#ler!logan

Logan sat on the edge of the bed with his face solemn. He wasn't sure why, but he just felt......off for some reason. And the fact that he didn't even know why he felt like this was pushing him into a more foul mood.

Wade was puttering around the room as he got dressed for the day, jabbering on mindlessly about some television show he'd been watching and Logan had all about tuned him out by this point.

"And then that rat bastard Myung-gi killed my beloved Thanos! Ugh! So upsetting. Well that's just how it goes, I guess. It's either kill or be killed in the Squid Games. It low key does look kind of fun actually. Any predictions to who is going to make it to the final game?" He turned around to find his companion spacing out and staring blankly at the wall.

The next thing Logan knew Wade was knelt in front of him with his face at his eye level, pursing his lips to blow a little puff of air into the distracted man's face to get his attention.

"Yoohoo....Is anyone in there? Got any commentary to add to the Squid Games saga?"

Logan of course hadn't been listening, making him frown more now that Wade had proved just that.

"What's wrong, Peanut? We've literally just woken up so there's no way that I've already maxxed out your tolerance limit for me yet," Wade joked like he normally did to try to lighten the mood while Logan remained straight-faced and shook his head.

"Sorry. I really don't know. Just my mind gettin' the best of me again. Nothing unusual," he shrugged, looking down at the floor with Wade knowing he had to take the reins here.

"That's alright, we won't let it ruin your day. If we work together I know we can put it to rest," Wade smiled as he placed his hands on Logan's shoulders and moved to straddle his lap, "Now look at me and try to relax your breathing like we've practiced. Don't be scared. I'm right here with you."

"I'm not scared, Wa- ," he was cut off when Wade threw his arms around his head and pulled it against his chest as he began gently stroking Logan's hair.

"Shhshh, it's okay now. You're safe with me."

Logan rolled his eyes but found Wade's attempts to cheer him up a lot of times would end up working out in the end. Taking a deep breath, he nodded while Wade released him and then cupped the sides of his face to make him look into his eyes.

"You have to want this too. If I could reach into your brain and flick a switch to make you instantly feel better then I would. Just concentrate on me and enjoy the moment. Tell any bad feelings you have to kick rocks," he combed his fingers through the facial hair along Logan's jawline, taking the first step as Logan focused on that and started to relax.

He momentarily closed his eyes while a contented groan escaped him from the soothing touch, feeling Wade's thumbs delicately slide up his face and start to brush over his shut eyelids.

"That's it. Give into the now and let any tension inside of you just melt away," Wade spoke softly, smiling when he felt Logan's hands settle onto his lower back in response. His thumbs continued upward to massage at his forehead, receiving another moan as Logan's head rolled back a little.

"There we are. Doesn't that feel nice, sugar tits?"

Logan opened his eyes, unable to stop from smiling a little as he looked at the man in front of him. Wade was far from being perfect, but the amount of care he showed towards Logan was unmatched in any universe.

Despite his chaotic personality, he somehow managed to bring Logan an overwhelming level of comfort and had even gotten him to not be so bottled up and to lighten up a little more. He was a lot happier these days, even if his mind still threw him for a loop every now and then.

But it didn't matter what the situation, Wade had his back through everything and refused to ever give up on him no matter how many times Logan tried to push him away. He wasn't sure exactly what made Wade want to pursue him in the first place, but in the end, he was glad that he had.

As Wade's eyes stared into his affectionately and his fingers continued to gently caress his scalp Logan felt the feeling of butterflies in his stomach, which was not something he'd experienced much in his lifetime. The feeling put him in a state of serenity and had him thinking that he could seriously marry this idiot someday.

Still, even with all of these relaxed feelings flooding his brain right now he couldn't quite shake that nagging feeling that he'd started with at the back of his mind.

Sure this was all good, but it wasn't what he needed right now. He craved a little rougher action. Something to blow off some steam. He could see that Wade was too busy focusing on enjoying the moment with his forehead leaned against his own as he let out a happy sigh. 

The sight of the normally hyperactive Wade being this calm while he himself was feeling more than restless triggered something inside of him. It was like an itch that he had to scratch. He needed to provoke the merc somehow to get him to change direction of their current situation and engage in a more physical altercation. 

Nothing violent though. While the two of them enjoyed a good brawl together they saved that as an outside-the-apartment activity to keep the peace with Wade's other roommate, Blind Al. He still remembered how pissed she had been about how the apartment had reeked of blood for weeks back before the rule had been created.

Wrestling and grappling with each other proved to be a little less messy and was a good middle ground because it at least helped Logan get some of his pent-up energy out, even if they did occasionally break things in the apartment to get scolded over later. 

There were still a few rules to follow with the obvious being no claws or weapons, though there was also stuff like no biting or punching or eye-gouging. Anything really that might risk any blood being spilt. 

It was usually pretty evenly matched with Wade's cunning tactics versus Logan's brute strength, meaning the scuffle could last for hours at a time. Which is why Wade started seeking out all options to get the edge to one up his partner.

It was a surprise to the both of them when Wade's first joking 'coochie coo' ended up getting a startled laugh out of Logan and instantly destroyed his confident posture. He was doomed after that and started to lose more and more due to the fact that Wade frequently loved to cheat every time he managed to get him pinned by literally tickling him to tears.

And Logan would let him. Not only because he saw how much fun Wade had with it, but it also didn't take him long to realize that laughing himself breathless while struggling to get away was ultimately better at helping him to unwind than being in an actual fight. The serotonin boost he experienced from it all was unreal.

Returning the favor didn't come naturally to him because he'd always seen the concept of tickling as being something too silly for the likes of a guy like him to engage in. But then again, he had never been involved with a guy like Wade before who positively thrived off of things of that nature.

So little by little he started figuring out the merc's weak points and began using Wade's uncensored mouth as a reason to sneak in retaliatory pokes and ticklish squeezes. Or even if Wade himself was feeling a little down Logan liked having a way to coax a smile onto his face and Wade always appreciated that effort.

Still he had never gone full-force on Wade yet to really let him have it. Mainly because he was admittedly a little nervous about what Wade would do back to him, but at this moment it didn't seem like such a bad idea. As stupid as it sounded, a real, no holds barred tickle fight could be just what he needed to drive away the nagging feeling that he had.

He decided he was going for it, and he couldn't hold back the smile as he moved a hand into position deceptively harmless on Wade's left side.

Meanwhile, Wade was just relishing in the feeling of his skin against Logan's, which was quite warm and felt comforting. Loving, physical touch wasn't something that Logan had allowed right away, but Wade eventually broke him down and made him see what he'd been missing all this time.

And now Logan could hardly get enough of it. His heightened senses made him very sensitive to being touched and the way that Wade would pet and caress him so softly brought pleasures to him that he didn't know were even possible.

Not to mention Wade was a little touch-starved himself since he'd last been with Vanessa. His appearance made most people not want to even get within ten feet of him so it had been a while since he'd been close with another human being so intimately.

But Logan wasn't like others and had found Wade's skin to be fascinating in a way and even appealing. The texture was a strong contrast to his own and he found that the feeling of it against his sensitive skin to be very stimulating and enjoyable, which in turn made Wade feel more confident about his body again.

Wade didn't know it was possible to love someone as much as he had Vanessa, but here he was. Totally smitten with the Wolverine of all people. One of his top ten fantasies for sure, which he'd naturally been over-eager to share with Logan.

He didn't know how long this whole thing would last, but he'd try everything in his power to not fuck this one up. The fact that they were alike in many ways, including the major one of being unable to die, gave him a lot of hope and always had him imaging what their future would bring.

Marriage? Life-long vows? A little house on the prairie? Finding a way to procreate and have micro-sized Wades and Logans running around? The possibilities were infinite!

Wade was finally pulled from his daydreaming when the hand settled on his waist began gently squeezing into the flesh, triggering the sensitive nerves in his skin that immediately forced him into giggles.

"Hehey! Logahahahan...B-Baby cahahaakes- heheheheehee- You're tihihickling me," he wiggled in place as he didn't do much to stop it, surprised that Logan had stooped to what he frequently referred to as childish nonsense, especially when he hadn't done anything to antagonize him.

"Oh? Am I? Had no idea," Logan's lips drew into a smirk as his hand slid down a little further to pinch at a good spot he knew of on Wade's hip, making the slimmer man let out an amusing squealing yelp before his hands flew down to grab onto Logan's wrists.

He playfully glared at his boyfriend who retained his look of feigned ignorance to what he had just done.

"I'm pretty sure you know deep down in your caked-up posterior that it's a bad idea to take on me. You're treading dangerous waters, my foolish honey badger. So you stop that now and let me love on you. I'm trying to be nice here," Wade pushed Logan's hand to the side away from him and once he was satisfied he returned to his attempts to be soothing as he started placing soft kisses onto Logan's face.

But Logan wasn't interested. He had smelled blood in the water and now couldn't resist the urge he felt to be the one to wreak a little havoc and completely throw Wade off of his game for once.

"Nice, huh.....Yeah......Well I'm not...."

Wade had no time to react before Logan's hands latched onto his sides and started viciously scribbling at his ribcage as Wade jerked back and immediately tried to curl over in protection. All was in vain though and a split second later he was thrashing in Logan's lap as he laughed and squealed from being tickled mercilessly.

"You ohohovergrohohown weheheheheasel! Aaahahahahahah! Yohohohou're gonna fuhuhuhuhucking dieheeheehee!"

"Oh no, I'm shaking in my boots, darlin'," Logan replied sarcastically with a devious grin as he stepped up his attack, both hands shooting down to Wade's sensitive hips to dig in with his surprisingly quick fingers.

"Hohoholy shihihihhiit! Nooohohoohoooo! Noohohohoot thehehehere!" Wade arched his back and flailed even more spastically as helpless laughter rippled out of him, his hands clinging onto Logan's but having no ability to remove them.

