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Tighnari could tell that there was something wrong. He didn’t realize it sooner thanks to Kaveh and Alhaitham bickering with each other during their hangout, but there was definitely something off.
Cyno was usually the clingy type, especially when they were by themselves. However, after he had suddenly gone quiet during the meeting, he had only spoken if he was talked to, avoiding and ignoring any kind of interaction - even the ones from Tighnari.
That was weird, really weird, Tighnari thought as he made the way back to his house, always checking over his shoulder to see how the general following him was doing. Catching glimpses of a frown on Cyno’s face, the first hypothesis to pop on his mind was that, for some reason, he was annoyed. But why? They were meeting their friends, having fun, enjoying a meal together… what was there to be angry at?!
The second theory was that Alhaitham or Kaveh could have struck a nerve while teasing him, but as far as Tighnari could remember, Cyno’s fighting skills or obsession for TCG were not one of the topics that night. Even if they were, he would usually get angry for a few moments and brush it off seconds later. As unlikely as it was, it was too early to discard this idea yet.
Last, but not least, could it be Tighnari’s doing? Stopping in front of his house, the fennec thought about it for a minute. Did he end up ignoring one of his attempts to flirt with him in public? Maybe he was too harsh on him during the dinner? But he couldn’t recall saying anything that would make Cyno so upset and-
“Nari,” Cyno spoke in an uninterested tone, letting out a small sigh, “what’s wrong? Just open the door.”
“A-ah, right, my apologies…” The botanist said, quickly picking up the keys in his pockets.
After turning the key around and pushing the door open, Tighnari was struck with another thought: why was he even nervous?! Feeling such a thing towards Cyno filled the fennec’s mind with nostalgia, memories of when they both were studying in the Akademiya and he used to see the general as that serious and cold-hearted guy.
But that was in the past. And there was no need to fear talking to him directly. Right, after all, they were dating for a long time already. You got this, Tighnari, he told himself as he stepped inside his house, waiting for Cyno to do the same before gently closing the door.
Taking a deep breath, he clenched his hands into a fist. “Cyno, what’s wrong? You’ve been quiet all ni-”
“Hah..?” The general sighed, the annoyance clear in his voice. Tighnari froze on the spot, feeling a shiver run down his spine. He could feel Cyno’s glare piercing through his body as if he was next in the line to face the judgment of the Gods. “‘What’s wrong’, Nari? Would you like to make a guess?”
Slowly walking forward, as a hound circling its prey, Cyno decreased the distance between him and his partner. Tighnari’s tail curled and trembled behind him as he stepped back, clearly not expecting this outcome after his question.
“A-ahm… because you… lost a round of T-TCG?”
“Wrong,” Cyno muttered, trapping Tighnari against the door they had just walked through. The general slammed his hand on the wooden surface, making the fennec gasp in surprise. “It’s because of you.”
“M-Me?! B-but I didn’t-” before he could finish, Cyno held out a finger in front of his lips, stopping him in the middle of his words.
“Shh… I’m not done talking, Nari,” the general lowered his hands, sliding them down the other’s shoulders, all the way down to his wrists. Tighnari could feel the firm grip, but decided to only watch as Cyno pinned his hands against the wooden surface behind him. “You think I’d just sit and do nothing about it, huh?”
The botanist shuddered, scrunching up his shoulders as he pressed his eyes close. Cyno was speaking merely inches away from his face, treating him like some kind of criminal and, yet, he couldn’t find out what he did to make his partner so angry at him.
“What are you tal- ahm, I mean… what did I do, Cyno?” He replied sheepishly, scared to enrage the general even more.
The other clicked his tongue, shaking his head in disapproval. “You think this is funny, right?”
“N-no, I jus-”
“Just like you thought Kaveh’s jokes were funny.”
“...what?”
Changing his grip, Cyno managed to pin both of his partner’s wrists with one hand, keeping them out of the scene as he furrowed his brows. “You ignore and scold me when I tell them, but you go around laughing at others’ jokes… you are the worst sometimes, you know that?”
