Chapter Text
On the surface, Dean Winchester looked and acted like the person that people expected when they saw him; tough as nails, not overly emotional, and certainly not into anything that wasn’t masculine. But scratch off the surface, and there was a lot more to Dean than at first glance. He enjoyed Vonnegut, understood mechanical engineering like nobody’s business, and he cared about his brother Sam, and boyfriend Castiel.
Dean also had hidden proclivities for certain kinks. Certain guy-on-guy videos he had watched over the years, anime tenticle girls, and lastly, the one he would be the most reluctant to ever share with anyone, let alone a partner, tickling.
Dean couldn’t explain why he liked tickling the way he did, he just did. Anytime he came across a tickling scene on tv, or saw it in real life, he became very uncomfortable, overly aware of his movements and reactions and would try to get away from that area as soon as possible. The only exception to that was his brother Sam. Tickling Sam growing up had never bothered him (it was his brother come on, the tall ass punk needed to be taken down or cheered up a bit every now and then).
For years, Dean was careful to hide this part of himself. This wasn’t always easy, he himself was exceedingly ticklish, even with the multiple layers he wore. He was the perfect target for revenge by Sam, and for playful behavior with the girl or guy he had decided to shack up with for the night. Both of these situations he could handle; with Sam he would protest and claim to hate it (though he was in truth enjoying it), escaping as quickly as possible, with lovers he would find other ways of distracting their attention.
There were times where he couldn’t ignore his liking of tickling, as much as he hated to admit it to himself. So he found ways of coping. For the times when he could guarantee that he had privacy, he would pull out the feathers that he kept in a bag tucked at the very bottom of his duffle, take off his shoes and shirts, close his eyes, and brush one of the feathers over his feet, under his arms, across his stomach, and other ticklish spots. Dean was surprisingly feather sensitive, and by closing his eyes, he could pretend that it was someone else using the feather to tickle him. For years this was how he handled his liking of being tickled, in complete secrecy.
These moments had expanded and changed some over the years. Not long after the boys had discovered the bunker, Dean had found a couple of metronomes and discovered that by tying feathers to each one, and then tying up his feet, he could more realistically pretend that someone was tickling him in a teasing, methodical, unwavering pattern.
More often than not, that person that Dean fantasized about was Cas. Ever since meeting and becoming friends with the angel, Dean had wondered what it would be like to be tickled by Cas. These fantasies had only increased since Dean and Cas had become a couple. He would fantasize about Cas holding him down with his hands or with his angel mojo, tickling him with fingers and feathers, teasing him in that gravely voice, and Dean would be utterly gone, blushing and giggling as fantasy Cas indulged him in this secret enjoyment, fluffy happy feelings blossoming in his chest.
Dean had even found some of Cas’ feathers over the years, and had been using them as his tickle tools of choice for his private moments. Angel feathers, as it turned out, tickled a LOT more than regular feathers. Which was both good and bad for Dean, good because he could just use one or two of Cas’ feathers to make himself helpless with giggles, and bad because he found he had to gag himself to ensure he didn’t make a lot of noise.
One day, when Sam was off on a hunt with Eileen (those two were adorable together, even Dean would admit that), Dean realized he would have the bunker all to himself, with no fear of interruptions for several days.
He got everything set up, two metronomes, with a feather tied at different points on each metronome. Using a homemade set of stocks, he restrained both feet to the foot of his bed so they couldn’t move away, using smaller ties on his toes so they would be spread out. He set one metronome so that the feather would brush the soles of his feet, and the second one so the feather would brush his toes. He set the metronomes going, and was immediately glad he had waited until Sam was gone because there was no way he could have contained his laughter. The feathers were hitting so many of the right spots on each foot, going at a slightly differing pace so as to drive Dean mad with the different sensations. Even though only his feet and toes were tied up, he felt so vulnerable and exposed that he hugged his torso as he let loose gales of laughter.
The fantasy Dean had cooked up involved Cas tying Dean to the bed and tickling him with his feathers as Dean squirmed and writhed away, laughing helplessly as he was forced to realize not only how helpless he was, but how much he liked being helpless, and how much he liked being tickled, as Cas slowly took him apart. Feathers brushing his feet, Dean threw back his head, crying out in the midst of his laughter, “Cas please!” Begging for what exactly, he wasn’t sure, but begging none the less to fantasy Cas as he tickled away Dean’s resistance.
“Dean?”
Wait. Where had that come from? That almost sounded like...
“Dean, what is going on here?” “Why are you tied up?” “What are these devices?”
Dean opened his eyes. Cas, the real Cas, was standing at the foot of his bed, looking at him with questioning curiosity and slight concern.
Oh shit.
Dean sat up quickly, knocking over the small table the metronomes were set upon at the foot of his bed, and began trying to untie himself.
His mind raced, how long had Cas been there? Had he seen everything? Dean struggled getting the ties undone around his ankles and toes.
“Cas! What are you doing here!?”
