#lee!roman

~~~

Arms Up Challenge. Fair enough. If the standoff was between literally any other Sides. But of course, sibling rivalry lasts a lifetime. As the two were set up for the tickly challenge, Logan wanted to make sure they knew exactly what they were getting themselves into.

“So you two know the rules, correct?” “Yes, Specs. I can’t wait to beat my brother at this!” “Only if you beat me as hard as you play with your meat, little Ro Boat!”

Roman rolled his eyes as they were both finally secure to the wall with pillow lining and wrist restraints. They were both pulled taunt enough that they weren’t able to scrunch up their arms but were able to move their legs around freely. The rule? Swinging is allowed but kicking is not. Patton made his way over to the Duke’s side of the wall.

“Are you going to behave like a good kiddo this time?” “Whoever gave you that thought will be my next crime victim.”

Patton immediately plunged his fingers into the latter aspect’s pits, making Remus go straight into kicking.

“Uh uh uh! If you keep that up, mister, there will be consequences!” “LIHIHIHIHIHIKE SPAHAHAHAHANKING?! OHOHOHOHOHOOH!! THAHAHAT’S NOT LIKE YOHOHOHOHOU AT AHAHALL!!” “Being difficult, eh? How about this?” “HEY! IHIHIHIHIHI THOUGHT MY LEGS COULD BE FREHEHEHEHEE!!” “Not if you aren’t going to be a nice little Dukey!”

Remus burst into even louder laughter from the nickname being used in that awkward context. Roman was trying so hard not to kick but was unable to keep from swinging as far as he could left to right. He realized that kicking was prohibited but stomping wasn’t. He let his feet try to hit the ground every other motion.

“Roman. All of your extra motions are making it difficult to complete this task thoroughly. I will need to revoke your leg bearing privileges.” “WHAHAHAHAHAHAHAT?! NOFAIR!! NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO FAHAHAHAHAHAIR!!” “It is all fair, Roman. After all, you two came up with the rules for this. The first one to ‘chicken out’, as you called it, will be the winner. The loser will get a longer sentencing of underarm tickles for ‘research purposes’.”

The way Logan worded the last part of that statement made it clear that it would definitely not be for “research purposes”. This went on back and forth. Digging, scratching, wiggling, poking, and prodigy were all factors played in order to get one of them to crack. Roman eventually couldn’t take when that oh so delicate sweet spot near his upper ribs was the targeted attack. The screech and bellowing laughter that followed was the key indicator in who the winner would be as well as Roman stating that:

“ISURRENDER! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA– IHIHIHIHIHIHIHI SURREHEHEHEHEHENDERRRRRR!!” “Awh! And I was just about to go for the faux claws. You can handle that, can’t you, Remus?” “Now now, Patton. The two made a deal with each other. Whoever the winner is doesn’t get attacked anymore.” “I guess that’s fair.”

Patton snaps and the bonds on Remus come off. The moral figure misjudged Remus’ weight and they both fell to the ground with a loud thud. Patton tried getting up first, only for the latter figment to wrap his arms around his waist.

“Uhh, so… no hard feelings–” “Oh, Patton~ There are no hard feelings between us~ I just want to hear you laugh and scream~”

The wiggling of Remus’ mustache against Patton’s neck made him laugh in slight fear and anticipation. Of course Remus wasn’t going to hurt him too badly. He just wanted to hear all of the joyful laughter from the intrusive aspect.

“You handle my little bro, Whale Penis! I have a date with Daddy!” “Wait! REMUS!”

"Had enough, puny knight?"

The Knight of Gold looked up from his position kneeling in the dirt. "By the love of my sword, you shall never defeat me!"

"It looks like I already have," the Dragon Snake hissed in return. The vile creature was crouching on the edge of the cliff just above the knight, glaring down with his deadly gaze. "It's only a matter of time before my partner has defeated your fellow knight--"

"I'm not dead yet!" the Knight of Hearts chirped from across the battlefield, although admittedly his prospects looked grim: he was perched atop the Wheel of Safety, standing tall with his sword raised in defense against the Dragon Beast, who was circling the wheel and occasionally attacking with his own weapon among his villainous cackles of laughter.