Tighnari blinked a few times, trying to process the whole thing. Was he for real?
“You… are jealous becaHAH- C-CynohOH!” Before he could talk back to the general, a whole set of fingers dug into his ribs, flooding his brain with the ticklish feeling that ran across his body as electric shocks. “W-wahAHAit!! AhAHAH, nahAHAhah!!”
“No, I’m not jealous, Nari. I’m angry at how… inconsiderate you were with my feelings,” Cyno muttered, his voice still full of annoyance as he tweaked his fingers against Tighnari’s body, going up to his underarms and then all the way down to his waist, only to start over again.
“I-I wahAHAh- plehHEHeahAhase!!” The fennec begged, letting out a high-pitched squeal. His hands trembled and his knees were about to give in as he convulsed with laughter, desperately trying to escape the wrath of his jealous boyfriend. “I-I didn’t mehehEHEhean to! It caHAhaught me o-ohOHOff guard!!”
The general remained silent, using his free hand to look for any other sensitive spot to exploit as he continued to deliver his “punishment”. Deciding to let out a little more steam to ease his annoyance, Cyno curled his fingers and used his nails to scratch at Tighnari’s sides like a kitten sharpening its claws.
“You naughty fox… do you think you go around, laughing at other men’s jokes like that, hm?” The general whispered into one of his ears, letting the warm air do the job as his hands continued to work restlessly.
If the tickling wasn’t enough to make Tighnari blush, those words surely did the job. His ears twitched with each word spoken, sending an awful shiver down his back. It was the kind of thing that would make his heart melt, that, of course, if it wasn’t for the merciless tickling assaulting his torso.
“A-ahAHah, p-plehehase!” Tighnari gasped, gritting his teeth in a crooked smile as he tried to resist the tickling, sucking his stomach in and leaning his body away as much as he could to avoid Cyno’s fingers. “I-i’m sohOHOhorry, o-okahahay?!”
“No,” Cyno whispered calmly, letting out a small chuckle before planting a gentle kiss on Tighnari’s ear, “it’s not okay, Na-ri ~”
Sneaking his hand through the layers of cloth covering his partner, Cyno finally managed to touch Tighnari’s skin. Just like he expected, that simple doing was enough to evoke a new level of reactions from his partner, amusing himself with how easy it was to fill the room with the fennec’s laughter.
Literally laughing his head off, the forest watcher squirmed as much as he could inside Cyno’s hold. “I-it’s too muhuhuch!! CynoHOHoh!! I cahAHAhan’t anymohOHOre!!” He continued to squeal in mirth, unable to resist the touch of Cyno’s fingers against his bare middle.
“Now, I just want to remind you, Nari,” he continued to whisper, not even sure if his voice could be heard through all that laughter, “you are my boyfriend, which means I am the only one who gets to hear you laughing like this. Got it?”
“Y-YEHehehes! A-AhaAHAHarchons, j-just stoHOHOp!!”
Hearing the words he wanted to and sensing Tighnari was reaching his limit, Cyno smiled, giving his boyfriend a kiss on the cheek as he moved his hand away. Still holding his wrists together, the general gently pushed a few strands of hair away from Tighnari’s blushing face, smiling at him. “Good thing you are a quick learner, Nari ~”
“S-shut up, you big lummox,” Tighnari hissed, making Cyno giggle as he managed to shake his hands free from his grip. “Aren’t you a little too old to be having jealousy attacks?”
“I was not jealous,” Cyno insisted as Tighnari walked past him, now taking his turn to act upset at his partner, “I just don’t like to share my Nari, that’s all…” He muttered, just loud enough so Tighnari could hear him, making the forest watcher’s tail wag as soon as those words reached him. The general smiled.
“You are the worst sometimes,” Tighnari snapped, but Cyno only laughed at his comment.
“Love you too, Nari.”