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geethingy · 2 months ago

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worth it

fandom: supernatural

w/c: 2903

summary: Takes place right before the events of swan song. Dean takes a depowered Cas on a date. Pre-destiel.

an: first supernatural post! there is no getting over spn, everybody who's ever had business with that show makes dang sure of it. i'd also just like to say @wordstrings single handedly developed my frontal lobe. everything she's written is a masterpiece and a half.

~~~~~~~

Dean found Castiel in Bobby’s kitchen, staring discontently at the microwave with burrito in hand. Deciding not to make his presence known just yet, he leaned against the doorframe. This was probably Cas’ first time using one. He took a guilty pleasure in watching the angel try to use things he was unfamiliar with. He almost always does it wrong the first time. It amused Dean, who thought an angel’s knowledge was supposed to be infinite. He supposes the details get lost in it all, especially the ones that aren't critically necessary to pay close attention to.

There was so much about Cas that was, thankfully, unlike any other angel they’ve faced. For one, he wasn’t a sciolistic, know-it-all douche about humanity. He didn’t pretend to know everything. He wore all his confusion shamelessly, right on his face, in squints and tilted heads that didn't give a fuck about who saw how clueless he was. But he actually tried to understand it all, too. He always seemed grateful whenever Dean showed him how to work things he didn’t have to worry about before his tenure on Earth, like using a phone. The other angels would never take any kind of guidance from what they love to call 'filthy apes.’

Castiel frowned at the angry beep of the microwave after he tried to press a button while the door was still open. Dean smiled and mercifully stepped into the room, flipping it closed and nuking the food for him. Cas gave a shy thanks while Dean grabbed the beer he came inside for.

“So, you're eating now?”

“Apparently, I need to.” Cas sighed and itched at his eyebrow in irritation. As the smell hit them both, Castiel’s stomach rumbled fiercely.

Dean raised his eyebrows. “Sorry to hear that.” When the microwave beeped, Cas hungrily retrieved the burrito before Dean could issue a warning. He dropped it in surprised pain, where it mashed into a steaming pile on the floor.

“Ah- it’s hot.” Dean said too late. He held himself back from looking too sympathetic at the sad way Cas stared at the mush on the floor.

“I don’t know how you do it.” Cas said somberly.

“Well, usually you have it on a plate.”

“No, I mean…” Castiel sighed, in a way that was so unlike his usual, nonbreathing self that Dean had to bite back a smile. “I don't know how you do being human.”

He sipped at his beer, shrugging. “I’ve had a lot of practice.”

“Everything is so.. so much. I feel so much more than I ever have.” He stared forlornly at his fingers. “Every discomfort and pain. Sensations that are both limited and amplified by a three-dimensional body. Hunger..” Cas glanced at Dean. “I don’t know how to manage.”

Dean shifted, unsure of what to say. He's never been anything more than human, he couldn't really understand the loss. To be stripped away from everything you've known and turned into something.. less. Something you've only ever watched. He imagined it’d be like if Dean were to turn into a still drawing, or a cartoon. Unable to move or do anything he’s used to doing existing with a Z-axis.

But he’d always treated Cas like he was just some dude anyway. Maybe he shouldn't, and whenever he thought about what exactly Cas is, he really really shouldn't act as if he's just the homeschooled kid. But it comes so easily. Dean’s always teased those he admired, it's how he shows his love.

The surface part of his brain told him to play offended, to tell Cas off for acting like being human was something so awful. But he didn't. Instead he took Cas by the wrist of his coat, pulling his hand under the sink as he drew cold water from it.

“Look, I know it sucks. Especially now. But.. it’s not like you're useless.” Dean let go of Cas abruptly, sheepishly aware of how he’d held on. “Hell, me and Sammy would be one big tumor right now if you hadn't shown up against Pestilence when you did.”

Cas flexed his fingers under the running water. “Right. That was unpleasant too.” He said dryly.

Dean scoffed at his attitude. “C’mon. Bug bites and burns and getting sick are just one part of the experience. Being human, it’s- well it isn’t all bad. If we had the time..” He cut himself off.

It surprised Dean how bad he felt over Cas potentially never getting the chance to experience earthly delights. The small joys that make it worth carrying on, even with all the horrors that surround them. His heart ached over their fate for the millionth time.

“Dean?”

He slapped the water off. “Fuck it. Come on.”

—-

“Are you going to try to take my virginity again?”

Dean jammed his keys way off the mark of the ignition, dropping them on the floor of the Impala.

“What?! I-I wasn't- that's not. You don't-” Dean stuttered, face blazing. He retrieved the keys hastily, pointedly not looking at Cas, who was no doubt eyeing him warily.

“Okay, that wasn’t what I was doing. That was- well, I was, but I wasn’t. Whatever. No.” He shook his head hard. “I’m taking you to get some real food.” Cas’ stomach instantly growled again just at the mention of food, drawing a displeased frown from Cas and a chuckle from Dean.

The drive was quieter than usual. He looked over to the passenger side, only to see Cas slouching. It was ever-so-slight, but recognizable enough when the angel usually sits ramrod straight at all times. Dean wondered if his joints ached now where they didn't before.

"You okay?"

Cas blinked, very humanly. Seeing it happen made Dean realize Cas never really blinked when he was at full strength. Never gave him a break from those unsparing eyes.

“We should be preparing for the fight..” Cas murmured.

“We are. A big, greasy warrior’s meal is just what we need to nourish our bodies. You can’t stop the apocalypse on microwaved burritos.” Dean huffed. “Believe me, this is necessary.”

They ordered their food to go, a couple burgers with fries and two milkshakes. Castiel was bent on trying to ruin a nice thing Dean was trying to do. He caught Cas looking in the paper bag on his lap with too much longing. Dean lost count of how many variations of ‘I don’t understand. Why can’t I eat this right now?’ or ‘are we there yet?’ Cas would repeat on the drive to their destination. To stop the griping, he let Cas take some fries, so long as he didn't use the ketchup and inevitably make a mess. He taught Cas to dip the fries into his milkshake, which earned him a skeptical look, but he listened anyway. He nodded in approval and commented on the delightful sweet/salty contrast.

They finally arrived at the top of the overlook, just in time for the sky to begin transitioning into warmer hues. He shut off the car, replacing the sound of the rumbling engine and music with a serene silence. It added something to the beauty of the sweeping view of the Badlands.

“Bobby took me and Sammy here the first couple times dad left us with him. Sam wouldn't stop crying.” He left out the details of his own explosive tantrums. “Back then, being left in a stranger’s care without knowing when dad would be back was as close to the end of the world as it got. But this view made it all a little better.”

Dean took his eyes off the view, shifting them over to Cas. He flushed when he saw Cas was already staring at him instead of the sunset.

“Uh, it’s nicer o-out there.” Smooth. He snatched the bag out of Cas’ hands and exited the car to sit on the hood.

Castiel followed him out, butt-scooching awkwardly next to him as Dean dug around in the bag. Dean huffed. “Man… did you seriously eat my fries?” Cas shrugged so unapologetically he couldn't help but laugh and shove the burger into his hands, hands that immediately started ripping into it.

Dean didn't know why he expected Castiel, Angel of the Lord, who used to fly above the heavens and the Earth for business just last week, would’ve been impressed by not even the most impressive view in South Dakota. But every time Dean took his eyes off the pinkening sky, Cas was only looking at him. Dean should've felt hurt by his blatant disregard of the 'food and a view' he drove 20 miles out of his way for. But he didn’t.

Dean spoke with his mouth half full. “Y’know, I came here after I didn’t say yes to Michael.”

Cas swallowed the ravenous bite he took from his own burger, which was already almost entirely gone. Man, this human Cas was giving Famine Cas a run for his meat.

“You did?”

