#ticklish!octane

Ler

The Apex Games keep Octane busy, but even he needs to add in some variety so he doesn’t get bored.

As one of the Outland’s resident pranksters, he causes trouble on a pretty regular basis and enjoys having fun with the other Legends. Sometimes that fun incorporates tickling. This is especially true if his target has a more serious/stoic personality. 

“Jeez, it was just a joke. Loosen up amigo.” Cue the speedster prodding at the lee’s torso, especially at the sides or ribs, and grinning when he gets a squeal or a laugh. “Ticklish, huh? Sweet. I was getting bored..”

Octane is mischievous and energetic as a ‘ler. He goes in fast and pokes and squeezes over ticklish spots in seemingly random patterns before doubling down and scribbling over the spots that got his ‘lee laughing. 

He can also be a lil’ shit about it too- if he thinks his friends are moving too slow, he’ll poke at their torso and encourage them to move it, though he can often easily keep up with them even if they make a legitimate attempt to run. “Dios mio, you even walk slow. Hurry up!”

Tickling and pranks become intertwined if he learns that someone’s ticklish. One of his favorite things to do is poking the closest person to his jump pad and laughing as they accidentally launch themselves in the air. It’s funnier if they end up flying off the map. 

He loves a chase. He will even give his ‘lee a head start if he’s feeling cocky, but it’s rare that they ever get away from him.

He also likes to dash in while his lee is doing something else, tickle them, and dash out. He always gets a kick out of it, and his ‘lees are often left exhausted. Getting tickled by him could easily count as a workout. 

Being Octane’s friend and being around him when he’s bored could lead to impromptu tickle attacks. He’ll spring up to his feet and grin, saying, “I’ll give you ten seconds to run.” That’s the closest thing to a warning they’ll get before he jumps into action, and even ten seconds is generous. 

Octane also likes to tickle people if they prank him and/or if they’re starting trouble with him and playfully tease them. His taunts can range from “Thought you were mad at me. What 's so funny?” or “Still got jokes, huh?”

Lee

One of, if not the most ticklish Legend in the Apex Games. Whether that sensitivity comes from his stim usage or not, it doesn’t take much to get him laughing. 

The difficult part is having him stay still long enough to actually be tickled, though. After a few ticklish pokes, he’s gone, and most of the Legends don’t have a chance in catching him. 

He has to be backed into a corner or someone has to get the jump on him to have the highest chance of tickling him. And even then, he has to be held or pinned in some way because he’s very squirmy. If he can get away, he will. 

A  couple of pokes can easily get those frantic giggles out of him. But tickling his underarms will elicit those infectious belly laughs. His tummy is pretty ticklish too, but to a slightly lesser extent. 

He yelps out an even mix of English and Spanglish as he’s being tickled, with a heavier emphasis on Spanish curse words as he squirms and laughs himself silly. 

Since he pranks a lot of the Legends, he’s a prime target for tickling if they can catch him. That doesn’t stop him from instigating pranks though- it’s way too much fun. 

His laughter is much like him: loud and chaotic. It can usually be heard from at least two rooms down on the drop ship. 

He regenerates stamina quickly and can be tickled for longer than most in theory. And, even if his ‘ler has him trapped, he’s still very fidgety and it takes a concerted effort to keep him in place. 

He didn’t care who he rushed past, not even bothering to check if he knocked anyone over, only shouting back a quick “Lo siento!” and was already gone down the corridor before the conversation could continue.  

He didn’t know where to go, his room would be too obvious to hide in. That’s when an idea hit him; why not go to their room instead? Why would she look there? That would surely be the last place he would go to hide. It was genius!

Thankfully the recently injected stim got him towards said room fast enough and he was able to open the door and close it behind him. With a long exhale, he slumped back against the door and fell to the ground, he then reached up and removed his usual helmet and tousled his hair to fluff it out.

“That was a close one,” he chuckled to himself, lifting his goggles so only his mask remained. “She nearly got me that time.”

Without any warning, the door which he had been leaning against suddenly opened and his body tumbled backwards to the ground. With a gulp he looked up into the eyes that he was desperate to escape from.

“Uh oh…”

“Uh oh is right, Silva.” Ajay stood over him, a stern expression upon her face. “Bet yuh thought yuh were pretty smart running to my room, huh?”

“A little…”

“Sorry to rain on your parade, but yuh not getting away that easy,” she said, taking one step closer to the already down legend. The movement caused him to immediately scramble away from her.

“WhoaWhoa, hold on! Listen, I know you’re upset!” he said, arms held up defensively close to his torso. “I didn’t mean it, prometo!”

“Yuh said my drawin’s sucked.”

“No, I didn’t! I said you suck…” he paused. “Uh, that doesn’t help me, does it?”

Ajay hummed with a shake of her head.

“But you were tickling me, chica! Come on, it’s not like I didn’t have a reason,” he said, putting his hands together to plead with her. “You forgive me, right?”

At this, Ajay’s expression softened, and she gave a sigh, which gave a comforting sense of security to the daredevil, his defences lowered as their eyes locked in understanding. This moment was very short lived, however, as her fingers immediately reached out and grabbed onto his hips, pulling him close to her frame.

“Not yet, I don’t,” she grinned as she trapped him against her and used her nails to dance up and down his sides. The pen she used to draw on him tickled enough, but her nails sent him into immediate squeals and hysterics. “Maybe if I get enough pleas out of yuh, I might change my mind.”

“HAHAHA CHE! STAHAHAP!” Octavio cried out, his body squirming left to right desperately trying to escape her hold on him, but despite her smaller frame, she was quite strong. “POHOHOR FAVOHOHOR!”

“After all my hard work makin’ these body drawings look nice for yuh, and yuh go and insult me like this. Yuh hurt me, Silva.” She brought up fingers around from his sides to his abs and tummy, scribbling her nails all around. His laughter went up in pitch and his squirms became a lot more violent, this was definitely a weak spot of his, despite it always being on display.

“NOHOHOT THEHERE!” he squealed again once her nails started tracing around his belly button. His hands immediately grabbed onto hers to stop this torture. The laughter had weakened his strength a little, which was proven when she easily managed to escape his grasp.

There began a little mini war of flailing hands and arms, Octavio letting out nervous laughter whenever she was close to landing some tickles on him. “Chihihihca, come on! Deja de hacerme cosquillas!”

“I dunno, I can’t tell if yuh really are sorry,” she said, planning her next area to attack. “Besides, I haven’t heard yuh laugh like this in years.” Her fingers shot towards his underarms, a particularly sensitive spot if she remembered correctly and the loud eruption of laughter hoaxed from him confirmed that.

His arms crashed down to his sides to trap her hands almost instantly, his body thrashing wildly in her lap. There was still enough space for her nails to gently scritch at the soft, sensitive skin in his underarms which drove him nuts. His laughter went from loud and powerful to silent and hicuppy.

Ajay took this as her cue to finally stop and give him a break, letting a few chuckles escape herself. “I will never get tired of hearin’ how wild your laugh is when you get goin’, Silva.”

Octavio simply sprawled out across her lap in an exhausted heap, barely able to reply to her through his heavy breathing. “You’re … so mean!”

He flinched hard when she made a quick threatening motion with her fingers that she was about to strike, but it was harmless, and she only laughed at him in which he groaned lazily in response. Ajay decided to assist him in calming down by gently running her fingers through his locks.

“Yuh know, we’re probably goin’ to go through this every time yuh want body art for a game, right?” She said, smiling softly down at the small furrow of his brows.

“Ajay…”

You cast an uncertain look at the combat medic beside you, holding the resuscitation syringe in a shaky hand. The MRVN was knelt down in front of you, animating the bleeding out effect, which only made your hands that much shakier. “I can’t...they’re gonna die…”

Lifeline shook her head and put a firm, yet comforting hand on your shoulder. “They won’t if yuh help ‘em. Remember what I told yuh to do?”

You frowned and met her eyes again, but she wasn’t backing off. So, you didn’t have a choice but to get close to the robot and help them onto their back. That was the first step. Then, you made sure that their arms were extended out by their sides to jab them with the serum. You hesitated; wouldn’t that hurt them?

Probably less than dying would. You thought, flinching a little bit when the combat medic squeezed your shoulder, urging you on. You pursed your lips and brought your hand down in one swift motion to inject the serum. At first, the MRVN flinched and reeled forward, but then they were able to grab your hand and stand up. Once they were on their feet, MRVN’s monitor flashed a smiley face, and you allowed yourself to breathe.

Lifeline smiled and nudged your arm. “See, what’d I tell ya, (y/n)? Yuh a natural doctor yuhself.” She complimented. She handed the MRVN her healing drone and a shield battery. Then, she looked at you again, her gaze serious. “I ain’t gonna lie to ya, ya gonna see a lot of bumps and scrapes once ya in the games. Even hesitatin’ for a second can determine whether ya get ya squad up or not.” She said, standing in front of you with her hands on her hips. “So you gotta get used to lookin’ at it.”

You sighed, shoulders slouching. “I know,” You admitted while rubbing the back of your neck. “I’ll get better at this.”

Lifeline scoffed. “‘Course ya are,” She answered matter-of-factly, making you arch a brow. When looked up, she was already handing you another syringe. “We gon’ keep practicing until ya feel comfortable.”

And that’s what you did. Ajay stayed by your side while you practiced reviving MRVNS. Over time, you felt more confident and got the robots to their feet more quickly. You gave the medic a huge smile, making her chuckle, but then she gestured to the robot in front of you. You looked at the MRVN, holding the syringe in a better grip, and moved to jab their arm. Well, that was until a loud guitar rift startled you, making you stick the syringe into the robot’s optic instead. The MRVN’s monitor flashed an exclamation point and you yelped, trying to correct the mistake.

“Ah, sorry! I didn’t mean to--”

Lifeline held up her hand and shook her head, sending her D.O.C. over to revive the robot instead. Then she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“I swear, one of these days, Silva…”

You looked at her curiously and cocked your head to the side. “Who?” You asked. Although you had an inkling about who she was talking about, you’d never learned the Legend’s real name. He wasn’t an easy man to get a hold of.

“Octavio Silva. But ya might know him better as Octane,” Ajay explained, having to raise her voice over the music. “Boy’s gon lose his hearin’, playin’ music that loud.”

The MRVN handed the syringe back to you, and you gave it back to the medic. You had to admit, the music was really loud. You wouldn’t be surprised if the entirety of the Outlands could hear it. “I can ask him to turn it down,” You offered, putting your hands in your pockets. “That way we can continue with the lesson.”

Lifeline chuckled and shook her head. “O’s as stubborn as it gets, but if ya want to try, go ahead.” She said, nodding in the direction of his room. An idea came to her just before you could leave the medbay, and she called your name, making you turn around. “(Y/N), in case he refuses to turn it down, there’s somethin’ ya can do…”

What Ajay told you made you grin, and that grin stuck even as you approached the speedster’s door. Who knew that the fastest, most daring Legend in the Apex Games was ticklish? Welp, you did, now! You knocked on the door, not really expecting a response, but you thought it’d be polite to do it anyway. Octavio never came, most likely from not hearing it, so you let yourself in. You flinched, the sounds hitting you like tidal waves, which made you cover up your ears. In the center of the room, the adrenaline junkie was hopping from jump pad to jump pad, practicing trick shots in time with the music. You cleared your throat and called out to him.

“Octavio? Octavio!”

No luck. You rolled your eyes and walked towards him. That mischievous grin tugged at the corner of your lips as you got close, but you’d need to wait for him to land before you could get him. After another bounce, he landed back on the floor, which gave you the opportunity to tweak his side. Octane cried out and jumped away from the sudden touch. He whirled around and faced you, holding his arm against his side.

“Uh...hola? You need something?”

Since he wasn’t wearing his mask, you could read his lips, but you’d prefer to hear him. You pointed to your ears and shook your head. Octane obliged by turning his speakers’ volume down a tiny bit.

“Make it quick, I gotta get these clips uploaded so I can edit them.” Octane urged. He turned off the camera on his desk and turned to you again. His eyebrows rose. “Wait, we’ve met before. You’re new around here, right?”

You nodded, raising your voice a bit since the music was still loud. “Yeah, I’m (Y/N). We spoke a few times on the dropship.”

“Right! Well, I’m kinda in the middle of something, so we’ll have to hang out later.” Octavio chuckled, cranking his speakers back up to full volume. You flinched and hurried beside him to turn it back down.

His head snapped over to you and he grabbed the speaker. “What’re you doing?” He exclaimed, holding it just out of your reach. You huffed and tried to take it back from him. Octane, however, was much taller than you.

“It’s too loud, Octavio! Can’t you just turn it down a little--”

“Psh, no! I’m listening to this.”

You groaned and hopped up towards the speaker, missing it by inches. “Half of the ship is listening to it! Just turn it down, please?” You insisted. Instead of complying, Octane put the speaker on a shelf that was far out of your reach, and you weren’t skilled on using his jump pads yet. You narrowed your eyes and poked his side again, making him gasp.

“I’ll turn it down in a sehehecond!” He snapped, making a poor attempt at stifling his chuckles. You poked him again, making him yelp and make a grab for your hands, which you dodged by jabbing him in the stomach instead. “Stohop! Why ahare you poking me?”

You smiled and held out your hands, wiggling your fingers tauntingly. “Because Ajay told me that you weren’t gonna turn it down, and that I can tickle you if you refuse!” You chirped. Your smile turned into a cheeky grin when the speedster wrapped an arm against his torso, which only encouraged you to get closer. “So let me ask you again, Octavio, will you turn the music down?” You arched an expectant brow at him and managed to back him into a corner. The speedster shook his head, poised to defend himself.

“NooOOOO---”

That’s all you needed to hear to lunge at him. He managed to catch you and hold you by the arms before you could knock him over. You, however, had combat training with Anita earlier in the day, and you put that training to good use. You stuck your leg out and hooked it around his, pulling it towards you. This made him lose his balance and fall like a sack of potatoes. You cheered victoriously, shaking his hands off, and worked to get his arms pinned down.

Octavio grunted and pushed your shoulders, unknowingly freeing up the sweet spot that Lifeline mentioned. “Stop! Seriously, I have things to doOOOOHOHOHOHOHO! NO! GEHEHET OHOHOHFF!”

