#lee!caelus

—————

Lately, Himeko finds herself paying extra attention to Sunday specifically out of the whole crew.

The halovian has been an official member of the Astral Express for quite some time now, and he’s truly become an irreplaceable part of the family. Yet… he can still act rather shy when it comes to spending time with them.

Although it’s definitely not caused by him being uncomfortable around them— she still can’t help herself from worrying a bit. She wants Sunday to know how loved he is amongst the crew, and for him to be comfortable talking about and doing anything around them.

“Are you sure you don’t want to play? They were practically begging for you to join.” Himeko asked Sunday softly, motioning to Caelus, March and Dan Heng who were currently engaged in this new Penaconian card game. A game, that the trio tried desperately to have Sunday join in on.

Sunday glanced up from his book for a moment to look at the trio causing a ruckus from the other side of the express cart, before turning to Himeko with a gentle look. “Yes, I’m sure. Don’t get me wrong, it looks like a lot of fun… but I'm loving this book you recommended to me, Ms.Himeko.”

Sunday smiled, the book resting on his lap while he spoke. “I’d really like to discuss it with you once I’m done reading it, actually. And well, the quicker I finish it, the quicker I can.”

Himeko's eyes softened at that, returning the gentle smile Sunday always seemed to wear. “I’ll be looking forward to that, Sunday.” She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, before turning forward to sip her coffee, staring out at the stars.

Sunday returned to his book immediately, looking rather content with himself as he read. After a few seconds, Himeko found she still couldn’t stop watching the boy from the corner of her eye, feeling a bit puzzled by her own unwavering concern.

She loved discussing literature, and other classical subjects with Sunday, of course. But deep inside she hopes to see Sunday bond with the express more playfully, kinda like how the trio act around each other. Not only like friends, but family too.

Though, she supposed that if Sunday is alright, then she shouldn’t stress.

She just really can’t help it…

Himeko was pulled away from her thoughts when she heard an overdramatic “no!” being yelled from across the room. Eyes travelling over to see Caelus immediately cover his mouth with his hand, eyes wide as he shoved a card tightly against his chest.

“What? What is it?!” March laughed at his reaction, “What does it say?”

Dan Heng snickered too, narrowing his eyes at the boy who sat next to him. “Oh come on, it can’t be that bad.”

The game they were playing had a punishment game system, where whenever one of them lost, they’d have to draw a card from the pile with various different punishments. So far it has been only innocent, such as; rhyme everything you say for the next 10 minutes or, play using only your left hand for the next round, silly scenarios.

So of course Himeko was lost on what type of punishment would get Caelus reacting like that.

Well, whatever it was, it left Caelus both giddy and nervous. “I don’t think I wanna play anymore…” he laughed, shaking his head at the two while still shielding the card.

March laughed while Dan Heng rolled his eyes fondly, reaching out for the card. “Oh, give me that!” He joked, ripping it out from Caelus’s hold; only to break out into a shit eating grin as he read the contents.

Of course, that only made March more intrigued, looking back and forth between Caelus’ wobbly smile and Dan Heng’s grin. “What is it?” She questioned again, and Dan Heng playfully turned the card around for her to read, giving Caelus a smug look.

March instantly snickered.

Get tickled for one minute, in big bold lettering. It read clear as day, which explained why Caelus— who was extremely ticklish, was panicking so much. “Only you would pull a card like this.” Dan Heng laughed, amused by Caelus’ predicament.

“Guhuhuys— let’s talk about this…?” He pleaded half heartedly, putting his hands out in front of him to hopefully defend himself. Unfortunately, his words didn’t mean much to the two.

March dove for his stomach, poking and skittering her nails under his hoodie, while Dan Heng went for his armpits, worming his fingers under his arms to scribble in his hollows.

“AHAHahahaha! Noooohohohoho!” Caelus broke out into contagious laughter immediately, followed by Dan Heng and March’s own happy giggles as they messed with him. “Thihihis is sohoho unfahahair!” He yelled, curling over.

Himeko giggled from the sidelines, and so did Welt.

