#ler!jim

"Laughing, captain?" Spock questioned with a straight face, the slightest cock to one eyebrow.

"Really, Spock. I'd bet you can hardly imagine our good doctor cracking a smile, never mind a laugh," Jim grinned, laughing more.

"Why laughing, captain?" Completely glossing over the latter remark, Spock remained curious.

Jim started as if to reply in humour before stopping short and turning to his Vulcan friend with a look of curiosity himself.

"Well - laughing, Spock. He was laughing because I tickled him, that's why."

The eyebrow came back down surprisingly fast.

"Ah yes. That most human of phenomena," Spock said, clasping his hands behind his back.

"Well it's not just human, Spock - all kinds of Earth animals are prone to it. But yes, I'll give you it is a bit unusu-" and at this moment, Jim looked at his friend anew. "Are you telling me Vulcans don't have this?"

"Would you be surprised, captain?" Spock answered, eyes on the elevator floor.

"Yes, I suppose not..." Jim looked pensive, and then the doors opened.

The two men walked along the corridor, eventually coming to the captain's quarters. The doors whisked open to let them enter.

Once inside, Kirk paced near the small desk area.

"Now Spock, with regards to the last mission, I think we really need to get our reports coherent to each other before we submit to Starfleet."

"Agreed. I can give you a detailed overview-"

Jim suddenly interrupted. "I'm sorry Spock, I just - is there really no tickling on Vulcan? Not even the children?"

Spock thought for a moment before he answered. "It is... abnormal."

"A-HA! So there is ticklishness in vulcans then?"

"... somewhat, yes."

"So it's the children? And you, what - grow out of it?"

"Vulcan children are born much like human children - they have many of the same traits. However we are raised and trained very differently. We learn to process all physical sensations, logically, from a very young age. Most parents, as I'm sure will be obvious, do not indulge in the practice. It is, illogical."

Jim's face fell. But then, "most parents?" He looked up with a glint in his eye. "What about yours?"

Spock locked eyes with his captain, one eyebrow cocked in a way that gave Jim a distinct feeling that he was in some way being defied.

"I had a vulcan father, and a human mother. My parents were not 'most parents.'"

"So you have experienced it! Something in that really - well - really tickles me, I have to say!" Jim's face gleamed as he laughed.

Spock stood uncomfortably quiet, seeming to deliberate.

"Cheer up, Spock, I won't keep pestering you. At least you've grown out of it!"

Jim clapped his friend on the arm jovially, but the vulcan continued to focus thoughtfully at a point on the ground, as if thinking about something.

And then the penny dropped. Vulcans cannot lie.

"Or have you?"

Spock must have heard the change in the captain's voice, as his eyes bounced up to meet Jim's with a deep and guarded look.

"Are you ticklish, Spock?" Jim grinned.

"Decline to answer," Spock replied.

"Don't pinch me - that's an order, Mr. Spock."

"Do you intend to abuse your power as captain of this vessel, undoubtedly loosing your rank and career in Starfleet, simply to test your hypothesis, captain?"

"If that's what it takes to get you laughing, Mr. Spock."

This game of cat and mouse continued, the two taking a waltz of slow and careful steps around the room, ever just out of reach of one another.

Jim's face was enthused and predatory, a look often seen when faced with a challenge. Spock's was unreadable, his feeling unknowable, save only for the fact that he could easily have called everything off had he really wanted to.

Jim, sensing his chance, lunged. Spock, as always, had reflexes finely-trained, and jumped backwards to dodge the grasping fist, however Jim, anticipating this, went in after with a second arm. He caught a fistfull of his regulation uniform in his fingers, and yanked the taller man firmly towards himself.

Caught off guard, Spock stumbled forward, right into his captain's open-armed grasp. There was a beat in which Spock did nothing.

"We're about to find out if you really are still ticklish, Mr. Spock," Jim said, and clawed at his friend's stomach.

Immediately Spock went stiff, stood upright and then crashed backwards onto his ass, looking dazed. He curled around the fingers currently trying to tear into his soft front flesh, twisting a little this way and then that way with each wiggle of the digits.

Jim could not keep the smile from his face. Spock was squirming! He continued pinching at the first officer's stomach as well as throwing some in sporadically to the sides.

Spock had begun to shudder, his eyes clamped shut with the ghost of a smile tugging there and at his lips. Just when matters couldn't get worse, Jim suddenly used both hands to attack.

"Hahah!" Spock let slip a surprised laugh.

Everything stopped, and Jim took a moment to stare at his friend in wonder and delight, before saying carefully, "Spock?"

Spock remained unmoved from his position, eyes shut, body curled and statue-still, a half-smile still visible. He seemed unwilling to comment.

"Not got anything to say?"

Nothing.

"Oh..." Jim said, though his tone was still playful. "I guess not. Suppose you'd rather do something else instead? Like this!"

Jim dug in again with new vigour, this time pinching all along Spock's sides, and the vulcan was on the floor, turning from side to side with the widest smile imaginable, but he kept his mouth shut.

