stopiteatpopcorn - Tumblr blog

stopiteatpopcorn · 5 months ago

Text

ARATARARATATA SCEEAMING

SCREAMS AT YOU THIS IS SO CUTE

✨Thoma’s Troubles✨

Idk why Itto is so low-res bro

⚠️This fic focuses mainly on tickling. Please do not read it if that upsets you.⚠️

Thoma is sad until Itto makes his day better :)

a/n: the word “muzzle” is mentioned, but it refers to the body part of a dog. I’m pretty sure the nose / face area is called that? Nobody is wearing a muzzle, English isn’t my first language. Also, some swears appear.

Word count: 2908

It was a rather gloomy day in Inazuma. The sky was cloudy, the weather was cold, and the air smelt of rain. Most people preferred to stay indoors today, so the streets were emptier than usual. Unfortunately, mother nature wasn’t alone in her sadness; it affected some of the people as well. Especially Thoma…

He let out a sigh after the last customer of the day left Komore Teahouse, relieved to no longer need the customer service mood. He was meant to assist the loyal pooch Taroumaru today, as Ayato had noticed he needed a break from his usual duties.

“Won’t this rain ever end…?” He mumbled, petting Taroumaru’s head to distract himself. He felt grateful for the break, though he still had a lot on his mind.

“Woof!” replied the shiba, his tail wagging as he received pats. The two of them wouldn’t receive customers for a while, so they could just chill.

“Haha, you sure are cheerful today, buddy…” Thoma said with a small smile as the doggo gave his hand a reassuring lick.

“Hm? Ah, it’s nothing, don’t worry about me.” Thoma said, trying to smile in spite of his mood, but he still felt that nagging pain of Sadge™️ in his heart.

“Woof woof!” This clever dog saw right through him, and he was having none of his lies.

“Hey, I’m not-…!” But before the shiba could scold him further for lying, footsteps quickly approached the teahouse’s entrance.

“Hoo! Phew, finally some shelter! C’mon, buddy! Hurry!” The door opened, revealing a slightly drenched Itto with his little bull companion Ushi, both wet from the heavy rain.

“I-Itto?! Oh my! You’re- You’ll catch a cold…!” Thoma exclaimed, surprised to see them entering like that.

“Heh! Oh don’t worry, this is nothin’. Mind if we crash here?” Itto said with confidence, shutting the door once Ushi was in. “I’ve been through worse!” he added with a chuckle.

“L-Let me get you some towels. I’ll be with you in a moment!” Thoma sprung into action right away, leaving the room for a moment while Taromarou went to greet his guests.

“Hahaha! Thanks, man! You’re a real one.” Itto replied, chuckling as Ushi tried to shake himself off. “Hey, hey, be still. Gimmie a sec.” he said, kneeling down to remove the bull’s armor.

“Mooo…” Ushi moo’d with satisfaction, stretching a little before walking towards Taromarou, who had hopped off the counter to play with him.

“Woof woof!” he barked, happily wagging his tail as Ushi replied with another moo.

“Hah! You two sure get along well, huh?” Itto said, chuckling at their cute communication. “Aww, hello, boy! Workin’ hard today, huh? Such a good boy!” He knelt down once more to pet Taromarou, before being “attacked” with puppy kisses.

“Woof woof!” The shiba was happy to see him, licking the oni’s face affectionately, which made him stumble a little.

“Hahaha! Easy there, pal! It tickles.” He said, laughing as he played with Taromarou. “Mooo…” Ushi watched and yawned a bit before he looked around, wondering when the retainer would come back. He preferred to be without chaos for now, wanting to sit beside his master after he’d calmed down.

Meanwhile, Thoma had found the towels, but struggled to leave the room to join the others. He knew they needed to dry themselves, but unfortunately he felt like he couldn’t go back just yet. He knew he should, but the moment he felt tears in his eyes from all the built up sadness, he just wanted to hide. Hearing the fun Itto was having, he didn’t want to spoil it. He knew deep down the oni would understand, being as kind as he was, but he chose to stay to finish crying first.

The playful chaos in the other room lasted for quite a while before the trio realized Thoma hadn’t come back yet. Taromarou had calmed down by then, laying in Itto’s lap with a content expressionon on his widdle face while Ushi huffed to get their attention.

