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Shinra wasn’t sure why. Or maybe he was. Just seeing Celty and Izaya together made him feel funny. The good kind of funny. Perhaps because they were exactly the two people he held so dear in life, and that it made him happy to see them get along.
Or well, ‘get along’.
He smiled to see the two interact in what he would describe as a playful banter, but he was sure Celty would name it otherwise. And he was right about that.
I can’t believe him!
Shinra chuckled. “Can’t believe what?” he responded to Celty’s cute little complaints after they parted ways with Izaya. She fumed, continuing to type furiously.
He’s so insensitive.
Shinra couldn’t even remember what the two were talking about. Surely he didn’t read along with Celty or even try to read her expressions, but he did hear Izaya’s remarks and bratty comments. Not that he truly listened. He had been too busy admiring the two having a conversation, and swimming around in the feeling of happiness it brought him.
“He’s Izaya. What would you expect?” Shinra chuckled.
Not much. Not much at all. Ugh, can we just ignore him next time?
“He’s not that bad.” Shinra knew Celty thought that too, deep, deeep down inside. He was about to say something more to defend Izaya’s messed up personality, but Celty was already busy typing her next words again. A rant. Just a tiny one.
He is bad. Only saying mean things, manipulating when manipulation isn’t even necessary. Can’t even joke around properly. Or laugh like a normal person.
“Like a normal person?” Shinra wondered. Celty grabbed his arm in affirmation before hurriedly typing her response.
Yes. He only has an evil laugh. Not genuine.
Shinra did think that Izaya’s laugh could be called genuine, just genuinely mean, she was right about that. But he knew there was more possible. He remembered it from the good old days.
“He can laugh like a normal person,” Shinra snickered. “I got him to laugh like that just once.”
That can’t be possible.
“But it is. You know what? You help me out, and I will show you.”
....Deal.
It wasn’t a bad idea at all. The more Shinra thought about it, the more he started to wonder why he hadn’t thought of it before. Why it hadn’t crossed his mind until this specific conversation with Celty.
It was because he had Celty by his side now, he could make Izaya laugh again, by force if necessary. Like back in middle school. The Biology Club days. The days when Shinra discovered the one true weakness on Orihara Izaya: how he is so dreadfully ticklish, more ticklish than an average person, and how he had been bold enough to actually make use of it. He didn’t just discover Izaya’s ticklishness. He exploited it. With the necessary consequences.
Shinra didn’t like to remember the part of the memory that featured these consequences, but Izaya did in fact get him back for that. Tickled him to death, made Shinra swear not to tickle him ever again if he wanted to live.
Shinra did swear it eventually, and what happened? Izaya tickled him more. At least until he wet his pants... Izaya did laugh at that, the mean kind of laugh, or the evil laugh as Celty would call it.
It was exactly the part of the story he left out, but he did tell Celty that this was going to be their shot at getting Izaya to laugh. Though sceptical (I am sure he has his tricks for leaving his ticklishness behind!), Celty did eventually agree to Shinra’s suggestion of inviting Izaya to come over for a... club reunion.
An agreement that wouldn’t have been reached easily if it wasn’t with this random mission of making Izaya laugh, since Celty was by no means a fan of inviting Izaya to hang out.
“A club reunion hm?” Izaya hummed, entering and sitting down on the couch lazily as if he owned the place.
“Right. Sometimes we need to remember the good old days, don’t we? Vice President?” Shinra said.
Izaya didn’t respond to that. Instead, he did look like he suspected something. And he had every right, for Shinra had plotted his ticklish doom together with Celty.
“What do you really want?” Izaya asked finally.
“Like I said, a club reunion! Just the two of us. Let’s take turns bringing up memories,” Shinra said. He wasn’t sure why he was dragging it. Celty was waiting for his command, even without a face he could just read her expression: what are you waiting for?
Alright, maybe he was a little nervous after all. It was years ago when he made his discovery. Years ago when he tickled Izaya for the first and last time. What if Celty was right? What if he got over it? Knowing Izaya, he would find his ways.
The double risk Shinra had was for his pissing-his-pants-because-of-Izaya’s-tickling blunder to be exposed in front of Celty, and if he wasn’t careful, for Izaya to demonstrate it. He didn’t want or need something like that to happen. His mission to tickle Orihara Izaya and make him laugh like a happy boy had to succeed. It had to!
“Fine then. If you are so determined to tell Celty how desperate you were to become my friend,” Izaya started, shrugging. Shinra gulped. Alright, now was the time when his courage returned.