"Oh come on, Spock! Where's that laughter? I know you have it in you," Jim teased, grinning all the while.

Spock suddenly shook his head, the first he'd responded to any of this.

"No? You're not gonna let me hear it?" Jim took little pinches at his tummy again.

Spock shook his head again, convulsing.

"That's too bad. Guess I'll just have to continue."

By now Jim was straddling his first officer, using gentle pinches all over his upper body, but when he kneaded his fingertips into his lowest ribs, Spock practically leapt off the ground, and finally Jim found that laughter.

"C-captahahain!" He pleaded.

"Bad spot, Spock?"

"Ahah ahah hahahahaha!"

"I'm going to take that for a yes," Jim smiled triumphantly, kneading in even deeper, and Spock was beside himself. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Spock's hands had come down to wrap firmly around Jim's wrists, but so far had done nothing else.

"Remember your orders, officer," Jim put on his captain's voice through the hilarity.

At this, Spock seemed to deflate, arms and shoulders going limp as his hands loosened their grip and fell away. 

"I'm impressed, Mr. Spock! But let's see how long you can hold out doing that."

Jim kept massaging those low ribs with his thumbs, using the other fingers to scratch at the sides, catching other ribs higher up. Spock acted as if electrocuted, his spasms unable to save him from the ticklish onslaught. His laughter had started deep but was getting higher.

Suddenly, Jims fingertips were moving down, exploring that expanse of waist that had come exposed during the struggling. His short nails scratched against the flat plain and Spock hit the roof.

"Hahaha!! N-no, captahahain!!" He bucked, only really succeeding in throwing himself further into the attack.

"Oh? Is it particularly bad here?" Jim grinned, giving it an extra good scratch, Spock pushing into it and shaking his head simultaneously.

"S-skihihin! Skihihin!!"

Jim looked down, and for the first time considered the skin-to-skin contact.

"Do you want me to stop?" He withdrew immediately, worried he might have gone too far.

Spock heaved some breaths, unable to engage right away. After a moment, he opened his eyes and looked directly into Jim's gaze. He looked there for a time, unreadable, and then, unbelievably, cocked an eyebrow and said, "captain, don't presume to think you have broken me. I assure you, it would take much more than anything you could provide to do so."

Jim's mouth fell open as he grasped for a response, but he quickly recovered enough to beam back at his first officer.

"You said, "no, stop", your words!"

"A reflex reaction, and unfortunate," replied Spock, as if he hadn't just a moment ago been completely undone.

Jim stammered, dumbfounded. "And what's all this about skin? I don't understand you."

"Ah. That. I..." And finally Spock was showing some shyness. "It opens a slight telepathic connection."

Jim beamed with the dawning realisation. "Ahhh, I see... And that makes it worse?"

Spock said nothing for a moment, and Jim now noticed the slightest of greenish colouration in his cheeks.

"I'm afraid nothing could be worse than your attempts to get more than a surface-level, knee-jerk reaction from me."

"My attempts?" Jim asked delicately, whether curious or offended, it was hard to tell. "Are you telling me my tickles didn't tickle enough?"

Spock simply tilted his head as if to agree, and that said it all. "I believe the earth-phrase says, 'if the shoe fits'."

Jim snapped his mouth shut and switched to his captain face.

"Where was that spot again... Oh, here," and he locked eyes with Spock as he touched his fingers onto the bare skin. "You'll regret that, Spock, I promise you. Can you feel what I'm thinking? Can you see it?"

Spock said nothing, but the nervous look behind his eyes, the green in his cheeks and the tension like electricity radiating through his skin let Jim know the message was getting through.

"Are you ready to give me some more of those wonderful reflex reactions?"

“Oh god,” Jim whines, “it’s like you’re inside of my head.”

“Kid, the bridge has been tryin’ to contact you for ages,” Bones replies, “you sleep like a rock.”

“What?” Jim is suddenly jumping off the bed, grabbing a shirt from the floor and pulling it on. He tumbles to the door, not even bothering to grab shoes, hoping and praying he doesn’t step on anything sharp.

He almost runs into a wall on his way there, screeching around the corner, skipping the elevator to the bridge in favour of dashing up the stairs. 

When he gets to the top, panting and red in the face, all eyes land on him, clad in a wine-stained t-shirt and a pair of boxers. 

“What’s going on?” Jim asks, out of breath, eyes flicking between Spock and Sulu.

“Nothing, Captain,” Spock reassures, tilting his head to the side, “I believe you are meant to be on rest from yesterday’s planetary visit.”

“I was, Mr. Spock,” Jim agrees, his face still red, but this time for other reasons. “I had been informed by Dr. McCoy that the bridge had been trying to contact me.”

“That is incorrect, Captain. I believe that Dr. McCoy may have been attempting to engage in what you humans would call a ‘prank’.”