The Knight of Gold grimaced. Not dead yet, but stuck. Which meant it was up to him to rescue the dragons' treasure.

He must've given away his train of thought, eyes flicking to the high tower for just a moment, but it was enough to make the Dragon Snake give a cocky laugh.

"Oh, yes, you shriveling fool," he said. "It looks like the poor princes will have to stay here forever!"

On cue, the Dark Prince clanged his own weapon against the slats of his cage. The Wise Prince was silent-- probably reading his book again, which was kinda annoying since the Knights were literally fighting to the death to save him from the Dragons, and the least he could do was pay attention to the battle, but whatever. The Knight of Gold was too busy being an awesome hero to worry about spoilsport Princes.

He flinched as the Dragon Snake slammed his stick-- sword, or, uh, maybe it was a staff, he couldn't remember-- against the ground.

"Enough talk!" he yelled. "Rise and fight!"

Right! Fight! The Knight of Gold rose and rolled his shoulders once before lunging forward. He took a swipe at the Dragon Snake, making him stumble back with a yelp. Step, retreat, step, step, retreat-- he landed a few good blows, but the Dragon Snake was fast, and eventually the two of them were nearly face to face as they pressed their swords against each other.

"Any... last... words?" the Knight of Gold grunted. The Dragon Snake hissed.

"You haven't won yet, puny knight!"

"Oh, yeah? What are you gonna do about it?"

This was it. The Knight of Gold knew the battle was soon to be over. He'd beat the Dragon Snake, then he'd help slay the Dragon Beast, and save the princes, and-

Suddenly the Dragon Snake shot a claw out towards the Knight of Gold's stomach. He gasped, bracing for impact... but he wasn't prepared for a flurry of scratches all along his midsection instead.

The Knight of Golden yelped, then squeaked, the fell unceremoniously onto his butt in the dirt.

"Ha!" said the Dragon Snake, standing tall above the fallen knight. "Is that all it takes to be a knight?"

"Janus!" Roman whined, color rushing to his cheeks. "Stop cheating!"

From behind them, the noise from the battle between the Knight of Hearts and the Dragon Prince came to an abrupt halt.

"How's he cheating?" Patton asked, hopping off the tire swing and letting the end of his pool noodle sword fall to the ground. Remus continued to harmlessly whack at it with his own pool noodle, but he, too, had halted the game to watch the interaction between his brother and Janus.

"I'm not cheating," Janus replied. "I beat Roman, and he's being a baby about it."

"I'm not a baby!" Roman protested, crossing his arms as he glowered up at Janus. "You're just a cheater."

"So every time I win, it's cheating?"

"No, only when you cheat, duh."

"How did he cheat, dummy?" Remus asked again. From above them, he could see Virgil and even Logan peeking between the wooden slats of their tree house to investigate what was going on. Roman clamped his mouth shut.

"Doesn't matter," he mumbled, staring at the dirt and hoping his cheeks weren't too dark. "Just... don't do it again."

Janus replied with a smile that made Roman's stomach flip-flop with... some weird feeling, he'll think about it later. Instead, he needed to focus on what was happening right now-- like how Janus was suddenly taking another step towards him.

"Wait!" he blurted, scrambling to his feet. "Wait, wait, we're not playing like that--"

"Why not?" Janus asked. Roman stepped to his right, and Janus mirrored him. He stepped do his left, and again he was blocked.

Janus' smile was bright and a little bit sharp. "Better run, puny knight, or I'll sink my claws into you!"

With that, he lunged forward, tackling Roman back to the ground, and Roman barely had a second to register that his shirt definitely was gonna get mud stained again before Janus' hands were digging into his stomach.

His laughter exploded out of him-- that loud, squawky laugh that made him feel hot all over-- but it was hard to think about being embarrassed when Janus was freaking tickling him!

"Nohohoho!" he begged-- no, commanded, because Knights didn't beg. "Stohohohop!"

He could hear Remus and Patton laughing somewhere behind them, and even though he couldn't see or hear Virgil or Logan, he knew they were probably laughing too. He wanted to be angry, but he couldn't find it in himself to yell at them when Janus haphazardly shoved his hands directly under Roman's arms.