“I was so close to saying yes, Cas. It wasn’t easy. Fuck, none of it’s been easy. Going against what angels say is meant to be? And as much as I wanna believe I’m always right… sometimes their words would get to me. I mean, you'd think they’d know better about what's right than something like me…”

Cas finally seemed entranced by the sunset as it reached just above the rocks. “I know how you feel, Dean.”

“Yeah, I guess you would.”

“You did the right thing. Because of you, this cliff that's lasted over a millennia will remain after tomorrow.”

Dean sucked in a breath.

“Because of us..but yeah. Who gives a shit about paradise without being able to live first?” He finished his food and tossed the wrapper into the paper bag. He laid back against the hood of the car, arms resting up to cushion his head. The first few stars of the night started to make their appearance. He smiled when Cas copied his pose, as the angel never looked any semblance of relaxed before, and chuckled at the deeply content sigh that followed.

“Agreed. The food was incredible. As is this place, Dean. Thank you.”

“Yeah, well. Now that you’re mostly human, you should at least get a feel of what you’re fighting for.”

Much more sentimentally than he’d prepared for, Cas replied “I already have.”

After a moment of silence, he followed up with “Though I’m not entirely convinced it was worth the wait to eat.”

“Gluttony is a sin, Cas.” Before he could stop himself, one of the hands beneath his head reached out to give Cas’ stomach two quick squeezes.

“Hehe.”

For the briefest moment, he feared that Cas was rejecting his admittedly affectionate touch, immediately placated when he looked beside him.

Cas shifted away with a subsiding grin on his face. He had hardly ever seen the angel smile, despite Dean basically never not making jokes. The closest Cas gets to smiling is the occasional, unmistakable reverence in his eyes that don’t quite reach his lips all the way. But there for a moment he saw a big grin, with shiny teeth and all.

“Huh. I think this mostly human you is ticklish now.” He stated as casually as possible.

“Hmm. Don’t be ridiculous.” But he wasn’t fooling anybody. Dean saw the grin, the big stupid grin that he never saw his angel do before.

He hummed, keeping his eyes on the stars. Nonchalantly, he tried to reach over to Cas' stomach again, but was caught by the wrist by a strong hand.

He smiled quizzically at Cas, who was smiling back at him. At him, because of something he did. Dean made him smile.

Things escalated after that. He shifted to sit up, in an instant he dove his other hand towards Cas’ torso. That hand was caught before it could land too, but Dean succeeded in startling a low giggle out. That fueled the giddiness rioting inside him.

This was ridiculous. Dean was being ridiculous. How sweet that laugh was was ridiculous. Cas hardly smiles, but he never laughs. It lit his body up with a crazed energy, like seeing a comet pass by, one that hasn’t in thousands of years, and won't again for a thousand more. It was rare and magical. He felt like a little kid, chasing that comet down the street.

Dean pushed hard against Cas’ hands, frantically reaching and clawing and wiggling his fingers at the slim space of air around his body, desperate to make contact.

“Ah- Get off of me! Stop doing that!” Cas grinned, arms starting to shake from the combination of holding up Dean’s body weight and anticipatory laughter.

Dean continued to wrestle, joyously demanding through gritted teeth “Just let me tickle you! It’s part of the experience!"

Cas managed to get a knee in between them both, shoving Dean hard enough to roll him off the car. He planted his feet on the opposite side of where Dean brushed himself off, bowed in a stance prepared to fight. Dean couldn't keep any of his exhilaration out of his grin, leaning down as threateningly as possible.

“Why’re you so scared? I didn’t think anyone was stupid enough to try that before.”

Cas panted nervously. “I-I don’t know. It's instinctive. What you're going to do, it's- ah!” He shouted when Dean feigned toward him, defensively curling his arms up. Cas shook his head, frustrated and no doubt confused by his reaction.

“Aww, Cas, don't you trust me?” Dean skipped side to side, unable to keep still. There must be something in an angel’s laugh, something addictive that Dean couldn't stop himself from tweaking out about. There could be no other reason he was so excited to tickle a grown man.

Dean saw the trenchcoat swish up before he really saw Cas’ body move, and suddenly they were fighting each other to the ground. With a heavy forearm pinning Dean's chest, he felt fingertips tapping rapidly up and down his side and, okay, Cas has definitely never done this before, but it was effective enough to get Dean giggling.

“Heh- w-what are you- doing??” Dean snorted, totally endeared by the strange, very Cas way he was trying to tickle. Cas looked delighted.

“I was worried this trait was something only new humans shared. Babies, young children, recently fallen angels. But it looks like you haven’t grown out of it.”

“Screw you, you're doing it wrong!” He laughed, managing to reach up to dig into Cas’ ribs.

The angel’s yell echoed throughout the overlook, instantly retreating off of Dean to curl into himself, but Dean’s hands followed.

Giggles streamed out of Cas helplessly as Dean expertly provided a demonstration and oh, he wanted to cry. If the laugh before was a comet, this was a full blown meteor shower. Cas flipped onto his belly, trying to crawl away while also protecting access to sensitive spots with his trench coat. Dean grabbed his leg and yanked, enveloping it into a tight three-limb bear hug and relentlessly squeezed at his thigh with his fingertips.

Holy shit, Cas lost his goddamn mind. His hands slapped the ground while he laughed his head off, begging Dean to let go. The sound was bright and unexpected, at least an octave higher than the pitch he uses when speaking.

“Ain’t this awesome, Cas?? You like being human yet?”

Dean didn’t get a response besides a rapidly shaking head. Cas writhed on the ground with an even stronger bout of cackles, and suddenly Dean was the one overwhelmed. His insides flared with an intense kind of joy, and he found his own cheeks hurt from smiling. Cas was laughing hard, and Dean was loving it so much.

He spaced out the tickles in random pulses, a method he personalized and perfected, knowing all too well how maddening the feeling must be.

“Deeaan- AAAAHA! YOU HAVE TO LET GO!”

Dean wasn’t planning on that for awhile, but found himself rolling away with a wheeze when, despite the stronghold, there was just enough give for Cas to reel back and effectively kick him in the nuts.

They both lay on their backs, curled inward, catching their breaths and trying to recover. The sun had set completely while they were playing, but the stars twinkling dimly over them was just as welcome of a sight.

“Dean, why did you do that?” Cas panted, but Dean could still hear the smile.

To hear you laugh. “To teach you a lesson! Hahh, ow..”

“In what?!” Cas sounded exasperated.

“In letting loose. You should have some fun for once- at least once in your life.”

“So tickling is fun for you?” Cas asked, and Dean’s sure he didn't mean to make it sound judgy, but with the exasperation still in his voice Dean went bright red.

Dean gaped. “Huh? I mean- well, uh, tormenting you is. Yeah, really great fun. What about- did you- was it fun?”

Cas took a beat to think about his response. “It was.. thrilling. I'm glad to have experienced it.”

“Well, you're welcome. I’ll do that anytime. All the time. God, you were great.”

Cas hummed in a low voice. “I did enjoy it. I enjoy trying new things. Dean, is it more fun in the getting or the giving?”

Dean blushed, about to make a quip at the innuendo, until Cas ambushed him yet again with unrenderable speed. They wrestled under the stars, laughter echoing in bounces throughout the cliff.

#tickle fic #ticklish!cas #destiel #supernatural #ler dean

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ticklishraspberries · 2 years ago

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Ren Faire (Eddie/Steve)

Summary: Steve, Eddie, and Robin go to a Renaissance Fair and see some interesting demonstrations. (This fic is for my lovely friend @gigglyrambles!! I literally just pulled this whole plot out of my ass and wrote it in one sitting, so I really hope you like it, LOL. Also, shoutout to @wordstrings because I know she has written something similar for Our Flag Means Death, I hope you don't mind me taking inspiration!!)

Steve isn’t sure how he ended up being dragged along to a Renaissance Fair with none other than Robin and Eddie, but he found it hard to say no to either of their puppy dog eyes and incessant begging.

