#lee!leon

It had happened while he was watching some cheesy romcom, a couple play fighting on the couch. The tickling itself lasted all of a few seconds before one thing lead to another and he was suddenly watching a very different scene unfold. That didn’t matter, not to his brain at least. He was absolutely fixated on the tickling, his breath caught in his throat and his heart fluttering in his chest.

He pushed it down, wayyyy down. If it came up in conversation, he tuned it out. If it showed up on TV, he turned it off. He just decided to never unpack it and never explore it.

Until the early 2000s, well after the events of Raccoon City, when he discovered the online world of tickling. Forums and chat rooms and videos and people planning meet-ups and events. He’d found a rather large community of people with this same interest, and he tried to pry himself away from that too, but he was so infatuated with it.

He spent most of his time browsing text posts, much too embarrassed to watch any videos, and he certainly never posted or tried to reach out to anyone. When a video would catch his eye, he watched it with absolutely no volume.

It was- and honestly still is- his biggest and most embarrassing secret. He never told anybody, no girlfriends or boyfriends, no friends. Nobody was allowed to know about it. He didn’t know at first why he was so embarrassed about it. Why it made him flush so very hot, or made his skin crawl. He couldn’t stand to witness it naturally or even hear the word.

He had learned all about it. The dynamics of it, the terminology, even the psychology behind it. He had gotten familiar with what it meant to be a lee and what it meant to be a ler, and then he learned that there were people who fell somewhere between the two. He had considered himself none of those. It was mostly a coping strategy, separating himself from it all by telling himself that he didn’t want to actively participate. It was just… an interest of his.

It wasn’t until a particularly… interesting dream he had that he was forced to face the reality of that being an absolute load of bullshit, as he realized that, not only does he very much want to be an active participant, but that he’s also very drawn to being on the receiving end.

He woke up in a cold sweat, flushed from his chest to his ears, and with one achingly obvious problem that kept him from going back to sleep. He spiraled almost immediately, now in even more denial about it than he’d been before.

That night, it shifted entirely. It went from a slight agitation in the back of his mind to a gnawing, incessant, insatiable need. He couldn’t stop thinking about it, and that made him a mess.

It was Claire that would eventually draw it out of him, or more so figure it out herself. It wasn’t entirely an accident either. She could tell something was up with him, everyone could. He was constantly fidgeting, unable to focus, zoned out, and seemingly completely unable to hold eye contact with anyone.

Of course she asked, but he wouldn’t tell, and one thing lead to another, and she did what she had to do. It was that night that he learned for the very first time in his life exactly where he’s ticklish, and oh how very very ticklish he is. Poor guy. It almost wasn’t fair, and she just was not getting anything out of him, but right as she started to feel bad enough to pull away, it clicked. Watching the way his face fell so slightly when she stopped, thinking of how jittery he’d been, stuck in his own head, staring at her hands, it all fell into place.

From that point on, nearly everyone he got close to learned about his little secret. Hunnigan, Ada, Chris, Ashley, even Luis had figured it out after overhearing a particularly teasing remark from Ada.

It only gets worse as time goes on, as each and every one of them find their own little ways to push his buttons, watch his brain short circuit, and he gets more comfortable being defiant. Chris says he’s like an old dog, snapping for attention.

He’s like an experiment for them, finding out which spots drive him up the wall, what methods and tools make him the most desperate, how to break him down and make him roll over. They test his limits, finding that boundary and toeing the line oh so dangerously.

You’d think it’d get a little less intense as they all get older, that he’d be able to handle it a little better, but they’re constantly finding new ways to ruin him. New tools, new methods, bondage, teasing, all of it.

Even now, with salt and pepper in his hair and stubble, after living through the zombie apocalypse, and basically saving the world, he’s still just as embarrassed about it.

In his defense, he’s probably the biggest and baddest motherfucker in any room at any given time. Right up until one of his oh so loving friends cocks that grin at him- the one that tells him everything he needs to know about the situation he’ll be in once they get their hands on him.

———————

Leon wasn’t sure how he’d gotten himself into this position. He had come over to Grace’s apartment to visit her and Emily after the events of the care center, Raccoon City, and the ARK center. He figured it would help them all relax and feel a little bit better having some company. Currently, he was sprawled out on the floor with Grace digging into his ribs. ‘Gehehehet awahahay!’ He shrieked and kicked when she moved to scribble up and down his waist. Emily was giggling and clapping from the couch.