You’d buried your hands underneath his arms and wiggled your nails along his armpits. He slammed his arms against his sides and burst out laughing. Now, you weren’t sure which was louder: him, or the music.

“I know you have stuff to do!” You laughed, drilling your nails into the center of the armpits. He responded by arching his back and letting out another scream of laughter. “At the top of your list should be turning down the music...right?”

“I’M NOHOHOHT TUHUHURNING IHIHT DOHOHOHWN!” The speedster fired back. He hugged his arms even tighter against his sides when you tickled at an even faster pace. He even made the attempt to buck you off, but you were straddling his waist, and just had to lean forward to counter his weight. You narrowed your eyes and opened your mouth to respond, but were interrupted by something thumping at your waist. You looked down at your belt and beamed; you still had some medical tape on you, courtesy of Lifeline. Your hands were trapped by his arms though, and you only had one way to free them.

In one swift motion, you ducked down and blew a raspberry into Octavio’s exposed stomach. He writhed against the floor, laughing even harder, but he still didn’t loosen his hold on your hands.

“AAAH! STAAHAHAHAHAHAP! DOHOHOHOHN’T TIHIHICKLE MEHEHEHE!” He demanded through his fits of laughter. He squealed when you blew another one, just above his belly button, and bucked his hips repeatedly. “DOHOHOHOHOHN’T!”

“Huh?” You glanced up at him and cocked your head to the side. He panted heavily, a grin still etched onto his face, which only made you smirk. “Sorry, I missed what you said. What don’t you want me to do?”

The speedster was still plagued by giggles and had to reel them in before answering you. “I sahahaid stohohop tihihickling mEEEEE--”

Instead of letting him finish, you took a deep breath and blew a huge raspberry over his belly button. Octane bucked violently and shrieked, the wild laughter immediately following suit.

“NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!”

His laughter was contagious and you found yourself laughing along with him. “Oh, were you still talking?” You teased, wiggling your trapped fingers back against his armpits. He cried out with laughter and kicked his metal legs against the floor, prompting you to tickle even faster. Finally, he released your hands during another attempt to push you away. Then, like clockwork, you seized his wrists with one hand and held them above his head. He yelped and squirmed, protesting the entire time, but his fate was sealed...literally. You’d managed to tape his wrists down on the floor and clapped your hands together.

“There, that’s better!” You smiled, putting your hands out in front of you. You wiggled your fingers again and snickered when he paled. “Now, where were we?”

For someone used to moving at trailblazing speeds, everything happened so fast for Octavio. One minute, he’s vibing with his music and jump pads, and now he’s pinned on the floor, laughing his head off? You’d already confirmed that all of this was basically Lifeline’s doing, and she was well overdue for some good ole revenge.

Hermana, you are so dead. He seethed, snapping out of his thoughts when your hands lowered towards his armpits. He panicked; now wasn’t the time for plotting. He had to get away!

“No, no, no! Wait, (Y/N)! Dohohon’t tickle my armpits, plehehease!” He pleaded, preemptively giggling and trying to curl in on himself. You grinned and held your hands so that they were just touching his armpits, sending ticklish jolts up and down his arms. “I juhst wahahant to listen tohoho my music!”

“I never said you couldn’t! I just need you to turn it down.” You repeated, pressing your fingertips into the exposed pits. He squealed and arched his back as high as he could, making you laugh again. “You gonna do it or what?”

Octavio blabbered out something, attempting to bargain with you, but that’s not what you were there for. You tsked and gently scritched circles around each armpit. As much as you wanted to dig into them, you wanted to drag this out as long as possible. The speedster snorted, giggling uncontrollably, and uselessly pulled against the tape.

“Ahahahahaha! Nohohoho, por fahahavor!” He yelped, bucking his hips when you poked at the center of the armpits. You squealed, almost losing your balance, but then you sat back on his waist and continued the gentle scratching. “Lehehet mehehe lihihisten to my music!”

“Will you turn it down?”

Octane’s head snapped up to you; you were stubborn. If he wasn’t giggling up a storm, he’d tease you about Ajay rubbing off on you already. He shook his head and yelped again when you grabbed his sides. You pinched them, making the poor man yip and snicker, and earned a bark of laughter when you stroked along his rib cage.

“Iiii—heheheheh--nohohoho I wohohon’t!”

“Wrong answer~.” You sang, swiping your nails against each sensitive rib. He arched his back, swearing in Spanish, only to fall back down and continue giggling.

“Stahahahahahahap!” He whined, tossing his torso from one side to the other, which didn’t do anything to stop you. You ignored the plea and scratched up higher, teasing his center most ribs, which made him gasp and kick. “AH! Noohohoho nohohoho, nohohot thehehere!”

“Not where?” You asked innocently, opting to poke at the ribs on either side. You alternated the pokes to keep him guessing and giggled at his high pitched squeaks.

“THEHEHERE!” He yelled when you suddenly honed in on his ribs and scribbled along them like there was no tomorrow. He tried to flip onto his side, buck you off, anything to get you to stop tickling. But you easily kept up with all of those fruitless attempts. “AHAHAHAH!”

You smirked, pressing your fingertips into the spot. You drew little circles into his skin, laughing when he threw his head back. “Here?” You repeated, fluttering the tickles from one side of his rib cage to the other. He nodded frantically, drowning in desperate giggles, but you pressed on.

“Oh,” You continued, still smirking. “Cause I was sure you meant here…”

You walked your fingers up towards his armpits at a slow, slooow, pace. Octavio jolted and squirmed violently, his protests lost in his laughter, and his wrists straining against the tape’s hold. He was basically cackling by the time you got to where his armpits started, but you didn’t attack yet. You just held your hands there, snickering at the panicked laughter pouring out of him already.

“What’re you laughing for?” You grinned, flexing your fingers, but still not moving. Octavio screamed, arching his back, only to fall victim to another fit of giggles.

“Plehehehehease…” He begged. He held his arms rigidly and met your eyes, which just made you smile more.

“Please what? I’m not doing anything, Octavio.”

He groaned and opened his mouth to respond, but you didn’t let him. Instead of attacking both armpits, you only attacked his right one, while your free hand scratched at his sensitive stomach. Octavio’s eyes bugged out and his desperate giggles spiked to loud, hard laughter.

“NOO--AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OKAHAHAHAHAHAY!”

You perked up while dragging a finger around his belly button. He screamed again and thumped his head against the ground, wildly shaking his head. “Okay?” You repeated, dipping your finger inside his belly button and scratching around. The wail of laughter initially startled you, but you kept on scratching anyway. “Okay what?”

“I’LL TUHUHUHRN IT DOHOHOHWN! STAHAHAHAHAHAP!” He yelled. He sucked in his stomach and drummed his legs back against the floor the more you kept scratching. You grinned, feeling triumphant...but you were having too much fun to stop!

“Yeah? You promise?” You chuckled, jabbing a finger into his right armpit while you continued to tickle his belly button. He flinched and nodded over and over, finally falling into hysterics, and then silent laughter when you dug into both armpits. You slowed down the tickling to give him the opportunity to breathe.

“Y-Yehehehes...I prohohohmise…” He panted. You didn’t notice that the tape holding his wrists down was coming undone, so you felt perfectly comfortable in pushing your luck. You took your hands off of him and brought a hand up to your chin, pretending to think.

“Hmm, alright, Octavio. I guess that’s good enough,” You began, putting your hands down at either side of him. Octane breathed a sigh of relief, believing that you were about to climb off of his waist, but you pinched his hip bones instead. He gasped and reeled to the side, but then you did it again, and again, and again, until he was snickering all over again.

“Hehehehehy! Whyhyhy ahahahre yohuhuh--” The speedster yelped when you used all ten fingers to tickle his belly. He cackled, but hadn’t fully recovered yet, so he didn’t have as much energy to squirm. “WHYHYHYHY TIHIHIHCKLE MEHEHE AGAHAHAIN?!”

“Because it’s fun!” You laughed, ducking down to blow another raspberry over his belly button. Octavio howled and laughed even harder. “Haha, Ajay was right. You are way too ticklish for your own good.”

Now he had two people to get revenge on. And, through a stroke of luck, he was about to serve you your just desserts. Why?

Because when he arched his back to try to get you off of his stomach, the tape split with a resounding riiiiip. You froze, looking up towards the sound, and gasped loudly.

“Oh shit--”

Octavio having his hands freed gave him a burst of energy, and he used that energy to take you down. He sat up and grabbed your arms, making you swear again, and you pushed your shoulder into his chest.

“No! No no, truce! AHHH--!”

Octane far outmatched you in terms of strength, and he easily wrestled you to the ground. He pinned your arms underneath his legs and immediately went for your sides.

“Oho, not funny anymore, is it?” The speedster ridiculed, his wiggling fingers a blur as he scratched up and down your sides. You let out a screaming laugh and tried to sit up, but he was too heavy.

“NOHOHOHOHO!” You hollered, arching your back when he reached under your shirt and scritched at your bare stomach. “AHAHAHA! STOHOHP! I WAHAHAHS KIHIHIHIHDDING!”

Octavio scoffed and used one of his hands to dig into your left hip, continuing to tickle your belly. “Well, I’m not! I’ll show you what happens when you tickle me, amigo/a!” He quipped, snickering when you threw your torso against the ground. He kept switching spots at an alarmingly fast pace: your stomach, hips, sides, even knees. It didn’t give you a chance to resist the sensation and kept you guessing as to where he’d strike next...which proved to be pretty difficult.

“OCTAHAHAHAVIO!” You shouted, the panic dropping on you when he honed in on two of your worst spots: your knees and your stomach. You shrieked and kicked your legs against the floor, which was annoying him, so he opted for laying over your legs to hold them down. “PLEHEHEHEASE STAHAHAP! I’M SOHOHOHOHOHRRY!”

“Stop? Me?” The speedster snorted and alternated the squeezing along your knees. You howled with laughter and desperately pulled at your trapped wrists, but he wouldn’t budge. “Haven’t you heard, (Y/N)? There’s no breaks on the Octrain!”

When he reached under your knees to tickle the skin there, your laughter was louder than anything coming out of the stereo. Since your left knee seemed more sensitive than the right, he focused on that one exclusively, and reached behind him to poke at your stomach. It tickled so bad, and he wasn’t showing any signs of slowing down. So, as a last resort, you decided to cry out for your mentor.

“AJAHAHAHAHY!” You shrieked, jerking to the side when he pinched at the top of your knees. “I NEHEHEED HEHEHEHLP!”

Octane cringed and stopped tickling you, glancing at the door. He half expected the doctor to be standing there, waiting to pounce, but she wasn’t. You breathed heavily and laid your head back on the ground, grateful for the distraction. While he wasn’t paying attention to you, you tested the grip he had on your arms, and were surprised to find that you could move them slightly. You took a breath and managed to pull one of them free before the speedster turned back to you. Without a second thought, you squeezed his side, making him yelp and topple over.

“AH! Noohohoho yohuhu dohohohn’t!” He laughed and gripped the free arm, forgetting about the other one until you pulled it free. You poked his ribs and hopped back on him, drawing out the tickle fight that much longer. Ajay could hear the commotion from the medbay, but all she did was smile and prepare for your next lesson.

“Oho, man. That was awesome!”

Octane cheered, rounding just one more corner to make sure that he was far away from Fuse. Rampart brought up the rear, still laughing, and plopped down to the floor to catch her breath. 

“You’re tellin’ me. And here I thought Salvonians were known for kickin’ asses and takin’ names. Never thought that a lil’ tickling would have him bawlin for his mum.”

Octavio chuckled. “Think that’ll go down as the funnest prank I’ve pulled yet!” He continued, sprinting into Ramya’s workshop, which was their next destination. Since he didn’t have any games scheduled for a few days, Ramya offered to spruce up his legs a bit. Octane had so many cool mod ideas that he’d love to see on his legs; rockets, grenade launchers, maybe rockets and grenade launchers. 

It was even better that Ajay, who’d been scheduled for games the entire week, would be too busy to complain about what he added to his legs. He cared for his best friend deeply, but if he were being honest, she could be a real killjoy when she wanted to be. So, it felt really good that he could add some more pizazz to his babies without having to deal with her nagging. He was already yanking his left leg off when he noticed Rampart stopped in the doorway. Her brow was arched, and she had one hand on her hip.

“The best prank you pulled? I vaguely remember lendin’ you a hand…” She scoffed, heading to her workbench to gather the tools she needed. On her way over there, she snatched Octavio’s leg out of his hand. “I mean, let’s be real here, you would’ve mucked up the prank from here to Sunday if I didn’t help ya out.”

Octavio gave her an incredulous look before laughing. “Amiga, all you did was hold the feather! That’s not exactly what I’d call hard work.” He responded, preparing to pull his right leg off next. He was still riding high off of the adrenaline from pranking Fuse, so he had no issues in saying what he said next. “I guess I can see why it’d be a big deal to you, though. I know there ain’t much you do without Sheila.”

He heard Ramya drop something, most likely a wrench. His grin widened as she stared at him, dumbfounded. 

“What’d you say?”

The speedster snickered. “You heard me! I’m surprised you had the time to help out at all, since I know how much su bebé (your baby) keeps you busy.” He continued confidently. He knew he was headed into dangerous territory, but so what? What was she gonna do about it? If she grabbed Sheila to teach him a lesson, it’d prove his point. “Don’t get me wrong! Sheila is awesome. But pranks are where I shine, amiga. So you better not forget that.”

Ramya growled and marched from around her workbench, taking his leg along with her. “If that ain’t the biggest crock of shit I’ve heard--only thing you’re good at is running!” She argued. She got within a couple feet from him, ready to throttle him, but then she had a better idea. “...Which ya can’t do much of now, can ya?”

“...What?”

Octane gave her a bewildered look. But, before he could ask what she was talking about, she started to back away from him. And, he noticed, she moved his limb from one hand to the other. 

“Listen, mate. I don’t know what cliff ya dived off recently, but your leg here is banged up good. So, I’m just gonna hang onto it for, ya know…safe keepin’.”

Now Octavio wasn’t laughing. He quickly put his right leg back on and got up, albeit awkwardly. “Chill, Ramya. I need that!” He said, making a move to take the leg back. Rampart got out of the way, causing him to fall back down with a crash. She burst out laughing.

