#also fun fact softball (outdoor at least) originated outside a fire station and was then popular with other stations nearby so yeah

[heartsywritesthethings]

BP: Bets Placed

A lil Fire Force fic done as a little Monday Madness with my good friend GA!Babe. Prompt: “Whoever loses gets tickled by _______ for five minutes.”

“Rookies! Get in here!”

Shinra, Arthur, and Tamaki all look up from their paperwork at the sound of Captain Obi’s booming voice. Confused, the all share a quick glance before getting up to follow instructions. Of course, the second Shinra and Arthur meet eyes, they’re sprinting to try to be the first out of the room and in front of Obi. Their nonstop competition nothing new to the members of the company, no one pays it too much mind when they’re shoving each other in the door frame. With the whole company now present, Obi smirks. “It’s that time of year again! The Annual Fire Force Charity Softball Tournament! And for the first time, we have enough members to field a team.”

Shinra tilts his head as he asks, “The Special Fire Force does a softball tournament? I get doing a charity, but why softball?”

“Softball was selected due to its founding being credited to fire stations present before the Great Cataclysm,” Hinawa supplies from beside the captain. “The game originated with fire companies, so it seemed appropriate.”

“Anyway, we thought it might be a good idea to practice some during down time. Not everyone at once since we need to be prepared if a call comes in. But a little practice for a few of us every now and again should help prepare us so we can make a decent showing for our time in the tournament. Plus, it’s good team building!”

With the announcement of their company taking part in the upcoming tournament, excitement and competitive energy filled the station over the following days. Groups of three would head out to the nearby park to work on batting, throwing, catching, fielding, and perhaps a little bit of trash talking. It seemed to be a good pastime for the company, and everyone seemed to be having fun with each other… well. Almost everyone.

Obi sighed dramatically, completely ignored by the arguing Shinra and Arthur. He’d brought the boys along for a little bp at the park and they hadn’t even started and the two were already at each other’s throats.

“Stupid knight! There’s no way you’re a better ball player than me. Neither of us have even played before, so what would you know?”

“Well, devil, it’s not hard for a knight to best a beast.”

“Oh yeah?! Well just you watch! I’m going to hit more balls than you!”

“I’m sure I will hit far more than you!”

“No, I will!”

“I will!”

“No, you won’t!”

“Yes, I will!”

“Arthur! Shinra!”

The two boys stop bickering and whip their heads to their captain, but don’t move away from their aggressive stances, ready to continue attacking each other’s throats. Glad to finally have the two rookies’ attention, Obi continues, “How about instead of yelling at each other about how many balls you’re gonna hit, we actually hit some? And we’ll keep track. I’ll give you each ten pitches. Get the most out of ten and you win, but we’ll do best two out of three rounds. Sound good?”

Arthur and Shinra turn to each other, eyeing up their opponent before they each give an affirmative nod. Arthur adds, “I should make you kneel before me after you lose. And have you complete all my paperwork.”

Shinra growls, “How ‘bout when you lose you get demoted to… to peasant! While doing my paperwork!”

“Hey now. This is supposed to be a fun little competition you two. Also, no one will be doing anyone else’s paperwork, that’s not allowed.”

The pout on Shinra’s face should not be allowed to be that adorable as he whines, “But Captain, I want something to happen when he loses.”

“Hey! It’ll be you who loses and is punished.”

These kids are going to be the death of him, Obi thinks with an exasperated smile. “Alright, how about this? Whoever loses gets tickled by the winner and me for five minutes. That way the winner also gets a prize for their victory and I get to have a little fun for getting roped into your little rivalry.”

Arthur smirks. “That would be acceptable.”

Shinra’s face tenses into his so-called devilish (adorable) nervous smile. “But that’s- I mean-“

“What? Scared you’ll lose, devil?”

Spurred on by the provoking the knight, Shinra swallows and shouts, “No! I can beat you! Easy! You’re on!”

Obi laughs at the two rookies. They certainly liven up the company and make everyday interesting. “Alright then, boys. Let’s play ball!”

Shinra manages a solid three hits in his first appearance at the plate. He found himself far too impatient to wait for the ball and kept swinging ahead of it. The swing alone was something he wasn’t used to. The nerves he was feeling at what would come if he was to lose was certainly not helping. Just the thought had him shifting his weight foot to foot anxiously and he couldn’t get his nervous smile to leave his face. But it was going to be fine, because there’s no way Arthur would win.

Arthur won the round with the first four pitches.

