#Atla tickles

[dj-banana-love-2]

Fandom list

Sonic

The cuphead show

Transformers

Hazbin hotel

Helluva bøss

Just about all things Disney

Z-o-m-b-i-e-s all movies

Descendants all movies

Smb

Atsv

Fnaf ( the movies too )

TMNT 2012 (ONLY)

Tadc

Atla

Ramshackle

Twisted wonderland

Nickelodeon

[kanene-yaaay]

Childish Fights and Loud Laughter

Kanene’s notes: For some reason I am going back to my old fandoms? dfghyygtfdf anyway I re-watched atla once again last month and finally got some time and energy to write a tickle fic for it! Yesh!!!!

Warnings: Zuko’s general grumpiness, but only that. Switch!Zuko and Switch!Aang. I have no idea when that happens but it’s before the Sozin’s Comet. Around 3500 words.

[~*~]

Aang was staring at him.

Not that being stared at was something new in his life. Zuko grew rather accustomed to it, being the first heir of the Firelord and having a gigantic scar that covers half of your face usually made you the most interesting person in a crowd.

Still, it didn't mean that Zuko had to like it. Actually, he didn’t even understand why Aang was paying such a close attention to him now. After months of being friends, he should already be used to Zuko's presence in their group. Was he having second thoughts about accepting him as his teacher? Why? Was it because of the mistake in their morning training? 

It wasn’t even a gigantic thing. Aang just got a way too light hit in his side that made him lose his concentration of his firebending and flinch away from the strange, electric sensation on his side.

(If that told him something about Aang's improvement or about Zuko's own lack of skills it was unclear.)

In the end, the reason for the staring didn't matter. It wouldn't be the first time Zuko would lose everything for a single mistake. He just needed to prove to the Avatar that he was still a worthy ally and teacher.

He got up.

"Break's time is over. Come on, let's spar and then run through your katas again. From first to tenth." 

As always, the authority in his voice made Aang immediately jump to his feet, although no more moves were made to follow the instructions, the boy was still watching him for something.

"What!" He bristled.

"Did you injure your side?"

"With your weak hit? You just got me off guard, that is all." Zuko readied himself in an offensive stance, beginning his attack. "Let's see if you can do it again, and no more holding back your punches. You won't have this mercy when it comes to the Firelord."

"I know, I know." But instead of the defeated look that always took over the younger's face every time he mentioned his father, Aang's expression quickly bounced back to a curious expression, dodging from his flames and attacks with fluid moves (it was both weird and interesting to see how much fo the other elements affected his actions even when he wasn't using his bending). 

"Are you sure you're not injured, though? You did jump pretty high back there."

Zuko felt like there was something hidden in the other’s voice. A kind of light reflected in his eyes, a different way that he seemed not worried at all in trying to fight back, an extra bounce in his step. 

And for some reason, now the Avatar keeps smiling at him. Which, when the subject was about how he possibly was or not injured, didn't make Zuko very confident about his safety.

"I am not hurt." Irritation began filling his words. "Take this seriously! Fight back!"

"I will! I will! I am just curious, why did you jump away?"

"For no reason! It doesn't matter."

"No one squeals and jumps away for no reason." Was he getting closer?

"I did not squeal!" Zuko widened his stance and with a circling gesture, moved his arms until his palms were facing the ground, ceasing the fire attacks before adjusting himself to a standing position. "And if you rather keep mocking me than really focusing on your training, then I suppose that you can continue mastering your firebending alone."

He turned away, feeling strangely out of place, before fast steps put Aang right in front of him, arms in a placating gesture and his expression full of alarm and a bit of regret.

"No, wait! I wasn't mocking you, I swear." Aang then took a respectful stance and bowed, with his thumb poking out from his closed fist resting on his open palm. "Please don’t give up from me yet, Sifu Ho-" at Zuko's glare, he bit back the 'hotman'. "Uhhhhh, Sifu Zuko."

The older one took a deep breath, wondering if his uncle also felt the same feeling of old all the times Zuko kept pushing his proper training off to complain about capturing the Avatar and restoring his honor.

Life really comes to a full cycle, doesn't it?

He bowed, as well, mirroring Aang's gesture and respect, letting his usual irritation wash away, a common pinch of guilt that always came when he let his angry outbursts control his decisions appearing once again.

His point still stands, though.

"Alright." His tune was tough, but not unkind, a soft kind of relaxation taking over his gestures. He should at least try to have the same patience as his uncle. "Let's try again. Firs-"

"I am just really curious!" Aang cut him, basically bouncing on the same place, his energetic big smile back to his face now that the misunderstanding had been cleared. "If you're not injured, does that mean you're ticklish?"

For some reason, Aang seemed about to launch himself straight to the sky with how much he was beaming. In a blink, Zuko remembered old memories of his and his mother's laughter, of Lu Ten's surprise attacks and Mai's playful touches before he threw everything away to fulfill his own destiny.

And, in another bewildered blink, abruptly, Aang's smile and actions made complete sense. Zuko looked at him with wide eyes.

"I-"

Before the prince could answer, however, the avatar jumped at him, not wasting a single second as he locked on his sides with a horrible scribbling that made he feel like there was thousands of feathers teasing his sensitive torso, following his body even when the surprise attack made him fall on his back, holding his reactions with all his will power.

"I knew it. You are!" The scribbling quickly evolved to a series of light pinches and squeezes that almost made him jump away as they traveled too much close to his stomach, giggles beginning to bubble in his throat. "I can't believe you never told us about it before!"

"W-why-" He bit back a squeal, refusing to fall for such childish play. "Why would I snkr e-ever tell you tha-ah!" 

Aang beamed even more at the muffled yelp that came when he experimentally scratched at his belly, deciding that it was a perfect place to dance and wiggle his fingers freely. 

"Because it is fun! And it would be nice to see your smile. I don't think we ever heard you truly laugh since you joined the group!"

"I don't need to laugh." He gritted through his firmly pressed lips, turning his face away, feeling his features getting hot at the hopeful and bright expression from Aang at the giddiness slipping through the tears in his barriers. "We need to t-t-train. Don't!"

Zuko maybe, if he wasn’t totally concentrated in not dying because anywhere - absolutely any other place - would be better than that spot, would definitely feel mortified by the honest to Agni high pitched plea that fled from his mouth when the other poked his bellybutton curiously.

Aang smiled even wider, somehow.

"You also have a ticklish bellybutton?" He poked the tickle spot again and again, giggling in delight when Zuko wiggled from one side to another with even the slightest hint of a touch. "Just like Sokka! He would go totally crazy when we tickled his belly. Katara even had this secret technique she did when..." Suddenly, he stopped.

Zuko could see the exact moment the Avatar got an evil idea.

"No.” Aang didn’t move. “Don’t you even think about it!" 

He tried to roll away, legs too weak to help him in a chase. Nevertheless, the other's playful hands followed him, pulling him back and straddling his waist so he could rest his index fingers and thumbs at each side of his bellybutton, making Zuko take a wobbly gulp of oxygen.

"Aang-" He tried to push the hands away but the Avatar was as immovable as a rock, grinning at him a tad manically. "Aang, I am g-going to make you do so many katas you will keep doing them in your sleep! Don't you dare!"

The Avatar, the bridge between the spiritual world, the one responsible to bring peace and balance to the four nations, the only one in the world able to master all the elements, the agent of evil snickered and did, in fact, dare.

For Zuko's complete mortification and immediate defeat, he began squeezing.

It was horrible. It was unbearable. Each squeeze made his entire body spasm with the sheer force of keeping his laughter inside, face growing more and more red as the tickling just did not stop.

That was when Aang's voice cut through air.

"Hey, actually, this gives me an idea! Wanna see a cool trick?" Zuko shook his head and Aang laughed. "Okay, I will show you anyway! It goes like this: 'Hello, I'm Mister Bellybutton and I am supeeeeeer ticklish!"

He was squeezing said tickle spot as if it was a mouth, pretending it was speaking and even making a goofy voice for it as if they were both tiny kids and not the future firelord and the one destined to end a one hundred year war, full of responsibilities and posture to uphold and Zuko…

"Squish! Squish, squish, squish, squishsquishsquishsquish-"

Zuko exploded in a loud, boisterous laughter. 

"S-SHUHUHUHUT AHAHAHAHAHAP!"

Whether it was for the sheer absurdity of it all, the awful and playful impersonation of a silly voice or the tickly shocks that filled all his nerves and senses he couldn't say. Actually, other than becoming a mess of laughter and sounds that were supposed to be words but were too lost in crackles to be understood, he wasn’t able to say much.

"Oh my god!!! Zuko, this is your laughter?! It's so nice! I can't believe we never tried to tickle you before!"

Zuko realized that he couldn’t do anything to stop the unfair tickle attack on his stomach, especially when Aang focused on using his other fingers to prod the sensitive skin and buzz on it, pulling a series of startled snorts that made the prince immediately hide his flaming face on his hands.

"Noooo, come on, not fair! You can't hide your smile, that is against the rules!"

"THEHEHEHERE'S NO RUHULES!"

"Of course there it is! Every tickle fight has rules. Like: no hiding your smile, no covering your face, and especially…"

The younger relented his attack giggling together with the other's remnant and uncontrollable titters as Zuko tried to recompose himself, feeling yet still a bit dazed with the sudden joy and adrenaline that were still running in his veins.

Wait. Why was it so quiet? Aang was saying something, wasn't he?

"Never leave a tickle spot unprotected unless you want it to be tickled!"

Suddenly fingers began kneading his ribs and Zuko's arms shot down in a too late attempt to protect them, a loud yelp announcing the comeback of an unstoppable mix of fast, airy giggles and eventual squeaks that didn’t wait to mingle in such a rare and beautiful melody. 

"Here is it!" Zuko wasn't sure how, but he could swear that Aang somehow got more than two hands, because in a blink the wiggling fingers that were prodding and drawing circles on his ribcage were not only assaulting his neck and ears with a skillful spidering scratches and nimbly scribbling but also, even before he could lift his arms and try to pry them from there before another high pitched chortle came out of his mouth, were worming and digging awfully on his armpits, obliging him to clue his arms to his sides once more and starting the whole cycle started again and again.

