#no teasing

“No teasing this time.”

“Got it!”

“I mean it.”

“I know!”

“Are you sure?” Virgil asked, arms wrapped protectively around himself. “Do you think you can hold back?”

Patton tsked. “Virgil, just because I won’t be teasing you doesn’t mean I have to hold myself back. I’ll still have lots of fun just using my ten good friends!” He grinned, holding up his fingers and wiggling them in the air.

Virgil coughed, face growing slightly pink. “I-- okay. You’re literally already teasing, but fine. Just-- I wanna see how long I can hold out, and I can’t do that when you tease, okay?”

“Virgil, I’ve got you.” Patton held up one hand and crossed his heart solemnly. “I won’t tease you at all. I promise.”

Virgil relaxed slightly, and he nodded. “Okay. Just, um, give me a second.” He scooted further back on the bed, making sure his pillows were situated properly, before laying down with his arms by his sides.

In his peripheral, he saw Patton shift, but before the moral side could do anything, Virgil sat back up.

“Wait, I just remembered, I wanted to--”

He stopped talking, gesturing with his hands for another second before he sighed. In one swift movement he unzipped his hoodie, revealing-- he blushed slightly-- his bare chest. He wanted to push himself today, and no shirt or hoodie was the best way to start. Still, he realized he couldn’t look at Patton as he pulled the coat off and threw it off the bed, falling back into his position with a huff.

“Okay, I’m ready now.”

His eyes were open, but he kept them on the back wall, pointedly not looking at Patton. Still, after a few seconds of inaction, his anticipation bested his embarrassment, and he took a quick peek at the other side.

Patton was sitting in the same position next to him on the mattress, but now there was a soft and adoring smile on his face, much to Virgil’s displeasure.

“Patton,” he protested. Patton blinked in confusion.

“What? What did I do?”

“I-- I can’t-- don’t look at me like that,” Virgil stammered, eyes flicking between the wall and Patton’s face.

Now Paton’s smile went from confusion to playful. “Like what?”

“Like-- like you’re teasing!”

“I’m not teasing! I’m just smiling! Aren’t I allowed to smile?”

Virgil shook his head, his own smile tugging at his lips. “No. No smiling.”

“Oh, no smiling,” Patton repeated. “Okay, got it.”

He straightened his face into the most neutral expression Virgil had ever seen on him. He leaned forward, raising his hands as he got closer to Virgil’s stomach, and--

“Nah! Not that either!” Virgil burst, twisting his body away from Patton’s hands. “Stop it!”

Patton’s stern facade broke as he pulled back. “What was I doing?”

“You were just--” Virgil couldn’t explain why seeing Patton prepare to tickle him with no emotion was so flustering, but it was. He huffed a weak laugh. “It was teasy. I don’t know.”

Patton gave a soft laugh. “Virgil, if everything I do is teasy no matter what, then I don’t think we’re gonna get very far.”

“No, no, we can. I can do this.” Virgil took a deep breath before steeling himself, nodding in determination. “I’m ready.”

Patton mimed zipping his lips and throwing away the key, before he too took a deep breath, and slowly raised his fingers again. He inched them closer and closer to Virgil’s stomach, and the anxious side kept his eyes on them the entire time. This was fine, this was fine, he could do this, he could--

And then he imagined just how badly those fingers would tickle when they finally reached his stomach, and he rolled to the other side with another stream of helpless giggles.

“Wahahait!”

Patton broke into his own laughter, throwing his hands up in faux exasperation.

“Virgil, is there anything I can do that won’t tease you before we even start?”

Virgil couldn’t respond through his giddy laughter. God, Patton literally hadn’t even done anything that time, and he still couldn’t handle it. He took another peek at Patton’s hands, now folded patiently in his lap, and almost burst out laughing yet again.

Patton raised an eyebrow. “Maybe if you close your eyes, you won’t get so nervous beforehand?”

Virgil thought it over for a moment before nodding, despite the feeling in his gut that told him this wouldn’t work. “I’ll try it. Maybe give me a countdown?