"Na-hahahaha!" he gasped as he shuffled backwards on the ground. "Hehehehelp! Come on, Janus, ahahaha! You jerk-- help mehehe!"

Remus cackled louder. "No, this is great! Let's torture him to death, Janny!"

"Wait!"

Remus looked back at Patton, confused by his outburst. "What?"

"I think..." Patton whispered loudly, his hand on his chest. "The Knight of Hearts... is getting a second wind!"

And with that, he lunged at Remus with a wide smile, grabbing him around the waist and immediately digging into his sides.

"Ah-hahahaha!" Remus squawked. He tried to fall to his knees, but Patton only followed him down. "Patton!"

"There is no Patton here, there is only the Knight of Hearts!" Patton cheered. "Tickle tickle, evil dragon!"

The backyard was taken over by Remus' screams and squawks, but Roman could only barely hear them over his own laughter. He tried to wrestle Janus off of him but there was nothing he could do, especially when Janus shoved his thumbs under Roman's arms and wiggled them mercilessly.

"Na-ahahahahahaha!" Roman wailed. He was giggling and laughing and squealing and he couldn't stop for anything. This was not how the game was supposed to go! He was meant to be a brave knight, not a dork getting tickled to death!

"Hehehehelp!"

But no help was coming. Patton was too caught up with tickling Remus, and Janus wasn't showing mercy anytime soon. This is it. The Knight of Hearts was about to be slain on the battlefield.

Until suddenly Janus's face disappeared from above Roman; he blinked up at the sudden sunlight that blinded his vision, but all he could hear was Janus' "oof", a flurry of fabric, a lot of weird hissing noises, and finally-- Janus' laughter.

"You ssssssssstupidhead!"

Roman, catching his breath, pushed himself up from the dirt and looked to the side. There was Janus, lying on his back just like Roman had been-- only now, there was someone sitting on top of him, holding onto Janus' sides for dear life as the older boy screamed and kicked.

"Dark Prince!" Roman gasped. "What are you doing out of your tower?"

Virgil glared at him. "Saving your life, dummy." He punctuated this with another scrabble at Janus' sides, no matter how loud his older brother screamed.

"Virgil! I'm gonnahahaha-- gonna tell Mom! Stohohohohop!"

"Surrender!" Virgil-- the Dark Prince-- yelled in defiance at the Dragon Snake. Roman watched, unable to do anything to help as he skillfully took down the evil enemy. "Say mercy!"

He pressed his thumbs into Janus' ribs, and Janus squealed, scrabbling against the ground desperately.

"Okayokayokayokahahahay! I give up! We give uhuhuhup!"

And just like that, it was over-- Janus taking heaving breaths, his hands clenched onto Virgil's wrists. Virgil didn't move yet, though, continuing to crouch over Janus with his hands pressed against his sides.

"Do you swear you're not gonna get me back?" he said. "Or Roman?"

Janus huffed. "I said I give up, jerkface."

Virgil tazed his sides again, sending Janus back into gasping laughter. "Swear it!"

"I swear! I swear, I give uhuhup! Stop I swear I won't get you back plehehehease!"

Finally Virgil relented, rolling off his brother and landing in the dirt next to Roman.

"Are you okay?" he asked, eyeing the child still laying on the ground. "Are you dead?"

Roman flushed a little and pushed himself onto his knees. "I'm okay."

"I'm not," Janus snapped, shooting his brother a masterful scowl. Virgil gave him an identical look.

"You baby," he said. "I barely even tickled you! Roman lasted way longer than you!"

"So did I!" The three of them looked up to see Remus and Patton standing above them, arms around each other's shoulders like they hadn't just been enemies locked in fearsome battle. "You're really ticklish, Janny."

"Shut up!" he hissed. "Everyone's a jerkface today."

"What did Logan do?" Patton asked. All five of them looked up to the jungle gym, where their friend's face was still buried in his book.

He must've sensed them looking at him, because he suddenly looked up. "Oh. Are you finally done?"

