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There's a certain craving that Camilo gets at times.
He loves being close to people. It's in his nature to seek a hand to hold, cheeks he can squish, laps he can lay across, or friends he can tackle to the ground in hugs. Though, there is one form of touch he finds himself looking for most often.
He would never tell anyone (he probably couldn't even if he tried.) When he finds himself in this position, he usually slinks off to his room, laying in the center of the stage that Casita had built for him and trying to will the feeling away. It's not something he really knows what to deal with.
Besides, how exactly would he go about telling someone, "You know, I would love it if you could tickle me"?
For one thing, Camilo can hardly even bring himself to say that dreaded t-word when he's in this mood. It feels like he's being put in a spotlight, acting for a role he doesn't know the lines to. Even if he genuinely tried, he'd spend minutes stuttering over his words trying to get them out.
Another thing? He had a reputation to upkeep. He didn't need his family thinking he was going soft on them, not at all. Plus, he was usually the one to make people laugh, not the other way around. Not in this fashion.
He needed a change of pace, however, and he has a foolproof idea to get his way. He stood from his laying position on his personal stage and walked to the door with purpose.
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Dolores had plans. She'd been helping her mom in the kitchen all morning, and while she loved to be of assistance, she was happy to get a break.
She has a place, a quiet place, that she goes to — far enough away from the Encanto that the noisiness of the town is almost muted, but close enough to be within walking distance. It's up a small hill, surrounded by trees, dotted with little flowers that Isabela offered to grow, with a creek of running water close by. It's a perfect little escape for her when everyday life is overwhelming.
She said her goodbyes to everyone she passed on the way out of her home, and she smiled as the front door opened up for her. That smile didn't falter when she was greeted by herself, but it did cause a quirk of her eyebrows.
The other-Dolores leaned against the doorway with a cheesy grin, nodding her head once. "Hey there," she said, and in one fluid motion, her form shifted into one of a teenage boy's stature. Real Dolores made a knowing sound.
"Hi, Camilo," she said, waiting patiently for the boy in question to step out of the way.
He didn't.
"Hm... What are you up to?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing," Camilo said. Then he moved from the doorframe, allowing Dolores to come out and shut the door. He let her turn to face him, leaning his arm against her shoulder as she did, taking a casual, nonchalant stance. "Where are you going?"
Dolores lightly shoved Camilo off of her shoulder, starting to walk in the direction of her hideaway. He was quick to match her pace, linking their arms as they walked together. "I was going to get some alone time, but that isn't going to happen, is it?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him. There was no spite behind it and Camilo knew that; it was simply encouragement to provoke her further.
"Nope! Sorry, but you're stuck with me now," Camilo grinned innocently. He gave her a poke to the side and she swatted at his hand.
"Bummer," Dolores said, the smile returning to her face as she playfully rolled her eyes.
Camilo waited, continuing his stride beside her. He was waiting for her to poke back, but it seemed to him that he had a little more work to do. Luckily, there was nothing he was better at than being a nuisance. He considers it a talent.
They walked in silence for a few minutes as Camilo contemplated his next steps. Dolores noticed this silence, and she glanced over at Camilo.
He was very clearly lost in thought. Maybe there was something on his mind he needed to talk about? Dolores thought this was the most likely thing, and she would give him as long as he needed to open up. She didn't mind if he was irritating because he needed a distraction.
But no, this was different. She'd only seen this specific look on his face one other time, and she hadn't figured out what it meant yet. As soon as she tried to begin understanding that look, it changed into one of mischief. That look she recognized.
Here we go, she thought.
"Dolores."
"Yes?" Dolores answered.
"Dolores."
"Yeees...?"
"Dolores."
"Can I help you?"
"Dolores!"
"What??"
Camilo pointed some finger guns at her. "Love ya. Te amo. You're the best, you know that?"
"Well aren't you sweet," Dolores deadpanned. "You want something," she pointed out. Camilo briefly looked surprised as though he didn't think she would realize, but he masked it as quickly as he could.
"What is it?"
"I never said I wanted anything," Camilo said, trying not to sound too defensive. He hadn't been ready to confront the fact that, yes, he really wanted something.