Observing their banter Himeko leaned back happily, glad to see the youngsters having so much fun. This thought had her glance back at Sunday, wishing he’d join in on stuff like this too.

Confusion then rushed through her as soon as she looked at the angel. Faced with a slight surprise, she noticed that Sunday’s wings had started twitching rapidly. A sight she had never seen before, she was of course, very intrigued by it.

Her mouth opened to comment, but closed soon after, deciding to study him rather than inquire. Which is when she saw another thing, Sunday had stopped reading his book.

His eyes weren’t moving along with the scripted lines, they were just staring dead center at absolutely nothing, a little widened as well, as if he himself was panicked. His stature was so tense, and was that some blush rising to his cheeks…?

Himeko thought the behaviour was odd. Still, after years of being around the Astral Express trio, she was able to make a decent estimate on what was happening. She’d of course have to test her theory first, just to see if she’s right.

When they stopped tormenting Caelus, the three returned to their seats and continued playing, immersing themselves in the card game again. Sunday’s wings stopped twitching too, and those book pages went back to being flipped every twenty seconds.

Welt, who was on his phone suddenly coughed, and Himeko instantly perked up. “Oh no, Welt, do you have a tickle in your throat? I have cough drops.” Himeko offered to Welt kindly, and sure enough… she saw it again, Sunday’s wings twitched.

Welt waved his hand, shaking off what he believed was a genuine offer. “No no, just a bit dry… but I’m alright.” He reassured, and Himeko nodded.

She couldn’t stop there of course. She spoke to Welt again, taking out her phone, “Y’know, March sent me this video the other day, and I was just tickled, she always finds the silliest videos.” Himeko started, and Welt, who was unaware of what she was doing, simply smiled and asked her to send it to him.

“Ahh, I really need to cut my hair.. It’s way too long, it keeps getting caught in my dress and tickling my back.” She commented out loud to herself, pulling her hair in front of her shoulders.

Twitch, twitch, twitch. Every time she said the word, his wings began to twitch. Her theory was basically confirmed now, her evidence also backed by the blush on his cheeks that was getting redder by the second.

There was absolutely no denying it.

Despite being so obvious, Sunday had no idea she was saying the word over and over again on purpose, so he must’ve thought he was hiding his reactions perfectly. “Tickle, such a fun word.” She said one last time, unable to help herself.

March then whipped her head around, a confused smile tugging at her lips as she looked over at Himeko. “Why do you keep saying that?” She giggled slightly, Dan Heng & Caelus were too engrossed in the card game to have noticed anything.

Himeko hadn’t realized March was listening either, but wasn’t thrown off by it at all.

“Saying what?” Caelus pried, getting distracted by March’s wonder and not wanting to be left out of the conversation.

“Tickle.“ March repeated, Himeko watching Sunday’s wings twitch even more after hearing her say it.

Caelus’ face took on a fake pout, “Whaaa?? Himeko, are you trying to make fun of the torture I just endured?!” He complained, his hand dramatically holding his heart like he had been shot.

“Torture my ass.” Dan Heng rolled his eyes, giving Caelus a couple squeezes to his sides and watching the boy squirm away with a peal of laughter.

During this entire exchange, Sunday felt like he was gonna die of embarrassment. Hearing the word made butterflies swarm, seeing it happen made breathing seem difficult. His cheeks were surely as red as a tomato by now, yet all he could do was hide his face in the book he was way too distracted to even read.

March looking their way saw his wings, tilting her head to the side. “Sunday? What’s going on with your wings?” She questioned, gaining the joint attention of the crew as they all looked over to him.

This only made Sunday’s wings twitch more, his mind racing. “I-I…” He stuttered, removing the book from his face and trying to answer the best that he could. Yet… as soon as the three saw his pink cheeks and skittish look, their interest turned almost devilish. “Sorry, they just— do this sometimes.” He explained poorly, looking off to the side.

“Is that so?” Dan Heng questioned, narrowing his eyes in disbelief. The situation even managed to gain Welt’s attention, with all eyes now on the halovian.

Himeko was positively beaming at how well this was playing out— all she needed was to enact the final push, looking at Sunday with a playful smile. “Really? Sometimes? Or is it just when someone says tickle?”