In his desperation to escape, Wade threw all of his weight backwards as he toppled out of Logan's lap and hit the floor with a loud thump. He was only down for a moment as he panted to catch his breath before hearing a mocking snort and looked up to find Logan shaking his head.

"Wow. You're some big-shot assassin, huh? Tch, pretty fuckin' pathetic."

Wade processed his teasing insult as he observed the way Logan was leaning back on his hands on the bed and leering at him with a sly smile. He wasn't tense or in a position of looking to defend himself from Wade's inevitable revenge.

His brain didn't take long to see that it was clearly obvious that Logan was baiting him. The Wolverine wasn't in the mood for tranquility and meditation. He wanted to play. 

Wolverine wanting to start a tickle fight with him was definitely not something he thought he'd ever see, but Wade was one thousand percent thrilled to oblige. In a split-second he had scrambled to his feet and lunged at the other man, knocking him back onto the bed just as his fingers buried into his armpits for some payback.

Logan was just as ticklish, if not more, and Wade was very familiar with every weak spot on his body. He quickly had the X-man in a fit of deep belly laughter as he thrashed with his arms clamped down uselessly, trying to wriggle up the bed to get out from underneath his companion.

"Well well well, look what the fuck we've got here. Weren't you just talking some shit a moment ago? Look who completely falls to pieces when being tickled. And I thought I was dealing with the tough as nails Wolverine here," he pretended to sound surprised while he grinned widely, not letting up one millimeter.

"The- They dohohohon't cahahall me the wohohohohorst- ahahahhahaha- worst Wolverihihihihiine fohohor noh- nohohohohothin'!"

Wade chuckled at the uncontrollable snorts expelling from Logan as he tried to catch his breath between laughs. He found it absolutely adorable.

"Well you got what you wanted, didn't you? And now you're going to fucking pay. For your information I accept Bitcoin, IOUs, gratuitous hand jobs, or the sweet, angelic sounds of Wolvie giggles. I see you've already selected your payment option."

"Shihihihiit! Okaahaahaaay! Truce! Truhuhuhuuuce!" Logan pleaded through his mirth when he found that there was no escape as Wade just gazed down at him skeptically.

"A truce you want, eh? Somehow, I get the feeling that you're not being one hundred percent sincere about that. Go on and explain to me exactly why I should believe you," Wade remained wary and only dug deeper under his arms, making it more of a struggle for Logan to get his words out clearly.

"B-Beheeheehee- Becahahahause- Hahahahaha- 'Cahahause you lohohove meheeheehee!"

"Ugh, you lousy, cheating motherfucker. You just had to pull that goddamn sappy ass card, didn't you?" Wade groaned but relented anyways, "Okay fine fine, I got you back so I guess we can call it eve- Gaah!"

Wade was naive to think that Logan had learned his lesson as the feral man sprang up from the bed to quickly switch positions before grinning a fanged grin down at his prey.

"You're such a fuckin' sucker, Wilson."

"Cock sucker if you want to be specific, though I'd like to remind you that I'm not just a whore and have many other redeeming qualitIEEHEEHEES!" Wade was back to squealing helplessly as Logan kneeled on his legs to hold them down so he could attack his thighs.

"Always blabberin' away, aren't ya Mouth? Ya just never know when to shut the fuck up," Logan teased while his large hands massaged into the softer insides of Wade's thighs, producing the most satisfying cackles as Wade's upper body flailed about comically.

Logan was being a little facetious because he knew the thighs were Wade's most ticklish spot that he had found. It didn't take much there to drive him into a frenzied state to where he would be too overwhelmed with laughter to really be able to utter any intelligible words.

"Naaahahahahaheheeheeheeheee! Sto- hahahahahahahaa! Thahahahaat's uhuhuhunfaaaahaahaahahahahair!"

"Hmm? Didn't understand a word of that. Did you ask for me to never stop? Well okay, if that's what your demented ass wants then who am I to hold that from ya?" He managed to get his hands around to the backs of the legs that now had Wade shrieking to the high heavens.

Logan felt a pleasant tingle in his mind from the fact that he had Wade squirming and squealing underneath him as a mild form of bloodlust started to take over. It stroked something inside of him that he hadn't felt before, and he was finding that he actually didn't want to stop. He finally started to understand Wade's point of view when he was the one being subjected to the same.

Speaking of Wade's point of view, he was absolutely floored by the events of these past few minutes. He had never had Logan come at him this hard before when it came to tickling. Sure he'd oblige him a little every once in a while as payback for whenever Wade would tickle him, but usually he just acted like the whole idea was beneath him.

Even though he was being tickled crazy, Wade was not one bit upset about the situation that he was currently in. He LOVED the fact that Logan had spontaneously decided to provoke him like this even with the knowledge that Wade would most definitely be tickling him back.

He was completely overwhelmed with joy as adrenaline surged in him to fight. Despite the devastating attack going on all over his unbearably ticklish thighs he managed to rip his legs free as he planted both feet against Logan's chest and kicked him off the bed.

Logan fell onto the floor with a grunt, quickly sitting up to see Wade panting for air up on the bed and pointing a shaky finger at him.

"You.....little minx....Ju- Just you wait.....until I get my.....breath back....," Wade threatened with dangerously narrowed eyes.

But Logan had no plans on waiting. His prey drive was still high, and he most definitely was not through with Wade quite yet as his eyes quickly locked onto their next target. Wade had not gotten around to putting on his shoes yet and his socked feet were dangling over the edge within easy reach.

"Thinkin' I'll wait is your first mistake. Now you're gonna get it, shit head," Logan growled playfully as he leapt forward to Wade's delighted horror.

"Waitwaitwait nonono not the feet! Not the feeHEeHeehEETeeHEEHeeEheeH!" Wade screeched loudly once Logan had started to wildly tickle his feet after getting his ankles wrapped tightly in a strong arm.

"Tell me if I'm understanding correctly, 'No' means 'Yes', right? Right. Think I'm learnin' here," the smirk on Logan's face was huge as he scratched at the squirming soles, fingers drifting to the sides to trace the edges and getting just as good of a reaction, "Heh, good spot, huh?"

"You're- ahahahahahahaahaha- wohohohohoorse, you cheeheeheeheeky fuhuhuhucker!" Wade shouted through his out-of-control laughter as he yanked frantically on his legs to try to free himself.

"Says you," Logan snorted, though knowing it was probably true.

"Dohohohon't wohohorry! I'll- gaahahahahaa! I'll prohohooove it toohooo you lahaahaahaater!"

"You're assumin' that I'm gonna let you go. Well I got a newsflash for ya, I don't plan to. Think I'll just keep ya right where ya are," he tweaked at the wiggling toes one by one, drawing more desperate squeals from his helpless quarry.

Wade thought he had died and gone to Heaven. The only person who had ever gotten him this bad before had been Vanessa, though he'd been tied up for that session- Ehem.

Truthfully though, he really didn't mind being tickled. But Wade was the master tickler, and he wasn't ready to be cast from his high and mighty throne just yet. Maybe one day he would let Logan win, but not today....

"Nohohooot toodaahaahaay!" Wade's thoughts blurted from his mouth as he immediately started to tickle Logan back with his fingers attacking his ribs from behind. 

Logan yelped in surprise before breaking into giggles but was determined not to surrender as he tightened his hold on Wade's ankles and doubled down on the tickling.

Wade shrieked and momentarily fell back against the bed before he gathered his strength and lurched himself back up to dig into Logan's sides and armpits again. Logan laughed heartily as he tried his best, though quickly found his grip loosening which enabled Wade to easily pull his feet free.

As the tickling increased, Logan giggled like crazy and attempted to slide to the floor to get away, but Wade wasn't going to let him get off that easily.

"And just where the fuck do you think your cute ass is going? Uh uh no no, the party is just getting started," Wade quickly took the opportunity to wrap his legs around Logan's hips and go for the tackle.

They both tumbled off the bed with a heavy thud as they rolled across the floor together with Wade landing on top to straddle the larger man. In the blink of an eye, he grabbed Logan's arms and quickly pinned them to the floor with his knees, leaving his upper body now completely vulnerable.

Wade delightedly rubbed his hands together before wiggling his fingers up in the air for dramatic effect.

"Hehehe, you are so fucking dead now."

Before Logan could make a move Wade quickly wormed his hands underneath his shirt and furiously tickled his sides and stomach, determined to come out on top in all of this. 

With his belly being his number one worst spot, Logan was a hysterical mess within seconds as he struggled uselessly in Wade's grasp, not being in a good position for defense, much less any offense. He was completely fucked.

"Aahahahaahaahahaha! Waahaahaahaaade! Get ohohohoff!" His legs kicked out desperately as he rolled and squirmed to no avail.

"Sorry sweetie, but I need to make an example out of you, lest anyone else even thinks about trying to challenge me. The name Deadpool will strike fear back into people's hearts once they hear that I took down the great Wolverine- "

"The wohohohooorst!"

"Hush your sexy little mouth! You're the greatest in my eyes and that's all that matters.......Buuuuuuut I'm still going to tickle you to death. Tickle tickle tickle tickle!" His fingers danced over his stomach as they devastated the ticklish muscles, making Logan let out his own squeal of helplessness between his snorts.

"Fuuhuhuhuuuuck! Nooohohohhoooo!"

"No? That means 'Yes', right? Isn't that what you said? ISN'T THAT WHAT YOU SAID?!" Wade grinned and tickled with everything he had in him with his teasing words only increasing Logan's sensitivity as he literally screamed in laughter.

But he didn't mind. Even if Wade had him thinking that maybe he had bitten off a little more than he could chew this whole experience had been exactly what he wanted. That "off" feeling he had had was totally gone and now he just felt completely overwhelmed with the lightheaded feelings of giddiness.

They say laughter is the best medicine and Logan found himself laughing in Wade's prescence a lot more than he used to. Once he had started to drop his guard and get more comfortable around Wade, he found that he actually did say some pretty funny shit.

Still not everything Wade joked about was something Logan understood and could leave him tilting his head at Wade with questionable eyes. But then a few ticklish tasers into his side would get the smile that Wade had been aiming for.

