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“I know you think I’m funny.”
The Warden smirked, poking at the fire with a stick. Being on watch was boring , and Ferelden was damn cold . “And what ever would lead you to that conclusion? Could it be the eye-rolling? The scoffs?” She gasped. “Perhaps, could it be, the fact that I tell you that you’re not?”
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a smirk stretching across Alistair’s face. Never a good sign. “You think I can’t see you forcing down smiles, huh? The way you turn away and cover your mouth to hide the fact that you want to laugh?”
She turned to face him fully. “I think you’re imagining things. Are you sure you’re getting enough sleep these days? Maybe you should head to bed, I can handle watch on my own.”
Alistair pouted at her. “You laughed at my jokes when I gave you the rose,” he mumbled.
The Warden pursed her lips, hoping the orange firelight hid the way her cheeks were likely going red. “A momentary lapse in judgement, that’s all. I was lost in the moment.”
Alistair sighed, an almost wistful sound, and turned his own gaze back to the woods surrounding their little clearing. “I really rose to the occasion that time, didn’t I?”
The Warden fought to keep her lips pursed, though her prodding of the fire did falter. She cursed herself for giving Alistair even that foothold.
“I thought it was a rather sweet moment for our budding romance, wouldn’t you agree?”
The Warden exhaled heavily through her nose, rolling her eyes as Alistair scooted even closer to her on the log, but she couldn’t help the slightest twitch of her lips.
Alistair chuckled, reaching around her back so he could poke mischievous fingers into both of her sides. She squirmed, trying to dislodge him, and only succeeded in squirming closer to Alistair. It absolutely was not on purpose.
“I know you want to laugh,” he taunted in her ear.
The Warden tried to wrestle down her smile, rather unsuccessfully, and shoved at his hands. “I’ll laugh when you actually say something funny,” she said, her voice wobbling.
“You know, I’ve always been able to tell when someone’s lying just by looking at them.” Alistair switched from his teasing pokes to spidering up and down her sides, trying to reach as much as her ribcage as he could with her slamming her arms down in defense. “I can always tell when they’re standing, too.”
The Warden sputtered out a small, strangled laugh, the puns having weakened her defenses to the tickling, and the tickling having weakened her defenses to the puns. Really, she thought it was quite unfair, especially when that smug look spread across Alistair’s face.
“I knew you thought I was funny!”
“You stupid cheat!” She giggled, making half-hearted attempts to defend herself. “Your jokes are shit!”
Alistair gasped. “You take that back!”
She squeaked as he tweaked her hip, jerking in his hold. “Make me!” She said, like an idiot.
“Oh, I’ll make you, alright.”
The Warden did her best to put up the appearance of a struggle, as if she actually minded Alistair’s hands all over her, making her giddy and giggly and nervous in the best of ways. They were such rare feelings to come by these days, far be it from her to deny the both of them this luxury. She just hoped her ensuing laughter didn’t wake the rest of their companions. They’d never hear the end of that.
“But you’ve always been a stubborn one, haven’t you? It could take some time.” Alistair continued as he leaned in close, and the way his fingers slowly crawled up her ribs, trying to force their way underneath her arms, made her tense as she tried to squash them back out again. “Do you think if I wound up tickling you to death, I would be charged with murder, or mans laughter ?”
The Warden scoffed, even through her laughter, trying to hide how it pitched up at the horrible joke. Without thinking, she reached up to shove his face away from hers, a well-practiced habit whenever he decided to tell these jokes while residing in her personal space.
Except, that seemed to be exactly what Alistair was waiting for, because he quickly slipped his fingers up to the Warden’s upper ribs, scratching away at her weakest point ruthlessly. She clapped her hands over her mouth as she let out a shriek, cackling into her hands as her body desperately tried to escape the feeling.
“Alistair!” She cried out, the following laughter still muffled by her hands.
“Yeeeessss?” He asked, drawing the word out as long as he could, his voice horribly teasing.
She shook her head, knowing that anything she tried to say would be broken beyond recognition due to her laughter and her hands. Alistair had mercy, switching to spidering up and down the backs of her ribs, as if that was any better.
“Something you wish to say, my dear?”
“I’m sorry,” she burst out, the words disjointed from her continued laughter and squirming. “I’m sorry, I love your jokes, no matter how stupid they are! You’re funny, I promise!”
With a fond chuckle and a few last tweaks to the Warden’s sides and hips, Alistair relented and pulled away. The Warden slumped against him with a giggly sigh, trying not to feel too disappointed that she’d ended their fun so soon. If Alistair had kept that up much longer, though, she was sure to have woken someone up, and she didn’t need to spend the next several days of travel putting up with their friends’ teasing, no matter how fond it was.
“Someone’s looking a bit rosy ,” Alistair murmured, brushing a thumb across her cheek. “Are you feeling bouquet ?”
The Warden snickered, deciding to give in – just for the night. She turned, burying half her face in his shoulder. “Though my embarrassment stems deep–” she ignored his crow of delight– “I’m doing just fine, thank you.”
Alistair hummed, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Good. I would hate to be charged with manslau–”
The Warden pushed Alistair off the log, laughing at his disgruntled expression, though he quickly joined in. Needless to say, the rest of their companions had plenty to tease them for over the coming days of travel.