#ticklish!arin

           The two men were halfway through the episode, whispering short stories, muffling a laugh or two if one ever arose. Both of their mics were very close to their faces, a very ASMR feeling episode, both of them going for that vibe the more time they spent recording. Despite the peaceful hush of the episode, both men had another thing in mind. A bet.

           “First person to stop whispering owes the other person five bucks,” Arin said as Dan nestled into his side of the couch.

           “Deal.”

           So, it was on. The audience had no idea about the bet, thinking it was just merely a funny gag. Whilst it was a gag, it was so much more than that to the two men. They both needed to make the other break, while keeping their own composure as well.

           “So, a man walks into a bar wearing a top hat, petticoat, and a long, fake beard,” Arin’s lips brushed the mic, his eyes flickering between the screen and Dan, “He tells the bartender he’s going to a costume party. The theme is that you have to dress like your sex life. ‘So, why you dressed like Abraham Lincoln?’ the bartender asks,” Arin waits, staring directly at Dan, smile crossing his face, “The man says, ‘It’s cause my last four scores were seven years ago.’”

           Dan covered his face, muffling the sound of his short giggle, torso shaking slightly.

           “That was a pretty good one,” Dan said after letting out a deep exhale into the mic, probably sending shivers down the spine of all the headphone using viewers a few weeks later. Dan leaned over and poked Arin in approval, thoroughly enjoying the joke. He wasn’t expecting Arin to flinch under his touch.

           “Don’t,” Arin said with his eyes, having scooted back into his corner of the couch. It was this look that made Dan understand what had happened.

           “Is there something wrong, Arin?” Dan smiled, the words barely hitting the microphone. He crept closer, an animalistic glint in his eyes, scaring Arin. “Are you doing alright? You look a little tense. Want me to help you with that?”

           “Dan,” Arin whined, a bit louder than he had hoped, though not loud enough to lose the bet. Dan, the lion stalking his prey, plopped right down next to Arin, shoulder to shoulder. Arin raised his hands to his face, still holding the controller, trying to cover his mouth as much as he could. He knew he couldn’t just stop playing, the show had to go on, even if Dan was being an evil little shit. He glanced over at the timer. He had three minutes until it was an acceptable time to call the episode over. He just had to survive that long.

           “How’ve you been doing, Arin?” Dan muttered into the mic, a hand on Arin’s thigh, threatening to squeeze it. “I heard you and Suzy went to that new restaurant downtown. Was it any good?”

           “It was,” Arin’s eyes glued to Dan’s hand, his character running into a wall on screen. The muscles in his thighs tensed, Dan feeling them tighten beneath his grip. His breath was caught in his throat, accompanied by his heart, the anticipation threatening to make him scream.

           “I might go there soon, but I’m afraid it will all go to my thighs,” Dan’s lips grazed Arin’s mic as his hand finally squeezed, Arin’s leg shooting out. As fingers climbed his thigh, working their way up to his hip, Arin bit his lip, trying not to squirm despite what his conscious was screaming at him.

           Two minutes left. Arin could survive two minutes, he knew it. Dan’s teasing though, was much worse than he expected.

           “Were the ribs any good?” Dan basically pounded on Arin, using both hands to connect with both sides of Arin’s rib cage, pushing the other man so he was leaning back off the couch. Arin desperately wanted to grab at Dan’s hands, but he knew that if he stopped playing, he would be done for. The game was the only thing he could distract himself with, and he didn’t want the last two minutes of the episode being near silent.

           “Yes,” Arin hissed through clenched teeth, mouth still hiding behind his controller. His body was tremoring and wiggling about, but he had to keep going. He could do it.

           “What about the pork belly? Suzy said she had that,” Dan clawed at Arin’s belly, causing him to drop the controller to the floor. He brought his arms down, one hand covering his mouth tight enough to leave an impression, the other frantically chased Dan’s hands.

           There was only one minute left and Arin could feel the laughter bubbling up in his chest like a witches brew. He didn’t want the laughter to come out, just not yet. He was biting his lip if all his life depended on it, squirming and kicking as quietly as he could, afraid Dan would say his thrashing was too loud and cost him the bet. There was no way in hell he was losing this.

           Thirty seconds left. Arin maneuvered his body, so his face was closer to the mic, still trying to grab Dan’s hands with no avail. His fingers danced around his navel, driving Arin up the wall. Arin tried to keep his eyes open to watch the timer, but they kept scrunching up, unable to stand the torture Dan was eliciting.

           “Next time on Game Grumps,” Arin said between his fingers, the words tangled and intangible, but he knew it was over. The episode was over, and he survived the onslaught.