“Yikes, you’re quite the klutz, huh? Relax, I ain’t gonna keep it forever. Maybe just a few weeks?” Ramya grinned widely at the look on his face.

“Hell no! Give me my leg back!”

Now, Rampart wasn’t actually going to take his leg. She just wanted to keep it long enough until he offered her an apology, or until she laughed herself silly from watching him hobble around like a pirate. Ramya laughed hard enough to snort while he attempted to take his leg back. And each time, just before he could get a grip on it, Ramya would pull back and watch him tumble. Octane got tired of it and the next time he lunged, he went for her instead, which she wasn’t expecting. The modder didn’t move out of the way in time, so when his fingers jabbed into her ribs, she let out a loud scream. She dropped the leg, holding her arm against her side.

“Alright, alright, take your bloody leg back.” Ramya grumbled, rubbing where he’d poked. “I was just messin’ around.”

Octane put his leg back on and stared at her. He didn’t poke her that hard, so why’d she scream? The gears in his head turned as he poked her again, this time in her side, and she slapped his hands away. 

“I said I was joking, ya idiot.”

Octavio grinned. “I heard you. I was just thinkin’ how Elliott had mentioned how ticklish you were, but I didn’t believe him.” He explained. He hurried towards the modder to close the distance. “Thought he was just talkin’ loco. But it looks like he was right, huh?”

Rampart glowered and smacked his hands away again when he went to poke some more. “I couldn’t give a toss about what that plonker said! But you better quit pokin’ me, unless your mate can get you some new hands too…”

Octane paused, looking at both of his hands. He could have metal legs and hands? Why didn’t he think of that! He’d definitely have to blow his hands off next. But, for now, he was standing in front of a ticklish Legend who tried to steal his leg. A punishment was in order!

The speedster didn’t have the patience for a buildup, so he made yet another jab at her ribs. Rampart threw a hand up to stop him, just like he expected, which allowed him to grab her wrist. He held it away from her and, before she could block him with her other hand, he pinched at her lowermost rib. Ramya screamed, her face getting redder by the second, and she swatted at his hand multiple times. 

“Stohop! You prihick!” She gritted her teeth, trying not to laugh. She pushed her shoulder into his chest, wanting to push him over, but he wasn’t having it. He let go of her wrist so he could wrap both of his arms around her torso and scritch all over the length of her rib cage. The modder violently jolted and broke out into loud laughter. 

“YOHOUHUHU FFF--HAHAHAHAHA!” Ramya pounded on his hands, thrashing about in his hold. “LEHEHET GOHOHOHO!”

Octavio refused and, laughing, he pulled her down onto the ground with him. “Haha, I knew it!” He cheered. She’d swatted at his hands one too many times, so he gathered up her wrists in one hand, holding them above her head. “Elliott was right; you are crazy ticklish!”

Instead of staying on her sweet spot, he jumped to her side and kneaded along it. Then, he poked at her stomach, making her squeal, before his hand finally dug into her armpit. Ramya was cackling the entire time but, when he focused on her armpit, she giggled uncontrollably. It wasn’t as bad a spot as her ribs, but it was definitely sensitive. 

“I’m gohohohohnna kihihill yohohohohu!” She yelled, pulling against the speedster’s grip. “Juhust wahahait! I’ll kihihihck yohohour ahahahass wihihhth your own bloody lehehegs!”

Octane snickered and jabbed his nails into the center of her armpit, making her laugh harder. “Oh no, anything but that! Por favor!” He mocked, grinning. He took his thumbs and scratched at the hollows in circular motions. “And whatever you do, don’t sic Sheila on me! I know just how much you lean on her.”

Rampart yelled in protest as the speedster descended back into her ribs, tickling at the spaces between them. She thrashed against the ground, hollering with laughter. All of the commotion caught the attention of Fuse, who’d awoken from his nap a while ago, and was out to dole out some good ol’ Salvonian justice. He stepped into the workshop at a leisurely pace, smirking. Octavio was too invested in tickling Ramya to notice, but Ramya did. She fought against his grip, trying to warn him, but she fell into hysterics when he tickled even faster. 

“SAHAHAHAHAHA! HE---HE’S---OCTAHAHAHAHAHAVIO!”

Octavio snickered and dug his thumbs into the base of her ribs, making her laughter go silent. “Not so funny anymore, is it chica? That’s what you get for—”

He abruptly stopped talking, feeling a cold hand grip his arm. He was then lifted as if he were weightless. He yelped and struggled in the hold, moving to push at the arm, and that’s when he realized who it was. His eyes snapped up to Walter’s, and the Salvonian’s smirk only broadened. 

“G’day, mate. I was wonderin’ where you pups ran off to.” He said, easily scooping the speedster’s other arm within the same hand. “I hate to interrupt you kids’ fun, but I reckon we’ve got some unfinished business, ay?”

Octane immediately shook his head. He struggled to wrench his arm free out of Walter’s literal iron hold, but the explosives expert lifted him higher, so that he was dangling just above the ground. “Wait! Hold ohohohn!” He interjected, yelping when Fuse prodded at his sides. The severity of what was about to happen crashed into him, making him want to high tail it…but all his legs did was kick around in the air. 

“Nohoho! Dude, come ohohohon!” Octane tried to make his case, but Walter wasn’t hearing it. “It wahahas a johohohke! Whyhy cahahan’t yohuhu tahahake a JOHOHOKE—”

Fuse scratched at the speedster’s tummy, making him scream and arch his back. He chuckled. “I can take a joke just fine! What I can’t take is havin’ you lot botherin’ me while I’m gettin’ me beauty rest!” He retorted, pinching each of his hips before he returned to his stomach. Octavio cried out and sucked in his stomach to try and escape the tickling. 

“IT WAHAHAHSN’T JUHUHUHST MEHEHEHEHE!” He yelled, bucking his hips when Walter poked at his belly button. Walter smirked, wiggling his finger inside the spot some more, and he glanced at the recovering modder. 

“I know, I didn’t forget about your partner in crime. She’ll get what’s comin’ to her.” He answered. He continued scratching in and around his belly button, drawing out more panicked laughter from Octavio.

Rampart, however, had other plans. Once she caught her breath, she got off the floor and marched right up to the men. “Or, you can let me at this plonker right now.” She cut in, gripping Octavio’s sides and digging her thumbs into them. “For thinkin’ he can get one over on me.”

Octavio’s eyes snapped wide open and he yelled before laughing even louder. “NONONOHOHO! DOHOHON’T TOHOHOUCH MEHEHE, RAHAHAMYA!” He demanded. He twisted his torso around in Fuse’s hold, trying to shake her hands off, but she easily kept up with him. Fusey snickered; considering what he’d witnessed before he entered the scene, he wasn’t surprised that Rampart had a bone to pick with him. But, it was still amusing to watch their alliance crumple apart.

So, much to Octane’s shock, Walter didn’t stop her. He moved his hand up higher, poking between his ribs, while Ramya found every ticklish nerve along his sides. 

“Wahahahalter! Dohohohohn’t lehehehet hehehr dohohoho thihihihs!” He pleaded. He tested the man’s grip, a foolish thing to do with his metal arm, and was only answered with a smirk. 

“Nah, I feel she’s justified, mate.” Fuse chuckled, swiping all of his nails down his ribcage before he pinched at each one. “Sure ain’t off the hook, but I don’t blame her for wanting a lil revenge of her own.”

“WHAHAHAT?!”

Octavio couldn’t believe what he was hearing; for starters, he didn’t act alone! But most importantly, Fuse didn’t even see what Ramya did before he got there. He opened his mouth to protest, but he let out a screaming laugh instead when the modder scribbled her fingers along his tummy. 

“Besides,” Ramya grinned, spidering her nails into the sides of his stomach, where he seemed to be especially ticklish. “The whole thing was your show anyway, right?”

“NAHAHAHA! THAHAHAT’S SUHUHUHCH BULLSH--AH!”

All of a sudden, Fuse dragged him to the floor, with Rampart following immediately after. He did this for two reasons; one, to make it easier for Ramya to join in on the fun. And two, to make sure she didn’t get accidentally kicked. Octavio’s legs had been moving a mile a minute, maybe faster, and Walter knew for a fact that one blow from those could cause a serious injury. With Walter keeping Octavio’s arms pinned and Ramya taking a seat on his waist, the speedster was royally screwed. The explosives expert went back to pinching at each of his ribs, while Ramya honed in on the area just above his belly button.

“SAHAHAHAHA! SHEHE--SHEHEHE STAHAHARTED IHIHIHT!” Octane whined. He was referring to what happened before he’d tickled Ramya, but was laughing too hard to elaborate. And, he wasn’t even being tickled on his worst spot. Not yet, anyways. Ramya grinned a smug grin and wriggled a finger back into his belly button. 

“Pfft, don’t get shy now, mate! You were mouthin’ off about how great this prank of yours was.” She chided. She made sure to get in deep, twisting her finger around like a screwdriver, and the speedster howled with laughter. She glanced at Fuse, still grinning. “You shoulda heard him. He said, and I quote ‘that’ll go down as the best prank I’ve pulled! Hell, maybe the best one in the Outlands!’” 

“I DIHIHIHD NOHOHOHOT!”

Now she was twisting his words! Octavio’s legs drummed against the floor as he flopped against the floor. He felt Fuse getting closer to his armpits, and he felt a deep seated panic in the pit of his stomach.

“WAITWAITWAIT! POR FAHAHAVOR, WAHAHAIT!” He pleaded, his entire body tensing up. Fuse, and surprisingly Rampart, both obliged. He breathed heavily, still giggling, especially when Walter flexed his fingers just underneath where his armpits started. “Plehehease dohohn’t tickle my armpihihits. Ramya’s twisting what I said, but I prohohomise I wohohon’t dohoho it AGAHAHAIN---”

Rampart didn’t let him finish; she ducked and blew a raspberry right in the center of his stomach. Octavio shrieked, making both Ramya and Walter laugh, and Walter dug underneath his left arm anyway. 

“Oh, I doubt that very much.” Fuse smirked, spidering his nails from one side of his armpit to the other. “Especially comin’ from you. You’re the very essence of trouble.” 

“Sure is.” Rampart chimed in, blowing another raspberry over his belly button. Octavio’s cackles filled up the entire workshop. He writhed in Walter’s hold, and bucked his hips as Ramya kept on blowing on his stomach. But despite his struggling, he couldn’t move away from the tickles, and it really tickled. 

“NOHOHAHAHAHA! STAHAHAHAHAHAP!” He screeched, laughing even harder as Fuse dug deeper into his hollows. Now, he was focusing on the center of his armpits, while Ramya dug her thumbs into his hips and waist. “POHOHOHOR FAHAHAHAVOR! I WOHOHOHOHN’T DOHOHOHOHO IHIHIHT!”

“Nah, I’ll have to think it over. Your track record says otherwise.” Walter insisted. He jumped to the speedster’s right armpit, earning another squeal, and used two fingers to scritch along the length of the spot. Octavio threw his head back; his right armpit was more sensitive than his left one, and he strained to pull his arms down. 

“NONONOHOHOHOHO! I SWEHEHEHEHEAR!” He pleaded, struggling with a renewed sense of energy. Fuse arched a brow; this time, he wasn’t even tickling that hard, and it seemed like Octavio wanted to pull his arm out of its socket, if it meant it went down. 

“Oh, c’mon, I’m barely touchin’ ya!” Fuse scoffed, poking his uppermost rib before he returned to the armpit. Ramya looked up from what she was doing; she thought the plonker’s stomach was his worst spot, but it looked like she was missing out on the real action!

“Yeah, he’s really laughin' up a storm, ain’t he?” 

That’s all Octane heard before he felt Ramya scoot up his waist, and bury her fingers into his left armpit. This next scream left him hoarse, and after that, all he could do was laugh and laugh. One hand on his armpits was bad; two were arguably unbearable. 

“PLEHEHEHEHEASE! STAHAHAHAHAHAHAP!” Octavio’s pleading finally gave way to hysterics as he kicked his legs against the ground. Walter opted for light, quick scratching along his right armpit. But Ramya was jabbing and poking all over the left one, so he couldn’t get used to either sensation. The tickling went on for a good five minutes; after that, Walter decided to ease up on the kid. His laughter had gotten silent, and he didn’t wanna kill him. 

“Alright, let’s give him a breather, ay?” Fuse stopped tickling him and gently nudged Ramya’s hand away. Rampart pouted; she was having a blast, but air was kind of important, and it looked like Octane needed a bunch of it. 

“Fine. Can’t have people dyin’ in here anyways. It’s bad for business.” She responded, snickering. She lightly ran her nails down Octavio’s tummy a few times before climbing off of his legs. Octavio snickered and panted, his chest rising and falling with each breath he took. 

“Bohohohth of yohuhu suck…” He complained, moving to pull his arms down…only to realize that Fuse hadn’t let go. Fuse grinned and looked down at the still-pinned speedster.

“Oh, ya think so? That’s alright, cause I never said I was lettin’ you go just yet.” 

It didn’t take very long for Octane to regenerate stamina, but all of that air he worked to bring in left him in one loud gasp. 

“No, doOOOHN’T--”

Walter poked his side, making him yelp, and he chuckled. “Hey, I was crystal clear! I said a breather. What, you thought you’d get off that easy?” 

Rampart blinked, not expecting the turn of events, but she was more than happy to continue. She plopped back down onto his legs, pressing her fingertips into his ribs, and wiggled away. 

“Nohohoho guhuhuhys! I’m sohohohohorry!”

“...So we’re done? You all know what you’re doing?” Octane paced the floor impatiently as he looked at the three Legends in front of him. He had been planning the details of Lifeline’s surprise birthday party for the last three days, which felt like an entirety to him. Attending parties, he’d found, were way more fun than planning them. The sound of a bottle dunking into a trash can brought the daredevil back into reality; this party was for Lifeline, his best friend, so it was worth a few days of boredom. 

“Aye, mate. I reckon we do.” Fuse smirked after he’d finished his cold beer. He crossed his arms and comfortably leaned back in his chair. “You want me to provide the explosions n’ bring the noise. All of this is goin’ down on Elliot’s ship, which he’s supposed to park above the Gauntlet for me. And Nancy here is in charge of lights and all that jazz.”

Wattson perked up and frowned at the explosives expert. “It’s Natalie.” 