Cas looked at Dean with further confusion.
“I came here when I heard you calling me. Your tone of voice was...most peculiar.” Cas said this as he stepped forward to examine the way Dean’s feet were tied.
“Why did are your feet tied up like this?” Did you do this yourself?”
Dean was so red it felt like a sunburn on his whole body. He gave up trying to untie his feet, and just covered them with the blanket on his bed. He tried to give some bullshit answer to the situation, but he couldn’t form the words.
Cas bent down and picked up one of the discarded metronomes to examine it.
“Why are feathers tied to these metronomes?” Cas asked. He brushed a couple of fingers along the feather itself, and looked up at Dean.
“These are my feathers.”
Dean could only nod as he covered his face with both hands. He gave up trying to make up a story. Now he was just afraid. Afraid that Cas would see him as a freak, would be insulted that he had used his feathers, and would not only end their new relationship, but also their friendship. Dean mentally cursed himself, he had gone a ruined the best thing that had happened to him in years.
Dean heard Cas set the metronome down, walk over, and felt the bed dip as Cas sat on the side of the bed. Then he felt Cas peel away his hands from his face. Dean looked away from Cas, shame flowing through his whole body.
“Dean, look at me.”
Dean still kept his head turned away, eyes closed, he didn’t want to see the look of disgust that would be on Cas’ face.
“Dean, please?”
Even in his utter shame, he couldn’t deny Cas when he asked with that voice. Dean slowly turned to face Cas, opening his eyes as he did. What he saw surprised him.
Cas was looking at Dean with concern and confusion, not judgement or anger.
“Dean, I don’t know what was happening here, but I can tell you are clearly in some distress. Please, can you tell me what is going on here? If you are truly uncomfortable talking about it, I’ll understand. But I hope you’ll choose to share whatever this is with me. I won’t judge you or leave you, if that is what you’re afraid of.”
Cas was giving Dean an out. Dean desparately wanted to take it, but the look on Cas’ face had him considering the other option, telling Cas the truth.
After a few moments of silence, Dean took a deep breath.
“I tied myself to the bed.”
Cas nodded his understanding. “Ok.”
Dean shook his head. Even though Cas clearly wanted to know more, he wasn’t pushing Dean to give him answers. Dean didn’t deserve his boyfriend.
“I tied my feet up, and set up the metronomes.”
Cas looked at Dean, “Why were there feathers tied to the moving parts of the metronomes?” They appeared to be brushing your feet.”
Dean nodded, “That was on purpose. I set them up like that so that the feathers would...” Dean turned even redder as he tried to get the words out. He looked at Cas.
“You know how humans have physical sensitivities?”
Cas nodded. Dean continued.
“Well, one of those sensitivites involved using a light touch, and the sensation that touch causes creates a reaction, squirming, laughter, that sort of thing.”
Cas looked at Dean. “Dean, I understand what tickling is” Dean blushed at the mention of the word, Cas went on, “What I don’t understand is why you were subjecting yourself to that sensation. I was under the impression that you deeply disliked being tickled.”
Dean was squirming a little now, but he had opened this door, he’d best walk through it now.
“That’s only partly true. I dislike....being t-tickled by people I’m not familar or comfortable with, and I dislike it when I’m in public.”
Cas looked at Dean with a mixture of understanding and confusion (don’t ask me how that’s possible, its a thing that Cas’ face can do).
“I understand that Dean. But I still don’t understand why you were willingly subjecting yourself to something you find unplesant?”
Dean looked away from Cas, “Because I don’t find it unplesant. I...I like it.”
There was a brief moment of silence as Cas gently used his hand to turn Dean’s face towards him.
“You like being tickled Dean?” Cas asked in a gentle voice.
Dean nodded, looking at Cas in the eye.
“Why do you like being tickled Dean?”
It wasn’t an accusatory question, like why Dean was so perverted. Rather, it was a sincere question, asked out of a desire to understand.
Dean swallowed.
“I like how it feels, the rush it causes under my skin. How its such a light touch and yet it effects me so much. Its like a release of physical sensations and emotional feelings, all of them positive. I...like how it makes me feel helpless and comforted at the same time. I like how its a way that I can be vulnerable with people I feel close to without having to talk or do anything, its just there.”
Cas looked at Dean with warmth and kindness.
“I think I understand Dean. You like both the closeness that tickling allows you to have with certain people, and the sensation itself, hence the devices you engineered” Cas said this as he gestured to where the metronomes lay motionless.
Dean nodded.
Cas looked at Dean, “May I ask you another question?”
Dean nodded again.
“Have you shared this fact, that you like being tickled, with anyone before?”
Dean shook his head, “No. The only person who knew about it was my mom, but that was when I was little and less selfconscious about it. I didn’t have to say I liked it, I could just lay across her lap or provoke her in sone other way, and she would tickle me.”
Dean smiled at the memory. “It was great, being understood like that without being judged or embarassed.”
Cas nodded, “And you haven’t shared that you like beig tickled with anyone since then?”
