#ticklish zuko

[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

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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]

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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.”

[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.

[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...”

[tickle-bugs]

Wait… ATLA… I need some zuko fics for suree!! ❤️

.. I know you’re not currently taking prompts at this time but maybe something to considerrrr when you arrree :3 hehe

zuko my beloved my skrunkly my sweet <3 headcanons for you as a treat <3

when Zuko snorts, a lil puff of smoke comes out his nose. I know it to be true. Iroh told me.

He has a rly sweet breathy laugh that sometimes goes silent prematurely. very giggle prone and he pretends to hate it, but if he actually did he would barbecue everybody so. checkmate.

This one might be a hot take but I feel like he might actually be great at pretending something doesn't tickle if it's one sensation in one place. I'm choosing this hill because I think it makes things so much funnier if the gaang is trying to catch him off-guard and can't. and he knows. and he's smug.

but, flipside to this coin, he's like a jumpy cat. if you do catch him off guard he will launch directly into the stratosphere and squeak. there's nothing he can do to recover.

if zuko knows you're going to tickle him he will giggle uncontrollably before you touch him, get mad that he's doing it, and then (rare phenomenon) angry giggle. very cute.

Zuko can't firebend if he's laughing because firebending needs air. When he throws his little tantrums or goes to do something reckless (and stupid), whoever is closest to him is quick to poke his sides and the air leaves him in this big woosh. If he tries to firebend (which he probably doesn't, he doesn't wanna hurt anyone), lil sparks come off his hands.

tickling Zuko is objectively funny because he curls up like a lil pillbug, but when you hit a bad spot he uncurls and every limb seeks violence. category six flailing event. Sokka comes back to camp with a black eye and Suki and Katara are ready for bloodshed, but he has to stumble through an explanation of why on earth he thought tickling Zuko was a good idea (worth it, no regrets. not pictured: toph smirking bc she could feel zuko's laughter reverberating through the ground)

mai does not know this about him until Ty Lee finds out. Mai takes full advantage and Zuko pretends to hate it with all his might.

i think if we're exiting the lil utopia bubble here for a sec zuko canonically probably hates being tickled. azula strikes me as the kind to torment him with it. but i'm choosing to remain within the bubble. i like the bubble.

zuko mirrors behaviors that he sees other gaang members doing to try and fit in. and i just. Zuko getting bold enough to poke someone and everyone is delighted because he's graduated to physical contact. and then he's like "why are you all looking at me like that"

i can one hundred percent see the gaang having like a 'days since zuko's last temper tantrum' counter or whatever. like as he mellows out it becomes harder to provoke him. Except one day Sokka goes too far and Zuko jumps him and everyone has a split-second fear that he's like genuinely snapped...until Sokka is shrieking and everything's fine actually. (the counter gets reset).

zuko and toph being touchy besties is everything to me actually and i like to think they are constantly irritating each other with lil pokes and stuff. toph likes to drape herself over Zuko at her own peril.

Aang sometimes won't take his training seriously because he's just not intimidated by Zuko anymore. Zuko's like. well. I can fix that. and aang Flees.

Zuko has so much respect for Suki and refuses to lay a hand on her and hurt her when they spar, but Suki's like. C'mon fireboy. Zuko remembers something about her that Sokka said in passing and he's like well! this will work! (i just have this visual of aang being like 'wow the kyoshi warriors are so cool zuko's so special getting to train with Suki'. meanwhile Zuko and Suki are in a tickle fight so intense that they've smashed and burnt furniture).

[gaybananabread]

Tickletober prompt 21 with lee Zuko and ler mai from ATLA. Mai is trying to wake up her sleepy boyfriend but Zuko is being difficult until Mai remembers his weakness ;)

Sure! I wrote this kinda late, so sorry for any mistakes. Hope you enjoy!

Lee: Zuko

Ler: Mai

Summary: Zuko won't get up. Fortunately, Mai has just the thing to help.

Warnings: none! This is a tickle fic, so if you don't like that, scroll away!

The sun shone in through their bedroom window, casting a warm glow onto the bed. Mai was up, and had just finished getting dressed. They were on the beach for a small trip, and they had their own private place to stay.

It was nearing the afternoon, and Zuko was still fast asleep. She knew his royal duties were tough, but he ought to be up by now. She tried to shake him awake, but was met with a groan. "Come on, Zuko. It's getting late, time to get up."

He just turned away from her, pulling the blankets up to his head. "Mmmm. Later." He could've gotten up, he just didn't want to. The bed was warm and inviting, and getting up felt like climbing a mountain. He'd rather say tucked in and cozy.

Mai was getting impatient. "Come on, you know it's time." Another groan. "If you won't wake up, I'll make you." She sat on the bed, shoving his arm. He decided the be annoying and kick her. It wasn't hard, but she still felt it. "That's it. Time to get up, now."

She lunged at him, landing on top. In seconds, she had him pinned. He was still groggy, so he wasn't putting up much of a fight, still hadn't processed what was happening. "Mai? What're you doing?" She smirked. "This."

She pulled back the covers, exposing his bare chest. Then, ever so slowly, ran her nails down his torso. He squirmed, repressing the giggles he felt bubbling up.

Mai brought her hand back up, placing it on his abdomen. She spidered her nails, agonizingly slow, out his sides. He was barely holding in his giggles, the soft feeling somehow much worse than if she were actually tickling him. "Staying stoic doesn't do anything but make it worse. But, do what you want."

He only lasted a few more seconds before he broke. Low, breathy giggles flowed into the room. "Mhmhmhahai! Noho!" Now that the wall was down, she picked up speed, adding in her other hand. "Hehehey! Quihihitit!"

Zuko was awake now, starting to make a real effort to escape. Unfortunately for him, Mai had him pinned pretty well. He couldn't move much, and he had slept without a shirt, so he was exposed. Shoot.

Mai ignored him, moving down to his hips. She knew this was a bad spot, but he deserved it for making her wait. "MAHAHAHAI! COHOHOME OHON!"

She pinched and scratched at the sensitive area, circling the bone and scratching at the skin. Her nails were an advantage, making each moment tickle twice as much.

He tried bucking his hips, maybe get her away from the spot. All he did was encourage her to stay. "IHIHI CAHAHAN'T! GEHEHET AWAY!" He practically launched himself upwards, almost knocking her off him. She left his hips alone, figuring he was about done. One thing left to do.

She laid on top of him, lining her head up with his stomach. She sucked in a breath, put her down, and blew a huge raspberry. "NAHAHAHA! IHIHIT-AHAHAHA!

Raspberry after raspberry was blown onto his poor belly, his loud laughter bouncing off the walls. He pushed at her head, kicked out, anything to dull the feeling, make it stop. It was so bad.

Mai stopped eventually, rolling to the side and hopping down from the bed. Zuko curled in on himself, giggling off the tickles lingering on his belly.

Opening Zuko's closet, she picked out a nice outfit for him, laying it out on the bed. She eyed her giggly boyfirend, smiling to herself. He was always cute when he was smiling.

He recovered as she returned with some water, gulping it down. "That was uncalled for." She sighed. "Was it? You wouldn't wake up, and we have things to do today. Plus, it's always fun to see you smile like that."

He got dressed, and they went out for the day. Though he would have rather slept in, he couldn't say it wasn't a fun start to the morning. He wore a smile for the rest of that day, pleasing both himself and his girlfriend.

[otomiyaa]

Zuko as a Lee! Is just so adorable to meeee

he definitely has a ticklish navel!! Oh and he would sooooo cover his face when getting teased 💗💗 He’s so cute he would giggle when someone hasn’t even tickled him yet all their doing is hovering their arms over him!!