Walter arched a brow at the engineer. “Right, that’s what I said. I might be gettin’ old, but me ears work just fine.” He turned to the daredevil. “That sound about right, slim?”

Octavio nodded and, beaming, hopped from one metallic leg to the other. “¡Sí! Ooo, this is gonna be awesome! I can’t wait to see her face when she sees this.” The daredevil grabbed a stim from his pouch, ready to dash out of the room. But right before he could jab himself with it, he paused. He looked at the group again. “Oh, one more thing! Don’t tell Che anything. This is supposed to be una sorpresa. A surprise.” The daredevil specifically looked at Mirage when he emphasized surprise. Mirage picked up on the look and smirked. 

“Don’t worry, man. I’m not gonna be the one to spill the beans. These lips are sealed.” The trickster gave him two thumbs up and grinned. “In fact, I’ve never spoiled a secret in my life! Well, except for this one time. I was on a date, and she had something stuck in her teeth. She didn’t know, but I mean, come on. Is it really a secret if it’s already---”

Natalie stepped over and put her hand over the trickster’s mouth, giggling. She looked up at the daredevil and smiled. “You can count on us, mon ami. We’ll keep it a secret.”

“Gracias, Nat.” Octavio chuckled and finally jabbed himself with his stim, dashing out of the room. While the other Legends set the stage, it was up to him to get the centerpiece of the surprise. 

The box holding Lifeline’s gift was large and cumbersome, but Octane was determined to get it down the ship’s hallway. He grunted as he pushed it along using his arms and shoulders.  The daredevil wasn’t weak in any sense of the word; his stamina was impressive. But, he didn’t have much muscle, so he was moving down the hallway at a snail’s pace. He perked up when he heard some commotion ahead, in the direction of the common room. He stopped pushing the box and peeked around it to see who it was: Pathfinder. The robot’s monitor flashed to a smiley face.

“Hi friend! What’s in the box? Can I help you carry it?” Pathfinder was always eager to help his friends and, by the looks of things, Octavio could use the assistance. The daredevil breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. 

“Sí, por favor. You came just in time.” The daredevil grinned and stood on one side of the box. Now that he had some help, he could just carry it down the hall. “It was taking forever to lug this around.”

Pathfinder lifted his side of the box like it was nothing; then, the two continued their trek down the hallway. “Is this for Lifeline’s super secret birthday party?” he asked eagerly; although he couldn’t physically smile, the excitement could be heard in his voice. Octane froze and gave the hall a quick once-over; when he was sure that Ajay wasn’t around, he exhaled again. 

“Yeah, it is. But, remember Path, we gotta keep it on the down low! You didn’t say anything to Che about it, did you?” Octavio had a bad feeling that the robot may have spilled the details; everyone was a friend to him, so maybe he thought it’d be okay to tell secrets to other friends. But, when Pathfinder shook his head, he breathed normally again. 

“Of course not, friend! I promised to keep the party a secret, and good friends always keep their promises.” He momentarily balanced the box on one arm to give his signature thumbs-up. Octavio chuckled and nodded. 

“Okay, good. Yeah, so I got Ajay a drum set.” Octane beamed and looked at the box; he couldn’t wait to see what it looked like! “Before we joined the Apex Games, she was in a band called the Flyer Liars. Figured she’d wanna reminiscence a little on her big day.” 

“Wow! A party and a rock show. That sounds like fun.” Pathfinder chimed in, which only fueled the daredevil’s own excitement.

“Right? We even convinced old man Fuse to get up there with his guitar, so it’s gonna be like a real band! It’s gonna be awesome!” Octavio piped and picked up his walking pace to get the box where it needed to go. 

What Octane didn’t realize, however, was that Lifeline was nearby and lounging in her room. The medical staff of the Apex Games decided to give a few days off for her birthday, and she figured that it’d be the perfect time to catch up on some sleep. She didn’t catch the party details from the duo, but she did hear Silva mention something about Fuse and convincing him to do something. This made her sit up; ever since Fuse joined the Apex Games, she knew it spelled trouble for the grenade-loving speedster. She didn’t want to see Octavio, or Walter for that matter, end up in the infirmary because they did something stupid. So, climbing out of her bed, she started gathering her hair up in two buns. “Silva?” She called warningly, “What’cha talking about out there?” 

Octane paled; why was Lifeline here? He’d been banking on the fact that she’d be working in the infirmary all day, so he could safely get her present where it needed to be. He heard her footsteps gradually coming closer to the door and, in a panic, he pushed the box into Pathfinder’s arms.

“Change of plans, amigo. You gotta get this to the Gauntlet, quick! Che can’t see this yet..” Octane urged in a whisper, gesturing further down the hallway. “If you see Makoa on your way there, ask him to help you. But I gotta distract her, so---” He paused, hearing the click of the door opening. “Go!” He gave the robot a little push. The robot’s monitor flashed question marks, then exclamation points as he clambered down the hallway. He was gone by the time Lifeline stepped into the hallway. Octavio spun around to face her. 

“Che!” He choked, earning an arched eyebrow from the combat medic. He scrambled to smile at her. “H-Hey, chica. ¡Feliz cumpleaños! (Happy birthday!) I thought you’d be working in the medbay today.” 

Lifeline shook her head. “Med staff gave me some time off for my birthday.” She explained, leaning against the wall with her hand on her hip. “But I hear ya and Walter got some plans...should I be worried?” 

“Pfft, no way! You worry enough as it is.” He responded, smirking as she narrowed her eyes. “Nope, no need to worry, hermana! I just asked Walter to….uh...” 

The daredevil trailed off and bit his lip; the last thing he wanted to do was spoil the surprise he had for her. Ajay blinked and looked at him expectantly. The longer he stammered, the more suspicious she became. 

“Ya asked Walter to…?”

Octane gulped. “I-I asked him t-to...oh! I asked him to show me how to play a few chords on his guitar.” He quickly responded, nodding as if it made his story more palpable. Lifeline tilted her head to the side. She noticed how much he was fidgeting, but wasn’t ready to voice her suspicions. 

“Oh. Well, how ‘bout I join ya?” Lifeline smirked and got off of the wall, approaching the speedster. “Someone’s gotta keep you two on the beat.” 

“No!” Octavio exclaimed, startling the medic, only to sheepishly rub the back of his head. “I mean, how about we, uh, snag one of those Tridents instead? Head into Olympus and raise some hell on your big day?”

Lifeline looked bewildered. “Ya just said ya were havin’ guitar lessons with Walter. How ya gonna do both?” she asked; the two stared at each other for a solid ten seconds until Ajay stepped forward and poked his side. Octavio yelped and squirmed away from her. 

“Hehehey! Why ahahahre yohuhuh--ah! Stop!” he sputtered and batted at her hands, already backpedaling away from her. Ajay smirked again and managed to jab him in the stomach a few times, drawing out yips of laughter. 

“There’s somethin’ ya not tellin’ me, O...” Lifeline accused, walking the daredevil towards a corner. She continued poking his sides and stomach and grinned at his frantic laughter. “And until ya tell me what it is, yuh ain’t going anywhere.”

Octane panicked; this wasn’t the first time he was cornered and tickled by Ajay. He wasn’t going down without a fight this time! So, through his protests and laughter, he stuck his hands out and squeezed her sides. Ajay flinched and abandoned her tickle attack, holding her arms against her sides. 

“Silva--!” The combat medic was ready to chew him out until she noticed the look on his face. He was grinning this cocky, sinister grin that momentarily made her falter. “Don’t even think about---AH!”

The next few seconds were a blur; there was a loud thud that sounded throughout the compound as the impromptu wrestling match started. Most of the yelling came from Octane as Lifeline dug her fingers into his exposed stomach. But, through a stroke of luck, the speedster was able to pin her down on the floor and straddle her. 

“Heh, still ticklish after all these years, hermana?” Octavio teased and wiggled his fingers along her sides. Ajay struggled and glared at him; she wasn’t as ticklish as he was, and she figured that she’d be able to hold out long enough that she’d break free, or until he got bored. That’s what she thought, anyway. Octavio wasted no time in tickling all over her torso in search of any sensitive spots; his hands jumped from her sides to her ribs, armpits, and stomach. Switching spots so quickly didn’t give her a chance to bolster any sort of defense against the sensations. So, when the speedster lingered at her hips, noticing that she squirmed more when tickled there, the floodgates finally burst open. 

“STAHAHAHAHA SIHIHIHLVAHAHAHA!” The medic demanded through fits of loud laughter. She arched her back when he squeezed her sides, only to scream again when he dug his thumbs into her hips. Octane snickered and continued attacking her hip bones, alternating between jabbing and scribbling against the sensitive skin. 

“No way, chica! You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting to do this..” He playfully sneered, suddenly reaching underneath her arms. Ajay yelped and bucked her hips again, trying her hardest to keep her arms pressed against her sides. Octavio wasn’t having it and took both of her wrists in one hand so that he could pull her arms over her head. “Remember that one time you attacked me for stealing a donut? And it wasn’t even me who did it? I told you there was a storm comin’ for you!”

Instead of tickling her hollows outright, he skimmed his nails in circular patterns around her left armpit. This brought Lifeline’s laughter down to giggles as she fought against his grip. 

“Yahahahahah sahahahaid yaahahahahaha hahahated mehehehehehe!” She yelled, kicking her legs against the ground as he grew closer to the armpit. Octavio smirked; her armpits weren’t as ticklish as his, but it was a fairly sensitive spot for her. He stopped the tickling just short of the armpit and poked at it to keep her giggling. 

“I could never hate you, Che. If I did, I’d do something like this..” He grinned and buried his fingers into her armpit without warning, scratching away at the hollow. Lifeline bucked her hips again and fell into a heavy giggling fit. 

“Ahahahahahah I’m gohohohohnaahaha KIHIHIHLL YAHAHAHAH!” She threatened, only to yelp and giggle louder when he tickled faster. Octane joined in on the laughter and went back to circling his nails around her armpit. 

“That’s funny, coming from you.” The speedster chuckled and descended onto her hollows again, earning some more squeaks and laughs. Lifeline was typically on the no-nonsense side of things, keeping people alive...so, it was nice to hear her laughing.  But, he couldn’t let that comment slide! He re-pinned her arms on the floor and poked from her ribs to her sides. “And a bad thing to say in your position...”

With that, Octane latched a hand on to each of her hips and squeezed, making the doctor scream and cackle. She threatened and swore during his assault on the hip bones but, with how hard she was laughing, it was hard to take any of it seriously. It was even harder not to laugh along with her as he alternated the tickles between her hips and waist.  

“DAAHAHAHAHAMIT SIHIHIHIHLVAHAHA NOHOHOHOHOH!” Ajay hollered and twisted her torso around, but it didn’t help. Octane gave her hips a few more squeezes before he jumped to her stomach, scratching along in quick, spider-like motions. This made her laughter die down to giggles but, when he poked at her belly button, she fell back into hysterics. “STAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“Nope, no can do! You of all people could use a good laugh, especially on your birthday.” Octane quipped, snickering as she bucked and battered the floor with her kicking. If he hadn’t been holding her down, he’s certain that he’d end up with a black eye...or two. Fortunately, the speedster had her right where he wanted her. Plus, this was the most fun he’s had all day! So, ignoring her demands, he skittered his nails around her belly button with one hand, the other poking at her hips. He was rewarded with a shriek and another roar of laughter...it was going to be a long day. 

Unbeknownst to the duo, the commotion caught the attention of Wattson, who’d just returned to the compound after setting up the decorations on Mirage’s ship. She wanted to go wish Lifeline a happy birthday, and give her the Nessie plush that she’d made especially for her. But, the distant sounds of yelling startled her, and she hurried towards the noise. As she got closer, the yelling sounded more like laughter, which made her relax a bit. But, what on earth was happening that was so funny? 

Well, Natalie didn’t have to wonder for long; when she walked into the hallway, she saw Octane tickling the snot out of poor Lifeline. And, from what she witnessed, she figured he’d found a good spot or two; the medic was squirming like crazy with desperate laughter pouring out of her. As tempting as it was to help Octavio, she made the split decision to help Lifeline instead. It was her birthday after all, and she should be able to have some fun of her own! So, the engineer slowly approached Octane from behind, hoping that he wouldn’t turn around. The speedster was fortunately too invested in tickling Lifeline to notice her and, by the time Natalie was in reach, it was too late. Wattson sat behind him and hooked her arms around his torso, giving his sides quick little pokes. Octavio gasped and yelped, abandoning his tickle attack to escape the intrusive hands. 

“AH! Whahahahat thehehehe--Nahahaht?!” Octane sputtered and increased his efforts to get away. Wattson answered his protests with a giggle and, when the speedster went to stand, she pulled him back onto the floor. There was another loud thud that sounded throughout the compound but, this time, it ended up with Octavio pinned. When Wattson was sure the speedster couldn’t go anywhere, she smiled over at Lifeline, who was still breathing raggedly on the floor. 

“Bonjour! I was just stopping by to wish you a happy birthday, Ajay.” Natalie sang. She tweaked Octane’s sides as she spoke, snickering at his squeaks and frantic giggles. “But it seems like Octavio here put you in a...ticklish situation, no?”

Lifeline sat up once she caught her breath and nodded. Her buns were lopsided from all of her squirming, but that’s not what Octavio noticed. There was a mischievous, vengeful glint in her eyes, which only told him one thing: if he didn’t haul ass and get away, he was in big trouble. “He sure did. Glad ya were here to help me out.” The medic answered, smirking at the speedster’s terrified face. “Ya mind doin’ somethin’ else for me?”

Octane furiously shook his head and bucked when Wattson began poking his stomach. He was already laughing, partly from anticipation, which made it difficult for him to get a clear word out. “Nohohohoho! No! Nahahahaht! Geheheheht ohohohff meehehehehe!” He yelled, squirming violently as Lifeline drew closer. “PLEHEHEHEHASE!”

“Not at all, mon amie! It’s your day.” Wattson chirped, ignoring the speedster’s pleas. She gently skittered her nails along the length of his tummy, stopping just above his belly button each time. Octavio jolted and cried out with laughter, but she didn’t tickle there long enough for him to dip into hysterics. 

“NOHOHOHOHOH! LOHOHOHO SIEHEHENTO! POHOHOHR FAHAHAVOHOHR!”