His outfit is simple, consisting of a white, long-sleeved shirt with laces at the neckline, tight brown pants, and brown boots. He feels only a little bit ridiculous, but after seeing what his friends are wearing, he supposes he isn’t the weirdest looking one.

Eddie is decked out in black, an intricately detailed top with ruffles and buttons. A fake sword sits in a holder on his waist. Robin has gone for a more masculine look, a cloak over her shoulders and a bow and arrow in her hand.

“Screw historical accuracy,” she’d said.

“The fact that you’re a girl isn’t the problem, it’s that you couldn’t hit a moving target with an arrow to save your life,” Eddie had teased, and Robin had elbowed him in the ribs, making Steve laugh.

Now that they’ve arrived, Steve has relaxed a bit. He used to feel out of place whenever he attended events that he wouldn’t have been caught dead at in high school. Corroded Coffin concerts, DnD campaigns, and that one time he drove Eddie and Robin to the nearest gay bar in Indiana. It had definitely been more awkward sober, and before he realized that he’s bisexual, and could have totally had more fun if he’d been aware of and okay with that information at the time.

He’s sort of glad he wasn’t, though, because kissing Eddie Munson during a childish game of truth or dare was a much funnier way to have your queer awakening, and dating Eddie Munson is way more fun than hooking up with random guys in a bar.

“They have really good beer here,” Eddie comments, to which Steve holds up his car keys and jingles them. No medieval mead is going to keep him from being the designated driver.

“I can drive us home,” Robin says, absolutely joking, but Steve still gives her a horrified look and makes a show of sliding his keys back into his pocket, patting the denim for safe keeping. She sticks her tongue out at him, and he flicks her cheek.

Eddie does end up getting some beer, and Steve allows himself a few sips. They’ll be here for at least a few hours, he’ll surely sober up by then. He also samples the gigantic turkey leg that Eddie gets, and Robin wrinkles her nose in disgust at the messy nature of the food.

As they walk around, Steve finds himself getting into the spirit more than he had expected. They eat, watch musical performances, and shop at the little stalls set up by various vendors. Eddie buys a few rings for himself, and buys a handmade mug for Uncle Wayne. Robin indulges in candles and soaps, and even dares to see a fortune teller.

“She said that I’ll meet my future husband soon,” she says, giggling. “Clearly she’s a fraud, or she’d know I’m not interested.”

When Robin runs off to find a bathroom, somehow, Eddie and Steve end up standing around a demonstration about medieval punishments and torture, which Steve expects to be gruesome, and quickly finds he would rather hear gritty, gorey details than stand her and watch this happen.

A pretty girl, probably around their age, is locked into a pair of wooden stocks, and—

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Steve mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

Eddie looks absolutely delighted as he leans in close. “What’s wrong, Stevie? The demonstration isn’t bothering you, is it?” he asks. His cheeks are flushed, too. A few months ago, Eddie would probably be the one stuttering and staring at the ground right now, but ever since he introduced this little world to Steve, he’s gained a confidence about it that only comes out when he gets to tease Steve into oblivion.

“Shut up.”

“You shut up, I’m trying to watch. Maybe I can get some pointers from these guys.”

‘These guys’ refers to the two men who have started tickling the girl’s trapped feet, and frantic giggles fill the air and make Steve’s stomach flip.

“Oh, she’s handling this better than you would,” Eddie continues to tease. “I’d already be called every insult under the sun if you couldn’t kick me instead.”

“I will kick you right now,” Steve threatens. It’s a complete lie. He’s frozen to the spot on the grass, torn between watching and focusing on the grass. Everyone else in the crowd is behaving like this is so normal, no big deal, just a silly show.

One of the men has moved behind the girl to tickle her ribs, her arms secured above her head. Steve crosses his arms over his chest, subconsciously protecting his own sensitive spots, like just watching her could tickle him, too.

“You love that spot,” Eddie coos. “You make the cutest sounds when I tickle you there.”

“I’m gonna fuckin’ kill you,” Steve grits out.

“Sure you will, sweetheart. Can it wait ‘til after I’ve made you cry real pretty for me?”

Just then, Robin appears at his side. “This looks like my worst nightmare,” she says. “I hope this girl is getting paid well.”

Steve makes a noise of agreement, but can’t bring himself to look over. Eddie Munson is going to be the fucking death of him. Thankfully, Robin is immediately bored of the display and drags them off to explore. Eddie subtly gives Steve’s side a quick pinch as he walks past him, and Steve suddenly can’t wait to go home.

***

“You are a fucking menace,” Steve accuses the moment they’ve made it through the door.

His parents aren’t home, Robin was dropped off back at her house, and now, Steve is alone with Eddie for the first time all day, and he refuses to voice how excited he is for whatever Eddie’s got planned.

But Eddie just grins, tugging off the more elaborate pieces of his costume, leaving himself in socks, boxers, and a white t-shirt. He makes his way to the kitchen, comes back with two cans of beer, sits on the couch like he isn’t ignoring the clear tension in the room.

Steve gapes at him for a minute before joining him on the couch, kicking off his boots and taking a beer as well. Maybe Eddie’s changed his mind…Maybe he just isn’t the mood, and Steve isn’t going to pressure him into anything.

But…Well, he has a sneaking suspicion that isn’t the case at all.

“If you’re waiting for me to ask, it’s not gonna happen,” he says.

“Ask for what?” Eddie tilts his head curiously, but there’s a glint in his eye that proves Steve’s theory.

“Nothing,” Steve replies, playing along. “All that talk back there just made me think you had a plan for when we got home. But if you’re not interested, that’s fine too.”

“Did you want me to have a plan?”

Steve huffs. “Maybe. But if you don’t, then let’s forget about it.”

“Oh, c’mon baby,” Eddie says, throwing an arm around Steve’s shoulders and pulling him close. “All you’ve gotta do is ask if you want it so bad.”

His cheeks burn. Stubborn as ever, he shakes his head.

Eddie sighs with exaggerated disappointment. “If you insist. I guess I’ll just keep my hands to myself tonight…”

“Good,” Steve says, and turns the television on.

It takes two beers and a stupid scene in a film to break him. It’s a quick, barely there tickle, but the character’s laugh makes Steve perk up like a dog hearing a doorbell ring.

“Fine,” he says.

“What’s fine?” Eddie asks.

“Just fucking tickle me, you dick.”

Eddie grins and wastes no time, lunging across the couch and pinning Steve to the cushions.

“I knew you’d crack eventually, sweetheart,” he teases. “Sorry we don’t have quite the same set up, but I’ll hold you down real nice, okay?”

Steve is already grinning. He can’t help it, he’s so lovestruck by his boyfriend and desperate to laugh his head off. And laugh he does when Eddie goes straight for his ribs, scratching at the dips between each little bone.

“There’s that pretty sound,” he says, pressing a kiss to Steve’s jaw that is both sweet and ticklish under the current circumstance.

The stupid shirt with the laces is pulled over his head and discarded on the floor, and Eddie pins Steve’s wrists and tells him to stay still before exploring each ticklish spot on his torso, making him shriek and cackle and snort like a fool.

He doesn’t stay still for very long, arms shooting down to his sides when Eddie attacks his belly with blunt fingernails, and Eddie scolds him but doesn’t stop.

As he squirms on the couch, giggling like mad, he wonders if they sell some of those bondage contraptions there. He thinks that they should go back to the Ren Faire sometime.

#steddie #steddie ticklefic #steddie tickle fic #stranger things ticklefic #stranger things tickle fic #stranger things tickling #steddie fic #steddie fluff #stranger things #tickle fic #ticklefic #raspberry writes

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221bbees · 4 months ago

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Hi bbc johnlock fandom, I'm a huge huge fan of the paradox series and all the best and brightest by ao3 user wordstrings. I think she had more fics on livejournal which later got deleted. Does anyone have those fics?

