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sunstone-smiles · 14 hours

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Setting the Screen to Smile

Author's note: *Kicks down the door like Mimzy* IT’S ME! I’m back with another fic! Tumblr pulled me into the Hazbin Hotel fandom and somewhere down the line my liking for the TV man, Vox, grew even bigger. This fic includes my Hazbin OC Vicky (a pink, anthropomorphic wyvern with rotary phone features) and is based off of this drawing I did with them. I hope you all enjoy!

Series: Hazbin Hotel

Characters: Vox and Vicky (OC - Reference here!)

Word count: 2,496

Summary: Vox feels like the work day was a total waste of time, so Vicky takes it upon herself to attempt to cheer up the TV demon—with a little laughter. Enjoy!

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Vicky knew something was off when she walked into V Tower. Demons on the production crew are speed walking across hallways and weaving in and out of rooms like it’s high traffic time. Usually it’s not as cluttered, nor is it as chaotic, especially when work is supposed to be winding down for the day. Vicky makes her way to the main elevator, dodging a demon that comes rushing out and apologizing for almost crashing into her. If all of this is going on downstairs…she wonders how Vox is dealing with the commotion.

The elevator drops her off on the top floor and she opens the door to the lounge area. When she looks into the room, her question is answered. The message of the pandemonium downstairs has traveled up the floors to reach the boss himself.

She sees Vox pacing around the empty room, talking with a phone held to the side of his head. He comes to an abrupt stop, his back turned towards the door, unaware of Vicky’s presence as he faces the glass windows like a large screen.

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Vox says to the phone, “I no longer need the truck of equipment to come tomorrow, I need it for the day after tomorrow.” Vox pauses. The overlord rolls his eyes. “Yes, in two days from now.”

Vox shouts, “What?! You’re not available that day!?” He puts a hand to his face like he’s rubbing out a headache and takes a deep breath before growling out an exhale. “Alright alright. Let’s reschedule it for exactly a week from today. Same time. Same place, but I want the truck here, on time, and not a minute late! Good?”

He waits for a confirmation.

“Great.” He pulls the phone from his head and ends the call, letting out another growling sigh. He grumbles to himself as he turns around, only then perking his head up when he notices the pink anthropomorphic wyvern near the doorway.

“Oh, Vicky,” Vox’s expression visibly changes to one of comfort. The tension in his voice eases to become softer. “I didn’t hear you come in. How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough for me to hear the tail end of that conversation…” Vicky steps forward. “Is everything okay? Things seem to be a bit…disorganized.”

“That’s because they are,” Vox moves towards the sofa. “Somehow we lost all the film for a commercial that was shot today, so Velvette and I have been trying to find it all day with no results. Because the film is lost, we have to reshoot it, meaning we’re going to be a day behind schedule. And on top of that, viewer ratings are five percent down, which the commercial was supposed to help, but now it can’t, which doesn’t seem like a lot but it could add up if viewers are moving to you know who’s radio show,” Vox’s tone turns a prickly static near the last part as he fumes with annoyance at the circumstances. He calms himself, “We’ve been scrambling to reorganize things, so overall, this entire day has been an unproductive waste of time.”

Vox’s phone suddenly rings. He looks at the device, then holds the phone up to show Vicky that the name “Velvette” is across his phone screen.

“Speak of the devil.” Beep. He answers the call. “Any luck?” He waits for the other end to reply.

“It’s not there either?” Vox shouts into the phone, slowly losing more patience at the situation. “Try checking the file room. That’s the last place I can think of.” He walks towards the front of the sofa and waits for a response. No answer.

“Velvette? Hello? Hello?!” He pulls his phone away from his head. The screen is completely dark with a flashing battery icon housing a singular red bar.

He snarls at the device, then throws his hands up in an aggravating loss. “Great! Great! The battery’s dead!” He tosses his phone on the coffee table and plops onto the sofa, sprawling out horizontally with his head leaning back on the arm of the couch and his legs thrown over the other. He cups his hands over the face of his screen in utter defeat and mutters curses at the ceiling.

“Oh Vox, darling…” Vicky moves around to the front of the sofa with sympathy in her diamond-shaped eyes. Vox peeks at her in between his claws and Vicky motions her hands for him to make room for her. Vox pulls his legs to the floor so Vicky can sit next to his side, then he lifts his legs back up and plops them into her lap. “I don’t like seeing you worked up like this,” she says, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Vox drapes an arm over his eyes. “If you can find the film, that would be great. Other than that, there’s no other way to help.” Vox’s words drift off, as if he’s lost all the energy in his system.

