#but this mirio thing!!!! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hexalianrebel-blackfeathers · 4 months

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Sunkissed (@squealing-santa 2023)

Panda’s Notes: Happy New Year! Almost New Year, for me. And a very late and apology-filled Crimbo for @tricks-tickles >-< I'm gonna level with you: I'm iffy on the title, and it did come out a bit more...angsty(?) than I think I planned, but I definitely liked this story as I was writing it, so I hope you like it too. Thanx once again to @hypahticklish for stepping up again this year to host!

[Ao3] || [Commissions] || [Ko-fi]

(Word Count: 3795)

Hm, okay…

I want you to take a deep breath. Shake off; get comfortable.

This voice…Was it a voice? It felt familiar. He just couldn't place it.

I got you something~

Oh? Tamaki turned his head curiously. There was nothing around. Until there suddenly was. On the floor—well, what seemed to be a floor in this strange white void—was a box. The wrapping was plain, but the bow had an interesting vine pattern running along the ribbon. Tamaki hesitated as he reached for the lid. There was something about this. Why couldn’t he figure it out?

Maybe the answer is in there? C’mon, already.

Um, alright? Tamaki went to pull the ribbon, but as he let it go, it coiled around his wrist. The lid on the box shifted before being thrown off by rapidly growing vines. The box fell apart to reveal a flowerpot decorated with painted feathers.

Oh... Crud.

Gotcha~

The vines were quick to lash around Tamaki’s arm, and another few looped his ankle when he tried to scoot back. He was dragged down, his back hitting more vines as they crowded around him. Before he could try to protest, he felt something pressing against his side. A vine drew swirling shapes against his shirt while several others did the same against his feet or shoved under his arms. It was wild and kind of stressful and almost aggressive…

And it was kind of fun.

It tickled madly, the vines finding new spots to wriggle every time he squirmed and pulling him back toward the flowerpot whenever he managed to get some distance. He heard soft chuckling under his squeals when the vines swirled across his stomach, and his arms were pulled harder when he tried to curl up. Too hard, definitely.

Aw, I thought you liked this~?

Tamaki winced at several scrapes running up his arms. The vines were growing thorns, and bright red roses were sprouting up along them. Each one appeared to have a single eye in its center. Staring at him. His chest hurt all of a sudden; ticklish brushes were scratches of thorns. Everyone was looking at him, and she was mocking him. He felt her hands on his shoulders, and her petals fell over him as she leaned close.

You’re not having fun~? You’re still laughing. You little freak.

Tamaki gasped hard as he sat up, coughing softly as he took deep breaths. The room felt too hot, and his blankets were tangled around his legs and chest. Something was digging into his stomach, and he cringed a bit as he moved his arm to fish the item out. A familiar rectangle was brought up to his face, and it promptly blinded him as he went to check the battery. He was surprised to find it over fifty percent; he was more surprised to find that he had slept in more than he’d liked. Most importantly, he had missed a few texts from Mirio.

++[Morning, Tama-tama! \(@^0^@)/ I hope you’re still excited for this afternoon~]

++ [You’re still sleeping, aren’t you? (～﹃～)~zZ]

++ [I’ll grab you extra snacks. (○｀ 3′○) Text me when you wake up, or I can jcall in an hour!]

His texts were riddled with stickers and emojis. The Gudetama ones felt a bit egregious though. Tamaki chuckled groggily, still blinking in the bright light as he glanced between the clock and the timestamp on the latest text. He scrambled—as much as one could while still half asleep—to quickly send a few simple texts.

--[I’m alive]

--[Sorry, that sounds bad. Just still tired.]

++ [Oh no… Bad dreams? ( ´･･)ﾉ(._.`) ]

Tamaki smiled softly. Mirio knew him too well. He yawned loudly and stretched out before finally texting back.

--[ I’m getting up now. Give me maybe an hour.]