           “Good job,” Dan beamed, speaking with his usual voice. “I thought you were going to break, but you didn’t,” Dan poked Arin’s belly with every single word. Arin let himself laugh, finally, after it was all bubbled up in his throat. Dan knew this was his chance and kept tickling him, hearing Arin’s high-pitched laugh, head shaking side to side. This didn’t last long though, as Dan figured he had tortured him enough, “Alright. Time for the next episode.”

           “Not yet,” Arin replied, launching himself at Dan, flipping their positions in a second. “Payback’s a bitch, Danny.”

           Resting his head into his hands, he sat at the lone desk, closing his eyes in sadness. It wasn’t his fault that everything was happening at once, that his mental health had hit a wall with no warning. It wasn’t his fault that he didn’t feel like doing Ghoul Grumps, it was his exhaustion, his mentality, his busyness, but here he was, issuing an apology to all his fans. He didn’t want this to happen, to not do Ghoul Grumps, but it just happened. It wasn’t his fault really, but yet it was. It really was, and there were so many fans reminding him that it was his fault.

           All his fault.

           The words of many comments filled his head, filled it with sorrow, a dash of anger, and a lot of grief. He ran Game Grumps, he ran everything. He should’ve been on top of things, he should have been in control of what was being recorded, what was going on, but he wasn’t. He let something slip, and now his fans hated him. The Lovelies were against him and it was all his fault. And what else could he do but apologize to them all, then sit alone and hate everything about himself. It was all his fault and he knew it, and all these god damned emotions were making him feel even worse.

           The door behind him creaked open just a sliver, a hazel eye peering into the dark room. Arin didn’t move as the door opened just enough to let a thin man to slip in. His footsteps were quiet, but sounded like thunder pounding in Arin’s head, silencing as the other man loomed over Arin’s folded over body.

           “You didn’t need to apologize,” Dan grabbed the back of the chair as he leaned in closer, eyes scanning the screen as the video was nearly done uploading. His eyebrow shot up when he saw the timestamp on the video, it being significantly longer than he thought it was going to be. Sure, Arin told him he was going to make this video, but Dan thought it was going to be something short. With the run time of just over eleven minutes, Dan knew Arin bore his soul into this video that he didn’t even have to make. “It really wasn’t your fault. All of us were fine with us not doing Ghoul Grumps, we had so many other things to do. It’s okay.”

           “But all the Lovelies are pissed,” Arin said, voice cracking, his head still in his hands. “So many of them were upset we didn’t do Ghoul Grumps and it was all my fault. I should’ve managed time better, I should’ve done so many things differently. It’s all my fault, and they’re all fucking pissed at me because of it.”

           “Dammit Arin,” Dan’s tone made Arin flinch before he felt the chair turn around, having to lean back so he didn’t fall over. Slouching against the back of the chair, Arin looked up at Dan, his eyes fleeting off every few seconds. Dan pointed at the laptop behind the chair, the faint light illuminating half of his face. “Fuck those guys. The people that are complaining are not fans and definitely not Lovelies. They’re all a bunch of horrible people that want to make you feel bad for not doing one thing. Forget about them. If they were real fans, they would understand that everything you are doing for Grumps is a privilege for them to see, not a right. You don’t need to do Game Grumps, but you do because you love it, and no one should blame you if you need a break from everything you’re doing. Hell, I love being on tour, being on the stage, but I have to take breaks. You deserve breaks too and all the real Lovelies know that.”

           Arin wore a weak smile that trembled ever so slightly, a crystalline film of tears blurred his vision. He wanted to believe Dan, but all those comments. They got under his skin more than he thought they would.

           “But…”

           “No buts, Big Cat,” Dan interrupted his best friend, not wanting Arin to go off on a self-loathing tangent. Instead, Dan quickly grabbed Arin’s hand, pulling him to his feet and into his arms in one swift motion. Arin didn’t have any time to think before he pressing his face into the crook of Dan’s neck, letting the tears finally flow. Dan held Arin close to him as he watched the video go live, ready for the world to see it. He was tempted to delete it before anyone could watch it, but he knew that would upset Arin even more, so all he could do was comfort him to the best of his abilities.

           “Hey, Arin,” Dan broke the long silence, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Arin had been nuzzling his face into Dan’s neck, which was fine at first, but it was starting to tickle like hell.

           “Mhm,” Arin hummed, moving his head as if to meet Dan’s gaze, but his eyes were shielded by both Dan’s and his own long hair. This movement made Dan flinch, making him wiggle a bit, taking a short step back. “What’s wrong.”

