#ler innie

Cuteness aggression was not for the weak. At least that's what Hyunjin thought anyway. No matter how old Jeongin grew, he could never see him as the mature adult he had grown into after the past few years. Well, he could, but how could anyone's heart not crumble when they looked Jeongin in the eye, where he was older, taller, and maybe, maybe stronger than the younger. Having to act like a genuinely normal person whenever you were put with the cutest best friend you've ever had was definitely in the list of things that Hyunjin considered ridiculous-- Why wouldn't you purposely interrupt your friend's routine to completely destroy their well-made hair and ramble about how adorable they were to satisfy that innate urge in you?

That's how he ended up where he was, in the dance practice room that smelt like a gym, the stench of sweat greeting him when he peeked his head in from the airconditioned hallway. Jeongin stood in the centre of the oak wood floors, the mirrors reflecting his surrounding images, the small speaker on the floor shouting out lyrics that vibrated off the walls of the room. His breaths came out in short, laboured yet quiet breaths, gracefully flying across the floor while his upcoming solo song, "Hallucination", played out. Well, it felt exactly like a hallucination with how ethereal he looked. Hyunjin picked his jaw up from the floor, strolling into the room casually, only to feign disappointment when his presence was not at all acknowledged.

"How's your dance practice coming along?" He hums leisurely, purposely kneeling down to pause the music, bursting Jeongin's well-kempt bubble of focus. He knew that he could've just, left the younger alone, let him work hard at his skilful movements and not miss the opportunity to have a taste of his heavenly live vocals. But there was no fun in that! And Hyunjin was all about fun. Jeongin grumbles, not all that surprised, but exasperated nonetheless about being stopped in the middle of his chorus. He rolls his eyes in Hyunjin's direction, which strikes him to clutch his heart dramatically, flashing him the prettiest puppy eyes and batting his eyelashes; which did not work at all.

"Terrible because you entered," Jeongin deadpans, suffocating half to death when Hyunjin crushes his bones in a tight hug, sweat pressing against his tank top with the close proximity. Really, did Hyunjin have no sense of personal space when it came to him, or he just decided his personal space was somehow Jeongin's as well?

"You wound me! I'm only trying to give you some much needed love…" He whines petulantly, but the way the corners of his mouth were twitching upwards shut his little wounded dog act down.

"Love that comes from you is worse than anything else!" Jeongin shoots back fiercely, despite no malice underlying his words. In response, the leader of genius-racha decides to ruffle the younger's hair, messily combing through fists full of hair and flinging sweat absolutely everywhere, as if they had just been through a thunderstorm. Maybe Jeongin was indeed already heading through it, his patience burning somewhat to his wits ends as his face contorted into one of mock disgust.

"Stop. Touching. My. Hair." He suddenly mumbles, soft, but threatening beneath the surface of his usual serene voice. His hands, trapped underneath the warm yet choking embrace, dive themselves into Hyunjin's underarms without a sliver of mercy, not a thought of leaving slipping his mind even when the artist tumbled backwards in shock, a high pitched squeal leaving his lips in shock; both from falling backwards and from the sudden tickling.

"I-I'm gohohonna fahahahall!" Hyunjin shrieks, giggles flowing from his lips while struggling to hold the younger in place, feeling nimble fingers attempting to slip into the indents under his arms. As expected, they both came tumbling onto the ground, giving Jeongin just that pocket of time to shove Hyunjin onto the ground, his eyes shining with a newfound glint of mischievousness while straddling his hips effortlessly.

"Had so much fun tormenting me these few days, didn't you? Let's see if you like it." Jeongin sneers, before shoving his hands just as deep as he could get them, his thumbs pressing into what he thought was the centre of Hyunjin's armpits, moving in slow, torturous circles. To say the reaction was priceless was an understatement.

"NOHOHO! N-NOHOT THEHEHERE! INNIE!" The same, screeching laughter that the younger could never bore of hearing now blasted throughout the practice room instead of music, writhing and thrashing underneath him like a ferret that had just too much energy. His eyes squeezed shut in a futile attempt to cope with the sensations, head thrown back against the smooth wooden floors and mouth open wide and stretched into a wide smile.

"Not where? Here?" Jeongin pressed a slight amount deeper with his thumbs, eliciting a scream from beneath him.

