#A smile dosen't count unless you're having at least a little bit of fun

[sapphire-strikes]

Could your write something about Boris trying to cheer up a FK who just isn't having it. They're in the middle of working on something and keep politely brushing him off when he tries anything despite obviously being very tired and fed up with whatever they're focusing on. (Perhaps with a guest appearance by tickle monster Boris to help them come around?)

Just a whole bunch of fluff.

Kamal: {Hey, bud, you home yet?}

Boris: {Nopey nope! I was just closing up shop! :-D }

Kamal: {Alright, just thought I'd tell you the kid is gonna be there when you get back. Their wi-fi's down so they asked if they could come over and use ours}

Boris: {That is great news thank you, Kamal!}

Kamal: {I'm assuming you don't mean great that their internet's down, lol}

{I'm sure you're happy to have them over but they're there to work on something so try not to distract them too much okay?}

{...}

{Boris?}

{Boris!}

{Well it's not like I didn't try}

Quickly tucking away his phone, Boris made haste to finish his closing duties. You'd mentioned not being able to walk him home from the shop today so whatever you were working on must have been the "business" that you had to take care of. It seemed your friendship really was meant to be because even on the days you didn't plan on seeing each other fate found a way to bring you back to him and Kamal; that's what Boris thought to himself at least as he untied his apron and hung it on the rack by the door.

Busy at work or not, it probably wasn't any fun sitting in their home all alone so he was quick to flip the sign to closed and skip out the door.

By the time home was within view he couldn't contain his excitement anymore and dashed to the front door.

You sat crossed legged on the couch, hunched over the laptop that sat in your lap. The sound of the door smacking against the wall as he burst inside made you jump considerably, almost dropping your computer in the process.

"Hello! Sorry to keep you waiting!"

It took you a moment to register who was standing in the door after their sudden entrance but the scared look on your face disappeared when he took a few steps closer.

"Oh hey, Boris." You readjusted your sitting position into something more comfortable after almost jumping off the couch a second ago. "You're good, I wasn't really waiting after all." You mentioned.

He stepped behind you and rested his hands on the back of the couch, bending over a bit to get a better look at what was on your screen.

"I see you are hard at work, yes?"

"Yeah, and I've...still got a good bit to work on. Kamal said it was alright for me to hang out today so I hope I'm not in your way or anything."

"Of course not, it is no trouble at all! We are always happy to have you!" Something about the excited way he spoke told you he didn't really understand your situation.

"That's great, thanks Boris. Don't mind me then." You turned to give him one final grin before focusing back on your laptop.

There was a noticeable moment of silence from Boris as he seemed to be processing that that was the end of the conversation. Unfortunately, he didn't come to any kind of worth while conclusion because his wide smile returned.

"Alrighty! I'm going to go get changed, be back soon!

As promised, it wasn't long before you heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming back down the stairs. Doing your best to keep your eyes focused on your keyboard you finally looked up when you felt someone leer over you.

"What's up?"

"I'm going to go take care of my lilies out back, would you like to come?"

"I'm sorry, Boris, but I'm still going to be at this for a while yet. I'd work at home but that storm last night took out some of the lines by my house."

"Oh..." His face fell for a second "That's all right! Do come out and find me if you find yourself in need of some fresh air!"

"Sure thing, if I can finish up in time I'll be right out", you agreed.

However, an hour passed and you stayed where you were. Somewhere around the 30 minute mark Boris had come back inside, looking noticeably disappointed when he saw you in the same position he'd left you in. But Instead of interrupting you again he busied himself with finishing little things inside the house, all of which happened to be in the livingroom, and you weren't blind to the way he seemed to be constantly looking up from whatever he was doing to see if you were done.

At one point he even feigned reading beside you. You could only assume he was faking it at least, unless he had a preference for reading books upside down. Admittedly, you did feel the slightest bit bad for "ignoring" him but the both of you knew why you were there in the first place.

It really was almost exactly and hour before he seemed to reach his breaking point and you once again felt someone approach you. The next second you were lifted up from behind as Boris moved to sit where you had been just a moment before, placing you back down in front of him.

"Soooo... what are you working on?" He asked, draping his arms over your shoulders and resting his chin on the top of your head.

Letting out a defeated chuckle, you decided to humor him a bit.

"I'm writing an email right now actually."

"Ooh, email!" He clapped his hands together happily. "Who are we emailing?"