“Hm… hey, shouldn’t Thoma be back now?” Itto asked, petting both animals on their heads.

“Moo.” Ushi agreed, looking to the direction the human had gone.

“Uh-huh… Hey, Taromarou? Wanna earn yourself a treat?” Itto asked with a smile. The shiba perked up and wagged his tail. “Go find Thoma for us, alright?”

“Woof woof!” Taromarou barked with some excitement before he hopped up and sniffed to pick up his master’s scent. He didn’t really need to do this, since he knew where the towels were, but he did it anyway just to be sure.

“Damn it…!” Thoma muttered to himself, wiping his tears away to stop crying. Hearing the door be pushed open by Taromarou startled him, and he almost dropped the towels onto the floor. The loyal dog whined as he walked up to his human, sensing something was wrong.

“Ah-.. what’re you doing here, boy?” Thoma tried to act normal, but couldn’t hide his slightly dampened face from man’s best friend. Taro let out a small growl before barking, basically telling Itto to get over there. “Ah- shh, sshh, don’t-!”

“Woof! Woof woof!” Taromarou huffed and looked at him with big puppy eyes, his tail resting behind him as he felt worried. Thoma was about to say something, but Itto came in just then.

“Aha! You found him! Good boy!” Itto praised, chuckling before he noticed the lack of excitement in the shiba.

“Ah…! S-Sorry for the wait.” Thoma tried to act natural, smiling slightly as he handed a towel to Itto. “You must be cold by now. Please, take this.”

“Ah- thanks, heh!” Itto focused on drying his hair before anything else. He had to be careful not to rip the towel with his horns as he rubbed it against his head.

“Moooo…” Ushi closed his eyes and Thoma knelt down to dry him off. It felt good, he thought.

“There you go, lil- ah, I mean, big guy. Hehe.” Thoma chuckled at his error, but to his dismay started to feel sad again. Emotions are complicated, he thought. He couldn’t hide them from Itto, especially not when knowing he’s so kind and caring. The oni was talking about the weather, but Thoma wasn’t paying attention, trying to control his tears and distract his mind.

“…and it was cold, man! I usually try to brush it off… real men don’t carry umbrellas, I say. I’m starting to reconsider that, though… ugh…” Itto rambled, messing up his hair with the towel as he tried to dry it quickly.

Taromarou whined at Thoma while Itto combed his hair to fix it. The oni glanced at the housekeeper and noticed a sniffle. “Hey…? Are you okay?” he asked.

And that’s when the floodgates opened, of course, at that simple question. He trusted Itto, so his brain was simply wired to let go of his emotions now. He couldn’t say much as he wiped his tears.

“Thoma…” Itto knew Thoma liked hugs, so he sat down next to him on the floor and invited him into one. Ushi wiggled away from the towel to comfort the worrying shiba while the men hugged one another.

“There there, I got you…” Itto comforted, patting the other’s back. Thoma’s cries were mostly sniffles and hiccups. His voice was barely heard. He rested his head against the other, melting into the embrace as he sought comfort. “I’m just so tired…” he said, sniffling and wiping his eyes.

“I get that…” Itto couldn’t remember if he’d ever seen Thoma cry before. It worried him, but he kept focusing on comforting the other. Poor guy, thought Ushi as he stood by and watched, trying to comfort the whining shiba. Thoma calmed down after a while, feeling much better after letting his frustrations out. He wanted to pull away, but simply couldn’t as he rested against Itto, so tired from such a long day.

“You okay?” Itto asked, patting his back as he loosened the hug.

“Mm… it’s been a long day, I guess…” Thoma replied, wiping his eyes again.

“Yeah. Maybe it’s the weather? I mean, it’s pretty shitty today, isn’t it?” he said with a light chuckle, pleased to hear a snicker from the other.

“Heh, yeah. It’s been raining all day. I’ve felt down since I woke up this morning.” Thoma said, sighing. “I guess I got up on the wrong side?”

“Mm, maybe. I know how it feels. It sucks.” Itto replied, adjusting himself as Thoma pulled away.

“Yeah… one thing lead to another, and-… here we are.” Thoma said, hinting as if something else was wrong.

“Mhm? What happened?” Itto gave him a curious look.