He got up quickly and shouted: “Celty, now!” Izaya looked up in surprise but was not fast enough to respond. Celty was faster. She had obviously been waiting eagerly to finally send her shadows after a very confused Izaya, and she restrained him tightly, with his arms stretched above his head and his legs together in some sort of shadow cocoon.
“Oh, so this is why you invited me? Naughty times? Just the three of us? Kinky.” Izaya was in no position to joke around or act as smug as he did, but this was Izaya, so Shinra wasn’t really surprised.
“No no, I did invite you for a club reunion. To remember those days,” Shinra said, walking around Izaya’s bound body. He smirked. Celty still sat on the couch, watching intently while she effortlessly held Izaya captive.
“Do you remember a promise you forced me to make?” Shinra said. Dangerous grounds, very dangerous, so very close to the thing he didn’t want revealed, but he needed to get this close to their shared memory. Izaya frowned.
“Promise?” he asked.
“More like an oath,” Shinra said. He wiggled his eyebrows at Izaya who was still confused, judging from the look on his face.
“Well, doesn’t matter if you remember or not, because today I am breaking that oath anyway,” Shinra said. “In fact, I’ll help you remember!” ー and those were his final words before he reached out and dug into Izaya’s exposed sides without warning.
“Haaaa! Take that you--!” ...... Shinra gaped at Izaya. Izaya stared back blankly. Shinra wiggled his fingers. He squeezed. No reaction.
“Take what?” Izaya asked.
“T-this?” Shinra said, wiggling his fingers. Huh?! In the corner of his eye, he saw Celty facepalm, or well, helmet-palm, and he started to sweat. Oh no.
“What~? What is this supposed to do? Tickle? Is that what you wanted to reminisce? How I tickled you?” Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no.
“Celty, did he tell you any lies? About how I am ticklish? Maybe it’s his way for coping with the memory of how I tickled him to death back then, weak and miserable as he was,” Izaya said. Oh no. Celty’s shadows on Izaya weakened but Shinra shrieked: “HOLD ON TIGHT!” and she did.
Still, she was also curious. “What are you talking about?” she asked. Oh no!!! Shinra continued to test Izaya’s sides. No response. He crawled his fingers further upwards, and oh, was that a twitch? He continued to dig into Izaya’s exposed ribs. Another twitch, and Izaya did seem unbelievably tense. No way, he had learned to control his ticklishness? Well... Not for much longer!
Determined to break him, Shinra continued to tickle, and he had to hurry, because Izaya teasingly began to tell his story.
“Well, this little fool thought he could prank me with childish tickles. I just gave him a taste of his own medicine to teach him a lesson, and tickled him until he- u-until- ghhー ahh-heheh.. Hngh!” With a lot of determination, Shinra managed to break through some of Izaya’s defense.
“Until he what?” Celty asked, but Shinra squeaked, “NOT important, Celty! Hold him tight!” and he reached further and dug mercilessly into Izaya’s outstretched underarms. At last, the man was no threat anymore. The first few giggles could be heard, and his smug smirk turned into the biggest goofiest and cutest smile.
“G-ghhehehe, y-you-- nhehehe!” It was a true miracle Izaya hadn’t cursed their heads off yet, or threatened Celty to let him go. Did he really think Shinra would give up before he would drop his defenses against the tickling? Ha, if he did, he thought wrong!
“Hehe, I knew I remembered it correctly. You are ticklish, and you can’t hide behind your stupid lies~!” Shinra taunted, tickling Izaya full-on.
“I wahahasn’t lyi-ahahahah! HEHEy! Ahahaha!” Shinra turned his head only for a brief moment to see Celty admire the show. She typed something which she held up, and although Shinra couldn’t see it from here, he just knew what she was saying.
He is laughing like a normal person.
For the first time, Celty could hear Izaya’s laugh that had no mean intentions, and Shinra could hear it for the second time.
It must’ve been random for Izaya to suddenly be invited like this, restrained and tickled mercilessly out of the blue, but Shinra knew Izaya’s life was anything but ‘normal’. A situation like this, he should be able to deal with.
“HAHAHA! W-whehhen I get out of thihihis I’ll--HEHehe!” Izaya threatened, but it sounded just cute and funny with how much he was laughing and giggling at this point. The transition from smug Izaya to very very ticklish Izaya had been almost invisible, so smooth and fluent, and Shinra enjoyed every little bit of it.
He understood this wasn’t only for Celty’s entertainment, but felt that it was also for his own. Especially for his own.
“Hold him tighter!” Shinra chirped when Izaya’s arms were lowering a little as soon as Celty’s grip on him weakened. Celty did as she was told, and woopー Izaya’s arms were stretched more tighly above his head again, and the poor guy cackled for his life when Shinra clawed at his exposed sides and ribs; the exact places where Izaya had managed to block the tickles earlier with maniacal skill and talent.