The response to that was just a few heart emojis, which was good because Tamaki was working on convincing his body to get out of bed. The room was dark, but it was just his dorm. He knew that, of course, but… His arms still itched. He ran his hands over them, hugging himself as he felt phantoms of long-gone nicks and scars.

It was over. It was years ago; she wasn’t here. He repeated it to himself over and over as he got ready for his date. He rattled it off as he walked through the halls to Mirio’s room. He only managed to shut himself up when he realized Mirio’s door was locked.

--[Can I come in?? (┬┬﹏┬┬) ]

++[OMG I’m sorry]

++[So sorry. Promise]

++[Lunch Rush had a line in the cafeteria. I might be a little late.]

++[Ordered something special though!]

Tamaki had no reason to doubt Mirio’s claims, but a selfie was sent of his boyfriend leaning dramatically against the wall in the cafeteria as if he were in despair. Lunch Rush had glanced over his shoulder from the skillet he was tending. Tamaki shook his head with a smile, letting his shoulders thump beside Mirio’s door and sinking to sit on the floor.

--[It’s okay. I can wait here.]

Several hearts were dropped in again. Some of those animated ones were new. Tamaki smiled to himself as he poked around and downloaded them for his own use, until one of his notifications caught his eye. An account name he recognized immediately; they had updated a certain comic that he’d been following closely. He stared for a few seconds, almost as if it was somehow a dream. It had been a few weeks; there were update posts about the artist having a particularly eventful time moving to a new place. Tamaki was fine with waiting; there were other things to read and see, of course. But…it’d be a lie to say he wasn’t a bit hooked by both the story and, uh… other things. There wasn’t anyone around, and he’d be here for a bit, so…

Okay, let’s roll back a bit. The story goes that a small party of adventurers is crossing a valley in hopes of fighting a giant beast that was cursing anyone and anything it came across. It was a fun story, if a little plain, but the funny thing is: whenever the beast, or whatever it summoned, got into a battle with the party, its attack patterns were…unique, to say the least.

…It's a tickle monster. Th-There’s not much point in trying to sugarcoat it. Ugh, and sugarcoat isn’t even the right—Agh! Look, okay, Tamaki might maybe…definitely have a “thing” for, well, tickling. It’s not something he’s ashamed of, really! That much he’s certain of. He wouldn’t even really say it’s a secret; it’s just that, after some…experiences a few years ago, it wasn’t something he planned on broadcasting to people. Not that he did before, but—y’know what, you probably get it.

For now, Tamaki let himself sink against the wall, checking back a chapter or two to get back into the story. The party had just left the first town, having set up camp halfway through the field on the way to the large forest they had to cross. The new chapter opened with them waking up and making their way to the treeline. In the background, there was apparently a constant, distant buzzing sound. Suddenly, a battle started: they had taken a wrong turn and a raspberry bush beside the path, dotted with ripe, red fruits, sprang to life. Vines with massive flowers lashed out at the party members, trying to grab at all of them and tickling whoever they managed to drag close. One of the flowers seemed to nuzzle into a mage’s neck, and they shrieked with laughter as their magic went haywire.

Oh. “Raspberry” bushes. That’s just unfair.

Somehow, a fight with a corrupted plant was giving them all sorts of hell, but the background made it very clear that the buzzing sound hadn’t stopped. If anything, it was getting louder with each panel. Someone shouted way too late, and no one seemed prepared for the swarm of bees that started to surround them. Giggles and laughter were amplified through the entire team as the little bugs buzzed against them with their wings and bodies, but it was quickly broken by yelps when it became clear that the overwhelming tickles were a front for sneaky sting attacks that drained everyone’s health. There was an air of panic, the team argued as they scrambled for ideas.

“What are you smiling at?”

Tamaki flinched, nearly dropping his phone as he heard Mirio’s voice. He looked up to find his boyfriend with a hint of panic in his eyes.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you; I was curious.”