“Ah, just… minor inconveniences building up.” He didn’t want to talk about it and hoped Itto wouldn’t pry.

“Ah, dude, I hate when that happens! And it’s always when we’re already upset- THAT’S when our clothes get caught on door handles.” Itto ranted, crossing his arms.

Thoma laughed, and Itto felt glad for that. “It’s true! It really is…!” the pyro wielder agreed, chuckling at Itto’s attitude.

“For real. Ugh!” Itto rolled his eyes before smirking and laughing it off with Thoma. They were still sat on the floor, allowing Taromarou to come cuddle his master.

“Y’know you can tell me anything, right?” Itto asked, patting Ushi who’d come over to join.

“Yeah… I just… I heard some whispers around the estate, and all… I kinda miss Mondstadt, too.” Thoma took a breath and explained as best as he could. Sometimes, certain estate guards were not kind to him. They didn’t think a guy from Mondstadt belonged there, working for such an important family in Inazuma. Their distasteful jabs really stuck with him today, since his mood was already down to begin with.

“It’s not the first time… I’ve already told Master Kamisato about it. Again.” he sighed as he said this, petting Taromarou while he spoke.

“Psh, then you gotta tell them to fuck off! Stand up for yourself, man! Those guards ain’t shit!” Itto said, angry that someone would be so mean to Thoma. He was such a kind soul! He didn’t deserve that!

“Ah, I know… but- well, they’re kinda intimidating, heh…” Thoma chuckled slightly, a bit embarrassed. Ushi huffed in response.

“They’re pussies, actually! What, they can talk smack behind your back, but can’t say it to your face?” Itto questioned.

Thoma chuckled. “They do, sometimes. It’s pretty back-handed.”

“The audacity! Ugh, when I catch them-…” Itto huffed angrily, clenching his fists.

“L-Let’s not escalate anything, okay? I’ll talk to Ayato about it…” Thoma said, smiling nervously.

“You still need to stand up for yourself and tell those guys to buzz off!” he said, now censoring his swears for Thoma’s sake.

“I-… I can’t do that, Itto.”

“Yes you can. Ayato wouldn’t fire you for that, y’know. He’s a chill guy.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about. Those guards just scare me too much…” Thoma frowned and looked away, getting nudged by Taromarou.

“Then scare them back. Tell them the big bad oni will come get them if they don’t stop!” Itto said, grinning with some amusement at his idea.

Thoma chuckled. “Itto, they’d arrest you on sight if I threaten them with that!”

“So what? I’m not going down without a fight!” Itto chuckled too, enjoying their newfound banter.

“And how do you think Ayato would react seeing you beat up his guards?”

“If his guards are asshats, they deserve it.” Itto shrugged. Thoma snickered and started laughing at Itto’s goofy arguments.

“Hahaha…! Oh you’re impossible to reason with~!” he teased.

“Pfft, so are you!” Itto struggled to contain his giggles.

“Touché. Hahahaha..!”

“Hahahahaha!”

Once they had calmed from their shared giggles, Thoma felt the weight on his heart lighten. Taromarou wagged his tail and nuzzled him to comfort further. Thoma giggled at the shiba’s antics, feeling ticklish from the way his muzzle rubbed against his neck.

“Aww~ such a good boy!” Itto cooed, smiling at the cuteness. Ushi agreed, giving a small nod he’d learned from the bipedals around him.

“Pfft~ Hehehey!” Thoma protested half-heartedly as Taromarou excitedly pawed at him, licking his face and wagging his tail. “I-It tickles!” Thoma giggled more as the dog managed to push him over.

“Hahaha! Yeah, get him!” Itto joked playfully, laughing along at the scene.

“Itto, help me~! Hehehehe!” Thoma laughed playfully, putting little effort into escaping.

“Haha, fear not, I’ll help ya out!” Itto said, with a rather devious expression which the housekeeper didn’t see.

“Ahahaha! Hurry!” Thoma laughed as the playful shiba licked his ear, trying to push the doggo away.

“Heheh, do I have to?” Itto took his time, giggling at the scene before scooping up Taromarou and placing him aside.

“Hehe…! Thank you…” Thoma chuckled, about to sit up before he suddenly found himself laughing out loud again as Itto betrayed him, tickling him instead. “WhAAHAHA!! Wahahahahait- nohohohohoho!!” he squealed with surprise, weakly pushing at his tickler’s wrists as he laughed and wiggled.

