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Birds tweeted in the tree branches, happily spurred on by the hot summer sun. The street was mostly empty, only the occasional car moving down the asphalt road. Two figures carrying shopping bags were walking up the sidewalk, passing under the shades of the short buildings and the occasional tree.
"You sure you're okay carrying all that?"
"Please, like a few bags intimidate me"- the white tiger smiled, panting slightly. He was wearing brown sneakers, black gym shorts and a yellow t-shirt; he was also carrying two handfuls of bags. He was carrying two handfuls of bags, sweat drenching his yellow t-shirt and black gym shorts.
In turn, the human's clothes were relatively dry.
The human in turn wore black sneakers, blue jeans, and a white shirt with red lines drawing squares along it, its sleeves rolled-up. He was carrying noticeably less weight, which led him to insist-"It's not about the bags, it's what in them. You got all the bottles, you can't say that's not tiring you out. At least give me a bag!"- he stretched his arm and tried to pry one from the tiger's fingers.
"No!"- Kote chuckled, pulling his hand away from Call's-"It's really not that much. This is nothing for someone as strong as I am!"- He argued, smiling widely.
"Showing-off might be more effective if you weren't panting!"
"I am not panting! I'm..."
"Gasping?"
"...inspiring deeply."- the tiger proceeded-"It's called controlled breathing, and it's what gives you an edge."
"You're too used to competition. It's gotten to your head."
"With good reason, too. What could possibly take me down?"- he started flexing his arms, his fur glistening with small dropplets of sweat, the bags swinging in his hands.
"Oh? I can think of something that can take you  down..."- Call stretched his index finger and poked Kote's ribs, making him shiver a little-"...a few notches, hm?"
"Hey, hey, hey!"- Kote quickly distanced himself from the darting elbow with a few steps to the right. He tried keeping a serious face but an embarrassed smile still crept over his lips-"That's not fair!"- and suddenly he lowered his voice, looking sheepish-" Don't do that in public."
"What!? I'm just calling your attention."
"To what?"
"To the fact that Give me a bag!"
"Never!"
They goofed off all the way home, a small building, like all in the area.
Inside, Call opened the front door of their house, feeling the cool air rushing from the inside.
"How can it have gotten so hot so quickly"- he whined, as he dumped his bags on the kitchen table-"It's scorching!"
"Try having fur."- his fuzzy pal retorted, imitating the gesture.
"Point taken."- though he could resist the jab-"Talk to me again in the winter."
"When my fur gets all frizzed?"
"Does not! You always keep it perfect."
"Yes, I keep it; it doesn't stay on its own."
"It's still beautiful."
Kote hugged Call and kissed him on the temple.
"It's also fabulous."
Kote released him and gave him a playful bump on the shoulder, proceeding to remove the groceries from their bags, with Call organizing them on the shelves.
Midway through, Call eyed the sink .
"We need to wash the dishes."
"What do you mean *We*? I've already brought all those bags. I'm gonna go shower."
"Nah nah. You did that because you wanted to. I offered, repeatedly."
"But I still did it."
"Doesn't count."
"Why not?"
"Because it was your choice."
"You said that already."
"It's still valid."
"Fine then. How do we choose?"
Call thought for a second. Then, a fun game occurred to him.
"A fun game occurs to me."
"Oh boy. What?"
"How about a tickle-contest? The one who lasts longer gets to rest."
The tiger was taken aback.
"...predictable."-he shook his head
"What? Are you scared?"
"No, not really, you don't scare me. I just don't know why I expected a coin-toss, or a "rock-paper-scissors". Something normal."
"Pshh, that's old hat."-Call rolled his eyes
"Don't you tickle me enough already?"- he leered at his companion
"Not by a long shot."- a smile beamed across his face
"I prefer the coin-toss."- Kote reiterated, as he put the last item on its shelf
"C'mon, it'll be fun."-the human put an arm around the striped neck
"Uh-huh."- the disbelief was audible in his voice
"And I'll even offer more! I'll let you go first..."