“Damn right, Spock,” Bones exclaims from behind Jim, causing the blond to turn around with a jump.

“I’m going to kill you,” Jim says, glaring daggers through Bones, “I’m actually going to kill you, today will be the actual day of your death, Bones.”

“Actually no, Jim,” Bones says with a smirk, “today is the actual day of your physical.”

“Oh my fucking god,” Jim grunts “you did not wake me up on my morning off to give me a physical.”

“Thing is, kid," Bones pauses for dramatic effect, "I did.” Jim wishes he could wipe the smirk clean off of Bones’ face, wishes he could rewind time to being asleep in his quarters, and Bones just keeps talking and talking. “You were on some mysterious planet yesterday. You gotta get a checkup.”

Jim rolls his eyes, but makes a move to obediently follow Bones, a first for the stubborn captain. 

“Nice boxers!” Uhura shouts as the elevator door closes, leaving Jim and Bones alone inside.

“I’m going to kill you,” Jim grits, looking straight ahead.

“Oh c’mon, Jimmy boy, it was just a prank,” Bones reasons, poking Jim in the ribs.

Jim jumps away with a shriek, somehow looking even angrier when he recovers. “You’re done for.”

“Whatever you say, Jim, whatever you say,” Bones brushes off.

Jim continues to follow Bones obediently throughout the hallways, and, in hindsight, this should’ve been the first sign to Bones that he might actually be in trouble. 

Jim enters the medbay without a single quip or comment, obediently sitting in the chair next to Bones’ desk. Bones turns around to shut the door behind them, and when he turns back, Jim is right there, looming in front of him.

“One of us is getting a physical today, Bones, and it’s not me,” Jim says, a menacing grin starting to form on his face.

“Jim, it’s perfectly reasonable for me to give you a physical after you nearly got stranded on some strange planet,” Bones attempts to reason, backing up, his back hitting the wall.

“Oh yeah, Bones?” Jim asks, getting closer, “was it perfectly reasonable to wake me up on my morning off? To make me enter the bridge in my pajamas?”

“Well, I- wahahait, Jihihihihim!” Bones squeals when Jim goes directly for his hips, the door supporting his body weight as he tries to grab for Jim’s hands. “STAHAP!”

“I don’t think so, Bones,” Jim says calmly, “play stupid games, win stupid prizes.”

“Stuhuhuhpid gahahames? I’d sahahay hilahahrious!” Bones giggles, squirming and wiggling in an attempt to escape the space Jim has trapped him in.

“Hilarious? You want hilarious?”

Jim’s fingers speed down to Bones’ knees, squeezing over both of them at the same time, and Bones goes boneless, collapsing to the ground with Jim looming over to of him.

“JIHIHIM!” Bones screeches, kicking his legs, “STAHAP IHIHIT YOU BRAHAHAT!”

“Now I’m just confused, Bones. You wanted hilarious and you seem pretty hysterical to me right now, shouldn’t you be glad?”

Jim very rarely tickled Bones, he never had the energy to turn the tables during a session, and he turned to jello after one, so he never could get revenge on Bones. Bones had no idea that Jim was so good at teasing, and it made his nerves feel all the more sensitive, his face turning bright red the more Jim spoke.

Jim moved his hands up to Bones’ ribs, relishing in the way the doctor snorted and flailed, before deciding to deliver the worst of the tickles. One hand went back down to Bones’ knees, while the other shot up to his armpit, and Bones absolutely howled.

“JIHIM! FUHUHUCKIN STAHAHAP!” Bones shrieked, arching his back and desperately flailing. 

“Say you’re sorry,” Jim says, reprimanding Bones like an adult would a child. Just the way Jim says it makes him want to say no, makes him want to stick out his tongue in mockery. 

Instead, Bones finds himself quickly buckling, unable to handle the sensations. “I’M SOHORRY! IHIHIM SOHOHORRY! JIHIHIM!”

Jim slows to a stop, laughing as Bones desperately tries to catch his breath, panting against the door. 

“You- you’re a menace, kid,” Bones pants.

“Me?” Jim asks indignantly, “you’re the one that decided to wake me up on my morning off!”

Bones barks out a laugh, “okay, you got me on that one.”

Jim rolls his eyes, standing up and dusting himself off. Once Bones has caught his breath, he joins Jim, leaning against the door for stability.

“So,” Bones starts, and Jim raises an eyebrow, “physical?”

You snorted.

“Y/N!” The director called.

“I’m so sorry, I can’t keep it in,” you said, really apologetically.

“Larry, we got it all perfectly until Y/N laughed. Go from the next line after that,” the director instructed.

“Compose yourself,” the director said, chuckling at you. He wasn’t mad, just wanted to get the scene done so everyone could move on. You took a deep breath and nodded.

“Action!” the director yelled.

“I think we're getting somewhere now, so...oh! Perfect timing! So, you wanna give daddy some sugar?” Larry said.

You could see Ben’s shoulders move out of the corner of your eye, he let out a tiny - almost inaudible - giggle which set you off.