Yess! most precious lee!!!! He even takes the alias Lee and deserves to be teased for it

....also immediately reminded of this lololol

[waterfire1848]

maizula for the ship ask?

Anon, thank you so much for all these asks!

Who said “I love you” first

Everyone thinks Azula was the first one because Mai just kept saying how much she didn’t hate Azula. Only Azula knows that that’s how Mai says she loves people.

Who would have the other’s picture as their phone background

Azula. Mai has Azula as her Home Screen background but not her Lock Screen but Azula has her as both.

Who leaves notes written in fog on the bathroom mirror

Azula. Mai might be Fire Nation but she can't take showers that hot, plus she's not one for writing messages in the bathroom mirror.

Who buys the other cheesy gifts

Neither. But Mai did buy Azula one cheesy gift because Sokka told her to.

Who initiated the first kiss

Mai. She knows Azula is hopeless when it comes to kissing so she took the first step.

Who kisses the other awake in the morning

Azula. This is mainly because Mai kept hitting their alarms with knives so a kiss in the morning is a much better way to wake her up.

Who starts tickle fights

Neither. I can't see either of them starting tickle fights with one another but I will say that Mai isn't ticklish but Azula definitely is.

Who asks who if they can join the other in the shower

Both.

Who surprises the other in the middle of the day at work with lunch

Mai. But it's less of a 'I know you're tired and want to make sure you eat' and more of a 'eat because if you don't you'll die' kind of love.

Who was nervous and shy on the first date

Azula. Mai was nervous too but she didn't let it show. That being said, Ty Lee, Zuko and Azula, who have known Mai since she was a kid, know that she was insanely nervous but not more so than Azula.

Who kills/takes out the spiders

Mai. She loves showing off to Azula that she can hit a spider with her knives.

Who loudly proclaims their love when they’re drunk

Azula. It's hard to get the Princess of the Fire Nation very drunk but when she does she will loudly scream out to anyone and everyone that she loves her girlfriend and wants to marry her.

[withgirl-sq]

Azutara for the ship ask.

Thank you for the ask 🥰

Who said “I love you” first

Katara - Azula would want to be the first to say it but she would overthink it to the point where Katara has already blurted it out.

Who would have the other’s picture as their phone background

They both would

Who leaves notes written in fog on the bathroom mirror

Katara - Azula pretends to find it mushy but she would be upset if it suddenly stopped

Who buys the other cheesy gifts

Azula would but she would be really unsure of them at first until she finds out how much they make her smile.

Who initiated the first kiss

Azula - I'm basing this on my Avatar Azula AU lol

Who kisses the other awake in the morning

Katara

Who starts tickle fights

I can't see either of them doing this 🤔 If I had to pick one, I would have to say Katara but I think she would know that Azula either wouldn't like it or wouldn't be ticklish

Who asks who if they can join the other in the shower

Katara

Who surprises the other in the middle of the day at work with lunch

Katara - I think that Azula would have a lot of work on her plate if she helps Zuko with his Fire Lord duties and she would often forget to eat to Katara would take it upon herself to bring lunch even though she's just as busy,

Who was nervous and shy on the first date

Azula - She wouldn't sure how to act outside of all of the royal expectations so she would probably go overboard to impress Katara.

Who kills/takes out the spiders

I don't think either of them would be bothered by spiders so they would just let the spider be

Who loudly proclaims their love when they’re drunk

Azula - she's definitely more open when she's drunk and Katara finds it adorable lol

[someone-who-loves-kpop-saranghae]

Intro <3 (and Masterlist below)

꒰⁠⑅⁠ᵕ⁠༚⁠ᵕ⁠꒱⁠˖⁠♡ Welcome to my blog ♡⁠˖⁠꒰⁠ᵕ⁠༚⁠ᵕ⁠⑅⁠꒱

✧⁠*⁠。This is a multi blog

✧⁠*⁠。I mostly write Kpop fanfiction

✧⁠*⁠。Only Reader x Idol

✧⁠*⁠。Only tickle and fluff fictions

✧⁠*⁠。Requests open

✧⁠*⁠。New fiction incoming

✧⁠*⁠。Lawb ya

✧⁠*⁠。My sec acc is @p1ece-of-positivity

✧⁠*⁠。obsessed with GOT

Hii, I´m a minor from Germany

If you want to, call me Bee 🐝

She/Her

Yeah... that girl in the profile picture is me...

Turning 16 this year

I'm going to SOUTH KOREA next Year!!!

I'm a night-person

My fav apps Are Pinterest, Spotify and Snapchat, but I use Tumblr and WhatsApp very often too

I´m a Kpop Stan ^^

My ult groups are Ateez, P1Harmony and Boynextdoor

My ult biases are Yeosang, Keeho, jungkook, Felix and Jaehyun

My fav emoji is 🩷

I am a sfw Tk blog but I also post other fictions

98% Lee, 2% Ler ^^

ISFJ

Active since May 2023 (I guess...)

Requests open!

But please don't mention

depressions

self harm

self critical being

pedo content

any fetish content

nsfw

harasm or hate

If you don't talk about these things:

-> Feel free to request or DM, I won´t bite ❣️ 

I prefer writing Reader x Someone fictions rather that someone specific x someone specific bcz I can imagine this better and I just don't like writing these kinds of fictions. (But I love reading them tho)

I´ll write for

Ateez (OT8)

Boynextdoor (Bias: Jaehyun)

Stray Kids (Bias: Felix and Chan)

Enhypen (Bias: Jungwon and Heeseung)

BTS (Bias: Jungkook)

TXT (Bias: Kai)

Oneus (Bias: Xion)

Treasure (no bias)

Seventeen (Bias: Jun)

P1Harmony (Bias: Keeho, Soul and Theo but am kinda ot6)

Xikers (no bias)

The boyz (no bias)

iKON (Bias: Bobby)

SF9 (Bias: Taeyang and Hwiyoung)

BTOB (no bias)

ShiNEE (Bias: Minho)

Zerobaseone (Bias: Ricky)

82Major (Bias: Yechan)

(i write for every member I just wanted do mention my bias lol)

I only write for Boygroups sorry

I'll maybe try to write for some Series, Movies or Dramas too

My fav Dramas/Series are :

Imitation

GAME OF THRONES (!!!)

Kingdom [Legendary war]

I'm not a robot

True Beauty

Sweet Home

I-Land

Shadowhunters

ATLA

Miraculous

One piece live action

My Holo Love

My demon

Game of Thrones

Mia & Me (IT'S A CHILDREN SERIES I KNOW BUT I LOVE IT LEAVE ME ALONE)

My Fav Movies are:

20th century girl

Love and leashes

Pirates of the carribean

Lord of the rings/ the Hobbit

Transformers

Avengers the endgame

Elemental

Black widow

After (every movie of this series)

Five Nights at Freddy's

Three Nuts/Wishes for Cinderella (the old one, not the new)

Pompeii (the one with Kit Harington)

My biggest dreams are studying in Korea when I'm done with school and seeing all my fav groups in rl