"Yeah, great offer!"- he interrupted sarcastically
"...so that THEN..."-Call spoke over the feline, gesturing with a hand-"...I'll have to beat your time. You'll get to tickle me! I'll be trying to beat your time, so you're assured to get some mileage out, of, me!"- he grinned slyly, emphasizing the last few words
Kote hadn't considered that particular part of the deal-"..I'll get to tickle you.. ‘till you can't take anymore?..."
"Something like that, yes."-Call stated matter-of-factly
Kote seemed taken aback for a second, then looked pensive as he mulled over the proposal. It seemed risky, and the human seemed much too eager to fall into his clawed hands. On one hand, it seemed like an obvious trap, on the other... This was his kink, maybe he just wanted an excuse to try out the other side for once.
"Come on, don't you want some revenge?"-the tease interrupted his thoughts-"For all the times I've tormented you...?"
Kote frowned, suspicious.  Buuut... who was he kidding? His human companion had something up his sleeve, obviously, but he couldn't avoid another tickle session for long anyway, might as well make a competition out of it.
"You were right, I'm too used to competition."
"Huh?"
"Nothing ,nothing. I have to admit, that doesn't sound like a bad idea! It sounds... fun! The second part, at least."
"You never learn. You still think you can beat me?"
"Only any day of the week!"
"Ready to go, then?"
"Fine by me, where do you want to start?"- he inquired boldly, trying to keep a macho appearance
"Hm, just lie on the carpet."
Kote did so, kneeling and then lowering himself until he was lying down on his stomach, leaving arms by the sides of his head and resting the left side of his face on the fabric, his tail swishing nervously behind him, annoyingly telegraphing his feelings even when he wanted to keep them secret.
A few steps in front of where he was lying the sunlight entered through the balcony's glass doors, passing between the thin white curtains,
Call sat with his legs crossed in front of Kote's feet. He picked up the tiger's left foot, feeling its weight between his hands. He could tell Kote was definitely not going to make it easy; not that that'd ever stopped him.
The moment he pulled the sneaker off the smell of sweat filled the air.
"See? I told you shouldn't have taken all that weight, you stink."-he jokingly teased.
"Shaddup!"-was all he could retort, blushing.
"Hehe! Are you embarrassed? Like I'm not used to the way you smell."-he tried to reassure the musky tiger while he slipped the other sneaker off-"It's fine! You smell nice."
If Kote had been blushing before it didn't get better with that remark, though it did bring a happy grin to his face.
Call felt his toes through the moist socks. He took a moment to trace the outlines of the pawpads, making Kote's feet wiggle. He slipped his index and middle fingers into the socks' cuffs, stretched them over the white furred heels and slided his fingers down the padded sole (Kote's toes scrunched), accumulating the material in his fingers and pulling them off the feline feet.
"Oh man, you're going for the kill already?"
"I have to, the clock's ticking. Wait, no..."-he took his cellphone out of his pocket and scrolled through the menus to find the chronometer option. Unable to resist the temptation, he stuck his nose between the padded toes one last time, closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, feeling the warm, musky scent fill his senses. Slowly dragging his nose over the leathery pad of a toe, he licked his lips and finally turned the chronometer on, setting it down on the floor-"...Now it's ticking."
Immediately he grabbed an ankle and run his nails over the entirety of the furry sole, sending Kote into a small surprised spasm while his toes stretched and closed, trying to numb the sensations running up his leg. Call couldn't help but notice the tiger had clenched his fists and grinned. Kote would never admit just how ticklish he was, but Call didn't need him to. The tiger could barely give him a token resistance.
"What's wrong, Kote?  Wanna give up already? Is this too hard?"
"Y-you just took my ssneakers off..."- he wasn't able to conclude the sentence
"Aw, too sensitive?"- the human filled his voice with fake sympathy-"Ya know, they say laughing cures all things."
"But if I laugh..hnnng... y-you'll just tickle ha-harder"-he retorted through gritted teeth. Normally, he would just laugh for Call's indulgence, but this time he had to hold his ground, or risk doing the manual labor.
"Bahhh, you know me too well." –disappointment tinged his voice, but it was quickly replaced by confidence- "We'll get there."
Leaving the feet on his lap, he scribbled along their outer edges, back and forth along their whole length. It was enough to make them tremble, but not much else.
"Not even a giggle?"-the answer was only a headshake-" Let's move on, then."
