Work Text:
“The Blue Knight looks different, na no da!” Mew Pudding announced bouncily as soon as the danger had finally passed.
“He really does,” Ichigo purred in agreement, tail swaying happily behind her as she appraised the new transformation. She had to admire how much Aoyama looked like… Aoyama, now. “It’s cute!”
Gone was the long blond hair and bright blue eyes and paler complexion. This Blue Knight was unmistakably her Aoyama in the same was that Mew Ichigo was unmistakably Ichigo, with a few added bits here and there.
Ichigo raised a hand and gently cupped one side of his face. Olive skin, gentle smile, deep brown eyes, disheveled black hair…
All that was different, aside from the regal blue attire, was those long ears he still sported from the Blue Knight. Or from Deep Blue, she supposed.
Ichigo tucked a tuft of messy black hair behind his ear for a better look. Aoyama’s hair was fluffy and thick, as opposed to the silkier hair that Deep Blue and the Blue Knight had. “I guess this is the only part that stayed the same from how it used to be before.” Experimentally, she placed her fingers on his earlobe, rubbing her fingers back and forth. Cartilage folded under her touch, and although Aoyama managed to suppress a reflexive flinch, when she traced her fingers down the shell of Aoyama’s ear in one smooth motion, a whimper escaped his mouth unbidden. “Aside from that, mostly the same except for your outfit and your ears! If you had a tail too, you’d be a proper Mew Mew now!” she teased, tail swinging expectantly in hopes of a response.
Aoyama could hardly find the voice to answer her, but he swallowed down a lump in his throat and eventually managed, “…G-guess I’m really part of the team now,” with something like a poker face and a steady voice. He even added for good measure, “In full gratitude, I'll be of service~ Meow~”
Ichigo’s own ears twitched, then flattened against his head in mock offense as she playfully growled. He sounded so dreamy saying that catchphrase, but— “Hey! That’s trademarked Mew Ichigo property! You can’t just steal it!”
He chuckled at the frivolous complaint. “Sorry, sorry.” Those adorable pointy ears gave a gentle twitch with his grin, then drooped sadly when he gave her a frown that was just as serious as her anger—which is to say, not at all. “How should I make up for it?”
Her mouth curled in a wicked cat-like grin, and her eyes glinted bright with mischief. Try as she might, she’d never found anywhere ticklish on her boyfriend’s body, but maybe she’d finally found his weakness. Aoyama was very composed, and had the greatest poker face she’d ever seen, but sometimes, that just made her more determined to finally catch him off his guard and make his proverbial cat ears pop out, too. Tickling him would be the perfect way to see another face from him that no one else ever had before.
“Then… I’ll let you use it, in exchange for some payback!”
Ichigo reached up again and lightly pinched Aoyama’s ears. This time, he visibly shuddered, involuntarily, eyes slipping half-shut. Lips parted, and he emitted a breath from deep in his chest.
Ichigo’s grin widened. “A-ha! You are ticklish!”
Aoyama shut his eyes, biting his lip. Tiny moans and pants were spilling out of his mouth. Ichigo kept repeating this agonizing motion. Caressing Aoyama’s ears, firmly rubbing at his tip ever so softly, grazing his tip every once a few seconds, to gingerly pinching his earlobe. These actions were slowly but surely making Aoyama lose his cool.
“Ichigo,” Aoyama prodded. His voice was thick with arousal, little more than a whisper.
“Mm-hm?” Ichigo hummed idly in question, still keeping her attention on his ears. She could tell that he’d gone tense in her arms, but she was so giddy with curiosity she hardly paid it any mind. Aoyama gasped as the sensation shuttered throughout his entire being. The soft touch almost sent him shivering.
“Ichigo,” he insisted again, this time with more force.
“Begging for mercy won’t get you out of payback!”
Aoyama caught her wrists in his hand, gently, holding her arms in place in his strong grip. He looked down at her, his eyes wide and his pupils large and black. Ichigo wasn’t sure what she’d done to elicit such a reaction, but she stared wide-eyed back.
“Ichigo,” Aoyama said once more, his voice low and tightly controlled.
She furrowed her brow, confusion mixing with excitement mixing with apprehension. She had thought things were going well.
“A-hem.”
Pie cleared his throat tersely.
Not taking her hands off of Aoyama’s ears, Ichigo glanced towards the alien, tilting her head in confusion.
Pie’s expression was calculatingly blank, but his hands were firmly clasped around Tart’s eyes, who flailed and complained in furious confusion at having his sight obstructed like this.
“As Masaya is a vessel of Lord Deep Blue rather than a human, there are probably certain facts of our people’s… anatomy, you should be aware of. Our ears are very sensitive. Not as sensitive as… certain other organs,”—he said it with a blunt innuendo that left Ichigo in little doubt as to what parts he was referring to—“but close enough.”
“I think he’s saying, ‘get a room, you filthy heathens’,” Mint translated unhelpfully, making a face.
Ichigo flushed as pink as her uniform as mortification over her. “S-s-sorry! I didn’t—!” She drew back and turned away. Only a few steps, but it’s enough to open a chasm between them. “Uh, that’s— Augh!” She buried her face in her hands. An endless list of worst-case scenarios piled up in her mind. He probably hated her now!
Her silent catastrophizing was interrupted by the familiar weight of his arms wrapped tightly around her from behind, head leaned against hers.
“It’s fine, Ichigo, really,” Aoyama said good-humoredly, already back to his controlled, even tone. “I didn’t mind.”
She eased up and leaned her weight against him in relief. “Really?”
He nuzzled against her own transformed ear. His lips brushed against her fur when he whispered, “Besides, I’ll just play with your ears later, when we’re alone. A little payback of my own.”
Ichigo’s face turned from pink to a much more vibrant strawberry red.