Sunday had a full body reaction to her call out, one that all of the express crew were happy to witness. His wings tensed visibly before twitching nonstop, his eyes widened, his blush grew, and finally… a smile adorned on his cute face.

“Ms.Himeko…?!” He gasped, all the pieces coming together as he realized she had him all figured out since the beginning. As well, that her repeatedly saying that word was totally on purpose.

His head whipped back to face the three, butterflies growing in his stomach as a panic he couldn’t quite describe started to set in. “Tickle.” Caelus tested, eyes brightening when Sunday’s wings did one big flustered flap before returning to the twitching.

“No way.” Caelus smirked, leaning in. “Don’t tell me, Sunny, are you ticklish~?” He questioned without hesitation, his tone so very evil.

“He has to be, there’s no way he’d react like that to just hearing the word tickle if he wasn’t.” Dan Heng added fondly, also giving Sunday quite the playful glare.

March rose to her feet, analyzing the angel. “Well, Sunday? Are youuuu?”

All of their comments were frying his brain, “N-No I’m…!” He looked to Himeko and Welt for help, but they were grinning too, waiting for him to answer.

Sunday looked at the exit, and realized; he could totally run away right now, and escape this unraveling situation.

I mean, it’s not like they would chase after him. Sunday rushing to leave would be a clear indication that he isn’t okay with that kind of touch. So why wasn’t he getting up and leaving? Why instead of ending a moment where he is fated to get tickled, is he wrapping his arms around his middle, already giddy with anticipation?

His book was set to the side, arms defending what were clearly his tickle spots, frozen in place. Surely, he wasn’t looking forward to this, was he..?

He took a sharp breath before he finally responded. “No, I’m not… not at all…” He lied through his teeth, a nervous giggle slipping past his lips.

They were all on the same wavelength— it only took one shared glance between Dan Heng, March and Caelus before they all lunged out of their seats, charging for Sunday who made no effort to jump away, his wings still shaking.

Caelus suddenly lifted him up in his arms, Sunday’s heart dropping to his stomach at the gravity shift, before he focused back on what was happening. Caelus dropped him gently on the floor before the three of them all hovered playfully over him, “You ready?” He teased, his knees inches away from Sunday’s head as he raised wiggling fingers.

Sunday was flustered out of his mind, “W-Wait! Just like this?! Surely you—”

March’s nails began skittering up his sides, ending his sentence short as Sunday bursted out into the cutest fit of giggles. “AAhahahahaha! Mihihiss M-Mahaharch!” He squeaked, his wings now flapping, almost akin to a dog wagging its tail.

“I can’t believe they’ve never bullied you like this before.” Dan Heng snickered, calling them bullies as if he wasn’t currently clawing at Sunday’s tummy and making him squeal.

“You’re so ticklish!” Caelus commented fondly, endeared by just how happy Sunday’s face looked right now. It was so cute, an expression he didn’t think tickling could cause on the mature halovian.

Caelus dug his fingers under his jaw, gently fluttering his fingers. Sunday laughed more frantically as a result, his shoulders scrunching up. Soon after, the frantic laughter slowly melted into these sweet, airy giggles when both March and Dan Heng softened their tickling.

“Eeehehehee! Plehehehease!” He giggled, his head tipping back with laughter, squirming side to side despite it doing nothing to stop the tickles.

“How ticklish are you… here?!” March called out playfully, her touch switching to soft fluttering along his other set of wings, the ones on his back that he always used to hide.

Sunday absolutely lost it.

He squeaked loudly before collapsing into a fit of desperate laughter, the sound flowing past his lips endlessly like a waterfall. He wrapped his back wings tightly around his waist, all his energy zapped from just a few wing tickles, no longer squirming.

Sunday was now curled into a squeaky ball, his legs kicking out against the carpet. Dan Heng was still easily able to scratch at his tummy, while Caelus helped March tickle his wings.

“NAHAHahahat thehehere! Wahahahait!” Sunday pleaded without meaning a single word of it, pounding a fist on the floor hysterically.