#bbc sherlock #johnlock

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inevitably-johnlocked · 1 year ago

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Five Fics Friday: February 16/24

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you enjoy these fics I've got for you to start off your weekend, and will give the boosted fics some love! <3

SIGNAL BOOST

Have we met before? by avalanching effect (G, 2,013 w., 1 Ch. || Sherlock and Co. Crossover || Crack / Humour, Holding Hands, Banter, POV John) – "Uhm, we got an anonymous tip about some suspicious activity that would be happening in Regent's park today, thank you anonymous tip giver. It said— actually I don't know what it said, it was sent directly to Sherlock and he won't let me read it."

An Act of Charity by wordstrings (M, 4,041 w., 1 Ch. || Pre-Slash, Angst, Mental Health Issues, Psychopathology /Sociopathy, Romance, First Kiss / Time, POV Sherlock) – In which what's in Sherlock's head is never going to get any better, and John is nearly thrown out of his flat. Part 1 of The Paradox Series [TRANSLATIONS: Polski || 한국어]

RECENT MFLs

All Our Tomorrows by Calais_Reno (T, 3,161 w., 1 Ch. || Time Traveller AU || Post-TRF, POV John, John Loves Sherlock, Sherlock Loves John, Time Travel, Old Age, Sussex, Forgiveness, Happy Ending) – John meets an old man who seems to know a lot about him.

A Moment Still Ajar by Raina_at (E, 10,426 w., 1 Ch. || TSo3 Fix-It, Established Relationship, Developing Relationship, Relationship Talk, Bisexuality, Discussion of Sexual History, Enthusiastic Consent) – John has come home, and things are slowly settling down. Now all they need is a good, solid, juicy case to seal John's homecoming. The case, however, turns out to have more to do with John's past than they anticipated. Part 3 of Nothing Gold

Relapse and Redemption by JennLynn77 (M, 15,815 w., 13 Ch. || TSo3 Fix It, Drug Use, Relapse & Recovery, Drug Withdrawal, Self-Hatred, Dialogue Heavy, Love Confessions, POV John Third Person, Self-Esteem Issues, Sherlock Whump, Canon Divergence, Hugs / Cuddles, Angst, Dark Mood, Apologies, Profanity, Nightmares, Developing Relationship, Triggers, Bed Sharing, Communication, Mental Health Issues, Happy Ending) – Sherlock leaves the wedding early, but John notices and goes to find him. Canon compliant up to us seeing Sherlock leaving the wedding. Happy, hopeful ending.

#johnlock fic recs #my fic recs #five fics friday

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thalialunacy · 1 year ago

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Thalia's Sherlock Recs pt 6

(back to rec index)

Oblivion by AlgySwinburne

Obsession, Appassionato by shinychimera & Yeomanrand

An Ocean Away by westernredcedar

Of Course I Forgive You by allonsys_girl

Of Small and Unexpected Things by wearitcounts

Of Velvet and Silk, Cotton and Cashmere by cwb

The Old Familiar Sting by songlin

Old Haunts by DiscordantWords

On a Sunday Morning by SD_Ryan

On the Losing Side by missselene

On Pins And Needles by 7PercentSolution & J_Baillier

On The Fence by BeautifulFiction

On the Subject of Haggis by mydwynter

Once is Enough by Jominerva

Once More, With Feeling by cellardoors

One Good Scare by blueink3

One Little Change by jadztone

The One Where No One Proposes by MissDavis

The One With the Proposal by kim47

The Only Available Transportation by blueink3

Onomatopoeia by aquabelacqua

The Oolong Disaster by unicornpoe

The Orchard by DancingGrimm

Overture by TakePenAndInk

Packing Heat by songlin

The Painted Man by jinglebell

Paparazzi by SilentAuror

Paper Men by lurikko

Paperback Writer by Teddy

The Paradox Series by wordstrings

Past Imperfect, Future Perfect by ChrisCalledMeSweetie

Paternity by amaruuk

Pattern Behaviour by SilentAuror

Penitence by amaruuk

Perchance to Dream by scribblesinthebyline

The Perfect Specimen by Cleo2010

Permanent Fixture by vitruvianwatson

Pillow Talk by scullyeviltwin

Planet Sherlock by pir8fancier

The Plans We Make by wearitcounts

Pleasure to Burn by scullyseviltwin

Points by lifeonmars

A Poison Garden, A Prize-winning Leek, And A Corpse In The Maris Pipers by mydogwatson

Posh Boy by panickedbee

possession by light

Post-Reichenbach by orphan_account

Praise Me by testosterone_tea

A Preference for Texting by LostGirl

Precipice by PoppyAlexander

Primavera by Berty

Problematic by MrsNoggin

The Progress of Sherlock Holmes by ivyblossom

A Promise Made to Be Broken by PlantsAreNeat

Proving a Point by elldotsee & J_Baillier

Questions and Answers by PipMer

(back to rec index)

#bbc sherlock #Johnlock #fic recs #thalia's fic recs

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wildwinter-d · 5 months ago

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The Paradox Series - wordstrings - Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms [Archive of Our Own]

This whole series is a georgius, masterful piece of writing. Sherlock's voice is so alive - and brilliantly heart wrenching

#favourite fanfiction #sherlock holmes

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august-anon · 1 month ago

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Hello, Mario Kart anon here! I’ve recently been inspired by all the tickle headcanons and mini-fics and some of your fics to write my own small story. I’m thinking about writing one based around Bruce turning training into a game of hide and seek or tag. They both have so much potential and I can decide which one would be funnier. I was hoping I could get some input from Chef August on which plot to choose and who shall be the final victim of Bruce “tickle monster” Wayne.

(Also, instead of posting the fic through submissions, would it be alright if I sent it through asks and you just post it as a fic with credits?)

hello again mario kart anon!! omg, it is SO exciting that you are thinking about writing a fic based on your training games headcanon, i am SO excited to see it!! genuinely i love both ideas of hide and seek and tag so much its so hard to decide skjdfsfh just gotta write two fics i guess (/j to be clear, no pressure to write two fics at all, no pressure to write even one fic if you find its not working out for you for any reason!)

it is SUCH a tough decision for which game to go with..... the anticipation play of both of them is so strong..... hide and seek, you slowly hear your siblings get found and laugh themselves to tears at your father's hands........ tag it's everyone-for-themselves as you try to not end the game as "It" so that youre not the tickle victim of the day.........

i think, since it sounds like you might just be starting to dip your toe into fic writing (though i could be wrong, maybe its just your first foray into tickle fic writing but you have other writing experience) and you sound like you're looking to write something on the shorter side, the tag route may be the way to go! that way it seems like there's focus on one singular ticklee at the end rather than a trail of giggling children left in Bruce's wake lol

as for the victim of this fiendish tickle monster........ look besties, i am such a Dick Grayson girlie KJDHFJKDH i love all the batfamily like so, so dearly (even the ones im not confident enough to write myself yet like Babs, Steph, Duke, Cass, etc.), but in the end i am SUCH a Dick Grayson girlie........ so my heart of hearts says Dick (maybe he's been on a tickle monster rampage himself, maybe he just needs to be taken down a peg, maybe he's been too busy in Bludhaven and hasnt been down to Gotham to see the family much recently, maybe Bruce just wants to mess with his eldest baby, idk!!) lol. Unless you're feeling it more for someone else!! I know I would be more than happy to see any of the batkids that you choose for the situation

as for the asks vs submissions.... we can try it, maybe? do you mean for me to just post the ask directly, or copy the ask into a more formatted post and just make it obvious that it's a fic from "mario kart anon" (which -- let me know if you wanna stick with that anon name or if you wanna change it, totally up to you!!) I have like, 2 concerns on this, which are: I know they changed the wordcount limits on asks -- did they remove it completely, or is there still a longer wordcount limit that risks cutting your fic off depending on the length? and second concern, there's no formatting options in asks, so things like italics and such would be completely unavailable to you.

