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It was a beautiful night in Sumeru City, the usually loud and busy streets silenced by the night air, accompanied by the surrounding sounds of the wandering wildlife.
It was in Alhaitham’s home that Cyno and Tighnari found themselves, curled up together on his sofa, knowing that the scribe never minded them both making themselves a home. Both Cyno and Tighnari appreciated this.
The cushions were soft and very welcoming after a tiring day, so both took this moment of peace to relax a little. Cyno insisted that Tighnari lay on his lap, resting his head on his chest. Tighnari barely protested to the idea, allowing Cyno’s chest to become his new pillow for the time being.
“How is your head?” Cyno whispered down to the fox. Tighnari had picked up a headache after spending the day in the city, which was a normal occurrence at this point. The city was far too loud for his sensitive ears and people seemed to forget that.
“It’s doing a lot better now,” Tighnari mumbled, nuzzling his head closer to Cyno’s chest as if to thank him for a comfy resting space. Cyno smiled, letting his fingers rub delicately along the long fox ears upon Tighnari’s head.
Tighnari, being sleepy and affectionate, leaned into the touch with enthusiasm, letting out a loud hum of appreciation.
“Does that feel nice?” Cyno knew the answer already, but he loved seeing Tighnari like this. He received another hum as a response, his tail starting to sway behind him. The General knew it was only a matter of time before the purring started, a sound that was music to his ears.
They remained like this for a while, until Cyno was certain that the Valuka Shuna had already dozed off. Cyno didn’t get the purrs he wanted, but he knew that sound only really emitted once Tighnari got his belly rubbed. This was fine.
Maybe next time, Cyno told himself, letting his hands trail slowly and sensually down from Tighnari’s ears, down his neck to his shoulders and all the way down to his back. It had been an idle thing, to help further soothe the fox, but Cyno had forgotten one crucial piece of information about his beloved Tighnari.
The base of Tighnari’s tail was very ticklish.
He was reminded of this fact when said Tighnari shot up with a loud squeak, his tail bushed out and on full alert, as if the man had been shocked.
“Watch it!” Tighnari pouted, clearly disappointed that his nap was disturbed but the remaining sleepiness only increased in his adorableness, in Cyno’s eyes. He found himself chuckling at Tighnari’s demeanour.
“Sorry,” Cyno chuckled, letting his fingers tease the spot that was not quite at the base of his tail, but dangerously close. “I forgot how sensitive your tail was.”
Tighnari’s eyes narrowed at his teasing. “I’ll bite you.”
Cyno let out a mock gasp at the threat, unleashing more tickles at the base of Tighnari’s tail. After another squeak, Tighnari buried his face into Cyno’s chest to muffle his loud laughter.
The General had the nerve to laugh along with him. “I thought you were going to bite me?”
Tighnari couldn’t respond, his laughter frantic against Cyno’s bare chest which even tickled him a little.
Tighnari’s tail rapidly swished to and fro, trying to curl up, trying anything to escape the overwhelmingly ticklish sensations. Cyno even was wondering if Tighnari would be able to take off flying with how fast his tail was swooshing around.
“So, this is what all the noise was about,” Kaveh’s voice said from over the laughter, grabbing Cyno’s attention, but was not enough to spare Tighnari from the ticklish onslaught.
From the looks of it, Kaveh had just finished up in the bathroom, his blonde hair still damp.
“Mahake him stop!” Tighnari whined through his laughter, squirming around in Cyno’s hold but the white-haired male kept an annoyingly firm grip on him it seemed.
Kaveh chuckled at Tighnari’s desperate tone and was about to intervene but saw the mischievous glint in Cyno’s eyes as he tried to step closer.
“He’s just going to take me down with you, Tighnari.” Kaveh sighed, his hands resting on his hips as he tried to assess every angle of the situation. “You know how he is.”
“I don’t know what you’re – ACK.” Cyno was about to feign innocence when he was cut off by a sharp sensation on his chest. He looked down and saw that Tighnari had finally decided to bite him after all. “Nari!”
“I told you I would!” Tighnari growled, his ears flattened and tail swishing in challenge. Cyno still seemed taken back slightly by this sudden move, his expression unreadable which created an odd silence to fill the room.
“Alright then.” Cyno finally said, his strong arms wrapping around Tighnari and pulling him closer into his embrace, so that their faces were almost touching. Tighnari was startled by the sudden movement but raised a brow. “Biting it is.”
Tighnari panicked, he knew he was in trouble now and tried to squirm. “No, wait- EEK!”
More laughter filled the room as Cyno had begun to leave tickly nibbles upon Tighnari’s neck and with his arms trapped in the embrace, he had no way of escaping.
Kaveh rolled his eyes in amusement at the pair and decided to leave them to it, disappearing into his bedroom while Tighnari and Cyno’s shared laughter filled the night air.