Lifeline sat next to Wattson and leaned up to boop Octavio’s nose. Then, she grinned at Natalie. “Help me get his arms up.”

“NO, DON’T!” Octane protested; Wattson grinned at him and took Octane’s wrists from underneath her knees. She held onto them and pushed both of his arms over his head, climbing off of him so that Ajay could take her place. The speedster yelled and objected the entire time but, once he was securely pinned down, his fate was sealed. Natalie was now seated above his head, and Ajay was straddling him. He looked up in a panic; between the two women, it’d be easier to sway Natalie. 

“Waitwaitwait! Nat, please! Don’t help her! She sss-stahahahartehehed ihihihihihiht!” Octavio burst out giggling when Lifeline walked her nails up his sides. Ajay looked at him incredulously. 

“Me? I just asked ya to tell me what you and Fuse were plannin’. But ya just couldn’t do that, could ya?” Ajay fired back, scribbling across his stomach and just above his navel. Octane screamed and twisted his torso around. 

“OKAHAHAHAY! OKAHAHAHAHY I’LL TEHEHEHLL YOHOHOHU--NOOO!” Octane yelped and arched his back, feeling the doctor prodding his armpits. He tensed up and burst out laughing, desperately shaking his head. He wasn’t getting through to Ajay at all, so he tried to appeal to Natalie again. “NAHAHAHAT! DOHOHOHOHN’T LEHEHEHET HEHEHER DOHOHOH THIHIHIHIHS!”

Wattson, much to his dismay, was grinning down at him while Lifeline tickled his armpits. She already knew how ticklish he was, but she didn’t know how sensitive his underarms were! The medic wasn’t even digging into the spot yet, though it sounded like he was already flirting with hysterics. 

“Mon dieu (My goodness), Octavio! I didn’t know that your underarms were so sensitive.” The engineer observed, smiling. Although she was helping Lifeline get revenge, she couldn’t help but to lightly run her fingertips from his forearms to his elbows. Octane squeaked and laughed louder. He tugged at his arms with all of his strength to try and free them, but Natalie held strong. 

“AH! NOHOHOHOH NAHAHAT WHYHYHY-HAHAHA!” The speedster couldn’t even take two tickling hands, so four of them were brutal. Ajay had switched from jabbing into his armpits to scribbling her nails against the hollows. He responded by frantically kicking his metallic legs against the ground, making her chuckle.

“He’s ticklish everywhere. His armpits are the worst, but if ya want to hear him scream...” Lifeline trailed off and tickled down to his sides. This actually brought Octavio’s laughter down to giggles...but then, the medic dug her thumbs into the sides of his stomach. He gasped, bucking his hips, only to give in to another wave of hysterical laughter. 

“NAHAHAHAHAHA STAHAHAHAHAHA! I SAHAHAHAID I’D---AHH! NOOOHOHOHO AAHAHAJAHAHY!” Octavio bucked his hips again when Ajay suddenly ducked her head down and blew a raspberry onto his belly. He nearly threw her off of his waist but, thankfully, she was able to keep her balance. She scooted down a bit so that her next raspberry could be directly over his belly button. He thrashed against the floor, falling deeper into hysterics when she tickled back up to his armpits. “NONONONO! STAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA PLEHEHEHEHEAHAHASE!”

“See?” Lifeline grinned and, after blowing another raspberry over his navel, she traced her nails against his waistline and hips. Octavio squirmed and giggled heavily; switching spots gave him the opportunity to catch his breath somewhat, but he still twitched from those gentle, ticklish strokes. 

“Aahahahajahahahay staahahahahahap! I sahahahahid I’d tehehehehehehll yohohuhuhu!” He insisted. The desperate giggles poured out of him and, when Lifeline tweaked the hip bones, he yelled before sinking back into the pool of giggles. “PLEHEhehehehehease!”

“Hm, maybe after I finish torturin’ ya.” The medic responded, scribbling along his waist and hips for a few seconds longer. Then, she jumped back to his sides and repeatedly squeezed them. He arched his back, dangerously close to laughter, and threw his torso around to try and escape her hands. The corner of her lip twitched; his laughter was so contagious, and she soon found herself giggling along with him. It didn’t help that Wattson was already cracking up above them.

“NOHOHOHOHOHOH! COHOHOHOHOHME OHOHOHOHOHN!”

Ajay ignored his protesting and she decided to squeeze his left side with both of her hands. He yelped and fell back into those helpless fits of laughter. At this point, it was harder for him to argue or speak much at all, really; the ticklish sensations were intense and, to make matters worse, the medic scratched across his stomach to give his right side the same treatment. And then, just when he thought it couldn’t get any worse, Lifeline smiled at Wattson. 

“How about ya get his armpits? I’ll stay on his stomach.” She encouraged, resting both of her hands on top of the daredevil’s stomach. Lifeline flexed her fingers every now and then to keep him giggling, then randomly poked around his belly button. Octavio couldn’t stop snickering even if he wanted to and squirmed with a renewed sense of panic when Natalie perked up. 

“Nohohohoh Nahahahatalie! Pleehehehease, dohohn’t! Ahahahanywhehehere buhuhuht thehehehre!” He begged. Before he could add anything else, the engineer slid her nails down his arms at a slow, tantalizing pace.

“Aw, why not, Octavio? Is it gonna tickle?” Wattson teased, her nails getting closer and closer to his armpits. She changed directions at the last minute and went back to stroking along his arms. She repeated the process at random intervals to keep him guessing, leaving the poor man in stitches. 

“YEHEHEHEHEHES! Pohohohohr fahahahavor, Nahahahat! Gehehehehet ohohohohff ohohohf myhyhyhy ARMSS---” Octane screamed and dissolved into wild laughter when Natalie attacked his armpits without warning. She’d paid close attention when Lifeline tickled the mentioned spot, so she focused solely on the hollows. Lifeline had also stuck a finger into his belly button and tickled in circular motions. The daredevil threw his head back, howling with laughter, and he kicked his legs so fast that he may as well have been running. 

“AAAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA! STAHAHAHAHAHAH I’M BEHEHEHEHEGGING YOHOHOHOHU! PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEASE!”

“No can do, O. Ya brought this on yuhself.” Ajay chuckled, working her finger into his navel to really tickle along the crevices. After a few more twists, she ducked down and blew some sloppy raspberries into his belly. The speedster was already dying laughing but the raspberries, along with the rapid scratching along his armpits, was enough for him to go into silent laughter. The women tickled him for about a minute or two longer before finally stopping. 

“Alright, O. Now ya can tell me what you and Fuse were up to.” Lifeline said, putting her hands back on top of his stomach. Octavio’s abdomen rose and fell rapidly as he struggled to catch his breath. Since he was still sensitive from the dual tickle attacks, just lightly pressing on his stomach made him shiver and giggle. 

“Okahahay...well, I asked Walter to do something for me…” He began, fidgeting a bit. For some reason, both of the girls were still pinning him down, and he still couldn’t get any leverage on his arms. But, on top of that, he wasn’t sure why Wattson was helping Ajay out so much! ...Well, he could guess why, but the engineer was in on the secret. So, he assumed that she knew what he was talking about, and why he was reluctant to tell Ajay. 

“...Uh huh.” Lifeline stared at Octane expectantly and, when he didn’t continue, she lightly kneaded the sides of his stomach. Octavio squeaked and giggled madly. He made the unconscious, but futile effort to try and bring his arms down and shield himself, but Wattson wouldn’t let him. “What’d ya ask him to do?”

Wattson was looking at him, too. From her understanding, the only thing the Legends were doing later was attending the surprise party. And, she did know that Fuse was helping with the music, along with everything else that they’d planned. But, of course, Lifeline wasn’t supposed to know that yet. So, with a small, impish smile, Natalie decided to offer another diversion. 

“I think I know what Octavio’s trying to say, Ajay.” Wattson chimed in and sighed her best, disappointed sounding sigh. “It’s just that...well, he didn’t want to tell you. And, I’d promised to keep it a secret, but I think you should know what it is.”

What?! No, Nat! Don’t say it! Octane mentally pleaded and looked up to meet the engineer’s eyes. After all of the planning and set up that they’ve done, she wasn’t going to just ruin the surprise like that, was she? Everything about her tone suggested it, but then Natalie...winked at him? Lifeline somehow didn’t see it, and for whatever reason, it made the speedster extremely wary as to what Wattson was going to say. 

Lifeline looked at her and then back at Octavio. “What is this...secret, that I’m not supposed to know about?”

Before Octane could interject, Wattson spoke up again. “Walter gave Octavio his rocket launcher to borrow a few days ago…” She answered, biting her lip so that she didn’t smirk. “I saw them in the firing range. I promised I wouldn’t say anything, but…Je suis désolé! (I’m sorry!)” The engineer cast her head down, and the speedster immediately began struggling. 

“That never happened! I--” Octane argued and looked up at the medic. Her nails, which were once still, were now tapping at random spots on his belly and sides. The speedster gasped and snickered, wiggling his torso around in protest. “Shehehehehe’s lyhihihihng! Ah! Ajay! Hehehehehe dihihihdn’t gihihihihve mehehehehehe ahahahahanythihihing!” 

Wattson gasped and, feigning offense, pouted at him. “I’m not lying! How could you say that about me?” She pretended to sound hurt and added to the ticklish sensations by dragging her fingertips down his arms to his ribcage. Octane flinched and giggled harder, the panic settling on him when Lifeline poked at his belly button. 

“AHAHAHAHAHAHA! I dohohohohn’t hahahahave hihihihihs rohohcket lauhuhncher, Chehehehe! I dohohohn’t knohohohw whahahaht shehehe’s tahahahlking ahahabohohohut!” He yelled. Octavio could feel her lightly scratching around the outer curve of his belly button, causing him to shriek and laugh louder. 

“...I dunno, Silva. I’ve heard the two of ya talkin’ about that before. And I explicitly told Walter not to give ya anything that you could blow yaself up with. So, I’m inclined to believe her…” Ajay mused, continuing to circle his navel and belly with her nails. Octane arched his back and shook with the laughter bubbling up inside of him. 

“NOHOHOHOHOHOH! IT’S NAHAHAHAT TRUHUHUHE! I PROHOHOHOHMISE!” He pleaded and yelped when the doctor launched a full-on attack on his abdomen. Lifeline tickled up and down the length of his tummy before honing in on his belly button. She rubbed her fingertips along the spot, almost petting it, before twisting her finger inside of it. This time, it didn’t take much for Octane to dissolve into frantic, helpless laughter. He was still really sensitive from the previous attacks, and Natalie was getting much closer to his armpits. 

“CHEHEHEHEH, NAHAHAHAHAT, NOHOHOHOHOH! JUHUHUST LEHEHET MEHEHEHE GOHOHOHOH AHAHAHALREHEHADY!” He yelled, thrashing against the floor when Natalie pressed her fingertips against his armpits. She didn’t move them or anything….just held them there. Octavio was laughing like crazy anyway, causing her to giggle. “NAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAT!”

“What? I’m not doing anything…” Wattson smiled and flexed her fingertips, bursting out laughing when the speedster bucked his hips. Lifeline laughed too and, as if on cue, Natalie finally  joined in on the tickling by scratching away at his armpits. After a few seconds of scratching, she picked up on the fact that his right armpit was a bit more sensitive than his left. So, she continued to rake her nails up and down the length of the right one, while applying featherlight strokes to the left one. 

Octane yelled one more time before falling back into hysterics. He threw his body around as much as he was able to, but the women easily kept up with him. He hit his head against the ground when Natalie lightened up her touch on both of his armpits; it tickled so bad, and he couldn’t bring his arms down!

“YEHEHEHEHES YOHOHOHU AHAHAHAHARE! STAHAHAHAHAHAHA TIHIHIHCKLING MEHEHEHEHE!” He demanded, shaking his head side to side when she wiggled her nails around the armpits instead. Wattson smirked and slowly walked her fingertips towards his armpits. The closer she got, the more tense he became. 

“I have a better idea! If you put your arms down, I’ll stop.” Natalie promised, giving him an innocent smile when he pulled at his arms repeatedly. The engineer had him pinned down pretty well but, to lower the chances of him somehow getting his arms free, she used one of her hands to grip and hold Octavio’s right arm still. “Okay?”

“Nohohohoh! Thahahahat’s nohohoht fahahahir! I cahahan’t mohohohve myhyhy ahahaharms!” He fired back, his laughter dying down to heavy giggles when Ajay squeezed from his waist all the way up to his lowermost ribs.

“Sure you can! You just need a...spark, of inspiration! Get it?” Wattson laughed and gently tapped just above where his armpit began.  Octavio would’ve groaned if he hadn’t been giggling up a storm. “Here, let me show you!”

“Nohoho…” He whined, only to belt out a few laughs when Natalie swiped her nails down the length of the armpit. His arm strained in her hold; it was bad enough that he was pinned down, but having no way to move arm made the ticklish sensation that much worse. Since he was so focused on Nat’s impending tickles, he didn’t notice that Lifeline had leaned over his stomach again. She took a deep breath and blew a raspberry directly over his navel. Both women flinched from the scream that sounded throughout the compound. But then, Octavio was nothing but belly laughs as he rocked his body from one side to the next. 

“NOHOHAHAHAHAHA! STAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I CAHAHAHAN’T PUHUHUHT THEHEM DOHOHWN…” Octavio hollered; he was sweating and basically crying with laughter once Natalie picked up the tickling pace, but it didn’t seem like either one of them were going to let up. So, when a certain explosives expert walked down the hallway, there was quite a scene in front of him. 

“Well, someone’s havin’ a good time, ay?” Fuse chuckled and stopped just short of the trio. He leaned against the wall and smirked. “Thought I’d have to spray a hose on you kids.”

Lifeline and Wattson ceased their tickle attacks on Octavio, allowing him to catch his breath. The medic glanced at him and narrowed her eyes. 

“Speak of the devil. I’m guessin’ ya here for Silva, so the two of ya can go blow somethin’ up. Which is somethin’ I asked ya not to do...” Lifeline spoke, climbing off of the daredevil and getting to her feet. Walter gave her a quizzical look and slowly shook his head. 

“Heh, as tempting as that notion sounds, doc, ‘fraid I’m gonna have to pass. Got something else you pups might wanna see, though.” Fuse grinned and nodded in the direction from where he came. 