“Instructions unclear, couldn’t let him have all the fun!” Itto teased, playfully wiggling his fingers all around, gently but quickly tickling the other. Taromarou hopped around playfully as he watched, happy to see and hear Thoma smiling and giggling.

“Ihihittohohoho!! Ahahahahahaha! Plehehehease!” Thoma laughed, not squirming around as much as Itto had hoped he would. The tickly sensation of those nails combining with his shirt’s fabric was simply maddening, yet strangely fun.

“Heheh! You want me to stop?” Itto asked, targetting the other’s sides and ribs for the funnie.

“Ahahahahahaha!! N-Not thehehehere!!” Thoma squealed, his eyes squeezed shut as he laughed and wiggled. Despite how badly it tickled, Thoma didn’t squirm too much, but the teasing made him want to roll away and curl up. Itto snickered, finding him oddly adorable while tickling his tummy, making him laugh and flutter his legs. “Mhm? You want mercy yet?” he asked.

“Ahahahahahaha!! Y-Yehehes, plehehehease!!” Thoma finally pleaded, giggling his head off. He was a really ticklish guy; a fact both Kamisato siblings knew well before Itto found out.

“Hahaha! There ya go~ was that so hard?” Itto teased playfully as he stopped tickling. He reached out to help Thoma, pulling him up to sit.

“Haha… huff… haha… that was mean, you know…” He said, too shy to admit he’d needed it.

“Heh! Ya better keep on smiling now, or the tickle monster might getcha!” Itto joked, laughing at the playful shove he got in response.

“Don’t be so childish! Hahaha…” Thoma joked back, chuckling with amusement. Boy, he sure was lucky Itto had shown up.

“Hahahaha! I’m not being childish, I’m just warning ya.” Itto replied, sticking his tongue out in a playful expression.

“As if, you goof.” Thoma chuckled, feeling a lot better than he did earlier today. He was really glad Itto showed up, relieved to no longer have to cry. “Heh… thanks for cheering me up, though…” he said, a bit sheepish since he’d been tickled.

“Ah, no problem. I’m just glad I could help out!” Itto replied, grinning proudly. “And besides, it was really funny seein’ you giggle like that.”

“Oh, don’t even mention that!” Thoma blurted out, embarrassed by his teasing.

“Heh! Or what? What’re you gonna do ‘bout it?” Itto taunted playfully, giggling at the playful banter.

“Tch.” Thoma had to think of something…

“I’ll just tickle you agai-”

“Taromarou, get him!”

“Wh-What?!”

“Woof woof!” Itto’s confidence was short-lived as the shiba sprang up, wagging his tail as he unleashed his nuzzling attack. Ushi huffed and sat a bit further away from the chaos, knowing dang well his master wouldn’t last without squirming.

“Pfft- that’s not fair!” Itto protested, giggling his ass off already as he tried to gently push the dog away. The affectionate nuzzles and licks against his jaw tickled real bad.

“That’s how it started for me, so it’s plenty fair.” Thoma replied, chuckling with amusement. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the courage to tickle Itto himself, so he let his pupper do it instead.

“Hahahaha! Make him stop~! I- hahaha! I cahahan’t-! Hehehehe!” Itto struggled to speak through his giggles, and Taromarou pushed him over just like he’d done to Thoma.

“Hehehe, that’s so cute~!” Thoma cooed, adoring his dog’s antics. It was also really funny how such a small dog could bring such a powerful oni down like that.

“Hahahaha! C’mohohon! Stahp it!” Itto snickered and finally managed to convince Taromarou to let up, giggling as he caught his breath.

“Are you really that ticklish, Itto?” Thoma teased with amusement. He was genuinely curious, though.

“Tch, am not! Shut up…” Itto protested, though he struggled to act grumpy because that moment was simply too sweet not to smile at.

“You sure about that? Taro sure had you fighting for your life there.” Thoma said with a chuckle.

“Psh, that was nothing! It’s not like I was dying from some puppy love.” Itto scoffed, trying to save his pride.

“Mhm, sure…” Thoma chuckled and shook his head before standing up from the floor.

“I’m not lying!” Itto retorted, standing up as well.