Vicky sighs through her nose. She gently pats Vox on the stomach, then scans around the room, trying to get an idea of how to cheer him up. Maybe watching TV or a movie? No, bad idea. That will remind him of work. Maybe she could try her hand at finding the missing film? No, that might stress him out more, especially if it still turns out missing.

Again, Vicky exhales through her snout. She glances at Vox’s face, unsmiling, low-spirited, tired. It tears at her heart to see Vox’s this way. Out of ideas, she hangs her head down, staring at her claws resting on Vox’s stomach.

But only a second passes before Vicky blinks in realization. She picks up her head with a new plan. The answer is right in front of her.

“Actually,” her wyvern snout puts on a smirk, “there’s one other way that you’re forgetting.”

“Oh yeah, and what’s that?” Vox slowly lifts his heavy head. Suddenly, he jolts forward like he was zapped with electricity. His arms wrap around where his stomach was poked and his eyes shoot open to see Vicky’s claws hovering over his belly. He glances upwards to meet Vicky’s smug look peering right at him.

Vox slowly starts crawling backwards with a nervous smile on his face. “Now now, Vicky dear-”

But Vicky lunges her claws at him with playful intent, tackling him to the cushions and getting a ticklish hit at Vox’s sides. He yelps from surprise, then wrestles her hands away while giggles slip from his mouth at the mere thought of her tickling him silly.

“Vicky!” Vox calls out. He jumps back from another poke that strikes him in the side. “Wahait! Darl–ING!” the overlord’s words leap with laughter when Vicky finally finds an opening to claw at his side.

With his defenses quickly crumbling with laughter, Vox crawls back and reaches the arm of the sofa. He props himself up into a sitting position, then, with the newfound leverage, Vox launches himself forwards towards the opposite end of the couch, but Vicky wraps her wings around him, catching him and nearly toppling off the side of the furniture with him.

“Oh no you don’t!” Vicky squeezes his waist, causing Vox to reel back into her arms with another fit of giggles. She then tosses him back over her lap and starts a full on tickle attack, maneuvering her claws around the flailing limbs of the giggling overlord. “You’re not going anywhere until we get you out of this rut!”

Vox wraps his arms across his body in an attempt to guard his torso. “Sohoho this is your genius plan to get me to stohohop moping?!” He curls in on himself a little from a tickly swipe at his belly.

Vicky glares down at him with a lighthearted glint in her gaze. “Are you trying to antagonize me? In your position? Doing that will only get an extra tickle,” she mischievously slides her claws upwards to dig into his ribs. Vox throws his head back with a squeal-like cackle and reflexively clamps arms to his sides. He tightens his arms around his torso and kicks his legs out above the seat cushions.

“I didn’t mehehean–!” the rest of his words for that sentence are overpowered by his laughter pouring past his fangs, “Vickyhehehehe!” He tilts his head towards the cushions, as if he was trying to hide the adorable expression on his face.

Vox could easily turn into electricity and zap himself off the sofa if he wanted to escape, but Vicky knows that the big giggly smile on his face, although he’ll be stubborn to admit it, is also in part because the TV demon is having fun.

Vicky giggles alongside Vox. “Oh my, it looks like I accidentally set the TV’s audio to giggle mode,” she teases.

“I dohoho NOT have a giggle modehehehe!” Vox denies with a faint blush forming on the pixels of his screen.

“Really? Then what do these buttons do?” Vicky uses a single claw to scribble and poke around Vox’s torso, causing Vox to let out a stream of giggles each time she moves her claw to “test” a new spot.

Vicky chuckles again at Vox’s reaction. All of a sudden, the phone-shaped end of her tail and her horns vibrate with a bell-like RING. Vicky halts from the surprise, realizing she’s getting a call.

“One moment, darling,” Vicky stops her tickle attack on Vox. He uses the free time to catch his breath as he sinks back into the couch.

Vicky clicks the phone-end of her tail in place between the spines on the side of her face, then she places the phone to her ear. “Hello? Oh! Hello Velvette!”

Vox lifts his head forward. “Velvette?!” he exclaims in surprise. He nearly forgot that his phone cut them off in the middle of their conversation. “Let me talk to her.”

Vicky gives him a disapproving look. Vox sits up, but Vicky leans back when he tries to reach for her tail phone. Narrowing his eyes at her, Vox tries again and again to swipe for the phone. Vicky dodges out of the way every time. When Vox stretches to extend his reach, she puts a hand to his chest to keep his distance from the phone as he continues to swipe away at it.

“Yeah, I get it,” Vicky responds to Velvette’s comments on the phone, partly distracted with Vox’s persistence. In an attempt to shove him away, Vicky uses her free hand to ticklishly jab at his belly. Vox clamps his arms around himself, losing his balance and toppling over onto the couch.

With a low growl, Vox sits back on his arms. He lunges himself at Vicky, nearly knocking her over and trying to crawl around her to reach her tail while Vicky holds him back.

