Patrick’s apartment was cozy. It wasn’t too big or too small and as he and his boyfriend, David, sat on his couch watching a movie, everything seemed to be right with the world for at least a little while. But the quiet night in quickly got louder when David practically shrieked at the movie, “Oh my God! You didn’t tell me Beyonce was in this!” “David, I’m pretty sure I mentioned she was in the third Austin Powers movie at least 3 times” Patrick laughingly pointed out. “I feel like I would’ve remembered that” “Sure” Patrick answered, knowing David wasn’t really a keen listener.

“Well now I’m more interested. Maybe I’ll have to watch the other Michael Myers movies” David suggested. “David, it’s Mike Myers, not white mask Michael Myers” “I guess that would explain why I was a bit confused in the beginning of the movie” David admitted as he extended his leg out a little under the blanket he was sharing with Patrick. The movie had finally won David over enough to keep his attention so he didn’t notice Patrick not watching the screen, instead watching David to see how he would react when a couple fingers scratched across the balls of his socked foot.

“WoohAH! What was that?” “What was what?” “Something touched my foot!” “What, this?” Patrick asked before scratching across the same spot again and making David jerk his leg away. “Yes, that! Why would you do that?” “Are you ticklish, David?” Patrick questioned with a sudden glimmer in his eye and smirk on his face. “I refuse to answer the question, plead the 5th, all that stuff” David shut down and tried to get back to the movie. “Oh, you can’t just say that and expect someone not want to find out” Patrick added with a stroke up the other foot resting beside him that David had forgotten to pull away.

“NnOaohA!” David laughed with a hilarious outburst and Patrick’s face lit up. “I knew it!” “No! Patrick, you can’t just tickle people! That’s…that’s against the law!” David tried to convince as he recoiled against the arm of the couch. “But you’re not just people, you’re my boyfriend” Patrick corrected before lunging toward David and catching his ankle before pulling it back closer to him, trapping it between his leg and the couch cushion. “Patrick, I swear to God! I will scream! A neighbor could think I’m being murdered!” “I guess I’ll have to risk it” Patrick answered before really testing out David’s foot with a flurry of eager fingers.

“AhAHANNOOAhoAOA!!” David freaked with a bubbly, animated laugh just like Patrick imagined as he wiggled all over the socked sole. David floundered on the couch and tried to kick free but his boyfriend kept a firm pin on his leg, soon even ripping the sock off and getting a death glare from the now disheveled 34 year old. “Don’t you dare! Patrick, I’m serious!” David warned with an almost whispered tone to sound more threatening but the playfully devious smile on Patrick’s face didn’t dim as his hand stood mere inches away from the bare foot. “You’re gonna have to stop me” Patrick answered before scribbling across the base of his rich toes and balls at the same time.

“AAAHH! PPpAAATTRRiiICCCkK!! AohAohAOhAhoSSTTohOHOHPPP!!” “Stop what?” “SsTTToHOHOOpPPTTiIiCcKKlLiinnNGGmMmEE!!” “Oh, that…sorry, no can do” Patrick teased as his excited fingers danced across the incredibly soft sole in his clutches and David shrieked every few seconds with embarrassing laughter, never having been so uncontrolled around Patrick. “Oh man haha, how did I not know you were this ticklish?” Patrick taunted while forcing the foot into a more vulnerable position so he could rake along the silky arch. “AHAaHAJJUUuUSSTTDdrRRoOoPPPiIiiTT!!” “No way!” Patrick refused while using his nails to claw up and down the middle and even get his heel every few strokes until David was howling and jerking against the arm of the couch like he’d lost his mind.

Patrick’s natural sweetness didn’t give David any reason to think that a tickle monster lived inside him anywhere but little did he know, it was the one thing he couldn’t resist exploiting from his friends and significant others. “OoKOOOHOOKKK! EEnNOOoUuGGhH!” David tried to diffuse as he practically tore into the throw pillows to endure the impromptu tickle attack but Patrick didn’t agree with his assessment, instead getting his other hand involved to pry back David’s surprisingly strong toes back and rake back and forth up the length of his pristine sole. “AAAAAHAHGGH! PpPAATTRRRiIiCCKK!!” David almost screamed with horrified disbelief at the intense tickling but Patrick looked like he was on cloud 9, happy to torture his boyfriend a little and get such a rise out of him.