“I didn’t say you were!” Thoma replied.

“You-…! Pfft-…”

Neither of them could continue their banter as they laughed at the situation. Itto never failed to bring joy and sunshine wherever he went, even on the gloomiest of days. Thoma felt grateful to have him as a friend; he was always so kind and loving to him.

Perhaps he should seek him out more often…

58 notes · View notes

stopiteatpopcorn · 6 months ago

Text

Caught red handed

———————————————————————————

Fandom: One Piece

Characters: Ler! Sanji, Lee! Luffy

Word count: Around 800

⚠️THIS IS A TICKLE FIC SO IF YOU DON’T WANNA SEE THAT, YOU HAVE BEEN RANDO WARNED⚠️

———————————————————————————

When the food on the ship goes missing, only one person could be responsible- But will he confess his kitchen crimes?

———————————————————————————

It was an early morning on the Thousand Sunny, and a certain blonde cook had woken up early to prepare breakfast and plan out meals for the rest of the day. He’d decided on some bacon and eggs, a simple meal, yet full of nutrients for the crew. Then for lunch, Chicken sandwiches with some veggies on the side, and maybe some delicious steak for dinner! However all those plans went overboard when he opened the fridge…

“WHAT THE-?! Where did all the food go?!’ Yelled Sanji, eyes wide as he looked at the completely empty fridge- Well- Save for a few vegetables. Who would do such a thing to his food stock- Those were his ingredients! Chicken, steak, butter, eggs, bread- All gone! He turned around to storm out and question everyone, until he spotted a line of bread crumbs trailing all the way to the ship’s figurehead. He followed it along, but he knew the only person it could possibly be already. “LUFFY! YOU IDIOT, WHERE’S MY- Luffy?!”

Of course, the captain was fast asleep and snoring. However his face was covered in small pieces of chicken, crumbs of buttered bread scattered beside him- Wait that’s his ingredients! He ran up, delivering a firm kick to to Captain’s behind which almost sent him flying into the water with how hard he jolted awake. “WAA- OW OW OW! WHAT HAPPENED?! DID WE FIND THE ONE PIECE- Oh it’s just you- Good morning Sanji!”

“Good morning?! Oh it is not a good morning, you ate all the food- Again!” Sanji scolded him, practically fuming. He knew the captain was a glutton but it was tiring constantly trying to stop him from clearing the kitchen. Hell he even put locks on the fridge before, and he still got in somehow!

“Hey as hungry as I am right now, I didn’t eat all the food this time!”

“Oh yeah? Then who did?”

“Uhhh…Uhhh…Ussop!”

Was the guy being serious right now..? That wasn’t gonna work on him, he had evidence right in front of him. “Right, you mean the one who’s too scared to even step foot in the kitchen alone so I don’t knock his lights out?”

“Hey- Don’t say that! Ussop could handle you!” Luffy threw back.

“Ugh whatever this isn’t about that. You ate all the food!”

“No I didn’t!”

“Yes you did!”

“Did noO-AAH- SANJI-!” The captain of the straw hats yelped as he was suddenly tackled to the ground. “WAIT SANJI- LET GO!” He attempted to make an escape, stretching an arm out to grab at the railing of the ship and pull himself out from under the blonde, only to squeal in surprise and retract it right back to his side when he felt fingers scribbling at his sides.

“Oh no you don’t! Not this time!” Sanji smirked, determined to get his captain to fess up.

“WAHAHA- Sahahanji- Wahait!” Luffy giggled, wiggling like a worm. How dare Sanji use his secret- not so secret- weakness against him!

“Nope! I don’t wait, unless you can bring me more food to make up for everything you ate!”

“Nohoho! I tohohold you I didn’t eheheat thehehem!” He denied through his bright giggles, however both of them knew the obvious truth.

“Oh yeah? Then what’s all this mess huh?” The cook looked at the crumbs around them and then back at Luffy’s smiling red face.

“Uhhh- Heheheh-! Nohothing!” He kicked away all the crumbs in his squirming, but Sanji wouldn’t let up this easy and he knew it.

“Nothing? Yeah right.” He continued his attack, drilling his thumbs into Luffy’s hips, sending him into renewed louder giggles. But he still wasn’t confessing. “Alright fine, if you won’t tell the truth..” He leaned down, and blew a loud raspberry on Luffy’s tummy, sending the boy into hysterics.