Lifeline gave him a strange look. She cast a glance towards Wattson, who shrugged, before looking back towards Fuse. “...And what would that be?”

Walter laughed. “Oh no, this is somethin’ you’ll wanna see with your own eyes. Come on.” He turned on his heel and walked back down the hall. Ajay blinked and faced Octavio and Natalie. The engineer had climbed off of his arms too and was helping him to his feet.

“Hmhm, glad we didn’t kill ya, O.” Lifeline chuckled, approaching him to playfully nudge his side. Octane squirmed away from the touch and snickered.

“Yeah yeah, laugh it up, hermana. Still gonna get you back one of these days..” He playfully threatened, glancing towards Natalie. “Same goes for you, Nat.”

When the women threw him a look that spelled trouble, the daredevil took off down the hall after Fuse, jabbing himself with a stim to stay far out of their reach.

Since Octane had gotten ahead of Wattson and Lifeline, he reached Mirage’s party ship before them and climbed up. And what he saw was awesome: the ship was adorned with colorful lights, there were balloons scattered along the dance floor, and Lifeline’s gift was front and center on the mini stage. Fuse waved over the speedster and chuckled. 

“Here mate, figured you’d wanna do the honors.” The explosives expert handed a little button panel that’d trigger the fireworks on the ship. Octane happily took it before joining the other Legends in laying low until the medic arrived. After a couple minutes, the sound of someone taking the zipline could be heard, Octane popped up first and launched the fireworks. 

“SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

Lifeline yelped and initially recoiled backwards, but Wattson was there to steady her so she didn’t go flying off the ship. The fireworks were still going off and Ajay, putting a hand over her chest, waited until they stopped.

“...What’s all this?” Ajay asked, finally noticing that most, if not all of the Legends were also on the ship. Octavio sped over to her and grinned. 

“It’s your party! I couldn’t sit back and let you have a boring day. But, uh, I did have some help..” He responded, grinning more when Natalie gently nudged her arm. Lifeline blinked and stared at her. 

“But ya told me---”

“Oh, I said something else? Oops…” Wattson giggled and winked at her, letting go of her arm. “I think there’s one more surprise that Octavio has for you.”

“¡Sí! It’s over here.” Octane excitedly led her over to the mini stage. He was standing in front of her so that she couldn’t see it right away, but he got out of the way once they were close enough. He heard her gasp and he glanced at her to see her grinning from ear to ear. 

“Where’d you get this? It’s beautiful.” Lifeline smiled and stepped up to the drumset. She circled it and gently ran her fingers along the cymbals and drums. Octavio chuckled. 

“Oh, you know. I may have pulled a few strings or two.” He grinned, gasping when the medic suddenly pulled him into a hug. 

“Thanks, O. Never a dull moment with yuh around, is there?” 

Octane beamed and returned the hug. “Heh, I do my best. Now, let’s see how this baby sounds!”

Wattson shot up from her pillow at the sound of metal crashing to the floor. The sound was followed by a cheer and a burst of laughter and the engineer groaned. “Mon Dieu (My God), Monsieur Silva, please go to sleep.” She mumbled as she buried her face into her hands. For a second, everything grew quiet...maybe someone finally answered her prayers? Natalie sat still, afraid that even the smallest motion would destroy the sweet, sudden silence. Right when she went to draw a breath, another crash sounded throughout the ship and this time, an angry voice answered the noise. “You make one more sound, skinbag,” Revenant growled in his deep, gravelly voice, “and I’ll tear your eyes out of your head and make you eat them.” Before Octane could answer him, a softer, but just as fiery voice shot back. “Ya touch him and I’ll knock ya head off ya shoulders myself. But Silva, ya need to go to sleep.” Lifeline retorted, to which the simulacrum grumbled out some more unkind words before growing quiet. Octane’s snickers reached the hallway and from what Wattson could tell, he moved closer to the door so that if one half of the ship couldn’t hear him, the other side would.

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead, hermana. And since Señor Feliz (Mr. Happy) over there hasn’t caught me yet, it may take a while.” Octavio laughed before returning to his noisy tinkering and machining. Groans and growls of protest followed right after and Wattson, donning her Lochness monster slippers, climbed out of bed and ventured to the source of the noise. 

Wattson took heavy steps down the hallway and slowly pushed open Octane’s door. He was hunched over his jump pad and excitedly twisted a wrench around a cog. He picked up a variety of machinery parts and when he found one not to his liking, he muttered ‘basura’ (trash) and carelessly tossed it to the side. Wattson squeaked at the loud crash and Octane looked over his shoulder, grinning. “Oh, hola señorita. New hairdo?” He chuckled, turning around so that he could properly face her. Octane wasn’t wearing his mask so Natalie could see his green eyes and bright, mischievous grin. Wattson wasn’t used to seeing what he looked like without the mask and she could feel the heat crawling from her neck up to her cheeks. She brought her hand up to her hair and gasped, feeling each strand sticking up and pointing in a different direction. Natalie, the blush finally finding her cheeks, cleared her throat and held her left wrist with her right hand. “Er, bonjour Monsieur Silva. I was wondering if you could please keep it down? It’s three in the morning..” She whined tiredly. 

Octane chuckled and shook his head, hopping to his feet and setting the jump pad down. “No way! The night’s still young and time is flying. Just wait until you see what this baby can do.” He smirked before dashing to the other side of his room. He fished a stim out from his belt and jammed it in his leg so that he could sprint back to the jump pad and launch himself. He soared through the air at an alarmingly fast rate and, after barely doing a back flip, he fell onto his bed and kept rolling until he fell back onto the floor. Wattson gasped and ran over to help him, but Octane popped back up and did a fist pump in the air. “Woohoo! Did you see that?! I nearly hit the ceiling, amiga. Just a few more twists and I’ll be able to get on top of this ship!” He cheered as he ran back over to the jump pad and plopped back down. He grabbed his wrench and fiddled with the gears and Wattson, joining him on the floor, sighed heavily. “The jump was très impressionnant (very impressive), Monsieur..” She mumbled, bringing her knees up to her chest and frowning into her kneecaps. Octane stopped what he was doing and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “What is it?” 

Natalie turned towards him and, after a moment of hesitation, looked up to meet his eyes. Octavio’s eyes screamed for sleep even if he said otherwise. “It’s just that--not sleeping isn’t healthy, Monsieur Silva. It’s like trying to run something on a low battery. I’m worried about y--er, you not getting any rest.” She admitted quietly with the frown still stretching across her face. Octane groaned and put his wrench down, rubbing his temples. “Ugh, you’re starting to sound like Che. I’m fine, amiga, really. I mean, come on, do you really think that I get tired? Haven’t you seen the Octrain work his magic in the ring?” He ended with a smirk and a chuckle. Natalie frowned again and crossed her arms against her chest. “Oui. But even trains have stations to stop at.” She countered, smirking when his head snapped back to her. Octavio opened his mouth to say something and, when nothing came out, Natalie giggled and propped herself up on her knees. “How about this: how about you let me help you calm down a bit so that you can try and sleep? If you’re really not tired, then I’ll leave and you can go back to what you were doing. I’ll even let you launch me on your jump pad on the way out.” Natalie offered, the words coming out faster than she could stop them. She mentally face palmed, why did she promise him that? The huge grin on Octane’s face sealed the deal and he hopped to his feet. “You wanna fly, amiga? You’re on! What are we gonna do?” He asked while excitedly bouncing from leg to leg. Wattson looked up at him and patted the seat beside her, smiling at the confused look on his face. “Come here, Monsieur Silva, and lay on your stomach s'il vous plaît (please).” 

Octavio plopped down beside her and laid flat on his stomach. “Octavio.” He mumbled before glancing up at her, smirking at Wattson’s returned look of confusion.

“What?”

“You can call me Octavio. No need to be so formal, Natalie.” He grinned at her and chuckled when she immediately nodded to his request.

“Oh! Okay. So, whenever I couldn’t sleep at night, my Papa would come in and rub my back until I fell asleep. Sometimes he’d sing but, trust me, you don’t want me to sing.” Natalie giggled, mentally willing herself not to blush again when he joined in her laughter. “So...may I?”

Octavio shrugged and stretched out his limbs, his metal legs restlessly tapping against the floor. “Sure, it won’t do anything but, knock yourself out.” He said casually before he propped up his chin with his hand. 

Natalie beamed and scooted closer to the daredevil. Although he was slim, the engineer caught herself eyeing his back muscles as she pressed her palms to his back. She rubbed his back slowly and, after five minutes, she craned her head down to see if he was sleeping. Octane looked up to meet her gaze and looked more bored than tired. 

“You done yet? That jump pad isn’t getting any newer.” He snickered as he lightly nudged her leg with his own. Wattson pouted but she kept massaging anyway. 

“Be patient, Octavio. This always works!” She insisted, her fingers accidentally grazing his sides as she moved to his center and lower back. 

Octane gasped and fidgeted at the touch, causing Wattson to immediately withdraw her hands. “What’s wrong?” She asked worriedly with her hands still suspended in the air. The daredevil gulped and shook his head, reclining back on the floor. “Nothing, amiga. Just tense there.” He shrugged, turning his head so she couldn’t see him bite his lip. 

Wattson, though puzzled at his sudden jolt, slowly nodded her head. “Sorry. I’ll try to be gentler.” She promised before returning to the massage. Natalie’s fingers unconsciously wandered to Octavio’s sides again during the massage, where she pressed her fingers into them and rubbed slowly. Octane shuddered and balled his hand into a fist to bite down on it. Wattson frowned and looked down at him again and, since he was looking away from her, she craned her head over just enough to see him fighting back a grin. The engineer looked down at her hands and put two and two together; now, it was her turn to smile. She didn’t want to reveal her newfound knowledge right away, where’s the fun in that? Instead, Natalie lightened her touch bit by bit until her fingertips barely fluttered against his sides. She smirked as he continued to fidget and cough out obvious chuckles; then, when she curiously squeezed his sides, he snorted and reached behind him to grab both of her wrists in one hand. “I dohohn’t thihihnk this ihihs wohohorking..” Octane stammered, looking over his shoulder to see Wattson grinning at him. 

“I’m afraid I’d have to agree, Octavio. It looks like you’re a bit ticklish.” Natalie giggled and, after pulling her hands out of the daredevil’s grip in one smooth motion, she suddenly buried her fingers into his armpits and lightly scratched at the hollows. The scream that left Octavio could have woken even Gibraltar up; he slammed his arms down against his sides but it didn’t stop Wattson’s nails from finding ticklish nerves everywhere she scratched. “WHAHAHahahaht hehHEHEHEHEY STAHAHAHAHahahahahahp!” Octane shrieked in surprise and tried to lurch out of her hold only to be brought back down on his stomach. Wattson pinned his hands down with her knees and walked her fingers up and down his armpits, prompting another cry of laughter. “NahahaHAHAHAHAHhahT NohOHOHOHOHOH!”

“Shh! You’re going to wake the others.” Natalie smirked and pulled her hands free from his armpits and poked down to his sides, joining in on his laughter when he flinched and tried to buck her off. “I CAHAHahahahANHAN’T HEHEHEhehehehlp IHIHIHIHTHAHA! I DIIHIHIhihIHDN’T SAHAhahahaY YOHOhohu coohohohuld tihihihihckle mehehehehehe!” He protested, snickering and tossing his body in the opposite directions of her pokes. “Yes, well, you didn’t say I couldn’t either.” Wattson chirped while continuing to poke his sides. Octavio’s giggles went up and down in pitch depending on where the engineer poked and, when she settled on his upper sides, he yelped again and teetered on the edge of heavier laughter. “StahAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP!”

All of a sudden, Wattson stopped tickling him, though she kept her hands on his sides. She sat up just enough so that she could catch his gaze and playfully tilt her head at him, her bed head following suit. “If I stop,” She started, dragging each finger down his side slowly and making him snicker, “Does that mean you’ll get some rest?”

Octane sputtered and stubbornly shook his head, managing to buck hard enough to break free from Wattson’s hold and turn onto his back. He sat up and tried to push the engineer away and Natalie, just as stubborn, pushed back and initiated a wrestling match. “No, it means you’re gonna go TWICE as far when I get my jump PAAa-” Octane squealed loudly when she poked his stomach and scooted as far away from her as he could. Wattson followed after him and tackled him down onto his back and pinned his hands back down against his sides. Now, Wattson offered him a smile chock full of mischief as she hovered her hands over his abdomen. “Octavio? Do you have a ticklish tummy~?” She asked in a teasy, singsong voice as her hands went lower and lower. Octane paled and tried to use his legs for leverage in sitting up but couldn’t get a solid footing. “Nat, Nat! Wait. Hold on. Just let me, let me finish what I was doing, okay? Then I’ll sleep. I only need to do one MOOoOHOHOHRE--” Wattson shook her head and dug all ten fingers into Octavio’s stomach and caused him to howl laughing. “NOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHAHAHAHA NAAHAHAHAHAHAHATTTHAHAH!”

“If you’re still able to work, then you’re not tired. You won’t get even a wink of sleep.” Wattson explained calmly in spite of Octane’s fits of laughter. She squeezed and kneaded her thumbs into his lower stomach and the sides of his stomach, snickering when he sharply arched his back and laughed even harder. 

“PLEHEHEHEHEAHaHAHSE I’M  ALHAHAHAHMOHOHOHST DOHOHOHNE STAHAHAHAHAHAHP!” He begged while wildly kicking his feet at the floor. Octane flailed like crazy to try and free his hands but, just like the cowlick sitting on Wattson’s head, they weren’t budging. Natalie narrowed her eyes and dipped her head down to blow a raspberry right in the center of Octavio’s stomach. He bucked again, his laughter jumping to a desperate note with his head shaking side to side. “NYAHAHAHAHOHOHAHAH POHOHOHR FAHAHAHAHAHAHAHVOR!”