I answered an ask before on how we can work to keep anons anonymous via the submission system if yall want, since they revoked anonymous submissions (which SUCKS), but i also totally get if you dont even want solely me possibly seeing your URL, even if i'll probably forget it. back when i was a little lurking anon myself, not doing much more than shooting asks to wordstrings, i also never wouldve wanted my normie blog's name seen by anyone, even if they would probably forget it

#ask #anon #turtle anon

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orelsemystery · 10 months ago

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A list of what’s written on the sticky notes:

foucault’s secret that must be uncovered = sex -> drive to read detective fiction an erotic one?

thread/skin/fabric, stitching up/spilling out - consumption?

excess & precision

interiority = anal fingering / mediumship (painful) = bdsm

greywash, emungere, wordstrings

don’t forget REAL GHOSTS

is skin the right thing? fabric/skin re: spiritualism - too far from hannibal fic? - why skin?

post-seance exhaustion = subspace?

Taussig - “Walter Benjamin’s Grave”

talk about race you coward

interiorized space v. cannibalism/eating - different forms

grace & the fever

affect as excess of meaning? (monster as excess of meaning see halberstam) - moment that is “more than”

psychoanalysis will not kill you (: (: (:

fellowships - research ASAP plz

reading queerness “into” texts: scholarship, fic - desire

read ch. 8 here

#queer lit #queer author #writeblr #writers on tumblr #mystery novel #academia #dark academia #indie novel #or else #or else mystery #or else update

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inevitably-johnlocked · 1 year ago

Note

hey Steph!! just read a fanfic and I absolutely adored it, think you should be clued in to its beauty !! It’s called “an act of charity” by wordstrings. it’s quite short and there’s a podfic. just trust me!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/555316

An Act of Charity by wordstrings (M, 4,041 w., 1 Ch. || Pre-Slash, Angst, Mental Health Issues, Psychopathology/Sociopathy, Romance, First Kiss / Time, POV Sherlock) – In which what's in Sherlock's head is never going to get any better, and John is nearly thrown out of his flat. Part 1 of The Paradox Series [TRANSLATIONS: Polski || 한국어]

====

Hi Lovely!

Ah yes, I've been recced the Paradox series often, I really need to finally break down and read it! I'm always happy to promote fics you guys love, so I'm so happy to let people know about it!

Thank you Lovely!!!

#steph replies #johnlock fic recs #signal boost #paradox series

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rosileeduckie · 3 years ago

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Between You and Me

That’s where Dean’s happiest.

Dean is gonna have a night off whether he likes it or not. Perhaps the efforts of two of his favorite people will convince him. @wordstrings, it’s been an honor to be your Squealing Santa this year, and I beg you pardon the late gift 😅 It’ll have to be a Christmas/New Year’s gift to double the fun. I do hope it’s worth the wait and makes you smile! As always, thank you to @ticklygiggles for being this event’s awesome host and keeping it going each year ♥️ Happy Holidays to all, and to all a Merry Squealing Santa!

SFW. Potential warnings: none. Supernatural, Dean/Benny/Cas tickle fic.

Word count: 5,595

~*~

As was ever irritatingly more frequent the older he got, Dean was ready to park the car, get out, and fall asleep on any bed he landed on. Now, he was justified; he hadn’t quite reached the level of post-forty fatigue that incapacitated him after a figurative or, more concerningly or laughably, literal milk run. He and Sam had spent most of the night chasing a trio of ghouls between the cemeteries of four small Idaho towns, and then, when that was sorted, driven through the morning back to Kansas. And then, when they’d barely pulled the Impala into the bunker garage, Sam’s phone had picked up a blip of what looked like vampire activity in northern Illinois. Sam had tucked and rolled out of the car to nurse yet another bungled shoulder, and Dean was back on the highway to see if he could turn a head-start into a finished job before Sam’s first pain meds had worn off.

But in the morning. That’s when he’d make use of the head-start. For the night, he just wanted to sleep.

He silenced Baby’s purring engine and grabbed an overnight duffel from the back seat. The Impala’s keys, he slipped into one pocket, and he pulled his motel room key out of another. After unlocking the door, he edged slowly into the room, hackles habitually raised with no one watching his back. Thankfully, it was as clean and dark and typical as any other motel room, complete with a kitchenette to make coffee in when morning came, a bed to flop down onto and not move for hours, and a tv to provide cable static lullabies to fall asleep to.

Ready to be unconscious as soon as possible—but more likely after ordering some late dinner and showering to scrub away any sneaky ghoul viscera he’d missed that morning—Dean flicked on the light, set his duffel on the bed closest to him, and turned to close the door.

Nothing could have woken him up so much as the telltale sound of fluttering wings behind him in the kitchenette. Dean all but whirled around, hazel-green eyes alight as he beheld the trenchcoated angel who had appeared.

Castiel was already smiling at the expression of blatant surprise and delight Dean wore, the dark-haired man’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “Hello, De—mmph!” His usual greeting was cut off by a much more exuberant ‘hello’ from Dean, which involved introducing their lips with such fervor that it sent the angel back against the fridge behind him. When Dean did pull away, able only to bear the distance between their touching foreheads, Cas chuckled gently. “Hello.”

“Hello, yourself,” Dean replied, winding one hand in Cas’ hair and pressing the other upon his lower back as he pulled him closer for more hello kisses.

Eventually, Cas had to pull back, leaning his head against the refrigerator with a smile spread across his rosy cheeks. Dean was not deterred, kissing down Cas’ jaw and neck until the angel chuckled fondly. “Are you waiting for an invitation?”

Dean looked up at him, confused but ready to offer a sarcastic but flirty reply, and saw that Castiel’s blue eyes were not on him, but on the door he suddenly realized he hadn’t shut. He followed the direction of Cas’ grin, his own smile widening once more.

From where he stood in the door, Benny grinned crookedly. “Am I not allowed to enjoy the view?” After a beat, he cleared his throat. “But, also, yes, being invited into the room to take part in this little reunion would be nice.”

The vampire’s joke got Cas’ nose to scrunch in a smirk and Dean to huff out a laugh. “Get your ass over here, then,” said Dean, an eager little trill zipping down his spine when Benny entered the room, shut the door, and beelined toward him.

“With pleasure,” Benny purred, grabbing Dean by the belt loops of his jeans and pulling him into another equally breathtaking hello kiss.

“I—” Dean started to say when they parted from the kiss, only to be struck dumb with a happiness that made his chest ache as he looked between Benny and Cas. “How? How are you guys here? Sammy and me were—?”

“Sam may have passed on the address of your motel,” Benny shrugged, trying to look innocently despite how the corners of his lips twitched.

“After telling you of some convincing evidence of a lead down here,” Cas added.

Dean blinked as that information slotted into his brain. “That little shit’s shoulder is fine, isn’t it?” he said, shaking his head.

“Afraid you’ve been duped, darlin’,” Benny laughed.

“So the case—?”

“Was only slightly fabricated,” Cas confirmed.

“I mean, there is vampire activity here, so it wasn’t a total lie,” Benny added with a snicker.

“Sam agreed to tell you whatever would convince you to make the drive here.”

“But, before that, he had said that you needed a break, which we were happy to help with.”

“Guys—” Dean said. His mind was still spinning from having been tricked, however benevolently. It was almost out of instinct that he tried to interrupt, to slow down the tide of fondness just to stubbornly insist that he didn’t need a break; he was fine, really. Deep down, he counted himself profoundly lucky that his significant others didn’t let him get a word in edgewise and let him convince himself of that—that he was fine, that he didn’t want a break—too.