“I was wondering if your wings were ticklish, clearly they are.” Dan Heng joked, noting it down in his mind.

“Sunny, you are sooo cute!” Caelus giggled, saying what all of them were thinking.

Amongst all the laughter, Welt and Himeko were happily watching them play around, talking in a hushed tone. “If we told the “us” from Penacony that this is how our relationship with Sunday would turn out, would they believe it?” Welt whispered to Himeko, of course… not wanting Sunday to hear them talk about a past he’s grown from.

Himeko giggled, “Oh, they’d think we were crazy.” She added, before looking back down at the four lovingly. “Though… I think we’d also believe such a possibility to be super cute.”

While they chatted, Sunday was laughing without a care in the world, and it felt comforting. Is that an odd way to feel? Sunday wasn’t quite sure.

Truth be told, Sunday hasn’t been tickled like this since he was a kid, this feeling definitely felt foreign. His reactions were nothing new however, in the past, even back when he was head of the oak family, he’d get all embarrassed as well whenever he’d see tickling happen, or the word being spoken aloud.

His wings— always twitching uncontrollably.

Perhaps, deep down he’s been craving this playful affection for far too long, and seeing it happen between the Astral Express members only made him more touch-starved for it.

This was yet another example of Himeko looking out for her kids, by somehow knowing exactly what Sunday needed before he even did. She was just beyond happy to see him laughing so freely, her worries being lifted with every laugh they drew out of him, though of course… She was quick to save the halovian when he was clearly getting all tickled-out.

Not that she had to though— when Sunday was looking tired, their tickles quickly became so unbelievably gentle, which warmed her heart further. How the hell did she manage to get so many genuine sweethearts on her crew?

Dan Heng sighed, letting go of the frown in his face before replying. "Not completely. Was it something about an invitation?"

"Kind of," Caelus crossed his arms, not expecting Dan Heng to admit it so easily. "Those soldiers we helped the other day invited us to bath with them after their training today."

"I'll pass," Dan Heng said promptly, leaning sideways to reach for the scroll and finish writing his report, but all he could do was see Caelus pick it up again and take it away from him. "…Can you not?"

"Dan Heng, Dan Heng… how our archivist will write about the local's culture if he keeps refusing to experience them? You need to go," Caelus spoke confidently, holding a finger out as he finished his explanation.

Dan Heng, however, didn't really seem to be convinced. "I don't want to go," he said firmly, getting up from his seat and making another attempt to recover the scroll, but Caelus dodged him again. "The water is too hot and there are way too many people in there."

"You don't expect a public bath to be private, right? It's part of the fun," Caelus giggled with mischief, hopping from one spot to the other, always one step ahead of Dan Heng. "You can show them your water powers! Or dragon form! Or your two d— aAH!"

"Enough!" Dan Heng groaned as he pounced onto Caelus and tackled him into one of the loungers, nearly breaking its structure with their impact. As Caelus lifted his hand high above his head to keep the scroll away, Dan Heng didn't think twice before grabbing Caelus's body and let all his annoyance, embarrassment and anger into a frenzied ticklish assault.

"D-DahAHAHA— s-stoHOhop it!" Caelus laughed, his feet kicking behind them as he squirmed, his free hand pushing Dan Heng by his shoulder while the other struggled to keep holding the scroll. "N-Nohohot fahHAHai— wahahit, nohot thehere, plehehease! PLEHEHASE!!"

"Stop acting like a child and give my report back," Dan Heng demanded, impatient. Just when he thought Caelus was ready to leave the childishness behind, the other forced his arm to stretch even further, making sure Dan Heng wouldn't reach it. "Fine, your way then."

…

"What are they doing in there?" A girl asked to her friend, both watching the private's bath door sealed shut. While it didn't allow pesky eyes or unwelcomed guests, it didn't stop the sound from coming out.

"Even if they are lady Aglaea's guests, shouldn't they…" The rest of the chatter turned into whispers, curious eyes looking around before the conversation went on.

'Hmph, waste of time', Mydei thought, watching as the duo and other people stopped to take their guess on what was happening in the foreigners' room. Still, they were surely loud for someone in a guests' room… maybe it wouldn't hurt to ask about it later.