"Or here?" His thumbs then found the dips in his hips, kneading into the indents and pulling another ear shattering squeal from Hyunjin.

"Or this?" His hands grabbed onto the lean thighs beside him, moulding the flesh into his fingers as he squeezed and rubbed, pulling desperate pleas and cries from the elder out of mirth.

"PLEHEHEHEASE! I- I CAHAHAN'T!" Hyunjin begs with what breath he had left, a red hue flushing over his cheeks and bleeding down to his neck, arms reaching out weakly to Jeongin's as they tormented his poor, sensitive soul. They managed to grasp his wrists, yes, but barely had any strength to even lift his fingers, back arching off the floor as hysterics and cackles left his mouth.

"Done messing with me yet?" Jeongin raises a single eyebrow in feigned suspicion, his fingers creeping up his ribs, pretending to a sing the melody to "Long for you" on the piano, ironic enough that it was Hyunjin's own solo song that he released. Of course the elder didn't know that, busy with losing his breath and going absolutely ballistic from the constant tickling and teasing. Sure, Jeongin was a man of few words, just like some others in the group, but his actions definitely got the job done for him.

"Y- YEHEHEHES! PLEHEHEASE!" And just like that, the hands were removed from his body, leaving him in a sweaty puddle just like his member, who calmly got off Hyunjin's hips and dusted himself off, leaving the artist to twitch and heave against the floor, somehow fighting back the tears of mirth in his eyes while his entire body tingled with aftershocks.

"Come. we'll get soda. My treat." Jeongin shrugs, outstretching a hand and smiling with the warmth of a thousand suns. Despite his exhaustion, Hyunjin immediately intertwined his hands with the younger, forgetting about practically being tickled half to death and rambling about why lemon soda should be considered the best flavour in the world, both of them soaked in sweat and the smell of bread being freshly made with flour right in the corner.

"What you're feeling is normal, you should be allowed to feel it," Was what Jeongin had told Minho just a few days back when he alerted the youngest of his liking towards physical affection despite usually vehemently denying it, especially how he liked tickling. It was a simple concept, really. It made him laugh, and there were always new ways to plan a fruitful revenge, who wouldn't be excited by the thought of that? But what Lee Know hadn't realised, was how utterly embarrassing it was just to tell others about his newfound love for it, choking on his words that instead became an incoherent mess each time. 

And that's where he was now, his head laying on Jeongin's lap while he stuttered every few seconds, the vocalist calmly waiting above him. There was no rush, but yet his heart couldn't stop pounding in his throat, toying with the strained fabric on the younger's knees, seeing the hairs stand up on their ends or how his leg would reflexively move up a little at the new feeling every once in a while. Feeling a hand running through his hair calmly, the bunny seemed to calm down a little more, fingers twitching against Jeongin's pants, forming the words that he tried so desperately to get out. 

"But won't the others think I'm weird for my liking of...that?" Minho whispered, nearly choking up on his words from how fearful he was. It wasn't often that he felt like this, sick to his stomach, a slow and continuous churning that tempted him to throw up, despite having not eaten for a few hours by now. Everything was spinning, and he couldn't figure out why. A silhouette stood before him, kicking him right in the guts, making him curl up into himself, a pitiful ball of shame. 

And it all went black. 

"Hey, you awake?" Minho's eyes felt so heavy, boulders weighing onto his eyelids. He didn't want to open them anyway, but the spinning was gone from his head. He could feel something being pressed against his forehead; it sent a chilling cold down his spine. For a brief moment, everything was a blur, and then it cleared up as if it had never been there all along. It was Jeongin that sat on the side of his left eye, holding something up to his head, eyebrows creased in worry. Suddenly, he choked on his spit, sitting up when a hand thumped rhythmically against his back to help. 

"You threw up just now, and came down with a bad fever after. I assume it was from the panic that you experienced. Are you feeling any better?" Ah. So that was what the kicking was. A part of him pondered how he managed to throw up without even moving a muscle; it shuddered him to think about vomiting all over the clean bed in front of him, although the smell of detergent did come out a little too strong for comfort. He looked up a tiny bit, seeing a wet cloth pasted onto his forehead, he had assumed it was Jeongin's hand at first too. 