“Works for me!” Patton replied. He waited until Virgil’s eyes were securely shut, and he lifted his hands as quietly as he could.

“Five. Four. Three--”

“Nope!” Virgil burst out, eyes shooting open. “Nope. Nope nope nope, no countdown. Don’t tell me when you’re doing it.”

Patton giggled, his head dropping into his hands for just a moment before nodding. “Okay, Virgil, whatever you say.”

Virgil huffed again, but he closed his eyes once more, leaving Patton alone above his ticklish body.

This time, Patton waited for a bit in the hopes that it would lower Virgil’s guard before he starts. He slowly lifted his hands above his torso, fingers wiggling involuntarily as he hovered them over different spots, pondering where to start. The bottom of his ribs was a pretty good spot, but maybe something closer to his hips would be a more gentle starting point. Of course, his sides were particularly sensitive, but Patton was also tempted to skip to the main event that was Virgil’s tummy button.

He continued to move his hands around as he pondered. Decisions, decisions--

His train of thought was caught off as Virgil began making a tight-lipped humming sound, his chest shaking with captured giggles.

“Patton,” he whined, “you’re taking so long, I can’t-- can’t take the waiting!” His words dissolved into giggles yet again. Patton’s smile grew even wider at the sight of a blushy, giggly Virgil, whom he hadn’t even touched yet.

“Sorry, Virge,” he replied. “I’ll start right now.” He moved his hands over Virgil’s stomach, but stopped himself as Virgil choked out a laugh.

“No, I said no teasing, don’t tease me--”

Virgil peeked one eye open as he spoke, only for both eyes to burst wide open at the sight of Patton’s ten wiggly fingers hovering right above his belly button.

“Patton!” he gasped. “No--!”

Before he could even finish his sentence, Virgil was lost to a helpless stream of pent-up laughter, his stomach sucking in on instinct in order to get as far away from Patton as possible.

“Stoho-- stohohop-- stop!”

Patton looked down at him in pure delight. “Virge, I am literally not doing a thing to you.”

Virgil groaned, rocking from one side to the next as he laughed. “I-- I-- I can still feel it!” he cried, writhing on the mattress in desperation from the phantom tickles. His laughter came faster and faster, and although the occassional snorts he let out were illegally adorable, Patton soon realized with a start that they meant Virgil wasn’t getting enough air.

He pulled his hands back, practically sitting on them to keep them out of Virgil’s sight.

“I’m calling yellow, Virgil,” he said. “Can you try to take deep breaths for me?”

Virgil panted through his laughter, looking at him with a stretched smile. “Whahaha-- why?”

Patton gave him a small grin as he replied, “Because you’re already completely keyed up and I haven’t even touched you yet. We need to calm you down.”

After a few moments, Patton saw Virgil close his eyes and forcefully take in a deep breath. A few more seconds passed, and Virgil released the breath, and the cycle started over. There were a few stray giggles here and there, but for the most part it only took a minute for Virgil to calm himself down.

His eyes opened, looking at Patton with a somewhat sheepish expression.

“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t know that would be so bad.”

“Don’t apologize!” Patton insisted. “You can’t control your reactions, and I’m the one who called yellow anyway. Nothing’s your fault.”

He paused for a moment before slowly moving to lie down next to Virgil on the bed, taking one of his hands and lacing their fingers together.

“Although-- and I don’t wanna sound mean,” he said slowly, before meeting Virgil’s eyes and giving him a teasing grin. “But I can’t believe I didn’t even have to touch you to make you break.”

Virgil groaned, a blush rising to his cheeks. “Patton--”

“I mean, I wasn’t even trying! Am I that good, or are you that sensitive?”

“Patton!” Virgil interjected, giving Patton a light shove with their interlocked hands. His smile was evident in his voice as he mumbled, “It’s probably both.”

Patton’s smile softened into a fond grin, and he turned on his side, one hand proping up his head as he looked down at the other.

“Want some non-teasy, no-anticipation-required tickles?”

Virgil huffed a laugh, rolling his eyes in a mix of embarrassment and fond exasperation.

“I mean, since we’re already here...”