#switch!kronos

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Kronos was in his room, crossed legged as he diligently wiped the blades of his analog clock themed double-edged battle axe. He did with very little expression and with a fluid motion, like it was second nature to him. The orange facet gently hummed a tune, closely resembling the Lies song. He felt a tug in his chest area. He opened one eye before sighing deeply and putting the blade covers back on his axe, putting it back in its display cabinet before sinking out to the main living area. Kronos re-looped his orange, infinity scarf around his neck, before addressing Thomas first.

"Evening, Thomas."

The others all looked up quickly and greeted Kronos in their usual ways. Kronos visibly cringed. He had been present for quite some time and yet they were all acting like he just saw them? Why did that even make him irritated at all? Kronos huffed soundlessly before standing in between Logan and Virgil which stood right next to the wall near the stairs.

"We wanted to ask you something." "I prefer not to discussing my time… … there." "Oh, no! Nothing like that, kiddo!"

The others tensed a bit before Logan went to start speaking.

"We are trying to coordinate the appropriate time schedule for releasing Thomas' projects." "I thought I made one already. What was wrong with that schedule?" "Thomas has to go on that trip out of state. He's traveling with Nico for a vacation this coming—"

Patton stopped talking when he noticed Kronos' eyes change from its usual soft gray to a darker orange tint, Logan's eyes mirroring the same effect.

"Wh-what I meant to say is…" "So… we are once again going to prioritize productivity for Thomas' romantic affairs. Are we really going to keep doing this?" "We…" "I didn't get a say. Neither did Remus or Logan." "Buddy, it's nothing against you–" "I'm aware of that, Thomas. But it's not fair to me, or them, to keep being undermined by the others, whether they are direct causes or silent observers."

Kronos looks into Virgil and Janus' direction before looking back at Thomas.

"But with that said, I will revamp the schedule. What needs to be adjusted?"

The rest of the evening with smoothly as ever and after explaining more in detail why Thomas and Nice were going on the trip and that it wasn't going to be meaningless fluff, for the most part, the other three that hadn't gotten a chance to make a decision agreed to let Thomas go on the trip. By evening, the others had invited Kronos to stay in the main area and be a part of their monthly movie night. Kronos displayed a small scowl.

"Why would I do that?" "We are family again… right?" "Of course we are, Patton. I have been very helpful with my direct influence for the past 22 years."

Despite the deep sarcasm on Kronos' voice, it was a genuine belief he had. There was no way that the others were this accepting of him already. Kronos wasn't particular warm-hearted at this point, he was still concerned about the others perspective of him. The time alone has molded him idea that the others couldn't care about him outside of his job as Ethics and Time.

"Come on, Grubby~ It won't hurt you to hang out with us." "Do you want me to stay?"

The others all paused the various things they were doing and looked towards the butterfly trait. Kronos felt immediately cornered.

"You really don't have to force yourself to have me be here. I can… go back to my room." "No! It's fine, Kro."

Roman ushered Kronos over the couch where Remus was already standing behind the couch.

"Yeah. Just relax, Kronny~"

Kronos yelped. But it didn't sound like much of a yelp and more of some kind of shrill, honking noise that doubled as a hiccup. Kronos' ears burned red as his face flushed a dark tinge of pink. Remus had gripped the lower part of Kronos' back, close to the sides of his spine.

"Uhuhuh… Remus?" "What? All I did was."

Kronos made that same weird noise but this time covered up his back with his butterfly wings. Though no one acted upon this at the time, the others were definitely going to exploit this for the time being.

~_~_~_~_~_~

[Monday] --- Remus

It was early in the morning. Kronos had decided to get up and make breakfast for the others. Though it took him sometime to find all of the bowls and stuff to make the best cinnamon French toast, he finally managed to get everything together. He was looking over the various recipes and the notes and writings he had written in them. These books were some of the only memorabilia that he had in the Subconscious. He held them very near and dear to his heart.

Kronos wiped his face of the tears that were about to fall as he finished up the milk mixture he had made, going to the bread box for the Artsento Bricheo bread slices. Only he didn't find any bread at all. He looked at the container in confusion and then turned around and not only was the mixture gone, so was the skillet he had just buttered.

"Wha the… AHH!"