Dean shook his head, “Its not something I should like, its weak and childish-”
Cas stopped Dean from saying more, “No Dean, its not weak or childish. Tickling is meant to be a bonding experience, where the participants can feel what you described before. They can feel safe within vulnerability because of the trust that is established between themselves and the person or people tickling them.”
Dean looked down, or rather he tried to, Cas’ hand kept him securly faced towards the angel.
“Dean, there is nothing wrong with enjoying tickling, do you hear me?”
Dean looked at Cas, seeing nothing but sincere caring in his expression. Dean nodded in the affirmative.
Cas smiled gently at Dean. “Thank you for sharing this with me Dean. How shall I use this knowledge of you?”
This question caught Dean off guard, “How do you mean?”
“Should I use my judgement and observations of you regarding when it would be appropriate to tickle you, or would you prefer me to wait until you’ve asked me to tickle you?”
Dean felt it should be impossible for someone to blush as much as he had in the past several minutes. “Ummm...the first option. I don’t think I’ll be able to ask.”
Cas cocked his head in that adorable way. “And why is that Dean? Is it because you have difficulty saying the word “tickle”?”
Dean could tell that Cas wasn’t teasing Dean with the question, but it still caused him to squirm and a grin to start forming on his face.
Cas watched Dean’s reaction to his question, a smile of his own starting to take shape. “Do you like being teased as well Dean?”
Ok, now Cas was teasing Dean, and he couldn’t help his grin or squirming motions now, even if he wanted to.
Cas chuckled lightly seeing Dean’s reactions. “I’ll take that as a “yes”.”
Cas sat up and walked over to the foot of the bed. He lifted the blanket from Dean’s tied feet.
“I must say Dean, this is quite an impressive set up you have here. Would you be opposed to replicating this, with the change of my taking the place of the metronomes?”
Dean shook his head, “I um, I would like that, yeah.”
Cas smiled at Dean. “Good, I would like that as well. Now shall I assist in untying your feet?”
Dean looked at Cas with some confusion, “You mean you don’t.... I mean...I thought you were suggesting...”
Cas looked at Dean, then slowly smiled, “You thought my question was also a proposition for now?”
Cas looked down at Dean’s feet and toes, all trussed up and stretched out, and gently stroked a single finger up Dean’s left foot.
Dean’s whole body jerked, and though Dean had covered his mouth with a hand, he hadn’t covered it up in time to keep the giggle from slipping out.
Cas looked up at Dean, a playful expression on his face. “Now Dean, I would like to hear and see all of your reactions as I tickle you. Do you think you can keep yourself from hiding your reactions, or do I need to take measures to ensure that you can’t hide from me?”
Dean instictively covered up his face, he wanted Cas to take those measures, but he wasn’t sure he could say it out loud.
Dean looked up when he heard Cas walking back over to where his upper body was laying. Dean noticed that there was something in Cas’ hands.
“It appears that you require some assistance in allowing your reactions to unfold. Would it be ok if I tied your hands to your sides?”
Dean looked down at what Cas was holding, it was the excess rope left over from tying his feel up. Dean was about to say yes when a thought occured to him that made him blush and squirm.
Cas noticed this reaction, “Is there something you’d like to say Dean?”
Dean looked up at Cas shyly. “Um, do you think maybe...you could tie my hands up above my head to the headboard?”
Cas looked at Dean, “That would leave you quite vulnerable Dean. Not only would you not be able to hide your reactions, you wouldn’t be able to defend any of your ticklish spots. Is that what you want?
Dean nodded.
Cas cocked his head as he looked at Dean, “I need a verbal response from you Dean.”
Dean blushed, “Yes I want you to tickle me all over.”
Cas looked at Dean with raised eyebrows, but didn’t really appear surprised. “You volunteered more information than I think you initially intended. But since that is what you want, I will do what you requested Dean, but first”
Cas reached down to grasp the hem of Dean’s t-shirt, and pulled it up over Dean’s head. Dean lifted his arms, allowing the shirt to be pulled off of him more easily.
“Removing all barriers to allow you to fully experience how I’m going to tickle you Dean.”
Cas grabbed Dean’s wrists one at a time, tying them to the opposite ends of the headboard. When he was done, Dean was positioned in a Y shape. Cas reached down and gently manuvered Dean’s sweatpants so that his hips were completely exposed.
Dean looked up at Cas with surprise, “How did-”
Cas looked at Dean, “How did I know about your hips being ticklish? Dean, I rebuilt your body. I know each of its traits and quirks, and I know exactly where you are ticklish, not that there is a lack of ticklish spots on you.”
As Cas said this, he tickled Dean’s stomach, just to the side of his navel. Dean flinched and giggles poured out of him. The tickling was so much more intense now that he was tied up and couldn’t do anything to block or shield himself from the ticklish sensations running across and under his skin.
Cas smiled, not pausing his tickling fingers. “This is going to be very enjoyable Dean, for both of us.”