Tamaki smiled, but he was quick to scoop up his phone and stash it while Mirio moved to unlock his dorm. “It’s not your fault. I get kind of caught up in some stories.”

“Those are the best stories though, right?” Mirio grinned, holding the door open and passing Tamaki the bag as he walked by.

He chuckled softly, shifting his hands carefully around the heat of the food inside the bag as he tried to look into the opening. Tamaki’s eyes lit up slightly as he stared. “You asked him for wontons…”

“Hey, you’re peeking.” Mirio teased, closing the door and jogging to grab his laptop. “You told me you haven’t had them since your parents’ favorite Chinese place closed, remember?”

Tamaki actually didn’t remember, not that conversation at least. But Mirio had. Tamaki kind of felt like he might cry.

Within ten minutes, they were cuddled up on Mirio’s bed, watching a pretty goofy animated romance movie on his laptop while carefully eating out of each other’s bento boxes between more emotional scenes.

“Do you think—” Mirio flinched a bit as he nearly dropped the noodles he was about to put in his mouth. “Do you think, if you were a princess, and I was your knight, we’d still fall in love?”

“Not if you talk with your mouth full.” Tamaki murmured, smiling as Mirio ruffled his hair at the comment. “But…I don’t really doubt it. You’d probably still be just as charming.”

“And you’d still look amazing in a dress.”

Tamaki covered his mouth with the back of his hand, trying to stifle his giggles as he leaned into Mirio’s side.

The movie was kind of adorable. Nothing so groundbreaking, but it felt like scene after scene of heartwarming nonsense. The only real conflict seemed to be keeping the King and Queen from discovering how much the Knight and Princess loved each other. Halfway through the movie, the dashing knight came scaling up the ivy on the castle wall—as he had done a few times before at a well-established secret meeting time—only to find the princess’s balcony empty. He called into her room in a raised whisper, only to notice her reaching out from under layers of blankets and pillows on her bed. Her voice was choked and raw as she beckoned him. She was clearly ill, and more clearly unhappy about it. He cooed to her playfully, and the pout was audible in her voice as she spoke. He offered to cuddle, taunted her with offered kisses, only for her to chide him with the obvious possibility of passing on her illness. He paced casually around the bed, his aura mischievous as she whined a bit sadly. He went quiet, and she called for him, worried he had left. He let her believe that for a few seconds as he carefully shifted the blankets at the foot of the bed and—

Wait.

Wait, wait, wait! Shit!

The Knight lunged suddenly, and the princess yelped as he snatched her ankle and scribbled his fingers across her foot. The blankets shifted a bit wildly, and barely stifled laughter leaked out from the blanket pile along with giggly protests and fake threats as her ankle tried to pull away. He teasingly reminded her how late it was—how they were usually so careful and quiet during these meetings—right before he scratched under her toes. A squeal almost missed being muffled into a pillow as it escaped her throat, and the Knight’s playful laugh was interrupted by a frightened glance over his shoulder as footsteps approached the princess’s door. In a panic, he scrambled under the blankets with her, and she stared at him in shock, giggling in disbelief as he silently motioned her to be quiet. When it was clear that she couldn’t, he aimed fluttery scribbles at her stomach and sides as if hinting at some consequences or just trying to wring all her giggles out before they finally heard the door open.

Tamaki Amajiki was having at least five flavors of heart attack. Why did they have to pick a random movie? Why did this scene have to be so stupid and cute? Why did it kinda sound like someone was actually tickling that voice actress to get that laughter? And why the hell did this have to happen today?!

Just…Just breathe. It really is just cute. It was pretty innocent; there was a sappy, cuddly love sticking to the whole scene. The way they looked at each other as the Princess tried to talk the worried attendant into leaving without checking under the blankets. And the way her voice got squeaky and nervous when the Knight wiggled his fingers tauntingly at her. Tamaki’s cheeks were burning from the blush, but he felt the smile pulling his lips as he settled himself. The bright grin on Mirio’s face helped a little, but Tamaki blinked and glanced away when he realized he was staring up at him.