           “Tickles,” Dan said quietly, rolling his eyes as he heard soft chuckles rising from Arin’s chest.

           “But I’m finally starting to feel better,” Arin said, his fingers drumming against Dan’s ribs, smiling as the older man started to giggle, trying to get away. “And it sounds like you’re feeling better too.”

           “I was already feeling fine,” Dan said with a squeak, folding into himself as Arin skittered his fingers over his belly while still trapping him in the embrace. Arin inched backwards, wanting to see Dan’s bright smile.

           “Well, now you are extra fine,” Arin beamed, the happiest he had been in hours. He had quickly reduced Dan into his hysterical, wheezy laughter, a few squeaks and squeals thrown into the mix. However, Arin was definitely not expecting Dan to reciprocate so fast. “H-Hey, wait!”

           “You’re the sad one here,” Dan cooed, going for Arin’s belly, listening to the laughter completely overcome him. Arin couldn’t help but fall into Dan, hiding his face back in the crook of his neck, but this time to hide his laughter, not his tears. This position was not very good for Dan, as Arin was inadvertently tickling the shit out of his neck again, but now he was more focused on making Arin laugh like a mad man that he was able to resist the temptation to get away, though a few sharp giggles escaped his lips from time to time.

           After some time, Dan let his arms go slack, dangling at his sides as Arin still hugged him, residual giggles shaking his whole body. He smiled down at the younger man, knowing he had done his job well.

           “How’re you doing?” Dan asked, softly as Arin took a step back, standing a bit straighter.

           “Better,” Arin ran a hand through his hair, glancing down at the floor. “Thank you so much.”

           “Do you want me to look up the walkthrough?” Another person spoke from the opposite end of the couch, running his hand through messy curls. Microphones surrounded both men, needing to catch every word uttered to every small squeak from the couch springs. Even the smallest details were crucial when filming a show on YouTube.

           “I don’t need any stupid walkthrough,” Bitter anger entangled his words before letting out a long sigh, pushing back his straight, long hair behind his ear. “This game is just so fucking stupid.”

           “Just like the last game we played on here?” Voice peppered with a firm statement and a question, a hint of amusement sprinkled on top. “I’m sure the Lovelies are enjoying you fall off this mountain over and over again.”

           “More than I a-Damn it!” The blond-haired character with an obnoxiously unique name fell to its death once again. “This game is so stupid!”

           “Wanna put it on pause until we get through this part?”

           “I can do it, Dan,” Arin snapped, scratching his dull nails into his scalp, seething at this game, knowing the viewers were going to laugh at him once the video is published. Dan leaned into the arm of the couch, raising his brow. He knew Arin never meant anything he said when he was raging at a game, and frankly he always thought it was funny. The grump had his name for a reason.

           “Five more tries,” Dan stated, crossing his arms over his chest, “then we’ll hit pause if you don’t get it.”

           “Fine,” Arin muttered, mashing the buttons on the controller. The harder you press, the better the action turns out to be in game, everyone knows that.

           “And that’s four,” Dan let out a short laugh into his mic, Arin’s raging scream overtaking most of the audio. “Have you tried jumping over the boulders yet?”

           “Yes, Dan,” Sharp tone through gritted teeth, pupils narrowed as he didn’t even look over at his friend. “That’s what I keep trying to do.”

           “Maybe go around them, then?” Another scream over took Dan’s statement, another short laugh. “Three.”

           “I know how to count, Dan,” His voice seemed to be permanently loud and upset, eyes still glued to the vibrantly colored screen. “Michael Jackson taught me how to do it in ‘ABC.’”

           “Oh, thank goodness you had the best teacher,” Dan said after a bout of contagious laughter. His bright laugh provoked an idea to form in Arin’s head, something not too difficult to act upon in his current state.

           “Two,” Arin muttered to himself as Dan announced it loud and proud to their soon-to-be audience. Arin’s expression softened, kind of wanting to kill his character again, a faint curling of the corner of his mouth flickered on his face.

           “One!” Dan announced, bouncing slightly in seat, though stopped with a furrow of his brow. Why had Arin stopped being so pissed off? Stopped being a grump? “You doing okay there, Arin?”

           “Just peachy, Dan,” Arin held up three fingered ‘okay’ sign, eyes still glued to the screen with a false intensity. His tone had gone flat, which made Dan start to worry, his head tilting slightly to the side. Arin would sometimes get so angry that he would go silent, which was kind of scary to be around, and it didn’t really make for a good show, though they always had Barry to work his magic.