My favourite blogs are

@il0veyoujk 💕

@sunny-117 💕

@wereallgonnadieonedaybutnottoday 💕

@itzystopkiddingmenowloco 💕

@atzgiggle 💕

@atzupdates 💕

@jungkookslipring 💕

@teddybearmingi 💕

@liliiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 💕

@ticklishthoughts1

@daybreak-tkler 💕

@lunarleee 💕

@jiwoongiloveyouzb1blog💕

@jihyosdaughter 💕

@sugary-sweet-anon 💕

꒰⁠⑅⁠ᵕ⁠༚⁠ᵕ⁠꒱⁠˖⁠♡ Masterlist ♡⁠˖⁠꒰⁠ᵕ⁠༚⁠ᵕ⁠⑅⁠꒱

Pinterest Like picture series

My bunny

trip to berlin

How Ateez members find out/react to you being ticklish

Hongjoong

Seonghwa

Wooyoung

Yeosang

Hurt/Comfort

He doesn't deserve you (Wooyoung x Reader)

Stress reliever (Seonghwa x Reader)

Tk Fictions (Idol x reader)

A game afternoon with Ateez (Ateez x Reader)

Uljima (Enhypen Niki x Jungwon x Reader)

Zombies and revenge (BTS Jungkook x Enhypen Jungwon x Stray Kids Felix x Reader)

Hanteez (it's a really long fic, not only about tickling but it has some tickle scenes,, Stray Kids Han x Ateez x Reader)

Pass along (Stray Kids x Reader)

It's okay (Ateez Seonghwa x Reader)

I'm not ticklish (Txt Yeonjun x Reader)

Stress Reliever (Ateez Seonghwa x Reader)

Under the Christmas tree (Stray Kids Bangchan x Reader)

Big, dangerous dinosaur (P1h Keeho x Reader)

(Idol x Idol)

A ticklish massage (Leeseo x Yujin)

Tickletober 2023

Day 2: Accidental (ATLA Zuko x Reader)

Christmas Oneshots

Under the Christmas Tree (Stray Kids Bangchan x Reader)

Ticklemoments posted by me (?)

DannyPhantom exe threatening tkls...

again...

Yeosang being tkld

Keeho (P1H) telling a tickle story

P1HARMONY PLAYIN' FIND THE BELLYBUTTON WAHHHH

82Major mini tk moment in a Tiktok edit

More...personal posts

I love y'all & thank you &lt;3

I had an...idea

Okay that was it...

Love u all guys 💕💕

[trrickytickle]

Imagines- ATLA characters + enjoying tickling  💧⛰️🔥💨

y 

done request for @darkprince1110! he asked for the ATLA characters enjoying tickling in a romantic/friendly way, and I hope I narrowed that down nicely because I wrote a whole essay HAHA.  this is assuming the characters all like tickling+being tickled- i headcanon some don’t, but this is my little fantasy land and i can do whatever i please! heheh ^^

GAANG

AANG isn’t shy about enjoying tickling (what’s not to enjoy? He likes playing games with his friends, laughing and goofing around- he’d love it!). He finds himself as a ler as often as he is a lee, tickling his friends and driving them towards the point of revenge. He flits around and jumps and sneak-attacks his lees and laughs with them when they’re silly piles on the floor from his skilled fingers, and swats and bends at his ler instigating a tickle-fight he knows he’ll lose.  However asking for tickles, that’s a whole different bushel of papayas. He’s embarassed about wanting to be tickled- who would just offer themselves up like that? He’s only asked one person in his life 100 years prior, Monk Gyatso- it just happened naturally with his friends. He’s never felt vulnerable enough to tell Sokka and Toph, and most of all *gulp* Katara. The one person in the Gaang he’d feel the most comfortable with telling would ironically be Zuko- he’s proven himself to be understanding and compassionate. 

It’s no secret that KATARA is the uptight and matronly type. She’s considerate but also can be no fun at times, but when it comes to tickling, her stony facade falls. As a tickler, she goes all-out and loves it. Her complex mastery of waterbending throughout the journey to defeat the Fire Lord have been used much to the detriment of her fellow Gaang members. (namely Sokka and Toph, who have a tendency to get on her nerves.) During tender moments with Zuko and training sessions with Zuko, she does manage to sneak a few tickles in, and finds lees’ reactions adorable. Her voice recieves a teasy lilt when she gets a particularly bad spot.  She’s quite closed-up and vulnerable about her enjoyment in tickling hence her personality, and that is all due in part to the trauma of losing her mom, who would tickle-attack her and Sokka along with Hakoda before her passing. It’s a kids game to her at heart, and the Gaang had helped her rediscover that previous zeal she had for it by being family to her and each other. Sokka in particular likes to exploit this the most by siccing the other benders on her.  It takes a lot to get to Katara’s ‘lee side. Everyone in the Gaang had found out she was ticklish one way or another- she doesn’t hide it well despite how she acts. When she does try to hide it, she stumbles over her words and struggles to try not to laugh. 

Her brother SOKKA is also uptight- but for different reasons. He’s goofy, aloof and lax, and his attitude makes for the perfect annoying ler. Back in the South, he’d stick his hands into Katara’s parka and squeeze her sides to annoy her, and these dirty tricks haven’t changed since he joined the Gaang. However being on the recieving end was once something he hated. Ticklishness was a weak trait, and in return, Katara would humble him by getting her revenge. He’d sulk and groan and protest- but deep down, he enjoys it as much as being the ler. In the Gaang, this changed. Tickle fights with Aang were as common an occurence as when said airbender would destroy the cabbage merchant’s cart. Key-word fight- he still puts up a fight when he’s completely restrained. His “no”s mean “yes”, and Toph can sense this and decides to be a little shit about it until he admits he likes being tickled. 

TOPH herself, however, had never even been hugged by her parents. She’s touch-deprived, emotionally available and withdrawn, leading to a shameful enjoyment in tickling. Flustered lee, turns red, and her usual bravado is gone. WEAK to raspberries, but loves them. However she isn’t shy at all about loving her revenge or being a tickly menace in general. The most frequent victims to her torment are Katara and Aang (how fitting, the two lovers)- because they’re the ones she fights with the most, but what Toph’ll say is that they’re pansies. Lily livers. The works. Once tickled Zuko till he was breathless for burning her feet.  Back to her lee-ness. She prefers being the ticklee despite evidence above. It’s comforting, nice and gives her the warm fuzzies she hates oh-so-much. 

SUKI, a skilled Kyoshi warrior, gets all blushy and squealy at the mention of tickling. She can barely apply her own face-paint without those thoughts creeping into her mind. Dating Sokka, one of the many serial ticklers in the group has its benefits- she doesn’t even have to ask. She’s a lee at heart, and no one would think it- (she always backs up her tooootal LACK (sarcasm) of enjoyment in tickling- h-hey, it’s not like I LIKE being a giggling mess at someone’s fingers... yeah!) but she does love her revenge, especially on Sokka. Of course, when she gets closer to the girls of the Gaang, they tickle her frequently and of course, they get theirs at her skilled hands. The only person she’s too scared to tickle is Zuko- he puts up a brooding front.  ZUKO is a ball of pent up rage. He’s frustration, and he’s a stickler to his values. And he’s also ticklish. Like Sokka, he sees it as a sign of weakness. Azula and her friends would play all sorts of tickle games on poor Zuzu as a kid, and he sort of internalized the names they called him (”weak”, “helpless”, “adorable”). As a brooding, angst-filled hothead, he grits his teeth and holds in his laughter a lot. As a lee, his face burns bright red and he growls and he kicks and he clutches his stomach and he does everything in his power to stop laughing- and stop liking it. As a result of this, he goes way too far as a ler, and has to apologize for his Azula-esque behavior. When he first said he liked tickling to the Gaang, it was loud, proud and fiery in typical Zuko fashion, and they just stood confused while he showed off his spots ardently. 