"A bit... I'm sorry for bothering you about this, it's so embarrassing-" Before he could even finish his sentence, he was cut off when the younger grabbed his sides, squeezing at the flesh tenderly. What was the meaning of this?! Was what Minho screamed in his head at the new profound sensation, falling back against the bed with a squeal that he didn't even know left his mouth. His cheeks puffed up to the size of puffer fishes, turning cherry in colour as he held back the giggles that threatened to leave his mouth. 

"Don't apologise for something you can't control. I understand you, it's normal, and I'll take good care so you know it too." Minho could've sworn his entire face turned into a bright colour of crimson at Jeongin's words, his cheeks were on fire, at least that's what he thought. His eyes widened when fingers travelled to knead at his stomach, quiet, meek giggles slipping from his lips, weakly squirming and writhing against the bed. The tingles shot through his entire body, filling him with a sense of giddiness that made his head feel weak, his knees getting weak despite being on a bed. 

"Plehehehease! It reheheally tickles!" Lee Know pleaded weakly, his mind was mush at this point. Jeongin's fingers were ever so gentle, so precise, running over his stomach with one hand while other traced tender patterns into the skin. Was it magic? Was he so experienced with this? He assumed it was the latter, his stomach practically blowing up with butterflies. When he made an attempt to curl in on himself, he was surprised to find Jeongin uncurling him like a metal strip, returning to his stomach like nothing happened. 

"I cahahan't take it!" Minho whined, pawing at the younger's hand. Unfortunately for him, it only made Jeongin more heart warmed by the sight, determined to continue his plan of cheer up tickles till time ended, probably. Not that it mattered much, his 'pushes' felt like a kitten's paw, earning a coo from above his head, how embarrassing! 

"I think you can take it just fine..." He hums, scribbling his finger suddenly above the elder's belly to pull the most adorable squeals and pleas from below him. It wasn't often that he was this vulnerable, laying absolutely still, and not trying to chop his fingers off for attempting any of this. Jeongin could tell the elder needed this as much as the next person, and he was glad to be that pillar of support until then. 

"Nohoho! It's tohohorture!" He begs, and it's only then the maknae even considers relenting and giving the dancer some reprieve. I mean, if you saw how cute he looked, who would ever want to give him a break from the giggles? Despite all in him telling him not to pull his fingers away, give another playful tease or a soft-hearted compliment, Jeongin found himself stopping the tickles, feeling Lee Know's body get unbearably hot once again. Grabbing the wash cloth of his head, he silently dips it into the bucket below, before snickering when Minho wheezes out from the even colder feeling on his forehead.

"You did well today m'kay? Just know that we'll all be here for you when you get better and feel ready for opening up to something new like this. And stop getting sick too, I'm starting to think it's because you refuse to tell anyone but me about this..." Jeongin mutters. Although his tone sounded one of annoyance, Minho could see the corners of his mouth twitching upwards, his own lips curling into a wide smile. He was cared for, and the maknae never failed to make him see the light of his actions, a light at the end of his tunnel, his light. 

"Hello! Welcome to mysterious kitchen, where today, we'll be cooking dishes for the members as a therapy!" Minho yells enthusiastically, a shouting Jisung accompanying the happy introduction with a giggling Jeongin in the background. The trio huddled together while the middle of the trio brought over a small letter box, inside containing many tales and stories of the members trying to get the stress of their shoulders with food. Well, they usually say a good bite of food can solve everything… right?

"Yea! And the main is chef is so hot! Super hot! Super-duper hot- Ahaha!" Minho announced proudly, eyes glued on the bright yellow note that he was reading off before said note was torn from his hands, the maknae reading it with an interest. To absolutely no one's surprise, the letter was from none other than Minho, who was bent over giggling his head off seeing the other two reading his absurd description of the cooks, what was 'parboiled octopus' and 'squashed cream puff' for nicknames?! After recovering from his fit with half crinkled eyes that he had yet to wiped, it had turned out Minho had purposely named the duo that as that was what they were cooking today, earning sighs of feigned disappointment in response.

While Jisung was working arduously hard to wash out the organs of the octopus, swallowing back anything he had to say about the unusual texture and the absolute smell of raw seafood, the other two made themselves busy with the cream puffs, the maknae just about ready to be a 5 year old again with Minho guiding him on how to put egg wash on the already pre-made cream puffs. Han wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at the sight, giggling the entire way when he ran with Lee Know hot on his tail, bits and splashes of water that narrowly avoided the desserts being splattered all over the floor. Once caught, he was slowly dragged back by the elder, who was glaring daggers into his soul. Despite this, he only threw his head back against the main chef's chest with a happy smile, it had been long since they all bonded like this as a trio.

