Work Text:
Vox took another sip of his third whiskey of the night. It was barely past midnight at Al's favorite pub and he was flying high.
They usually went for a straight-up bar, but Alastor had spoken highly of this place's fantastic dinner options and surprisingly good whiskey selection.
Said overlord sat across from him in this booth in the corner, sipping a whiskey of his own and finishing off his basket of fried eyeballs.
Vox had learned early on that expressing disgust towards Alastor's cannibalistic choices was a great way to get a pissed off radio demon, so he held his tongue.
Even as sharpened yellow teeth crushed into a literal eyeball, Vox couldn't help but smile at the sight.
It had taken a long, long time to come to terms with it, but Alastor was... attractive to Vox. Actually 'attractive' was an understatement, the man was everything Vox could ever hope to be or have.
He was just... trying to ignore what that said about his sexuality.
Even if he'd jacked off more than a handful of times to the mental image of him.
He still didn't understand his feelings or himself... but he knew that he wanted the Radio Demon close, no matter the cost. He was a close friend, the closest he'd had in life or death, and Vox would do anything to keep it that way.
In the middle of mentally singing his praises, Alastor had turned to him and was staring back at him. When Vox realized that, he cleared his throat and busied himself with his whiskey glass, lightly running his finger over the rim.
Out of the corner of his eye Alastor grinned a little wider and tilted his head.
He met his gaze again. "And just what are you staring at me so happy for?"
Alastor snapped his finger with a dismissive gesture. "Nothing to concern your big boxy head over."
Vox absently mindedly scratched at an itch at his left side just as the server made his way over.
Alastor glanced at him, suspiciously coy. "Didn't you want to ask for another whiskey?"
Vox grinned, still scratching at his side, "Of course! Night's still young after all." He turned and gave the server his attention. "In addition to this whiskey, I'll have a-"
In the middle of his sentence, that itch grew into something so much more obtrusive.
That sensation turned into a horrendously ticklish feeling right below his ribs, like pointy little tips jabbing and skittering at his sensitive nerves at an alarming speed.
Vox sputtered for a moment before unstoppable laughter bubbled up from his belly and spilled past his lips. His face flushed seeing the server furrow his brow at him as he scrambled backwards in the booth and frantically patted his torso, trying to figure out what the fuck was happening.
Alastor chuckled, grinning with delight. "Apologies, good sir, it seems my associate is feeling extra jovial this evening! I haven't the foggiest idea what's gotten into him."
The server rolled his eyes. This certainly wasn't the worst he'd seen, this was Hell after all, but it might be on the list of most bizarre.
"Well, get your friend to quiet down. I don't need his hyena cackling to bother the other people trying to eat in peace."
Meanwhile, Vox was desperately and fruitlessly trying to smother his hysterical laughter as he squirmed and struggled up against the wall of the booth. His flailing hands finally found a lump near where the tickling was. He swatted, rubbed it, even punched it, but nothing stopped the tickling.
"Pull yourself together. What would the papers say about this behavior?" Alastor spoke calmly with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Quite unbecoming of an up and coming overlord, I must say."
"Ihihihihehehee- kn-knohohow yohohou're behehehind thihihihis, Ahahahal!" Vox tittered helplessly.
"Who, Me?" Alastor cooed with obvious sarcasm.
"Pfft- BWAHAHAHA- W-whatahahat thehehe- ehehehe- HEHEHEHELL ihihihis thihis?" Vox raised his arm to try and slip his other beneath his sweater vest and grab at whatever was attacking him, but he soon realized his mistake. He left his most dangerous spot open and exposed for the thing to go for... which it quickly did, scurrying and tickling its way up his ribs towards his armpit.
Vox squealed as it quickly approached the absolute last place he wanted it. "NonononoNONO- EEEHE- DON'T YOU DAHARE!"
He frantically swatted at his ribs but it was too late. Whatever it was found a goldmine of sensitivity and clearly did not plan on stopping any time soon. Vox's laughter grew exponentially as he curled into a wriggly stomping ball of mirth absolutely cackling his heart out.
"NOHOHO- PFFTAHAHA! S-STOHOHOPPIT!" He wailed in mirth, tears now trickling down his screen.
Alastor watched with great interest, expression bright and curious. "My, I had no idea you were so ticklish!"
"AHAHALASTORR- EEHEEK!" Vox glared as much as he could (not very much) at who he knew was behind this humiliating moment. "IHIHI KNOHOW IHITS YOHOHOU! STOHOPPIT, AHAHASSHOLE!" Another mortifying squeal escaped him as that thing zeroed in on a specific spot that made him thrash like a half-dead fish.
Holy fucking shit this tickles so bad make it stop-!
"Okay boys, if you don't quiet down we're gonna have to ask you to leave." The server was looking at him and ohhh Vox felt like he was going to die of embarrassment.
Alastor snapped his fingers and the tickling little lump disappeared. Oh thank Fuck!
"So sorry, gents. He can be like this sometimes." Alastor shot him an evil grin.
Vox wasn't sure he'd ever felt so embarrassed in his life. He tried to defend himself through deep desperate breaths.
"Don't listen..." pant. "-to him. He likes..." pant. "-fucking with people."
"Well then, if you two wanna do kinky fucky activities, do it outside the bar. We're not a kink club. People are trying to eat."
Vox's whole screen was bright cyan whilst Alastor scoffed.
"No sense of humor, these days, I say." He smiled sweetly at Vox as if he didn't just nearly tickle him to a second grave.