OZAI’S ANGELS

AZULA is a ler. She loves tickling others, and uses all sorts of implements- lightly tracing Mai’s blunt daggers over ticklish spots, her own long nails and cooing, teasing tactics. She’s sadistic and relentless and loves it. However, like with Toph, she’s an incredible lee. It’s all over her face. I mean, the mommy issues? Girl needs a tender hug that isn’t from a straitjacket. She admitted it to Mai and Ty Lee, who tackled her and reversed the roles for once, and she reacted unsuprisingly with anger. However, when she is tickled, she melts into the ler’s arms. She doesn’t want to move, she just wants to stay, and laugh, forevermore.  MAI, the second half of Azula’s crew, is also- surprise- a ler. Her nails are blunt with a sharp edge that makes them killer, and her affinity for blades makes her fingers skilled and quick. She may seem bored and stony all the time, but secretly, tickling is fun to her. You read that right- being a ler and laughing her head off makes her smile, and it’s not only because she kind of instinctively does- it’s just really nice to let go.  She frequently tickles her little brother, Zuko and TY LEE, because they’re the only ones who’re allowed to retaliate. The circus performer herself also enjoys tickling, but especially on the recieving end. She’s staged many acts where her ticklish tummy was the centerpiece of it all, and asked to be tickled by her childhood friends. She spills the beans on others’ tickle spots as well as her own out of instinct, and will chipper on and on about tickling and say the word way, way more than the others I’ve mentioned on the list. She’s basically a walking, contorting, tumbling tickle spot and she’s proud of it, baby!

[ticklishfiend]

The Gaang Gets Zuko (ATLA)

lee!zuko , ler!gaang :P

A/N : im having sooo much fun with this show rn, esp having fun attacking zuko as much as possible LOL im going bonkers. there’s no clear story or plot in this one, just the gaang being silly and zuko getting to be silly with them :P

Summary : separate short stories of each member of the gaang tickling zuko (and one where Zuko actually gets one back, read to find out who hehe)

Word Count : 5139

hope u enjoy!! <3

-

It was strange how relaxed Zuko was starting to feel. The air seemed easier to breathe these days, despite everything he knew they were all about to go through. But that’s just it. Zuko knows he’s not alone. He has people, good people, behind him. Though he misses his Uncle greatly, it keeps Zuko motivated to know Iroh would be proud to see how far he’s come since they’d been separated.

Things are looking up, despite it all, and Zuko’s especially happy he gets to feel that in good company.

“So, like this, right?” Aang asked, getting into position for the new firebending move Zuko’s trying to teach him. 

“Um…not quite,” Zuko walked behind him, grabbing his shoulders to gently adjust his stance. “You want your shoulders back a little more, it’ll help your balance. And you should have your waist turned a bit to the side, like this…” Zuko gently gripped onto Aang’s sides, but was startled at how quickly Aang jumped away with a surprised laugh.

“Aaah–tickles, tickles!” Aang giggled, rubbing the sensation away with his arms.

Zuko frowned with his hands on his hips, “Seriously? I barely touched you.���

Katara snickered as she watched them train, bending water in the air lazily like a fidget. “Aang’s more sensitive than most. Remember that wound your sister gave him on his foot? Yeah, that took way, way longer than it should have. He wouldn’t stop squirming.”

“It’s not my fault your water’s so tickly!” Aang cringed at the memory. He took a deep breath before turning back to Zuko, getting into position. “Okay, I’m ready this time. You just surprised me.”

Zuko lifted an eyebrow before trying again, this time with less giggly results. Zuko wasn’t used to such silliness when it came to training, but it was endearing to see Aang was comfortable enough with him to act like that (even if it was slightly annoying).

They trained for another 15 or so minutes before Zuko called for a break, ready for his pre-lunch meditation. He leaned down to gather some of his scattered things into a bag, not noticing the figure creeping up behind him. Before he knew it, Zuko felt two hands give quick pinches to his hip. “AH-! Ggghaha-!” a strangled giggle fell out of him before he could stop it, squirming out of the grip and whipping his body around.

Aang stood behind him with a grin and hands raised in surrender, “Sorry, I had to get you back for earlier.”

Zuko scowled with a pink face, trying very hard to ignore Katara giggling behind Aang. “But I wasn’t even trying to tickle you earlier,” he groaned, turning back around but keeping his guard up. “It’s unfair catching me off guard like that.”

“Yeah, but you gotta admit, that sound you just made was pretty funny,” Aang snickered, sitting down next to Katara and stealing some of her water to fidget with as well. 

Zuko sighed, turning around to hide his warm face. “Whatever, I’m gonna meditate. Don’t bother me unless it’s for lunch,” he said before walking out of their view to his normal meditation spot.

-

Zuko was sat on his bed reading a book Uncle had given him forever ago. Being on the run meant he never really had time to just sit and read (and maybe it was partly his pride that wouldn’t allow him to do something he deemed so lazy), but honestly it wasn’t half bad. Sure, he could be training right now, but everyone else seemed content doing their own thing so maybe that was okay for him too. Uncle always said proper relaxation was an important tool for a warrior to learn.

His reading time, however, was cut short when he heard a knock at his doorway. Zuko looked up to see Sokka peeking his head around the corner.

“You need something?” Zuko asked, sitting his book down on the bed.

“Well, I–uh…” Sokka cleared his throat shuffling awkwardly in the doorway. “I was just wondering if you would, uh–help me out with something? It’s nothing major! You really don’t have to if you don’t wanna, I know you’ve got a lot on your plate with, y’know, training the Avatar and everything, but like, I mean, if you maybe had the time–”

“Sokka,” Zuko interrupted his ramblings, holding the book up for him to see. “I’m not exactly doing anything important right now. I can do you a favor if you need it.”

Sokka sighed, “Okay, that’s good to hear because I really need your help right now,” he shuffled into Zuko’s room defeatedly, plopping himself next to the prince and throwing his head in his hands. “I think I sorta suck at hand-to-hand combat.”

Zuko nearly laughed at that. “Are you serious? You guys managed to take out every team I threw at you, and you think you’re bad at combat?”

“Yeah, but that was when I had everybody with me! You know, benders?!” Sokka sighed, “I’m not a bender, so having them with me to fight is like, insanely helpful. But…what if I end up alone at the next battle? What if I lose my sword? I’ll be useless! I need to know how to fight with my fists at least a little before we go out there.”

All this did was confuse Zuko even more. “Your girlfriend is a Kyoshi Warrior. Why aren’t you asking her for help? She’s the only other non-bender on the team, it seems pretty obvious.”

Sokka blushed and turned his head away, “Well that’s…actually part of it,” he scratched the back of his head sheepishly, “She’s so good at combat. And she’s a great teacher, don’t get me wrong! Everything I know about fighting, it came from her. But…I feel so stupid. We spar all the time, but she’s the one teaching me the moves, she knows what strategy I’m gonna take! I kinda…I wanna impress her during our next spar. Maybe show her something she hasn’t seen me do before,” Sokka looked up at Zuko with an unsure face. “I thought maybe you could teach me a thing or two?”

Zuko just stared for a moment, thinking it over. Sokka had that puppy-dog look on his face he always gets when he’s trying to win someone over…unfortunately for Zuko, he’s really good at that face. 

Zuko sighed, rubbing a hand over his face before standing and making his way towards the door. “I can’t promise it’ll help you any. I’m better at fighting with my bending than just plain combat. You’re already in good hands with Suki.”