“Y/N!” Everyone said in unison.

“I’m sorry! I managed to hold it in until I saw Ben laugh and it set me off,”

“Oh so it’s my fault?” Ben asked.

“Yes! If you didn’t giggle I would’ve been fine!” You exclaimed.

“We got all the speech now which is fine. Larry, we just need you to walk over to Simon like we practised,” the director said. Larry nodded.

“You definitely need to compose yourself for this,” Larry said, looking at you.

You took a deep breath and zenned yourself.

“I’m okay now, I’ll be fine,” you said.

“Good. Everyone ready?” The director said.

Larry gave you a little wink just before the director yelled action. His walk was meant to quite camp, swishing his hips from side to side, but he over dramatised it and his whole body was practically swaying from side to side as he took big strides towards Simon. You burst into giggles again.

“Oh come on Y/N! I thought you said you were fine!” Mat said, laughing at your laugh.

“You little shit! You did that on purpose!” You exclaimed at Larry.

“Don’t know what you mean,” he shrugged, smirking.

“He walked like that in rehearsal which set me off big time. He knew it would make me laugh on set. You crafty devil,” you said. He laughed.

“Alright that one was on me, I wanted to make her laugh,” Larry said.

“Alright, let’s go for one more shot. Larry, walk properly this time,” the director instructed.

Larry nodded and completed the walk properly. Finally, the scene was complete and the director yelled cut.

After you had gotten changed out of your costume, you walked into the green room to find Larry, Mat, Ben and Jim all sitting around chatting.

“Oh, hey giggles. Have you calmed down yet?” Ben asked. You shot him a glare and he chuckled.

“Very funny. That was all Larry’s fault,” you said.

“Hey! What did I do?” Larry exclaimed.

“You made me laugh, on purpose too,”

“Only once. But it’s not my fault that I’m so funny,” he said, you scoffed.

“Kendall is funny, you’re not,” you smirked.

“Oh? And who do you think wrote him?” asked Larry.

“Ben,” you replied, the corner of your lip curling upwards. Larry raised an eyebrow at you.

“Are you saying Ben is funnier than me?” He asked.

“Well, she’s not wrong,” Ben said.

“Shush Ben,” Larry said. “Is that what you’re trying to say?” he asked you.

“Yep. Ben is funnier than you. As are Mat and Jim. Even I am,” you said. His face dropped.

“Oh you really are asking for trouble now aren’t you?” He asked, taking a step towards you. “Well I can certainly make you laugh without even saying a word,” he teased.

“Just looking at you is enough,” you smirked. He raised an eyebrow.

“Is that so?”

Larry grabbed you and tackled you to the floor. He started scribbling his fingers all over your tummy.

“NAHAHAHAHA!” You screeched, grabbing hold of his wrists.

“What’s the matter?” He asked, coolly. He started squeezing up and down your sides. You yelped and tried to twist away.

“See? You’re not even looking at me and yet I’m making you laugh,” he teased. His fingers scribbled up and down your sides and across your tummy making you shriek with laughter.

“Seems like someone’s in a bit of trouble,” teased Ben.

“SHUHUHUT UHUHUHP!” You screamed, making him laugh.

“You’re not gonna let her speak to you like that are you?” asked Jim. Ben cleared his throat and slowly approached you.

“FUHUHUCK OFF!” You yelled as you spotted Ben.

“Now now, no need for that is there young lady?” Ben asked. He pinned one arm above your head and wiggled his fingers into your armpit. You yelped and tried to twist away but couldn’t because Larry was straddling your waist.

“NOHOHOHOHO!” You cried, overcome with laughter.

“Does this tickle, Y/N? Does it?” Ben teased, tickling deep into your armpit.

“YEHEHEHEHES!”

“Hm, clearly not enough if she can still speak though. Mat! Jim! Give us a hand,” Larry ordered. They looked at each other and smiled before approaching you too.

Larry shuffled down until he was sat on your legs and Mat and Jim sat either side of you.

“Ben, if you please?” Larry said. Ben nodded and pulled both your arms up above your head and knelt on them.

“G-guys..what are you doing…” you asked, nervous.

“Oh nothing, just making sure we can make you laugh without saying a word,” Larry said. “Ready boys?” Mat, Jim and Ben nodded.

“Get her.” Larry said with a deep voice.

Ben scribbled his fingers into your underarms whilst Larry spidered his fingers across your tummy. Mat and Jim were squeezing up and down your sides and your ribs. You screamed louder than ever.

“WAHAHAHAIT NOHOHO PLEHEASE!” You cried.

None of them said a word. Larry caught your eye and winked. He lifted up your top a little bit and danced his fingers around your waistline.

“LAHAHAHAHARRY!” You cried.

Silence.

“PLEHEHEHEASE!”

Larry raised an eyebrow at the boys and shook his head. Without warning, he bent down and blew a raspberry on your tummy. The noise that came out of you was inhumane. Larry shot a look at Jim and Mat and used his eyes to instruct them to do the same.