Vox was used to Alastor messing with him. He did it constantly. Vox didn't totally mind, he usually jabbed back and they had a playful sort of rivalry, but this was different... in a couple of ways.
One, it was the most publicly humiliating. His screen was burning having cracked up like that and gotten probably the whole fucking pub's attention.
Two, and more importantly to Vox, it was... oddly playful and affectionate. He never expected tickling from the radio demon. He couldn't even imagine Alastor tickling any other sinner, even if he wasn't touching them and instead using...
"How the Hell did you even do that?" Vox said incredulously, still rubbing at his ribs and armpit to try and block out the leftover ticklish sensation.
Alastor snapped his finger and a tiny jet black figure appeared on the table.
"One of your little minion guys?" Vox observed. It looked barely over three inches tall. "I didn't know they came that small."
"Poppets, not minions." Alastor corrected. "This little fellow is who you have to thank for your... lively performance." The little poppet wiggled its pointy figures and Vox instinctually flinched back, flushing at Alastor's amused snickers.
Vox rolled his shoulder with a grimace. "God, I haven't been tickled like that since I was a kid."
"Oh, I'd believe it with how you were flailing and cackling. Just how ticklish are you?" Alastor cooed with his head propped up on his hands.
Vox sputtered and held up his hands. "W-We don't need to answer that!"
That grin of his widened. "Quite a lot, aren't you?"
"Why are you so interested in tickling, anyway? What's with you?" Vox fired back, mostly to stop talking about how ticklish he was.
But Alastor's reaction caught his attention. Alastor's smile stiffened, his ears twitched, and his antlers grew by just a smidge. Quick as a flash, he masked it with a scoff and waved his hand.
"I'm ready for the check."
Vox furrowed his brow. "What? What's going on here, Al? Are you... into that?"
A record scratch could be heard and Alastor grinded his teeth.
"Have some tact," He hissed, ears flattening, "this is hardly the place to discuss such uncouth accusations."
Vox immediately shut his mouth. The night just took a very interesting turn.
This could go south real quick... he had to play his cards just right.
He nodded. "Alright. I'll have my check as well."
The server came over immediately, most likely delighted to have them out of there, and the two paid quickly and silently.
And just as Alastor stood up and manifested his staff to teleport out of there as he often did, Vox stood quickly and interrupted him
"Wait, Al! I, uh..." He stammered and took a breath. "I could walk you home?"
Alastor stood still, eyeing him suspiciously.
"I have... an idea you might like. If you're willing to hear it."
He stayed still. Vox felt like he might combust from nerves as he waited.
"Very well." Alastor's staff dissolved into shadow and he cocked his head. "Lead the way."
Vox took a shaky breath. Time to do this.
He walked out of the pub with Alastor stood his usual 6 inches apart from him, but instead of their usual banter, it was quiet as they escaped the loud chatter of the crowded street and headed to cannibal town.
"So, do tell... what is this idea of yours?" Alastor asked without drifting his gaze from the road ahead.
Here goes nothing...
"Whatever that was back there... you... enjoyed it in some way."
Alastor's eyes darted over, his head unmoving, gaze as cold as ice.
"You don't have to explain!" Vox hurried to cover his ass. "But, uh... well, I... I didn't, um... totally hate it."
Alastor's expression brightened quite noticeably, his walls of solid ice melting in an instant to his usual neutrality.
"Maybe, we could... come to an arrangement."
Alastor halted their walk immediately. Before Vox could even process, his arm was grabbed and everything got cold and wet and dizzy and ohhhh this was shadow teleportation he HATED shadow teleportation.
He appeared in his own living room with Alastor beside him. He immediately collapsed on the couch as he tried not to vomit.
"So, to be clear," Alastor started. Vox forced himself to sit up and blinked a few times to try and rid himself of the nausea. "You are willingly offering yourself to be tickled?"
Vox cleared his throat and nodded. "You, uh... you had fun, right?"
Alastor's smile twitched and grew just a smidge. "I did."
"Well, besides being extremely embarrassed, I did too. So, like, if you wanna do more tickling based stuff, just like, in our homes... I'd be up for that."
It was quiet. The stillness fueled Vox's anxieties tenfold. What if he hated this offer? What if he hated Vox? What if he never wanted them to speak again? What if he killed him for even suggesting this?
"You're a fascinating little picture box. Very well. I accept, on the condition that you are not to mention this arrangement to anyone but you and I."
Vox felt like he could melt from relief. "Oh, of course, yeah, obviously!"
"Wonderful! Then we understand each other perfectly!" Alastor stood abruptly and manifested his staff. He turned away as shadows began to appear at his feet. "Have a good night, my dear fellow." He turned just his head to grin at him directly. "I'll be reaching out soon." The shadows enveloped him and left nothing. He teleported away, leaving Vox alone in his apartment.
Vox shivered. Holy fucking shit. Is he actually about to do some maybe-kink-definitely-not-casual tickle scenarios with Alastor? whatever this was, they definitely weren't just regular friends now. This had to be kink right? Or at least in the territory of it? It's not exactly a normal activity to do with your drinking buddies.
What did Vox just get himself into? Just how hard was Alastor going to go with tickling? For all he knew he'd show up twenty minutes later with a rack and twenty tentacles to make him laugh so hard he blows a tube.
But if it made Alastor look at him like how he had at the bar, make him laugh and look so... softly at him... it was worth it.
Besides, even as a kid he never really minded being tickled. He actually really liked playing tickle monster with his mom when was little. Of course those were very embarrassing memories he wasn't willing to share with anyone.
But... this was happening now
And Vox couldn't wait.