#switch!epel

"Uh, Ruggie-san? Are ya- err, are you certain this is a good idea?"

Epel couldn't help but to question his upperclassman, a hesitant frown of skepticism on his face as they both hovered over their sleeping Spelldrive Captain, who remained blissfully unaware of their presence for the time being.

When Ruggie had first come to him during training camp suggesting they mess with Leona the next morning, he couldn't deny that he'd been more than a little... Hesitant...

As much as he preferred Leona to Vil most of the time, that wasn't to say he was stupid enough to think that his Spelldrive Captain couldn't be just as, if not more temperamental than his own dorm leader at times.

He could actually be pretty scary too in his own right, just not in quite the same way...

Where Vil could most accurately be compared to an icy blizzard when he was mad, Leona was more akin to a raging flame of quiet anger. It would hardly be considered wise to test his patience... The last thing Epel would ever want to do would be to intentionally incite that blazing wrath upon himself.

Ruggie hardly seemed to share in these reservations, however...

"Aawww, don't tell me you're chickening out on me now? What's wrong, you scared? Shyehehe..." the second year taunted him, not seeming the least bit nervous over the potential consequences his little scheme might result in.

Either he was incredibly brave, or extremely stupid... Maybe both.

Why he'd even come up with this idea to begin with Epel had no idea. All he knew was that he'd been remarkably persistent in his efforts to get him to participate, and it was only after a significant amount of taunting and bothering that he agreed.

Sitting here now though, crouching in their shared tent at training camp, while actively planning to tickle their literal apex predator of a captain awake? He was really beginning to question whether he'd made the right decision...

He almost found himself tempted to back out, only to end up caving again anyway when Ruggie began to cluck at him teasingly, an embarrassed flush rising to his cheeks as he whipped his head up to glare at him.

"Ok ok! Fine!!" He growled out, taking a swat at his snickering upperclassman that he unfortunately managed to dodge.

"Ugh! J-Just shut up will ya?! I ain't no chicken!!" He huffed. No one accused Epel Felmier of being a coward, and he never backed down from a challenge!

With this thought in mind, he firmly pushed aside the quiet voice in his head suggesting this was all a terrible idea... After all, what was the worse that could happen? Leona surely wouldn't be mad enough to actually hurt them right?

Probably...

~~

"Mmmggh..." Leona grumbled in his sleep, twitching a little at the annoying tingling feeling that disturbed his peaceful slumber.

It was still pretty early in the morning by his standards, and he'd been hoping to catch atleast a few more hours sleep before he'd inevitably be dragged out of bed by Ruggie or some other annoying juniors to run Spelldrive drills. It seemed that would not be the case, however.

As his mind reluctantly began to shift towards wakefulness, his body too became more aware, and it suddenly became a lot more apparent what had disturbed him to begin with...

"Wha?! Whahaha?!" He growled out a startled involuntary laugh as he blearily opened his eyes, and there hovering over him were Ruggie, because of course it would be him, and a little more surprisingly, Epel, the only somewhat tolerable person that dwelt within Pomefiore's halls.

"Wakey wakey Leona!" Ruggie snickered, sounding far too cheerful and mischievous this early in the morning, his grubby little hands squeezing up and down his sides, causing him to laugh against his will while Epel was a lot more unsure about it as he scribbled along the underside of one of his knees.

"Wahaha?! You lihihittle-?!" No doubt he'd been dragged into this little scheme by Ruggie, that much he was certain of, but that little fact was hardly going to earn him any kind of lenience, oh definitely not. As far as Leona was concerned?

They were both dead!

~~

In retrospect, Epel really should've listened to the voice in his head. This had, in fact, been a terrible idea from the beginning.

One minute, he'd been sitting next to his captain's knees and only just starting to get into the fun of tickling him when he heard his raucous laughter, and the next?

He found himself being roughly tugged off balance by one arm. Not by Leona, but by Ruggie, whom much to his insult and dismay was already darting out the tent flap after shoving him on top of their already ticked off upperclassman like some sort of human sacrifice.

"Thanks for being a good decoy Epel, have fun! Shyehehe!" He teased, turning tail completely and rezipping the tent, quite literally sealing poor Epel's fate just as Leona began to recover from the bony elbow that had struck him in the gut.

Oh no...

Epel laughed a little nervously as he scrambled to sit upright, bringing his hands up placatingly as he began to back away from the furious lion.

"W-Wait just a- aaAAH!! Aahahaha nohohOHO!! Leona-sahahahaan I'm sohohohorryyehe!!" As Leona finally pounced on him, and his own frantic laughter bega to fill the tent instead, he made a vow to himself right then and there;

“Y-yeah, thanks for inviting me.” Epel said, a bit caught off-guard. He tried focusing his attention on the little hedgehogs in front of him when he heard shuffling beside him. He turned his head, seeing a few of the hedgehogs crawling on top of Riddle, who fell back on the grass as more crawled over to him.