The lands of Aedes Elysiae were bathed in a soft, golden glow. The tall grasses swayed gently with the sea breeze, petals drifted lazily through the air and the distant humming of crystalline streams gave the whole scene the weightless quality of a dream.

Under one of the great trees that crowned the sheer endless fields sat Caelus, his back resting against its sturdy trunk as he watched this peaceful sight in front of him. He had meant to only take a short break after wandering through the settlement’s serene outskirts but the atmosphere was far too strong to not be admired.

His golden eyes had fluttered closed, and before long, his breathing evened out into the unmistakable rhythm of slumber. When Cyrene came walking through the grove a short while later to look for him, she immediately spotted him. His head tilted slightly to the side, arms folded loosely and one boot resting over the other. He looked so defenseless….

A faint smile tugged at her lips as she slowed her steps, tilting her head curiously. “Caelus…” she called softly. No answer. Her tone shifted, firmer this time. “Caelus, wake up. You’ll catch a cold if you sleep like this.” Again, nothing - just the quiet sound of the boy’s even breaths. His grey hair shimmered faintly under the dappled sunlight, almost too peaceful to disturb.

But Cyrene wasn’t about to let him get away with ignoring her, intentionally or not. A mischievous spark crossed her usually gentle gaze as she folded her arms. “So, you want to sleep through me, do you? Hmph. Then I suppose I’ll have to use… drastic measures.”

She crouched beside him, leaning in so her face hovered close to his. “Last chance,” she whispered and smiled when there was no answer as well this time. Without hesitation her slender fingers slipped to his sides and began to gentle wiggle into them. The reaction was immediate. Caelus jerked awake with a startled yelp that broke almost instantly into giggles.

His golden eyes flew open, wide with surprise as his body twisted reflexively under her touch. He had been caught completely off guard. “W-WhaHahAh?!” He tried to speak, but the words melted into helpless laughter. “Good, good!” Cyrene grinned, wiggling her fingers mercilessly into his ribs. “It’s working perfectly. See? My magic never fails!” Her what?

“CyCyrene! Pfft- ahahaha! Wha-WhaHAht are you doHohing?!” Caelus squirmed, his hands trying to grab at hers, but finding no coordination in his still-drowsy state. She leaned closer, giggling with delight as his laughter grew louder. “Ticklish, are we? My, my, you should have warned me. Though, I suppose that would have spoiled the fun.”

Her fingers slid higher, grazing just under his arms, and Caelus absolutely lost it. His laughter shot up in pitch, and he twisted desperately to the side, nearly toppling over into the grass. “N-Nohoho! N-NoHot th-there! Please- aHAhahahaha!” he laughed, squeezing his arms to his sides in a desperate attempt to stop her. It didn’t help at all.

“Ahh, even better!” Cyrene’s smile widened. “You react just like Phainon used to when I tried this on him. Giggling helplessly without much resistance, like a little kid would. Every. Single. Time. So adorable~” She punctuated the statement with a playful wiggle of her fingers right against his exposed underarms.

Caelus arched his back in surprise, kicking his legs out wildly against the grass. His laughter rang out through the grove, bubbling and bright, completely at odds with the dignified silence Aedes Elysiae usually held. “AHhAhahah noHohhHo!” He tried to grab her wrists but the pink-haired girl avoided him with ease, tracing up and down his sides in ticklish patterns.

“Hahaha! Stohohop! Cy-CyreHene! Th-This ehEhehe isn’t f-fair!” “Fair?” she repeated, smirking mischievously as she leaned over him. “What’s not fair is you ignoring me when I called. Consider this your punishment.” He shook his head, laughter blurring his words into broken syllables. “IhiHih- I wasn’t ignoring you! HaAhah- I was juHust…pffft resting!”

“Resting, hm?” Cyrene hummed thoughtfully, still keeping her fingers dancing at his sides. “Well, rest time is over. My wake-up magic is very thorough, you know. Once I start, it doesn’t stop easily.” “Your whAhaht?” Caelus asked in-between his laughter but got bluntly ignored - Was this part of the punishment as well?

