Notes: This was for the darcy lewis smut challenge week. For Day 2, I chose 'Tickling' as the topic. This was a particular challenge for me, and I want to explain why. Tickling, while it is a kink, is not viewed as inherently sexual. So the real challenge here, was to market tickling as very sexy and tantalizing! I think I did a good job, but I'll let the readers be the judge of that. Secondly, Bruce was a real challenge. This was my first real Darcy/Bruce fic, and I have always had it as a headcanon that sex would be no easy task for the couple. However, I firmly believe you can have a grand ol' time even without intercourse, so I wanted to depict a sexually satisfying event that didn't involve that. Thirdly, I really wanted to involved 'active consent' into my writing, and I think I made it both responsible and sexy. Overall, a true but completely worthwhile challenge for me as a fanfic writer. I hope you enjoy it.
There are questions that come into play in every relationship.
"Are you ticklish?" Darcy asked Bruce.
This was only their second date.
You don't ask that question on a second date.
In retrospect, their first date went surprisingly well. Darcy admitted that she liked working with him in the lab. Bruce, of course, answered "I like working with you too, Darcy." Darcy groaned and explained "like-like" versus "like". She felt a little juvenile for doing it, but Bruce finally understood and to Darcy's infinite surprise, he returned her feelings. They spent the time after lab duty taking a walk to a local frozen yogurt eatery. Bruce was confused when the flavor of the day was 'Hulk Mint', and Darcy got the flavor and called it Bruce-a-licious. The evening ended with hand-holding a chaste kiss on the cheek.
Now this was their second date and Darcy invited Bruce over for dinner. She cooked up a pretty standard spaghetti and meatballs, and served up a salad. They had peach cobbler for dessert. They cuddled up on her couch and started watching Back to the Future. Bruce said it was his favourite and Darcy jabbed that of course it was, because she was sure he hadn't seen any films in the last twenty years. They had both seen the movie countless times, and everyone knows that on a date, no one is really paying attention to is the movie. What is being paid attention to is the proximity between their bodies and the awkward swallowing sounds.
That was why, as Darcy snuggled up against Bruce's chest with his arm wrapped around hers, she looked up at him and asked.
"Are you ticklish?"
Bruce blinked and craned his head to look down at her. He paused before answering. "You know, I'm not sure." Of course Bruce didn't know that phrase was the equivalent to 'challenge accepted' to Darcy Lewis. She smirked as she moved her hands up to claw and writhe under his arm, and he only sheepishly smiled and jerked at the touch. He jerked at the touch because it was a touch and not because it was a tickle. Darcy tried again and Bruce only sat there, looking down at her, expectant and amused. "Guess not," He added. Darcy wasn't about to give up.
She leaned back to sit up straight and held his wrist to gently turn his arm to the side, showing off the smooth underside. Bruce only cocked his head to the side as he watched her with curiosity. Holding up her free hand she slowly traced alongside the sensitive skin with a single digit, her index finger ghosting over him. She felt his arm flex, the muscles tightening under her touch. She looked up at him to see that same patiently kind smile. Nothing. She huffed and let go before moving to pinch at his side, wiggling her fingers against him. He chuckled, but his body hardly flinched. Darcy grabbed at his side again. "Darcy, what are you doing?"
"I'm going to find your ticklish spot even if it takes me all night." She protested as she leaned forward to grab at his thigh. Bruce jumped in his seat, but only because he was genuinely surprised to feel her hand travel there. "Gotcha." Darcy hummed smugly, repeating the squeezing and massaging of his thigh to produce another moot result.
"Sorry, I jumped. I'm just not used to... people touching and grabbing." Bruce blushed, moving his hand over his face to run his fingers through his messy dark mane. Darcy tried not to pout. She genuinely wanted to find his ticklish spot, though if Bruce was apologizing for something he couldn't help, she didn't want to seem so deflated. She laughed, "You don't have to apologize." Bruce smiled.
"Should I... stop?" Darcy slowly asked as her hand rest on Bruce's thigh. He seemed to hold his breath, looking down at her finger drawing invisible circles against his khakis. He slowly shook his head 'no'. Darcy's fingers nimbly trailed down his pants to the back of his knee. She slipped her fingers under his shorts to massage her fingertips at the underside of his knee, aching for a response. Nothing. She glanced back towards Bruce, who reclined against the couch and watched her with bated breath. His eyes darted to meet hers and he nervously smiled.
Darcy ventured further to brush her fingers down his leg, feeling the coarse tangles of his curly body hair. She leaned forward off the couch to reach out and graze her fingers against the underside of his foot. Darcy moved her index finger painstakingly slowly and lightly against the arch of his foot and he did nothing but teasingly wiggle his toes at her in response. Her shoulders flagged at her loss, but she held her sigh as she leaned back to resume her cuddle against Bruce. He wrapped his arm around her before moving his fingers in rhythmic strokes against her bare forearm. Darcy wiggled against him, nuzzling her forehead against his shoulder.
"It tickles," she whispered.