“GGeEETTOOOFFmMyYYTTOOOEEsSS!!” “Come on, I can’t manhandle my own boyfriend’s toes?” Patrick teased before focusing on them more with tight, short strokes of his nails and sending David into high-pitched hysterics. “NNAOOAOHOoHoAohAOH!!” David raged with shock in his voice before throwing every pillow within his reach at Patrick but he just laughed at him, totally unfazed and undistracted from tickling the lush pink toes at his mercy. David squealed and laughed more than he would’ve ever let out in a normal situation but Patrick couldn’t seem to get enough; the only thing that ended it was David falling off the couch from thrashing around too much, worrying Patrick that he may have hurt himself.

“Are you alright? I didn’t mean to make you throw yourself off the couch” Patrick laughingly admitted as he helped David up. “Yeah, well, now you know why tickling should be against the law” David answered as he fixed his hair and straightened his shirt before sitting back down. “Sorry if I went too far…I’ve just never seen you so unfiltered and unpolished. It was a different side of you I hadn’t been around before” Patrick explained. “You weren’t supposed to see that side” “Come on, it was cute! I love making people laugh when I can” Patrick tried to convince. “Well how would you like it if I did that to you? Huh? Would it be cute then?” David challenged. “Go ahead…” Patrick offered as he relaxed against the opposite arm of the couch.

“…alright, you asked for it!” a surprised David answered before grabbing Patrick’s ankle and wrapping his arm around it like he was on a mission of sudden revenge. “Oh but you know what, I’m not keeping your sock on, how’s that?” “Evil…truly diabolical” Patrick smiled to himself from behind his hand as he watched David peel the black crew sock off and expose his bare foot. “You’re in for it now” David warned, only humoring Patrick more before he started spidering up his handsome size 11. “oOohohOOAhaohohA” bubbled out of Patrick in a steady stream and David continued with a concentrated look as he added more pressure.

Patrick’s warm, almost melodic laughter poured out from the other end of the couch and soon spiraled higher when David started focusing on the peach balls where they met his arch. “AhAhAHA! OaohAohAOoOoAohA” David didn’t seem to have a real tickler’s enthusiasm but his desire to get back at his boyfriend for exposing how ticklish he was fueled his attack, happy to hear him laughing and squirming behind him. “Not so fun on that side is it?” David taunted. “ahohAAohANNOoAohaoh” Patrick agreed with a big smile on his face and an almost jolly laugh filling his apartment as David started scratching along the edge of his foot.

“Ooh! Yeah, here we go…you’re in for it now” David soon announced upon noticing one of Patrick’s guitar picks on the side table.“What is that? My guitar pick??” Patrick laughingly questioned before David wrapped his arm around the ankle again and went to work strumming up and down his boyfriend’s foot. “WWoAohaohAOhAookOOK! AohAOhAohADDaAVViIiDD!” Patrick erupted with a surprisingly loud outburst as he nearly flew off the couch. “See? I can be mean too” David rubbed in as the thin plastic did the work for him running along the subtle wrinkles of Patrick’s sole and cranking out a more distressed, hardy laughter. The co-store owner began to struggle more than moments earlier with the acute sensation of the pick taking things up a notch and reminding Patrick just how ticklish he was but he soon interrupted the revenge scheme by lunging forward and squeezing around David’s sides, instantly making him a limp noodle and putting him on the defensive.

“AAhahA!” David yelped as he let go of the ankle and Patrick’s leg retreated back to his side of the couch. “Where the hell did you get the idea to use my pick like that?” Patrick asked with an almost impressed face. “I’ve been around a lot of different kinds of people in my life; you learn a few things” David answered, smirking with pride at having gotten him back. “I’ll have to remember that trick for next time” “Next time??” “Yeah” Patrick assured as if he was ready to get him again. “What happened to the nice guy I’m dating?” “Everybody has a side of them that likes to tease people, David. But if you really hate it, I won’t tickle you again” Patrick offered.

“…I didn’t say I hated it” David answered quietly like he didn’t want to admit it. “See? Why do you think I let you tickle me without a fight?” “You mean you like getting tickled? Like, actively like it, not just kind of don’t hate it” David questioned like Patrick had said something profound. “Yeah, I like getting tickled…it’s fun, that was until you used my own guitar pick against me. That got me” Patrick confessed with a laugh. “Looks like we’re still learning things about each other” David added. “But you know what I like even more…?” Patrick asked before crawling closer to David and leaning in to kiss him. “Yeah, I’m a fan of that too” David answered with a smile before continuing to make out with his boyfriend against the arm of the couch. But as they kissed and Austin Powers played in the background, Patrick’s hands soon casually slipped under David’s shirt before suddenly digging into his unsuspecting armpits. “AAHANNoOOAhAOhAOHAPpPpAAAATTRRiIiCCCKKK!”