"And yet here you are, trying to annoy me with your love. You don't do this every day," Dolores said. "Usually you just try to annoy me in a normal way. Right now you're being way too sweet."
Camilo scoffed. The nerve!
"Excuse me, I am always a sweetheart," he protested. "Am I not allowed to love my super cool and awesome sister?"
He would have added, who can probably hear my heart pounding, but that might have given him away. He was right, anyway; she could tell he was nervous about something just by the speed of his heartbeat.
What is he trying to do?
"You can love me all you want to," Dolores said slowly, stopping in her tracks. Camilo stopped as well. Water could be heard running in the background. They'd arrived at their destination, too focused on the situation they had at hand to acknowledge it further.
She observed how Camilo was looking at her. She was typically pretty good at dissecting body language and understanding the meaning behind expressions.
He was nervous, that much Dolores could gather. But about what? It was clear he was after something, she just needed to find out what that was. The longer she pondered his attitude, the more nervous it seemed to make Camilo.
He didn't know how to feel about being observed that closely. It was another deer in headlights feeling.
Dolores silently took note of how Camilo was hugging his sides. Maybe that meant something. She moved towards him a little, and as she did, his eyes widened slightly. He took a step back away from her.
Dolores chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna bite." She tried moving towards Camilo again, but he unlatched his arms from around his sides to poke repeatedly at Dolores's own. She squeaked, flinching away from him and swatting at his hands again. So that's how he wanted to be?
Dolores decided she could figure out what was up with Camilo later, and getting in a little revenge was more important now. "Stop that!" she said with a wide smile, returning the pokes to Camilo's sides though hers much more gentle.
Effectively falling into his trap. It was a blessing and a curse.
Camilo let out a loud yelp as he jumped away from her hands. His arms secured themselves around his torso again, poorly protecting him from any inbound pokes. And there were more coming.
Dolores's hands found their way past Camilo's arms, softly prodding around wherever she could. His reaction was as dramatic as his previous one, a flail away and a loud squeak that earned a giggle from Dolores.
"You should have seen this coming," she sighed in amusement, biting back a smile. "You know this is exactly what happens when you get on my nerves," she added playfully, bringing each of her hands down to knead at his hips.
"Ahaha-!" Camilo bit his lip, trying to squirm out of Dolores's grip, but her hands followed everywhere he twisted and turned. He did know this would happen. "S-sohohorry!"
Dolores hmmed in suspicion. "Do you really mean that?"
Camilo laughed; she knew him so well. He shook his head, his curls falling into his face as he did so. "Nohoho."
"Didn't think so." Dolores tsked a few times, shaking her head as well. "You never learn, do you?"
Camilo covered his mouth with his hands, desperately trying to muffle the sounds of his laughter. He didn't want to get too loud, he's a considerate brother — he would never do anything that would overwhelm Dolores.
At least, not with ill intent.
Dolores recognized this attempt of an act of consideration, though Camilo was still a bit of a loud giggler despite his best efforts. She still appreciated the thought.
"Maybe you were right," she said. "You're a sweetheart. Sometimes." She wrapped her arms around Camilo, partly to show that appreciation, mostly to stop him from squirming around so much. It gave her better access to his back and she happily took advantage of it, scribbling her fingers along the backs of his ribs.
Camilo arched his back, falling into another fit of laughter, maybe an octave higher. Now he was caught; that means no more point in fighting, right? He would defend himself later. He wrapped his arms around Dolores's shoulders for support and he went limp in her arms, letting her do all the work.
Suddenly, it hit Dolores. She gasped.
"Oh! I see now," she smirked. "I think I've figured you out."
"Noho yohou hahahaven't!" Camilo said through laughs, confident as ever. Regardless of the squeakiness of his voice.
"Our resident comedy boy wants to have a laugh himself, huh?" Dolores hummed. Camilo ducked his head and hid his face in Dolores's shoulder. "Is that it, Camilo?"
"Shuhut uhuhup!"
Dolores smiled. "You aren't denying it~." She spidered her fingertips across Camilo's shoulder blades, holding him up as he leaned into her hug. She pulled him closer, holding him a little tighter so she could return her hands to his sides. She drew little circles over his ruana, sending tickly little shocks through his torso.