Wattson blew another raspberry onto his stomach before sitting up and tracing squiggles along his abs. Octane breathed heavily and snorted at the featherlight touches, his shoulders shaking with the laughter trying so damn hard to escape him. “Pleheheheahase..” He tittered, squeaking when she poked at his stomach before going back to tracing shapes. “Stohohohopheheheh t-tihihihihihcklinhg…”

“Will you go to sleep?” Wattson asked with an expectant look on her face once she caught his gaze. Besides his squeaks and snorts of laughter, Octane didn’t offer her an actual response, and it wasn’t the answer that she was looking for. So, with a pseudo sigh of pity, she hooked her fingers around his ribcage  and wiggled her fingers between each rib. Natalie found herself giggling along with Octavio as he squirmed and dropped what she assumed were unsavoury words in Spanish. “IiiiiIIhehehehehehehehehe I’ll g-geheheheheht yohohohu fohohohr thihihihihs! I sweehehehahahahr!” He giggled and yelped when she suddenly brought her hands up to his neck and spidered her fingers at each side. Octane’s eyes bugged out of his head as he tried to trap her hand between his neck and shoulder; she didn’t allow it and even let her fingers dance behind his ears before tickling his neck again. “Aw, I’d believe you if you weren’t laughing so hard.” Natalie teased before suddenly ducking down and attacking his belly with more raspberries. 

Octavio screamed and convulsed against the floor in hysterics, his laughter going up in pitch as her fingers found his hips and squeezed. “AAAAAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA! STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHP! STAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH IHIHIHIHIHAHAHAH!”

“Then go to sleep!” Wattson grinned and continued blowing raspberry after raspberry into his tummy. Octane managed to yell out a ‘no’ before giving into the laughter, his eyes tearing up. When Wattson was running low on air, she sat back up and poked his navel, flinching at the high pitched squeak that followed. “Oh? I wonder what this button does.” Natalie pondered aloud as she poked again and elicited a hard, desperate giggle from him. The daredevil’s face was red and she almost felt bad for him; but then, she remembered how sleepy he looked when she arrived and believed that if she didn’t intervene, his stubbornness would see him into the morning. “It must be a giggle button.” Natalie continued with a smirk as she slowly circled her finger around his belly button. Octavio threw his head back and shook with laughter, the sensation driving him wild. “PLEHEHEHEHEhehahahah DOHOHOhohohn’t! PLEHEHEHEASE NAhahahahaht!” 

Natalie pretended to think as she continued to circle her finger around his belly button. She smiled down at him, loving the sound of his happy albeit desperate laughter. She could listen to it all night if she could, or was it already morning?  “Hmm…well…” She trailed off, eventually moving her hand from his stomach to let the poor man breathe. Octane gratefully gulped down air and let the relief wash over him, but it didn’t last when she hovered her hand back over his abdomen. “I changed my mind, I wanna know what the button does~!”

Octavio screeched and cackled as the engineer’s finger plunged into his navel and scratched at the knot inside. Wattson smiled, nearly falling off of him from the intensity of his squirming and continued tickling him. “Tickle tickle, mon ami~”

“NAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHTTHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!” Octane wailed and banged his legs against his floor in ticklish agony. Just when he thought it couldn’t get worse, Wattson knelt down and blew a raspberry directly over his belly button, making his laughter silent. She paused, allowing him to barely catch his breath before she blew another one and re-silenced the laughter. 

“What’cha lookin’ at, amigo?” Octane smirked at his teammate from across the dropship and chuckled. Bloodhound turned their head away from the daredevil and cleared their throat, pinging the Sorting Factory below.

“...I think we should land here.” They murmured as they nodded towards the furthest L-shaped building towards the back of the area. Since the pair was among the last few squads in the ship, Octane moseyed on over to the hunter’s side and peered down where they pinged. He brought one of his hands up to his forehead as if he needed to shield his eyes from the glaring sun, his other hand finding their side and giving it a squeeze. Octane pretended as if he needed to balance himself but they both knew better. 

“Over there?” He asked innocently while kneading their side between his fingers. Bloodhound squirmed out of the daredevil’s touch and nearly fell out of the ship themselves, earning them strange looks from the few remaining squads and a giggle from their teammate.

“Yeh-hes..” Bloodhound stammered, bringing their arm down against their side protectively. Although they were the Jump Master, Octane could have easily decided to break off and jump before them and go wherever he wanted. In fact, that’s what he usually did, claiming that it took foooreeeever to land. But ever since their recent “training session”, Bloodhound was finding it difficult to put some space between themselves and the daredevil. And it was their luck that out of all the Legends that they could have gotten as a teammate, they were stuck with him. 

“Alright, then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Octane cheered before the pair finally jumped from the ship and descended at a rapid pace. As they were landing, Octane whipped out his selfie stick and held it above himself and Bloodhound, elbowing their ribs to get their attention. 

“Say cheese for all my followers~!” Octane yelled against the roaring wind, Bloodhound audibly gasping and recoiling out of his reach. Octane finally broke off and laughed all the way down, stashing his selfie stick and immediately stabbing himself with a stim to dash around for weapons. 

    The rest of the match followed a similar pattern: As the pair scrounged around for loot, Octane’s hand would “accidentally” brush against the hunter’s side as they’re picking up ammo, would tweak their ribs as they both launched themselves across the map with his jump pad. But then, after Bloodhound got their 7th kill, most likely fueled by Octavio’s mischief, the largest banner in the arena flashed to the hunter’s picture, much to Octane’s excitement. 

“Mira, check out mi amigo, the new Kill Leader!” Octane announced to any team within earshot of the two. He snaked his arm around Bloodhound’s shoulders and spun them around so that they could both face the camera, the daredevil wasting no time to strike a pose for his adoring fans. Bloodhound offered a polite nod towards the camera but, in one swift motion Octane snuck his hand down to the hunter’s hip and squeezed it hard enough through their armor to make them sink down laughing. 

    That was the last straw for Bloodhound. When Octane attacked them before in the firing range, they were the only two in the area. But in the arena, all eyes were on them, and if an enemy didn’t hear them, spectators definitely saw them. The last thing the hunter wanted was for their sensitivity to become public knowledge. So, after securing a win through Bloodhound’s accurate sniper shot and Octane being...well, a guns blazing lunatic, the pair went to the medical ward to be checked out for injuries. Bloodhound was cleared rather quickly but Octane, having a very mild cut on his right side, stayed behind to be patched up by Ajay Che. As she approached the two, she smiled and waved to the hunter before strolling up to Octane with a smirk.

“So how much trouble did ya put Bloodhound through, Silva?” Lifeline chuckled, leaning down to examine the injury. Octane scoffed and laid back on the table so that it was easier for her to patch him up.

“Pfft, me? Trouble? Never, hermana.” Octane smirked, lifting up his mask so that he could wink at her. Bloodhound turned to leave the medical ward but paused at the door upon hearing a sudden bout of snickering. They looked over their shoulder to see Octane fidgeting on the table with Lifeline’s hand still on his side, his laughter picking up as she lightly squeezed his side to get a better grip.

“Wahahtch it, Ajay!” Octane squeaked only to have Lifeline roll her eyes and playfully push his arm, standing back up.

“I woulda been done already had ya not moved! Ya just have a small abrasion, doesn’t really need a bandaid. I only need ya to hold still so I can clean it.” Lifeline answered before turning on her heel to retrieve the medical cleaning wipes. By that time, Bloodhound had left the room, but they had seen all they needed to get the vengeance they sought.

    The hunter found the daredevil out by the Gauntlet later that day and watched as he tinkered with one of his many jump pads. There was a large tool box with tools scattered all over the platform and Bloodhound, seeing their prey thoroughly engrossed in what he was doing, slowly approached the platform. Octane mumbled excitedly to himself as he carelessly tossed bolts he didn’t need anymore over the platform and, when he suddenly felt a hand on each of his shoulders, he screamed in surprise as he was pulled backwards and sat on. Bloodhound held both of the daredevil’s wrists in one hand and used their legs to keep him pinned at the waist; by the time Octane caught up to what happened, he struggled to pull his wrists free from their iron hold. 

“Bloodhound?! What are you doing, get off of me!” He yelled, cringing as his struggling only made the hunter hold on tighter. 

“I will not. You disgraced me on the battlefield today, and you are going to atone for your actions.” They growled, bringing their hand up to Octane’s neck and dragging one finger along the side. Octane flinched, expecting pain, but his eyes widened once the realization hit and he struggled more frantically under Bloodhound’s weight. Octane must have caught them on an off day before, because the hunter was strong and easily kept him in place. 

“W-Waahait amigo, wait, listen. We can talk about thihis! Y-Yohohu’re aahahlways s-so sehehrious anhnd I’m not even--pfft, Blohohoodhohohund wahahahit!” Octane sputtered and snickered, his shoulder shaking as he tried to lift it and block out their hand. However, when Octane rolled his head to one side and blocked one side of his neck, Bloodhound simply switched sides and wiggled their finger against the skin ever so slowly. 

“You may speak, Octavio. I will listen to anything you wish to say while I satiate my vengeance.” Bloodhound answered quietly before they moved their hand to Octane’s exposed sides and dragged their fingers at a slow, tortuous pace.

Octane yelled again before falling into a heavy giggling fit, already on the verge of laughter as the hunter carefully moved their fingers against his skin. If the slow pace wasn’t enough to drive him crazy, it was the deliberate, frightening accuracy that the hunter sought out and scraped at the most sensitive spots on his sides. Octane yelped and giggled harder the further up Bloodhound’s hands went and they settled their hands on the uppermost area of their sides, walking their fingers up and down more briskly.

“BLOHOHOHOOOHOHdohohohohund hahahahah PLEHEHEHehehehase DOOHOHOHhohohn’t t-tIIHIHIHIHihihihihcklle! POOHOHOHohohor fahahahahvoohohohr!” Octane squeaked and suddenly barked out a laugh when the hunter kneaded their fingers into his stomach. “AAHAHAHAHAH NOHOHOHAHAHAH!”

“I am not doing anything that was not previously done to me. However, it is unfortunate that your armor does not offer any protection to attacks of this nature.” Bloodhound smirked as they worked their thumb into each side of Octavio’s stomach, drawing out a harder bout of laughter. 

“I’M SOHOHOHOHRRY! IIIHIHIHIHIH WAHAHAS JUHUHST M-MEHEHESSING AHAHAHAROHOHUNDHAHAHA! STOHOHOHOHOHOHP!” Octane cackled and arched his back, his head rolling side to side as his legs fruitlessly kicked against the ground.

“Suppose I do not stop, Octavio. Suppose I keep you here, at my mercy, and torment you in the same manner you tormented me. The gods granted you unlimited stamina, and it would take a great deal of time before you grow tired..” Bloodhound mused as they took the tip of their finger and drew circles around the daredevil’s navel. Octane screamed and bucked harshly, his laughter taking on a desperate note as he kicked at the ground even more, kicking up a cloud of dust.

“NONONOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH! PLEHEHEHEHEHEEHEHAHAHSE ‘HOHOHUNDHAHAHAH STAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”  Octane howled and convulsed beneath them in a wild fit of laughter that only grew higher in pitch the closer they got to his navel. The daredevil shook his head so much that his goggles became crooked on his face and Bloodhound, taking notice, brought the tickles back to that slow, agonizing pace. 

“This appears to be a sensitive area of yours.” Bloodhound noted calmly, poking just under the navel and making Octavio wheeze. Octane remained in stitches until the hunter slowed the tickling down even more though he still shook with laughter.

“SIHIHIHIHI-SIHIHIHI! Ihihihihit ihihihihihihs! I’m behehehehehehegging yohohohu, stahahahahahahp!” Octane pleaded, sucking in his already slim stomach. This did nothing to deter Bloodhound from delivering careful pokes to the daredevil’s abdomen though, all of a sudden, the hunter did stop. Octavio noisily gasped for air and let his head fall back, a thin layer of sweat lining his forehead. “Haha...hah...thahnk yoohou…” 

Bloodhound remained quiet as they brought their hand up to their helmet and ran their fingers along the upper part of the head piece, fishing out a sleek, black raven’s feather and holding it between their index finger and thumb. “I am owed no gratitude,” They started, watching Octane look up with a start and tense up at the sight of the feather. “For I am still not satisfied with your pleas for mercy..”

Octane, not taking too long to recover, began struggling with a renewed vigor as Bloodhound lowered the feather closer and closer to his navel. “WAIT! Bloodhound please! ¡Te lo ruego!¡Te lo ruego! (I’m begging you!) I won’t tickle you again! I wohOHOHOHOHOHOHN’T!” Octane’s pleading was cut off with a sharp scream as the feather stroked the inside of his navel and he started bucking with hysterical laughter. “NOHOHOHOHOHO POHOHOHR LAHAH AHAHAHMOR DE DIHOHOHOHS (For the love of God) NOOHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” 

Bloodhound grinned slightly beneath their mask as they twisted the feather between their fingers and drew circular patterns against Octavio’s navel. Octane shrieked with laughter and kicked the ground furiously, the cloud of dust he kicked up looking more like a tornado than a cloud. Then, maybe in an attempt to be a little merciful, the hunter swept up his torso and flicked the feather against his armpits, flinching in surprise when Octavio screamed again. The daredevil’s laughter momentarily became silent before it picked up again, though it was riddled with hiccups. 

“Oh? Is there a spot that is more sensitive than your navel?” Bloodhound asked with a tilt of their head as they held the feather at the junction where the armpit and upper arm meet. Octane snorted before falling back into a heavy giggling fit, his answer half in Spanish, half in English, and jumbled together at that. 

“NYAHAHAHAHNOAHAPLAHAHAHDIHAHA!”

Bloodhound tutted softly and lifted the feather, dusting it against his ribs during his trip back down to Octavio’s abdomen. “An unintelligible answer I’m afraid. Fret not, I will discern for myself.”

By the time Bloodhound finished tickling Octavio, where they promptly let his arms go and climbed off his waist, the daredevil was drenched with sweat and laying with his arms and legs splayed in random directions. He didn’t bother to fix his goggles, which were barely hanging on to the side of his face, and he was still grinning as the ticklish sensations racked his core. Bloodhound patiently waited for Octane to recuperate and eventually, the daredevil brought himself up to lay on his side and finally readjusted his goggles. “You...are evil…” He breathed out tiredly, groaning as the hunter carefully reached over and helped him lean against a wall within the Gauntlet. Bloodhound shrugged their shoulders and moved the miscellaneous bolts and other stray tools out of Octavio’s way to give him enough room to rest, propping themselves against a wall opposite the daredevil.

“SILVA!”

