#lee!juniper

He had only been dating Juniper for a little over a month. She had returned to the city at the beginning of summer right after finishing her undergraduate studies in law. Seeking guidance as she prepared for the bar exam, she’d gone to the Wright Anything Agency to seek help, thus running into Apollo for the first time in years. He offered to tutor her, which allowed them to get reacquainted and, subsequently, fall for each other.

He was more comfortable with her than almost anything else. Unfortunately, he couldn’t say the same for her.

There was something she was hiding from him, and he couldn’t figure out what it was. It only came to mind during certain situations; the first time he noticed it, all he had down was brush a strand of hair behind her ear. She flinched and turned her head, scurrying away before he could utter a word. The second time, he had slid his hand around her waist as they were walking, and after letting out a small shriek she ended up squirming in his grasp aggressively, practically pushing him off. Her cheeks burned bright red and she’d refused to look at him for some time after.

“Are you okay, Junie?” he asked her with a worried tone.

“Y-yeah! Sorry. I’m fine!”

And then… Ba-dump. His bracelet tightened around his wrist, signifying that she had a secret to hide. Not wanting to make her uncomfortable, he offered a solution.

“If you’re not comfortable with me touching you yet, it’s alright. I’ll keep my hands off until you’re ready. You just say the word,” he said, flashing her a warm smile to let her know he meant it.

“No!” she spat out a little too excitedly. “I mean, no, that’s not it. It’s just… I, um, well…”

She tripped over her words a bit longer before giving up and scuttling away like a timid little kitten, leaving Apollo even more confused than before.

 ~

 He decided to get to the bottom of things once and for all.

He found his opportunity one Sunday afternoon when they were both lounging on the leather couch in his apartment. Junie, laying sideways on the pillows with her legs stretched out and crossed at the ankle, and Apollo leaning against the opposite side next to her feet. They chatted away idly about anything and anyone, laughing whenever a funny memory from the past was brought up. Inadvertently at one point, Apollo ended up resting his hand on the top of her foot, causing her to flinch almost violently. He immediately took it off and placed it on his chest.

“Oh!! I’m sorry! I wasn’t thinking.”

Her shoulders seemed to shrink down a little bit, as if she were trying to hide.

“It’s okay! You can… you can put it back…”

He barely heard the last part of her sentence, but nonetheless his hand returned. He playfully ran his palm up and down the tops of her feet, noticing how soft and delicate the skin was and how they seemed to shudder at his touch. It gave him a sudden idea.

“Do you want a massage? I give really good ones.”

Half expecting her to say no, he was almost shocked to see her face light up.

“Yeah, sure! I could really use that, actually.”

After scooching a little closer, he carefully took hold of both her ankles and plopped her feet in his lap. Gently, he began to rub small circles into her soles, taking care not to apply too much pressure and going as slowly as possible. He observed her facial expressions, paying heed to any slight display of discomfort or pain. He saw her squeeze her eyes shut and press her lips together, unsure if it was pain or pleasure she was experiencing.

“Is this okay?”

She nodded her head, not uttering a peep. Regardless, he lightened up his touch, now simply stroking his thumbs lazily in a circular motion. Her feet twitched more noticeably upon every movement, especially when he reached her toes, but she didn’t pull away. He looked up at her again and this time saw her clutching one of the smaller pillows into her chest, her breathing getting a little more rigid.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

She opened her eyes, and nodded again, but this time with a strange expression on her face. Was she… grimacing?

“I’m fffffine! Seheriously!”

Ba-dump. There it was again. His bracelet detected a lie. Using his perception, he looked for any traces of subtle tension…

…and saw it in the most curious place.

He had to confirm this.

“Junie… are you really okay?”

Looking a little confused, she nodded again. “Ye, yeah… I’m fine… why do you keep asking?”

He saw it once more. A slight curl of her toes when she said “fine”. He finally found it!

“Junie… your toes curl whenever you say ‘fine’. Is there something you’re not telling me?”

She froze, her eyes wide as they made contact with his. He tried to soften his gaze in hopes she’d realize that yes, she could trust him, there was no need to keep such secrets. But she was still holding back.

Wanting to lighten the mood, he cracked a goofy smile and placed his fingers at the base of her heels.

“What’s the matter? Do I need to tickle it out of you or something?”

Juniper practically jumped when she heard his threat. She began to protest frantically, tripping over her words as they stumbled from her mind and out of her mouth.

“Wait, Apollo!! You don’t need to, I mean, wait, I’m really-AHAHHAHAHAHA!”

She didn’t get a chance to finish as he began scrabbling his fingers across her soles, causing her to squeal cutely in a way Apollo had never heard before. She scrunched her toes in attempt to block the tickly sensations, but that only encouraged him to dig in between the wrinkled lines with the tips of his nails. With all her might she tried to pull her legs away, but with his arm wrapped around her ankles it was near impossible. In a last ditch effort, she tried smacking him with one of the pillows nearby, but he dodged her blows easily.

“I had no idea your feet were so ticklish,” he teased as one hand dusted the tops of her feet again.

