA—?!”

[ ‘D3rLord3’ was caught off guard. Just as he went to grab Avery, the slime boy’s hands shot out and scribbled relentlessly at the spots on his sides where his armor had failed to cover. ]

“HA! Still as ticklish as the real D3rLord3!”

”stoAHAHAP THIHIS!!! YOUHU FEHEIND!!”

[ ‘D3rLord3’’s voice glitched out a bit, and the yellow of his eyes flickered from that sickly pale yellow to those familiar golden brown eyes. ]

[ It took a few more minutes of struggling on both sides for Avery to successfully ‘tickle’ The King out of control, but he did it nonetheless. He caught D3rLord3 as he nearly fell to the ground after he regained control. ]

———

[ D3rLord3 felt as if he was liberated as soon as he fell. He felt an extreme amount of relief—so much so that tears began to sting at the edges of his eyes. ‘He’ was so close to hurting Avery.. so close to doing something that he would never forgive himself for had it actually happened. ]

[ He clung to Avery tightly as the slime hybrid held him close, the both of them sliding to the floor in a makeshift heap, Avery holding the fallen knight in his arms. He refused to meet Avery’s gaze, the shame of nearly hurting the person he held most dear to him hurting his heart in a way he couldn’t explain. ]

“Derek.. it’s alright. He’s gone. He isn’t in control anymore. You’re here. I’m here. You’re real.”

“…”

[ D3rLord3 couldn’t bring himself to dignify Avery with a response. The most he could do was just bury his head into the crook of Avery’s neck as he withheld noises that might have been considered undignified to some people. ]

“…”

[ poke. ]

[ D3rLord3 jumped as he felt a poke to his side, immediately catching onto what was happening. Why wouldn’t he? He always knew. ]

“A..Avery—“

[ Poke. Poke. Poke. ]

“Ehaha—Ahavery!!”

[ Avery smiled as he continued poking the knight, the slime boy’s fingers morphing slightly to get under Derek’s armor properly. Despite it just being poking, D3rLord3 couldn’t handle it!! ]

“Oh boy.. sounds like my piano is out of tune! I should fix that…”

“NOHOHO!!!”

[ D3rLord3 yelped out as Avery’s fingers lightly dug into his ribs, the gentle wiggling into each tender gap between them driving the poor knight up a wall as he tried to arch away. Avery continued with his act, even humming as he tweaked at D3rLord3’s ribs with the careful intensity only the most experienced skywars player would have. ]

“Seems like my piano is particularly squeaky today.. I can’t play my songs if it’s like this! Time for some heavy duty tuning..”

“AVERY WAAIT—“

[ Before D3rLord3 could plead further, Avery had taken a huge breath (as big as a slime could take) and blew a raspberry on his stomach. He practically screeched, all thoughts about The King or other struggles completely wiped from his mind as the dual assault on his ribs and stomach continued. ]

“naaAAHAHAHAHA!! AVEHEREEHEHEY!!! STOHOHOP!! IHI’M FINE NOHOHOW!! EEEHEHEEK-“

“Pianos don’t talk!!”

[ Avery teased, keeping up his barrage of raspberries. Each one tore a peal of surprisingly charming laughter from the knight, Avery’s heart almost melting at the sound. While he kept up the assault on D3rLord3’s stomach, one hand crawled up to D3r’s underarms.. ]

[ D3r practically screamed as soon as the spot was even grazed. That caused Avery to pause, taken aback a bit by the noise… then grinned. Oh no. ]

“Bad spot, is it?”

“Avery… aHAHAVERY WAIT!! AVERY!!”

[ Avery had quickly pulled d3rLord3 up from his lying position on the slime boy’s lap, now pinning the knight’s back against his chest while one hand grabbed d3rLord3’s wrists and held them above his head. The man could practically hear the smug grin on Avery’s face as the other leaned in and whispered; ]

“I dunno.. I have to be super careful! What if something’s wrong with my dear piano? I can’t have that!!”

“NOO!!!-“

[ D3rLord3 attempted to escape before Avery could do anything, but it was already far too late… Avery’s fingers had dug in where no armor covered. There was only a thin layer of chainmail—and under that, black cloth. Avery had no problem making do with that as he gently clawed D3rLord3’s underarms as if they were chord strings made to be strummed. ]

[ It was safe to say that D3rLord3 was laughing uncontrollably now. He was grateful for his helm hiding his rather flustered expression, but Avery seemed to see through it. The slime hybrid just kept teasing him in ways that made him flustered beyond belief. ]

“AAAHHHAHAHHAHA!!! HGHAHA—AHAHAVERY!!”

“You say my name a lot, don’t you? I’m right here, silly!!”

“GHHHAEHHAHAHA!-“

“Woah, looks like I found a sweet spot! Epic!”

[ Avery giggled as he found a tender point amongst D3r’s ribs and underarms. It was that soft point just below the underarm, but above where the ribs were. You get it. ]

[ Avery continued at that spot for a while more until D3rLord3 was a squeaking mess, the poor knight a dazed puddle in Avery’s arms. ]

“Looks like my dear piano is finally tuned.. now for the grand finale!! I’ll play my song!”

“NHAHAHA—“

[ D3rLord3 was laughing before Avery even started, the poor lad. ]

[ Avery shifted D3rLord3 so that the latter was across his lap, the poor sap’s arms still strewn high above his head. Avery lightly patted D3r’s stomach before he said; ]

“Ready..? This will be intense!”

“JUHUST GET IT OHOVER WIHITH!!”

“if you insist, D3r!”

[ And the ‘grand finale’ finally began. ]

[ It started with poking on his ribs. Then a couple stomach pokes, both of which are getting a fair amount of giggles from the Spartan-knight. ]

“Hmm.. I feel like I’m forgetting something…”

[ And then the REAL finale began. Relentless scribbling on his ribs with one hand, the other gently drilling into the poor man’s hips with a sort of gentleness that drove D3r up a wall. While his hands did that, Avery just watched D3rLord3 shrieking in uncharacteristic laughter with a sort of warm sense in his eyes. ]

[ He liked this. Liked seeing DerLord3 laugh. Liked seeing him smile. Liked seeing him happy.. and this time, it was all because of him. It was the first time in a while he’d managed to do something like this and be successful with it. ]

“HGAHAHAHAHA—AHAHAVERY!! PLEAHAHASE—I CAHAHAHAN’T!! NAAHAHAHA-“

[ D3r’s laughter brought Avery back down to earth, the slime hybrid smirking a little bit as he momentarily slowed the whole thing down. He stopped the tickling around a minute later, resigning to pulling D3rLord3 close in a tight hug. The knight’s red cape served as a makeshift blanket for them both, D3r resting his head on the crook of his neck. ]

“Feelin’ better?”

“Yeah... Thanks, Aves.”

“…”

“You’re welcome, Derek.”

[ Avery felt particularly warm upon hearing the nickname. Maybe it was love. Maybe it was something else altogether. But one thing was clear.. he was happy. And in that moment, that was all he could ask for. The house was peacefully quiet now; the previously overstimulating sounds for D3r providing rather calming background noise as the two remained cuddled up together on the floor. ]

———

“THIS ‘TICKLING’ SEEMS EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE ON YOU. MAYBE I SHOULD USE IT WHEN YOU’RE NOT RESPONDING TO ME.”

“Shut up. Don’t ruin this for me.”

“OH BUT I WILL. I’M SURE AVERY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW YOUR WORST SPOT—“

“SHUT UP!!”