He pulled the feet up and crossed his own legs over Kote's knees, leaving the footpaws resting on his chest. Then, he crossed his wrists over the ankles, keeping them in place. In this position, he had his targets trapped and vulnerable, with the added benefit of keeping them close to his face.
He started flicking his fingers against the heelpads and Kote began involuntarily pulling his feet, trying to release his ankles from the hold. Call slowly moved his fingers upwards, gently scratching along the arches, inch by inch. He noticed Kote was grabbing the edges of the carpet, straining not to make a sound. Call found it kind of cute, how he was trying so hard not to laugh, while at the same time pretending not to be affected... and avoiding ripping the carpet to shreds.  In order to savor the tiger's vulnerability, he stopped his ascent upon reaching the base of the ballpads.
"Laugh."
"Mh-hm!..."
Call responded by tickling the edges of the pads, moving all aroung the perimeter until he was back at the starting point, making the final movement towards its center.
"Hee hee hee"- Kote finally started giggling and squirming. The damn had been ruptured.
Encouraged by the small victory, Call redoubled his efforts, zigzagging his fingers over the moist pads, the sweat allowing his fingers to glide over them effortlessly. He tickled along the outer edge of the feet until the heelpad, then back up along the arch and over the ballpads, then back down and back up again. Moving his finger to the toes, he used little pinching movements to weaken the tiger, who couldn't move them out of the way due to the human's chest.
"Ready to give up yet?"
"Hahahaha noh-oh-oh-oh-oh ahahahaha!"
He dug his fingers between the toes and vibrated them, which made Kote go ballistic, pounding his fist on the ground. While he focused on the area underneath the toes he teased the tiger, trying to weaken his resolve.
"Is the widdle kitty gonna give up? Yush he is!"
"Hahahaha-Ah-Ah-Ah'm not a kitten-Eh-Eh! Ah-I'm a tiger! Hahahahaha!"
"Tigers are big and strong; you're soft, like a little kitten! Case in point..."- while one of his hands kept tormenting the toes, the other moved down the calves, the nails grazing over the fur, until it reached the knee, There, it wriggled into its backside. Surprised, Kote gave a surprised high-pitched squeal and continued his deep guffaws. Call took the chance to repeat the movement with his other hand, but it was a mistake. As soon as it reached the tiger's knee his feet, now completely freed, flailed so much he kicked the human's chest, expelling all the air from his lungs. Shaken, Call fell back for a second, wrapping his head around what had happened. When his mind finally refocused, he charged right back. His mate hadn't done it on purpose, but he was still going to get punished.
Leaping forward, he pressed the tiger's ankles to the floor and sat on them, again tickling up the calves and poking his knees, Kote's legs wobbling with abandon. Call continued up the legs, jabbing his fingertips along the thighs, scratching over the tiger's butt (swinging madly from side to side), his hands moving past each side of the striped tail and reaching Kote's back,  he pulled himself forward, sitting on his ass.
"Don't you dare kick my back."- he warned, immediately feeling the thumping limbs behind him slow down. Rewarding his effort, Call eased up and scratched Kote's back for a while, allowing his laughter to die down while keeping him giggling.
After a minute, he changed spots (or rather, stripes), taking to knead his hips, bringing the laughter back. Kneading back and forth, he advanced up the sides to where the ribs began, teased that area, then came back down. Acting on instinct, Kote had unconsciously brought his hands down and was trying to grab Call's. He batted them away, reminding him of the challenge.
"You can't grab my hands."
"SO-HO-Ho-ho-ryyyy! It's hahahaharddDD! Eyhahahahahaha!"- his hands seemed to spasm for a moment, before he brought them back to the sides of his head.
Grinning maliciously, Call scratched up his sides, attacking the ribs full-force. He grabbed them and rolled his fingers over each individual rib, focusing on each for a second before advancing to the next. He moved from the front to back, back to front, up and down, using circular movements to keep his victim laughing like a hyena, his head shaking from side to side and his eyes closed shut. Whenever it seemed like the
Then, without warning, Call shot his hands up, hitting Kote's armpits. Kote couldn't resist that, clamping his arms down on Call's hands, but it was too late to stop his fingertips from wriggling into the hollows, prodding all around the sensitive flesh. As his fingers danced under the furry pits, the large feline was rocking from side to side, desperate to get the tickling to stop.