‘Uncle Leon is ticklish!’ she giggled with delight. Grace turned her head to smile at the little girl. Emily could finally see after she was cured of the virus–her brown eyes were filled with delight at watching Grace make her ‘uncle’ laugh like this. Leon snorted rather loudly as the FBI agent kneaded between his lower ribs. He arched his back as she kept at it, her fingers having some determination to kill him, it felt like. ‘Grahahahace!’ Leon’s laugh was raspy. Wheezy. And daresay cute, if Grace had to note it. 

For a man who was always so gruff, he sure was ticklish. She hovered her fingers above his waist, then above his ribs. Leon’s eyes were warily tracking her movements. Grace wiggled her fingers slightly, loving the jolt that went through Leon’s body. ‘He is ticklish,’ Grace affirmed, lowering her hands all the way and tracing shapes on his belly. She drew a circle, making Emily laugh as Leon squirmed in place. 

She cooed softly, scrunching her fingers over his stomach. It wasn’t his worst spot, but it was enough to get him to giggle silently. He scrabbled at her wrists, not gripping nearly tight enough to truly shove her hands away. Leon could squirm away if he wanted to and she knew that. Grace had seen him fight before, and this was nothing. She looked over at the seven year old sitting on the couch watching her. ‘Emily, do you want to help?’ she asked. 

The little girl nodded with excitement. She hopped down from her spot on the couch with a precious smile. Leon glared up at Grace but visibly softened his gaze when he turned to glance at Emily, who was now crouching next to him. He felt small fingers creep up his waist. Somehow, small fingers were worse. Emily scritched lightly at the spot right above his hip–her hand had slipped under his loose shirt a little so she was against bare skin.

‘F–Fuhuhuck!’ he choked out. Honestly forgetting a child was present. 

‘Language,’ Grace scolded playfully, drilling her thumbs into either side of his hips. He had to visibly fight bucking for fear of somehow hurting Emily. He let out a wheeze and shook his head. His body arched a little, and he wriggled in place. Emily whined softly. Grace removed her hands, a smug little grin on her face. ‘There. Behave,’ she said, poking Leon in the ribs just to get her point across. 

Emily dragged her small nails across his stomach. Leon sucked his stomach in on instinct. Emily thought it was funny so she followed the movement, giggling as she felt the muscles twitch. Leon was silently giggling. He was refusing to open his mouth or sass for fear of it either coming out as swearing or just sounding like a child. ‘Tickle tickle tickle!’ Emily said in a soft, bubbly tone. Leon felt his face turn a shade of red. Usually teasing didn’t affect him, but the fact that it was from a person he couldn’t kick off–a child, at that–seemed to be the cause. 

Grace started tickling the very outside of his thigh. Made his leg kick out and him roll to the side where Emily wasn’t. ‘You know, Emily, your uncle has a ticklish back. Do you wanna see?’ 

‘Grahahace!’ 

Emily pushed at his ribs slightly, trying to roll him over. Leon groaned in protest, refusing to look at either of them. Emily whined softly, clearly determined to move all 155 pounds of him. Leon felt bad, so he begrudgingly rolled onto his stomach, crossing his arms and resting his head on them. Able to muffle his sounds into the floor if need be. The older woman sat next to him, kneeling next to his shoulders. Grace started kneading his shoulders and upper back. He choked out a laugh, muffling it into his arms. 

Emily squealed with delight, climbing onto the backs of his thighs. Well, now Leon knew he really couldn’t squirm. He felt her small fingers begin to tickle up and down the sides of his waist, right next to where his lower back would start. Leon giggled with a snort, one hand coming out from under his head to grab onto Grace’s thigh and squeeze a little. She was proud of him for at least being nice enough to not squirm too much. Emily hit a particularly bad spot on the backs of his lower ribs, and Leon yelped and chuckled harder, nuzzling his face into his arm further. ‘Emihihily–plehehehease!” 

‘Hey, sweetie, watch this,’ Grace said with a smug little smile. Emily watched with a delighted grin as her mother pushed back Leon’s hair to expose the nape of his neck. Leon let out a confused mumble of a word, then squealed as Grace blew a raspberry into the sensitive skin. The hand that was originally squeezing her leg was now hitting the floor a bit. He felt Emily start to trace shapes on his back. 

‘Can we–can we spell uncle’s name?’ Emily asked her mom, who sat back up to look at her adopted daughter. Grace nodded, leaning down and spelling Leon’s name for her. He felt the little girl trace out an L on his upper back. Then an E, the messy line going down his spine. He arched slightly. ‘Don’t mess me up,’ Emily scolded playfully, and traced an O next. She made sure to make the letter N as fancy as a kid could make it across his lower back. ‘Okay, Emily. Here’s another thing you can do.’