No spot was left without a proper, tickly and tingly attention. Every squeeze on his knees, scratch on his soles, kneading on his sides and light tapping on his palms (how did he even discover about his palms-) pulled all sorts of loud crackles, bubbly giggles, bouncy titters, wobbly squirms, tired kicks and a boisterous belly laughter that left him without energy, a "stop" ready in the tip of his tongue when the younger decided that it was enough and relented the energetic tickle attack.

The prince of the Fire Nation turned around, still giggling, still blushing and still feeling the ghost feeling of dancing fingers buzzing right under his skin, leaving a permanent giant smile on his face.

He wiped the few tears that accumulated on the corner of his eyes, taking deep breaths and trying to not get embarrassed by the couple of giggles that continued to fill the air.

"See, I told you it was fun!" Aang snickered. "I didn't expect you to be so ticklish, though. You're almost as bad as meEEK!"

With a swift roll and quick reflexes Zuko jumped and pushed - not necessarily gently but also not with all his strength - the Avatar down, pinning his arms upwards with a hand.

Wide grey eyes stared at him, a drop of alarm on them.

"Uhhhh, Zuko, you're not really angry are you? It’s just that you never said to stop and-"

Zuko lifted his hand and with a gasp, the other cut his babbling.

He began wiggling his fingers.

"Almost as bad as you, you say?"

"Waitwaitwait!" Aang kicked and laughed joyfully, suddenly free of any drop of fear in his gaze as he wiggled like a madman on his hold, trying with all his might to put as much distance as he could from the offending silly fingers. 

Seeing the older one loosening up was rare, but to see him loosen up, smile and be playful on the same day? Aang felt like he was the luckiest person in the world. He couldn’t wait to tell everyone else about how nice Zuko's laughter is. 

I mean, if he survived the payback. Aang tried to lightly pull his arms back, but the grip was firm. He watched with trepidation the hand that was getting closer and closer to his sides, sucking his belly as much as he could.

Golden and gray eyes found each other for a moment.

Zuko stopped, his tiny smirk being overthrown by a frown and Aang felt his arms being freed. 

The butterflies in his belly stopped batting their wings and the smile on his face fell. He tried to not feel too disappointed.

They would eventually get Zuko to participate in more of their shenanigans. One day. When he was ready. Even if today wasn't the day, he still got him to laugh.

An unbearable light feeling on his palm made the shorter yelp and jump away, one of his wrists being held back before he could pull it to his chest.

Golden and gray found each other again. Zuko smiled triumphantly.

"I knew it." He said, and Aang watched with a giddy feeling as blunt nails began scribbling on his palm, following the lines of his hands, drawing on the tip of fingers, contouring and spiraling across the entire sensitive skin to his wrists. Soon enough, his airy, fast and giggly snickers were filling the space, amidst his wiggles and half-heartedly attempts to pull his arm away. "I was wondering how did you discovered about my hands. It's because yours are sensitive as well."

"Yehehehes!" An 'eee' sound stretched the word and he snorted, kicking and squirming more, his other hand flapping non stop in an attempt to free himself of all the energy running in his veins. "Ihihihi realized that when I stahaharted to bend firehehe. It makes them so ticklihihish!"

"Must be rough for you." 

"Hehey! But yours are ahahahalso tick- no!" 

Not minding the other's protest, Zuko lifted the captured arm and attacked the unprotected armpit, being careful to tase and drum his fingers in every available inch of skin, feeling extremely smug at the shriek he got from the Avatar with the drastic change from such a soft to more playful tickle attack, his squirming getting so strong that he pushed himself back to a sitting position.

"BWAHAHAHA! NOHOHOT THERE!"

Zuko remembered something Lu Ten used to do with him all the time. It was childish and silly and not at all fitting for the future Firelord, but it used to drive Zuko over the palace’s walls all the time, and if Aang had at least half of his reaction…

He was just really glad that they went to train in a far area alone.

"What? Not here?" He made sure to focus on the weakest spot of the pit, poking and digging there for a good measure. "Not right here? Are you sure?"

"YESYESYES! IHIHIT'S TOHOHOHO BAHAHAD!"

"OK then." The tickling came to a stop.

Aang continued to laugh softly at the attack, his smile big and wobbly and eyes shining with excitement. "Wohohow, you're ruthless."

Zuko merely hummed in reply, watching him for the exact moment where he would relax and lower his guard…

Now.

"Hm, I changed my mind." He went right back at the merciless attack.

"SIFU HOHOHOHOTMAN, NOHOHO!"

"And stop calling me that! Do you like being tickled, by chance? Becoming a mess of laughter and squeals?"

"Yehehehehes!"

Zuko blinked, the tickling faltering for a bit and fishing a mess of tittering and soft squealing before resuming his quicker pace. "Really?….Why?"

"Ihihihit's fun!" Aang squealed and arched his back when Zuko got bored and decided to worm his fingers to his back ribs, spidering and stretching on the space in between each bone. For a piece of moment nothing but laughter filled his mind, thoughts and senses and all Aang could do was squeal until his mind got a bit clearer. 

"You like it too!"

The shout that came out from the prince's lips was a mix of embarrassment and surprise. "I do not!" 

"Do too!"

"Shut it!" The playful glint on the other's eyes only got stronger at the color flooding once again Zuko's cheeks. He grumbled in a grump protest. "If you can still tease me then I am not doing a good job. You must have a death spot somewhere, don't you?" He held the boy by his shoulder, starting to wiggle and prod his back in a search.

It was a good thing that his hand was still keeping the boy still because as soon as the sentence came out from his mouth the other began wiggling like his life was on the line.

"Wait, wait, Zuko! Not there! You can tickle my hands again or even my sides, they're pretty bad, but, wait!"

"Is your back really that ticklish or-" Zuko's teasing was cut when he pressed the highest space in between his shoulderblades (being very careful to not accidentally touch the scar) and, after a loud shout, an extremely low belly laughter filled the air.

"NOHOHOHO!"

He stopped. Aang stopped, hands flying to hide his mouth. 

"That was you?"

"No, of course not!" With a muffled voice the Avatar tried to wiggle away from the touch, only the tip of his smile appearing behind his palm. "What was what? I didn't hear a thing. Ah! It’s getting so late, I think that Katara is calling meeEEEHEHEHE!"

Zuko pressed once again at the middle of his shoulder blades, thumb incessantly tasering on the same spot as he watched with drops of surprise and amusement as the youngest usual higher voice became much lower and stronger, his guffaws making his entire torso beam with the force of the laughter.

"Your voice gets rougher when someone tickles your back?" Poke, poke, poke, prod, tase, tase. "How does that even work?"

"NOHOHOHO! LEHEHEHEHEHEAVE THAT SPOT ALOHOHONE, PLEHEHEHEASE!"

Seeing that the boy seemed unable to stop bouncing in the same place with the sheer amount of ticklishness and energy running across his entire torso, Zuko decided to listen to him, stopping his tickles and eyeing his lower back with curiosity.

If just that tiny spot on his shoulder blades were so bad he wondered if his spine…

With an only one index finger, the older one ran the tip of the finger across Aang's spine.

He got exactly to the middle of it before the airbender shot straight to the sky with a high pitched, ear splitting squeal.

Zuko quickly jumped to a standing position, wide eyes searching the sky until his gaze finally found the hope of the world, the bridge between the material and the spiritual world, clutching his belly and historically giggling while kicking the air just like a kid in a tantrum, floating from a side to another, way too lost in ghost tickles and tittering snorts to control his airbending and stop spinning in the air with each laugh.

The future firelord sighed, ignoring how fond he felt for being the one responsible in making the smaller look as happy as this.

He forced his face to go back to his usual scowl, even if a playful, silly kind of feeling softened most of it and even when the entire gang already knew how to see right through it.

"Your training is not over yet, stop fooling around and come back! You still have to do katas until sunset."

Aang's remanent joyful laugh rang like a bell across the air. Somehow, Zuko felt like they wouldn’t do a lot of training today.

[flames-tstuff]

So I'm rewatching the original ATLA and um... the swamp episode....... 😳😳😳 oh gosh there are so many moments with tickly potential like. how are t-fic writers not all over this episode with the sentient vines n shit

[chaoticklefics]

HI IM ATLA TRASH WHO ARE UR FAVE LEES AND LERS IN ATLA

Ahhh! Always a pleasure to meet fellow ATLA trash!! 😭 Eventually, I’ll post some head cannons and such. But to answer this ask…

Aang~Lee:

Aang isn’t a stranger to starting tickle fights but it’s typically because he wants to be wrecked. He will provoke other members of the Gaang to tickle him by pestering them or actually initiating tickle fights. As an Airbender, he’s pretty ticklish himself.

Katara~Ler:

Katara can be ticklish at times (and believe me, no one is spared in Gaang tickle fights), but she’s typically more inclined to tickle others than be tickled herself. (Like tickling her boneheaded brother for being an idiot, or tickling Aang because he likes it, or tickling Zuko because Zuko is a grumpy/moody little shithead).

Sokka~Switch:

Sokka is definitely more of a Ler, but he’s also ridiculously ticklish. He often is one to start tickle fights with other members of the Gaang but can also dish out some pretty ruthless tickling despite being wickedly ticklish himself.

Zuko~Switch:

Zuko is more Lee leaning as he doesn’t start tickle fights by tickling others. He’s ridiculously ticklish and after the rest of the Gaang found out… *shudders* Zuko may be ridiculously ticklish but he’s also a very skilled Ler. (Absolutely ruthless, don’t tickle him unless you can handle the revenge). Secretly, he used to love when Lu Ten would tickle him long ago but hadn’t had much other experiences with it until he started traveling with the Gaang. He’s definitely happy to be included (even if being tickled may make him grouchy at times).

Toph~Ler

Toph isn’t really sensitive to tickles as she uses her sense of touch for Earthbending. (Most Earthbenders aren’t really ticklish anyways). Toph enjoys helping the Gaang tickle whoever the current victim is and she holds no loyalty either, as she’ll always try to tickle everyone. (Especially Zuko).