The Knight and Princess sighed as the attendant left the room, smiling at each other playfully before it melted into pure fondness as he pulled her into his arms. They held each other tight, nuzzling softly where they could. There was a beat where they stared into each other’s eyes…and then they kissed. Her hand softly rested on his cheek, and Tamaki flinched just a bit when Mirio snuck a kiss on the back of his hand, his blush growing darker as he smiled brighter. The Princess suddenly pulled away, giving her lover a playful tap on the shoulder as she suddenly remembered why they weren’t supposed to kiss in the first place. The Knight was just a bit smug, poking her nose as he insisted it was worth it. She rolled her eyes, but she smirked and lashed her hands out to start tickling along the hem of his tunic. Turns out he was hardly any better at staying quiet than she was.

Tamaki sighed quietly, letting himself lean on Mirio’s shoulder. The scene finally cut to sunrise, where the Knight reluctantly pried himself away from the still sleeping Princess and escaped the obviously stifling heat of the blanket pile. He still seemed groggy himself as he walked out to the balcony to retrieve his boots and belt before making the precarious climb back down the ivy and rushing back to the barracks.

“There’s that smile again~” Mirio leaned to thump his chin gently on Tamaki’s head before moving to nuzzle into his cheek. “That was adorable, huh?”

Tamaki let a few giggles slip out as Mirio’s arm wrapped around his back and pulled him in tight. A squeak managed to escape when Mirio’s hand squeezed his side, and he covered his mouth before he could stop himself. He felt his partner looking down at him, but he couldn’t bring himself to look up.

“Oh~?” Mirio asked playfully, and his fingers curled where they rested on Tamaki’s side. Oh, this could not be happening. Not that he didn’t kind of want it to happen; and not like it’d even be the first time it happened; but Tamaki was kind of extremely overwhelmed, so if the universe could pump the brakes a little, it’d be great. His heart felt warm, his soul basking in the light of his Sun.

Mirio’s free arm came to wrap around him as his fingers crawled, his other hand gripping at Tamaki’s wrist when he tried to squirm. He managed to scratch his nails quickly up under Tamaki’s arm, smiling at the squeal it pulled out.

Suddenly, Tamaki felt his arms itching again; felt those thorns piercing his skin. He thought he saw rose petals on the red parts of the blanket.

“N-No!” He cried out, struggling aggressively before realizing what he’d done.

“Hey, hey, whoa…” Mirio pulled away slightly, holding his hands up innocently before moving one to flick on the lamp on his headboard. “It's just me. Is that okay?”

Tamaki had cringed at the light, rubbing his palms over his arms and taking shaky breaths. “I—I’m sorry… It’s just—I wasn’t—’m sorry.”

Mirio tapped one finger lightly on one of Tamaki’s hands, a proverbial slap on the wrist. “No apologies. Boundaries are good.” He set his fingers between Tamaki’s, but he didn’t try to grab or even squeeze his hand. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Tamaki tipped his head and shoulders back and forth. Yes and no.

Mirio hummed, moving his free hand to pause the movie. “Is it about the bad dreams you had?”

There was a long pause. He was a bit hesitant to admit it, but he forced himself to nod.

Mirio went still for a moment; pieces were falling into place. Tamaki leaned into him as he shifted closer. “It was that dream again, wasn’t it? About her?”

Tamaki hugged him, and Mirio held on tight. It would never cease to amaze him just how often Mirio remembered the smallest things. He had no memory of talking about the dream; he specifically remembered telling himself to keep it a secret. Maybe his mind had deleted that bit of information, since he’d betrayed himself so much. Maybe he admitted it during a panic attack.

“I can’t even stand up to a memory…” He murmured. A shiver ran down his back as Mirio pet his hair.