“You have a free night, Dean,” Cas said, laying a hand on Dean’s shoulder with a gentle smile. “We promise, we wouldn’t ask you away from something important.”

“Even if it’s for something as important as this,” Benny nodded, drawing Dean’s gaze once more by reaching to cradle his jaw with one hand.

“Have this night with us—”

“Or two.” Benny’s hand trailed down Dean’s chest and to his hip, grin audible in his voice even as Dean’s eyelids fluttered shut with a sigh. “Or three, or four, or—”

“Rest,” said Cas, a smile in his words as well, his hand moving to hold Dean’s lower back in case the mix of driving fatigue and teasing hands would be enough to knock the poor hunter out at the knees. “And we’ll send you off in the morning to chase the next case. But, for now, rest and—”

“GUYS.” At last, Dean’s interruption was loud enough to silence them, but he didn’t fill the empty space right away. He’d always been good at thinking on his feet and adapting to his surroundings, but, shit, they’d really caught him off guard with this loving ambush. Going from irritable from the drive to elated at the reunion to dizzy from all the talking and touching—it was a lot to adapt to. In that moment of silence, Dean took a breath, and felt something else expanding with the air in his chest. Happy. He was happy, so happy. And, tonight, he could just let himself be happy. Dean’s smile grew so fast and wide that it nearly split his cheeks, and he pulled Benny and Cas in for a hug. They adapted much more quickly, their chins hooked over either of his shoulders and their chuckling breath ruffling the hair on the back of Dean’s head. “Thank you.” In the next beat of content silence as the hunter looked over his boyfriends’ shoulders, Dean’s brows furrowed, though his smile stayed big and bright. “How are all three of us gonna fit on that bed?”

Benny hummed, angling his head so as to press a nuzzly kiss to Dean’s neck. “Guess we’ll have to get cozy.”

With a snicker, Dean tried to dodge the scruffy kisses, only to be met with hands holding his back and Cas waiting on the other side to dote similarly.

“Oh, I think we can manage that,” Cas agreed, the tip of his nose brushing Dean’s ear and his stubble tickling Dean’s neck.

Dean did wriggle out of their arms then, knowing if he let himself indulge in their nearness too early, he’d never hear nor want the end of it. Even as he cleared his throat to bury the snickers that wanted to spill out when they kissed his neck, Dean knew he was still sporting a grin and a flushed pink behind his freckles. “Only after I shower. Feel like I still got ghoul stink on me, and I wouldn’t want you guys to deal with that.”

Cas pouted, his eyes still fixed on Dean’s neck and the flush creeping down it, and ironically had to have his attention diverted by the resident vampire.

“You hit the shower and get comfy, sugar,” said Benny, hooking a hand around Cas’ elbow but winking at Dean as they made their way back to the door. “Me and Cas’ll rustle up some dinner for you.”

At the mention of food, Dean’s stomach grumbled gratefully. “Thanks.”

As the door closed behind the pair, Dean went to root through his duffel from some cleaner clothes. With fresh sweatpants, boxers, and a t-shirt under one arm, he paused to text Sam with his free hand. First was the usual all-clear and confirmation of having arrived at a motel, and then something for the occasion, calling Sam a little shit and a bad liar, but thanking him nonetheless. Sam just sent back a smiley face.

With how quickly his life could turn from delightfully dull to monstrously busy, Dean could be quite precious about his free time. Especially showers. Before living in the bunker, he’d nearly always have to cut showers short to save hot water for Sam or another hunting buddy, or because they were on a severe time crunch. His hurry today wasn’t begrudging, though. Nice and refreshing as the shower water felt, he was eager for what would come after, the time he got to spend with his two favorite people. Dean may have been too excited, though, as Benny and Cas hadn’t returned by the time he hopped out of the shower, toweled off, and changed clothes. No fuss to be had about that; Dean was sure he could entertain himself. He set his duffel on the floor and took its place on the bed, lounging comfortably after leaning over to grab from his bag his laptop and, as an afterthought, his dad’s hunting journal. It was his free time, Dean reasoned; he could spend a little of it poking around the web for the next possible case.

Dean had barely had his laptop open for ten minutes before he heard the lock in the motel door click, and he swore under his breath as he scrambled to shut the device and his journal before stuffing both under his pillow. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his head back against the wall, closing his eyes and trying to look nonchalant as the door opened.

“Well, look how good you listen,” Benny teased, and Dean opened his eyes just to roll them. And then widen them eagerly when Cas set a greasy-bottomed diner takeout bag on the kitchenette table. “Thought we’d have to pin you down for the whole weekend to get you to relax.”

With a chuckle, Dean pushed himself up from his bed, diverting the path to his dinner to pause and plant grateful kisses on Benny’s and then Cas’ cheeks. “Oh, the commander knows I can follow orders if I want to,” Dean said as he sat at the table, waggling his eyebrows at the angel.

Cas’ ears visibly reddened, and he avoided all eyes as he sat down on the edge of the bed Dean had vacated.

Benny sat across from him on the opposite bed, bumping their knees together with a grin. “Feel like that’s a story I definitely need to hear.”

“I would rather go back to talking about pinning Dean down for the weekend,” Cas said, casting a half-hearted glare toward Dean when the hunter snickered.

Said glare slid easily to Benny when the vampire shrugged and sat back on his hands. “If you command it, I won’t argue.”

Dean couldn’t help but laugh between bites of his burger at Benny’s prodding and its resulting in Cas sending his glare heavenward. “We’ve got all weekend, Benny. Plenty of time to tell you that story.”

“I’m lookin’ forward to it.”

After such long stretches of driving in quiet or to worn cassettes he tuned out after the third play, Dean always forgot how nice it was to just listen to familiar voices converse. So, when the silence awaiting Cas’ response stretched on, Dean looked up, only to nearly choke on a fry. The angel’s conscious attempts to avert his gaze from teasing eyes had ended up with him noticing the disturbed pillow on the bed beside him, and it had piqued his interest enough to reach beneath it and pull out the still-warm laptop. It was Dean who had to look away then, pretending to be very interested in his half-gone meal, when Cas sighed, not having to open the laptop to know what Dean had been using it for. “Oh, Dean.”

“What?” said Dean, who couldn’t save himself from replying by continuing to eat when his mouth was suddenly dry. “Nothing. It’s porn.”

Benny snorted at that, reaching over to grab the journal from under the pillow as well, turning it over in his hands and realizing what Dean had been trying to hide. The vampire shook his head and tsked. “I was joking, but maybe pinnin’ him down for the weekend is the best thing we can do to get him to relax.”

With a hum, Cas nodded. “I agree. Especially if we tickle him. He won’t want to do anything else, then.”

“Oh?”

It was hard for Dean to chew when his heart was pounding in his ears. While, yes, Cas was right—Dean being pinned under his two much stronger partners and tickled until he was too hoarse to make excuses about a hunter’s work never being done and too happy to want to do anything but cuddle was probably the only way they could get him to relax—he didn’t have to talk about it so casually. Not when just thinking the word made giddy butterflies take flight in Dean’s stomach, made him ache for touch (even more than usual). The hunter swallowed, cleared his throat. “Don’t talk about me like I’m not here.” Even he could hear how thin his voice sounded, knew how unconvincing the statement was when heat flushed up the back of his neck.

Dean had finished his fries before he realized the silence was stretching on again, and, when he looked up, he realized that Cas and Benny had taken his words as a request to not talk at all, and instead to just watch and wait for him to finish eating, their smirks patient and hungry.

“Okay, that’s worse.”

At least, some of the tension making Dean’s neck hairs rise dissipated when Benny snickered at that. Dean was able to duck his head before his cheeks went too pink, busying himself with the tv remote conveniently on the table beside him. His food was fully gone, and he was in a vulnerable state with nothing to focus on other than his companions.