Grace showed her daughter how to make her hands into mini claw shapes. Emily nodded, looking with both fascination and slight frustration at her hands. She successfully made the shape, then Grace showed her where to put them. Leon snickered as he felt small, clumsy hands place themselves on his waist. He was still on his stomach. Grace pinned the arm down that was hitting the floor, pinning his wrist gently with her knee. Leon growled, trying to sound intimidating but it quickly dissipated into frantic bubbling chortles as Grace’s hand dove into his underarm, fingers digging rather insistently, 

He felt the small hands start to clumsily drag and pinch insistently at his waist. He kicked his feet, steel toed boot hitting the floor rather hard. ‘Emi–Grahahahahace! Plehehease–ihihihit–’ 

‘Tickle tickles?’ Emily offered. 

‘Nohohoho!” 

Without even thinking, he swiftly rolled onto his back. Emily was able to scramble out of the way and since he was in a loose pin by Grace, his arm came out freely. He was panting, very red in the face from the sheer embarrassment. Emily lowered her head and blew a messy raspberry on his belly. Despite the loose shirt he had on, he still felt it quite well through the fabric. He let out a squeaky cackle, throwing one arm over his face to cover his eyes. 

Her fingers scribbled messily along his waist, up to his ribs then back down right above his hips. Jesus, what had Grace taught this kid? He arched his back and heard the girl make a bubbly sound of delight. ‘Ehehemihily-!’ he squeaked out, his laugh starting to turn more…clear rather than the gruff and raspy one from earlier. He felt Grace grab one of his legs and start to tickle behind his knee. Light tickles, just enough to be felt but not enough to make him truly laugh. An infuriating, itching sensation that made him want to kick his leg.

The tickles got more insistent, which made him fully kick the leg out, nearly connecting with Grace’s jaw. She luckily was able to dodge it. ‘Shihihhihit–sohohhorry!’ he choked out through laughs. She wasn’t sure if the apology was more directed toward the fact he nearly kicked her or the fact that he just swore. Again. 

‘Mama, what does that mean?’ Emily asked, her eyes so innocent and curious Leon could’ve swore he wanted to sink into the floor

‘Your uncle is just saying bad words, sweetie. Alright, Leon, that’s another thirty seconds. Emily, do you want me to tickle him or you? Or both? I feel like he’ll behave enough to hold still.’ 

“Rookie!” Chris called “I have a bone to pick with you!”. Leon turned to him “What Chris?” he asked as he took another bite of his sandwich “You got my sister to embarrass me in front of the whole damn S.T.A.R.S unit!” Chris snapped, Leon chuckled “You deserved it. The look on your face was priceless, you were as red as a tomato!”. Leon almost fell backwards from laughing so hard “Wanna laugh rookie? You won’t be laughing once I humiliate you!” Chris yelled.

Chris grabbed onto Leon and pulled him into a tight hold “W-Wha-? Let go of me!” he yelped “Or what?” teased Chris as he poked Leon’s ribs in an extra teasing manner. Leon squirmed in Chris’ grip “S-St-Stop! Stop!” he cried “It tickles, stop!” “Oh, the rookie’s ticklish, is he?” chuckled Chris as he starts tickling harder.

Leon shrieks and kicks his legs frantically, this was nothing like Claire’s gentle tickles, these were rough and slightly painful “Stahahap it!” he cries “Ihihit hurts!” “Hurts? It hurt me when my sister pulled my ear, this seems like the perfect revenge if you ask me” Chris teased as he made his way to Leon’s belly. “NOHOHOT THEHEHERE!” Leon laughs “Oh, tickle spot?” Chris laughs as he continues to tickle his belly “Tickle, tickle~”

The teases cause Leon’s face to go red and his laughter to turn silent and he can only let out a faint “Stop”. Chris finally decides that he’s gotten enough revenge and lets Leon go. Leon stumbles a bit before leaning against the wall and trying to catch his breath “s-shihit…” Leon whispers “I think you bruised my ribs…” “Good” says Chris with a smirk.

“Chris!” Yells Claire “I heard about what you did to Leon” “What did you do?” Asked Jill “Got revenge for him having Claire pull my ear” Chris said “You did leave faint bruises on his stomach and ribs” said Claire with her arms crossed “Maybe I should get revenge for him in a similar manner”. Chris turned bright red “C-Claire! No!” he yelps “What’s going on here?” asked Jill “The bruises were because of how roughly Chris was tickling Leon, he seems to forget that as his little sister I know where he’s ticklish” Claire explains. Chris turns even redder as Jill turns to him with a smirk “So, big bad Redfield is ticklish?” she teases “Very” said Claire “Especially his armpits” Chris covered his armpits the second she said that.