Suki~Lee

Despite being a badass Kyoshi Warrior, Suki is super ticklish. Sokka frequently tickles her. Of course she does get him back at times but she doesn’t mind their playful tickle fights. (Even if she can hand Sokka’s ass to him in sparring matches, she’s still susceptible to tickling).

[tiklart]

Yuhhh, imma drop this for now 🌚

A lil comfort drawing I did a while back

[ticklishfiend]

Figure Us Out (ATLA)

(lee!zuko /ler!aang and sokka)

A/N : i love atla rn. love zuko. if i encounter an awkward grumpy guy with a redemption arc in media, u bet ur ass i’m going to tickle him

Word Count : 3863

Summary : Zuko still feels like an outsider in their group. Aang and the others are gonna make sure he feels included!

hope u enjoy!!

—

“You’re such a liar!” Katara playfully punched Sokka in the arm, drawing a laugh out of him.

“I am not! That’s exactly how it went down, you’re just embarrassed that–”

“I’m not embarrassed–”

“Yeah, and you’re totally not red in the face either.”

“Sokka!”

This was…this was weird. 

Before meeting Sokka and Katara, Zuko really thought “being angry at your sibling” was a concept he understood better than anyone. He and Azula fought constantly back at home, it was pretty much just how they communicated with each other. Arguments aplenty, yelling and bickering by the dozen. 

But after spending the past few weeks with his new team (the word ‘friends’ still makes him bite his tongue), he’s realized there’s actually two different types of a sibling fight, and one of those types he’s never personally encountered before.

He’s used to spitting insults, deep personal cuts made against your biggest insecurities. Lies and manipulation hidden under sweet smiles so no one around suspects a thing. Most fights were like dances, using careful words and holding back just enough information to make your opponent second-guess themselves. And, of course, an argument was rarely ever had without literal flames thrown around to really drive it home.

But this? This was playful bickering around a campfire just to get under each other’s skin. Lighthearted teasing that showed how well they knew each other. There was love under each jab.

It was sorta weirding Zuko out.

He wasn’t uncomfortable by it, in fact probably the opposite. It made him feel closer to the group that he was included in moments like these. He liked getting to witness how normal siblings are supposed to interact, even if he knows he’ll never truly get to experience something like that himself. Zuko’s accepted his distance with Azula, and honestly it’d probably feel weirder if they did interact like this after everything they’ve gone through.

Honestly, he’s not sure why he feels weird. Maybe it’s because he’s just not as close to them all as they are to each other. Right now, Zuko’s just an awkward outsider that’s sorta-kinda trying to fit in, and fitting in with normal people has never exactly been his strong suit. He’s awkward and stiff and he knows it. And yet, they’ve been so open to him already. Sure, he had to prove he was over his whole ‘capture the avatar to avenge my honor’ phase, but now that he’s over that hump they’ve been super cool to him.

Zuko’s weirdly enjoyed getting to know this group’s dynamics with each other. He’s not entirely sure how he fits in yet, but that’s not even his biggest concern right now. Actually, his biggest concern right now might be that weird look Katara’s got on her face.

“Lying is pretty unbecoming of a warrior, dontcha think Suki?” Katara grinned over at Sokka’s girlfriend, who chuckled into his shoulder,

“Do not get me involved in…whatever this is.”

“Yeah, don’t drag her into this! She wasn’t even there!” Sokka argued very loudly, his usual bickering style. He gripped onto Suki’s arm with a pout, fluttering his eyelashes. “You believe me, right?”

Suki glanced at Katara behind Sokka’s back, and could clearly see her plotting something. Katara grinned like a loon before holding a finger up to her lips. Suki giggled, “Of course I believe you. How couldn’t I believe this face?” She pinched his cheek and Sokka hummed happily. Zuko took another spoonful of soup as he watched quietly, catching on that something was about to happen. He just didn’t know what.

Then, when Katara shoved her hands under Sokka’s arms, Zuko nearly spit his soup into the fire at Sokka’s resounding shriek. Sokka quickly fell into a fit of loud laughter, toppling over his log with Katara following after. 

“Admit you’re a liar!” She practically yelled over Sokka’s obnoxiously loud cackling. “Admit it!”

“AH! Ahaha no! You–You’re crahazy!” He sputtered out, shoving at Katara’s hands to no avail. 

Zuko felt weird watching this. He’s not unfamiliar with the concept of tickling, but he’s not exactly accustomed to it either. Especially not with family. Sure, Uncle had been known to tweak his sides every once in a while when they were out on their own together, but never anything like this. Zuko took to awkwardly staring into his soup, hoping he’d fade into the background like he usually did at dinner time. 

Unfortunately for him, tonight he was sitting next to Aang. Zuko felt an elbow nudge his rib, glancing over to the smiling Avatar. 

“Y’know, Sokka’s pretty well-known for exaggerating his stories like, a lot. Katara’s told this story before and he didn’t say a thing then. He definitely deserves this.” 

Zuko swallowed some soup. “That seems likely,” he said stiffly. Zuko could feel Aang’s eyes on him at the same time he heard the scuffle quiet down. 

“That was…” Sokka panted, “so uncalled for. Did you have to do that in front of Suki? And the fire prince?!” Sokka whined, his hands thrown over his face. 

“Hey, if anyone deserves to know how much of a liar you are, it’s gonna be your girlfriend and the new guy,” Katara said proudly, standing up to grab another log for the fire. Sokka grumbled, crossing his arms as Suki wrapped him in a sympathetic hug. 

Zuko decided not to acknowledge his mentioning, not sure if he should get involved in this. Apparently Aang felt otherwise.

“Did you and your sister ever play like that?”

Oh. Okay. So that’s what Aang was thinking about. 

The crackling of the fire seemed so much louder now that everyone had gone noticeably silent. Zuko found himself staring into it.

Katara shifted uncomfortably. “Aang, maybe we shouldn’t–” 

“No no, it’s okay,” Zuko sat his bowl down next to his log. “I understand having questions.”

Aang continued looking at him with those big eyes of his, but Zuko kept staring into the fire. Talking about family wasn’t always the easiest, but felt necessary in gaining more of their trust. They deserved to know this stuff. 

“My sister and I have never really been close. We’ve had our…moments. But play was rarely on the table,” Zuko said. “Not when we both had so much on the line.”

Aang pinched his lips together in thought. “So I’m guessing tickle fights were never on the table either, huh?”

Zuko huffed in amusement, finally peeking over at Aang. “No, not really.”

“Wait, so…” Sokka spoke up, curiosity mixed with something else glinting in his eye, clearly excited about changing the subject. “Do you even know if you’re ticklish?” 

Toph barked a laugh from her rock stool. “You’re just asking cause you’re tired of being the most ticklish in the group!” 

“Hey!” Sokka exclaimed angrily before fixing his face. “Look, first of all, I’m not the most ticklish. We all know that title belongs to Aang,” Sokka nodded towards Aang, who just grinned. “And secondly, being the one that gets ganged up on all the time gets a little unfair when I’m surrounded by frickin' benders, okay?!”

Everyone but Zuko chuckled at that, which brought Sokka’s attention back towards him. “Seriously though, fire prince. Ticklish or no?”

“Um…” Zuko cringed. “I mean, yeah I guess so. Er–Uncle poked me sometimes when we were on the run together, if that counts.”

“Did you not just hear Sokka begging for his life two seconds ago?” said Toph with a chuckle. “That definitely doesn’t count.”

Zuko really wasn’t sure what to say. He’s smart enough to know where this conversation seemed to be heading, and was really unsure how to feel about that. In a poor attempt to evade whatever this was, he pulled his knees to his chest and crossed his arms over them, leaving a spot to rest his head.

While Zuko might’ve been smart enough to sense the direction these questions were heading, Aang was smart enough to sense he didn’t really feel comfortable with it. Not yet at least. 

“Sokka, can you tell that story about the saber-tooth moose lion? I don’t think Zuko’s heard that one yet.”

Sokka gasped in excitement, his train of thought successfully derailed. “Foo Foo Cuddlypoops!”

—

The next day, Zuko had forgotten all about the attention he got last night. Sure, he thought about it some when he was trying to go to sleep that night. And sure, maybe he clutched onto his midsection a little tighter than usual as he dozed off, thinking about the loud laughter drawn out of Sokka from playful hands. It didn’t…it wasn’t like he was actually thinking about it. Not in any real way. It was just something interesting to ponder on. A sensation relatively foreign to him that would probably make him laugh like he didn’t often get to do so freely. And thinking about the fact that the rest of the group seemed curious if it would work on him was definitely…it was totally nothing, really.

So like–he’s forgotten all about it now. It’s a new day, and Zuko’s got work to do. 

He and Aang had been training their fire all morning, and it was finally time for lunch. Sokka had gone fishing earlier, so they all kept to doing their own thing while he cooked over the fire (a fire Aang had lit himself, by the way. Zuko felt a weird sense of pride that Aang was seriously getting the hang of this, and using it in a way he knew would make Uncle proud).

Zuko decided on meditation while he waited. He sat on the ground shirtless, honoring his Uncle as he let the sun warm his skin and settle the fire inside him. Meditation like this seemed impossible to him just a couple years ago, his impatience once too thin and his temper too fraught. But now, it came so much easier. Zuko could feel the sun working wonders in his body, keeping his fire at a healthy state while also giving him time to clear his full mind. It was truly relaxing.

Well, it was relaxing, until he felt a set of hands scribbling at the base of his spine. “GAAHA–!” Zuko was quickly jolted out of his zone with a yelp, arching his back away with flailing arms. 

“What the–?!” Zuko whipped his head around to find Toph giggling behind him on the ground. “Toph, what the heck?! Can’t you see I’m meditating!”

“Well duh, Sparky, that’s why I did it,” She wiggled her fingers in the air teasingly with a grin. “You never even saw it coming!”