Camilo only half-heartedly squirmed away from the sensation. This is exactly what he'd been after. He didn't want to fight it off and have it end so soon.
Luck was on his side because Dolores had no intention of stopping until they were both satisfied.
"Why didn't you just ask me to tickle you?"
Camilo yelped at her sudden usage of the word. Just hearing it made everything much more tickly. Dolores snorted. "Is that why? Can't handle something as simple as the word tickle?"
"Stohohooop!" Camilo whined, wriggling around in her arms for emphasis.
"Oh, but Camilo," Dolores said, creeping her fingers up his back, going back towards his shoulder blades. "You don't really want me to stop tickle, tickle, tickling you, do you~?"
Camilo didn't answer her question. He couldn't; he was too busy dying.
"Jeheheez, Dolorehes! I-ihi- t- th- thahat's so bahahad! Don't tease!"
"It's fun, though!" Dolores said, feigning a frown. "You're having your fun, I think I should have some of my own fun. Agreed?"
Again, the only answer he gave her was more giggles.
"Glad we agree," Dolores smiled like Camilo verbalized an answer. She wormed her hands under his ruana for better access to his sides, pleased with how his laughter grew more panicked as she did so.
She wanted to keep holding Camilo up, but he was practically dead weight, so she carefully let him drop to the ground. She moved to above his head, grabbing his arms and pinning them up before he could do anything else with them. Camilo gasped.
He knew how this was going to feel. He knew what to expect, and he could feel it, even though nothing was happening. That feeling was only intensified when Dolores took her free hand and slowly approached his now vulnerable ribs, and he twisted away from her incoming wiggling fingers.
"Nonono-! Nohoho!"
"Aww, come on, I haven't even done anything yet!" Dolores giggled. "You're really so ticklish that even this gets you?" She hovered her hand barely an inch over Camilo's ribs. He threw his head back, squeezing his eyes shut, looking anywhere besides her hand.
This was so much more than he'd been expecting. He couldn't deny that it did scratch a certain itch he had in his mind. He shook his head at her.
"No? Not ticklish?"
Camilo groaned. "Stohop sahahaying ihit!"
"You're right, I should just do it instead." Dolores methodically walked her fingertips down the side of Camilo's ribcage. He arched away from her hands as much as he could manage, but that wasn't very much. She had a tight grip on his arms, and if he tried, he could hypothetically escape; that was only if he really wanted to.
Dolores quickly and lightly tapped her fingers along Camilo's sides, earning another little wriggle from him. His bright, flustered laughter was reduced to a softer giggle just as Dolores had been aiming for.
"That's better," she smiled with satisfaction. She continued her light tickles across his sides to Camilo's tummy, earning a squeak. She could tell he was getting tired, so she didn't want to go on too much longer.
Dolores crawled her fingers up Camilo's sides, fluttering her fingertips over his ribs for a few more seconds, relishing the sounds of his worn out giggles. After that, she let up on him, letting go of his arms, smiling as he instantly curled his arms around himself. He rolled over onto his side, leftover giggles still spilling from his lips. Dolores ruffled up his hair as he was catching his breath.
"Are you happy now?" she asked, genuinely wondering. She hoped she hadn't just tickled Camilo to pieces simply for her own amusement. It wouldn't have been the first time, though.
"Yeah. Yeah, I am," Camilo nodded. He looked up at her with a lopsided grin, running a hand through his hair as a weak attempt to fix it. "Thanks for... you know."
"Tickling you?"
"Mhmm. Truly couldn't have happened without you. You're the best." Camilo held a hand up for a high-five. Dolores didn't leave him hanging.
In the same motion, she took his hand and pulled him up off the ground, giving him the space he needed to dust himself off.
"Now that you're here," Dolores said, turning towards the outer circle of trees that the two of them were faced with, "how about I show you around the place? You've never been here before."
Camilo turned in the same direction Dolores faced, finally noticing some of the details of their surrounding environment. It was quite peaceful.
"Sure! Show me your secret hideout."
Dolores nodded and smiled, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and leading him into the greenery. It's the absolute perfect place to wind down.