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Jon had never been any good with people.
Sometimes he tried. Sometimes he didn’t. Regardless, the result was almost always the same. Him stammering and stuttering and walking away. Friends were few and far between, mostly classmates who he had spent enough time with that they must have reached that milestone, but Jon didn’t feel like he knew very well.
He did know Tim and Sasha. They were often in his space and sometimes loud, and they never seemed to want to leave him alone. Even if they weren’t talking at him, they were always near, hanging around research after hours when Jon was trying to catch up on work, buying far too much food and then all but forcing Jon to help finish it, dragging him away from his work when he was almost done.
For as annoying as they could be, Jon found that he… enjoyed the time they spent together. He felt awkward at times, not sure how to be in the face of Tim’s bold personality and Sasha’s knowing nature, and even still, he liked being around them.
That was why he’d accepted when Tim had invited him over for a movie night with him and Sasha. There were so many social engagements that sounded so draining that Jon could barely think about them without feeling overwhelmed, but… a movie night with two other people? That would be okay. Maybe even fun.
Maybe Tim and Sasha would want to be his friends.
“So!” Tim said enthusiastically. “Jason Bourne?”
Sasha scoffed. “No.”
“Aww, Jon come on, back me up here!”
Jon startled. “Oh- um, I don’t really watch many films. Mostly documentaries, really.”
Sasha gasped. “Ooh, you might like the Martian!”
“No!” Tim groaned. “Not the Martian again Sasha, we’ve watched it like five times!”
“It’s good!”
“It’s not good five times.”
She grinned. “Well maybe it’ll be good six times!”
“No. I refuse to watch the Martian ever again in my life. You can’t make me.”
Sasha’s grin turned wicked. “Oh, can’t I?”
Tim must have caught something in her eye that Jon didn’t, because he shot off the couch, out of her reach. “Not if you can’t catch me!”
Jon watched bemusedly as Sasha caught him with ease, playfully tackling him to the floor, and the next thing he knew Tim was shrieking with laughter, stirring an odd, sour feeling in Jon’s stomach.
Sasha laughed evilly. “Say we’ll watch the Martian! Say it!”
Tim batted at her, snorting. “N-never!!”
She tutted. “So be it.” And slid one hand up his shirt to tickle at his stomach.
Jon rolled his eyes half-heartedly. “Must you always be so childish?” He grumbled, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge the odd emotion stirring inside him.
Sasha released Tim with one last pinch of his stomach. “Yep, more fun.” She countered.
Tim crawled onto the sofa beside Jon, still grinning widely. “I take it you’re not ticklish then?” He asked, and before Jon had the chance to reply with ‘of course not’, reached over and gave his side a quick squeeze.
The touch sent an odd sensation shooting up Jon’s spine, eliciting a yelp he couldn’t contain and… oh. It seemed he was suddenly on the floor.
And Tim and Sasha were both grinning at him.
Oh.
“Ah. U-um…”
Tim’s smile grew. “Oh, I have never been happier to be wrong in my life.”
Jon felt like he had become prey. “Wait- wait, Tim!”
Tim pounced with no preamble, hands immediately latching onto Jon’s sides and wiggling, and how did it feel like that? Admittedly Jon wasn’t someone well versed on physical contact, but Tim’s fingers felt like lightning, he had no chance to resist, no hope of doing anything but… laughing?
God, it was so strange! Tim was just poking at him, really, and it- it tickled, Jon accepted, curled up into a ball on the living room floor, squeaky giggles that he was certain he had never produced in his life bubbling forth from his mouth.
Well, this is new.
All of a sudden, Tim stopped. “Okay, okay, I won’t be too cruel.” He chuckled, ruffling Jon’s hair.
Jon looked up at him with wide eyes. Cruel? That wasn’t cruel, it was… fun. New and surprising and- nice. “Wait!” He blurted impulsively. “Try that again?”
They both snorted. “No chance you’re convincing us you’re not ticklish now.” Tim joked, poking him in the ribs and sending another bolt of sensation through Jon’s form, which was endlessly fascinating.
Jon’s hand wrapped around the spot as if to savour the lingering feeling. He poked experimentally, but felt nothing.
Sasha’s smiled softened when she realised what had happened. “Jon.” She said. “Did you know that you’re ticklish?”
Jon looked up at her in surprise, his expression closing in more to being defensive when he caught the amusement. “I- no one ever told me!” He blustered. “I-I thought it was some odd personality quirk or something!”
Tim snorted into his hand, trying not to find this too funny. “Personality quirk?”
“Well how was I supposed to know it was a-an actual sensation?”
Sasha smirked, leaning forwards on the arm of the sofa, ready to attack. “I bet you’ve got other spots too.”
Tim snorted. “Don’t kill him, Sasha.”
“I’m just curious!” She countered, lowering herself to their level on the carpeted floor but keeping her hands to herself for now. “Besides, you did say to try that again, right Jon?”
“Run.” Tim joked. “While you still can.”
Sasha glared playfully and, because she could, pounced towards Tim, digging her fingers into his stomach, and making him burst into silly cackles. “Didn’t take your own advice, hmm?”
“Sash!” Tim shrieked, half curling into a ball and clinging to her wrists, but clearly not pushing her away very hard.
Jon watched their playful tussle curiously. They both looked so happy, smiling and laughing like that. Knowing that Tim’s squealing laughter was utterly beyond his control did make it feel that bit less obnoxious. Perhaps he’d just been jealous of their closeness.
Oh.
