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Stede tugs Ed’s thigh up to rest over his lap. He secures him in place with one arm looped over his knee, and starts to trace slow patterns along the inside of this thigh. Instantly Ed yelps and tries to jerk his leg away, but Stede’s hold on him is too secure. Grinning softly, Stede quickens his fingertips, fluttering them further up his thigh.
“How does that feel, darling?”
Ed grabs fistfulls of the blankets beneath them to give his hands something to do other than push Stede away, because frankly , if Stede stopped, he was going to die. Idly, Stede uses the hand securing his leg to squeeze at the underside of his knee.
“An answer, darling, when you’re ready.”
When you’re ready. As if he could possibly be ready to do anything other than collapse into an Ed shaped giggle puddle. He throws his head to the side, away from Stede as his face scrunches up with the effort of not laughing. Beside him, close enough to his ear that it gave him goosebumps, Stede’s voice comes in a whisper.
“Uh uh, eyes front, thank you.”
Obedient as ever to Stede’s gentle commands, Ed turns his head back, calling on whatever power of will remained in his incredibly ticklish body to not laugh. He’d said he wasn’t ticklish on his thighs, not like Stede who jumped like a startled cat anytime anyone squeezed him there. Curse him and his big mouth. He was going to explode any second now, all from Stede’s fingers caressing him.
“‘S fine,” Ed manages.
“Fine?” Stede tuts, bending his fingers to let his fingernails take a turn around Ed’s thigh. Suddenly Ed reaches the limit on how much mirth he can swallow, and a loud burst of giggly laughter escapes past his lips without permission. Stede chuckles against his ear. “That’s better.”
“ Stede! ” Ed squeals, his leg bouncing furiously in its captivity. “Plehehehease!”
“You don’t need to say please, my love, I’m not going to stop tickling you.” Stede’s hand slips higher, towards his backside, and Ed nearly catapults off the sofa at the feeling. “Ah, right there?”
“Don’t tease !” Ed whines half heartedly as said teasing goes straight to his head. Stede is way too good at teasing, and knows exactly what to say to make Ed feel seen . Naturally Stede ignores his token protests with a gentle tut.
“Behave, Edward. You and I both know you don’t want that.”
Stede’s fingers curl into a claw and trace the length of his inner thigh, from the juncture of his hip to the back of his knee. Ed collapses into furious giggles, flopping against Stede and trying to bury his face against his neck. Stede giggles a little himself, music to Ed’s ears even as he’s dying.
“Too much, darling?” Stede asks, soft and genuine. Ed has the wherewithal to shake his head, blushing the same colour as his robe as he does. Stede hums gently and presses a kiss to the crown of his head. “Can you tell me how it feels? Or are we just enjoying ourselves today, hmm?”
Ed takes a shuddering breath as Stede’s fingertips wiggle softly against his skin. Fuck , he was hardly even touching him and it felt like every nerve in his body was on fire.
“It -” he starts, his mouth trying to catch up with his brain, “‘s so much! ”
“Oh I’m very familiar with the feeling, as you well know,” Stede’s other hand squeezes around his knee and Ed resists the urge to take a bite out of his shoulder. “I’m enjoying being on the giving end for a change, I must say. What say you, love? Are you enjoying being the ticklee?”
Oh. Oh no .
Ed’s belly swoops as he lets out a loud, muffled whine.
“Is that a yes?” Stede asks again, pressing his roaming fingers deeper into his thigh. Ed’s hands fly up to grab at the lapels of Stede’s robe as his giggles drop into a deep belly laugh. His free leg kicks uselessly in the air, and Stede bats it away with a laugh. “Words, darling, not actions.”
Actions speak louder than words , Ed wants to say, because that’s a phrase Stede’s uses in his own defence while Ed teased him about being unable to say that word - but his voice is currently preoccupied. Instead, he does the only thing he can think of and stuffs a fistful of Stede’s robe into his mouth. Stede’s chest rumbles as he laughs, and Ed wants to lay with his head nestled against it for the rest of his life.
“Oh, darling,” he giggles, “it seems the prospect of talking about tickles has turned you into quite the brat. Whatever shall I do with you, hmm?”
Tie me to our bed and have your wicked way with me?
“Plehehehease!”
“Perhaps I’ll keep you here, map out every inch of your pretty thighs with my fingertips until I know every scar, every stretch mark off by heart.” Pretty. Ed had never felt pretty before Stede. The words make his heart jump in his chest, and heat rise to his cheeks. “Whisper words in your ear that make you go all silly right here. ”
Stede slips his hand up to skitter across Ed’s naked tummy, chuckling to himself as Ed throws himself further into his lap, nearly folding himself in half as he shrieks. He says something through his hysterics, muffled by the thick fabric in his mouth, and Stede tickles under his chin for him to open up. Free of his self induced gag, he repeats himself, cheeks and neck pink.
“Do not!”
“Oh, you don’t ? Don’t go all goopy in the head when I talk about how ticklish you are? What if I tell you I’m going to tickle you until your bones are jelly, what then?”
Ed’s going to die. No, hang on, he’s already dead, and this is his new eternity. Fuck, he hoped this was his new eternity. “No!”
“No? No I’m not going to do that? Darling, I promise that I am.” Stede adjusts his grip, tosses one of his own legs over Ed’s, freeing up his other hand. Ed has all of two seconds to come to terms with what was going on before Stede’s drawing all ten fingers across his thigh, up to the juncture of his hip, down again to the back and sides of his knee. All Ed can do is flop completely into Stede, lost in his own hysterical laughter. After a time, when Ed feels like he’s seconds away from imploding, the tickles slow to a gentle caress. Ed feels a kiss at his temple.
“I’m dead,” he mumbles weakly. “You’ve killed me.”
“Not dead, darling. Just had your bones turned into jelly, that’s all.” Stede kisses him again, at the corner of his mouth. “My poor love.”
Ed tilts his head up with a pout, and Stede huffs and captures his lips in a proper, slightly giggly kiss. “You’re mean .”
“You asked for it, Edward, quite literally,” Stede reminds him, and Ed scoffs like it didn’t happen - which it did, quite literally. “Was it too much?”
Ed shakes his head from his place against Stede’s chest. “Nah. I’m tough, I can take it.”
“Tough, yes. But also soft .” Stede’s palm swoops down the length of his thigh. “Soft where it matters the most, love.”
Ed blushes pink from his toes to his hairline. “ You’re soft too. Despite being a dick. Eyes front? Words not actions? You bet your arse those are coming out next time I’ve got your legs in my lap.”
Stede coughs, cheeks flushing pink as he grins. “Darling, I would expect nothing else.”