Sokka jumped up, following behind Zuko like a puppy. “I know, but I just wanna see if it helps,” he wrapped an arm around the back of Zuko’s neck as they walked, the boy in question not acknowledging the touch whatsoever. “Can’t hurt to try, right?”

Zuko peeked an eye towards Sokka. “Whatever.”

They found an open area to spar, somewhere away from everyone else so no one could spill the “secret” to Suki. Not like anyone actually cared, but Sokka insisted this was the best move to make. 

They fought for a while, Sokka showing off the moves he learned from Suki, and Zuko trying to teach him anything that popped into his head that Sokka might not already know. But…the spar wasn’t really turning out the way Zuko had envisioned before they started.

Sokka was actually really good at this. Like, stupid good. Way better than he had given himself credit for just about an hour ago. He’d already pinned Zuko probably 5 times, and Zuko only got him down once. It was sorta embarrassing. Zuko kept reminding himself that the guy had been trained by a literal Kyoshi warrior, so it shouldn’t be that surprising.

Still, though. It did take a tiny blow to his ego that the guy asking him for training was practically kicking his butt right now.

“Woohoo! Down for the count again!” Sokka whooped from behind Zuko. The boy was pinned on his front, arms behind his back.

“I thought you wanted help,” Zuko wheezed, twisting his wrists in Sokka’s hold to no avail. “Now it feels like you just wanted bragging rights,” he mumbled.

Sokka didn’t say anything. Actually, he just kept looking down at Zuko with this look. His eyes a little wide, his lips sucked behind his teeth. 

You’re kidding. You’re kidding.

“Are you serious?!” Zuko yelled, starting to actually fight under Sokka’s hold now that he felt thoroughly pissed off. “Why would you lie about that?! You could’ve just asked for a spar!”

Sokka stammered, “Well, I was serious at first! I wasn’t lying! I really did want your help!” He paused, baring his teeth a little in guilt. “Buuuut…after we started sparring, I realized I was way better than I thought I was. I don’t know why, but I just kinda figured you’d be able to take me down with no trouble! You’re like, royally trained or something, right?”

Zuko frowned, “Yeah. I am,” he said. “In firebending.”

Sokka’s brows shot up. “Oh yeaaaah. Didn’t really think about that,” he chuckled nervously.

A beat passed in silence before both of them realized Sokka was still on top of him. Zuko twisted his wrists in Sokka’s hands, “Well? Are you gonna get off me?”

“I don’t really trust you not to turn me into bacon right now.”

“Sokka.”

Sokka laughed, “Y’know, it’s kinda funny if you think about it. Last year I used to run from you, and now I’ve got you literally pinned under me. I mean, really, it just writes itself!”

Zuko groaned, pressing his forehead to the floor. “You are…beyond annoying.”

“I’m just saying, if I had all this Kyoshi training last year, we might not even be here right now. Or maybe you’d have joined our group back then, after seeing how much of an asset to the team I am!” Sokka teased, pressing his body weight against Zuko’s arms so he could flex a muscle in Zuko’s eyeshot. 

Then, Sokka went quiet for a moment. Suspiciously quiet. Zuko was not a fan of his disadvantage right now. 

“Hey, who’s that fire nation girl that’s always hanging around your sister? You know, the one that can paralyze people?”

Zuko sighed, “That would be Ty Lee. Get off.”

“Yeah, Ty Lee! Man, it’d be so cool if she wasn’t the worst,” Sokka adjusted his grip a bit, like he was trying to get a better hold for something. What in the world is he planning?! “I bet I could learn a thing or two from that girl, strengthen up my fighting style a bit,” Sokka shrugged, “Eh, I bet I could be self taught. I just gotta find the right nerve…”

Before Zuko could even process what he was talking about, Sokka started poking up and down Zuko’s open sides, using one finger to poke one side, then the other, then back again. Over and over and over. 

“G-GaAH!” Zuko’s body jumped under the assault, squirming under his hold. “N-No, Sokka, let me–gohoho!” He giggled involuntarily, trying his best to hide his face in the floor while also trying to jerk away from Sokka’s ticklish hold.

“No, hold on, I think I’m getting the hang of this!” Sokka teased, poking up into Zuko’s ribs. Zuko couldn’t help the squeaky giggles falling from his lips, it was mortifying. He kicked his legs out behind Sokka like it would do anything, but with how good the boy had gotten at these warrior pins, Zuko didn’t stand a chance.

“S-stohohop! This is sohoho–ahaha so stuhupid!” Zuko cackled, writhing when he felt Sokka start pinching at his bony ribs. He could feel his face growing warmer by the second, horribly embarrassed by how easily Sokka can drag him into his playful little games.

“Okay, okay, just oneeee more thing,” Sokka said before bringing his hand up to flutter soft fingers against Zuko’s neck and ears. Crapcrapcrapcrap that really tickles. Zuko immediately fell into the most disgusting, high-pitched, girly-ish giggles he’s ever produced. It. Was. Terrible.

“Nohoho! Come ohohon! This is–ahaha this is so unfahahair!” Zuko whined, pulling against the hands holding him hostage. “This is assahahault!”

Sokka cackled at that, finally letting go of his very ticklish victim. He stood and backed away enough to let Zuko catch his breath, wiping a mirthful tear from his eye.

“You–pfff!! You’re so ticklish! Who woulda guessed that?!” Sokka laughed, practically doubled over in it. Zuko grumbled on the ground, sitting up and stretching his arms.

“And you are so childish,” he groveled, before launching at Sokka while he wasn’t paying attention. He grabbed around the boy’s waist and brought him to the ground with an ‘oof!’, the pair roughing it out for a moment before Zuko got the upper hand (Sokka was still laughing too much to put up a real fight). On the ground, Zuko had him trapped in a reverse bear hug, finding an opening near Sokka’s stomach to dig his own fingers in and make Sokka howl.

“Say you’re sorry!” Zuko grunted, trying to avoid a head butt from Sokka’s frantic squirming. “Say it!”

“AAAHH! AAAHAhahaha! I’m–! I’m ssssahahahah!” Sokka cackled, struggling to find the words with fingers digging incessantly into his stomach. Even in his wild state, Sokka could tell Zuko wasn’t very used to this, his tickling-style a little more rough than what he’s used to with the others. But luckily for Zuko, Sokka was a little too ticklish for it to actually affect anything.

“What? You can dish it but you can’t take it?!” Zuko fired back with his usual angry tone, though it was really hard to take seriously when he started pinching at Sokka’s side so viciously. 

“I cahaha–! It’s tooohohohoo–! AAAHH-!" Sokka's screaming laugh echoed through the temple, his head jerking back and forth. Zuko's fingers were getting tired, and this whole thing felt so stupid, but it was the principle of the thing! This is...how it works, right?

Zuko kept tickling despite not really knowing what he was doing, avoiding flailing limbs and a jerking head all the while. And right, right before he was about to just call it quits, he heard a cough from just outside his peripheral.

The pair froze, Zuko feeling his entire face grow warm in the matter of seconds. They both turned their heads slowly to see Suki standing there with her arms crossed, one eyebrow raised in question.

"You two having fun in here?" Suki asked through a smile, clearly on the verge of laughing. Zuko dropped Sokka like a sack of potatoes, standing up quickly with a finger pointed right at Sokka.

“He started this! He attacked me first, but–but I got out! And then he started laughing, and, I mean–it was so stupid! This is so stupid!” Zuko yelled in embarrassment, throwing his hands up to cover his whole face.