Though it had been rare, Logan hated being tickled in his past because it was mostly done by undesirables simply to embarrass him, but Wade did it in a fun way solely for the fact that he loved making him smile and hearing the sound of his laugh. And Logan didn't find a damn thing wrong with that.

"You think you're the best there is at what you do, huh?! Well you're in my world now, baby! And your tricks of using my love for you against me aren't going to work this time!" Wade proclaimed as he wiggled a finger down into Logan's ultra-sensitive navel, leaving him near out of breath.

Even so Logan was well past the point of trying to bargain his way out of this and had accepted his fate. His entire face and neck were as red as a tomato as he wheezed for air and squirmed feebly with every finger twitch into his belly and waist.

He was just going to let Wade tickle him to his heart's content, like he always did. But at least this time he had the consolation that he didn't go down without a fight as he then lost track of time and started to fade out.

A moment later he felt a thumb softly brushing over his cheeks to wipe away the tears that had leaked out while his eyes blinked to clarity to focus onto Wade smirking with satisfaction down at him.

"You ready to give up, tough guy? There's more where that came from if you're feeling daring...."

Logan only chuckled weakly with a shake of his head as he tried to get his breathing back under control, looking up at Wade with a smile and contentment in his eyes.

"Yeah....Ya win......I give up, asshole."

Wade didn't even see the need to question if he was feeling better now. It already went without saying. He bent over to deliver a quick kiss to Logan's forehead before climbing off of him and helping him sit up.

"Sooooo what did we learn today? Not going to be so gung-ho to mess with me again, are you?"

Logan looked over at him with a small smirk at the corner of his mouth.

"Wouldn't bet on that. I learned you're a lot more ticklish than I thought so I'll be better prepared next time."

"Ha! Just like the argument that Batman will always win with prep time I will be more than happy to prove you wrong," he poked Logan's side one last time as they got up off the ground, "Now if you're through playing games we can carry on with our day of fun and shenanigans."

Logan paused as a thought came across his mind from Wade's last words.

"While we're on the topic of games, I just wanna say fuck Thanos."

Wade turned his head slowly to look at him with an ominous look on his face.

"Exsqueeze me?!"

"Fuck 'im. The prick had it coming. I'm putting my money on Hyun-ju for this season," Logan nodded as Wade clasped his hands together with joy.

"Awww I knew you were listening after all! You sound pretty confident with that prediction. Care to place a wager?"

"Fine. Loser picks up the tab for take-out and at the bar after the show's over. Who's your pick?"

"Dae-ho."

"Dae-ho is a little punk bitch. You're only picking the guys you think are attractive..."

"I am not! He's a disciplined military man, and I really think he has what it takes to make it to the end!"

"If ya say so. But I've been in the military and I'm telling you that guy is a fraud."

"No way! I'll believe it when I see it. But don't get jealous, you know I only have eyes for you, my precious Peanut," Wade cooed as he hugged Logan from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder to nuzzle his head against him.

Logan snorted loudly in objection and rolled his eyes.

"Pffft, I'm not jealous over some fictional television character. Besides I don't think you'd even have a shot. A guy's gotta be pretty fucked up in the head to align stars with you."

"You mean a guy like you, right?" Wade glanced at him out of the corner of his eye as Logan sighed before nodding after a moment.

"Yeah Wade, a guy like me."

"Well I couldn't have bagged myself a better man. And to think all I had to do was kidnap you and you were putty in my hand," Wade squeezed him affectionately as Logan couldn't help coming up with a sarcastic retort.

"Pretty sure that's called Stockholm Syndrome, bub. Someday I'll come to reason and escape your clutches."

"Naaah, you like being in my clutches," Wade grinned as his hands around Logan's stomach came to life and lightly began to tickle him, forcing giggles out of him as he squirmed in Wade's embrace.

"Ehehehehehe, Ahaham I that trahahansparehehehent?"

Wade nodded as he stopped and happily kissed his stubbled cheek.

"Like glass. But don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks. God knows the ridicule I'd be under if people knew that I was in love with Wade-fucking-Wilson," Logan spoke lightheartedly and tensed up a little, thinking that comment might make Wade tickle him again, but his fingers didn't even twitch.

"I'm afraid envy brings out the worst in people. They're just mad that they lost their chance and I'm off the market now. Too bad so sad," Wade has such a serious tone to his voice even though Logan knew he was only making light of it all as he turned around to face him with a grin.

"I'm just a lucky guy then I guess, huh?"

"Damn right, you are. You won't find another one like me. I'm one of a kind."

"Except for the literal other hundred Deadpools in the Void that I could have my pick from once I get bored of-- "

There was no warning as Wade promptly tackled him back onto the bed and wasted no time to yank up his shirt so he could blow the most devastating raspberries into his stomach while Logan couldn't get his apologies out fast enough. The tears from his uncontrollable laughter were instant as he begged for his life, but Wade wanted to send a message and refused to let up.

So... the Light Sides were weird.

Virgil knew that way before he’d started hanging around their little group. From movie nights to sing-alongs to family dinners, they were overall obnoxiously chummy and irritatingly comfortable with each other.

Case in point: when Virgil finally managed to roll out of bed at about two in the afternoon, there was a strange sound in the air. Not Princey’s singing, or Logic’s lecturing, or even Morality’s incessantly cheerful... whatever he does. 

After reapplying his smeared eye shadow, he meandered out of his room and headed to the common area. As he got closer, it sounded like... laughter?

He huffed a sigh as he swung himself down the stairs.

“Can you all please keep it down--”

Virgil froze, one hand on the railing as he took in the scene before him.

There were the three Light Sides, but he’d never seen them like this. Princey-- ugh, fine, Roman-- was lying on the floor, but what caught Virgil’s eye was the state of disarray he seemed to be in. Next to him was Patton, sitting cross legged and looking similarly rumpled, and next to Patton was Logan, who was normal except for the blush riding high on his cheeks.

That wasn’t the weirdest part, though. The weirdest part was the way Logan was pinching at Roman’s knees and thighs with a careful accuracy, or the way Roman was reaching to vibrate his fingers all over Patton’s stomach, or the Patton had a hand on both Logan’s and Roman’s sides and was squeezing away with reckless abandon. Or the way all three were laughing together in delight at the tickle fight Virgil had somehow managed to walk in on.

Speaking of Virgil: when he processed the scene happening before him, he couldn’t help but let out a surprised little gasp. That noise, quiet as it was in the chaotic room, still managed to stop the other three in their tracks, and they all turned to look at him.

Patton, of course, was the first to speak. “Well, hey, Anxiety!”

“Um--” was all Virgil managed to say. His face turned hot, and he prayed that it wasn’t as bright red as it felt. He gripped the railing under his hand and avoided eye contact. “I--”

Roman scoffed, hurriedly sitting up and pulling away from Logan’s tickly hands.

“Is there something we can help you with, villain?” he asked brusquely, but Virgil got the feeling that he was more embarrassed that Virgil saw him getting tickled than annoyed that the anxious side was there. Still, his words were enough to snap Virgil out of his spell, and he managed to roll his eyes.

“I said,” he repeated, hoping his voice wouldn’t fail him, “would you please keep it down? You’re gonna wake the whole Mind Palace with your... game.”

There was the crack in his voice; Virgil knew it was going to come, and he felt himself grow even warmer. Thankfully, no one commented on it.

“Apologies, Anxiety,” Logan said, straightening his glasses. “We didn’t intend to be so loud. We got... carried away.”

Patton giggled, his hands creeping back to Logan and Roman’s sides. “’Carried away’ sure is one way to put it, guys--”

The other two swatted his hands away, but Virgil caught the flustered grins that adorned both of their faces. Their eyes darted back to Virgil, and he swallowed, suddenly feeling very out of place.

“Uh, okay, fine. Whatever. I’m going back to bed.”

He turned on his heel and marched up the stairs, ignoring Logan’s calls about maintaining a proper sleep schedule, as he tried to stop thinking about what he’d just witnessed.

It wasn’t working. All he could think about now was tickling. How often did the Light Sides tickle each other? Was it often? Who was the most ticklish, and who was the best tickler? Was it always the three of them altogether?

Would they let him join, if he asked?

Virgil’s eyes widened at the thought that just ran through his head. No. Absolutely not, no way, don’t pass go and don’t collect $200.

Like, fine, maybe there was a small part of him that was maybe, just a little, interested in the concept of tickling. And... maybe there was an even smaller part of him that found the idea of being tickled by the Light Sides-- any of them-- somewhat intriguing.

But, fuck. He was Anxiety, for fuck’s sake. He couldn’t like stuff like that. If he asked to be a part of their stupid little game, they’d never let him live it down.

... But. Maybe if he didn’t ask?

He slowly stopped walking as he thought it over in his head. It wasn’t an awful idea. The Light Sides were weird enough that maybe, if he played his cards right, he might be able to lure them into tickling him without him asking.

Honestly, if the idea had come to him on another day, he probably would’ve shoved it way back to the back of his mind and pretended it had no appeal to him. But he could practically still hear the Light Sides’ laughter ringing in his ears, and as much as he was loathe to admit it, he kinda wanted to be a part of their game. So his plan was made.

~

His first target was Patton, which made sense for a lot of reasons. Patton seemed to tolerate him more than the other Light Sides-- more than tolerate, to be honest; it was as if he actually kinda liked him. Another good thing about Patton was his attitude: while Virgil normally found that much cheer to be a little nauseating, he couldn’t deny that if anyone was going to start an impromptu tickle fight, it would be Patton.

“Thanks for helping me with these cookies, Anxiety!” Patton said, bringing Virgil out of his thoughts and back to the present situation. He leaned against the counter, trying his hardest to appear open and approachable.

“Whatever,” he replied. “I don’t really have anything better to do, so. Uh. Yeah.”

Fuck, why was he always so awkward?