Yes, he’d definitely been jealous.
A hand closed around Jon’s ankle, making him yelp loudly even as he realised he was being dragged into the fray. Tim wheezed a laugh. “Bad move, not paying attention!”
Jon probably could have fought back if he’d wanted to, kicked, or squirmed free, but… he couldn’t find a good reason to resist. He wanted this, even past his own curiosity. Tim and Sasha were his friends, that was certain now, and they were just playing. They were dragging him over there because they wanted him to do the same, wanted to make him laugh and smile like they were, and Jon didn’t want to fight against that.
That said, he couldn’t exactly stop himself from twisting away from the grabby hand squeezing at his side, making him squeak loudly. Unfortunately, moving away from one hand sent him right into another, this one gently spidering over his stomach, and the next thing Jon knew he’d curled up into a ball and clamped his hands over his face, squealing at every new touch.
Tim laughed, holding Jon’s elbow with one hand and poking at his side with the other. “Aw, you’re like a squeaky toy.” He teased.
Sasha was grinning too; Jon could just about see her through his fingers and his twitching. “So, sides and stomach, not a bad start.”
“I dunno, we haven’t confirmed it yet.” Tim said. “Hey Jon, for research purposes, does this tickle?”
His hand switched from poking to grabbing Jon’s side in some kind of vibrating claw that made him shriek and burst out into bright laughter, his arm finally pushing back to try to defend the spot.
The claw quickly froze, though Sasha’s nails scratching and tapping over his stomach was more than enough to keep Jon giggling, much as he tried to stop.
Tim put a hand over his heart. “Sasha, look.” He said, only half teasing. “Jon can smile.”
Sasha snickered, “I don’t know.” She poked at Jon’s upper ribs, trying to worm a finger under his arm. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Jon’s hands stayed firmly clamped over his increasingly flushed face. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed this hard. Could barely remember the last time he’d laughed at all. And now he was here, lying on the floor between his mischievous friends as they tickled all that laughter out of him, and he- he loved it.
Sasha’s nails shifted from wiggling at his ribs to gently scratching about his neck and ears. Jon was fairly certain his voice couldn’t actually go that high, but apparently not. “C’mon, let me see that smile.” She teased.
Having a fight to win only made Jon more stubborn, even when she found a spot just behind his right ear that made him honest-to-god snort. Part of him wanted to fight back, wanted to push at them and try to tickle them just because he could, because he wanted to play like that and see them smile and laugh like this, but his limbs felt like they were made of lead and he felt more than a little giddy from… everything.
Sasha giggled. “Oh, I think I can see it there!” She teased, fingers moving to trace over the parts of his jaw and cheeks not covered by his hands.
Jon squeaked, melting into the ground, trying to will his hands to cover more of his still widening grin. This was ridiculous, he knew, they’d definitely seen him smile before and anyway, it was hardly a secret or something to hide, but that somehow only made it worse. The knowledge that he shouldn’t feel embarrassed or flustered only made him feel more embarrassed and flustered, especially when all he wanted was for this to continue.
A hand started squeezing at his kneecap and Jon shrieked, kicking and rolling from side to side in an attempt to shake Tim loose, his giggles giving way to pitchy laughter.
Sasha fluttered her fingers behind his ears, catching Tim’s eye and grinning. This was too much fun. “Such a cute little smile!” She cooed, the edges of it now quite visible around Jon’s twitchy hands.
“N-no!” He protested, not even sure why.
“Sorry, evidence says I’m right,” Sasha laughed. “Very cute smile.”
In a last-ditch effort to retain some modicum of dignity, Jon swung hard and rolled over onto his stomach, burying his face in the carpet, his now free hands batting at Sasha’s, still trying to kick away Tim to no avail.
Tim and Sasha laughed at his meagre defence, the sound making Jon want to curl up into a smiley melted ball. His thoughts had been reduced to giggly mush.
Those wicked nails wiggled into a particularly bad spot behind his ear, and Jon snorted and turned his head to block them on impulse. Then he opened his eyes and saw Sasha smiling back at him, alerting him too late to her trap.
“There, see?” She teased, wiggling her fingers until his chin. “Such a cute smile.”
Jon squeaked and buried his chin in his chest, but didn’t otherwise hide his face. He wasn’t sure he even had the energy to, as drunk on laughter as he was. He did squeeze his eyes shut, if only because he couldn’t stand the gentle affection in Sasha’s eyes.
Sasha couldn’t stop smiling if she wanted to. Jon was honestly too cute. “Had enough?”
Jon didn’t answer, giggling and jerking from Tim’s fingers dancing in the spots behind his knees.
She laughed. “I think you’re done, hmm? Last thing anyone wants is for you to die laughing.”
Privately, Jon didn’t think that was a bad way to go. Once Tim had stopped, he curled up into a ball, shaking with residual giggles. Sasha pressed a somewhat hesitant kiss to his cheek, which only made him feel even more melted.
Tim chuckled, ruffling Jon’s hair. “Documentary then?”
Sasha nodded. “As if anyone could say no to that face.”
Jon said nothing. In honesty he was a little confused about how he was supposed to exist now, all bubbly and giddy. Tim seized the remote from the sofa, Sasha dragged the throw pillows down, tugging Jon into a sitting position and shoving a pillow behind his back. The familiar sounds of the BBC filled his ears, replacing the jumpy happiness with something softer and more peaceful.
It was easy to melt, when Tim flung an arm over his shoulders to hold Sasha’s hand. They were friends, after all.