“Dean,” said Cas.

Taking the last swig of his beer, Dean hummed in reply.

“Don’t make me make you come here.”

Suddenly, Dean was standing before them, hands in his pockets and lower lip between his teeth. Logically, he knew he must have cleaned up his dishes, turned away long enough for Cas to have miracled the beds together and for he and Benny to have moved to sit at the foot of the now single huge bed. He knew Cas hadn’t made him approach, but had let him. Hopefully the last thing he’d need the strength for that night, to let himself be vulnerable.

Cas stood up to cradle Dean’s jaw in his hands, blue eyes warm and gentle. A twitch of the angel’s lip was the only warning Dean had before the hunter was thrown and tackled to the bed, pinned beneath Cas’ wait laying atop him as well as two devilish grins. Between the long stiff hours of driving and now the excitement bubbling in his chest, Dean couldn’t help but struggle under Cas’ hold, even as his own smile grew wide and his heart hammered happily. Practiced and powerful, Cas was unfazed by Dean’s wriggling, holding fast by crab-clawing his hands down Dean’s sides and diving in to kiss his neck when the hunter’s head fell back in merry chortles.

“Thought angels were supposed to be more graceful,” Benny teased when Cas’ hands got too near Dean’s waist, making the hunter shriek and buck and nearly unseat the angel.

“By definition only,” Cas replied with a chuckle. His hands abandoned their downward trek in order to pin one of Dean’s wrists and scribble under his arm. Dean wailed and flailed and gripped the back of Cas’ coat with his free hand, writhing out of reflex but clinging so as not to get too far away. “But, please, you are welcome to demonstrate more grace while tickling him.”

“Oh, it would be my pleasure.”

Dean couldn’t even properly catch his breath when Cas withdrew his hands and rolled off him, too busy already giggling and stammering, “Wait, wait wait—!”

Benny’s fangs were sheathed, but Dean would have sworn he saw them gleaming as Benny swung a leg over Dean’s thighs to take Cas’ place holding him down. “No can do, darlin’.” The hands Dean had instinctively wound in the collar of Benny’s shirt, Benny gently pried loose, kissing the pulses in Dean’s wrists—thundering in panic and delight—before clasping their hands together and pinning Dean’s down on either side of his head. “I’ve got a lot of time to make up for, bein’ as Cas got longer to get familiar with all your lovely spots, don’t you think?”

When Benny’s eyes meandered down from Dean’s face to his chest to his stomach, the pinned hunter wriggled subconsciously. “As much time as I have with his!” Dean said, his wobbly smile going smug for the briefest second when he saw Cas blush in his periphery.

Relief like the scorching sun dipping behind a passing cloud fell over Dean when Benny’s teasing grin was aimed at Cas. “That so? Angel’s ticklish, too?”

“Another time,” said Cas rather than affirm or deny.

Benny tipped his head and turned his gaze back to Dean. “You’re right. For now, it’s all about Dean.”

And Dean was burning all over again. He was sure Benny would be able to almost taste the hunter’s blood for how it rushed to his cheeks when Benny leaned down to whisper lowly in Dean’s ear.

“Uh-oh, big bad hunter,” Benny crooned, grinning all the wider when Dean’s legs twitched under him in a half-hearted attempt at escape. “Looks like a monster’s finally gonna catch you. Why fight it?”

“Because—!” But Dean could squeak out no more of an excuse when Benny growled playfully and moved Dean’s hands higher, fully extending the pinned hunter’s arms above his head on the bed. The vampire hardly needed to hold them down for how jellylike Dean felt his arms becoming.

Benny’s growl transitioned seamlessly into a gravelly chuckle that made the hairs on Dean’s arms rise. “Why fight it, if that’s really all the fight you’re gonna give?”

Dean’s heart was pounding loud enough to fill the space his lack of response left vacant, loud enough for one soul-attuned angel and one keen-eared vampire to hear clearly as eager and elated rather than fearful and flighty.

“Good,” said Benny, brushing the tip of his nose against Dean’s, smile softening but still crooked with mischief. “No need to fight this monster.” His gaze slid toward Cas. “But just in case…”

Cas must have taken the hint, because one touch to his wrist and Dean felt his arms freeze in place under a blanket of grace. Dean wanted to groan, but his breath was stolen as Benny sat back, fingertips winding a teasing trail down his arms, hopscotching over his armpits, and coming to rest on his chest.

With a wink, Benny moved from atop Dean in favor of reclining alongside him. “Thanks, Cas. Feels like you’ll be able to critique my tickle monstering better like this, don’t you think?”

“Mm,” Cas agreed, smiling as he mirrored Benny’s position on Dean’s left side. His eyes sought Dean’s, listening with ear and soul for even the tiniest flicker of dissent from the hunter. Dean’s cheeks flushed impossibly warmer when he realized Cas would find none; Benny had been right about there being no fight in Dean for tonight.

After the adrenaline rush of anticipation Dean had been riding, it was a relief to laugh when his partners finally attacked. Uncoordinated at first, just because he’d been wrecked by Cas’ fingers so many times while Benny was new to this play, but by no means ineffective. Dean instinctively tried to hide his flustered face and stifled giggles as Cas’ fingers fluttered devastatingly and delicately around his belly and along his ribs—the angel’s favorite places to start when he was planning on giving Dean tickly affection for a good long while. The hunter tried to bite his lip against a squeal when Benny’s calloused but gentle hands tickled under his arms and down his side. Dean was used to Cas’ style, quick and featherlight with occasional bout of merciless tasering or squeezing; Benny’s was another matter entirely. Unhurried and relishing every titter, Benny set his hands dancing with the gait of a slow starburst, blunt fingernails sweeping over every jumping nerve as they moved in and extended out. When those lazy but evil spiders focused all their attention under Dean’s arms and along his chest, Dean snorted and ground his heels into the mattress before succumbing to broad-grin chortles that had him throwing his head back against the pillow.

When his eyes weren’t scrunched tight from the width of his smile, Dean occasionally caught the fond gazes of his partners, eyes glowing with warmth at seeing him so happy. Dean couldn’t have said if that was more flustering, or the fact that Cas was coaching and encouraging Benny’s technique every so often with a nod or a chuckle. When the angel tipped his head, Benny followed, and Dean’s gasping reprieve lasted about two seconds before their hands zeroed in on his lower stomach and set him wriggling with a fresh bout of quaking laughter. The ticklers’ hands danced around one another atop the soft pudge under Dean’s navel, Cas’ fingers fluttering quick and digging in sporadically like a sudden rain while Benny’s slow and steady and unyielding movements crossed Dean’s skin like thunder. Together, they had Dean cackling and twitching like his nervous system had been struck by lightning; if the rest of him was washed away in the deluge, he wouldn’t have noticed, too enamored with the touch of his lovers and the laughter ache in his chest.

Dean didn’t see the signal to do so, but he felt both pair of hands withdraw from his belly, albeit leaving teasing phantom tickles still tingling under his skin, as well as Cas’ index and middle finger touching the hunter’s sternum and blessing him with a rush of healing air into his heaving lungs. It was like a second wind, rejuvenating his body that had gone pleasantly and familiarly boneless and peaceful from laughing so hard but not diminishing the increased sensitivity in his nerve endings from the session either. It was good, since, when his sweatpants were shimmied down just enough to bare his hips, the hunter’s fight or flight instinct would have kicked in and sent him torquing against his bonds whether or not he had the energy for it.

It wasn’t the thunder-and-rain fingers that touched down on his most ticklish spots, though. No, it was lips, soft and warm and framed with scruff, that doted his hips with featherlight affection and made Dean howl. Stubbly kisses were everything good and everything awful all at once. One part soft kisses that, on his hip bones, usually had him giggling and melting, and one part scratching that had him thrashing and shrieking. Without pausing in planting kisses, Cas touched Dean’s thigh, divinely locking it in place to prevent Dean from interrupting the torturous attention he so loved. Jerk.