Zuko couldn’t will the flush from his face. He felt so embarrassed, getting played by a 12 year old girl like that. Zuko groaned into his palm, “Whatever, just don’t do it again. Let me finish before–”

“Lunch is ready!” Sokka yelled across camp, using Suki’s fan to waft the smell towards his friends. Zuko groaned again, scowling at the girl who couldn’t even see him doing it. 

“Time to eat, Jumpy,” Toph snickered, getting up and following the smell. Zuko rolled his eyes before throwing his shirt back on and following behind.

For the next 10 minutes the group sat around the smoky logs no longer lit by fire, eating their food and sharing how their days have gone so far.

“Guys, Zuko showed me this really cool firebending trick earlier! I’ll show you once my stomach’s settled,” Aang said excitedly, taking a bite of the berries Katara had scavenged for him. 

“It’s actually a pretty complicated move. I was surprised you picked it up so quick,” Zuko said, feeling a little shy. He was finally warming up enough to talk without being addressed first during these meal times, and silently hoped he wouldn’t get called out on it.

“Well, that’s Aang for you,” Katara smiled towards the Avatar. “Actually, it sorta frustrated me when I first started teaching him waterbending. It took me ages to master those skills, and yet it took him no time at all.” She crossed her arms at him, teasing as if it still bothered her after all this time.

“Yeah, I get that,” said Zuko. “I guess it doesn’t bother me as much since I’ve already seen all the crazy stuff he can do with the other elements. It’s not exactly new for me to see him be so…” Zuko waved his hand in the air trying to find the word, but once he did he got a little embarrassed and decided against it. “Well, you know.”

“Nooo, c’mon, what were you gonna say!” Aang grinned beside him, poking his arm. “You were totally gonna say ‘amazing’ right?”

Zuko sported a little grin of his own, peeking an eye towards Aang. “Actually, I was gonna say annoying,” Zuko lied, almost chuckling at Aang’s gasp.

“Ohoh snap!” Sokka giggled, stuffing his face with more fish. “You just gonna take that, Aang?”

Toph suddenly let her stool drop to the ground, the loud bang catching everyone’s attention. “I know how you can get him back.”

Zuko froze, staring nervously her way. Aang caught the look he was giving, and was immediately intrigued.

“Oh yeah? How so?” Aang asked, before Toph leaned in and whispered something in his ear that made them both snicker.

Aang stood up with crossed arms, unable to stop smiling. “You know, I just remembered a certain conversation we had last night about a certain weakness of yours.” Zuko’s eyes widened, his gaze darting around each person to gauge their reactions. They were all smiling, and Zuko felt a nervous twitch at the corner of his own lips.

“Cmon, seriously? I know what you told him, Toph, and that was not what you think it was. You just…surprised me while I was concentrating,” Zuko defended, trying really hard not to smile right now.

“Yeah, tell that to the giggle you let slip,” Toph snickered.

Sokka caught on quickly with a chuckle. “Oh, buddy, you are so in for it now,” he tossed his last bite of fish into his mouth. “Take it from me, it’s best to just let it happen instead of running. If you run now, everybody’s gonna come after you.”

Zuko froze, darting his eyes back to Aang towering over him. The Avatar wiggled his fingers in the air, and Zuko knew what he had to do.

With a groan, Zuko took a deep breath, puffing his cheeks with air, and tensed his entire body. He pulled his arms close to his chest and clenched his eyes closed. He was gonna take it like a champ. A very awkward champ.

But instead of the tickle attack he had expected, he heard everyone around start laughing. He peeked one eye open and saw Aang doubled over holding his stomach through his giggles.

Katara snickered behind her hand, “For a former prince, you really can be such a dork sometimes!” Zuko blushed, untensing his body.

“Sokka told me not to run so–!” Zuko waved his arms around awkwardly, unsure of what to do. He sighed behind his hands, feeling warm in the face. “I really don’t get you people sometimes.”

Aang giggled, walking behind Zuko and plopping down. “It’s okay, you’ll figure us out eventually,” he said, before digging his fingers into the back of Zuko’s ribs. 

“AH! Ahaha–wait! Aang!” Zuko sputtered out a surprised giggle before pinching his lips closed, squirming and kicking his feet into the dirt. He giggled in his throat, trying hard not to let any sounds escape his lips. Somehow, this was even more embarrassing than Zuko thought it would be.

“Oh cmon, he’s trying to hold it in!” Toph complained, pointing at her ears, “I can’t exactly see your reactions, idiot, I’m gonna need to hear it.”

Zuko shook his head, but it was getting really hard to contain himself when Aang was doing that to his sides. He kept letting out little squeaks and growls, but he could feel his chest was filling with giggles and knew it would be no time before a real laugh leaked through.

“Get his armpits! That always kills you and Sokka,” Katara called out, getting an offended, “Hey, what’s this got to do with me?!” from Sokka.

Aang listened, tickling with so much concentration his tongue poked through his lips. He tried sticking his fingers under Zuko’s arms, but the prince kept them glued tight to his sides. Aang stopped with a chuckle, looking toward the siblings. “He won’t let me in there!”

“I can’t hehelp it!” Zuko complained, but didn’t move from his spot on the log. He panted, relieved for a break, but he could tell Aang wasn’t finished just yet.

“At least try to move your arms away. C’mon, I wanna hear you laugh!” Aang said, giving Zuko a poke to his lower back. When Zuko yelped and arched away, Aang snickered and tried again. And again. And again. Aang kept poking at his back like a typewriter, and Zuko let out the quickest set of giggles before standing up and backing away nervously.

“I–I cahan’t. I really–there’s no way–” Zuko shook his head, embarrassed but clearly having some fun himself. Everyone giggled at his reaction, amused by how ticklish and unable to take it he seemed to be.

“Wait, okay, now I want a turn,” Sokka stood up from his log and walked towards Zuko with wiggly fingers. Zuko shrinked away with a nervous chuckle, his arms wrapped around his midsection. 

“Noho way, this is ridiculous–”

“Oh cmoooon! I’ll let you get me back after!” Sokka locked his hands together to beg, “Pleeease Zuko?” He pouted and bat his eyelashes at the boy. Zuko just scoffed and rolled his eyes with a grin peeking at the corner of his lips.

“You are so stupid,” he grumbled. “That’s not gonna work on me. I’m not your girlfriend.”

“Maybe not, but I think I make a pretty good argument. I’m super fun to tickle, right guys?” Sokka looked around the room. Katara shrugged.

“Eh. You’re super loud. It’s kind of annoying.”

“Katara! Help me here!”

“Er–buuuut you do snort like a pig sometimes! That’s pretty funny,” she smiled toward Zuko, who just gave an incredulous look back. “I think you should do it. He’s pretty easy to fight back if you hate it.”

Zuko took a second to think it over. No one launched towards him, no one took him by surprise. Everyone just waited to see if he’d actually be okay with it.

Spirits. Sometimes it’s really annoying how nice this group can be. 

With a sigh, Zuko spread his arms out to the side, holding his head up high (but kept his eyes closed for good measure. It’s really embarrassing to look everyone in the eyes right now).

“Alright, yes!” Sokka clapped his hands together, making his way behind Zuko. “Okay, see how long you can keep your arms up for. Aang and I play this game all the time.”

Zuko expected the tickle to come right after, but…nothing happened. He waited a few seconds, and still, nothing. Finally he got frustrated, and peeked his eyes open to see Sokka’s hands floating just above his armpits. Seeing that freaked Zuko out way more than he expected, shooting his arms down with a yelp. Unfortunately for him, all that did was trap Sokka’s hands right where they wanted to be, and they immediately dug into his armpits like no tomorrow.

Zuko shrieked, curling up as much as he could while standing before crumbling into a fit of screechy cackles and giggles.

“Oh man, I wasn’t sure that trick would work on you!” Sokka giggled, his fingertips gently but efficiently digging into Zuko’s underarms with no plan on moving.

Zuko was in stitches. He wasn’t expecting this to be so unbearable, but spirits were his armpits ticklish. He could barely get a word out, pretty much babbling nonsense through his endless laughter.

“Ahaha! W-waahaha! It-It–-gggahaha nohoho!” Zuko cackled, squirming from side to side before crumbling to his knees in laughter. 

“Finally!” said Toph, punching Aang in the shoulder happily. “Took you softies long enough to get him actually laughing! If it was me tickling Sparky, he’d probably be in tears by now.”

“And that’s exactly why you aren’t allowed to tickle him,” Katara said, watching the scene with a smile. “Not yet at least. Clearly this is new to Zuko, we don’t wanna run him off when we just got him.”

“St-stahahaha! Ahaha guys!” Zuko rolled onto his back, his body overcome with giggles when Sokka started pinching lightly at his sides. 

“‘Guys?’ Don’t look at us, it’s Sokka you’ve gotta bargain with,” Toph teased, popping one of Aang’s berries into her mouth.

“Yeah! What do I get in return for stopping, huh?” Sokka said, pinching upward toward his lower ribs. That got a real good shriek out of Zuko, and everyone around couldn’t help but laugh. 

“I-! Gahaha, I dohohon’t–fffaahaha knohohow!” Zuko threw his head back as Sokka tickled all over his ribs, finally grabbing onto Sokka’s wrists and pulling him off. Sokka pulled back with no fight, only giving him another poke in the belly to hear Zuko yelp before sitting back and letting the boy collect himself.

Zuko panted, a stray giggle escaping him as he breathed. He clutched his stomach and threw a hand over his warm face, covering his eyes. He wasn’t sure how he was gonna look everyone in the eyes after that display. Oh spirits, what was he thinking? That was such a bad idea letting them take him out so easily like that. They’ll never take him seriously again, he’s supposed to be Aang’s teacher for pete’s sake, shoot this might be really bad, this might—

“Ohoho man that was awesome Zuko! You lasted way longer than I thought you would!” Aang giggled from above Zuko’s head. Zuko peeked his eyes out and saw Aang holding up a hand for him to high five.

Zuko couldn’t help the little giggle that slipped out at that. The Avatar is so…silly. He groaned and swatted Aang’s hand away, making everyone laugh. 

“After you get Sokka back, it’s my turn to play!” Aang straightened his back quickly, making the T-stance with his arms that Zuko held just a minute prior. “I bet I can last longer than you!”

