#bfhc

ash has trained his body to be still, silent, pliant, and assumes being ticklish is something he has outgrown, or programmed himself to not be

people have tried, under shitty circumstances, and he has steeled his gaze, smirked, and told them "nice try" on a good day - on a bad day, he just stares blankly

but when eiji comes around, he quickly realizes that not all touch needs to be blocked out; he doesn't need to protect himself from this

eiji is terribly ticklish, and terrible at hiding it, too

maybe shorter grabs him a certain way, or ash is helping him patch up a small wound, but eiji will giggle, pull away, and verbally admit "hey, that tickles!" with his big smile and flushed cheeks

and, ofc, it makes ash melt in a way he has avoided his whole life

eiji has never shied away from touching ash, even though he understands the possibility of a bad reaction - he is naturally affectionate, and drawn to ash in a desperate sort of way

he doesn't even think twice before he tickles ash - it's late afternoon and ash has been asleep for 12 hours straight, and eiji is so frustrated he just does what he would do to his sister and squeezes ash's sides

he's expecting ash to jump, yelp, smack at him, pull a weapon, but ash just giggles and burrows under the covers, mumbling for him to fuck off - best case scenario, really

and so eiji doesn't stop, he just yanks back the blankets and tickles him until ash accidentally kicks him in the stomach - he's apologetic after, but eiji is too smitten with his pink cheeks, bedhead, and adorable laugh to care about the dull ache in his abdomen for the next hour

shorter has jabbed at his ribs or squeezed his knee, but ash would usually just huff and shove at him, never burst into boyish laughter the way he does when eiji tries - shorter is his best friend, he loves him, but he just can't turn off the shield around himself easily

eiji somehow breaks that shield down with a smile, a kind word, and ash is terrified and in love and confused and happy

ash is ticklish in weird places: his neck, thighs, and stomach rarely get a reaction, but his sides, ribs, and armpits do. his feet aren't really sensitive at all, but his ankles and calves are. his most ticklish spot is maybe under his arms, but you're lucky if you can even access them, he's so squirmy. his laugh is loud, boyish, and bright. he never begs, only curses and threatens revenge.

eiji, on the other hand, is ticklish just about everywhere, especially on his sides, stomach, and neck. he giggles, which turns into full belly laughter over time. he begs, pleads, whines, and kicks, despite not really minding it too much.