Suki giggled and walked over towards her boyfriend on the ground. “Aw, did the big mean firebender get you?” She teased a frowning (and blushing) Sokka. Suki held out her hand to him, “Come on, get up.”

Sokka took it with a scowl, refusing to make eye contact with Zuko. At least, until Sokka remembered how this whole thing started, his whole demeanor lighting up in an instant. “Oh you’ll never believe this. I beat Zuko. In a spar,” he whooped, looking over towards the firebending to find him scowling with his arms crossed. “Actually, it was like ten!”

“Six. It was just six,” Zuko squinted at Sokka in contempt.

“Okay, but six is still a lot compared to your one win,” Sokka boasted, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend.

Suki pulled herself out of his hold, “Uh, sure, but I think after what I saw, Zuko’s still the winner here,” she said, shooting an affirming smile Zuko’s way. 

Sokka dropped his jaw, “What?! But–But I beat him! Like, TONS of times?!” He exclaimed, “And I’m the one that started that! I tickled Zuko first, he totally went down!”

“When I was already pinned!” Zuko argued, angry he couldn’t make his blush fade any faster.

Suki sucked her teeth, “Sokka, if you started this, that’s even worse,” she shrugged. “You cheated. Zuko’s clearly the winner here, he just finished what you started” Suki pat Sokka’s back, shooting Zuko an empathetic look. “Sorry my boyfriend’s so childish. If you ever want a real spar, you know where to find me.”

Zuko looked surprised, really expecting her to tease him like everybody else did. “Oh, uh…yeah, whatever. Sure.”

Suki smiled, taking Sokka by the shoulders and walking him off. Zuko could hear her scolding as they walked away, “Next time we spar, I’ll show you how a real warrior cheats.”

Zuko wasn’t really sure how to take that. In fact, he decided it was probably best to ignore whatever that meant. Instead, he just grabbed his bag and tried forgetting this whole embarrassing mess ever happened.

–

“Zuko, I’m so sorry! I’m so so so sorry, I never meant for this to happen!” Aang practically cried behind Zuko, his words muffled under the hands he used to cover his mouth in guilt. “If you never wanna train me again, I’d understand. I just…I’m so sorry. I’m so—”

“Aang, it’s fine. I already told you it’s fine,” Zuko sighed, propping his bare foot up on the stool of earth Toph made for him. “Believe me, I’ve been burned way worse than this.”

“But that’s different!” Aang cried, falling on his butt to hide his face in his knees. “I can’t believe I burned someone. Again.”

“You’re still learning. It happens,” Zuko winced when Katara took hold of his ankle to get a better look at the burn. “Trust me, I burned a few of my trainers when I was growing up too. It’s just part of firebending. Once you’ve mastered it, you won’t have to worry about it anymore.”

Aang lifted his head with a sniffle. “Yeah…I guess you’re right,” he sighed. “Still feel bad, though.”

“As long as it doesn’t affect your training going further, I really don’t care,” Zuko shrugged, leaning back against his hands.

“That’s a little rude, don’t you think?” said Katara, popping the cork from her water bottle.

“Not really. I don’t care. I’m fine, and Aang will be too,” Zuko said, before gasping as Katara let the healing water wash over his feet. He jerked his foot back off the stool, making Katara raise an eyebrow.

“Zuko?” She looked down at the empty stool. “Kinda need your foot for this.”

Aang lit up, the smile finally returned to his face when he realized with a giggle, “I forgot! Zuko’s ticklish!”

“I am not! It just surprised me!” Zuko argued, throwing his foot back on the stool with confidence (though the pout he sported said otherwise).

Katara snickered, holding her water up so Zuko could see. “Well it’s a good thing you aren’t ticklish then, cause Aang could barely sit still last time I did this to him.”

“Yeah, Toph nearly had to earthbend my hands to the ground to keep me from moving,” Aang nodded, clearly feeling more chipper than a moment ago. Zuko cringed at the thought, shaking his head to clear it from overthinking.

“That will not be necessary,” Zuko huffed. “Just get to it, I’ll be fine. We need to get back to training.”

Katara shrugged, bringing the water to his foot and starting the healing process. Zuko immediately gasped again, his foot nearly jerking off the stool. He caught himself this time, but no one in the room missed the flinch.

Well, except for Toph, but only out of technicality’s sake.

“Your hearts racing, Sparky,” Toph sang, never missing an opportunity to tease their resident grump.

“Shut up, Toph,” Zuko said through bared teeth, straining himself to keep from letting a giggle slip. He squirmed in his seat, toes clenching and unclenching involuntarily. If he can just get through this without cracking, there’ll be nothing for these weirdos to tease him about. He can do this.

“Y’know, you should probably breathe soon. Don’t want you dying on us while I’m healing you,” Katara said, looking up from her water at Zuko’s puffed cheeks and pink face. He’d been too focused to even realize he was holding his breath in the first place. Slowly, Zuko exhaled through his nose before flinching hard again at a more solid sensation in the center of his foot.

“Grrk–!” Zuko jumped, scowling at Katara who started snickering.

“Sorry, my finger slipped,” she grinned, making the other two start giggling at his expense. 

“It’s really okay if you need to laugh, Zuko,” said Aang. “There’s no way I could’ve held it in like you are.”

“I said I’m fine. It doesn’t even…” Zuko huffed, the water finding a particularly sensitive spot right at the worst time possible, making him growl through a giggle. He shut his eyes tight, “Juhust shut up.”

–

At first, his days in the air on Appa were something Zuko wasn’t sure he would ever get used to. He had to admit, it was definitely cool getting to ride a sky-bison thousands of feet in the air after he’d been told his whole life the species had gone extinct with the rest of the air-benders. There was some excitement to it the first couple rides he got to experience.

But after about the fifth time, it was really starting to get old.

“I thought I knew what boredom felt like when I was out camping with Uncle, but this is really something else,” Zuko groaned, throwing his head over the side of the saddle.

“Zukoooo, remember what I keep telling you about the positive attitude?” Aang reminded him from Appa’s head, steering the bison in what felt like the same direction for hours.

“No, he’s right. This is super boring,” Sokka whined, picking at Appa’s fur with a pout.

“Don’t you guys ever, I don’t know…play any games while you’re up here?” Zuko asked, feeling a little silly about it. Playing games was so childish, but it seemed to fit this group’s whole vibe pretty well. Couldn’t hurt to ask, right?

“Yeah we used to, until Toph took it too seriously one time and Katara banned fun,” Sokka shot a look at his sister, who scoffed at the mention.

“Um, I did not ban fun. I banned Pushies,” Katara corrected him with a squint.

“Ah, Pushies. The good ole days when having a laugh wasn’t forbidden by Her Highness,” said Toph, nearly making Katara blow a fuse.

Zuko hated to ask, but this was the most entertained he’d felt in the past two hours. With an incredulous look, he asked, “What’s Pushies?”

“It was the best,” Sokka sighed like he was daydreaming. “Toph and I would push each other back and forth until one of us got too scared and called quits.”

“Which I never did, by the way–”

“Uh, not true! You know you called quits that one time-”

“Because you nearly pushed me off Appa!”

“Not true AGAIN! You couldn’t see it, but you were totally fine-”

“Oh so because I’m blind it’s my fault they won’t let us play Pushies anymore?!”

“That’s not what I meant-!”

“GUYS!” Aang shouted, throwing a stern look over his shoulder towards the group. The pair went silent before both slouching back against the saddle. “No. Pushies.”

They both grumbled to themselves, but ultimately decided it wasn’t worth the fight. Zuko looked to the sky at their bickering, thankful his temper wasn’t like it used to be.