She gave his stomach a gentle poke for emphasis and Caelus curled in on himself with a helpless giggle. “PlHehease I’m tiHihicklish thEhehre!” he whined. “I can see that~” His face flushed with both exertion and embarrassment, strands of hair falling over his forehead as he laughed. Cyrene smiled at that, but her hands began to slow down already.

He was awake and she didn’t want to tease the other too much. Finally, after another playful squeeze under his arms, Cyrene eased up. She let her hands fall away, watching as the other collapsed back against the tree trunk, panting heavily, cheeks tinged in deep red.

He wiped at the corner of his eyes where faint tears of mirth clung, but despite his flustered state, a grin was spread across his lips. “You’re cruel,” he muttered between breaths, though the warmth in his tone betrayed him. Cyrene chuckled, folding her hands neatly in her lap. “Cruel? I simply used what worked and you do look much more awake now, don’t you?”

Caelus exhaled, still catching his breath, but gave her a small, lopsided smile. “…I’ll remember that. You’d better be careful. Payback comes when you least expect it.” “Oh?” Cyrene arched an eyebrow, pretending to be surprised, though her smirk remained. “Are you threatening me, Caelus?”

“Not a threat,” he replied, leaning forward with a spark of playful determination in his eyes, “but a promise.” She laughed lightly, brushing back a strand of her own hair. “Then I suppose I’ll have to stay on guard from now on. Still…” her expression softened, voice dropping to something gentler, “it’s good to hear you laugh like that. You should do it more often.”

Caelus blinked, a little caught off guard by the sincerity hidden beneath her playful words. He tilted his head, studying her face, then let out a quiet chuckle. “Guess I’ll have to thank your magic, then.” Cyrene giggled once more, smiling brightly at him.

It was a decision made quite early on, with no room for him to stay in, he was to crash temporarily in Dan Heng's room, but they and everyone else had grown so accustomed to their roommate situation that it pretty much stayed this way even now.

"Give it back," Dan Heng said. He was merely wearing a T-shirt now, and Caelus couldn't help but think he looked cute right now.

"I will give it back later. My coat is getting washed," Caelus said.

Dan Heng stood by his side, and Caelus glanced up at him. "You are literally doing nothing, on my bed, with my coat. At least give the coat back, you don't need it," Dan Heng tried again.

"I'm reading," Caelus said in an offended tone to the doing nothing accusation. "And it's cold here," he added. Hence the coat!

Except that it wasn't that cold. There was actually not really a good reason to keep on irritating Dan Heng now, but there surely were some bad reasons:

Caelus was bored, Dan Heng's coat was fancy and comfy, Caelus was bored, Dan Heng was usually boring and - well yes, Caelus was very bored, wasn't that just the best excuse to mess with his roomie a little? So what was Dan Heng going to do about it?

He was curious and wasn't going to give up now that he finally found a way to get on Dan Heng's nerves. It was always Caelus asking if he could borrow a book, if Dan Heng didn't mind sharing a bed, which wasn't the most comfortable bed, if he could borrow a shirt, blah blah blah, and Dan Heng was fine with everything.

Not the favorite coat, it seemed. Caelus couldn't help but smirk so he quickly put the book in front of his mouth to cover it up and look innocent.

"I ask you once more to give it back to me. I'm heading out," Dan Heng said. Caelus raised his eyebrows. Surely Dan Heng could roam around the Astral Express without his precious coat.

"And what if I don't want to?" Caelus asked. Dan Heng kneeled down by his side.

"Are you sure you're going to be like this?" he asked. Caelus was given many chances, and he wondered if Dan Heng would really give up now, so he nodded.

"I'm going to be like this," he confirmed. Dan Heng sighed and all of a sudden in a flash, Caelus found himself on his stomach with Dan Heng pinning him down on the mattress, his hands tugging at the coat. He wasn't giving up - he was going to take his coat back by force! Now that was something!

"Dan Heng - wah! Why would you- gahh come on! Why can I borrow anything but this? Sharing is caring, you told me yourself! Wah!" Caelus huffed when Dan Heng tried to strip him, but he definitely wasn't cooperating.