"People..." You joked.

"Are they nice people?"

You shrugged, wiggling your hand in a so-so motion then the sound of typing pulled your attention back down to your keyboard.

Boris had reached forward, typing out a :-) at the end of your last paragraph. When you cocked your head up to look at him he just grinned widely, thankfully not taking too much offence when you moved to erase his playful work.

Without another word you turned your attention away from him and hunched back over your laptop, returning to work as if you weren't sitting in the lap of someone else and hoping said person would get the hint that you had other things to focus on.

But as diligent as your efforts to stay focused were, so was the obliviousness of the attention hungry giant behind you and he followed your movement, once again closing the space between your back and his chest has he hunched over you as well, this time wrapping his arms around your midsection and intertwining his fingers for good measure.

This position wasn't actually that bad, if even a bit cozy and part of you hoped he would be content enough to let you work while he watched tv or something. You were gifted a few more minutes of peace but before you were able to fall back into a comfortable state of work, your attention was once again pulled back to Boris as he began drumming his fingers against your stomach and humming quietly.

As though he was waiting for you to acknowledge him; when you finally moved your eyes off your screen he leaned forward and rested his head on your shoulder.

"You need something, bud?" You asked dryly, turning to look at him.

"Oh, not really..." He answered, letting out an exaggerated sigh of boredom and keeping his eyes staring off to the side. It didn't give the effect he was going for though as his face was still squished snugly beside yours and the act only lasted a moment before he was smiling again. "Do you want to watch tv? :-)"

You had to wonder if the exasperated look on your face was really that hard to recognize.

"....No."

"No?"

"No."

"Okee."

After that Boris finally released you, leaning back and tapping his fingers against the arm of the couch.

Despite your almost salty attitude you had to admit you weren't really annoyed with him. In fact the only thing weighing on your mood right now was all the work you still had ahead of you.

Slowly running your hand over your mouth, you let out a long sigh, the stone face you'd been holding finally sinking to a small frown when you weren't paying attention.

Boris leaned forward once again, this time much more slowly, his signature grin replaced with a look of concern as he cocked himself around your shoulder to get a better look at your face.

"How long have you been working on this?"

"I got here a little after 8 this morning." You groaned, rubbing your eyes.

"Oh, that was shortly after I left!"

"Yeah, and now I see why Kamal advised me to wait until after you'd went to work." You whispered with a tired smile, too quiet for him to hear.

"That was quite a few hours ago...aren't you tired?"

"I'm not not tired... BUT!" You continued "It's kind of my own fault for waiting until the last minute to get all my work done, so I'll be okay."

At a much more startling pace this time he reached around you and pulled you back against his chest in a tight hug.

"I think that's long enough for today, don't you? You should take a break! You don't have to go home though, I can make snacks and we can watch a movie!"

You did your best to collect yourself, your shirt ridding up and your hair getting ruffled as he lifted up your torso and snuggled you from behind. You probably looked akin to a stuffed animal being squeezed by a small child.

"Thanks, but I'd really rather get it done today." You managed to wiggle yourself a bit of slack in his grip but as soon as he felt you start to pull away you were squished back against his chest and he gave you an extra tight squeeze as if to send the message that he wasn't ready to let go yet.

The sudden movement shifted your laptop and you lurched forward to reach for it, your fingers coming up just an inch short as it teetered over the edge of your leg. Thankfully, Boris reached for it right on time, slapping it shut and lifting it from its place in front of you.

"Looking at that screen for so long is no good for you anyway... :-(" He commented with a frown, bringing it closer to his face to examine it. The computer almost looked to be the size of a tablet in his large hand.

"Not really my concern right now." You reached for it but on cue he lifted it up out of your reach and despite only hugging you with one arm now, his grip was still unmovable. "Come on, give it back!"

You thought he may have actually been listening when he lowered his arm, only for him to raise it back up out of your reach when you moved to grab it.

"Ой, так близко!"

The audacity of that little tease actually surprised you coming from him, but if he was going to play dirty then so could you.

"Boris, give it back or I'm going home." Despite the playfulness in your voice his smug smile vanished and he quickly released both you and your laptop.

"Thank you!" You jumped to your feet proudly, making a show to tuck your laptop under your arm as a sign of victory.

"Ты не весел ..." Boris crossed his arms and pouted, slouching down into the couch as you moved to sit on the other side from him.