“PFF- BWAAAHAHAHAHA- SAHAHANJIIIHIHI!” He squealed, throwing his head back with wild laughter, a huge grin on his face. Sanji would be lying if he said that his laughter wasn’t contagious. But he’d never admit that! He continued to blow raspberry after raspberry, until eventually…

“OKAHAY OKAHAHAHAY! I AHAHATE THE FOHOHOOD!”

“I knew that already dumbass. Now- Are you gonna get us more food at the next island?” Sanji asked, halting the raspberries to look up at the captain with poised hands.

“Yehehes! Yehes! I will!” He replied, slowly calming down from his giggle high. Sanji got off of him, standing up and dusting himself off.

“Good. Anyways, I had a backup stash in case of you doing this-”

“WHAT?! WHERE?!”

“AS IF I’D TELL YOU!” He shoved Luffy away, and before they knew it, he was chasing him around, hoping he wouldn’t find the extra stash. And as crazy as his captain might drive them, he supposed it made things a bit more entertaining.

“WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP?! IT’S 5AM, I NEED MY SLEEP!” A sandal came flying at the two, which conveniently only hit luffy. And now he forgot what he was doing, distracted by the redhead’s voice.

“SORRY, NAMI SWAAAN!”

———————————————————————————

A/N: RAAA THIS WAS MY @squealing-santa GIFT FOR @switch-writer !!! HIII BESTIE OMG I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG, CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR WAS SUPER BUSY FOR ME, AND I HAVEN’T WRITTEN IN FOREVER SO THIS HELPED ME GET BACK INTO THE ZONE- BUT I HOPE YOU ENJOYED YOUR SQUEALING SANTA GIFT, I HAD FUN WRITING IT!!

#rando writes #tickle fic #squealing santa 2k24 #squealing santa #sfw tk community #one piece tickles #Ler Sanji #Lee Luffy #tickle fluff #THIS WAS SO FUNKY I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!

32 notes · View notes

stopiteatpopcorn · 6 months ago

Text

HOLY SHIT OMG I LOVE THIS SO MUCH THANK YOU SO SO MUCH THIS IS SO CUTE AAAAAA

atlantis

merry christmas, @stopiteatpopcorn ! i was your squealing santa this year! enjoy <3

—

“fight me,” says tartaglia, slamming a hand down on wriothesley’s desk, the other resting on his hip.

wriothesley cocks an eyebrow at him. “sorry?”

“fight me,” tartaglia repeats, staring straight into wriothesley’s eyes. “you’re strong, yeah? come on.”

“no,” wriothesley says simply, leaning back in his seat.

“wha—why not?!”

“you’re a prisoner here.” there’s something like a smile on wriothesley’s face. “i don’t fight prisoners.”

so, yeah, tartaglia is a prisoner. it’s really annoying; he knows he’s innocent, and he knows that damn iudex knows it too. but here he is, stuck underwater with nothing but endless tasks and shitty meals.

at least there’s the pankration ring.

he becomes something of a god to them, the group that hangs around down there. he wins every fight he’s in, no sweat. maybe some sweat, actually, because he’ll admit a few of his opponents are tough, but they’re still not enough to match a harbinger.

his whole fascination with the duke sparked the moment they met. he had just been brought to his room when he was visited by a tall, muscular man, heavily scarred but not much older than tartaglia himself. he looked strong.

“a fatui harbinger in my fortress?” wriothesley had said, wearing an irritatingly lazy smirk. “this must be my lucky day.”

tartaglia knew, at that very moment, he would not be able to rest until he kicked this guy’s ass.

the main issue is that getting the chance to fight him is harder than he’d thought. and, hey, he loves an opponent that’s hard to get! it makes the victory all the more satisfying! but wriothesley is really starting to piss him off. tartaglia thinks he wouldn’t be so annoyed if wriothesley didn’t fight him at all.

because he does fight, sort of. they spar in the pankration ring sometimes, but every time, it’s so obvious that he’s not putting in his full effort. it’s not satisfying tartaglia’s itch to fight at all!

he complains to the fortress’s nurse one time while she’s patching him up.