Kronos was lifted upside down from tentacles that seemed that have sprouted from the ceiling. The butterfly facet looked at the intrusive aspect that was sitting on top of the fridge. Where did he come from? Well, they could emerge from anywhere. But Kronos was a very observant person, so for him to have sneaked up on him was still a mystery.

"Morning, Remus." "Hiya!"

Kronos grumbled a bit when he noticed Remus holding the skillet in one hand and the bowl of milk mixture in his lap with a silly straw inside of it. Remus took a big sip before looking back at Kronos.

"Remus! What are you doing with that mixture?! That's for the bread!" "Hmm… no need. You should be asleep anyway, right?"

Kronos knew this shtick already. Janus posing as others to get his messages across but he also never wanted to assume anything. Remus was an open book without much need to try to fool anyone. That's what made the deceptive trait and him such a dynamic duo. Or at least one of the main reasons that they went together like peanut butter and jelly.

"I have all the rest I need for a while, Remus."

Kronos struggled against the tentacles holding his ankles in the air. Remus stroked his mustache evilly.

"You know… A little birdie told me someone has ticklish sides."

Kronos' eyes widened. Yep. This was Remus. Kronos was already trying to hold back his reactions as best he could.

"Ree! No! Please! I can't…"

Remus brought Kronos' back closer to him as he drank the mixture some more. He brought his hands towards the lower part of Kronos' back and placed his thumb right near that spot while the others wrapped around Kronos' sides. Remus felt Kronos stiffen up but his wings never deploy. With a final smirk, Remus rapidly thumbed and squeeze those special spots. Kronos was a cackling mess. He was so loud with his sounds, the others had woken up and sprinted to the kitchen downstairs.

"REMUS!" "… with a little sin~ Oh hey guys!" "MAKEHIMSTAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP!! GAHAHAHAHAAAAA!! ITTICKLES!! ITREHEHEHALLYDOES!!"

After getting through to Remus' stubbornness, his tentacles finally let Kronos go. Kronos fell to the floor, letting his wings wrap his body in self-defense.

"What were you two doing?" "Mahahahaking breheheheakfast…" "He should still be asleep. It 4 a.m." "You don't even have a regular sleep schedule, Ree." "Touche, bro-bro!"

Kronos was still curled up for a while and was edge for the remainder of the day, even if the Duke never did it again.

~_~_~_~_~_~

[Tuesday] --- Thomas

Thomas and Kronos were going over some last minute things for the trip and since the others were asleep, his own available Side was Kronos who had still been up trying to silence his mind because of his insomnia.

"I was thinking going to this place in the morning." "What time do they open?" "Uhh… I think it's—" "Know it. Don't question it."

Thomas sighed and opened his computer back open for the umpteenth time that day.

"Oh… 9 a.m." "Do you think you could wait that long to eat in the morning?" "I could have a small breakfast snack."

Kronos considered it for a moment before nodding at his host.

"I will be sure to remind you to pack or buy some of those Little Bites you love to eat in the morning." "Thank you so much for your help, buddy!"

Kronos squawked when Thomas patted his lower back. The two stared at each other for some time before Thomas acknowledged his hand placement and started wiggling his fingers there. Kronos buckled his knees and snickered behind his hand.

"Oh my god! You are ticklish!" "Uhuhuhuh… sure…" "This is so neat." "THOMAS!"

Again with that godforsaken spine-side part of his back.

"Come on, it’s not that bad, is it?" "YES! YAHAHAHAHAHAS! IT TICKLES…"

Kronos inhaled deeply before making that honking-hiccup noise.

"… GAH IT TIHIHIHICKLES SO BAHAHAHAHAHAD!!" "That's so cool!"

Kronos just slumped down against Thomas, barely being able to stand as he tossed his head back and forth, trying to rid himself of the sensation in anyway he could. At least his host didn't think it was a weird weakness.

~_~_~_~_~_~

[Wednesday] --- Janus

The day had been hectic for really no reason. Because of morning full of procrastinating on both Thomas and the Sides part, they were going to be behind schedule that day and had to meet up with Nico again because of course they did. This caused the timely aspect to be rightfully upset with the scattered plans and promises.

He had went downstairs to get a mug for some more decaf coffee. Janus was already in the kitchen. From his slumped posture, Kronos deduced he had been drinking.