“Pfff-” Toph laughed, slapping a hand on Aang’s shoulder. “Twinkle-toes, your record is currently four seconds without begging. You should probably start thinking your bets through before making them.”

“You can go ahead and have your turn. I’ll get Sokka when he least expects it,” Zuko grinned, sitting up and shooting his attacker a mischievous look. Sokka gulped with a nervous giggle, darting towards Aang to tickle him and change the subject away from himself.

“Ahaha wait! I wahasn’t ready!” Aang cried, immediately crumbling to the floor in a fit of childish shrieks and giggles.

Zuko watched on with a smile he couldn’t wipe from his face. These people were good. They worked with him at his pace. They understood things take time for him, and they’re okay with that. 

Zuko can tell they already see him as their friend. He’s starting to think he can see them in the same light.

-

thanks for reading! consider reblogging if u enjoyed hehe <3

[august-anon]

His Royal Grumpiness

For Tickletober Day 11: Squeal

-----

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Ship(s): Zukko (pre-relationship)

Characters (lee/ler): Lee!Zuko/Ler!Sokka

Word Count: 1050 words

Summary: Don't ask Sokka why Zuko was so fun to tease. There was absolutely nothing to read into, no matter what Katara said. Instead ask: just what was that noise that came out of Zuko's mouth, and how did Sokka get him to make it again?

[ao3 link]

----------

Don’t ask Sokka what it was about Zuko that made him so fun to tease. He was just so reactive. A few annoying questions, a hair ruffle, a surprise piggy-back attack – anything, and Zuko was red in the face and telling Sokka to cut it out! at a volume and pitch that was likely unbecoming of a newly-crowned Fire Lord.

Aang was too patient with his monk shit and weird breathing exercises. Katara was too familiar with his particular brand of annoying, and he was too familiar with her reactions for it to be as fun anymore. Toph would just beat him up. But Zuko just made it too easy. That was the only reason he’d made it his mission in life to get a rise out of Zuko, no matter what Katara and Suki said.

The question Sokka wanted answered instead of that was: what was that noise that just came out of Zuko’s mouth? Or, an even better question, how did Sokka get him to make that sound again?

“Sokka,” Zuko growled, his cheeks and ears already flushed a bright pink. “What are you doing?”

Sokka grinned, flopping on his back in the grass next to Zuko, stretching his arms up and behind his head. “Oh, you know, just hanging out with the turtleducks. Me and them, we’re best friends, you know.”

Zuko shot a glance toward the turtleducks he’d been feeding before Sokka arrived, which had scattered to all edges of the pond with the adorable high-pitched noise Sokka had drawn out of him. He turned back to Sokka with a raised eyebrow.

“What? That was all you, your Fiery-ness. I’m not the one making noises that only polar bear-dogs can hear.”

Zuko pressed his lips into a thin line, his face growing a shade pinker. “That wasn’t my fault!”

“I dunno, man. All I did was say hi, and suddenly you’re scaring all the turtleducks away.”

“That was not all you did! You–” Zuko cut himself off, his cheeks puffing out a little with frustration, before he turned to face the pond once more.

Sokka popped up on his elbows. “I what, your Fiery-ness?”

Zuko had moved on to pouting, which matched adorably with the blush still staining his cheeks. He looked at Sokka from the corner of his eye. “You know that’s not a real title.”

“Ah, ah, ah.” Sokka wagged a finger in Zuko’s face. “No changing the subject, mister. What could I have possibly done to scare off the turtleducks?”

“You– you surprised me!”

Sokka hummed, flopping back into the grass. “Still sounds like your fault then, doesn’t it? All those squeaky noises, looks like the Fire Lord startles too easily.” 

Scanning Zuko’s body, Sokka tried to aim another poke toward the area that earned him that noise in the first place – somewhere between the back of his ribs and his shoulder blade. Quicker than Sokka would have expected – which was his own fault, Zuko was the most skilled swordsman between them, even if he was loath to admit it – Zuko twisted around and snatched the offending finger out of the air, holding it tight.

“Don’t even think about it.”

Sokka raised his eyebrows. “Defensive. Careful, you’ll scare the turtleducks out of the pond completely.”

That earned Sokka a patented Zuko glare, the likes of which he hadn’t seen outside of a war room in a long while. Sokka frowned, eyes jumping between Zuko’s face and his upper back.

“Did I hit a bruise or something?” He asked, grabbing Zuko’s shoulder and forcibly twisting him back around. “Are you hurt and not telling us?”

“What? No! Sokka, come on–”

“I don’t understand what the big deal is, then–”

Sokka prodded his fingers into the area again, earning him another one of those high pitched noises. When he didn’t relent, Zuko tried to twist away, the sound turning into a full-blown squeal. Sokka paused.

“Wait a second–”

“Sokka, no–”

“You’re telling me–”

“Shut up!”

“– that his royal grumpiness–”

Zuko whirled around, tackling him back into the grass and slamming a hand over his mouth. His cheeks were stained a mottled red, and Sokka could feel his own face warming up to match as he realized how close the two of them were. Zuko, as usual, remained oblivious.

“– is ticklish?” Sokka finished, his voice muffled beneath Zuko’s hand.

“I am not!”

Sokka laughed, reaching up to pull Zuko’s hand away from his mouth. “You so are! Fire Lord Zuko is stupid ticklish, how did none of us know?”

“Well– you’re ticklish too!”

“Sure,” Sokka said. “But this isn’t about me right now.” He surged upward and hooked his leg around Zuko’s hip, using the leverage to flip them over so he was pinning Zuko. “This is about you and the frankly adorable noise you just made.”

“I’ll call the guards.”

Sokka scoffed. “No you won’t.”

Zuko’s mouth started to twist into a scowl, so Sokka decided he’d had enough of toying with his food. His hands immediately started scribbling up Zuko’s ribs, and Sokka was shocked that the guards didn’t come running anyway at how loud Zuko squealed. Sokka laughed again.

“You’ve been holding out on us!”

“Sokka, please!”

His hands jumped down to Zuko’s stomach, digging into the robes with the sort of nibbling pinches that always sent Aang and Toph into hysterics. Zuko’s squeals jumped into giggles as he tried to curl into a ball underneath Sokka, shoving at him with one hand and covering his face with the other.

“Man, you’ve got all this royal clothing in the way,” Sokka said, pausing his attack. “How am I supposed to find the best tickle spots in these conditions?”

Zuko pushed at Sokka’s face. “You aren’t.”

Sokka grabbed Zuko’s wrist and pinned it in the grass next to his head. “So you admit there’s tickle spots to find?”

“... No?”

“I hope you know that just makes me want to find them more.”

That adorable mottled blush bloomed on Zuko’s cheeks again as he narrowed his eyes. “I think you’re forgetting something important.”

“What?”

With a startling lurch, Zuko rolled them back over, twisting his hand out of Sokka’s grip to pin Sokka’s own hand on the grass high above his head. Sokka gaped up at him.

“I already know where your tickle spots are.”

[feathergail]

Hello! I love your artwork so much and I’d like to request Zuko and Sokka. If you don’t have time/aren’t interested in that pairing at the moment, either one singular character being tickled would be amazing! Also, do you agree that Sokka would totally act tough but the moment you tickle him (I mean, he wears a tank top a lot, so those armpits are begging for some tickles) he’d melt? Thanks again!

this is a daily morning routine with these two (time skip designs!)

[hahanamegobrrrr]

rahhhhhhh

[thebest-medicine]

56 for lee!zuko and ler!sokka?? love ur blog sm, i get so excited when u make a new prompt list like this!!!

Prompt 56 - "I never would've pegged you as the ticklish type."

A/N: this is such a sweet message and I’m so happy ahhh! thank you so much <3 also YES avatar prompt avatar prompt and ticklish zuko at that????? Yes?????!!!!!!!!?????

…

“Y’know, I never would’ve pegged you as the ticklish type.” Sokka said, cheerful as ever as he sat by a panting Zuko on the ground beside him.

Zuko just groaned, pulling his hands in to cover his face.

Sokka grinned as Zuko unknowingly opened himself up for further attack. He took the opportunity and dove in for another round of sporadic pokes to Zuko’s stomach and ribs.

“Nah-HA hahaha- nohohoho!” Zuko absolutely howled, laughing and scrambling onto his side as his arms flailed down.

“Mm see. I feel like it destroys the whole image of you that we had for months. Chasing us. Trying to capture Aang. Meanwhile your tickle-laugh sounds like this.” Sokka cooed.

“AhahaAY- haha Sohohokka stahahahop it!” Zuko wheezed.

“Alright, alright. Just saying. I wish we knew this sooner.” Sokka smirked. “Would’ve made you seem a lot less menacing.”

Zuko rolled his eyes a few moments after Sokka finally stopped. “Shut up.”

“Oh you shut up, you love it.” Sokka cackled, teasing.

…

[more sentence starter fic prompts]

[other sentence starter fics]

[read this & further avatar drabbles on ao3]

[momos-servants]

Wait guys

[happyandticklish]

Sore Loser

Notes: Commission for @ultimatelee19 Thank you so much for commissioning! It’s been a while since I’ve spent any time in the Legend of Korra fandom, so it was fun to get to revisit it for this piece. I hope you enjoy ^^

Summary: After several losses in the Pro-Bending Arena, Bolin is anxious to prove his worth amongst their group. Meanwhile, Korra shows him the hard way that sometimes it’s okay to lose.

“You know you’re gonna lose, right?”

The field was clear save the two of them. They had snuck out hours before Mako had even had a chance to wake up for their usual training, and the hint of pink in the sky was the only indicator that it was morning at all. There was something nice about being out this early, the only creatures awake as the rest of the world slumbered. It was a peaceful feeling. Korra, however, was never very good at accustoming herself to times of peace.

Perhaps this is why she had been so easily persuaded by Bolin to come and spar before their next competition in the Pro-Bending Arena, even if she felt a bit uneasy about it. He hadn’t said anything, but she could tell he was nervous about their upcoming competition. Their last few fights hadn’t gone very well for them, but he especially had been off his game. Nothing to worry about, really, but it could be if he got in his head about it. Most likely, this was just an excuse to get a win under his belt in order to ease his nerves. Not that he would ever admit it—hence the attitude.