Octane crashed into the side of a table and sent its contents hurtling to the floor. He gasped out an expletive in Spanish but he didn’t stop to check for any damage, he had to run. Death was chasing him and he had to get anywhere but where he was now. He stabbed another stim into his leg and the mechanical gears whirred loudly as he swerved down another corridor of the dropship. He threw himself against the door to his room and fell face first onto the carpet, groaning and kicking the door shut behind him. He was panting, but not from exhaustion. He was still under the effects of the stim and his heart had to pump fast to keep up with it. After a mere ten seconds, maybe even less than that, Octane pushed himself up onto his knees and grabbed a much smaller version of his jump pad from the corner of his room. He’d been working on this thing for exactly seven minutes and eleven seconds, which was long for him, and it was his only chance to keep what was coming for him at bay. But then the door knob turned and Octane hopped to his feet and screamed, shielding himself with the tiny jump pad because his life did depend on it. The door creaked open slowly and the short, pink haired combat medic walked in the room and closed it behind her. Lifeline’s fingers twitched over the shock sticks she carried and slowly approached the daredevil. There were loose strands sticking out of one of her buns and the other one was lopsided on her head. Octane would’ve teased her to the moon and back about it if he wasn’t so damn panicked. 

“Che, listen to me. I--”

Ajay struck the shock sticks together and they buzzed in response. She twirled one of them in her hand and mirrored Octane’s retreating steps with her own. “What did I tell ya would happen, Silva?” She asked in a surprisingly calm voice as she boxed him into a corner and kept walking. Octavio gulped and dropped the useless mini pad and decided his best defense was his own hands. 

“I didn’t take the donut, Che! It was there when I left, I swear!” He argued while backpedaling all the way to the wall behind him. Now he was trapped and Lifeline, pocketing her shock sticks, stood directly in front of him and crushed any hopes of him somehow escaping her. 

“I saw ya running out of the kitchen like the devil himself was behind ya! Ya didn’t think I did, did ya? I told ya that donut was for Loba!” She snapped, suddenly taking her hands and poking both sides of his stomach. Octane’s eyes bugged out and coughed out a laugh before immediately shielding his torso with his arms. He swore the air around him stopped moving; both of them knew what was coming, and Octane would’ve preferred getting whacked with one of those shock sticks. In one desperate motion, the daredevil lurched forward and tried to push her to the side and clear a path. Lifeline smirked and let him push her but caught his leg with her own and sent him tumbling to the floor. She wrestled his arms to his back and made him lie flat so that his own body weight could pin his arms down. Octane put up a good fight but, as a combat medic, Lifeline knew how to pin someone down and keep them wherever she wanted. 

“I’m serious, Ajay! I didn’t take the dahahamn DONONohohut!” Octavio whined and snickered as she poked his belly repeatedly. After a couple more pokes, Lifeline kept her finger on one spot of belly and swirled it in quick, circular motions, causing the man to buck his hips and giggle harder. 

“I dunno, Silva. Feels like ya just ate something to me. And you of all people should know better than to cross me!” Lifeline retorted before using all ten fingers to scratch away Octane’s belly. Octavio sputtered and cursed before laughing loudly. 

“NahahAHAHAHAH AaaJAHAY StahahAHAHAHAHP! WhYHYHY DihIHIHD IIhhiHIHIHT HahahAHAHAHVE TahahaHAHAHAH BEHEHEHEH MEHEHEHE!” Octane shrieked and sucked in his tummy, tossing his body side to side in an attempt to knock her off. Lifeline’s fingers followed his movements easily and she chuckled, shaking her head. “Because I know ya, Silva. This has ya name written all over it.” She smirked as she tweaked his sides before attacking his belly again. “I also know that ya ticklish here and....here!”

Octane’s protests were interrupted by another scream as she suddenly plunged her finger into his navel and scribbled along the curves and dips. He thrashed against the ground and laughed hysterically, his back practically leaving the floor as she tickled faster and faster. Lifeline giggled and blew a sloppy raspberry onto his belly for good measure, prompting another cry of laughter. 

“AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA CHEEHEHEHEH PLEHEHEHEEEHAHAHA!” Octavio shook with laughter and kicked his leg at the floor over and over. Lifeline blew another raspberry, then another, then another, then...well, she lost count after that. She was too busy laughing at Octavio’s pleas and howls of laughter that were embedded with plenty of Spanish expletives. “SAAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAH IHIHIHIHT! IHIHAHAHAH DIHIHIHDN’AHAHA! H-HIHIHJO DEHEHEHEHAHAHAH (Son of a…)!” Octane couldn’t form a word or a sentence as he laughed himself silly, his laughter finally going silent after the umpteenth raspberry blown onto his belly. Lifeline stopped and rested both hands on his tummy with a snicker. “I hope ya had time to think about what ya gonna say next. I want an apology for stealing the donut, and crossing ya best friend in the whole wide world.” She demanded with a small, playful pout as she lightly squeezed his tummy. Octavio breathed heavily and groaned. What was he supposed to say? If he said he didn’t take anything, she’d tickle him. If he said he did take something, which he didn’t, she’d probably tickle him anyway. Octane weighed his options too long for Lifeline’s liking and, after quirking a brow at him, she fluttered her fingers up his tummy and suddenly buried them into his armpits. “Ya hurt me, Silva.” Lifeline tutted as the daredevil let out a strangled yelp and fell into a heavy giggling fit. “Ya really do.”

Octane arched his back and giggled wildly, his giggles becoming full blown laughter as she laid across his chest and picked up the tickling pace. His eyes bugged out when she lightly pinched at his hollows and he laughed harder as he tried to turn onto his side. “IiiiIIIIHIHEHEHEH DOHOHN’T KNOHOhohohw whahahaht toohohohoh SAHAHAHAHYHAHA! IHIHIHT WAHAHASN’T MEHEHEHAHAHAH!” He cried out with desperate laughter and squeezed his arms against his sides. It didn’t stop Lifeline from finding the spot where his upper arm and armpits met and, once she started scribbling her fingers there, he let out a hoarse yelp and laughed almost as hard as he did when she targeted his stomach. “NYAHAHAHAHA BAHAHAHSTAHAH (Stop it!)! POHOHOHOR FAHAHAVOR BAHAHAHSTAHAHAH!” He yelped before giving into the hysterical laughter that overtook him. 

Lifeline, in spite of herself, was actually starting to believe Octavio. She knew that he was extremely ticklish and didn’t think that he would subject himself to so much of it if he didn’t have to. Still, it was fun to tease him, and who said she’d have to stop any time soon? With another slow, pitiful shake of her head, she dropped her hands to his ribcage and swiped her fingers along each rib, paying special attention to the ones that made him squeal. Lifeline didn’t stay on his ribs for long and shoved her hands back under his arms and found the spot that made him cackle. 

“OKAHAHAY! OKAHAHAHY I DIHIHIHIHD ITHAHAHAHA IIHIH SOHOHOHOHOHRRY! SSAHAHAHAHRY  AHAHAHAHJAHAHY!” He yelled all in one breath as he rolled his head side to side. Lifeline smirked and kept on tickling before slowing down just enough to keep him giggling. “Maybe ya didn’t, O. I’m starting to think ya didn’t take anything after all. Still, I forgot how much fun it is to tickle ya!” She winked, walking her fingers down to his sides. Octane squeaked and giggled madly as the combat medic’s fingers tweaked and scribbled at his skin. “It’s NAHAHAHahahaht fuhuhuhuhuhuhn! STAHAHAHahahahahahahah!” He protested, his struggling refueled by her true belief that he did not steal that donut. Lifeline looked down at him incredulously and grinned. “It’s not fun? How can ya say that with a smile that big? Why, ya face’s about to split in half from all that smilin’.” She teased, her grin turning into a mischievous smirk when she walked her fingers closer to his stomach and saw the panic in his eyes. Octane continued to yell out protests in between his giggles and squeals; then, the second Ajay’s fingers found and re-buried themselves back into his tummy and navel, he found himself screaming with laughter.  “AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!”

“See?!” Lifeline had to raise her voice over his heavy howls of laughter as she twisted her finger in circular motions while inside Octavio’s navel. “Ya really smilin’ now! Ya must be havin’ so much fun, aren’t cha?” She grinned and used her nails to gently scratch along his hypersensitive stomach. Octavio shook his head back and forth, barely able to shout out ‘no’ as he flopped against the floor laughter pouring out of him. “PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEASE STAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!” He wailed, his eyes shining with tears as he bucked like crazy. “NOHOHOHOHOOHOH MOHOHOHOHORE! PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHAHAHSE!”

“More? Is that what ya said?” Lifeline snickered, not giving him a chance to respond as she knelt down and repeatedly blew raspberries into his navel all over again. At the first one, Octavio let out a hoarse scream and even harder cries of laughter; after the second and third and onward, his laughter became silent and his face was streaked with tears. When she finally stopped, noticing that he hadn’t made many sounds in a minute or two, the daredevil remained in stitches and giggled loudly even though she’d stopped tickling him. Ajay laughed and climbed off of him so that he could curl into a little ball. “Why ya still laughin’, O? I’m not even touching ya!” She giggled, playfully poking his sides to keep him in that giggling fit. Octavio lurched away and snorted, making sure that he was far out of her reach. “Teeheheheheheh oohohohdioohoh… (I hate you)...” He tittered and rubbed his stomach to rub away the lingering ticklish sensations.

Ajay arched a brow and grabbed Octavio’s shoulders to turn him back towards her. “What did ya say?” She snapped with a newfound glint of mischief in her eyes. Octane gasped when he suddenly found himself staring back at the combat medic and he wrenched out of her hold. “N-Nothing! I didn’t say anything.” He stammered, his stamina quickly returning to him as he hopped to his feet. Ajay stood up and lunged towards him but just missed. “I heard ‘odio’! What’s that mean? Odor? Did ya just say I stink?!” Ajay made another grab for the daredevil and he dodged her again, but she kept on coming. After some barely successful evasions, Octavio decided that it was time to run for the hills. He spun around to the door and went to grab a stim from his belt, but Lifeline managed to grab his right arm and pin it against his back. Then, on the same side, she drilled her thumb into the side of his stomach, causing him to stagger and laugh. Octane whipped around in her hold and tried to pull his arm from her grasp. During his struggling, Lifeline smirked and waited for him to pick a side to lean towards, giving him a hard push in the same direction. This caused the daredevil to topple over again with his right arm pinned behind his back, and the left one held to the side by the crazy combat medic. “Are ya gonna tell me what ya said? Or should I assume ya said I stink and torment ya some more?” She asked with a quirked brow, leaning down to his hypersensitive stomach and pausing just above his navel. Octane writhed in her hold the closer her head got to his stomach and shook his head repeatedly. 

“No! NO! Okay, I said---and don’t do anything, I said I hate you, but...NAHAHAHAHAHAH WAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAIT!”

Ajay didn’t wait for the daredevil to try and weasel his way out of that one and dropped her head to blow another sloppy raspberry against his navel. Since he was still sensitive from her previous attack, his laugh was nearly silent by the time she finished. 

“Ya hate me, do ya?” She smirked, blowing another raspberry and chuckling as he bucked and laughed silently. “I can’t have that, Silva. Not after all we’ve been through. So, I’ll just keep tormenting ya and see if ya change ya mind.” 

With that, Lifeline released his arms and pushed her hands into his armpits before he could bring them down. She swiped her nails side to side and even rubbed at the spot where his upper arm and armpits met. Octane shrieked with laughter and grabbed her arms, but she only tickled faster in response. “MEHEHEHEHEHEHEHRCY! CHEHEEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAH!” The daredevil screamed before Ajay decided to torment his stomach with more of those horribly ticklish raspberries. Octavio found himself in hysterics as he thrashed and thrashed, slipping in and out of silent laughter as Ajay put him through more ticklish hell. 

Unbeknownst to Octane and Lifeline, the commotion coming from the daredevil’s room prompted the handsomest bachelor in the Apex Games, Mirage, to go and investigate. It hadn’t been that long since Wattson put him through the same hell that Octavio was in, so he was walking slower than usual. But, in a way, it did give him the opportunity to perfect that strut and flaunt the goods. Mirage approached the door and, throwing privacy out the window, he grabbed the doorknob and twisted so that he could poke his head in the room. “Hey listen, I don’t know what’s going on,” He started, opening the door more so he could step in. “But it sounds like there’s a dying animal in her---oh! Oh jeez, sorry, uh..” 

All Elliott saw was Octavio pinned down by Lifeline, red faced, and laughing his head off. He cleared his throat awkwardly and Lifeline looked towards the sound. 

“Oh, Witt. Didn’t hear ya come in. Looks like ya saved by the bell, Silva.” Ajay snickered as she climbed off of Octane and sat beside him. Octavio panted heavily and rolled onto his side, facing the door. But, as he looked towards the trickster, he found him looking the other way and even retreating into the hallway. 

“Look,” Mirage started, still refusing to look at the pair, “Just pretend I wasn’t here, alright? I mean, I didn’t see anything anyway. Not that I was l-looking, but...ya know…”

Lifeline rolled her eyes and grabbed a pillow to chuck at the trickster. “Calm ya self, Witt.” The combat medic said after Mirage squeaked and dodged the pillow. “None of what ya thinking happened. I was just lookin’ for a donut thief this morning and making sure my bestest friend in the whole wide world wasn’t the culprit.” She continued with a smirk and a playful nudge on Octavio’s shoulder. As daft as the trickster could be, Elliott saw enough to determine how Lifeline most likely went about ‘questioning’ her subject. Poor Octavio was still drawing in as much air as he could.

“Oh, you mean the donut from this morning? Nat ate it. I ran into her maybe an hour or so ago. She said they were good but, ya know, wasn’t able to see for myself.” Mirage added with a chuckle and shrug of his shoulders. 

Lifeline blinked and looked at Octane, who was now sitting up and glaring at her. Well, glaring as much as he could with the smile still stuck on his face. 

“Che..” Octavio started to growl but the combat medic whacked him with a new pillow. 

“What? So ya laughed some and maybe lost some pride. Maybe I woulda eased up if ya didn’t say ya hated me.” Lifeline argued as she put on a little pout and stood up. 

“I could never hate you, hermana. But I’d watch my back if I were you. Because there’s a storm comin’ for you.” Octane responded, feeling his stamina come back faster than the medic walked to the door. 

Lifeline smiled and looked back at the men, pointing a shock stick at Octavio.