"Nice to know that you drink at any time of the day. Such a respectable habit you have developed, Janus."

Janus looked up. Oh, his eyes were fine. Kronos cleared his throat before trying to find the words.

"Apologies, Janus." "I'm not offended at all."

Janus walked over to Kronos slowly as he "hugged" him from behind. Kronos was already tensing up but his face was already contorting.

"Plehehehease… please…" "What's with the bad mood? I think that may need to be remedied…"

Janus summoned his other two pair of arms—one set of hands holding Kronos' arms up, two more placed on his hips, while the last two were on those spots. Kronos didn't even bother holding in his laughter.

"Wahahahahait… wait!" "Kitchy kitchy coo coo~" "NAEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!"

Kronos bounced his legs up and down, trying to get away from the hands. Janus squeezed Kronos' hips once and his knees buckled, leaving Kronos half laying against the lying side's legs.

"IPLEADIPLEADIPLEHEHEHEHEAD!!"

Janus let Kronos go eventually, swiftly yet gently grabbing a mug, saucer and spoon as he added a tea bag and warm milk to the cup. He slid it over to Kronos who was still recovering.

"Take the drink and go back to your room. You need to rest." "But…" "Real rest, Kro-nos."

Kronos whined but took the mug anyway. Not long after, Janus heard the ethical side sleeping on the couch, probably not being able to get to the stairs as is.

~_~_~_~_~_~

[Thursday] --- Virgil

New clothes, same personality. Each side had contribute something to his new attire and Virgil was his last stop.

"You sure you don't still wear these?" "Those boots? I haven't worn them since… shit it's really been that long… it's been years. You can have them. They don't really match my other clothes anyway."

Kronos pulled the long brown boots up on his legs and examined himself. Looking in mirrors too long gave him the heebie jeebies. Then again, it wasn't really his thing to be vain or full of himself in a sense of always looking at himself. Virgil saw Kronos' new turtleneck sweater bunched up so adjusted it only Kronos to nearly jump out of his skin.

"Whoa! I didn't expect that much of a reaction." "Sohoho sorry! It's been… ehehehehe… a long weheheheheek!" "I'd say."

Virgil waited a beat before asking if Kronos was okay with it. Kronos paused himself, biting his lip. He wasn't opposed to it by this point. The majority of everyone, including Thomas, had already done it. Why not Virgil? Kronos nodded and lifted his arms up. Though, Virgil wasn't as intense with it, it still tickled like hell and Kronos still had a hard time not falling over and curling up once he made it to the spot close to his spine.

~_~_~_~_~_~

[Friday] --- Roman

After hours of creating blueprints, Roman had finally came up with a good idea for a framed stained glass window. Kronos tilted his head at the design.

"See see! They have my star thingies all over! My emblem is in the middle with my kingdom behind it. Oh and my lovely prince charming of a sword right there!"

Kronos nodded as he went over to his sand pit and started get the supplies for the different colors to change the sand colors. Kronos sectioned off the areas and did his best to stay quiet. Roman started becoming impatient, not so much for waiting on the window art but because of the silence.

"Kro! I'm bored!" "One more minute, Roman."

Roman shook his head. Kronos was almost done before Roman started tickling the special spot.

"NOHOHOHOT AGAIN!"

Roman snickered mischievously before he went between poking the spine spots and squeezing Kronos' sides. Kronos turned around and put his hands up to stop Roman. Roman dipped under Kronos' arms and pinned him down to the floor with a playful laugh. The poking and squishing continued. Kronos cackled and squirmed.

"Aww~ Someone's a ticklish little caterpillar~ Tickle tickle tickle~" "Stohohohohop… STAHAHAP SAYING THAT!" "What's that? Stop saying tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle?"

Kronos nodded rapidly, making various sounds that only added to the embarrassment. Roman continued for a while but with the bonus of giving Kronos the option to get revenge on him which Kronos took but didn't take it very far. Roman's thighs were very sensitive much like his back.

~_~_~_~_~_~

[Saturday] --- Logan

It had been a long week and quite honestly, it wasn't that bad. The tickling sessions got Kronos' mind to be put on other things rather than him doing his task with a pessimist viewpoint and dull expression. He was starting to smile more, enjoy the others company and even gotten used to Remus just randomly barraging in on whatever he was doing and attacking him. One instances leading to a kiss to the cheek and leaving the ethical figment flushing red.

