#ler!theodore

Luca’s dorm room wasn’t the largest space in the world, but it was perfect for nights like this. The floor was littered with chip bags, soda cans, and three tangled controller cords leading to the battered TV at the end of the room. The scent of pizza still hung faintly in the air. A glow from the screen lit up the faces of the three boys huddled together on the bed: Luca on the left, Chris in the middle, and Theodore leaning on the right, legs folded beneath him.

“Third round, you guys don’t stand a chance,” Chris announced confidently, twirling his joystick like it was an extension of his hand. “I’ve wiped the floor with you two every single time.” Theo rolled his eyes, mashing buttons on his controller. “You only win because you play dirty. You’re like… the Bowser of Mario Kart. Big, annoying, and impossible to get rid of.”

“That’s called skill,” Chris shot back with a grin, “maybe if you stopped crashing into walls, Theo, you’d understand.” “Don’t start with me,” Theo muttered, though the faintest smirk tugged at his lips. Luca suppressed a giggle and slowly leaned forward. His brown eyes narrowed in focus, curls bouncing slightly with his determined movements.

“This time we’ll get you.” Chris laughed, leaning back into the pillows like he had all the time in the world. “Sure, sure. Say that after I win again.” The round began. Engines revved on screen and all three launched forward, their fingers flying over the buttons.

The dorm filled with the sound of frantic button-clicking and sudden bursts of laughter whenever someone was hit by a shell. Predictably, Chris pulled into the lead again. He practically radiated smugness, throwing glances at the two on either side of him. “Face it, you’ll never beat me. I’m untouchable!” he announced confidently.

Luca and Theo exchanged a quick look across Chris’s shoulders. That silent, mischievous understanding was all they needed. It happened subtly at first - Theo nudged his elbow, “accidentally” pressing into Chris’s side as he leaned to dodge a banana peel. Chris jerked slightly with a sharp intake of breath, his kart wobbling on screen.

“Hey!” he yelped, twisting his torso away. “Watch it!” “Oops,” Theo said innocently, eyes glued to the screen, “didn’t notice.” Chris’s focus returned, but before he could settle, Luca shifted, his own elbow brushing deliberately into Chris’s other side.

“Ghh- Hey! What are you- quit it!” Chris squirmed, nearly driving off the track. “Sorry,” Luca mumbled, failing to suppress his grin. Theo bit back a laugh, already leaning in for another ‘mistake’. Their elbows jabbed and nudged with perfect timing, keeping Chris wriggling in place. His kart spun out after hitting a red shell and he let out an exaggerated groan.

“You two! That’s cheating!” he accused, voice breaking into laughter as Luca’s elbow found that sweet spot just above his hip. “Whoops again,” Luca said far too cheerful. Theo smirked, delivering the final blow: “Guess untouchable isn’t the word anymore.”

Chris’s avatar screeched across the finish line - not in first place, but dead last. His mouth fell open in disbelief as the results flashed on screen. “You’ve gotta be kidding me! Last?! No way, that doesn’t count. You both ganged up on me!” The game paused, but Theo and Luca had no intention of letting the night end there.

“Rules are rules Chris,” Theo said with a mock-serious tone, setting his controller aside. “Loser gets the punishment,” Luca added with a giggle, looking very happy. Chris immediately tensed, backing up against the pillows. “No. No, no, no. That’s unfair, you… you c-cheated! It’s invalid!” he whined, getting nervous.

“Cheaters?” Luca echoed, eyes sparkling mischievously. “I don’t remember seeing that in the rulebook.” Before Chris could scramble away, both boys pounced. Theo grabbed his wrists, pinning them loosely above his head, while Luca went straight for his sides, scribbling his fingers into the very spots their elbows had been teasing minutes ago.

“Aaaha! Nohoho- waihahait! You can’t!” Chris’s laughter exploded instantly, loud and desperate as his body twisted under the double attack. His cheeks flushed red as he bucked and kicked, trying to roll free. Theo grinned down at him, his grip steady but not harsh. “Look at that, suddenly all giggly from just a few little pokes.”

“Not fair! You’re teaming up- ahhahaa!” Chris squealed when Luca’s fingers spidered up his ribs, kneading between them with merciless precision. “Luhuhuhuca nohoho!” The ravenhead laughed along with him, delighted by the reactions. “Wow, he’s worse than us combined,” he teased, dragging his hands lower to squeeze at Chris’s hips.

The effect was immediate: Chris threw his head back, laughter bursting out in helpless waves. “Theohoho! Stahhap him!” he tried, though Theo only chuckled at the plea. “Stop him? You mean stop me,” Theo corrected smugly. He let go of Chris’s wrists just long enough to dart his hands down into his underarms.

Chris shrieked, his arms snapping down instinctively as he writhed. “NOHOHO! Not thehehere! Theohoho, you traihahaha-!” His words dissolved into hysterics, body twisting side to side as if he could shake them both off.