Korra raised an eyebrow at him, adjusting her stance. “Is that so? Well then, I look forward to my swift defeat, since you’re so cocky. It’s a risky move, going up against the Avatar alone.”

Bolin scoffed, but his fists clenched by his sides. “Please. ‘The Avatar’. You’re also reckless and undisciplined.”

“Undisciplined? As opposed to you?”

“Obviously.” A grin made its way to his features and she relaxed a little at the easy banter. “I’ve worked myself to the bone for years on training.”

“So have I.”

“In general, maybe,” he conceded. “A typical jack of all trades, whereas I am a master of earthbending. Which is why for tonight, I challenge you, oh great Avatar—a battle, earthbending style! If you use any other elements, you’re disqualified.”

Korra considered the proposition for a moment. An easy handicap, even still. She knew it might be better for Bolin’s ego if she lost, but Korra had never historically been a great loser. If he wanted a challenge, he was going to get one.

She smirked, trying not to enjoy how her words made the cocky expression on Bolin’s face waver. “Alright. You’re on. Just try not to be too disappointed when you lose.”

“I could say the same to you.” The ground under them rumbled, and Korra yelped as she just barely jumped back in time to avoid a cluster of rocks that had nearly toppled her from underneath. “Careful.”

Korra laughed, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. “Oh, you’re in for it now.”

With that, the battle was on. For a while, Korra tried to play the long game and keep her attacks careful and coordinated, opting more for defense than anything else. Bolin, on the other hand, lashed out with a determination that was only serving to make him sloppy. His lunges were too quick, his strikes too sudden, and his words were tinged with frustration as he attempted to keep up the same arrogant banter as before. Heneeded to just relax if he was going to get a hit in, let alone win.

Bolin ducked forward suddenly with a fist that was evaded as she grabbed onto his arm. He struggled against her fruitlessly for a moment and her eyes widened with an idea as a smirk slowly took over her features.

Bingo.

“You know, maybe it’s time to get a bit more up close and personal,” she said, gripping his arm and using his own weight to flip him down to the ground. He grunted as his back hit the earth and she threw a leg over him in his distraction, one of his arms still captured in hers. “Take a more offensive stance, perhaps?”

“What are you talking about—gah! K-Korra!”

Bolin’s words were cut off by a strangled yelp as Korra’s fingers skittered over his stomach, poking and prodding occasionally to great effect. Bolin’s face, already red from exhaustion, pinkened as his features scrunched up in defiance. Tickling. Perhaps cheating in an official fight, but for now it came with the side benefit of always working to relax Bolin. After all, if she could knock him out of his weird mood and win the fight all in one, where was the harm there?

Bolin was squirming underneath her, giggling up a storm as she managed to slip a hand under his shirt to get at bare skin. “N-Naha knock it off! This is cheheheating!”

“I fail to remember you ever specifically banning tickling as an option.” Korra vibrated her hands into his ribs and Bolin shrieked, lurching out of her grip suddenly and scrambling to get away. She clucked her tongue, dusting off her hands as she stood up. “Bad move, my friend. I’m afraid you’re still wide open.”

She ran after him, throwing herself at his back in an unskilled but effective attack. The momentum carried them both forward, and they tumbled to the ground in a clumsy roll. Before Bolin could gather his bearings, she pulled her fist up, forming a rock foundation around him that effectively covered and pinned him to the ground. The rock formed makeshift stocks for his feet, and his hands were encased in stone raised far above his head. Bolin struggled fruitlessly against the bonds, but with his hands trapped, there was no way out. Korra strolled over, stretching her arms above her head before taking a seat by his feet.

“You have been awfully strung out all week now. I think it’s a high time that you take a moment to sit back and actually relax. And—” she held his toes back, scribbling her fingers over his bare arch. “If you’re not gonna do that on your own, then I’ll take it on myself to help you out.”

Bolin threw his head back in wild laughter, his other foot dancing around wildly in the stead of his trapped one. “W-Wait Korrahaha! I’m fine, j-just—shit, n-not tihihickling!”

“Yes tickling,” she said, digging her fingers under his toes to a torrent of frantic giggles. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed what you’ve been doing to yourself all week.”

“What—not the other fohohohoot!!”

“You lose a couple of fights and get all in your head about it,” Korra continued, ignoring his protests. Her fingers spidered over his arches, pausing occasionally to scritch under his toes in a manner that she knew from experience made him go crazy. “That’s not the Bolin I know. No, the Bolin I know would use those losses as encouragement to do better—to train, not whatever pity party this is.”

The corners of Bolin’s mouth made an attempt to turn down in indignation, but the tickling was quickly sapping all of the venom and frustration out of him. He shrieked when she moved up to his thighs suddenly. His clothing got in the way a tad, but she was able to pinch up and down the area in a manner that seemed just as effective, if not more so, than if his skin had been bare. “And challenging me to dumb fights at some crazy hour of the morning before a competition is not ‘training’. You need rest. You need diligence. You need to stop beating yourself up about this.”

Bolin shook his head back and forth, his legs jerking against the stone. Out of curiosity, she tried scribbling her fingers over his inner thighs and the sound he let out at that seemed to indicate that the strategy was worth continuing. “It tihihickles though!”

“Mm, and I know how much you hate tickling.” Korra raised a brow and Bolin’s cheeks flushed red. It wasn’t something that he advertised, per se, but it wasn’t hard for anyone who witnessed these moments to tell that he was enjoying himself. “Listen, man, we’ve all had bad days. You think I got where I am by winning every fight I’m in or always nailing new skills first try? You think Mako did? You practice. You study. And you don’t let one defeat get in your head.”

He shrieked when she moved her hands up under his arms suddenly, tugging desperately at his hands. “Okahahay okahahay I get it! Just p-please gihive me a breheheak!”

Korra considered it for a moment, continuing to trace idle circles under his arms as she did, much to Bolin’s chagrin. “Okay, I’ll consider it. Considering…”

Bolin whimpered underneath her, his face scrunched up in an intense expression of concentration. As his skin was still protected by his clothing, the tickling wasn’t as intense as it could be. She glanced down, however, to notice that his shirt had ridden up in the tussle, revealing a sliver of his stomach—historically, his worst spot. Perhaps it was time to really show Bolin exactly what happens to teammates who underestimate themselves.

She placed her hands on his stomach, sliding them slowly under his shirt as she did. She bit back a grin when Bolin visibly jumped. “Here’s the deal. We have about a half hour till Mako wakes up and starts to wonder where we are. Either you admit that you’re a good fighter and that it’s okay to make mistakes, or I tickle your stomach until he finds us—your choice.”

With that, she descended into a frenzy of scribbling and poking fingers all over his stomach that left Bolin a wheezing mess under her. He arched his body back against his bonds, but there was no escaping rock. He probably could have used his bending to get out, but bending required a certain focus that tickling left no room for.

In the end, Bolin held out for another five or ten minutes until Korra discovered that his naval was a hotspot of nerves that broke down his pride in a matter of seconds. And while Bolin complained and muttered indignantly while he caught his breath when she finally set him loose, the happy flush to his cheeks revealed the truth of how much he had needed to be able to let go.

Next time, Korra just hoped he asked instead of making her endure the horror of being awake at four in the morning.

[kanene-yaaay]

A Method to De-Stress

Warning: None. Just a very silly tickle fic. Romantic pairing. Tickly kisses. Lee!Aang and Ler!Katara. Around 1000 words.

Kanene's notes: Found myself wanting to write a loving fic with Katara and Aang being the most PRECIOUS and SOFTEST w each other except for Katara having the need for blood laughter. I will post a title and organize everything better tomorrow abshyegebsjs I am sleepy.

[~*~]

Katara could swear she was feeling a vein on her forehead about to explode from the sheer amount of stress that only grew stronger with each line of the report she read about the reconstruction of the South Pole. Not for the first time she wished that Appa could fly quicker, not for the first time she hoped he wouldn’t.

Huffing a tired breath - she was supposed to be enjoying the little alone time she got with Aang, and instead… - she closed the paper with a decisive fluid movement, shoving it on her purse before looking at her boyfriend.

The Avatar was too focused on directing the flying bison to notice her stare, giving the waterbender plenty of time to watch at him with what her brother called ‘gooey eyes’ before a very specific smile grazed her lips.

The perfect idea of how de-stress just flicked on her mind.

“Aang, sweetie, can you come here, please?”

The other turned around with the same happy excitement he always had when Katara used the sweet petname, blinding smile and a loving gaze that got too unfocused for a few seconds before he managed to get his head out of the clouds painting his features.

“Alright!” He then turned to Appa, petting his head. “I will be right back, ok, buddy? Just keep flying forward and soon enough we'll take a break with plenty of berries for you to eat!” 

Then, in a blink, he was jumping over the saddle and poppling himself in front of the girl, his entire body facing hers, faces close and attentive eyes clued on her, as if Katara was the wind in a good day for sail, guiding and pulling him close like a nature force that he couldn’t bother (nor want) to fight against.

That was perfect for her idea, of course, even if she wanted to laugh and coo about how easy the airbender was making this for her.

“What is it, KatarAH!”

She smiled, softly, innocently, as happy as a polar goose bear who just got their prey as she watched the other shout a loud, incessant laughter. The surprised sound filling and running across the entire atmosphere, chasing the birds in the air and jumping around the clouds as her hands - still attached to his sides no matter how much he squirmed and trashed - squeezed and tickled the spot freely, without a single worry in the world.

“BWAHAHAAIT! WAIT, WHYHIHIHI!” With a content and a tad questioning hum she gently lowered him to the floor when her fingers, skilled from years and years of tickle fights and surprise wiggle attacks with Sokka, wormed their way to the delightful, horribly ticklish base of Aang’s spine, prodding and poking incessantly at the spot as the younger’s his legs gave out under him.

“Why what, Aang? What is the matter? Did something happen for you to get so giggly out of sudden?”