No one spoke. Roman and Virgil looked at each other. Patton giggled. Janus stood up, and Remus cracked his knuckles.

Bless Logan's heart; he put the pieces together just a bit too slowly.

"Wait-- wait! Not all at once, not all at ohohohohonce!"

“Well, it seems that it is time I take my leave,” Roman declared, giving Virgil a bow and a wink. He didn’t even get to walk a single step away before Virgil dragged him back down onto the couch. Roman let out a quick yelp of surprise, fake-struggling for a moment before Virgil grabbed both of his hands and pinned them against his chest. He was now sitting up against the back of the couch with Virgil sitting on his legs.

“Oh, but you’re not going anywhere. Not after that stunt you just pulled,” Virgil retorted, a gleam in his eyes. “Showing off your armpits? Really? You must want this really badly, huh?” A slight flush was already spreading across Roman’s face.

“Yes, well, I’m a man who knows what he wants,” Roman replied, trying to keep his grandeur. He wasn’t going to get flustered that easily (or, at least, he wasn’t going to show it).

Virgil didn’t reply immediately. Instead, he moved Roman’s hands down so that they were pinned beneath his knees, the cushion of the couch keeping it comfortable for both of them. The warmth of Virgil’s breath caused a shiver to run down Roman’s spine as Virgil leaned in close to his ear.

“Well, tell me when you want to stop, then,” Virgil murmured, low and gravelly. A beat passed, then Roman’s breath hitched as he felt light tracing around his upper ribs. Then, without warning, Virgil instead leaned back and reached down to pinch at Roman’s thighs. A shocked and strangled noise came out of Roman’s throat, immediately followed by laughter.

“Aww, there it is, Princey,” Virgil crooned, smirking. “Since you know what you want so well, care to answer a question for me?” Virgil ceased pinching, gingerly walking his fingers up Roman’s thighs, hips, and arms.

“Do you want me to be gentle, or…” His hands came to a rest right below Roman’s underarms. “Do you want to scream?” Roman completely short-circuited, blinking for a second before clearing his throat.

“Uhmhm, the second option, please,” Roman replied, flushing a bit more. The moment the words left his mouth, Virgil’s fingers sprung into action. He wriggled one hand into each of Roman’s armpits, using his thumbs to knead into the muscle. This sent Roman into deep belly laughter, and he tried his best not to squirm away from the almost unbearable (but so, so craved) sensations.

“Aww, you’re so cute, Princey,” Virgil smirked, moving and adding his other fingers into the mix so that he was now scritching the tops of Roman’s exposed ribs. He reveled in the adorable faces and sounds that Roman was making. While his ribs weren’t as bad as his underarms, they made Roman much more squirmy. He leaned forward, burying his head into Virgil’s chest as he laughed. He wiggled so much that he eventually freed his hands from under Virgil’s knees, using them to grip onto Virgil’s arms. But still, he did nothing to stop Virgil from tickling him, instead simply holding on for dear life as Virgil spoke into his ear once more.

“As soon as you try to stop me, that’s when it’ll stop. So make sure you’re done before that happens,” Roman flushed and broke out into deep laughter once more as Virgil moved back to his armpits. Then, Virgil stopped and shot his head up as he heard footsteps from upstairs. No one came down into the common room, but Virgil knew that he and Roman both preferred to be alone any time they were partaking in any sort of tickly activities. It was just far too embarrassing for both of them to have anyone witness them.

“Do you want to move this to your room?” Virgil asked, getting up from the couch and offering Roman a hand.

Roman and Logan had only been dating for only around six months when winter rolled around. The second the clock struck midnight on November 1st Roman was in full Christmas mode. Christmas was his all time favorite holiday, how could it not be? There were presents, and loud decorations, and cuddling by the fire, and hot cocoa, and the people he loved most. But his favorite person in the whole wide world, his boyfriend Logan, was Jewish. So he didn’t even celebrate Christmas! He’d probably never even had a proper Christmas, and wasn’t that a sad thought to be having at midnight. So Roman resolved that this year he was gonna make Logan experience Christmas. All the good non-religious bits, anyways. Christmas had never really been about God for Roman anyways. He more enjoyed the family and community aspect of it all.