Whatever-- at least Patton didn’t seem to notice or care; instead, he was focused on pulling out all of the supplies and ingredients and laying them on the counter.

“Okay, first up is the dry ingredients!” he instructed. “Kiddo, you wanna hand me the flour?”

Virgil nodded, pushing himself off of the counter. “Where is it?”

“It’s, uh...”

Patton paused, looking around he kitchen, and Virgil smirked a little as he was reminded that the paternal figure wasn’t nearly as good at cooking as he implied.

“Oh! It’s right up there!” he finally chirped, pointing past Virgil to one of the cabinets. Virgil followed his finger to the very top shelf of the cabinet.

His eyes widened. Finally, an opportunity.

As casually as possible, he moved to the cabinet and braced on hand on the counter. The other hand, he raised high in the air, stretching out his entire body and putting himself in a very vulnerable position. He even stood on his tiptoes as he stretched, hoping Patton would take the hint and deliver what Virgil wanted.

He reached for the flour for as long as he reasonably could, but after about ten seconds, he had no choice but to grab it and pull it down. He turned around, only to find Patton carefully measuring out baking soda, not even paying attention to Virgil’s attempts at vulnerability.

Virgil kicked himself internally, and after a moment he moved forward and dropped the flour onto the counter.

“Here,” he said shortly. Patton turned, giving him a wide smile.

“Thanks, bud!” he said earnestly, opening the bag and grabbing his measuring cup. “Wanna do this one for me while I get started on the eggs?”

Virgil blinked. He’d kinda forgotten that his whole excuse for hanging out with Patton was baking cookies. “Um, sure.”

Patton gave him yet another sunny smile, and Virgil felt compelled to give him a small one in return as he accepted the measuring cup from him.

The two worked together, measuring and mixing ingredients as Patton chattered away. It was-- kinda nice, to be real? Like, maybe Virgil should offer to do this more often, and if he weren’t in one of the most massive lee moods he’d ever been in in his life, he’d probably be able to appreciate it more.

“Alright, time to get these babies on a cookie sheet!” Patton announced, handing a big spoon for Virgil to use. “And afterwards, don’t tell Logan, but we’re totally gonna lick the bowl.”

Virgil nodded, but he didn’t wanna give up on his mission just yet. “Um... can I, uh, get anything else for you?”

Patton turned and looked at him, blinking in surprise before his smile brightened.

“Well, sure, kiddo!” he replied. “There are some chocolate chips on the top shelf, do we wanna add some of those?”

He pointed to the cabinet that was right above them, and Virgil’s heart beat faster. This was it.

“Sure,” he replied as casually as possible. “I’ll get them.”

He placed a hand on the counter to brace himself, and raised the arm closest to Patton as high as he could reach, pretending to scrabble around for the bag of chocolate chips for a few seconds longer than necessary. He even angled his body as subtly as he could, so that his midriff was practically in Patton’s face as he left himself totally exposed.

But nothing happened.

Virgil frowned, but after a few seconds grabbed the bag from the cabinet anyway, lowering himself back to the floor as he broke the seal on the baggie.

“Here,” he muttered, passing it to Patton without making eye contact. There was the slightest pause, but then the bag was lifted from his hand with no more than a cheery, “Thanks!”

Virgil felt himself suppress a sigh as he helped Patton mix in the chocolate chips. Well. On one hand, he got to spend some time with Patton (and even got cookies out of the deal). On the other hand, his genius plot to get tickled had failed with his first target. It was time for target number two.

~

The sound of operatic singing through the halls of the Mind Palace lead Virgil directly to his next target.

He sighed as he nibbled on one of the chocolate chip cookies he and Patton had made, trying to dispel some of his nervous energy before he reached the living room. It wasn’t even just nerves about his current... desires (although there were plenty of those inside of him right now) but-- fuck, he didn’t do this, he didn’t hang around in the common areas like the rest of them, and if it would be totally weird for him to even try, and they were gonna get angry at him, and it would make getting to know them even more difficult in the future-- 

“Oh, Anxiety.” 

A voice full of suspicion snapped him back to reality. He blinked and realized that he’d made it to the living room, where Roman was standing with some sheet music in hand, rehearsing for some musical, based on how loudly he’d been singing moments before.

“To what do I owe the displeasure?” he continued, eyes narrowed sharply. Virgil mentally shook himself and put on his trademark ‘evil’ smirk.

“Hey there, Princey,” he drawled, holding out the Tupperware container in his hand. “Wanna cookie?”

Roman peered down at the peace offering like it was a bomb. “From you? What, are they poisoned?”

“Yep, I poisoned the cookies,” Virgil deadpanned. “That’s why I’m eating one right in front of you, genius.”

He counted the look of embarrassed realization on Roman’s face as a small victory. 

“Well-- well, you might’ve poisoned all but one of them, just to throw me off!” Roman added haughtily. “So, ha!” 

Virgil raised an eyebrow at him. “Ha.” He looked at Roman for a moment more before taking another bite. “Well, you were rude to me, so now you get no cookies.”

“What-- hey!” Roman replied indignantly. He moved to Virgil, but the dark side easily held the box out of reach. “Anxiety! That’s not fair!”

“You’re gonna have to work a lot harder than that to get these cookies,” Virgil said smugly. He was all to aware of how exposed he was making himself-- it would take so little effort for Roman to grab his side, or scribble at his armpit, or...

But, as expected, nothing came of it, and instead Roman moved away with a derisive sniff.

“Whatever,” he said, turning away. “Even if they’re not poisoned, you probably added salt instead of sugar and cumin instead of cinnamon--”

Virgil narrowed his eyes in annoyance. “Hey, Patton and I made them together, and they’re actually good, so--"

Suddenly Roman's arm shot out, taking advantage of Virgil's distraction to swipe a cookie from the box. “Ha! Got one, thank you!”

Virgil blinked. “You--"

He cut himself off at the genuinely triumphant grin on Roman's face, and it took more willpower than he would've admitted to keep from smiling along.

"Yes, yes, you’re very smart," he said, flopping on the couch and rolling his eyes. "Shut up.”

As he reclined against the sofa, he let his eyes drift shut (insomnia's a bitch, even for a man on a mission to get wrecked), but very quickly it became clear that the other side was going to make a fuckin' production out of eating this cookie.

“Mmm... Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm!" Roman pondered with his mouth full. He waved his arms emphatically as he continued, "This is just the most scrumptious, the most divine, the most splendiferous cookie I’ve ever--”

Virgil's eyes snapped open. “Are you always this dramatic and loud? I’m trying to relax.”

That caught the creative side's attention. Roman turned to look at Virgil with his regular suspicion back in his eyes.

“Relax? Here?”

His tone made Virgil tense up behind his cocky facade. “What about it?”

A few second went by as Roman looked at him skeptically. “Nothing, it’s just... You’re always in your room, hiding away like a hermit in a cave.”

“Hiding?" Virgil repeated, eyes narrowed. "What, from you? Not likely.”

Roman moved closer, suddenly leaning over Virgil's laid out form and coming just inches away from his face.

“Aw, don't tell me that I scare you, little Anxiety?”

With that one sentence, Virgil mood came back even stronger than before. There was something in Roman’s voice-- either his teasing tone or his babyish words-- that made Virgil’s stomach do a completely rude and uncalled-for flip, but he merely rolled his eyes.

“The only thing scary about you is your ego,” he retorted. He scanned Roman up and down before closing his eyes again. “Otherwise, you’re just soft.”

Roman scoffed, turning to leave. “Shut up.”

“Make me, loser.”

He watched Roman’s back as he froze in place, and slowly the creative side turned back around.

“You wanna say that again?”

Virgil felt his breath catch, but he forced himself to stay calm. Now was his chance.

He opened his eyes, shooting Roman the cockiest smile he could muster.

“What, make me?”

The prince was glowering at him, his arms folded across his chest. When he spoke, it was in a deep, smooth voice that sent a shiver down Virgil’s spine.

“You don’t want me to make you.”

Virgil smirked, folding his arms behind his head and gazing up at Roman with a smug look on his face.

“I’d like to see you try, Princey.”

That was it. Roman’s eyes narrowed, dark and competitive, and Virgil had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing preemptively.

“You’re gonna regret that,” he muttered lowly, stalking over to Virgil and-- holy shit, he actually straddled Virgil’s waist and placed his hands on either side of his torso, and this was happening, this was happening, this was--

“Oh my goodness gracious, there it is!”

Roman voice derailed Virgil’s train of thought, and he blinked in confusion at the creative side, who wasn’t even looking at him anymore.

“What--?”

Roman laughed lightly, reaching over Virgil’s head and pulling something out from between the couch cushions.

“My sketchbook!” he said triumphantly, shifting off of Virgil and flipping through the pages. “Finally, I’ve been looking for it forever. I had this great idea where I can use a mix of paint and glitter glue to--”

Virgil’s head spun with the shift in the conversation as Roman rambled about his newest project. The anticipatory tension in his stomach started to lessen, leaving him feeling dazed and confused.

“Um, you-- so-- you--”

Roman wasn’t even listening to him; he easily stood up from the couch-- and Virgil definitely did not try to lean into his touch as he moved away, shut up-- and moved toward the door.

“I must get started right away! My paintbrushes aren’t going to wait any longer!”

He hurried out of the room, leaving Virgil alone on the couch, face flushed and mind full of visions of how exactly he wanted Roman to use those paintbrushes.

He dropped his face into his hands. Why was this so hard?

~

The rest of the afternoon passed without another little event like that-- Virgil had been so flustered, he’d had to go back to his room for several hours, alternating between screaming into a pillow at his own awkwardness, and daring to reminisce about the feeling of Roman's weight pinning him down.

This was such a bad idea. Not only were there a million ways it could go wrong (he could make a fool of himself, he could genuinely cross someone's boundaries on accident, his plan could be found out and his desires could be rejected-- the list goes on) but now he also had to deal with coming so tantalizing close to what he wants more than anything, only to have it slip just out of his reach.

He sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that night, flopping back on his bed--

pressed against the couch cushions, Roman easily holding you down with one hand as the other searches all over for the exact spot to make you beg for mercy, which you know he won't give you, he wants to make you scream--

Immediately he shot up again, face flushed. God, he was jumpy tonight, and that was saying something. He stood up, stepping cautiously around the piles of clothes on the floor to work some of his jitters out. He tried to recall some of the simple exercises Logan had shown him once to help relax him before bed: rolling his neck and shoulders, twisting back and forth to crack his back, raising his arms and stretching them high to the sky--

Patton right behind you, grabbing your hands and holding them nice and tight as he laughs and whispers in your ear, taking full advantage of your riding-up shirt to spider all over that one tickle spot just above your belly button--

His arms snapped down with a choked-off gasp.

Okay. Being in his room was fucking with him. That was definitely why he was feeling jittery and twitchy and sensitive to his own shirt rubbing against his skin. No other reason.

... He had to get out of there.

Grabbing his phone and flipping up his hood, Virgil slid back out into the hallway. It was later in the evening, past dinner time (well, past the time the Light Sides had dinner-- his dinner would involve cold leftovers eaten in front of the fridge at 2 AM) and the Mind Palace was quiet.

Well... mostly quiet.

Virgil crept down the hall to the top of the stairs. From the top, he could make out some sound coming from the living room-- no laughter this time, thankfully, but some quiet droning noises coming from the TV. Probably Patton or Roman-- Logan didn't watch much TV.

Virgil stood with one hand clasped to the stair railing like a life line. He gnawed on his lip, a fluttery, delicate feeling lighting up his chest.

He wanted to try this. There were very few things Virgil ever, ever wanted to try... but he wanted to try this. It was clearly something that was normal among the Light Sides, and-- and despite what he'd previously thought, they don't actually... seem to despise his company. This was-- this was something he could ask for, even just to ask, and even he could admit that the idea of one of them saying yes wasn't impossible.

All at once he lunged down the stairs, feet thumping loudly as he got closer to the living room. He would do it-- he'd go right over to the couch and shove his feet onto someone's lap and surely then, surely then, someone would take pity on him and just freaking tickle him already!

Virgil rounded the corner into the living room, and before he could question himself he hopped over the arm of the couch and threw himself down on the cushions, shoving his feet directly onto the lap of the side sitting at the other end of the couch.

Immediately, he felt two inquisitive eyes boring into him in bewilderment.

"... Anxiety?" Logan asked. "Are you alright?"

Aaaaaaand there went all of Virgil's confidence. He hadn't planned for Logan to be there, not now, not when his mood was at an all time high and he was face to face with the person least likely to do anything about it.

Virgil ignored the tense, mortified feeling in his stomach. “Yup.” A beat, and then he pulled out his phone, as if he hadn't just jumped over the couch just to put his feet in Logan's lap--

“Can I... do something for you?” Logan continued.

Yes, you can pull my socks off and hold my ankles down and--

“Nope.”

Silence fell once again. Virgil was all too aware of his body, too tense to move a muscle or disrupt Logan any further.

“Is this comfortable for you? To have your feet on my lap?”

But... he'd come this far, he'd already pushed past the walls he'd built between himself and the other sides. If nothing else, if this plan failed and he never got what he wanted, at least he could say that he tried.

He shrugged. “Yeah."

He felt Logan's eyes on him a moment longer.

“Very well, then.”

Logan turned back to the TV, and Virgil felt himself wavering already. This was maybe his most ill-conceived idea yet-- they weren't even doing anything together, not really, and try as he might he couldn't think of any way to engage Logan in conversation about anything, let alone anything related to tickling--

“Hey, gang!”

Virgil froze, his stomach plummeting. He shot a desperate glance at Logan, but the logical side paid him no mind as Patton and Roman entered the room, carrying snacks and blankets.

“Ah,” Logan said, turning to the two of them without another glance in Virgil’s direction. “I had forgotten that was tonight.”

Virgil couldn’t help letting out a sigh of frustration, making Roman raise an eyebrow.

“Oh, and I suppose you’re just too cool to deign to join our movie night, huh, Doom and Gloom?”

“Now, Roman, don’t be mean,” Patton gently chastised, placing the snacks on the table and beaming down at Virgil. “We’re happy to have you with us, Anxiety! It’s about time you start joining our group activities.”

Like tickle fights? Virgil thought but didn't say. His ever-growing lee mood was making him feel all fuzzy, and all he could think about as he looked between the three other sides was Patton’s hands, Logan’s fingers, and Roman’s voice, all teasing and tormenting him in unison.

“Whatever,” he finally said, forcing himself to shrug blithely. “I don’t really care--”

He cut himself off with a choked gasp as Roman leaned down and abruptly picked up Virgil into a bridal carry. They stayed still as Patton sat down next to Logan, rearranging the blankets and chattering innocently about what movie to watch, but all Virgil could focus on was the feeling of Roman’s hands on his body and the teasy, squirmy feeling building up in his chest and stomach.

“Are you staying with us or not?” Roman asked lowly, and Virgil had to fight the urge to squeak as his warm breath hit his ear. 

“Uh-- sure.”

Roman hummed, and then he was leaning forward, dropping Virgil into Patton’s lap with his feet resting on Logan’s thighs.

“Woah!” Patton chuckled, looking at Virgil with amusement. “Comfy, kiddo?”

Virgil face flushed red. “I-- I didn’t--”

“He’s gonna stay anyway, and we all know he likes to sit in weird places, so,” Roman explained, flopping down on the couch next to Patton and throwing an arm over the back of the couch. He pulled a pillow into his lap and gently pushed Virgil back by his shoulder, until the Dark Side somehow found himself stretched between all three of them on the couch.

“Anxiety, is this acceptable for you?” Logan asked distantly, and Virgil peeked up to find him observing him closely. Virgil froze in his gaze for what felt like far too long, but eventually managed a short nod.

Patton clapped. “Awesome! Now we all get to hang out together. It’ll be so fun!”

He leaned forward to grab the remote, and Virgil swore he could feel his hands as they ghosted over his stomach. He squirmed minutely, both hoping that no one would call him out on how flustered he was, and praying that they would.

This was way more than he was expecting.

"Ah," Logan said as the movie began playing. "I do love this opening number."

He moved like he was folding his hands in his lap, but really, he placed his hands directly onto the tops of Virgil's ankles. The music started, and Logan-- Logan tapped out a rhythm against Virgil's skin, matching the tempo of the music on the TV.

Virgil clenched his jaw so quickly he wondered if they could hear it. It... didn't tickle, not really. The touch was too light, too quick, too inconsequential to really light his nerves in any way. But the anticipation was there, bubbling inside him, and he found himself shifting his legs restlessly at the touch.

"Is something wrong, Anxiety?" Logan asked, and Virgil paused. It-- it must've been his imagination, that spark in Logan's eye that matched the spark in Virgil's stomach. "No," he said, just slightly breathless. Logan hummed and returned his eyes to the screen.

Then his hands moved: one hand tapping more firmly against his ankle, and the other running its nails along the top of Virgil's foot.

Virgil tensed every muscle in his legs; it was so much worse this time-- not only did being stretched out make Virgil feel so much more vulnerable, but now there were two other people he had to hide his reactions from. Roman was right there, for God's sake, his face mere inches above Virgil's-- Virgil had to turn his head completely toward the TV just to hide the small smile that was already on his face.

He stayed in that position as the movie played, but he couldn't tell you anything that was happening on the screen. All he could focus on was Logan's fingers as they slowly migrated from trailing the top of his foot, to tapping directly over his socked toes, to drawing delicate circles along the ball of his foot. His other hand stayed on Virgil's ankle-- like a restraint.

Virgil felt flushed, and prayed that the dark lighting of the room would cover it. Distantly he heard Patton laughing, and he could feel Roman's chest rumble where it was pressed against his shoulder.

And then he felt Logan take all five fingers right to the center of Virgil's sole and tickle.

"Nah-hahaha!" Virgil screamed, yanking his leg back and just barely missing Patton's face with his knee. He felt both Patton and Roman jump underneath him.

"Anxiety, are you okay?" Patton asked in a panicked voice. He didn't even seem bothered that Virgil had almost thrown his knee into his nose.

Roman looked down at Virgil with bewilderment. "Jiminy Crickets, is the movie that funny to you?"

“Ah,” Logan said. “My hypothesis was correct.”

Virgil froze.

Patton quirked his head. “You have a hypothesis?”

Roman eyed down at Virgil suspiciously for just a moment more before gesturing to Logan. “Please, Teach, explain."

Alarm bells went off in Virgil's head. He was suddenly desperate to leave the entire situation before it was too late, but Logan's hand resting on his ankle felt like a vice he couldn't escape.

“Well," Logan began in his lecture voice, "for the past few hours, Anxiety has been expressing an interest in becoming closer with the three of us through quality time, amicable banter, and excessive physical contact. The physical contact is really what gave it away, but it all comes down to the fact that this change in behavior occurred immediately after Anxiety walked in on our... roughhousing this morning.”

Virgil was distracted by the way Logan tried to avoid saying the word tickle (and man, Virgil thought, it’d be so much fun to see him forced to say it, oh my god shut up brain) but Patton’s gasp of understanding brought him back to his present situation. He looked away from the moral side, but to his distress he found himself face to face with Roman, who was looking at him with a growing interest.

“Wait a minute,” he said slowly. Virgil squirmed.

“Shut up.”

“Are you telling me--”

“Princey, I swear to God, if you don’t stop talking right now--”

Suddenly Patton’s hand was on his leg, his fingers pressing in just above his knee, and Virgil’s words turned into a choked gasp.

Patton quirked his head. “Are you ticklish, kiddo?”

Virgil’s mouth opened and shut. “I-- I--”

And of course, Logan chose that moment to drag his nails all the way down Virgil’s foot, the hand resting on Virgil's ankle suddenly tightening to keep him from jerking away as his fingers wiggled right against Virgil's tickle spots.