Simultaneously, the three boys bent down and blew raspberry after raspberry on your tummy. Ben had picked up the pace of fingers tickling your armpit. You screamed and shrieked and tried to twist and turn but it was no use. In the end, the armpit tickling and the raspberries, mixed with fingers scribbling into your sides, became too much for you and you fell into a silent laughter. The boys stopped instantly and sat back up.

“You...monsters…” you panted.

“Made you laugh without saying a word,” Larry shrugged.

“That...was cheating,” you scoffed.

“Did you or did you not laugh?” he asked. You muttered out a yes.

“See? I’m always right,” he teased.

They all got off of you and Ben gave you a hand up. Larry pulled you in for a hug before whispering in your ear.

“Are you kidding? I’m always happy to,” you hummed, grinning down at the perfect little baby in your arms. You’d always suspected that their kids would turn out to be annoyingly perfect.

After your summer internship at Dunder Mifflin had ended, you’d left that weird few months of your life behind — except for Jim and Pam. They’d pretty much been the one good thing to come out of your time there, and so here you were. A year and a half later, being their on-call babysitter for Cece Halpert.

“Are you sure this is okay? We really don’t have to go,” you heard Pam from over your shoulder, and chuckled.

“Trust me, I would’ve done anything to get out of my house tonight.” Your voice faltered slightly, and Pam slowed in her movements.

You cleared your throat, not liking the feeling that was settling over the room. “Plus, I wouldn’t dare deprive you of seeing Scranton’s most talented actor on stage,” you added, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Go, have fun.”

You saw Jim exchange a familiar look with Pam over your head. She quickly dropped beside you, pressing a kiss to Cece’s forehead, then yours. You wrinkled your nose in fake disgust, smiling as they hurried out the door.

They arrived home at about 10pm, Cece long asleep and you curled up on their sofa, watching reruns of Boy Meets World. You hardly noticed them come in until the sofa cushions either side of you shifted. You just about jumped out of your skin, looking between the couple who had apparently appeared out of thin air in a mix of amusement and frustration.

“You did that on purpose,” you grumbled, sitting back. They laughed, not even trying to deny it.

“What, you through having a baby would make Jim ‘grow out’ of pranks?” Pam teased. “He has to get his fix somehow.” You rolled your eyes, going to turn the TV off, but Jim grabbed your wrist.

“I need my eyes to be cleansed after seeing what I just saw,” he explained, his voice dramatically pained. You giggled, raising your eyebrows.

“That bad?”

“There was no ‘bird’ this time, so that’s a plus.”

Now, you descended into your favourite part of these nights — just sitting and chatting with Jim and Pam. What with Scranton’s range of people being fairly small, they were kind of your only friends here outside school.

The conversation ended back on pranks, and you were struggling to keep your laughter quiet enough as to not wake Cece.

“I swear, the next time I’m going into work late I’m gonna ask him to pretend to be me,” Jim grinned, clearly proud of his plan.

“Okay, but any photos on either of your desks, you have to retake them with him in it,” you spluttered. “And you have to film it!”

You turned back to Pam as you said this, catching her mid-eye roll. You scoffed.

“I think she’s mocking us, Halpert,” you mused, tilting your head. Pam raised her eyebrows.

“She acts as if she’s so above it all,” Jim added, his smile adding an affectionate tone to his words. “But she loves pranking Dwight just as much as I do.”

“That’s because it’s Dwight. He deserves it.”

“Hold on, I seem to recall the both of you dolling out a fair share of pranks to me,” you said, defensive.

“That was because you were new,” Pam replied. “And it was hardly a prank — look at us now!” She smiled, and while you could have ended the ordeal there, the relationship the three of you had didn’t exactly come about by ending things when they should have been ended.

“Who would’ve known I’d be suffering the consequences over a year later,” you muttered. You didn’t need to look up to know the expressions of fake-hurt that they were surely both bearing.

“I seem to remember a particular prank,” Jim said under his breath. Now you kind of wished you’d stopped.

Anticipating what was to come, you leaned forward, making to leave the sofa — but Jim was ready, and his hands easily found their way to your waist. The moment his fingers curled, you fell back into the sofa, unwilling to put up such a tough fight for a tender moment.

“Jim!” you laughed, his hands scribbling up your sides to pinch at your ribs. You couldn’t help but squirm, and his year and a half of experience was evident as he kneaded his thumbs under your arms, sending you into hysterics.

“Sorry, Y/N, you insult my wife, this is what you get,” he said, shrugging in apparent oblivion to your laughter.

“I was insuhuhulting you tohohoo!” you managed, challenging his smirk with a (less-voluntary) one of your own.

“My mistake,” Jim continued, unphased. “Pam Beesly-Halpert, will you defend my honour?”

“Gladly,” came the hum from behind, and before you could get in a word of protest, another pair of hands found your stomach, nails trailing across to your sides and swirling against your hips. A mumbled mess of various curses was all you could direct to Pam.