Unfortunately, both Logan and Roman were absolutely swamped with schoolwork and activities for the entirety of November. Roman was starring in the fall play, and Logan was working hard with his team to get their phenomenal rubber band car ready for the Physics Olympics. Between their busy schedules and Thanksgiving, the two barely even saw each other. Come December, however, a rejuvenated Roman set his plan into action: Operation Make-Logan-Experience-Christmas.

Step one: Decorate the house.

On December 3rd, Roman invited Logan over with no explanation. When Logan pulled into Roman’s driveway he was surprised to find the guy looking extremely frustrated as he furiously attempted to untangle a massive string of lights.

“Ro? What’s going on? Are you ok?” Logan inquired as he exited his car. Roman dropped the lights, a huge smile blooming on his face,

“Hey! You made it! I’m just trying-and failing-to untangle these lights…haha. I wanted to show you all the joys of Christmas since, yknow, you’re Jewish and all. So I figured we could decorate my house together and then drink cocoa?” Logan huffed out a small laugh. His boyfriend was adorable.

“Sure”, he replied with a grin, “Hand me the lights”. He then proceeded to untangle them in one smooth motion, smirking when Roman’s jaw hit the floor.

As the hours wore on, the work was getting agonizingly slow. Especially for Logan who didn’t understand the point of putting lights on the house to begin with. It wasn’t practical; why were they doing it? So, when Roman stretched up to wrap a string of lights around a tree branch, Logan quickly wiggled two fingers in each of Roman’s underarms, eliciting a small shriek. Roman immediately whipped around, light pink dusting his cheeks.

“Dohon’t”, he giggled, voice wavering slightly. See, Logan didn’t get mischievous often, he found it childish. But, well, he was really bored. And maybe Roman was cute when he was tickled or whatever, shut up. Roman tentatively reached up again, and again he he found tickling fingers in his underarms, forcing him to slam his arms down with a squeal. The cycle continued a couple more times before Roman finally whipped around and tackled Logan, squeezing his sides with vigor.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ROHOHOHOMAN PLEEHEEHEEASE IHIM SOHORRY STAAHAHAHAAP”, he squealed.

“All right, all right,” Roman relented, “but only because we need to finish these decorations”. And as much as Logan hated to admit it, the decorations did end up pretty great in the end. They were loud and obnoxious and garish and PERFECT. This whole Christmas thing was actually pretty fun, and Logan thought the concept of Roman showing him his favorite parts of the holiday was pretty cute. And that’s what sparked Logan’s newest idea: Operation-Make-Roman-Experience-Chanukkah.

Which is how Roman found himself at Logan’s house on December 18, the first night of Chanukkah. Roman honestly didn’t know much about the holiday, so he was pretty excited. Logan’s family, of course, were delighted to have Roman over. Logan’s grandparents, although not fully understanding that the two boys were dating, were supportive and excited regardless. Roman watched as Logan’s dad lit the shammash with a fire stick and Logan got to light the first candle. Not being religious or motivated enough to actually dig out the yamaka’s, all the male family members simply placed a hand on their heads as Logan’s grandfather recited a prayer. Roman didn’t understand a word of the Hebrew, but he enthusiastically exclaimed “Amen!” with everyone else at the end. The family then sat down for dinner, where Roman proclaimed latkes to be his new favorite food and then proceeded to eat half the platter. After an incredible dinner, they sat on the floor for a rousing game of dreidel. Barely 10 minutes in Roman was losing quite spectacularly. Logan’s grandfather was winning again; no one could quite figure out how he always won a game entirely based on luck. Logan himself had quite a sizeable stack of chocolate gelt in front of him. And maybe Roman was feeling a bit mischievous, sue him. So he sneakily-not-so sneakily stole Logan’s stack of the biggest coins and slid it over to his meager pile. Logan merely gave Roman a side-eye and stole the coins back, but the glint in him eye told him Roman was SO getting it later.

And get it he did, because as soon as Roman and Logan were able to sneak away to Logan’s room, out of earshot from the adults downstairs, Logan wasted no time in pinning Roman to the bed.

“Eheheheh what?” Roman questioned.