“Give me the phone!” Vox whispers, only loud enough for Vicky to hear.

Having enough of his stubbornness, Vicky thrusts both sets of her claws to scribble into his waist. The overlord reels back with a giggly yelp and slaps his hands across the mouth of his screen, having a feeling that he was probably audible enough for the phone to pick up the sound. He flops back on the couch, trying (poorly) to hold in his giggles as Vicky shoots a glare at him while scribbling across his sides, belly, and ribs. His snickers sound like the crackling static of a TV screen when no signal is found. His heels dig at the cushions, as if moving his legs will help deter the surge of tickles coursing through his upper half.

With Vox’s attempts to steal the phone thwarted, Vicky returns her attention to the call. “What was that again, Velvette? Ah, yes. Vox’s phone died and he hasn’t charged it yet. That’s why you couldn’t get a hold of him.” She waits for a response.

“Yeah, he’s here with me, but he’s currently undergoing Vicky’s foolproof stress relief program. You know how it goes.” She smiles over at Vox—who’s still snickering audibly through his bared fangs with a hand covering half of his smile to prevent himself from exploding with laughter.

Vicky pulls the phone away from her face for a moment, “Darling, I'm on the phone. Please, try to keep your voice down,” she teases him. The gates of Vox’s laughter nearly burst right there and then.

There’s an understanding giggle on the other end of the phone from Velvette. Afterwards, she gets back as to why she called in the first place. Vicky moves her claws away and gives Vox a break. An exhale of relief seeps between Vox’s previously clenched fangs.

“Sure, I can give him the message,” Vicky responds to the phone. Seconds pass as Vicky receives Velvette’s follow up. “Alright I’ll let him know. Thanks, Velvette.” Vicky clicks the phone to her spines again to end the call. Immediately after, she dives her claws into the ribs of an unsuspecting Vox.

“HEY!” he jumps, “Whahahat is this fohohohor?!”

“Punishment. You think it’s funny to disrupt me while I’m on the phone?” she asks lightheartedly.

“Buhuhut the call was for mehehehe!”

“Hmm, fair enough,” Vicky pulls her claws away, providing a soft smile as she does so. Vox is given a chance to breathe before Vicky informs him of the call.

“So do you want the good news or the bad news first?”

Vox perks up, “There’s good news?”

“Mmhm,” Vicky nods. “I’ll save the good news last then. The bad news is that Velvette still couldn’t find the film.”

Vox’s antennas droop. “Figures…”

“But the good news is that a deadline for one of the other projects got extended, meaning now you’re not as behind schedule as you thought you once were and you can make up for the lost time.”

“Well,” Vox eases a little, “at least that’s something.”

“See, fortunately things worked themselves out this time around.” Vicky leans over and kisses his forehead. Then, she pats his shoulder. “Now you don’t have to worry as much.”

Vox takes Vicky’s hand in his and gazes up at her. A smile, softly curled like a wave, forms across his screen. It’s a unique smile, unlike the ones he has to falsely flash in front of the press. It’s one that’s genuine, relaxed, and grateful. It’s a smile that warms Vicky’s heart, seeing him this way.

Vox puts his arm behind his head and leans back on it, “I guess the day wasn’t completely unproductive then.”

“I agree,” Vicky nods. “You definitely produced an abundance of laughter, my giggly TV.”

Vox scoffs with a lingering grin, “I wasn’t that ‘giggly.’”

Vicky chuckles, taking in the joy of the moment in contrast to the chaos she witnessed earlier. “I beg to differ.” She looks at Vox with a sparkle in her diamond eyes. “But I’m glad to see you happy again, my darling Vox.”

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel vox #hazbin vox #hazbin hotel oc #hazbin hotel oc x canon #hazbin hotel fanfiction #hazbin fanfic #hazbin hotel fic #sfw fanfiction #sfw fanfic #hazbin hotel tickles #hazbin hotel tickle #sfw tickle fic #tickle fic

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sunstone-smiles · 16 days

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The Gaang Gets Zuko (ATLA)

lee!zuko , ler!gaang :P

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

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

Word Count : 5139

hope u enjoy!! <3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Zuko peeked an eye towards Sokka. “Whatever.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You’re kidding. You’re kidding.

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Sokka.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

–

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

–

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Which I never did, by the way–”

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

“Because you nearly pushed me off Appa!”

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

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

“That’s not what I meant-!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Zuko fumed, “Who did that?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Zuko deadpanned Aang’s way. “No.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—

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

#SCREAMING FROM THE OVERLOAD OF CUTENESS!#This is so gooood!!!#I adore every short story / section of this #atla #atla tickle fic #tickle fic

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