#akigetsu

“Halloween themed candy.” He pointed first at the green frog, ready to announce his purchases in style. 

“Poisonous frog gummy. Named him Edward. Probably so sweet your teeth will dissolve at the first bite,” he said. 

Ugetsu raised his eyebrows. “You even named him? You’re such a nerd.” 

Ignoring him, Akihiko pointed at the next one. “From the haunted forest caves in the underworld, these liquorice bats.”

“Ew, Aki. Don’t buy things we are not going to eat,” Ugetsu sighed.

“Lastly, straight from the cauldron of the most evil witch of evil witches. These cursed candy mouses. No idea what they will taste like, but as you can see, they are mouses.” 

Ugetsu was looking at the mouses with his nose scrunched up. Heh, cute. 

“Then we have these,” Akihiko said, taking out the Halloween soda drinks he had scored. 

“This red drink, it’s a potion. To make you fall in love with me.” Ugetsu rolled his eyes when he said that. Akihiko merely chuckled and touched the black colored soda.

“This one, god knows what it will taste like, but a little skeleton told me it’s an elixir that will make you grow taller,” he said.

“Watch it, Aki~” Ugetsu warned, though he was grinning and definitely looking amused now. Akihiko grinned and grabbed the final drink, a green colored soda drink.

“And we also have this special brew,” he said, and he smirked already when he made up his mind about that one. “Drink this and… it will turn you less ticklish. Now which of these treats would you like to have first-?” Akihiko watched in surprise how Ugetsu barely let him finish talking as he picked the frog and ripped it out of its plastic coat.

“The frog that will dissolve your teeth?” Akihiko asked, raising his eyebrows when Ugetsu sank his teeth into it and tore its head off.

“Edward you mean. Yes. My teeth are fine. It’s decent. Not bad,” Ugetsu said to Akihiko’s suprise. He lifted the green soda and held it in front of Ugetsu’s face.

“You don’t want the green drink to match with it? It will turn you less ticklish,” Akihiko repeated. Ugetsu smirked.

“Now why would I want to be less ticklish?” he asked with his mouth full of green gummy, not accepting the drink. 

“Because I always tickle you to death?” Akihiko asked, frowning in confusion. Ugetsu looked indifferent though. 

“And did I ever say I hate it?” he said.

Well no but…

Akihiko stared at Ugetsu. There was a cute blush on his face. Oh. He couldn’t help himself. Suddenly they were kissing. Ugetsu hadn’t even emptied his mouth yet, so the kiss was sweet and sticky as the strong flavor was shared with Akihiko through the kiss. 

The kiss took Ugetsu by surprise and he hastily grabbed Akihiko’s shoulders, but Akihiko pressed himself tightly against his lover and kissed him hungrily. Meanwhile he brought his hands towards his sides and started to tickle.

“Pffahh! Hmmhhah!” Ugetsu started to make weird sounds in the middle of their candy kiss, but Akihiko persistently continued to tickle him. He didn’t hate it huh? Oh he was going to get it.

“Hmhhhh!” Ugetsu squirmed and took a few steps back, but Akihiko wasn’t letting him escape. In fact, Ugetsu backed himself in a corner, and when he finally swallowed the remaining frog candy, that was when Akihiko really chose to strike. He viciously tickled his lover’s tummy, clawing ruthlessly at the ticklish spot and making him squeal.

“HAHahah! Ahah-Akeheheh!” Ugetsu laughed, sliding to the floor. Akihiko snickered and went after him, tickling him everywhere he could with rapid moves.

“Yes? You don’t hate it, huh? Then what? Then what?” he teased. Of course he knew Ugetsu didn’t hate being tickled. He wouldn’t do it to him if he disliked it. Ugetsu would squirm, struggle and cuss at him but all quite subtly, and he never seemed to mind too much.

However, now that Ugetsu openly admitted he wouldn’t even want to be less ticklish and that he didn’t hate it… didn’t that almost literally translate to him loving it? It did, right? Akihiko wanted to hear him say it. 

“Nahaha- nohothing! Gahaha!” Ugetsu’s laughter could only sound this exact way when Akihiko would tickle him, and he loved it. Loved it. But if Ugetsu loved it too, then Akihiko was the happiest man on earth.

“Say it,” he demanded, wiggling his fingers up his torso, past his sides and ribs.

“AHhha! Sahahay whahat!” Ugetsu laughed, struggling when he seemed to realize where Akihiko’s hands were going.

“You know what I mean,” Akihiko said, threatening him with the armpit tickling of a lifetime by resting his fingers right underneath them where he playfully wiggled them against Ugetsu’s upper ribs. Ugetsu arched his back and gasped.

“Nahahah! No I dohohon’t!”

“Alright then.” Akihiko staked his attempts at getting that confession and began to tickle Ugetsu’s armpits. They both were having the time of their lives, or well, Akihiko was. And Ugetsu was laughing loudest, and most likely enjoying it so yes, both of them were having a good time.

“AHahah! Akeheheh! Aki haahahah nohoho!”

“No?” Akihiko asked, genuinely confused. He dug firmly into the centers of Ugetsu’s armpits and felt him jerk beneath him.

“Really no?” he asked.

“No whahahat?!” 

“That’s what I wanted to know.” 

There was something off about their communication here, but it could be because Akihiko was just blinded by his love for ticklish Ugetsu, and Ugetsu was laughing his precious head off.

“HEhehee! Ahahalright enahaha- enough now!” Ugetsu warned. Hmm, okay. Akihiko finally stopped the tickle attack on Ugetsu and he pulled his hands back. He bent down and kissed his lips again. The taste of the sweet frog was still lingering there. 

“Did you not hate this?” Akihiko asked after Ugetsu tenderly returned the kiss. He lightly tickled Ugetsu’s stomach to support his question, making him giggle.

“I didn’t,” Ugetsu admitted.

“So?” Akihiko asked. Say you love it then! Ugetsu gave him a look.

“So, nothing. Aki. Geez, you’re being weird. Hmh. Let me taste one of these,” Ugetsu said, casually getting up again and grabbing the package of mysterious mouses. Akihiko stared blankly at him.

“You’re not tasting the potions?” he asked.

“You taste them Aki.”

Akihiko got up and smiled. Alright then, he didn’t get Ugetsu to literally say he liked being tickled. But he had definitely gotten close. He watched how Ugetsu smiled confidently while he put a little mouse between his teeth, and he opened a drink - its sweet aroma already reaching Akihiko with the speed of light. 

“You take this one, Aki,” he said. Ah, the green drink. That was the one Akihiko imagined as the potion that would turn a person less ticklish. Oh and Ugetsu was smirking now. Why was he smirking.

“Don’t you want to?” Ugetsu sang. Akihiko then understood, and he turned around. That was right. There were two ticklish people in this relationship.

“No, Ugetsu~” 

“Yes, Aki~”  

Thinking about Given and Ugetsu suddenly feeling the immense emptiness of losing Akihiko that is then replaced by the calm of finally being able to let go and free himself from the chrysalis 🦋 .

TGCF and Xielian suddenly feeling the immense emptiness of losing HC that is then replaced by the calm of believing that he will be back as the butterflies 🦋 dissipate.

Art by xualwqy

Art by @lollimena

Soundless gasps.... one is losing someone but they are at least alive in this world and breaking free from toxicity and the other is knowing someone will be back but it could be 1 year or 800 years and one must hold onto that faith day by day.