Dean hadn’t meant the thought to slip out—he wasn’t exactly thinking coherently enough to be aware of thoughts beyond ‘breathe’ and ‘please’—but Cas evidently took the insult as insolence worthy of further playful punishment, because the angel bit back. Literally. Delicately and deliciously, Cas nibbled along the outer ridge of Dean’s hip, nuzzling the bowl of the bone with his stubble as he went. Add to that Benny taking advantage of Dean’s frozen leg to tickle the underside of his thigh, and Dean was screaming. Only briefly though, as the onslaught was intense enough to drive him to silent, wheezing hysteria in seconds. No heavenly mercy could save him from this gay wrath. Not that he ever wanted it to.

He was only human, though, and, when his first bout of being tickled to ecstasy needed to wrap up to keep his lungs from popping with exhaustion, Cas nodded to Benny, and the tickling and binding grace faded away, leaving Dean to catch his breath through raw-throated gasps and a lasting dopey smile. Cas sent another rush of air into his lungs, and Benny kissed his way up Dean’s side, and they both lay alongside him for a cuddle as he came down from cloud nine.

“Now,” said Cas, brushing tears from Dean’s eyes and hair from his forehead, only to chuckle when Dean groped for the angel’s and the vampire’s hands to hold, “what have you learned from this?”

The hunter’s deep exhale was still wobbly with giggles as he replied, grinning, “There’s way more fun things to do on vacation than research.”

“In the ballpark,” Benny snickered.

Cas shook his head with a small smile. “We can try again tomorrow.” His smile only grew as Dean’s heart cantered excitedly at the thought. “First, you should sleep.”

Dean’s eyes usually got heavy after a thorough tickling, but, as he glanced over Benny at the bedside clock, he saw it was definitely late enough to turn in for the night. He almost felt bad for having had dinner so late, but the workout he’d just gone through took the guilt away. He was too happy to care, anyway.

“We tucker you out enough, darlin’?” Benny teased, pressing a kiss to Dean’s temple when the hunter hummed affirmatively. “Okay. Don’t fall asleep before I get back though, alright?”

Dean turned on his side to snuggle his back into Cas’ chest and properly enjoy the view as Benny got up to walk away. Only then did Dean’s eyebrows furrow. It was sleep time; sleep time meant snuggle time, even if Dean was the only member of the trio who needed sleep.

“Cas,” said Benny over his shoulder, “be a dear and hand me our suitcase?”

The angel lifted a hand to snap his fingers before slipping an arm around Dean’s waist. In a blink, a change of nightclothes appeared in Benny’s hand.

With a nod, Benny stepped into the bathroom and shut the door with a smile and a, “Thank you kindly.”

Dean leaned back into Cas’ arms, closing his eyes as the angel kissed the freckles up the back of his neck. The hunter felt warm inside and out. On one hand, he wanted to sleep so tomorrow would come faster, so his boyfriends weekend could continue. On the other hand, he wanted to stay wrapped up in the safety and serenity and afterglow of that moment forever.

Benny returned in clothes that would be more comfortable to lay down in and swapped places with Cas as Dean’s big spoon. Cas could have snapped his fingers and just given himself and Benny some pajamas, but, Dean knew, they were all quite sappy about the feeling of domesticity and comfort of returning to their partners awaiting them. Getting up from a snuggle sandwich for any reason was often laborious, but getting to walk back to it and see a space left open to be filled was as sweet as rejoining the cuddle itself.

His eyes have closed of their own accord as he mused amidst his leftover giggle-high, Dean jumped a little when Benny’s hand around his waist began to make slow, lazy laps under Dean’s shirt and around his belly button.

“Vampires are gluttons, you know, Dean,” Benny whispered, kissing Dean’s pink-tinged ear. “Seeing you laugh like that, I just might not be able to resist.”

Dean curled up, ducking his head away from Benny’s lips but not escaping the shivers his words left behind. “Benny,” he huffed, too tired to hold back a few giggles.

“Shh,” Benny teased, pulling Dean back against his chest and finding little resistance. “You don’t want to ruffle Cas’ feathers now, do ya? You’re supposed to be resting.”

The hunter was about to bite back that he had been resting before a certain vampire had roused him, but Dean bit his lip instead. “Ruffling his feathers is a good start.”

Benny’s hand slowed to a stop, and he leaned in interestedly. “What did ya say, sugar?”

“You asked before if Cas was ticklish,” Dean said, closing his eyes once more with a grin. “He showed you my worst spot, so I’m returning the favor.”

“Good to know,” Benny chuckled. “After we get you some breakfast tomorrow, maybe you can give me a tour of his sensitivities yourself, though I know I can take your word for it. S’more fun, don’t you think?”

Dean nodded, pinching his lips together when Benny’s fingers began skating around his stomach once more.

“Unless you feel awake enough to show me now. Otherwise, I’m happy to keep doing this.” Benny’s little finger brushed the edge of Dean’s hip, and the hunter jumped again. Euphoric as the evening’s play had left him, Dean knew he needed to sleep, which wouldn’t happen if he let Benny indulge his tickle-hungry tendencies anymore tonight. However, drifting off to the sound of Cas’ low giggles—that, Dean knew he could do.

When Cas returned, he lay down facing Dean, enveloping him into the cuddle and kissing his collarbone before drawing up the blankets. Perhaps he’d thought Dean had drifted off already, because he twitched in surprise when Dean encircled and arm under and around the angel’s back, pulling him tight against himself with a yawn.

“Cas, I’m sorry for this.”

Dean’s eyes were still closed, but he could practically hear Cas’ brow furrow. “For—?” And then rise sharply when Dean’s hand, splayed upon Cas’ upper back, began to scribble languidly between his shoulder blades. “Dean—!”

“Benny’s threatening me.”

“I wasn’t threatening,” Benny chuckled, shifting to look over Dean’s shoulder and watch the angel pinch his lips together on a smile. “I was teasing.”

“So I have to show him where to tickle you until I fall asleep.”

Cas groaned, and Dean couldn’t help but crack an eye open when the angel let slip a few stray giggles.

Dean kissed Cas’ cheek, wrapping his other hand around the back of Cas’ thigh to hitch it up and within reach of impish fingers. “Don’t pretend you don’t love it.”

The angel pressed his forehead against Dean’s, smiling big enough now that his eyes shut and his nose scrunched up. “I—! I didn’t say that; I just want you to get some rest—!”

“I am resting. My eyes are closed,” Dean replied, making it so. He didn’t need to see anyway, not to scritch his fingers up the side of Cas’ thigh and over to the edge of his shoulder where he knew the best spots hid. “I’m sleep-tickling.”

“And sleep-teaching,” Benny added, audibly grinning down at the pair of them. “Real well, too.”

Cas seemed to resign himself to his fate, squishing his face half into the pillows and half into Dean’s chest, thankfully able to keep anything louder than gentle, low laughter at bay since Dean was targeting his worst spots with only light touches. Dean sighed as Cas’ sweet chuckles rumbled against his chest, spurred from the blissful hum only when Benny snickered in his ear and gave an encouraging pinch to his hip. The vampire wasn’t mean about it either; Dean knew when his fingers were slowing and could tell Benny was just gauging if he was still awake. For as long as he could, Dean hung on to the heavenly moment of shared warmth and laughter and contentment, but Cas’ giggles were growing quieter, and Benny was playing with Dean’s hair, and their breathing was slowing to keep time with his, and eventually Dean couldn’t help but drift off into sleep.

He'd wake to find himself still wrapped in Benny and Cas’ embrace, complaining about a stiff spine and arms until they tickled the morning grumpiness out of him. They’d lain all night with him, after all, just to keep Dean company even as he slept, to sandwich him in safety and sweetness. What had he learned, when asked that morning? That he had the best partners ever.

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