“YEHEHES!” Tui and La, Katara almost forgot how cute his voice gets when she tickles his spine with tiny, careful pinches, each one of them pulling more and more squeaky shrieks. “Yohoho’re tihihIIIIH TIcklING mHEHEHE! Mwhehehe! Nohohohoho!”

“Tickling you?” Katara gasped, ignoring the avatar’s hands batting hers, the touch both too uncoordinated and too light to really diverge her from her objective, the tip of her fingers dancing upwards to scratch all the sensitive spots on his ribs, making his laugher much more high pitched and lost in hysterical giggles for him to do much more than nod non stop to answer her question. “But how so! I am simply resting my hands here, on your very ticklish ribs and there is no problem with me choosing to rest them here, is there? I spend the whooole morning working, they’re tired from writing so much. You won’t force your own girlfriend to take them away, will you, Aang, sweetie?”

“Mmmmhehehehee! Katara!!” He tried to squirm, cheeks involuntary getting hotter with both the nickname and how his muscles melted with the careful touch and silly teases. Still, the light, unbearable tickles kept following every little twist and wiggle of his torso with a determination that could rival Zuko’s when he wanted to capture him. “Ihihihit tickles sohohoh much!!” 

“Please, Aang? Pleeeease.”

He made the horrible mistake of opening his eyes, only for them to be captured by the biggest, prettiest and bluest gaze he had ever seen in his life (and he had seen very beautiful things!), and suddenly every single muscle in his body gave up, all the fight flying away from his spirit in a single giddy breath. She indeed had worked so much these days…

Oh, he was done for, wasn’t he?

“Ohohohokay!”

“Really?” She beamed, and grey eyes watched the exact moment the innocent, pleading disappeared her gaze and was promptly overpowered by a hungry, predatory smirk. “Perfect.”

He felt as the hands that, before, were barely fluttering against his skin closed in fists, knuckles now resting on the tickle spot, and in a sudden hysterical piece of second he realized exactly what he just walked in.

“Katara!”

And then she attacked.

(...)

“Thank you, Aang!” Her words were playful and happy as she peppered a series of quick butterflies kisses on his red cheeks, little huffs of snickers painting her tone as the act only made the other’s tired giggles flow faster.

“Nooo,” his hands were clued on her shoulders, caught between the need to push Katara away before the moment grow into a second tickle attack and basking on how nice the lovely kisses felt. “Yohohou know thahat my cheeks are tihihihicklish!”

With a last chuckle, Katara laid a last kiss on his forehead, finally letting the boy snicker, titter and snigger his way out of the giddiness of the tickling and the adrenaline of the surprise attack. His arms let her go to hug his own torso, a couple of tired kicks being the materialization of the somersaults his stomach kept doing.

Both of them carried gigantic smiles on their faces (one a tad more adoring than the other, that is true) and a joyful wrinkle around their eyes, clothes being softly jolted by the wind as Appa calmly kept passing under the clouds.

Katara knew that there would be more problems and papers and responsibilities and choices waiting for her, no matter the place or time, that was just life.

Still, with Aang's laughter still ringing clear on her ears, Momo jumping on her shoulders to convince her to give him a snack and a grin still stretched on her face, suddenly none of this felt so overwhelming. 

"I do." She chuckled and Aang's smile blossomed wider, probably already thinking about revenge and surprising attacks, she would have to be careful to not let him out of her vision field for the day. "That I do."

A wonderful method to de-stress, indeed.

[toweroftickles]

Three-Sentence Drabbles: Ticklish Dads

This was supposed to be a cute, wholesome little tribute for Father's Day, but obviously that's no longer the case. I never seem to have inspiration for holiday-themed compilations until too late. It's also surprisingly difficult to cram setup and payoff into a three-sentence limit (not to mention varying grammatical structure in a way that's coherent), so as per usual I kind of cheated with quotations and inserts.

Chrom, Lucina, and Inigo

"H-Heh-Ha-Ha! Stop that...Ha-HaI'm...I'm g-hoing to...be....Ngk...your f-ha-ther someday, and...Heh...I-I...order you to...Heh-Heh Ha-Ha!" Chrom laughed and jumped around in his creaking wooden chair, while Lucina turned blue and scurried in a tornado of panic around the war room table.

In his right hand, Inigo was holding a rigid yellow quill, and its purpose was twofold: to tickle the father-daughter pair at intervals, and to scrawl the results of his "research" in a small red leather notebook.

"Sheesh, you two, get a grip...you're always so on edge," Inigo grinned as he chased Lucina around the room like an exuberant toddler, menacingly waggling the feather toward her, desperate pleas of "No, keep that away from me!" jostling his eardrums.

For those unaware, in Fire Emblem Awakening, Inigo has canonically tickled Lucina and Chrom just to make them smile. ^^

Ellie and Joel (Game)

Sure, Ellie knew that her awful dad jokes weren’t all that funny, but at least she was trying to ease the tension, and Joel’s irascible stone face was really getting on her nerves…especially now that her backup plan wasn’t working either.

“URRRGH, shit; you’re seriously not ticklish?!” she griped, jabbing her index finger repeatedly into Joel’s lower back like an impatient kid with an elevator button.

Ellie quickly regretted her impertinence when her guardian wordlessly picked her up by her armpits and shoved her against a brick wall, and soon, she found herself kicking her legs, cursing, and giggling uncontrollably above the ground as rough fingers squeezed into her belly over and over, no matter how much she yelled…maybe Joel did have a sense of humor after all.

Ok, so not every dad on the list is ticklish, but I wanted to write about him pulling an Uno Reverse Card on Ellie. XD

Jake, Kiri, and Tuktirey Sully

"Huhuh, Huh-Ha...Heh! Heh HAA HAA HA...Qu-hittit! Ah-Hn-Hn Hng-Hng Hng!!" Jake Sully laughed loudly and futilely attempted to shield his armpit among the grass.

"Hihih! T-hickle tickle tickle tickle tickle," Tuk giggled sweetly, scratching her dad's belly button with her impish finger while he thrashed around.

The olo'eyktan had slipped from his mount and landed in the midst of the direhorse herd, and now, surrounded by curious baby calves, his whole body was being lashed by their long, fleshy tongues...his stomach, his underarms, his feet...everywhere...but rather than restraining their pets, his two daughters had decided to gleefully join in the tickle torture, and were poking Jake wherever their wicked little hands could reach.

Johnny and Dennis

One of the first skills a young vampire learned was to control bats, but despite the tutelage of his mother and grandfather's combined centuries of experience, Dennis was rapidly losing control of his "training swarm."

A torrent of the little beasts (over a hundred of them) careened around the castle's dining hall, upending candlesticks and chairs as they went, until they eventually dove headlong into Jonathan like a blast from a fire hose and carried him high into the air.

"WhoaAAho, hohohohohold it, YAAaHahaaaaThatssouncomfterble, NG! Wha - Eeeeeeeeeeeeek! Hehelp me down!" the incomprehensible syllables blurted out of Johnny's mouth at a warbling pitch and his body twisted into noodles...dozens of the bats were swarming inside his clothes...but his wife and son were too busy giggling to assist.

Naruto and Boruto Uzumaki

Naruto stood rooted to the training courtyard ground, iron and resolute, taking body-blow after body-blow with nary a flinch as his son's practice dummy.

This test was one of Boruto's strength, to see if he could force the immovable to move, but Naruto remained steadfast for a long while, until the boy’s knuckles dusted across his abdomen one too many times and he shuddered in place.

“HHEHH; Heehee-Heehee Hee, Quihit it!” the Hokage snickered like a little kid, slightly embarrassed and frustrated that he (like many other "tough" adult ninjas) hadn’t quite outgrown a ticklish tummy yet - a fact which delighted Boruto.

Kass and His Kids

Of Kass’ five daughters, Cree struggled the most with playing his bandoneon, always fumbling with it and letting it slip through her feathers (but in her defense, it was difficult for the bird bard to teach her properly while the rest of his chicks used him like a jungle gym).

“No, you gotta squeeze it really hard,” Kotts instructed during a slow glide down off of her dad's shoulder, continuing as she landed behind him: "...liiiiiiike......this!"

One harsh pinch around his waist, and Kass fell down helpless on the flight platform in a heap of laughter, a wide open target for the army of five teeny soldiers that hopped and bounced all over him with their iron talons and fluffy wings, grinning and squealing…he wasn't sure how many more tickle attacks he could take in one day!

Miguel and Gabriella O'Hara (Earth-TRN1042)

This one’s for @trrickytickle, who was the only one to offer me a suggestion for this comp. 😂

Every Miguel O'Hara throughout the vast multiverse was always tethered to some type of “spider” in one way or another, and young Gabriella...skittering slowly along the living room floor, all four limbs splayed out and giggling excitedly...certainly looked the part.

“Hmm…must’ve been my imagination…could’ve sworn I heard a little bug crawling around somewhere…” Miguel smirked and politely pretended not to see or hear her (not even when her tennis shoes squeaked on polished hardwood), until she cried out “Spider attack!” and dove onto him with insectoid hands.

"AHH-HA No no wait wait wait wait wait; Ha-Ha Ha-Ha!" Miguel's raspy laugh broke out as soon as those sharp, unclipped little fingernails nibbled his stomach, for that was his jubilant girl's superpower - tickle torture! - and no weapon was powerful enough to stop her reign of terror…well, except maybe the big raspberry he blew right on her squishy tummy.

Mufasa and Simba

Like all cubs, Simba firmly believed he could take his dad in a fight despite their 600-pound size difference, but his illusion was quickly broken by the set of jaws that lifted him up by the scruff of his neck, and the lion prince had no other recourse than to struggle wildly, swiping and pawing and wagging his tail at Mufasa's belly.

“Hn-Hn, Heh-Heh Heh-Heh Ha-Ha Ha-Ha!” That voice wasn’t just deep, it was subterranean, and Mufasa's booming laughter always drew big smiles out of his mate and cub alike.

Collapsing into one another, the king and his son tumbled down the grassy hill until they were both exhausted, warm and safe in a snuggle of dandelion fuzz.