“Games other than Pushies exist, you know. We just have to make one up,” he suggested, sitting criss-crossed to face the group. 

“Did you play any games on that murder-ship you used to ride?” Katara asked with a tone, her mood clearly a bit dampened.

Zuko grimaced, “I was kinda too focused on capturing Aang for games back then.” Zuko sighed, throwing his head and arms back over the saddle to stare into the sky. “Forget it. Let’s just go back to sitting in silence.”

It seemed like the rest of the group agreed, because for the next few minutes that’s exactly what they did. The wind whistling in their ears was the only sound to focus on.

That is, until Zuko felt something tweak his side, making him squeak an awful sound. He whipped his head around to find everyone suspiciously not looking at him. Sokka picked at his fingers, Katara seemed a little too interested in the cloth of her dress, and Toph…well, she looked straight ahead, but that was to be expected.

Zuko fumed, “Who did that?”

Sokka looked up from his fingers, “Hm? Who did what?”

Oh, Zuko was so onto them. Pointing a finger at Sokka with a squint, “Don’t. Do it. Again.” He said sternly, before turning back around towards the sky. Zuko swore he could hear them snickering behind him, but hoped that would be the end of it.

Another minute went by with nothing, and for some reason Zuko really thought he evaded trouble with that intimidation move he pulled. Clearly he didn’t know this group well enough yet.

Another tweak to his side, this one closer to his ribs this time. Anything near his ribs always made him flinch hard, his elbow shooting down to cover the area with a giggly shout. Zuko growled when he faced them, “Seriously, who’s doing this?!” They all looked up at him like they were clueless. He’s gonna kill them. “Answer me!”

Finally, he heard Toph giggle, clearly unaffected by his little hissy fit. “It was me. Both times, actually,” she grinned, throwing a leg over her knee. “What, you gonna do something about it?”

Zuko’s jaw locked forward, feeling like he was breathing smoke out of his nose. His hands clenched beside him, telling himself it would probably not be the “right thing” throwing this twelve year old over the side of Appa.

With a grumble, he fixed his face and looked up to the sun above him. “You people are crazy.” Zuko crossed his arms and slumped against the saddle, decidedly not turning away from Toph this time. Everyone got a chuckle out of that, even Aang.

“No, I think Toph’s the crazy one,” he chuckled, smiling over his shoulder. “The rest of us are pretty normal, right?”

Zuko deadpanned Aang’s way. “No.”

Toph crawled over beside Zuko, who nearly flinched at her presence. “Lighten up, Sparky! Remember what Aang said? Positive attitude?” She accentuated Aang’s words with more tweaks to Zuko’s side, these far more ticklish now that she doesn’t have to hide it. Zuko jumped with a giggly shout, trying hard to hide his side with his elbow, but that just made Toph reach around his back to get his other side.

“Gah-! N-Nohoho!” He complained, pushing at her hands and face. “Quihit!”

“Cmooon I’m bored! This is the most entertained I’ve been in hours!” Toph tickled into Zuko’s ribs as she talked, making him fall over on his side in giggles. He kept pushing at her with his hands, but his stupid body kept betraying him, his elbows shooting down to cover the area too much to really fight back.

“Toph-! Tohohoph!” Zuko squealed, everyone around laughing at his funny noises. These people are the worst. “Gahaha! Get her ohoff mehehe!” He cackled, feeling her fingers vibrate into his ribs and stomach at the same time. Zuko’s eyes were scrunched tight in mirth, feeling silly and stupid and ticklish.

“This is too good. You sound like a girl!” Toph laughed, poking into his side like a typewriter. Zuko couldn’t stop giggling, flipping over on his stomach to crawl away (though he didn’t have much room, cramped on this stupid saddle with the rest of these freaks). He opted for crawling as close to Katara as he could get, praying she’d take pity on him and make Toph stop embarrassing him already.

Katara chuckled, “Okay, I think he’s had enough,” grabbing for Toph’s wrist (her hand still trying to worm it’s way under Zuko’s armpit) Katara pulled Toph away from Zuko as he slumped close to her side panting.

“Aweee, what?! I was just getting started!” Toph whined, making another grabbing motion in Zuko’s general direction that had him flinching with a squeak.

“You heard her, quit it!” Zuko griped, trying to silently maneuver himself as far from Toph as possible without her hearing. It was like a game of cat and mouse, Toph listening for any subtle sound Zuko made for her to launch her free arm in his direction, making him zip out of her reach before she could grab him. 

“Cut it out, this is ridiculous!” Zuko complained, getting behind Sokka and gripping his shoulders like a human shield. “Ha! How ‘bout that, shortstack?!” 

“Hey! Don’t rope me into this–AHH! NO! NONONOHohohoho!!” Sokka fell over on his side in giggles the moment Katara let go of Toph’s arm, the shorter girl launching for his sides.

“This’ll do for now!” Toph cheered, digging into Sokka’s waist with her rough fingers and making him howl. “I’ll catch you eventually, Sparky! Just wait til I’m finished with him!” she grinned wickedly, Sokka losing his mind just below her.

“But you already—! Gah, forget it,” Zuko sighed, crawling silently over beside Katara to hopefully avoid getting involved in that mess again. “She’s ruthless.”

Katara giggled, shooting Zuko a smile, “You get used to it.”

-

Zuko caught himself smiling at dinner. It was weird, usually when he smiled, it felt like an intentional move. Smiling to convince someone he’s happy, or smiling to fake innocence. But tonight…he started smiling before he even realized he was doing it.

Aang was telling some silly story from over 100 years ago, something from his childhood before all this. It was a stupid story, something Zuko would’ve found himself scoffing at if he had heard it even just a few months ago.

But things are good now. He felt good. Happiness came easy to him, like breathing or pulling fire from his hands. Zuko never thought he’d get to feel this again after everything he’d gone through, but these weirdos just had a way with him.

Something about these people, his friends, was always able to make him smile. They were annoying. They’re loud. They’re way too touchy, and always in his personal space. Like now, with Toph curled against his side as she laughed along to Aang’s story.

And yet? Zuko’s come to be okay with that. He’s come to like it about them, as crazy as it sounds. 

The fire he sat in front of now didn’t have to be a threat. It was home.

—

A/N : i was all over the place writing this LMAO hope yall like it anyways cause it was fun to write!! pls consider reblogging if u enjoyed!! <3

[august-anon]

In His Arms

TickleTober 2022, Day 6: Cuddles

i bet you can guess what i’m gonna say lol. this is unedited!

-----

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Ship(s): Zukka

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

Word Count: 402 words

Summary: Zuko's been a bit stiff while cuddling. Sokka tries to convince him to relax.

[ao3 link]

---------------

“You’re so stiff,” Sokka grumbled. “It’s like trying to snuggle a plank of wood.”

Zuko huffed and grumbled out, “It’s not my fault.”

He’d always been like this, as long as he could remember. Stiff with hugs, stiff with affection, stiff while standing. He just wasn’t good at the whole “relaxing” thing. Why would he relax when he might need to be on his feet within seconds, running or fighting for his life? Sokka was lucky Zuko had bothered to even take his shoes off, this time. He was just sick of Sokka grumbling about dirt in the blankets.

They literally slept on the ground most nights, in the dirt. What was the point?

Sokka groaned and jostled Zuko, grabbing the shoulder furthest from him and shaking it a little. “Loosen up. Even Toph would be a better cuddle buddy than this.”

“Toph would kick you out before you could get within five feet.”