“You stole from me. Now it’s time to pay” Logan replied dramatically whilst wiggling his fingers in the air. Romans eyes widened comically at the sight,

“You wouldn’t”.

“Oh I would”. With that Roman burst into laughter, which was only strange for one reason: Logan hadn’t actually started tickling him yet, which sent the shorter man into a flurry of giggles himself,

“ihi hahaven’t eheven tohouched you yehet”.

“Shut up” came the embarrassed reply.

“I’m gonna count to 10”, Logan proclaimed, much to Roman’s horror.

“1”

“nonono wait please don’t”

“2”

“Logan wait please I gave it back”

“3”

“It was a joke! I didn’t mean it! Please I’m sorry!”

“10.”

And with that, Roman couldn’t say much else as he had quickly descended into hysterics as Logan dug mercilessly into Roman’s ribs. He couldn’t even complain that Logan had skipped 4 5 6 7 8 and 9. That didn’t stop Logan from talking, however.

“Aww does that tickle? Is my Prince just sooo ticklish he can’t even handle just a few tickles on his wittle ribs?”

“I bet you’re sorry now. Was my gelt really worth this?”

“Can you stop laughing? I’m trying to talk to you. how rude!”

Roman meanwhile was dying as fingers were now spidering all over his tummy, leaving the poor boy in stitches.

“This will not end until you apologize for the stolen goods”

“Nehehever”

“Fine. I guess I’ll have to use drastic measures”. Logan’s hands began steadily creeping back up, awakening Roman’s ribs from their much deserved nap. They didn’t stop there however, a terrifying fact that Roman was coming to realize.

“No no no nohot there nohot there pleaheahease” he babbled helplessly, “I cahan’t tahake ihihit”

“Aww, but I thought you liked this Ro. Any last words?”

“Fuck you!” And those truly were his last words for awhile as Logan wormed his hands into Roman’s underarms and vibrated his fingers like ticklish shockwaves pulsing into Roman’s core. Roman was in the clouds. He couldn’t feel his surroundings and his eyes were squeezed shut. He could barely hear his own hysterical laughter over the deafening buzz of fire in his nerves. He couldn’t comprehend anything besides how much it tickled. The sensation blurred reality until he found himself wishing it would last forever while simultaneously needing it to stop that second. It was like oxygen that suffocated. He couldn’t stand it, but he needed it, more than he ever thought he’d need anything. But the feeling was quickly approaching “suffocating”. Fortunately, it suddenly stopped. Reality rushed back through him. Dull tingles racing through his body, soft sheets under him, warm and grounding Logan on top of him. Hands were on his face, in his hair, making sure he was okay.

“Thanks..Logi. That was- fuck”

“Anytime Ro” Logan smiled softly before slipping back into his “mad” voice,

“That’ll teach you not to steal from the great professor!”

“Oh yeah?” Roman questioned as he picked himself off the bed and switched their positions with admittedly little resistance from his boyfriend.

“I think you’ve got a lesson of your own to learn teach.” He said before lowering his voice to a low whisper,

“No-one messes with the prince and makes it out unscathed” And then Logan was in hysterics as the tables turned, fingers on his neck, his ears, his sides all tickling with too much vigor for someone who’d just been tickled to hysterics themselves. The sensations were simultaneously too much and too little, altogether overstimulating while his body kept craving more, more, more as he leaned into the touch instead of away, a fact which Roman was all too eager to point out.

“Aww enjoying yourself there Logi-bear? Is the great professor enjoying his wittle tickles?”

“NO! I HAHAHATE YOUHOUHOO”

“Do you now? I’m not hearing a stop~” At that Logan fell silent because truthfully he was enjoying the affection from his boyfriend. That’s what the holidays were about, after all. Not candles, or decorations, or silly games with spinning tops and chocolate. They were about creating silly memories with the people you love the most. And as he was laughing himself horse, Logan hoped Roman would be there to make these memories with him for many more Christmases and Chanukkahs to come. Because Roman brought happiness and laughter into Logan’s life. And Logan didn’t want to stop laughing for a long time. And so he wouldn’t. ;)

I hope this is okay writing wise. I don’t really know what I’m doing but I’m doing my best.