“AAAAAAH! Don’t teeheeheese meee!”

He stopped momentarily, letting her catch her breath knowing that she was prone to coughs. He released his hold on her ankles, climbing his way to the already flustered Juniper until he was half-sitting on her shins.

“Don’t come any closeeeer!” She giggled, playfully punching him in the shoulder and not really trying that hard to stop him.

“Where else are you ticklish?” he asked with an innocent grin. “As your boyfriend, I demand to know.”

She just shook her head and giggled some more, intertwining her hands with his and trying to push him off with little success.

“Nowhere! I swear!!”

He managed to escape her grip and planted his hands on her upper thighs. She jumped at the unexpected touch. He smirked, knowing this was probably another one of her “spots”.

“I’m detecting another lie.”

He gave one light experimental squeeze and was pleased to hear Juniper let out another one of her unbelievably cute squeals. She practically leapt up, as if she was being shocked with electrical cables.

“HAAAAAAAAA! Apollo!! Eeheeeheehee!!”

He moved upwards a bit, this time kneading into the crease where her thighs met her hips, smiling wider when her laughter reached even higher decibels. Her hands clutched his wrists and pulled weakly as she succumbed to yet another one of his tickle attacks. She struggled a bit more than she had when he was tickling her feet; her hips seemed to be way more sensitive. She instinctively tried to curl up her knees, but couldn’t as he was putting most of his lower body weight onto them.

“This seems like a good spot.”

“AHAHAHAA! It’s NAHAHAHAT!”

The corners of her lips upturned, the biggest smile plastered across her face, and the melodic sound of her giggles and squeaks… it was all too cute for Apollo to handle. He found himself at odds, wanting to keep going so he could continue to hear her angelic laughter, but also wanting to respect her boundaries.

He relented once more, making sure she had enough time to return to a steady rhythm of breathing. He took that moment to just admire her. Her mousy brown hair had started to come out of her two braids from the struggles. Her usually pale skin flushed an attractive shade of rosy pink that spread all the way down from neck to shoulders. A light sheen of sweat layered across her flushed skin like morning dew. She was still smiling, and a few residual titters could be heard every few seconds.

Apollo moved his hand to brush a few stray hairs out of her eyes. He traced a path from forehead to ear, and took note when she scrunched up her shoulder and giggled when his fingers reached her lobe.

“Is this what you’ve been hiding from me all this time?”

“Ehehehe…! What do you mean?”

He tickled her under her chin for a few seconds, laughing when she shook her head in reaction.

“You’re super, duper, incredibly ticklish. That’s your secret, right?”

Juniper’s face got even redder. She averted his eyes, apparently still feeling shy.

“Um, well… not exactly…”

Huh. So, it wasn’t over. Juniper was proving to be a very interesting puzzle.

“What is it, then?”

“I… I can’t say!! It’s too embarrassing…”

“Hmm… I guess I have no choice…”

Apollo launched his next attack before she could even begin to prepare for it. He wormed his way under her arms, wiggling all ten fingers there and not stopping even when her arms came down to trap them. She howled even louder than before, flailing her legs as a way to vent her suffering.

“GAHAHAHAHAHA! NOT THEHEHEHERE!”

“Not there? Alright, what about here?”

It was a smooth switch. He trailed down her sides until he reached her slim waist and clawed the soft area with the lightest of touches. He enjoyed the way she was squirming from side to side, so he stayed there for a while.

“OhmygahAHAHAHAHAD! Apollooooooo!”

He interrogated her with a smirk on his face.

“Gonna tell me now?”

“Okahahahay OKAY! I lihihihike it!”

Her answer made him lose focus. He pulled his hands away, resting them on his thighs.

“Huh?”

Juniper looked a little sheepish, but kept that joyful smile on her face. She glanced up at him with cheeks aflame.

“I… I like it.”

“You like… what?”

“I like… I like… you know!!”

He did know, but it had taken so much effort to get to this point, he wanted to tease her for a bit. Relish in his victory. His grin became a little more arrogant in nature.

“Hmm… I don’t know, actually… mind elaborating?”

“Okay fine! I like… Ilikebngtckld…”

He cupped a hand to his ear as he asked his next question obnoxiously loud.

“I didn’t quite catch that… say it again, Junie?”

“Apollo!!”

He reached out his hands and wiggled them in the air menacingly above her belly.

“Here it comes! Kichi kichi coooo!”

She grabbed his hands and stopped him before they could wreck her once more.

“Alright, alright!! I like being tickled!”

He laughed heartily, his hands retreating. His eyes stayed on her; she looked away, but he gently took her chin in hand and turned her face back to meet his own.

“That’s all? Junie, I think it’s adorable.”

She seemed relieved to hear those words; her shoulders relaxed ever so slightly.

“… You do?”

Apollo nodded.

“Yeah, of course! I love your laugh. And I love doing things that make you happy. So if you ever want me to tickle you, all you have to do is ask!”

She looked away from him again, but her smile remained.

“…. Hehe…. okay.”

“Also, don’t be afraid to tell me things. I’m your boyfriend, you can trust me. Okay?”

“Okay!”