Virgil couldn’t help it: he squealed, loudly, and immediately buried his face in his hands.

“That seems to be the answer to that question,” Logan said, sounding far too pleased with himself for Virgil’s taste. “The more important question, however, is whether or not Anxiety wants to be tickled. Although I believe we know that answer to that question, as well.”

Even with his face behind his hands, Virgil felt all three pairs of eyes on him.

"I--" he squeaked, then coughed, blatantly stalling for time as his mind spun in circles. "I-- um-- you don't-- I guess--"

"Kiddo, is that really what you've been trying to do all day long?" Patton asked gently. Virgil made one short, choked sound, and nodded rapidly.

"... So when I told you to be quiet earlier," Roman said slowly, "and you said 'make me'... that was you trying to get tickled?"

A beat, and then Virgil nodded again. He quickly debated the merits of allowing himself to be swallowed by the floor.

"Well..."

Logan's voice was laced with something that Virgil was wholly unprepared for.

"It would be a shame," he continued nonchalantly, "if Anxiety came so far out of his figurative shell only to not receive any recognition or praise for how difficult that must have been. Perhaps some positive reinforcement will help encourage him to continue this behavior in the future."

Logan didn't even have to finish his sentence before Roman dove for Virgil's wrists. Virgil yanked as hard as he could, but Roman was in a better position and easily managed to pull his arms above his head. Immediately Virgil's fight or flight instincts kicked in, and he was about to start literally kicking (even though his brain was screaming at his body to shut up stop it play dead holy shit they're giving you what you want) before Patton leaned as far over his torso as he could manage, keeping his middle pinned in place.

"Anxiety..." he cooed, actually cooed, and yup Virgil was totally gonna die. "Wanna look at me, sweetheart?"

It took Virgil a second to realize that his eyes were screwed shut in anticipation. He peeked out only to find Patton looking at him with the most soft, loving, mughy-gushy expression Virgil had ever seen, especially directed towards him. It made him feel like he was melting.

"When we play our tickle games," he continued, "we always say 'red' when we need a break. Is that okay for you, too?"

Virgil couldn't even speak, so he gave a jerky nod.

"For safety, we should proceed slowly," Logan said, "in order not to overwhelm him." The way Logan was talking to the others like Virgil wasn't there sent a small thrill down his spine.

"I disagree," Roman replied. "I think our poor, sweet Anxiety has waited much too long already." His upside-down grin made Virgil want to spit curses up at him, except he was pretty sure the only thing that would come out if he opened his mouth were pathetic squeals.

"Where should we begin?" the creative side continued, tracing his thumbs around the soft skin of Virgil's wrist. "His... bright red ears? Or his wiggly hips? Or his bouncy little tummy?"

"Fuck off," Virgil gasped.

Roman clicked his tongue. "Temper! Patton doesn't like swearing!"

"Oh, let him fuss," Patton replied. "This is all very overwhelming for him, it's okay! If I had known you liked tickling too, Anxiety, I would've gladly done it for you a long time ago!"

"I don't--"

Then Virgil gasped, and fell into helpless frantic giggles. In unison Roman and Patton swiveled their heads to look at Logan.

"There's no use in lying now, Anxiety," he said calmly, his fingers flicking and fluttering all over Virgil's soles. "We all know that if you didn't like tickling, you wouldn't let us do this at all. Ergo you must enjoy tickling, more specifically being tickled, otherwise you wouldn't have put yourself in this position in the first place. Does that make sense?"

Virgil couldn't answer, because he was in heaven. Or maybe hell. Logan's fingers were deft and torturous, flitting back and forth faster than Virgil could process. Belatedly he wiggled his feet, trying to hide one behind the other and continuously failing. And damn Logan for real for being so observant, because when he noticed the spot on Virgil's arches that made him kick the hardest, he focused all of his attention there, switching between his feet as fast as he could.

"Wait wait wait, waitwaitwhaihaihaiait!" Virgil couldn't believe the noises that were coming out of his mouth right now. He had never laughed like this around the light sides-- had barely ever laughed at all-- and now they were getting to hear him like this, his giggles embarrassing and dorky and loud--

So loud, in fact, that he barely even heard Logan say, "Patton, would you like a turn?" before ten fingers dove in to vibrate all over his vulnerable, ticklish stomach.

"Nah-ahahahaha!" The shriek that left his lips shocked everyone in the room, and Virgil used the confusion to yank his arms out of Roman's grasp, sitting up and trying to launch off the couch in the same motion. He would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for Patton's meddling arms around his waist.

"Woah!" Patton laughed out. "Easy now, kiddo! Don't wanna waist this chance to get tickled!" On cue he tazed his fingers where they laid in the divots of Virgil's sides, causing the anxious side to jerk and flop like a worm on a string. His hands grappled desperately for Patton's, but he made no progress getting them off before Roman's hand entered his vision.

"Come back here, Gay-Lee Shrilliams!" Roman sang. Blindly, he grappled for Virgil's wrists, grabbing one and yanking him back towards Roman's end of the couch. Virgil was disoriented, and took the time to inhale greedy breaths before he was suddenly flipped around again. Now Logan was sat straddled over his shins, Patton kneeling on the floor beside him, and Roman's chest was pressed against his back with his wrists in each hand.

For a moment there was silence.

"Well," Logan said curtly. "Let's try that again, shall we?"

And immediately his hands were clamped above Virgil's knees, and they were off to the races.

"Ahahahahahahaha!"

"There we are," Logan said, a hint of smugness in his voice as he prodded up and down Virgil's thighs. "We'll have to avoid any further interruptions if we're going to find all of your ticklish spots, Anxiety. Please behave yourself."

"I'm-- you-- nahahaha!" Virgil squealed; Patton had placed his hands on either side of his ribs, and was now squeezing them as if Virgil were a particularly squeaky bagpipe.

"Hold him down!" he called affectionately. "He's a squirmer!"

Virgil gasped through his laughter as the other two followed Patton's instruction; he could feel them rearranging their positions on his arms and legs in order to keep him even more stuck than he already was. Blearily, he turned onto his side as much as possible, facing the back of the couch and weakly attempting to hide his stomach from his ticklers.

"Uh oh, where are you going?" Roman asked, all sugar sweetness. "Is someone trying to hide away? Hm? Big bad Anxiety trying to run away from the tickles?"

Without warning he released one of Virgil's hands, and took it upon himself to use his free hand to investigate all over Virgil's exposed armpit. Virgil spasmed and shrieked. His free hand might as well have not been there at all, considering how absolutely useless it was at protecting his armpit, or his ribs, or--

"Uh oh," Patton cooed, voice sickeningly sweet, and Virgil could only look on in giddy terror as he wiggled his fingers in the air. "Don't think I just forgot about that tummy, Anxiety!"

Just like before, Patton pressed all ten fingers into Virgil's stomach fat, wiggling mercilessly; unlike before, Virgil couldn't shoot himself off the couch with Patton himself kneeling in the way. Logan and Roman had stopped their tickles, but only so they could restrain him even further to avoid another escape attempt.

"Nihihihiehehehehehe!" Virgil didn't even know what he was begging for anymore. For less tickles, or more?

"A ticky-ticky-ticky-ticky-ticky!" Patton sang. "Who's a ticklish goober? Is it Anxiety? I think it is!" He giggled as he easily avoided Virgil's free hand, darting back and forth as it fruitlessly tried to cover his stomach from Patton's wiggling fingers.

Through his teary eyes, Virgil accidentally made eye contact with Roman. He immediately regretted it: both because he saw something akin to actual affection in Princey's eyes (which, gross) but more because he watched that affection slip away to smug mischief.

"Hey, don't be greedy, Padre!" Roman announced. "I want a turn!"

And with that he let go of Virgil's other hand, but the anxious side had no time to do anything about that before he, too, was digging his fingers into Virgil's stomach. Virgil squealed again, arching hid back and curling in on himself over and over in an endless loop. While Patton had no trouble attending to Virgil's tummy pudge, Roman's hands were positioned at the top of his stomach just below his ribs, and he had no issues at all jumping up to pinch and massage along the sensitive bones every few seconds.

"Fascinating," Logan said, and oh god, why did his voice make Virgil feel even more trapped than he already was? "Patton, scoot down a bit. I'd like to try something."

Virgil felt Patton slide his hands slightly up Virgil's torso, still plucking away at his oversensitive nerves like guitar strings.

"Slow down for a moment," Logan instructed, and the others listened, thank God. Virgil took the opportunity to breathe, his eyes screw tightly shut. He couldn't handle seeing Roman's smirk, or Patton's giddiness, or Logan's studying stare.

"I've noticed something in his reactions," the logical side continued. "And I have another hypothesis."

Virgil should've opened his eyes.

If he had, he might've been prepared for when Logan's fingers descended all around his bellybutton and squeezed.

Virgil shrieked. He screamed. He yelled and hollered and wailed and every other synonym he could think of, except he couldn't think at all because Logan was flexing his fingers over and over and over again with terrible, ruthless accuracy. Virgil used all his strength to try to curl up, but with Logan on his hips, Roman behind his back, and Patton in the middle, there was absolutely nothing he could do to protect his tummy from ticklish agony.

"I think we found his favorite spot!" Patton cooed.

Yeah, no fucking shit, Virgil thought wildly. He could barely breathe, his face hurt from smiling, his head was melty with joy, and his innards felt as if he had swallowed a dozen butterflies that continued to dance around inside of him. He felt trapped, and teased, and embarrassed, and desperate, and he--

And he loved it. Oh my God, he loved it. Had he been missing out on this all along?

It took a long, long time before Virgil realized that Logan had stopped. His hands, warm and heavy, laid flat on his stomach, and his palms rubbed firmly against his skin. He blinked his eyes opened-- when had he closed them?-- and realized he was practically lying down again, having slid so much he'd ended up resting his head against Roman's thigh. It took another minute for him to realize that his hand felt strange; looking over, he flushed anew when he saw Patton's large hand wrapped around his own, fingers intertwined. Did Virgil do that?