And proceeding to hit the following six lobbed balls of his round.

Obi couldn’t keep himself from laughing at Shinra’s dropped jaw and clear realization that he wouldn’t win this. Truthfully, it was a little unfair. Sure, neither of the two had played before, but Arthur’s entire fighting style and training revolved around swinging a stick to hit a moving target. Shinra didn’t really have a shot.

Arthur rests the bat against his shoulder as he looks back at Shinra. “You won’t win the next round, much less the next two, devil. Though the Knight King will get the last laugh, you’ll be the one laughing soon.”

Red spreads across Shinra’s cheeks and up his ears as he gulps; nervous smiling growing wider and wider. He’s screwed.

“Come on, Shinra. I’ve got at least ten more pitches for you. Make them count!”

His second at-bat—while better than the first—was not enough. While he’d gotten a bit more comfortable with repetition, this was still new to him and his head wasn’t in the game. As he watched Arthur get another hit to the grass, surpassing his own number of hits, Shinra fiddled with the hem of his sleeves, knowing what he was about to face.

Arthur’s final pitch for the round was the first one he completely missed, too eager to cash in on his victory. With the round won, Arthur immediately dropped his bat and ran straight for Shinra, tackling him to the ground. Shinra yelped as he hit the dirt, already giggling in nervous anticipation. “Wahahait!”

“I’m not even touching you, yet! By the agreed upon terms, you lost, devil. Not gonna go back out of a deal, are you?”

Shinra looks from the stupid smug look on the stupid smug knight’s face from his perch atop his body to the amused smirk of his captain looming over him. He whines as he squeezes his eyes shut and covers his red face and large face with his hands. “I’m not backing out. A hero doesn’t go back on his word!”

The loud shout about what a hero’s supposed to do gains a laugh from the captain, who squats down and pulls Shinra’s hands away from his face and over his head. Arthur nods sagely, “Though the knight king has bested the hero, that is noble of you, devil.”

His words are lost on Shinra who is tugging at his arms to try to hide his face. The tickling hasn’t even begun and he’s already flailing about. “Best not to keep the kid waiting, Arthur. You’ve got five minutes!”

With that, Arthur scratches Shinra’s ribs through the fabric of his civies. Shinra’s nervous anticipatory giggles quicken as Shinra laughs, squirming to get away from the sensation. The tugging of his arms gets more frantic as Arthur’s fingers spider higher and higher before settling under his arms and drilling into the hollows. Shinra shrieks as he kicks his legs frantically, trying to dislodge his assailant. “Aahaharthur! Obi thahat’s not- ah! Fahair! I cahan’t-“

Obi laughs at his subordinate’s plight, “Can’t what? Can’t take a little tickling? Can’t move your arms? Can’t wait for us to tickle you more? You know what I can help with that.”

Obi then lets go of Shinra’s arms—which immediately flail wildly and accidentally smack him across the face—and adds his own fingers to the mix, gently spidering around Shinra’s neck and ears. Shinra tosses his head side to side as the highest, softest, most precious giggles slip passed his lips as he tries to whine, “Nohoho!”

Laughing more boisterously than the ticklee on the ground, Obi comments, “I’m sorry, kid, you’re just too adorable.”

Arthur pulls back from one of Shinra’s flailing arms, only to have a jerking knee hit his back, as he complains, “You’re moving too much. We’ll have to change that.”

Before Obi can ask what the kid is talking about, Arthur flips around, situates himself on Shinra’s shins and starts lazily drawing shapes into his soles. Almost immediately, Shinra stops his flailing, laying near ramrod straight as a loud shriek leaves his mouth. His previous violent squirming and flailing has been reduced to twitches, head shakes, and Shinra’s hands gripping and smacking the grass below him interchangeably. While his struggling has decreased, his laughter has only gotten louder and more frantic, with a few pleas thrown into the mix.

As the time winds down, so do the tickling fingers. Arthur stands and looks down at Shinra, who’s curling into a ball on his side, still riding out the residual feeling and laughter. Obi gently ruffles the kids hair as he asks, “You alright there, kiddo?”

Shinra just nods. Arthur decides to further reassure the captain with his own answer, “He’s fine. He thinks it’s fun.”

Burying his face into his arms, Shinra just whines. It wouldn’t be heroic to lie.

Looking between the two rivals, Obi just wishes these two would admit that they’re friends. They’ll have plenty of time to get there as long as their part of his company. His family. Sol, these kids are gonna be the death of him.