Sokka paused a moment. “Would you at least kiss it better?”

Zuko scoffed. “After you called me stiff as a board?”

Sokka pressed his pout against Zuko’s neck. “If Toph kicked you out, I would kiss it better.”

Zuko rolled his eyes. Sokka huffed a put-out breath against his neck, and Zuko couldn’t help the shiver that ran through him, the way his tense body instinctively tried to jerk away. Sokka went eerily still. Sokka was never still.

“Don’t you dare–”

“I think I know how to help you relax.”

“Sokka–”

Zuko didn’t get to finish his protest. Instead, he had to slap both hands over his mouth to muffle his mortifying giggles. If he was going to be made a fool, he didn’t need the rest of the Gaang as witnesses. Sokka nuzzled into his neck, huffing out quiet breaths and utilizing his lips where he saw fit. Meanwhile, Sokka’s hands started sneaking around Zuko’s body, seeking out weak points. Unfortunately, the disadvantage of being so on-edge all the time was that his body and mind got tired, and a tired body and mind didn’t have the energy to keep from flinching when those weak points were reached.

As Sokka snickered against his neck, Zuko resigned himself to his fate. Even if this didn’t get him to relax, it would at least help him get a good night’s sleep. And a good night’s sleep in Sokka’s arms was a win in Zuko’s book, playful torment and all.

[kanene-yaaay]

Keeping this here for later:

Firebending makes your palms EXTREMELY ticklish because *insert here a scientific sounding maybe who knows pausible excuse* and Zuko knows that but of course the secret would go to the grave with him but what he forgot is that Aang now ALOS firebends and so he realizes that his hands are way more ticklish than they ever were so know because he is a GREMLIN he will send perfectly directed gusts of air on Zuko's palms when he is distracted and it TICKLES enough for him to always try to squirm away and after the tenth time he already realized what Aang he doing so he keeps staring down the Avatar with his usual grumpy face while Aang is smiling and having the time of his life because he got the prince grumpypants to smile :D

[nylarac]

nine people you would like to get to know better

tagged by @fullbrave! i will taggg @dizzytitty, @mobtism, @serenyks, @tourniqitty, @blackmotionsoup, @grumpygandalf, @hologram-moss, @must-be-mythtaken, and @ticklish-wyvern if any of u want to do this lol i haven't done a tag game in a While

three ships: hrmmm i am typically not a big shipping person but uhh fig and ayda? i tend to like mostly just v cute/wholesome canon relationships lol but also messy ones sometimes for the Angst and Drama

first ship ever: uhhhh. maybe katara and zuko tbh sorry lmao

last song: paragraph by real fake flowers

last movie: hot wheels acceleracers 😎😎

currently reading: in the lives of puppets by tj klune

currently watching: going back and watching adventure time since i had only really seen bits and pieces before

currently consuming: currently nothing but the last thing i had was chocolate cake for my aunt's birthday

currently craving: u know i am going to do a non-food answer too i am craving adventure i want to be impulsive and go out and Explore but it's like 9 pm and i don't really know ppl in this area and don't want to get murdered so i guessss i will stay here probably

[tickle-bugs]

hi so. uhm. I know requests are closed but I have bad memory problems and know I probably won't remember this if I don't send it in now so I'm just leaving this here for you to find later. again, apologies. blame my stupid brain jaja. anyway yeah uh sorry this is so long now its awkward uh I just wanted some kylo ren headcanons please? he's my favorite and there's literally 0 tickle content of him anywhere so I'd really appreciate it. <3

hey there! i accept headcanon requests pretty much always (so long as they're in one of my current fandoms), but prompt requests for fics are closed. so you're good! im also team memory problems. it's part of why i'm away from here so often. so i empathize <3

let's assume this is a zuko-esque au where they rehab Ben like a particularly troublesome shelter cat and he's able to regain the trust of everyone else. Like Finn's arc but more hardcore considering *gestures to Kylo's backstory lol*. HCs under the cut!

okay first off...he has a really nice smile. when he smiles with his teeth, his eyes crinkle at the corners. his whole face warms and he kinda ducks his head. naturally this means he would rather be executed than ever allow a living soul to see it

his laugh sneaks up on him. he's all about maintaining control and composure but unfettered joy always just blows past his defenses. He's a "HA!" and then silent, muffled laughter kinda guy <3

idk why but i feel in my spirit that if he giggles, he hiccups. its rare for him to giggle but i think he gets stuck in it and its cute.

part one of ben rehabilitation project: getting this guy some normal clothes. he starts dressing more casually. he's still like an awkward, angry duckling, but he seems much more approachable. He washes his hair (poe sources good curl care for him to get some volume back in that mop)

For the first while of defecting to the Resistance, he's sorta a dark shadow. Doesn't talk, doesn't leave his room, etc. But as he does start to follow Finn, Poe, and Rey around, he does notice their closeness. The casual touch. He envies it.

It takes a little while, but slowly Rey starts including him in on jokes. Finn and Poe are slower to forgive, often making jokes at his expense, but...Ben's treacherous flares of temper start to subside. He gets used to quietly listening and smiling but knows better than to assume he's included. Shadowing them becomes a gift.

Ben's not sure when Poe and Finn start talking to him and acknowledging he's there, but he absolutely does notice Poe jabbing him in the ribs for not 'paying attention'. He passes it off as being startled but he can feel Rey's mind hovering at the edge of his own, keen as ever, like Ben Solo I Know What You Are (ticklish)

Finn, Poe, and Rey deliberate for a week about how exactly to go about this (Ben gets cagey. why are they whispering?) and eventually Poe is just like. look. i've got credits on this. you ticklish?

i am team 'Ben goes completely red when flustered'. just top to bottom imperial red. Poe asks him this and he turns into a fucking tomato. gives the world's most unconvincing no. and it is Rey who (very gently) proves him wrong, thus opening the floodgates to bully him over time.

Ben gets used to Poe's arms thrown over his shoulders, Finn leaning on him, or Rey tucking herself into his side. He literally never gets used to the tickling fingers seeking softness he thought he'd long crushed away

he gets very good at paying attention to a briefing while slapping way/wrestling with Finn, Poe, AND Rey's hands. laser focused.

Ben is usually a teasing voice on the sidelines when the trio gets up to tickly shenanigans, but i am a HUGE fan of Poe getting comfy and talking shit and Ben just looping his arms under Poe's and holding him for Finn and Rey to go to town. To win Ben's favor is to win a tickle fight. Finn is very good at this. Ben sides with him bc its the funniest option (and Poe's dramatic, betrayed gasps are the best).

He is so good at reading people and so specific in teasing. Such a scary ler but also very funny? He's very deadpan and witty. It's always unexpected. his parents really shine thru in him when he's up to mischief

Rey and Ben engage in long distance Force warfare that literally always ends in one of them slumped against the wall giggling. Finn learns to manipulate the Force and things get wild lol

Ben's palms are ticklish. I know this to be true.

He is fucking impossible to take down. Finn, Rey, and Poe have to tactically coordinate to ambush him. He's got a sixth sense for their bullshit. But! once he goes down he just kinda deflates. One person is the designated 'hold Ben's wrists' guy bc he always tries to hide his face

big fan of Ben giving Rey piggyback rides. Rey is a spider monkey to me. 50/50 Ben starts tickling her knees or Rey starts tickling his ears and they both collapse

love the idea of these four always being physically connected. esp since Ben is the tallest (i think). hes taking a nap and the trio just panini presses him into the mattress. their dogpiles always end in laughter or the best fucking naps ever. sometimes both