“your duke. why won’t he fight me?”

sigewinne’s small hands press an ice pack to his side. “why do you want to fight him so badly?”

tartaglia opens and closes his fist, staring at it. “does he not think i’m strong enough? he’s not that full of himself, is he?”

“please stop moving,” she tells him. “i know you don’t want me to, but it’s my job to tend to all the inmates.”

tartaglia doesn’t listen. “how do i fight him?”

sigewinne hands him a cup full of some…concoction. “he doesn’t fight inmates,” she says, confirming the man’s own words.

it hits tartaglia, then, that there’s an easy solution.

escape.

his golden opportunity comes just days later, when he spots a few new heads in the fortress while on his way to work. he recognises them as the knave’s (favourite) kids; he’s never met them personally, but from what he’s heard, the twins are pretty popular in fontaine. tartaglia doesn’t know who the smaller one is, but he’s sticking to the other two, so they must be close.

arlecchino isn’t particularly fond of him, but he doubts she’d just leave him here if he asked for help. she knows this nation better than he does, anyway. she’s the best chance he has at getting out of here.

but, of course, it’s too good to be true.

the eldest of the trio, lyney, scratches the back of his head sheepishly. “we don’t have any way of contacting father,” he says, as tartaglia’s shoulders slump in defeat. “we’re prisoners here too, you see.”

tartaglia is too disappointed to question why.

when the entire thing is over, when he’s slept enough to last the rest of his life and his wounds are mostly healed, he returns to fontaine. there are a few reasons; the traveler is still there, and he’d like to talk to them before they disappear into archons know where. he supposes they’re not called the traveler for nothing, but they don’t have to be so difficult to get in contact with.

the second reason is fatui duties, or more specifically, arlecchino. he has to discuss business with her—the gnosis, the prophecy, how to continue after everything. fontaine doesn’t have an archon anymore, and that might cause some problems for the tsaritsa. he eventually finds the knave by the water, looking as though she’d just lost someone important. he asks her about it. she doesn’t give him an answer.

the final reason is for his own self-indulgence. he still hasn’t battled with those champion duelists, and he’s practically bursting with excitement at the idea. natlan is the nation of war, but it seems like he has many more sparring opportunities in fontaine.

and, of course, fucking wriothesley.

he visits the duke’s office, slamming both hands on the desk similarly to how he’d done a couple weeks before.

“fight me,” tartaglia demands. his chances are infinitely better this time; he’s officially a free man, and he’d been single-handedly fighting off the primordial narwhal for the sake of their nation. the least anyone can do is give him a good battle.

wriothesley stares at him for a moment before he laughs, standing from his chair and walking around the desk. “you’re stubborn. alright, i suppose i can grant you this one thing, as thanks.”

tartaglia’s eyes widen, lighting up with excitement for all of two seconds before wriothesley’s hand meets his stomach.

he should be feeling pain. it should hurt, should make him stumble back in shock and agony.

it should not tickle like this.

tartaglia barks out a laugh, stepping backwards but being met with nowhere to go. wriothesley’s grip on him is strong, and while normally tartaglia wouldn’t have a problem breaking out, he’s not exactly in the best state to do so.

“h-hehey, wahahait!” he protests, voice almost a whine. “thihis—yohohou—!”

wriothesley grins, squeezing at his sides and stomach with experienced fingers, like he was born with the knowledge of how to tickle tartaglia to pieces. “you didn’t specify what kind of fight, comrade,” he teases. the bastard. “are you already giving up? disappointing. i expected more from you.”

tartaglia lets out embarrassing peals of laughter as wriothesley tickles up to his ribs. curse him for finding this loophole. curse him for everything, actually. and while he’s at it, curse that little melusine sigewinne, because she’s definitely the one who told wriothesley that he’s ticklish in the first place. she kept poking around his sides, okay, he couldn’t help it!

“y-yohou bastard!” tartaglia squeaks out (squeaks! he doesn’t squeak!). he tries to reach for wriothesley, but the man dodges him expertly while still not letting up on his assault.

wriothesley’s smug smile is evident in his tone. “hey, come on. it’s not every day i get this chance.”

as tartaglia’s laughter echoes in the chamber, he decides that if this doesn’t end soon, he’s going to be charged for homicide again.

#STARTS SCREAMING AGRESSIVELY

60 notes · View notes