“I don’t mind protecting you again.” He said with a shrug. “If you want me to. Even if it’s just a dream; I promised she wouldn’t hurt you anymore.”

Tamaki took a breath through his nose, letting it out in a tired sigh. She…She had just been some neighbor kid; she didn’t even go to school with them, just lived with her grandparents up the road from where the kids liked to gather. Maybe a year after he and Mirio had met, she appeared. Her Quirk let her grow roses and thorn-covered vines wherever she touched. She loved to put the flowers in her hair, and she was the type to behave as if the entire world loved her no matter what she did. Tamaki had always liked being tickled. It was never a secret. But one day, she just appeared on the playground; she just declared Tamaki was the weird tickle kid. She intimidated everyone; she tormented Tamaki, mocked him and anyone who tried to step in whenever she got a chance.

The only one she could never get to was Mirio. His Quirk meant that her thorns would always slip right through him; her vines could never keep hold of him, and he never just stood by and watched. He was just there. For everyone. For Tamaki.

A choked little squeak escaped Tamaki’s mouth when Mirio squeezed him tighter. Oh, right. He was in Mirio’s dorm room. Because they were in high school now. They’d grown up, and they hadn’t even seen her in years.

“I admit I’d forgotten for a minute.” Mirio murmured against the side of his head. “It just reminded me how we used to tickle you, and you’d get the biggest smile, even though you still acted just as shy after we stopped. Remember we ‘tortured’ you into telling us all your favorite things, and then Mikito made you that painting for your birthday?”

Tamaki still had pictures of that painting. He really hoped the real thing was still buried in the attic.

“And remember we went on a hunt for your favorite candy, and we found that giant cat?”

It was giant by cat standards, and very heavy by cat standards too. It loved nuzzling all of them with its fuzzy fur, and the others had teased him playfully when he got half pinned underneath its weight and his neck got tickled by its tail. It chased them demanding attention and love anytime they tried to go to that little snack shop.

Mirio snorted, just barely stopping himself. “Do you remember Giggle Button?” The poke he snuck on Tamaki’s stomach felt unnecessary, but he flinched just slightly and giggled. It was just a silly game they played: self-explanatory and simple, but he remembered adoring it more because Mirio had made it up specifically for him.

He squeezed Mirio closer, his voice feeling choked with his affection. “I love you…” He murmured.

“Love you, too, Tama.”

There was a moment of quiet, and Tamaki eventually reached to rewind the movie to where they’d gotten distracted. “…Do you think, um… Is it a bad time to ask now?”

“Do you want me to tickle you?” Mirio’s eyes had lit up excitedly, but he kept his smile calm.

Tamaki smiled back, just barely hinting a nod before Mirio half-tackled him against the bed. A kiss was pressed to the side of his neck as fingers scribbled quickly up his stomach to his ribs. He squealed as wary giggles burst into soft laughter, and his hands automatically flailed for purchase against Mirio’s wrists. His fingers slowed, but he chuckled as he spoke purposefully into Tamaki’s neck.

“Is that ‘stop’?” His voice was playful as Tamaki squeaked from the vibration. He already knew the answer.

He could barely shake his head with the way it was buried in pillows, but he laughed brightly as ten fingers shoved into his armpits. Mirio was quick to straddle his thighs before he could kick, and they both knew he could still kick.

“That’s definitely the smile I remember, Tama-chan~” Mirio teased, resting his palms on Tamaki’s stomach as he leaned to kiss his forehead before scribbling his fingers.

It was definitely the feeling Tamaki remembered too. When he knew the teasing was playful. When fingers drew pictures on his stomach and skipped up his ribs and fluttered behind his ears. When someone searched for the spots that made him smile instead of spots that made him scream. When he knew he was loved.

And in the end, the Knight proved that he was the Princess’s truest love.

#a panda writes a thing #tickling #squealing santa 2k23 #squealing santa #squealing santa 2023 #my hero academia #mirio togata #tamaki amajiki

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