You felt his gaze linger on you for a while, then felt the couch shift as he moved to sit facing you on his knees. "Может, мы сможем это изменить?"

Still feeling contented with yourself, you refused to look up at him, he was probably making some kind of stupid face in an attempt to make you smile. After a moment he scooted closer and you finally gave in.

"Yes, Boris?"

He didn't respond, staring at you with the biggest grin. It was like he expected you to know what he ...oh.

"Boris, I know what you're thinking but not right now." You quickly pulled your feet up off the ground and held you legs close to yourself. While you knew you'd have a better chance of getting away if you ran now, you knew playing into it right away would erase any chance you had of talking yourself out of your current situation.

Your acknowledgement of the situation only seemed to make him smile wider as he leaned closer to you.

"Boris, I'm serious I have work to do." Your serious composure failed you and you scrambled backwards as he got closer, almost falling off the arm of the couch as you leaped over it. "We can hang out once I'm done, I promise."

"Hmmm.." He rubbed his chin in thought. "Nah, I think..." He leaped over the back of the couch, getting closer each time you moved away. "I think I want to see you smile!"

With that final statement he rushed forward, arms extended and just barely missed you as you jumped to the side.

The two of you ended up running in circles around the couch. Boris held his arms out, staring you down when you came to a momentary stand still on either sides of the couch, ready to move in whatever direction you would and cut you off.

"Boris, stop this right now, I'm not in the mood!" You were doing your best to sound serious but the giggles of anticipation seeped through.

"You will be once I put some butterflies in your tummy! Come now, do not make this harder than it has to be, you'll feel right as rain after a good giggle~" His teasing voice sent chills down your spine and the nervous look on your face seemed to be exactly what he was looking for as his smile turned to a more mischievous one as well. A split second later he caught you off guard, climbing over the couch to meet you head on. "The smile doctor is in and you're his first appointment!

Luckily he stumbled a bit on the cushions, giving you a second to change course and break away from the endless cycle of circling the couch.

"Boris, please, I'm too tired for this!" You whined, running towards the kitchen.

"That works out great then! We can take a nap afterwards, it will be so nice!" He stopped in the door way of the kitchen to clasp his hands by his face and smile. He seemed to return to his usual wholesome self, which you preferred to the mischievous one, but what made it worse was the way he spoke like a man who knew he wasn't going to loose. "Now if you would just stop running away. :-("

Your chase in the kitchen was short lived, at one point you even considered running out the back door only to change your mind when you decided you didn't need half the neighborhood to hear you laughing like a madman if he had managed to catch you outside, so you ended up rushing back out into the living room and towards the hall.

On your way there, you noticed Kamal who had just gotten home.

"Hi, Kamal!" You yelled, almost crashing into him. Thinking quickly, you hid behind him as Boris came clamoring back into the living room after you.

"Oh, Hello, Kamal! Y/n and were just in the middle of something." He spoke calmly attempting to circle around Kamal and grab you.

"Don't let me interrupt." Kamal insisted, letting you spin him around with you as you used him as a shield. "Hey, kid, you gonna be able to stay for dinner tonight?"

"No I can't, I've still got work to do and please, please do interrupt!" You begged.

"Yeah, thought so." Kamal shrugged, ducking in unison with you as Boris attempted to reach over him.

This went on for a minute before he turned back to you and smirked "You're gonna have to finish this on your own, kid, I gotta get cookin'." And with that he stepped out from in front of you and headed for the kitchen, leaving you completely exposed.

"I tried to warn ya, little buddy!" He yelled over his shoulder as Boris chased you down the hall.

You knew you were running out of options as the end of the hall wasn't far ahead of you. If you were going to do something you had to do it now or you were a goner. Taking your only other option you skidded to a halt, throwing open the door to your left and running inside, locking it just in time to hear Boris collide with the other side.

While you didn't open the door back up you pressed your ear to it and spoke, worried he may have actually gotten hurt.

"Oh, crap, Boris are you okay?!"

"To think..." He responded quietly.

"To think you'd hide from me in my own dojo!" His volume returned with a happy vigor as he wiggled the knob of his bedroom door. "You can not stay in there forever you know!"

On one hand you were glad he was okay, on the other hand, a little part of you was sad the impact didn't knock him out as he cooed to you though the door. Still, you felt rather satisfied with yourself, the chase usually never lasts long enough for you to find somewhere to hide like this.