"O-oof! Get off me!" He tried to get up but was pinned down again, his head landing right next to the book he was reading just now. He could sniff the pleasant scent of the book pages as he breathed in and out, his arms still wrapped around his own torso to keep Dan Heng from taking the coat off.

"Stop that - so childish!" Caelus whined, fighting against Dan Heng's prying hands. They were both being childish. Dan Heng tried, Caelus resisted, and this continued until all of a sudden, it stopped.

"Heh- giving up already?" Caelus asked, turning his head to look up at him, but all of a sudden instead of trying to take his coat off...

"Uwahaha?!" Caelus barked when Dan Heng clawed at his lower sides, and he spasmed at the sudden sensation.

"Whahahat- are you! Ahahah hehehey thahahat's cheheheating!" he cackled. Dan Heng was tickling him?! Now that was surprising.

"I don't think I'm cheating, I've given you plenty of chances to listen. So.. Are you going to give it back now?" Dan Heng asked. He sounded like such a teacher! Caelus shook his head.

"Nohoho!" Dan Heng's hands climbed up, clawing at his ribs despite Caelus' attempts at covering them with his arms. He squirmed and giggled hysterically, kicking his feet as Dan Heng continued to tickle.

His fingers continued to move up further, and Caelus kind of freaked out in the most ticklish and hysterical way when those sneaky little digits reached his armpits. It woke up a certain strength in him that gave him the opportunity to kick Dan Heng right off him.

"Urgh!" Dan Heng groaned, and Caelus gasped.

"AHh- no way, I'm sorry!" he yelped, still breathless and pitchy, and he stood on shaking legs and moved towards Dan Heng who had fallen on his side.

"You shouldn't tickle a ticklish person you know, it can result in something like thi-this, eh..." Caelus backed away cautiously when Dan Heng got back on his feet as well. He was breathing heavily and looked quite... uh. Was attractive the fitting word? Caelus swallowed nervously.

"I'm fine," Dan Heng reassured. "But you won't be if you don't give back the coat right now."

Wow! Talk about vengeful!

Caelus was now positioned under Dan Heng, who was sitting over his hips, with his hands raised into claws. Caelus giggled, nervously…but…Dan Heng didn’t do anything. Instead, he said, “Do you actually think I’m going to give you what you want?” Caelus made a choked noise with a look of shock on his face. How did he see right through him?! “Wha- What do you mean?” Dan Heng simply smiled, “I’m not going to do anything until you ask nicely.”

Damn it! He was screwed! On one hand, he could ask right now, on the other it would be super embarrassing asking like this. He’s not even sure he can say ‘that’ word. Maybe he could provoke some more? “F-for what?” Dan Heng’s smile only grew slightly, “If you want me to tickle you, you’ll have to ask nicely.” Caelus whined in response, “But- But Dan Henggg! That’s so embarrassing!” Dan Heng shrugged, still keeping that sly smile on his face, “I’m not going to let you take the easy way out.”

“But! But aren’t you angry at me for annoying you?” “Not in the slightest. I knew what you were up to all day. You better ask soon, or I might change my mind about giving you what you want~” Dan Heng said, teasingly. Caelus’s face flushed bright red as he stuttered, trying to get the words out, “U-uhm…Dan Heng…can you uh…can you please…d-do the thing?” “What thing?” “DAN HENGGGG! This is so meaaaannn!” Dan Heng chuckled, “Well you wouldn’t exactly be nice to me if I were in your position, would you?”

Shoot! He was right on the money. “Th-that’s different!” “How so?” “Dan Hengggg!” “Yes?~” “Just do it!” “Do what?~” “Tickle me!” Caelus clapped his hands over his mouth after he realized what he’d said, his face flushing brighter than before, his ears now flushing red as well. Dan Heng smirked, “Well that wasn’t a very nice way to ask, now was it?” Caelus gave him the biggest puppy dog eyes he’d ever seen, “…Please?” Dan Heng sighed, “Well I can’t say no to you now can I?”