"You're so getting it for pulling that little stunt," Minho threatened, pinning Han against a nearby kitchen counter with his fingers looming over his side. Suddenly, the once bubbly producer turned anxious, babbling pleas for mercy along with shrinking against the marbled counter, cowering in fear and most likely praying that Jeongin would come to save him someway somehow. Fortunately for him, the youngest peeked over at the duo, fingers covered in egg and trying to process the scene. Tilting his head, the soft question of wanting to know what they were up to completely blew Minho's intimidating nature away, eyes completely doing a 180 in the maknae's direction; making Jisung playfully gag at the sight.

"What a bunch of love birds- WAHAHAH!" Han shrieked when fingers took it upon themselves to shove them up his underarms, scratching the tender area at a rapid pace. His original plan to tease the dancer had quickly gone south, ideas thrown out the window with how skilled Minho's fingers were, driving up him the wall. Worst of it all? The duo in front of him barely paid any attention to his boisterous laughter echoing throughout the kitchen, continuing their conversations without a care in the world; or acting as if they didn't care anyway. Either way, it still flustered Jisung to his core.

"What?! Hyung! How could you ever be so rude to us?!" Jeongin exclaims in faux horror, rushing over to the sink to wash his hands whilst pretending to be mad at the quokka. As much as he wanted to even try and apologise, his words were cut off when Lee Know's hands dug harshly into his hips almost obliviously, pulling a desperate scream from his throat instead.

"GUHUHUYS GUHUYS I'M SORRY! PLEASE- AHAHAHA!" Before the poor man could even get his apology out, they're yet again interrupted when two hands knead at his ribs, pressing into the bones tantalisingly and making him thrash against the counter, the buzzing sensations on his body truly about to drive him mad if they didn't stop soon. The duo continued to keep silent above him, simply letting their fingers roam across his body, listening to his squeaky cackles bounce off the walls.

"Are you truly sorry for your actions?" Minho chided, with no actual heat behind it and going so far as to squish his cheeks, pulling a flustered squeal from below him.

"Yea! How could you be so mean to us?!" Jeongin huffed, pressing in his fingers a little deeper into the skin nearing his underarm, making the middle of the trio arch his back with a howl of laughter. This was complete torture to him, having nowhere to run being stuck against the counter, one of their legs each pushing him back and only pinning him down further, allowing their hands to go to town on his body.

"YEHEHES! I'M SOHOHORRY! VERY SORRY!" Han manages with the last of his breath, tears of mirth beginning to well up in his eyes and stream down his reddened cheeks, cackling having gone silent with the red spreading all the way down to his neck. His fingers barely held onto the hand's that were tormenting him, and it was finally then the maknae nudged the eldest of the trio gently, telling him to let up. Carrying over to the studio couch and away from the kitchen, the fox ran back with a cup of water and a straw, Minho busy rubbing and massaging the poor quokka, nagging him not to fall asleep.

"Stop dozing off! Drink some water first." Lee Know grumbled with no malice behind it, letting the youngest bring the straw over to a panting Jisung, who gladly chugged down the water at an alarming pace. Quietly, Minho gestured the youngest onto the couch, tugging over a blanket given by the courtesy of staff, humming a soft tune while his hands ran through and massaged their scalps. Despite not even being the one who was tortured, Jeongin took the opportunity to knock himself out with the ace, cuddling each other.

Felix groaned in pain, waddling aimlessly around the dance studio in an attempt to soothe the piercing pain that was jammed somewhere on his back. He’s tried everything, from electric massages to flopping on the floor like he was a steamed fish, nothing worked to ease the throbbing on his back. Just as he threw himself onto the couch with a loud cry, Jeongin wandered in, slamming his bottle down in a corner to temporarily collect dust.

“Lixie~ Oh- you alright, hyung?” Jeongin’s lovely singing was cut off when he saw the distressed state the blonde was in, quickly jogging over to kneel at his side. Felix only whimpered in pain as a response, meekly reaching for his back to signal the source of all his problems. Hissing in sympathy, the fox slowly lifted up the chick’s shirt to get a good look at the injury, only to see a huge bruise at the side of his lower back.