"Watch me!" You fired back with a new sense of confidence.

"If you unlock the door...I will give you a-no, two- no...three hugs!"

"Yeah, I think I'll pass." You commented, finally stepping away from the door to look around his room.

"Fine, four hugs, but you have to hug me back! Final offer!" You heard the door squeak as he pressed all his weight up against it and then a sad whine from the other side when you didn't respond.

Actually ignoring him this time, you sat down on the side of his bed, finally giving yourself a second to rest. As much as you hated to admit it, you were almost grateful that you weren't still glued to your laptop. You were really tired, Boris got that much right at least.

Whipping your head around, a heavy thump on the floor behind you had you right back on guard.

Worried that Boris might have somehow found a way in, you jumped to your feet, looking around and finally catching sight of the stack of books that had toppled off of his dresser.

When you realized the truth of the situation you let out a sigh of relief, sitting back down.

"Hi, Pabit."

And just like that the dead eyes of the puppet that was sitting where the books once were lit up as a smile crossed its face.

"Heeyoo, Y/n!" The little guy finished his journey across the dresser, jumping onto the nightstand and then onto the bed beside you.

"What was with the inanimate act?" You asked, wondering why the puppet hadn't jumped you as soon as you got in.

"I's was waiTin 4 my Q!"

"Ah, of course." You laughed, propping your elbow on your knee and resting your head on your hand.

"What're U doin, Y/n?"

"Hiding from your maker, he thinks I'm in dire need of a good laugh."

"Ooh, R yous twos havin' a tickle fight? Eye wAnt to plaY too!" The puppet exclaimed, bouncing over to hug your side.

"Uh uh, last thing I need is two of you on my back." You cut him off, pulling him off by the scruff of his little jacket and setting him back down beside you.

"You's just like, Karmel; kno fun at alL! EvEn when u jyust kneed a little chyeering up!"

"I don't really need cheering up, I just wanted to get my work done."

"Yes u due, ur sparkle's all fAded..."

"My what?"

"Ur sparkle, dummy!" He jumped up and bonked you on the head, his little felt hand probably not giving the impact he was hoping for.

"Whatever." You rolled your eyes.

"Is that Pabit?" Boris finally spoke up again from outside the door. "Pabit, unlock the door, please!"

"Ah! Don't you dare!" You reached forward catching the puppet before it had successfully jumped off the bed to follow his orders. "Who's side are you on?" You asked, tucking the puppet under your arm to hold it securely.

"Whichever syide gets u 2 smile!" Pabit retorted quickly, pointing to the sides of its face as it demonstrated a big smile.

Just as you were about to chew him out, you saw something black out of the corner of your eye.

The small shadows that were visible from the light shining in under the door stretched into the room without someone to cast them. If you hadn't been used to sights like this by now you might have been terrified as after a moment it formed into a familiar silhouette and picked itself up off the ground.

Unfamiliar though was the scowl he bore as he turned back to normal.

"How did you-"

"That was a nasty little trick to pull, you know, Y/n?" Boris cut you off, taking several long strides towards you.

"I..." You froze, looking down to Pabit for help. He only offered you a sympathetic smile then a sinister looking smirk.

"Yous gonna get it now..."

Quickly dropping him in favor of backing away, you didn't get too far before you backed into the foot of his bed, and before you were given a chance to look for another way out he had already closed the distance between you.

It wasn't too often that you took into consideration just how much bigger Boris was than...well everything. But you were given just enough time to take it in as he stopped right in front of you, still staring down at you with that serious expression and you began to worry that you actually had upset him.

"Boris, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" He raised a hand to shush you, lifting an eyebrow.

"You're sorry?!" Crap, his voice was intimidating when he used it right. "The only thing you have to be sorry for..."

"Is for being so darn cu-uute!" You squeaked as you were thrown up into the air and then caught under your arms. Boris held you at arms length, lifting you to his eye level and pulling you closer to rub his nose against yours. "You had me really scared back there, I thought you were going to lock yourself in here aalllll night! Now that wouldn't have been any fun would it? Even with Pabit keeping you company. " Adding on to your disorientation, he spun around with you to face the door. "Let's get going then shall we?"

Halfway out the door it finally registered what just happened; you'd been caught.

"Boris, do not!"

"Don't what? I haven't done anything yet?" He tilted his head to the side and smiled at you innocently. You kicked your legs a bit, knowing full well it wouldn't get you anywhere but still did so out of spite.