“This is so much wohohorse,” you giggled breathlessly, Pam’s tickly fluttering alongside Jim’s ruthless tickles to your ribs driving you half-insane. Your head tilted back to meet Pam’s eyes, her grin almost as wide as yours. You held her gaze as you snorted, a sense of frantic joy and peace written across both your faces.

Having you apologise was unrealistic, so they eventually let up. 6 months ago, in this same position, you remembered curling up, pushing them away until you calmed down. But now? Now, you just lay there, chest heaving and smiling wide.

You stayed like that for a little while longer — you didn’t really know how long. You were almost starting to doze off when realisation struck.

“Um, I should get going,” you said, getting to your feet.

“Oh...yes, of course, let me get the money.” Jim went to grab his wallet, but this time, it was your hand on his wrist.

“You don’t need to pay me. You guys...this...you’ve already ‘paid’ me, you know?” You shifted, unnecessarily uncomfortable in the place you so desperately wanted to call your second home.

Jim just nodded. He knew when not to press. You said your goodbyes, and the two walked you to your car.

“Y/N, you don’t have to come over just to babysit,” Pam said softly. “We care about you, okay?”

You nodded. “Okay.”

A squeeze to your shoulder, a hand closing the car door. Security, care you couldn’t find elsewhere.

"What in the - Spock! What are you talking about?! I've a routine examination in 20 minutes and I don't have time to waste on-"

"Doctor." Spock fixed Bones with a look which stayed his verbal assault. He then tucked himself quite flatly behind a cupboard which protruded from the internal bulkhead.

Bones threw his hands up in the air and grumbled, "Not even an explanation, fine then!"

Not a moment later, the sliding doors opened once again to reveal an agitated James Kirk, a little out of breath but Bones thought he detected a sparkle in his eye, the kind he had when there was an idea in his head.

"Did Spock come in here?"

"In the corner." Bones pointed over his shoulder with the stylus, going back to his datapad.

Spock quickly stepped out from his hiding place and froze facing Kirk, the two stopped at a distance. Keeping his eyes on Kirk, he spoke. "Doctor McCoy, I fail to see how you could misunderstand my clear instruction not to-"

"What did you really think I was gonna do? Use your logic, Spock."

The captain remained where he was, eyeing his first officer with that glint in his eye.

"So, Spock. Thought you could rely on old Bones to get you out of this did you?"

"Old?" Bones chimed in from the other side of the room.

"I did surmise he might be of some help." Spock said, body poised and sounding unsure of his words.

"Not your best idea, huh?"

"Evidently not." Spock said with a hint of facetiousness.

"Bones, lock the door."

Bones looked up in shock, before rolling his eyes and puffing his cheeks, moving to the door and exclaiming, "Fine! Whatever you two are doing, it better be done in 10 minutes. Some of us have a job to do!"

All the while, Spock had been watching intently for any sign of movement from the captain, and Kirk's eyes were trained on him. The two stood there, like a standoff. Bones watched, curiosity piqued. Everything was still, that is until Kirk moved his foot to step.

All in a moment, the room was suddenly a bustle. Spock leaped over a bed, Jim followed round it, Spock reached the other bulkead, past Bones, skirting the outside towards the door, doubling back when Kirk crossed the room to get there first.

Bones, in the middle of it all, shouted, "What the hell are you two doing?! This isn't a damn playground, it's a hospital!"

Jim was now advancing on a more and more cornered Spock, who had succeeded only in finding himself a small space at the back of the room to retreat to.

"Captain, I would request that you cease this endeavor and that we both return to normal activities immediately."

"Why Spock? You scared you'll let a little of that human emotion slip?" Jim grinned, though it was a clear taunt to draw Spock in.

"Jim. You know there is human in me. Why do you persist to attempt at forcing me to display it?" Spock replied in a more intimate tone.

"Because it's fun." Jim lunged forward, however just as he attempted to grab the vulcan, Spock crouched and slipped underneath his outstretched arms.

Always ready, Jim spun around on the ball of his foot and threw himself after the first officer.

"Gotcha!" He cried as he landed on top of Spock, his weight pushing him prone and keeping him there, on his face.

Spock fought against the heaviness holding him down, and given vulcans' strength, Jim was well near thrown off, but held on, grasping the other's collar as you would a rodeo. Spock said nothing save for the sounds of his struggles.

"So Bones... I've got a little question for you. Have you ever seen a vulcan laugh?" Jim practically grinned in his tone alone, and was met with renewed energy from the vulcan in question.

"Once, actually."

Jim threw a look of alarming question back at Bones.

"It's a long story." Bones replied.

Jim hesitated and then continued, still riding the bull.

"Well, you're about to see it again! Can you guess which vulcan on board this vessel can laugh, and has laughed today, and has been a pain in my ass for days, and incidentally, is insanely tickl-"

"CAPTAIN!" Spock suddenly shouted.