“Hurts…” Felix whimpered quietly, curling up from the pain with a cry when Jeongin traced along the angry injury with a sympathetic expression. Hearing footsteps retreat, the older’s eyes lidded for a moment before nearly screaming his lungs on when he felt a warm, warm feeling directly on the injury. Barely managing to get a glimpse, he saw the younger who had zoomed back in with a small cloth wrapped around what felt like an..egg? He supposed that’s what his parents taught the maknae, and he wanted to curse every swear from how effective it was; causing terrifying pain to shoot through him.

“I-Is it working?” The fox below him shyly asked, still rubbing the warmed egg onto the injured back. Felix only grunted in a somewhat approval, not wanting to tell the maknae how excruciatingly painful his method was; there was a first time for everything, he guessed, especially when it came to his loving maknae who was utterly trying his best.

“Y-YeaHAHA! Innie!” Just as the Aussie was about to agree with the method of curing his bruise, feeling the swelling begin to calm, he felt nails scrape over his side gently, earning a panicked squeal. Jeongin suddenly went radio silent, continuing to press the clothed egg into his back while his other hand went over to torment the chick’s side without question. Even if Felix tried to squirm, he found the ‘cure’ ensuring he’d stay put, wanting the pain to subside; but the ticklish sensations were unbearable!

“t-Thahat tickles! Plehehease!” The older whimpered, snorting when the blunt nails spidered up and down his spine, making him pound the couch in a desperate attempt to remain still. That’s when he finally heard mischievous snickers from his ‘ever loving’ maknae, who removed the egg for a moment, making Felix whimper in pain once more. Gently rolling him over into his stomach, Jeongin took a slow seat onto the backs of the Aussie’s thighs, who began to protest at the situation.

“Arghahah! Jeongin!” The chick squealed when he felt lips brush against the warm surface of his recovering injury, the fox scrunching up his nose from the strong smell of egg. Continuing his journey, he paid special attention to particularly purple spots on his back, making sure to press lightly against it to reduce the pain factor as much as he could; and god was it torture. It wasn’t helping that the maknae remained pin drop silent throughout the entire process, leaving Felix to hear his laughter ring through the empty dance room.

“Ohoho my gohohodness!” Felix exclaimed when nails came back to run up and down his sides lazily, making him squirm like a dog trying to catch its tail, only to squeak when he ends up pressing his back more into Jeongin’s ticklish kisses. Clawing at the couch, he futilely tried to escape, shaking his head when the maknae brushed his hair all over the older’s spine, the brown hair torturing him ever so gently.

“Is my massage working?” Jeongin asked innocently, batting his eyelashes as if Felix could even see it happening, but it just placed butterfly kisses all over the healing bruise, causing snorts to erupt from below the fox. Grinning happily at the reaction, the hands shifted over to Yongbok’s neck, tracing patterns along his upper back, causing the older to arch his back in ticklish agony.

“Yehehes yes! J-Just noho more!” Felix whined, unable to scrunch his shoulders to block out the fingers that tormented his entire spine to no end, binded to the couch like glue. Eventually succumbing to the sensations, the chick pressed his cheek into the soft fabric in resignation, hiccuping and giggling his heart off. Blonde hair covered his face like a runny egg yolk, a bright pink complementing the hair to create a pretty blend; not to mention the crescent crinkled eyes to match the sunshine above him. Finally satiated by the mess he’s created of the Aussie, he carefully climbed off the older, lifting him up into a big hug, still mindful of the bruise that now finally looked less like a rotting grape.

“Feeling any better?” Jeongin finally came to genuinely ask, concern laced into his eyes when he saw the dazed expression on the older’s face. Brushing the forest of blonde hair aside, he smiled so widely he thought his face would genuinely split in half from how fond he was at the dark red blush that was all over the Aussie’s face and down to his neck, what was not to like about that?

“Ah..mmh…better, actually..thank you.” Felix groaned, but it changed to a surprised hum when he felt that his back no longer felt like it was going to split into half from pure pain, was Jeongin’s egg and tickle method really that effective? Maybe he had to try it on Changbin sometime, for scientific purposes of course. Giggling in satisfaction, the fox tackled the chick to the couch, snuggling his head onto the pillowy chest; he had originally come here just to cuddle with his favourite angel.