"Stop! Tha-hat TICKLES! Nahahahahahaha! QHI-HI-HIT IT!"
"Give up!"
"NE-HE-HE-HE-VAH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAR-HAR-HAR-HAR!"
He was crying with hilarity and his voice was getting strained. To add insult to injury, Call decided to employ his chin in the action, lowering his head to use it to poke and rub around the should area. The feline was so sensitized by that point that even such a crude technique was enough to send him into silent laughter. Even Call had to start laughing, both from the tiger's own mirth and from the way his tail was quickly swishing below him, constantly hitting and tickling his stomach and ribs. After pressing his body against Kote's back to stop the hyperactive limb, he stopped moving his chin, leaving only resting against the back of the furry neck, and moved only his index fingers inside the armpits, slowing his tickling in order to allow his proud friend one more chance.
"Last time, best buddy, give up or you're gonna get it."
"*gasp* Nahahaha. Nahahaha. I wohohohoho-*gasp* I won't dohoho eheheheet!"
"Enough Kote. If you won't give then –I'll– make you!"
"Wha-at!? No!"
Kote knew what was coming. He did his best to push his tormentor off himself and tried to roll away, but Call was too fast in throwing himself on his back, pinning him to the floor. He grabbed Kote's tail with one hand and stretched it, using the other hand to quickly scratch down its length.
"Nononono-nyaaaaahaha! NO-OH-OH-OH-OH!"-his voice got higher in pitch as those dastardly fingers advanced over his weak point, the maddening sensation increasing beyond what Kote could take.
"Tickle tickle tickle!"- Call concentrated on the base off the tail, where it met the tiger's back. This was Kote's kill spot. Call usually avoided it and whenever he did touch it he used soft or teasing strokes, something the tiger immensely enjoyed. This was not one of those times.  Kote was bucking like a bull, but the tickling had robbed him of most of his strength. All he was accomplishing was dragging himself and his tickler slowly over the floor.
"Ah aha aha argh STOHOHOHOHOP! PLEHEEHEEASE! STAHAHAHAP!"-he had gone from screaming to shrieking-"PLEHEHEASE! AHAHAHI'M BEHEGGING YOUUH! I GIVE! I GIVE! I GIHIHIHIHIVEEEEE!
Well, that was it. The human enjoyed tormenting the tiger, but he didn't want to torture him. The possibility of harming him was out of the question. He stopped tickling and positioned himself over the tiger's back, resting his head between his shoulder blades. He could hear his heart beating quickly after that intense session. Carefully, he slipped his hands under his victim's t-shirt and started gently rubbing his sides and ribs.
"Nohoho, come ohon, I gave uh-up, no more..."- Kote fumbled to bring his arms down, until he realized Call wasn't trying to tickle anymore, which calmed him down.
"Shhh, shhhhh. Are you okay?"-he asked softly
"You're mean..."- he whined
Call smiled-"Only sometimes."-he said as he kissed his cheek-"Do I scare you now?"
"...no..."
They just laid there for a while, regaining their breaths.
"How long?"-Kote then asked asked, his eyes closed.
"Oh, I'd forgotten. Lemme check."-Call lifted himself up, sitting on Kote's butt, and picked up the cellphone from the floor, near where they'd started-"Wow, an hour and a half. Well done!"
"I'm awesome like that."-he bragged, although unable to conceal the exhaustion in his voice.
"If you didn't scream like a little girl yeah, you would be"
Kote's response was to lower his ears. But then he remembered the game wasn't over yet.
"Okay, now's my turn."-the tiredness in his voice had partly given place to enthusiasm.
"No, now's my turn."- Call interjected as he got up.
"Uh?"- he rolled until he was lying on his back, in order to look at the guy who'd challenged him.
"It's my turn to wash the dishes, remember? You just stay there and rest."- was all he said before he left the room.
Kote just stood there, stunned, hearing the sound of water starting to run and plates clashing in the kitchen.
And then it hit him.
"Oh, you MOTHERFU