"-ish."

"You're not honestly telling me-"

"Isn't that right, Spock?" Jim put his hands onto Spock's sides below the ribs, and started squeezing up and down his flanks.

Spock shivered, and then went stiff as a board. Mysteriously not a sound had emerged, but the change was definite.

"Uh, Jim? Is he ok?"

"Don't worry, he'll come out of it in a minute." Jim said with certainty and continued pressing all along the vulcan's sides.

Rightly enough, a few second later Spock was shivering again, yet constantly, and a strange humming noise was coming from the floor beneath his head. Jim kept squeezing and the humming came in more sporadic bursts. Bones could see round the side of his head, and from that small view, he saw the corners of the vulcan's mouth were turned up.

"Holy..."

"Wait for it, Bones..." Jim squeezed up and down another time, before suddenly clutching on tightly around Spock's midriff, right over his ribs with both hands and vibrating his fingers firmly over those delicate bones.

"Hah!" Spock squeaked out before burying his face into the floor.

"C'mon Spock... Don't hold out on me!" Jim teased, smiling big as he continued to torture Spock's ribs. Spock was now starting to jitter over the hard floor as if electrocuted, hopping this way and that as the captain's fingers followed his every movement.

"CaHAHptain! DeHEsist immediHAHtely!"

Though the effects of Jim's ministrations were obvious, Spock had thus far managed to contain his reactions to short bursts of movement and sound.

Jim spidered his fingers further down towards Spock's waist and hips. Spock began to wriggle more noticably as the fingers descended. As they landed in the dips of his hips he suddenly and violently curled inwards and finally, broke.

"NOHOhohoho!! Cahahaptaihahain nohohohooo!!"

"Bones - vióla".

The doctor simply looked on with his mouth hanging open.

"E-E-ENOUHOUHOUHOUGH!" Spock appeared unable to fight back, as his body responded in a solely reactive way.

"But Spock, buddy! You love this so much!"

"CAAHAHAHAPTAIHAIHAIN!!!"

"Call me Jim."

"J-JIHIHIHIIIM!!"

"Little louder..."

"JIM!!!"

"Now a little quieter."

"JI- JihihiHIM!"

"Now, touch your toes!"

Spock shook his head hopelessly and melted into laughter as Jim lead a merciless assault all over him.

"Hey Bones, check this."

Jim scratched from top to bottom along the writhing Vulcan's spine, teasing along and to either side, only for his first officer to curl upwards, laughter turning to high giggles.

"Well wouldya look at that." The doctor said, crossing his arms over his chest. "A giggling vulcan. Cute."

"Yeah well if you think that then get over here and help me, he's gonna throw me off!" Jim now battled to stay on as he attempted to squeeze the backs of Spock's thighs.

"Actually, much as I would love to wipe the smile off - or on - that guy's face, I'm going to have to break it up. Before my patient arrives."

Spock nodded his head frantically, unable to hide his smile, a greenish-yellow undeniably coving his cheeks.

"Aw." Jim whined.

His hands came to a gentle stop and over the next 30 seconds Spock's breathing slowed to a much more normal rate. He said nothing, remaining lying down with his eyes closed as if he had perhaps fallen asleep.

There was a moment of hung silence before suddenly -

Spock's hands were on the ground beneath him, pushing up, slowly yet in a way which seemed unstoppable, like a glacier following its course down a valley, and Jim, still perched on his back was brought along with it.

Jim wobbled and tried to find balance, surprise on his face, before a look of realisation hit him and he scrabbled up to his feet and back.

Spock rose, picking himself up to his feet. He stood, dusted himself off and released a controlled exhale. Jim stood wide-eyed until the vulcan turned to face him.

Though his face had been trained back to a more characteristic stoicism, there was no doubt about the cock to his eyebrow, the tightness of his lips, the set of his teeth which gave away his true feeling.

"Captain. You have exactly until I have finished speaking to make your exit- "

Turns out, you were going to wish he’d got it over and done with. The next two weeks of your life looked like they were going to be living hell – as if spending your summer working at a paper company with an incompetent boss and a really annoying desk-mate wasn’t enough, you were now looking over your shoulder every minute.

In all honesty, and this was never something you would’ve admitted to anyone in a million years...by the end you began to realise it wasn’t so bad.

While the past couple of weeks had been mildly terrifying, Pam and Jim had taken a genuine liking to you. They’d taken time to get to know you: hanging out in the break room, saving you a seat in the conference room – Jim had even got you in on a prank he was pulling on Dwight (it was hilarious, and definitely worth the 4 hours of work you had to catch up on). 

And so, a mere fortnight after the perilous parking lot incident, you found yourself not hating the fact that you had to stay late on a Friday with Jim, Pam, Michael and Erin.

It was just some inventory stuff, and the accounting department had basically begged you to take on their part. All in the name of ‘invaluable experience’, which you knew was bullshit, but you didn’t have anything better to do...so there you were.