"Oh? Are you not comfy? How about this?" He tossed you up one last time, throwing you over his shoulder potato sack style after catching you. "Better?"

"Noho!" You did your best to sound mad with no luck.

Boris managed to make even the walk out to the livingroom interesting; spinning around every other step, jumping up and down with you, letting you go for a second then catching you by the knees before you fell off his shoulder.

By the time the two of you actually made it to the livingroom you were just barely keeping your laugher in just because of the absurdity of the situation.

"Put me down!" You yelled, but there was no masking the smile in your voice.

"If you say so!" He pulled you off of his shoulder fast, catching you in a dip before letting you drop gently onto the couch.

As soon as you were released you turned and tried to make a run for it, only to be stopped as he looped one of his arms around your torso and pulled you back again his chest.

"Deja vu, yes?" He joked. "So..." he started only to stop when you both focused on something at the same time. Your laptop still sat on the coffee table and you turned to glare at him, deciding to be challenging one final time.

"So..." he continued, "Do you want to watch some tv? :-)"

"..."

"..."

"No."

~

"Your laugh is so pretty! Why would you make me wait so long to hear it?" He cooed happily, continuing to try to poke through the ball you'd curdled into on his lap like he had been the last few minutes

"You're so mean!" you managed to whine through your suppressed giggles.

"You are the mean one! I'm just trying to help you relax a little. It will be over quicker if you give in and show me that smile~"

He reached his hands forward, giving both your sides a quick squeeze and making a little roar. "The tickle monster is getting hungry and the hungrier he gets the longer he has to tickle you, you know!"

"Let's see...." He thought to himself, looking you over for a week spot and eventually finding one as he shoved both his hands into the crooks of your neck, causing you to shriek and uncurl yourself.

"Ooh, it worked!" He cheered, taking the opportunity to flip you onto you back, holding you down firmly with one hand and sitting on your legs. "Now we can get to work! Are you ready? Cause here comes the tickle monster!"

He raised his hands up for dramatic effect and lowered them down to your torso quickly with a growl. Before he made contact however he stopped, his wide smile slowly fading as he focused on your face.

Your eyes were squeezed shut and you were holding onto yourself tight. When you didn't feel anything you peaked an eye open to see Boris looking down at you curiously.

"Get it over with!" You said, closing your eyes again and reluctantly lifting your arms up.

"Hmm..."

"'Hmm' what do you mean 'Hmm'?"

"Ooone sec, something's not right..."

"I'd say so!" You sneered, making one final effort to try and squirm out from underneath him but to no avail.

"I know!" He snapped his fingers. "I need you to say 'hi' to someone first!" And just like that he pulled Pabit out from behind himself and once again, it was seemingly out of thin air.

"Heeyoo, Y/n!" The puppet greeted you once again.

"You little traitor."

"Can't bee a twaitor if I's was nyever on ur syide!" He spoke proudly, resting his hands on what would have been his hips.

"Anyway, "Boris cut in, "there's something really special you need to know about Pabit; he loves to eat smiles, they're his favorite food!

"..."

":-D and yours is just the kind he's been looking for!" Without further explanation the puppet was thrust in front of you, making exaggerated "nom nom nom" sounds as it pretended to chomp on your face.

Part of you would have insisted it was just the fabric tickling your face but you finally started to laugh, if for any reason just because of how silly he was being.

"Yhohu are suuch a dhorork!" You spat out, reaching up to try to push his arm away but it refused to so much as budge.

"Yep, a smile just like that!" Boris cheered you on, finally using his free hand to scribble at your stomach.

Mostly out of reflex, you managed you reach up and pull the puppet off of Boris's arm, realizing your mistake shortly after as Pabit glared down at you from his place in your hands.

"Shoot, I'm sorry-" before you could finish your apology, Pabit reached forward and gripped your face, pulling himself closer and nuzzling your face on his own.

"Eet's okee!"

You soon realized you'd made a mistake for a different reason as Pabit held tight to your face and kept his snuggling up, taking extra care to nuzzle your neck and nose as Boris was given back use of his hand to further scribble your stomach and sides. Their own excited smiles telling you you weren't getting out of this any time soon.

In the kitchen, Kamal jumped, almost dropping his pan at the sudden flurry of laughter that sounded in the next room.

"Eh, they had it comin'." He huffed to himself fondly.