It was pure chaos. Luca tickled up and down Chris’s torso, squeezing his waist, tracing circles along his ribs and poking his stomach, while Theo kept darting into his underarms whenever he could sneak past Chris’s flailing arms. The room filled with laughter so wild it echoed off the dorm walls.

Chris finally managed to twist enough to slip halfway down the bed, kicking furiously to try and escape. That turned out to be a mistake. “Oh?” Theo said, eyes following the movement. “Look what we have here.” Luca caught on immediately. Together, they grabbed at Chris’s legs, dragging him back up onto the bed while he howled.

“Nohoho! Don’t you- ehEHeh DoHohon’t you dare!” “Oh, we dare,” Luca said, grabbing at one socked foot while Theo claimed the other. They exchanged a grin over Chris’s wide-eyed panic. “Gentlemen,” Theo announced dramatically, wiggling his fingers just above the fabric, “the socks stay on. But…” He made the tiniest scratch along the arch of Chris’s foot.

Chris erupted. “AHAHAHA! Nohoho, nohohot the feeeheehet!” He kicked wildly, but their grip was secure enough to keep him trapped. Luca giggled at the reaction, dragging his fingertips along the ball of Chris’s foot, then up to his toes. “Wow, he’s even worse here,” he said, voice gleeful. Theo nodded solemnly, though his grin betrayed him.

“Truly tragic. He might be be even worse than you~” he said with a wink, making Luca blush a little. He dug his thumbs playfully into the middle of Chris’s arch, and the poor victim nearly kicked the controller right off the bed. “I cahahahan’t-! You guhuhuys! WahAhahahhAh plEhehEhehase!!” Chris screamed, laughter pouring from him in helpless waves.

He thrashed so much his curls stuck to his sweaty forehead, but he couldn’t bring himself to fight seriously - not when, underneath it all, the warmth of their laughter kept him anchored. Luca and Theo showed no mercy, finally paying him back a little for all the times they had been on the receiving end.

They alternated between sides and feet, making sure Chris never knew where the next attack was coming from. His laughter bounced between sharp squeals and deep, breathless cackles, his voice breaking as he begged for mercy he clearly didn’t want to come too soon.

Finally, after what felt like endless minutes, both ticklers collapsed back onto the bed, breathless with their own laughter. Chris lay in the middle, a flushed, giggling mess, curling into himself with shaky breaths. “You two… are cheaters,” he wheezed, voice hoarse but playful, “absolute… cheaters.”

“Says the one who always tickles us as well,” Theo countered, flopping onto his side with a grin. Luca smiled, brushing a stray curl from his eyes. “You had fun though, right?” Chris pouted, but it didn’t last long. His lips twitched upward into a reluctant smile.

“...Maybe. Just don’t expect me to admit it officially.” Theo smirked, nudging him in the ribs again just to watch him jolt. “We’ll take that as a yes.”

The poor boy tied to a chair in his neighbor's basement was catching his breath as his body still tingled from the overwhelming sensation being forced onto his body a few minutes ago.

Meanwhile, his insane neighbor stood a few feet away from him as he watched the little boy catch his breath.

"Nicky, I think we both know that you can't take any more of this.", said Mr. Peterson. "But I remember saying that I wouldn't stop unless you gave me what I wanted. So...where is it?"

"Please...", Nicky tried to beg as he caught his breath. "I don't know what you're talking about. Please, Mr. Peterson. I promise I won't tell anyone about this, just let me go!"

But his begging didn't affect Mr. Peterson one bit.

Instead, he just walked closer to the boy and bent down, his hands sitting on his lap just in case.

Nicky tried to shake those hands off his lap as best as he could, but with his ankles also tied up, he couldn't even move an inch.

"Please! Please, Mr. Peterson, I can't!"

"You can't, or you won't?"

"I mean I can't take much more of this!", said Nicky, practically squealing. "I'm sorry! I didn't see anything! I don't have anything! Just please let me out of here! Please...!"

"I won't untie those ropes until you tell me where my device is right now."

"I don't know where it is!"

Mr. Peterson didn't believe him at all. "Really?", he asked, his voice letting Nicky know of that. "Because I seem to remember that last night, after I chased off you and your little friends, you picked it up. Didn't you?"

Nicky looked at Mr. Peterson with wide eyes.

"And I believe I saw through your bedroom window that you had it in your hand as you laid on your bed.", he continued. "So this means that you not only have what I'm looking for, but you've been lying to me about not having it the entire time you've been down here."

Nicky tried to explain himself, but Mr. Peterson had already taken the roll of tape sitting beside the chair and put some over the boy's mouth.

"I'm going to punish you for lying to me, and you are going to take it like a big boy. Understand?"

Nicky quickly shook his head, but Mr. Peterson had already pulled the boy's shirt up and buried his face into his belly, nibbling on it like it was food.