But that still didn't change his perception of some aspects of it. Specifically him being ticklish in the first place and that weird ass honking noise he kept making when that spot was touched. So for the first time, he just went to someone and asked. Logan was a bit perplexed by the statements that Kronos was making about the ticklishness.

"Since we are all embodiments of Thomas, we should all carry the same ability to be sensitive to touch." "But the rest of you aren't as ticklish on your sides or back as I am. Your worst spots are your feet and hips."

Logan suddenly had a bit of pink dust his cheeks as he cleared his throat.

"Affirmative. My sides and feet are my worst spots. However, what makes it so frustrating for you, Kronos?" "I don't know, Lo. It's just… it's embarrassing."

That's when Logan stepped a bit closer to the orange trait, tapping an odd pen on the whiteboard behind him with a few robotic arms emerging from the projector box near the ceiling and holding Kronos' wrists up.

"Now, why would that be?"

Logan began teasing for the spot that made Kronos so sensitive as Kronos was already in a puddle of hiccups and squirmed around.

"Why are you embarrassed to admit that you’re ticklish?? It’s a perfectly natural physiological response. The nerve endings in your skin are supposed to send alerts to the brain that trigger a response of laughter." "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! NO!! WAHAHAIT!! PLEHEHEHEASE!!" "Hmm… I wonder if there is something about Thomas that makes you react this way to your back being sensitive. Perhaps, it's another genetic deviation that the rest of us don't have the ability to acquire."

It was a running joke that Kronos was the "Embodiment of Recessive Genes". From his freckled covered cheeks, medium length white hair, gray eyes, and being a Type 1 Diabetic? Yeah, there were some major differences between him and the other Sides. This must be another one of those instances.

"Sh-sh-SHIHIHIHIHIHIT! CAN'TBREHEHEHEHEATHE!" "We don't need oxygen, Kronos. We are fictional."

Kronos shimmied around, his knees nearly buckling before Logan snaps and the wrists go away.

"This is rather interesting. Let's see if we can find any other spots."

Kronos spent the next few hours giggling and chortling. Logan was even fascinated at the sound that Kronos always made when he got a bad spot, referring to it as "snorting" rather than "honking". Though it was incredibly flustering, it was still a great bonding experience between the two brothers.

~_~_~_~_~_~

[Sunday] --- Patton

Kronos had been on edge most of the day. Keeping to the schedule today was a must, otherwise Thomas was miss his time to get to the airport and board the plane. He kept checking in on the others and Thomas to make sure that everything was going according to plan. He didn't rest the whole night even after his encounter with Logan and his plethora of tickling concepts that all left the poor timely aspect exhausted yet his mind kept buzzing all night.

Just as Thomas was leaving his apartment, Kronos had sank out to the living room where Patton was. He was baby talking to his pet frog before looking up at Kronos.

"Oh hi, Kronos! Has Thomas left yet?" "Yes. He just got in the car." "Awesome!"

Kronos slumped down next to the fatherly figment, placing a fist to his cheek. He was so tired, so anxious.

"Kiddo?"

Kronos blinked himself awake for the fourth or so time before turning his head to Patton. He couldn't find the strength to speak so just hummed and nodded in his direction. Patton looked at Kronos with a soft, thoughtful expression.

"Hey, Kro. You can… just… put your PJs on. You don't have to stay up any longer." "But what about the schedule? I'm trying to give Logan some time to rest up too." "I'll see if Roman or Janus can do it. You both can rest now." "I…" "I'll give you a back massage."

Kronos snickered behind his palm before swallowing, snapping his fingers for his usual sweatshirt and shorts set to appear on his body. Patton laid Kronos' head against his chest. Kronos was splayed out over the sofa, humming softly as Patton reached for his lower back. Kronos was already giggling hard.

"Can you… do the thing?"

This must've been Patton's way of asking permission to go for the spot. Kronos nodded. Patton thumbed the spot and Kronos broke into squeaky, hiccup-y laughter, burying his face deeper into Patton's polo. Patton gasped.

"That's so adorable! You have such a cute laugh, kiddo!"