Reality jolted back into him, and like a bear trap he sprang up and closed in on himself, shrinking away from any touch.

"Um-- I'm done-- red," he stuttered. God, why was he a loser? They had already stopped tickling him, he didn't need to say the safeword-- but his skin still felt alight with nerves, and despite how the whole experience had made him feel, he really didn't think he could handle anymore tonight.

Virgil didn't know why it surprised him that all three of moved back, Logan and Roman scooting to either end of the couch and Patton leaning back on his haunches. It surprised him, but it shouldn't. Because they're them. The light sides, the "others" as he'd always thought of them-- they were nice. Fun. And they cared.

"So..."

And of course, there was Princey to ruin it. Virgil dared to shoot his eyes over and was met with the smuggest goddamn look he's ever seen on Roman's consistently smug face.

"Was it everything you hoped for, sweet Anxiety?" he crowed. Immediately Virgil dropped his face into his hands and groaned.

"Aw, there he goes! Too much sweet talking for such a sourpuss like you?"

Virgil hissed at him, only to hear twin snorts from the other two Sides. He looked up, betrayed.

"Apologies, Anxiety," Logan said, biting his bottom lip as he smiled. Patton was covering his own mouth with both hands. "I can assure you we hold no judgement or mockery for you. It's just that this entire display was... objectively adorable."

"Noooooo..." Virgil whined. He slid down in his seat and covered his face again. His cheeks burned against his palms.

It was only a few seconds before he felt a tap on his knee, and after a moment he lowered his hands enough to peek out beyond his fingers. Patton was there, ducking his head a bit to catch Virgil's eye.

"Was that fun?" he asked gently. A beat. Virgil nodded. "Would you like to do it again?"

Virgil snapped his arms down to his sides and slammed back against his seat. Patton raised his hands placatingly.

"In the future!" he said. "I just mean..."

He looked at the other two Sides before confirming, "Well, I think we all had fun. And we can work out what exactly you're comfortable with later, but... I hope you'd like to do that again sometime."

"Please--" Virgil blurted. "I mean. Yes. I want to. Again."

"Good," Logan said. "Now lay back down."

He looked over, inquisitive, only to flush again as Logan leaned back and patted his lap.

"You can't seriously think I'm gonna fall for that."

"We are not going to tickle you again unless you explicitly ask for it," Logan said (and wow, now Virgil was gonna have to store that away in his anxiety-fantasies, not getting tickled anymore unless he uses his words). "You've just been exerted very quickly in a very short amount of time, you've been anxious and twitchy all day prior to this evening, and even now you're struggling to remain upright."

Virgil blinked; it was true. His head was lolled back against the cushion. His body was tired, it's true, but his mind felt somewhat hazy, somewhat calm. He blinked slowly.

"... Are you gonna put the movie back on?"

Roman scoffed. "Of course we are. We know you need background noise, Sleeping Beauty."

Right. Of course they knew that. Because they knew him, now.

Virgil fidgeted, then nodded. "I'd... I'd like that."

I’ve finally done it: the ultimate team-up turned homo-erotic-roommates-story. And, ya know, saving my entire timeline; mainly the Logan stuff, though.

Wade had been incredibly happy since they’d saved the existence of his timeline. He was showering regularly, disposed of that horrid “toupee,” and started actually talking to the people in his life about how he felt. It kinda sucked, but hey – character development isn’t always sexy.

Things were going splendidly for the merc with a mouth.

Logan, on the other hand, was slowly going insane.

The Wolverine was grateful for the place to stay, of course; hell, he felt more at home than he had in years. The problem was how…Wade Wade had been acting.

Logan secretly admired how openly true to himself Wade could be; I mean, the guy literally said whatever came to his mind, no matter what. Then again, the guy literally said whatever came to his mind. No matter what.

Even if that thought completely spoiled something for Logan.

“Hey, Peanut! As much as I love that juicy ass, I’m gonna need you to get outta my spot.” Wade flicked his wrist at the eX-Man, beckoning for him to get up. Logan had been there for about twenty minutes, and there was no way he was moving; the episode of Golden Girls he was watching wasn’t finished yet. The man rarely got time to rest like that, savoring every half hour he got with the television like it was holy.

“I’ve been here, bub. Wait your turn.” Logan didn’t even blink, leaning to the side so he could still see the screen. He was gonna finish that episode, damn it.

“Ooo, is that ‘End of the Curse’?” Wade hums, taking a closer look at the screen. Logan wasn’t very far into the episode. “Turns out it’s just menopause, not pregnancy. Man, nothing wakes you up like an existential crisis and skinned minks.”

A low growl rumbled in Logan’s throat, his eyes narrowing dangerously. Ooooo, Wade fucked uuup…

“Did you just spoil the ending to my Golden Girls episode?” The livid tone of his roommate’s voice made Wade’s smile grow nervous.

It’s cool, it’s fine. All I gotta do is nail this recovery. Read and learn, people.

“At least I didn’t tell you that the whole Rose and Miles Webber thing doesn’t work out.”

Fuck. This is why you don’t stare at your roommate’s moobs while trying to save yourself, kids.

“You motherf- WADE !” Logan bolted up from his chair, charging at the blemish-skinned man. Wade made his first smart decision that entire morning:

He ran for his fucking life.

But, of course, luck refused to be on the red-suited man’s side. Wade tripped over one of Mary Puppin’s toys outside his room, Logan’s large hands quickly hoisting him up by the waist. Before he could fantasize anything, he was slammed down on his bed. Which, of course, opened up a whole new realm to dig his own grave in.

“Damn, Peanut! It’s customary to take me to dinner first, but you know I don’t mind gettin’ sloppy~” Okay, that was a little cliché. Wasted opportunity, Wilson.

Logan seemed pissed regardless. “You fucking ruined the one relaxing thing I get to do a week when Al’s out. Do you know how hard it is to enjoy a show when you know what’s gonna happen?!”

As entertaining as seeing Wade squirm beneath him was, Logan wanted revenge. He normally would’ve skewered the smartass, but Al was getting sick of smelling Wade’s blood whenever she left for a few hours. That, and he may or may not have gotten some blood on the couch (don’t tell her).

What else could he do? He wanted Wade to suffer, to regret his actions, to shut up for one in his god-forsaken existence. The only times he could remember that happened was when he was asleep, and when he was…oh. Ohoho, fuck yes.

“You’re gonna learn to shut that gaping, bottomless shithole you call a mouth, Wade, and you’re gonna learn it the hard way.”

“I do everything the hard way, Peanu- yeEEAHAHA! THEHE FUHAHAHACK?!” Before Wade could finish proving Logan’s point yet again, he felt ten muscular fingers knead into his thighs. It was – ironic, he knew – his death spot.

Now, imagine trying to explain why you’re smiling so much when someone’s grabbing at your thighs without stuttering. Spoiler alert: it’s torture.

“You can’t mouth off if you’re too busy laughing, fuckhead. Now shut up and scream for me.” Logan squeezed and squished at the merc's thighs, doing his best to tickle the shit out of him.

“Y-YOUHU CAHAN'T- FUHUHUHUCK! NOHOHO!” Wade tried and failed to speak through his laughter, his head reeling from the intense feeling. For the first time in many moons, the Merc with a Mouth was rendered speechless.

“I can’t fuck? Really? Bold ass statement to make when you’re at my mercy.” Logan’s more playful side was slipping out; how could it not with Wade’s goofy-ass laughter egging him on? Seriously, how could anyone expect him to act like a hard-ass with the man making such purposefully adorable noises?

“NOHOHOT WHAHAHAT IHI MEHEHEANT!” Kicking and squirming, the scarred man was quickly realizing he couldn’t talk his way out of the situation. They were matched in strength, but the tickling quickly un-evened the playing field. Maybe pleading for his life?

“COHOHOME OHOHON! I-IHI’LL QUIHIHIT!”

Logan paused for just a moment, his hands still resting on Wade’s hips. He was…actually gonna stop being a loudmouth? While he didn’t believe a word of that, he still wanted to take things a bit easier on the man; damn feelings…

Slowing down, the Wolverine moved his wiggling fingers to Wade’s stomach. Compared to his thighs, it was a decently tolerable spot; still, it fucking tickled.

“Wohoholvie, thihis is nuhuhuts! Ahand not thehe hohot kihihind!” Okay, maybe he immediately proved himself a liar, but Logan didn’t exactly quit! He was sort of justified, in that sense.

“You never learn, do ya?” There’s an air of amusement and affection in his voice that shocks the both of them. Logan immediately tries to correct it, clearing his throat with a glare. “Stubborn asshole. It’s a bad idea to taunt me when you’re this fucking ticklish.”

“Th-thihihis ihihisn’t fahahahair! Youhuhu’re thehe Tumblr bahahabygirl, nohot mehehe! Youhu shouhuhuld be gehehtting ihit!”

“The fuck is a Tumblr babygirl?” Logan snorted at the silly-sounding words, once again trying to figure out what the hell his roommate was talking about.

“Thehehey knohohow!” Wade pointed towards some unseeable audience, making the hairy man roll his eyes. He seriously needed to get Wade tested for something; it would probably explain so much.

“Do you want me to go back to your thighs?” Logan jerked his hands down threateningly, reveling in the squeal the motion causes. He didn’t even touch the other man that time; it was kinda cute.

“NOOOHOhohooo! Dihickhead!” Without thinking, Wade thrusted his arms out and shoved at Logan’s shoulders. Obviously, the brick wall of a man didn’t move, but his attention was drawn to a specific nuisance: the merc’s arms. Specifically, the fact that he hadn’t explored beneath them yet.

Gathering the mouthy man’s wrists in one hand, Logan forced Wade’s arms up and pinned them to the mattress. Once again, Wade was faced with a tough decision: smart off and completely fuck himself, or grovel and hope for some mercy.

Eh, smart choices are plot killers. This one’s for you, dear reader.