           The room was near silent as the character finally slipped back off the platform Arin had never seemed to get past. Arin yelled out a loud curse, tossing the controller onto the floor, though he didn’t really mean it. Dan curled into himself just a little, letting out a string of happy laughs, scrunching up his nose just a bit. Wide grin on his face, Arin watched Dan try to compose himself, his thin shoulders bouncing.

           “Alright,” Dan rubbed his hands together, glancing over Arin’s head to the door, “We’ll be back in a moment. Let’s pause-”

           “Oh no you don’t,” Arin said, lunging toward a shocked Dan, toppling him onto his back, head laying on the arm of the couch. “You don’t get to do this huge count down and make fun of me. Now, I’ll really give you something to laugh about.”

           “Wait,” Dan nearly screamed out the words, as he felt Arin curl his fingers into his thin waist. He was a giggling mess in no time, Arin’s nails teasing the skin just above his hips, walking his fingers up to a particularly sensitive area just below his ribs. “Stop!”

           “Aw, what’s wrong Danny?” Devious fingers digging between ribs, going up and down his ribcage. Legs kicking desperately, Arin bounced slightly with each movement, Dan’s feet pounding against the couch cushions. Dan’s giggles grew sharper as Arin’s fingers grew closer and closer to his belly, a small area exposed as his shirt rose up from the frenetic thrashing. Fingers paused, hovering over the sensitive area, Arin soaked in the marvelous sound of Dan’s uncontrollable stream of bright giggles, possessing the ability to light up any mood. “I’m not even touching you! Why are you laughing?”

           “I fucking hate you,” Dan could barely say, eyes narrowing in on the slowly descending fingers, completely forgetting he could still move his arms. Arin, however, remembered that he could. It was a very quick motion, one that Dan didn’t really process until the act had been done. Arin grabbed both of Dan’s wrists and slipped them under his knees, sitting on them to keep them still, and keep them apart from his torso. Then, he went back to work. “Arin!”

           “Yes, Danny?” Arin let out a laugh himself as Dan screamed, all ten fingers digging into his belly, thumbs teasing the small area just around his navel, but not yet going in for the kill. Full fledged laughter poured from his upturned lips, Dan laid his head back on the arm of the couch, his messy hair shielding his eyes from the onslaught. A mess of intangible word flowed, trying to bark out curses at Arin. “I can’t understand you. Try not laughing.”

           “Ahaharin! Don’t!” Dan squealed, bucking hard as Arin suddenly switched tactics, flinging his hands under Dan’s arms, and scribbling around the exposed skin from under Dan’s short sleeves. “Ohohoho my god! Stop!”

           “I think you just said, ‘don’t stop,’ didn’t you?” Arin teased, wearing a wide grin that nearly matched Dan’s. The teasing caused Dan’s laughter to spike, his red face growing another shade darker. He had twisted and turned so much that he briefly freed himself, pushing himself back, head hanging off the couch as his torso became propped up on the arm of the couch, jutting it closer to Arin. Legs still firmly pinned, Dan had put himself in a dire predicament as Arin brought his fingers down to tease an incredibly sensitive spot on his lower back that only he knew about. “Fuck, Danny. You could’ve just told me you wanted me to tickle your tummy more.”

           “Sweet Jesus, Arin, don’t you fucking-” Dan was immediately cut off by his own hysteria as Arin blew a giant raspberry onto his fully exposed belly, causing him to scream. Scream loud enough that the mics started to act out.

           The mics.

           “Arin! We have an episode to do!” Dan was able to say past his loud laughter and the sound of Arin’s lips puffing air onto his belly, the hair of Arin’s beard shaking with each raspberry, sending Dan up the wall, which wasn’t helped by Arin’s long hair grazing lightly against the rest of his belly. With another raspberry, Dan let out another scream and pulled himself upright as Arin sat back up. Dan grabbed Arin by the hair, resting his forehead on Arin’s chest. “Stop. Please.”

           “If you insist,” Arin laughed, running his hand over Dan’s hair. He glanced over at the door, wide smile. “Hey, Barry. Cut this part out. Danny might kill me if we leave it in.”

           “Or I’ll kill you anyways,” Dan let out a quiet snort as he looked up at Arin, eyes full of fire. “No mercy, Big Cat.”

           “Danny!” Arin squealed as Dan’s fingers dug into his ribs, the sensations overtaking his mind just enough to knock him back onto the couch, reversing the situation. Danny loomed overhead, hosting a wide, mischievous smile.

           “You might wanna take this part out too,” Dan let out a laugh before digging right into Arin’s belly, eliciting loud, high pitched laughter.