Phoenix and Trucy Wright

For her 13th birthday, Phoenix Wright scrounged together enough dough to buy his little magician a new Hans Moretti Sword Box, and he'd even agreed to let her practice with him...with the provision that she use floppy toy weapons, of course.

"Now just hold still dad, I've gotta get this right!" Trucy announced and shoved a wobbly rubber sword into the box's open slot.

Its hard tip bent against Phoenix's spleen, causing him to warble "BaAAaah, that tickles!" and rattle inside his felt-lined prison.

Ashley and Richard Robins (Trace Memory/Another Code)

Ashley’s bond with her father was still tenuous, even after all they’d been through...so many questions unanswered and lost years irretrievable...and so she spent most of her vacation in awkward, divorced silence with him, usually draped over the couch and moodily leafing through a book.

But one afternoon, as she laid there on her stomach and doomscrolled through Instagram, Ashley suddenly felt a nerve-tingling scratch along the bottom of her bare foot, and with a loud and involuntary scream, she whipped around and pulled her knees into her chest, her cheeks the color of strawberry jelly.

“DAaaA-aaaad!” she whined, full to bursting with angry embarrassment, but instead of letting her socially-awkward father mumble an apology, she angrily hopped up and tickled under his arms until he slid down to the floor in fits of anxious laughter...it surprisingly made her feel better.

Will Taylor and his Dad (NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams)

“Hey, dad, you're gonna be at the game on Thursday, right?” Will asked with a twinge of trepidation in his voice (he didn't want to seem too concerned) as he carried the soccer ball under his arm.

Smiling, his father teased the blonde boy “Oh, you think I forgot…huh, you think I forgot?!” and suddenly wrestled him down into the sunny campsite grass in a merciless flurry of tickling fingers.

Will had been lonely and missing his dad terribly these past few weeks, but as he lay there squeaking and laughing helplessly (and despite his struggle to tickle his dad back through that heavy three-piece suit), all that heartache slowly melted away.

Aang and Kya

Ankle-deep in the Nan Shan River (for familial waterbending lessons), Katara was struck from the heavens with a brilliant idea, and while Aang was distracted, she knelt down delivered wicked whispers into the ear of her young daughter, whose grin grew wider and wider.

At the direction of Kya’s wildly-flapping limbs, bubbles and seaweed and soft nodes of jasmine ice all gently coalesced into swirling, semisolid eddies that snaked beneath the water and wrapped themselves around Aang’s lower legs before he noticed them, and suddenly, the Avatar went cross-eyed and began to dance around in the whirlpools like a caffeinated monkey.

As father and daughter both failed to contain their hysterics, Katara stood there snickering at her own clever prank, beaming with pride at her little girl...but in her mirth, she failed to realize that Kya might want to try out this "traditional Southern Water Tribe technique" on her next.

Vander, Vi, and Powder

Vi and Powder plopped down on the elder sister's bed and angrily wiped their bruised, stinging cheeks and damp lips, only marginally comforted by Vander's tree-trunk arms around their shoulders...though the thing that really hurt most was their pride.

"That's what you get for taking on boys twice your size...you learned your lesson or do they need to whip your hides again?" their guardian teased the girls and tussled their hair, and Vi (who was clearly trying not to smile) answered by twisting her left elbow into his ribs.

"Ha-ow! Oi, so you think you wanna scuffle, eh?" Vander laughed and quickly immobilized the sisters, who shrieked like tea kettles and kicked ecstatically in his embrace, unable to escape the smothering bear-hugs and armpit-tickles that bombarded them.

[queseresere]

Been sketching Pathbubsssss instead of studying for my finallllssss!!!

I am obsessed with @lunarcrown and @aquaquadrants Hels To Pay AU. Everyone should go sell their souls to the brain rot right now!

(Click for better quality)

(Edited to add tags for blood and body horror cause of that one Dbubs angst)

[crazy-as-a-jaybird]

ok here goes nothing

@squealing-santa

merry Christmas, @allytheally

— — —

Fandom: Avatar the last airbender

Lee: Zuko

Ler: Katara

Word count: 1,200

Warnings: just tickling and mentions of an injury

Summary: Zuko can be grouchy about many things. Sunny days. Pain. Rest. Being cared for. Being cared for by Katara. Probably being tickled by Katara?..

timeline between ‘The Southern Raiders’ and ‘The Ember Island Players’

— ⭐ — ⭐ — ⭐ —

Zuko was preoccupied thinking about how much he hated his life. While it wasn't the newest feeling for him, he could see the conditions were becoming more and more ridiculous as the said life wore on. Screw firebending training. Screw Aang, even if he was the one to catch him before that uncalled for fall could end in something more severe than a twisted ankle. And if he didn't at least make fun of him afterwards (unlike a certain wolftail guy), instead trying to bring up how everyone trips sometimes, metaphorically or not, and it's nothing to be ashamed of. Pathetic.

Zuko had probably spent several YEARS just sitting in the chair of earth Toph had made for him, staring at the sky above the Western Air Temple. While Katara had attempted to reduce the swell with ice, her main instructions were resting and letting his body heal itself.

Zuko did not like resting. First, it wasn't productive. Second, the less busy he was the more his anxieties gnawed at him.

He turned his face away as the sun once again peeked merrily out of the clouds. At that moment, the celestial embodiment of his power looked like it was mocking him...

Zuko squinted in the direction he was now facing.

Ah. At least the sun couldn't approach him. Like the figure in blue clothes was currently approaching from aside, for the third time that day.

Zuko felt his face growing hotter from what the sun wasn't to blame for. Even after that fulfilling journey of avenge, he felt slightly uneasy around her. Well, enmities of the past don't fade in the blink of an eye. But the fact she had to look after him in this vulnerable position didn't make it less awkward.

“Let me see your leg”, – Katara murmured, sitting down by his side and laying her careful hands on his injury.

“One thing for sure, it still hasn't fallen off”, – Zuko scoffed.

The waterbender mirrored his frown, slowly unwrapping the bandage.

“And they call me a drama queen.” When she looked up at him the next second, her gaze seemed more tired than annoyed. “Listen, you're not a burden just because one of your feet doesn't work right now.”

Zuko clenched the armrests of his chair, as hard and reliable as the bender who had created them.

“Well too bad, I'm not a contribution either. What am I supposed to do with this other foot here?”

It reminded of the everlasting dilemma about whether the glass is half-full or half-empty. Could have reminded, if any of them was up for humor.

“This childish talk is certainly not what I've expected from the oldest member of the team”, – Katara grumbled, seemingly running thin on patience but nevertheless sneaking in a reminder of who he was right now.

Nearly identical sighs came from both of them, apparently as a replacement of mutual apologies for the irritation. Then Katara took some water our of her flask, swirling it around the hapless limb. It made Zuko clench harder. Every time she did it, he was seriously taken off guard by the sensation, and being taken off guard was another thing he did not like.

The remedy was both heavy and weightless, it was sliding gently over his skin, leaving a weirdly tingly trail behind.

The question of whether waterbending affected everyone that way or he was just weird himself added to the skyscraping pile of questions that tormented him.

“Zuko, does it really hurt that bad?”

The healer's voice was caring, but Zuko could swear there was something suspicious about it. Or maybe he was being paranoid.

He shook his head.

It was almost funny how hard he was trying to hold it in, almost cute. After how twitchy he acted during the previous healing sessions, it wasn't hard to figure out, if hard to process. Hard to believe she used to be afraid of him. Zuko, the Fire Nation prince with ticklish feet.

After wrapping his ankle up again, Katara changed her position a little, now looking down at his other limb.

“I thought about your question, Zuko.” Her hand settled down on his sole, her fingers curling up against his toes. “And I believe we do have a use for this foot right now.”

Now it was definitely suspicious. In the worst way.

Before Zuko could ask any more questions, she dug in, sending a few very heart-stopping bolts through his body. (And he had thought he could handle an actual lightning hitting him. How funny.)

He would have tried so hard to keep acting gloomy until she would step back if he'd known this was the thing on her mind. But unfortunately, the surprise tore a few chuckles out of him before he could do anything to shut them out.

Katara seemed satisfied, but unwilling to stop yet. Zuko pressed his back into the chair, desperate to wriggle away from the ticklish “examination” of his toes even though there was absolutely, completely nowhere to go.

She held his leg down firmer, fixing it in place.

“Hey, don't you remember what I said about sitting still?”

This recommendation was simply upsetting before, but so much more torturous in this context. What did he say about the worsening conditions?..

“Yohohohou cahahAHn'td-dothistome!”

Giggles, squeals, whines. It was just idiotic. Zuko gritted his teeth in an unequal battle against all of them.

Katara rolled her eyes. How dare you!..

“I'm doing what I'm supposed to. You know what they say, laughter is the best medicine.”

She wiggled her fingers up to his knee experimentally, although Zuko felt like this was more of a discovery for him than for her. He never expected himself to be that sensitive. Not now. Not after everything he's been through. He just can't...

“But I doubt it will work if you lock it all inside...”

And then her hand dashed higher and attacked his tense stomach.

Zuko was lost in shrill cackles, flushing up so hard the right side of his face probably reached the color of his burn. His body went limp, giving up on even trying to fight back. Worse, worse, so much worse...

“No!”

The prince didn't know if it was a wheeze or a moan (what's more humiliating?), but the next thing he knew, the touches slipped away with just the tingles remaining.

“Sorry, Zuko. Here, take this.”

Katara led a small portion of soothing water over his face and hair and another one to his lips. The firebender swallowed it eagerly.

“Thank you.”

He regretted opening his eyes as soon as he saw Katara's glinting with some leftover mischief.

“For what, to be specific? For the water? For the treatment? For the tickling?”

She didn't even want an answer.

Zuko was glad his hands weren't injured and he could cover his face. What wasn't so good was that he could still hear her laughing heartily at his groan and feel her ruffling his wet hair.

Her footsteps tapped softly across the floor as she left him to deal with the misery and the newfound fluster by himself.

“Remember, I'm not far. Call me if you need anything else. And I mean anything...”