“Hey, Y/N, come here a second?” Pam called you from the break room, and you happily abandoned the work, sauntering over.

She invited you to sit down, and you noticed Jim by the vending machine. You tilted your head, a little confused.

“Y/N, I would say we’ve bonded rather well over the past two weeks, wouldn’t you?” Jim sat down across from you, a pensive expression on his face. “One would even dare say we’ve become friends?”

“I mean, yeah, I guess,” you stammered, unsure of what direction this was heading. Were they going to berate you? Fire you? Invite you to a dinner party? “We just wanted to make sure you’re okay with that. Us...being your friends,” Pam chimed in. 

“Of course – is there a reason I shouldn’t be?” you asked.

“No, we just wanted to really, really, make sure,” Jim replied, and as he spoke, he rose from his seat and started to walk nonchalantly towards you, Pam following behind.

As if he’d hit a switch, the memories of two weeks ago came rushing back. You jumped to your feet, blanching.

“Wahahait,” you giggled, curling in on yourself. “Don’t even think about it.”

It was two against one, and you all knew that if they decided to attack, you would have no way of escaping. All the same, you didn’t make a run for it.

“We know it gets boring around here some...well, all of the time,” Jim said. “We thought we could make it a little more interesting.”

Right when you thought you were done for, they both stopped, looking expectantly at you. You bit your lip. I mean, it was mind-numbingly boring...and they were your friends...so maybe they had a point.

Before you could change your mind, you narrowed your eyes and nodded. “Okay.”

You didn’t get a second to think before they pounced, trapping you in a corner almost immediately.

Jim’s fingers latched onto your sides, scribbling up and down, while Pam curled hers around your neck, making your shoulders scrunch up.

“Noho!” you squealed, giggles pouring from your lips. Jim’s squeezing and poking combined with Pam’s light, feathery touches had you a squirming mess in a matter of seconds, and you could tell they were taking pride in that.

“No? We’ve hardly started!” Jim teased, and you managed to squeeze in a sarcastic groan between your giggles – which was quickly silenced by a pinch to your knee.

You slid down the wall, batting at their hands, your skin, every bit of you that was alive with ticklish electricity. Jim crawled his fingers up your sides, venturing dangerously close to your underarms.

“Should I do it, hun?” he asked Pam, who had made herself busy with seeing which part of your knee made you jerk the most.

“Might as well do it now, I don’t think she can take much more,” Pam teased, smiling affectionately as your face heated up.

“Stohohop,” you giggled breathlessly, your half-hearted tugging against his grip having no real impact. Jim raised an eyebrow, and you held your breath in anticipation, still squirming from Pam’s nails scratching at your knee.

But then, he pulled away, as did Pam, leaving you to sink into a heap on the floor.

“Alright.”

You tilted your head up at Jim, your chest heaving. “Huh?”

He and Pam exchanged a look. “We don’t wanna make you uncomfortable or anything, so, get back out there,” Pam said, offering you her hand. You couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed – as embarrassing as it may be, it was the most fun you’d had in ages. You bit your lip, but got to your feet, grinning sheepishly at the two as you headed back to the office.

“Unless, of course, you’d rather not.” Jim piped up from behind you, and you turned around slowly.

“I mean, we won’t judge.”

You eyed the door to the annex behind them. “Only if you can catch me.”

Before they had time to pounce, you ducked under Jim’s arm and bolted for the door. You heard two pairs of footsteps in close pursuit, and preemptive giggles spluttered out as you looked for a place to run to. 

Try as you might, it was literally just an office, and you soon found yourself cornered between walls and desks.

Pam’s face split into a huge grin when she saw you, wasting no time in running forward and scribbling her hands up your sides. You shrieked, caught off guard, and you were very glad there was a break room separating you from Michael and Erin.

Jim was not far behind, and you hardly had time to cry out a “WAIT!” before you were once again pinned into a corner, Pam gently holding your hands back while Jim crawled his fingers up under your arms – and that was the last straw. You exploded into squirmy, loud laughter, practically melting into the floor, your eyes squeezed shut and your mouth split into a huge smile.

Pam let your hands go soon after, and you recoiled, slapping at Jim and sinking into breathless giggles. The two smiled affectionately between themselves, and then at you, as you got to your feet, grinning sheepishly.

“We never speak of this,” you mumbled. Jim raised his eyebrow. “Well -”

He was cut off by Pam gently hitting him on the shoulder. “We won’t, Y/N, don’t worry.”

You caught a glimpse of movement in your peripheral vision, and your heart dropped.

“Shit -” you pointed at a cameraman who was hiding quite well behind a plant.

“I thought there weren’t supposed to be any here tonight!” Despite having enjoyed yourself, you were now beginning to regret it - this was meant to have been completely private. 

The two sensed your concern, and without hesitation, Pam squeezed your hand as Jim started over towards the offending plant (or rather the person cowering behind it).

Pam pulled you into a hug, and you relaxed.