“H-hey, that tickles!” Riddle cried, and then Epel heard it. Riddle was giggling. The legs of the hedgehogs scurried all over his body, going every which way, so it tickling.. did make sense. But it was just so weird to see Riddle giggling! Epel hadn’t even realized he was staring until Riddle had gotten all the hedgehogs off, no longer laughing but a bright grin on his face. It shifted to confusion when he looked at Epel.

“Epel?” He asked, looking a little concerned. Epel flinched, and he tried as hard as he could to will a blush from rising to his cheeks. He wasn’t sure how successful it worked out, though.

“Yeah, sorry! You– I mean, the hedgehogs were really cute!” Epel croaked. Really, what was with him today? So what if he liked the guy.. just a tiny-bit. Getting all tongue-tied and all? That was not like him at all.

Riddle looked doubtful, but didn’t push. The entire time they were with the hedgehogs, Epel couldn’t stop thinking about how cute Riddle was, smiling and laughing like that. Urghhh….

—-

Epel.. kinda started craving seeing Riddle like that again. He had to admit he started going a bit overboard, but he couldn’t help it! Riddle was ticklish and it was cute!

One time, Epel found the housewarden in the library, looking quite focused on his book.

“Hey, Riddle.” Epel smiled from behind the other, poking him in the side to greet him.

“Hah!” Riddle jumped and giggled, but before he could question it, Epel would change the subject.

Another time, he was with Riddle, who was trying to reach a jar on the shelf in the cafeteria kitchen. Epel was just as short as he was, so he couldn’t really be much help.

“Gah! Epel!” Riddle screeched, his arms clamping down when the freshman scribbled his fingers underneath his armpit.

“Heh, sorry. Thought there was a bug.” Epel explained. Riddle narrowed his eyes at him, suspicious, but stayed silent. They ended up retrieving the jar after finding a ladder in the corner of the room. This time, Riddle made sure Epel was far, far away before reaching for it again.

The next time, they were sitting on the couch in the Heartslabyul lobby together after Epel had asked Riddle to tutor him on a subject he had been struggling with. He knew Riddle had developed a soft spot for him because he had agreed instantly, despite the fact that they were from different dorms. He would by lying if he hadn’t been developing a soft spot for him either.. maybe even more than that. Romance wasn’t his thing, though, and Riddle wouldn’t like some apple farmer from the middle of nowhere, so he took any chance he could get to be close to the other.

Riddle was teaching him how to solve a question and Epel was.. well, he was bored. He knew he asked for this, but he had never been the learning type! Could you blame him?

He squeezed Riddle’s side, casually.

“And so you– Hck!” Riddle gasped, covering his side with his hand. Epel waited for Riddle to say something. He had been doing this quite a bit, he knew that, and Riddle clearly knew something was up, but he never asked. It was strange, especially with how confrontational the housewarden tended to be.

This time was no different. He stared at Epel, a light blush on his face, before he sighed. It was slow and long, and it even made Epel a bit nervous, until Riddle looked back at the textbook, explaining the concepts like nothing had happened.

Well, whatever. He supposed he should get serious now and he picked up his pen.

Thirty minutes later, they actually managed to get a lot done, which he sort-of expected, seeing as Riddle was his tutor.

“Lastly, I had one last thing I wanted to ask you,” Riddle started, and Epel hummed.

“What is it?”

“Is there any reason you have been particularly interested in tickling me?” Epel’s eyes widened at that and Riddle looked like he was trying hard to be tough, but still radiated nervousness.

“Ah, so you did notice.”

“Do you take me for a fool?” Riddle deadpanned and Epel shook his head.

“Of course not! I was just wondering when you would say something.” Riddle raised a brow.

“And why is that?” There. The question Epel had been waiting for. But, now that he said it, should he really go through with it? It took him exactly one second to decide that yes, he absolutely should.

“So that I can do this!” Epel jumped, reaching over to Riddle’s sides with both hands and squeezing. Riddle’s hands were grasping his wrists in an instant, trying to push him away out of reflex, but perhaps Epel’s determination had strengthened him.

The blush on Riddle’s face bloomed into a deep red as he bit his lip, clearly trying to conceal his giggles. Epel’s grin turned mischievous and he started kneading his fingers along Riddle’s sides and hips.

“E-ehehepel..!” Riddle spit out, as his back met the back of the couch.

“Yeah?”

“S-stop this ahahat ohonce!” He cried, squirming. Epel smiled at that, pretending to think.

“No, it’s not everyday I get to see you smile! Let me cherish it for a little longer, yeah?” Epel traveled over different areas over Riddle’s body, internally noting down what spots were particularly sensitive and what wasn’t.

He got comfortable and relaxed a bit while tickling him because there was no way Riddle would do anything childish like tickle someone.

That was his first mistake because apparently Riddle’s thighs were not really that ticklish at all and by the time that Epel discovered that, the housewarden had already grabbed ahold of his wrists, with a smile on his face but no longer laughing.

“O-oh.”