Not now. He laughed like he probably hadn’t laughed in years. Shinra suspected the last time might have been exactly that one other time when he tickled him fearlessly. Back when they were innocent and inexperienced middle schoolers.
“HEHEEHH! FAHAha-afuhuhuck! Gahaha!” Izaya threw his head back. It took Celty long enough but eventually she stood by their side and started to join in as well, her fingers scribbling curiously at the center of Izaya’s torso; his ticklish tummy.
“Heheheheh you bohohoth ahahaha! Nohoho! J-just listennahahaha!”
“Look, he is ticklish here too,” Shinra said, completely ignoring the fact that Izaya was trying to say something, and he tickled his neck.
“I see,” Celty said. It was as if they were having the most normal conversation ever, but that while tickling Izaya to death. They tickled the helpless guy until he was one exhausted mess, complete with blush, a bit of a sweaty forehead, and messy hair from all his struggling.
“C-Celty. You must believe me. I t-tickled Shinra until he-HEHEH!” Shinra tickled him again, but Izaya was still determined to say what he wanted to say. Even after all that tickling he endured!
“UNTIhihil he wehehehet his pahahaha!” Luckily it was barely understandable, and Shinra noted there was no response from Celty, just confusion. Still, Izaya didn’t give up.
“Until he whehehe!”
“Whatever he is still trying to say, let’s assume they are all lies,” Shinra said. Celty seemed to agree, but eventually she used some more of her shadows to also grab Shinra. Eh?
“Celty~?” he chirped, his wiggling fingers still eager to tickle Izaya more, but she dragged him back.
Let him talk.
Uh oh. Izaya was panting for his life, but smirking like a maniac. “Heh, good girl,” he said. Something that would probably have pissed Celty off if she wasn’t curious right now.
“I t-tickled him until he wet his pants,” Izaya finally said. Shinra chuckled.
“See? Told you he only tells lies. Why would I wet my pants?” he asked. Celty stared at him.
I know you are ticklish.
“Not that ticklish,” Shinra said. His thoughts then made a 180-degree turn, and he smirked.
“But if it were true,” he said to Celty, and he looked at her with puppy eyes. “It would have been so humiliating to the young me that he deserves to be punished. I have kept my revenge for all these years to myself. So... Help me out, please?” he said, making puppy eyes.
Celty was quiet for a moment, probably using her clever mind to connect the dots. It had to be true, so what she should do is stand by Shinra’s side and avenge his tainted middle schooler pride and his poor pants. And she did.
“HEHEHEY! Whahaht I mehean to sahahay we should tickle HIhiihim nahaahaha!” Izaya shrieked as his attempt at manipulating Celty into tickling Shinra backfired instead.
Who had Shinra been kidding, fearing that Celty might laugh at him, leave him, insult him for such an embarrassing thing as wetting his pants as a middle schooler? Of course she wouldn’t.
Instead, Izaya ended up with more tickles all for himself, and Celty even let some of her shadows join in to tickle Izaya anywhere they could reach, wrecking him like deserved to be wrecked.
And Shinra happily joined in, tickling Izaya and enjoying his hysterical laughter.
“Eeehehehehehehehe!” His laughter was hilarious, unrestrained, and there was no end to it. Just like there was no end to that smug attitude in between it all, but that was no problem. In fact, it only encouraged the duo to keep tickling.
After what felt like hours of that, they released Izaya and let him rest on the couch. They had given him some water, and he drank and gasped greedily for breath.
With his hand resting on his heaving chest, Izaya lay there tiredly, a smile still on his face. A smile that expressed relief to finally laugh like that again after so much time.
“Man. If I tell you guys I enjoyed every part of that, I’m sure you won’t do it again,” Izaya panted, still smiling.
Shinra turned to face Celty, who held up her response to this: He is wrong.
Smirking proudly, Shinra wrapped his arm around her and with his other hand he patted Izaya’s knee, tickling him teasingly with a little squeeze that drew out a cute giggle.
“I know right? Totally wrong.”
He doesn’t seem to be lying though?
“I know right?” Shinra said again. It was funny. Izaya didn’t seem at all appalled by what they did, so he couldn’t help but think he actually did enjoy it. And so did they.
Who would have known! This wasn’t the last ‘club reunion’, or whatever they should call it. Let’s just refer to afternoons reserved for tickling Izaya to death to club reunions to make it less weird, alright?
“Alright?” he said without even verbalizing those thoughts, but Celty could read his mind like he could read hers, and her answer was very short and simple:
Yes!