“Y-youhuhu’re really ehembracing your dark side, Peanut~ Next thing ya knowhow, I’m gonna be getting fitted for thohose fuzzy cuffs and a harn- FFFAAHAHAHAAA! OHO- OHOHOKAHAHAY! IHI’M SOHOHORRY! IHIT WAS THEHEHERE!”

Logan showed zero mercy, digging into Wade’s underarm with renewed vigor. He switched back and forth every few seconds, right to left, wrecking the man as thoroughly as possible. The man’s thighs were definitely still his death spot, but his armpits were a close second.

“You don’t act like you’re sorry, ya shithead.” There was a lot less contempt in Logan’s tone than Wade was expecting; he couldn’t exactly comment on it, but the Wolverine seemed almost happy that he had chosen to prolong his torment by being a smartass.

Wade, on the other hand, was going through it; a vibrant blush had taken residence on his cheeks, little tears of mirth showing up for the housewarming party. Worst of all, his exhaustion forced his muscles to relax, allowing snorts to catch in his throat.

“Damn, Wilson. Goin’ hog wild down there, huh?” Wade’s heart would’ve stopped right then if it were possible. Logan “Go Fuck Yourself” Howlett…made a dad joke?!

“Y-YOUHUHU MAHAHDE A JOHOHOHOKE! IHI’M SOHOHO PROUHUHUD!”

“Fuckin’ Christ, just shut up already!” Embarrassed from both the acknowledgement and praise, Logan dug back into Wade’s thigh to silence him; well, keep him from talking by means of hysterical laughter.

About two minutes into getting his thighs attacked by the kitty man, Wade was rethinking all his life choices that led him there. I mean, he obviously wouldn’t do anything different if he actually had the chance to, but there were some regrets. His laugh was growing raspy, a few wheezes slipping in with the snorts as he struggled to catch his breath.

Logan noticed how tired Wade was getting almost instantly. The man hadn’t smarted off in a hot second, so he figured it was time to stop; definitely not because he was taking it easy on Wade or something stupid like that…

The moment the tickles stopped, Wade drew in deep, giggle-ridden breaths as he tried to calm down. He barely noticed his wrists’ release, too tired to lower his arms anyway. It was, admittedly, an utterly adorable sight.

Noticing he was still literally straddling the anti-hero, Logan climbed off and went to grab Wade some water. When he got back to the bedroom, the merc had curled up on his side, a blanket hap-hazardly tugged over him. The eX-man rolled his eyes at the sight, turning the man to face him.

“Here, drink this.”

Despite sticking his tongue out, Wade greedily gulped down the water. His textured cheeks were still a healthy red from the tickling, the ice water both soothing his throat and cooling him off.

“Thanks, Kitty.”

“Just take a nap or somethin’, bub.” Rolling his eyes at the statement, Logan turned and trudged out of the room; neither missed the light blush on his cheeks from the nickname.

Wade settled back into his bed, sighing at the ceiling. Despite everything, he was actually going to try and improve on his spoiling restraint; he kinda deserved what came to him, even if it was totally overkill.

As for the tickling…well, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Logan could’ve cut his vocal chords or sliced his head off in the tub, but he didn’t; the man just did something silly and lighthearted to drill the lesson into his brain. It was curious, in a sense; why would he choose to be lenient with the loudmouth?

It definitely deserved some looking at, to say the least.

He resumed lifting Virgil’s shirt, but very slowly. He started ghosting his fingers along Virgil’s sides, just barely touching. Enough to leave behind a slight tingly sensation that didn’t last for more than a second. He felt a shot of satisfaction as Virgil's smile immediately quirked up, his hands moving to cover his mouth. A truly adorable effort, which would not aid Virgil in the slightest.

Hm. That thought emphasized Virgil's lack of control. Perhaps Logan should voice it out loud, and observe the reaction. "Covering your mouth, Virgil? You understand that this action will not aid you in the slightest?" Logan said, allowing a lilt to his voice which would not usually be present. Virgil wanted him to be teasing. Judging by Virgil's reaction— a marked increase in blush and a small whine as he shook his head in protest— stating that thought out loud was the correct choice. Interesting.

Logan continued barely skimming his fingertips along Virgil's sides, allowing his fingers to drift ever-so-slightly upwards towards his stomach a couple times, enjoying the way that Virgil would flinch and noticeably tense to keep from squirming. While Logan wasn't particularly drawn to tickling in the same way that Virgil was, he had grown rather fond of being able to elicit such joy from his love. Virgil squeaked as Logan traced over a particularly sensative spot in between his sides and stomach. Plus, drawing such reactions from Virgil was objectively adorable, tickle fixation or no. Another thing that would be benefical to state out loud, Logan supposed.

"You are objectively adorable like this, Virgil," he teased, and Virgil whined again in a little 'nuh uh!' sound. "It is the truth, no matter how much you try to deny it, Virgil."

——

Virgil was going to die. Logan kept barely even touching him, so much lighter than even the normal light tickles which worked best on him. It was just tickly enough to make him *want,* and not nearly enough to satisfy his mood which was growing by the second. And he kept *teasing* him— which Virgil knew was the whole point, he had specifcally asked for it, even— but the butterflies in his stomach kept building without any outlet, and Virgil was going insane. "Logan-" he started, his statement quickly cut off by a gasp as Logan's fingertips idly ghosted over his ribs.

"Yes, Virgil?" Fingertips moving up, touch still hardly even there.

"Can you- *shit-* can you please just- t- tickle me prohopERLY- AHA-" Virgil burst out into surprised laughter and his eyes squeezed shut out of instinct as Logan swapped to lightly scribbling with his nails, which was *so much worse* in comparison to the previous ghosting. The surprise quickly wore off and Virgil was left simply giggling underneath Logan's hands, the squirmy feeling of anticipation in his stomach finally having somewhere to go as he giggled the flustered energy out.

Virgil made the mistake of peeking up at Logan's face, which was so fond that Virgil was going to actually die. Who cares that he thought that earlier. It was going to be for real this time, and it would be from the way that Logan's eyes sparkled as his fingers spidered gently over Virgil's tummy. "Your laughter is simply so… enchanting, Virgil. I cannot think of a more apt description," Logan stated, and another swarm of butterflies flowed through Virgil's tummy. While all of what Logan was saying didn't quite match the teasing from Virgil's favorite fics word-for-word, there was something so uniquely Logan about it which made it actually 500 times worse, in Virgil's opinion.

He wasn't able to dwell on this thought, though, as it was interrupted by the soft touch of fingernails circling Virgil's bellybutton. He inhaled sharply, whining and involuntarily squirming away from the almost unbearable feeling. He wanted more intense, and, shit, this was it. Something about the energy shift from Logan alone somehow made the ticklish feelings that much worse. Virgil's giggles hitched up and a small shriek ripped from his throat as Logan started dipping a finger into his bellybutton. That was *so bad,* oh my god, oh my *god-*

"Is it quite bad there, Virgil?" Logan teased, and Virgil could hardly even process that he was frantically nodding, so much of his brainpower was taken up by the overwhelming sensation of 'it tickles it tickles it TICKLES-'

"OkayokayOKAY-" Virgil yelped as it finally crossed over into too much.

Final residual giggles fell out of him as Logan's touch changed, no longer light and scribbly and tickly, instead firmer and comforting flat touches. After a few moments to breathe, he handed Virgil a glass of water from the bedside table. "Was that satisfactory, Virgil?" Logan asked as Virgil sipped the water, and Virgil could see how genuine he was being.

"Yes, Lo, that was- was very *satisfactory*," Virgil stammered slightly, giggling, making fun of Logan's big word choice as the flush made itself known once more on his cheeks.

~~~

The MindScape nuisance was on a pranking spree as usual. Every now and then, one of the others would be caught in a trap that would put them in awkward positions that left a certain area of theirs vulnerable to sensitive attacks and some that would involve moving a couple of items every few seconds to see if the person would notice. The pranks were mostly harmless for Remus pranking standards but they were still getting slowly out of hand and since repression wasn't an option, they had to confront him sooner or later. Two weeks of this ordeal and the others were finally sick of it.

Maybe it was molasses and feathers that made Janus banshee scream, or putting the sleeves of Logan’s books on his own self-binded smut stories. Or... maybe... the time he put some of Patton's collectible Squishmellows in a small guillotine. Or dyed all of Virgil's clothes red and Princey's clothes black. Or replacing Roman's Disney collection with CDs of the original Grimm's version of the fairytales.

The Sides set up a different kind of trap for the intrusive figment. They got Janus to summon Remus, who was immediately ecstatic at the idea of having more fun. But what Remus didn't realize was that it was a trap for himself. Soon Remus’ ankles were locked into stocks, wrists bonded to the floor of the living room. He stammered, asking what this was all about.

"Oh, Remus~ You know all too well why this is happening~" "No, I don’t, Janny! Was it the last prank?! In all fairness, I think Roman is just a poor sport. I could have actually dyed your hair white." "That baby powder made my foundation cakey." "Consider it an improvement, bro."

The others gathered around the stocks, with one of them snapping off Remus’ boots. Remus chuckled nervously as Roman wrote the punishment on the board that read:

Tickle Jail!

Name: Remus

Crime: He’s a little shit. Show no mercy 💚

Said aspect held back the toes on Remus’ right foot, allowing the Janus to skitter under them. Remus immediately began cackling, his body shaking and thrashing. With all of them putting their own personal spin on the torment, Remus was barely able to make a comeback or rebuttal to any of this.

Between Patton’s soft teases of "You’re in for oodles of fun, little Octo!" and "Aww~ You’re snorting! Can you count how many times you’ve done it?", up to Logan “counting” his toes, code for counting then writing it down only to then not “properly” write whatever number due to Remus’ thrashing and having to clean it to write it again, all the way down to Roman singing Nursery Rhymes.

"Guhuhuhuhuys! Wait! Sorehehehehery!" "You have been up to your pranks for weeks now. No apologies here."