“Oh, indeed.” Riddle doesn’t seem upset, Epel thought to himself. He would hate it if he actually made him uncomfortable but he had seen what Riddle looked like when he was angry, though he hadn’t been at the receiving end of it. He sighed. His fun was over, he supposed, but maybe he could find ways to tickle him in the future. He doubted Riddle would let his guard down so easily again…

He looked back at Riddle who was– wait, what was with that smirk on his face?!

Epel’s eyes widened when Riddle began tickling… him…! Having not expected it, he burst into giggles instantly.

“W-wahahait, Rihihihiddle!” He cried, as he tried to curl in on himself. How could he have let this happen?!

“Ah, so you are ticklish. With how confident you were in tickling me, I wouldn’t have thought,” Riddle chuckled, and who was this guy?! Riddle Rosehearts– his crush, mind you–was tickling Epel?

Epel thought his heart was going to absolutely explode. Epel had always cursed his ticklishness. Tickling was cute and he wanted to be the opposite of that. He only did it to Riddle because he thought that he wouldn’t retaliate. Clearly, he was wrong.

“Ack! Nohoho!” Epel giggled, his face heating up. He couldn’t have even stopped his blush if he tried, too distracted by Riddle’s fingers poking and prodding at his sensitive stomach.

“Did you think I wouldn’t retaliate?” Riddle asked, looking very, very smug. Though, who wouldn’t be in his situation. Riddle continued to scribble his fingers over his tummy and belly button, painfully slow and calculated.

Epel, too caught up in laughter, couldn’t form a proper response to that. He tried pushing at Riddle’s hands, but just like him, RIddle seemed determined. “Rihihihiddle!”

“What’s the matter?” Riddle replied, his fingers now gliding along Epel’s ribs.

“Plehehehase! Mehehehercy!” Epel shouted, feeling tingles all over his body and starting to become a bit overwhelmed. Luckily, Riddle did, in fact, relinquish his attack, allowing Epel a chance to breathe.

“Are you alright?” Riddle asked him, scooting a bit farther to give him space.

“Gah, you got me real good, huh? Wasn’t expectin’ that at all…” Epel said, when he felt he could finally breathe normally. Epel wasn’t tickled often. His folks back home still tickled him from time to time, but since going to Night Raven College, it had decreased. Of course, Vil would poke him in the side to jolt him awake and Rook was, well, being Rook, but despite that, it didn’t happen too much. Not like this. Despite that, he found himself not minding it as much as he thought he would have.

“You started it,” Was all Riddle said in response, as he picked up his cup of tea from the table and took a sip. Such a petty response coming from him. Epel decided that seeing this side of Riddle was really fun.

“You just looked so cute smilin’ and laughin’ like that. Wanted to see it more.” At that, Riddle froze, looking at Epel almost like he grew a second head.

“Cute?” Ah, shit. Epel didn’t mean to say that out loud. Well, too late to pretend like it didn’t happen.

“Yeah,” he admitted, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. “Really cute.” Riddle thought for a moment, before taking another sip of his tea. It seemed like he was trying to look casual, as well, but Epel noticed him tapping his pinky against the glass rhythmically.

“I see,” Riddle said, after a few seconds. “You were.. cute too.”

Cute. Epel always hated hearing that word to describe him. He was manly. He wasn’t cute. And yet, why did that word sound so different hearing it from Riddle? Why did hearing it make him happy?

His face flushed and he averted his gaze. Sevens, why couldn’t he handle a crush coolly, instead of like some lovesick schoolgirl. He tentatively looked back at Riddle. Riddle looked embarrassed too, so he felt relieved that he wasn’t the only one.

“T-thanks,” He stuttered out, awkwardly. “And, um, for tutoring me, too.”

“It was no problem. You can come to me, anytime.” Riddle replied, then he looked at the clock. “It’s late, though, so you should probably be getting back soon.”

Epel looked at the clock, cringing. “Yeah, any sooner and I would never hear the end of it from Vil.” He stood up, stretching his limbs and gathering his items.

“Shall I walk you out?” Riddle asked. What a gentleman. Epel giggled to himself, quietly.

“No, don’t worry about it. You have your own things to do,” Epel replied. He didn’t want to bother RIddle with such a thing. Riddle looked disappointed at that answer and honestly, he was too, but it seemed too late to backtrack his words.

“If you’re certain, I will at least walk you to the door.” Riddle insisted, as he stood up as well.

“Okay!” Epel smiled at that, walking to the door alongside him. It was a little dark outside, but nothing to be worried about. At the door, Riddle smiled at him. A real, genuine smile and suddenly, Epel’s eyes darted to his lips. Epel really wanted to kiss him.

“It was nice being with you, Epel,” Yep, he really, really wanted to kiss him.

“Ah, uh, you too,” Epel could not think straight right now. Before he could help it, Epel leaned in, giving Riddle a peck on the lips, before pulling away just as quickly. Riddle was mystified, turning a bright red. How many times had he seen RIddle flustered today? He had to have set a world record. Epel giggled at his reaction.

“See you tomorrow!” Epel exclaimed, voice full of unfiltered glee as he gracefully walked out the door, humming to himself.