Bruce cocked his head to the side to look at her. He raised his scruffy eyebrows before smiling. "So you're the one that's ticklish." He let out a breathy laugh as he examined Darcy's expression: a mixture of feigned nonchalance and hidden embarrassment. He gave a sideways toothy smile as he repeated the gesture, his fingers brushing up against the sensitive skin under her arm. She wiggled against him again, ducking her face against his shoulder. "Bruuuuce," She whined. Suddenly, his hand stilled.
"Did I do something wrong?" He asked as Darcy resurfaced her face to look up at him. "What? Dude, no way. It's fine. I'm just... pretty much ticklish everywhere." She explained, quirking her brows at his worried expression.
"Is it okay if...I tickle you, Darcy?" Bruce blushed, looking to her nervously. Darcy was surprised he was so affected by touching another person; she knew he worked with patients on a regular basis when he was in India. However, this was no doctor-patient relationship.
"I dunnoooo. Depends if you think you can handle me! I'm a wiggler. The most wiggliest of wiggles, basically." She teased, looking up at him. It was only then did she realize just how close Bruce's lips were to hers. She could see they were slightly chapped because throughout the night he would nervously nibble down on them. She wanted to kiss them and her lips parted at the thought. Bruce didn't notice, but instead laughed, leaning back to remove his glasses and set them on the counter.
"Oh, I think I can handle you, Darcy." He replied as he returned to his position, lifting his hand to remove her glasses as well. Leave it to Bruce to be the antithesis of his alter ego, being delicate and responsible as much as he could. Darcy raised her brows as she looked up to him in mock challenge. "I don't think you can." She hummed, her body suddenly stirring in anticipation. She watched as Bruce raised her hand to rest on her side, softly gripping her body. It was incredibly intimate, and she savored the gentleness before he began to move his fingers against her.
Darcy let out an uncontrolled laugh as he squeezed her side, wiggling his fingers against her. She felt her stomach flutter as pleasure and excitement overrode her senses, squirming as Bruce gripped her other side, mimicking his tickling technique. Her face flushed as she snorted, her lips curling up as her body began to thrash. Her eyes closed as she both melted and writhed against his touch. The tickling ceased and he felt his hands grip her sides, thumbs brushing against her gently. Darcy's breath lashed out against him in heavy sighs as she rest her head against the crook of his neck.
"Maybe your handling skills are better than I thou-OUAH," Darcy squealed as she felt Bruce's hands move up under her arms as his fingers flexed and moved against her armpits. She cackled in laughter and squirmed against him as tears pooled in her eyes. "Bruuuuuce!" She cried as she howled with laughter, twisting until she fell on her back against the couch, Bruce following to hover over her. The tickle torture continue as his fingers moved against her, massaging and squeezing her soft flesh. Her animated reaction threatened her spot on the couch and Bruce leaned over to straddle her waist to hold her in place. She squealed and cried in delight, but as his fingers slowed and Darcy couldn't help but whimper.
Bruce was foreign to intimate romantic contact, but he was sure most people didn't whimper from being tickled. He slowly repeated the touch, watching Darcy's face change as he touched her. Her lower lip would pout, her brows would pull together and her face would flush. She would let out shaky and heavy sighs as her eyes fluttered open, her blue eyes unfocused. This was unmistakably arousal. He hovered over her as he looked down at her, transfixed by her beautiful and passive expression.
Keeping his eyes on her, his fingers traced up the underside of her arms, drinking in every expression and reaction. Darcy gasped as her back arched, shivering and gasping as he slowly traced over her creamy, soft skin. The touch was light but impactful, sending sparks of pleasure and sensation to wash over her. Each touch heightened her sensitivity across her entire body as she relinquished control to the man who gave her this pleasure.
Darcy bit down on her lip as she writhed under him, looking up at him and giving him the most wanton of expressions, pleading and teasing. Bruce paused as he read her expression, and he flushed, mimicking the expression with a wayward smile. "You're so beautiful, Darcy." Bruce said quietly, his brows pulling together in concentration as he watched her reactions, his fingers moving to trace up her neck. "So... responsive." He whispered as he traced his fingers to her face, very carefully moving a single index finger over her bottom lip. Her lips moved in an attempt to capture his finger, but he pulled it away.
He hummed in satisfaction, a sound Darcy rarely heard but utterly delighted in it. Bruce seemed so happy and at ease in this intimate and playful game of give and take of pleasure. Darcy let out a giggle. "Am I your science project now, Doctor Banner?" She leaned her head to the side as she looked up at him. The leap from first date to second was huge and it seemed she was only encouraging more touch, more Bruce, more everything. She loved it, but the last thing she wanted to do was push him.
"Do you want to be my science project, Miss Lewis?" He shot back smoothly and Darcy remembered why she liked Bruce so much. She smirked as she looked up to him and rocked her hips up against him. "Yeah. Too bad you don't have the hot lab coat." She teased. Bruce let out a chuckle, "Am I not hot enough for you, Darcy?" He moved to scoot back and kneel over her knees.
He barely gave her a chance to respond as his hands moved to grip at her hips, fingers wiggling into her sides as his thumbs moved circles against her thighs. Darcy let out a loud cry as her back arched once more, hands moving up to curl into the pillow behind her. His tickling increased and refused to relent, causing Darcy to rock her hips against his hands. Her laughter broke into gasps and cries of sexual pleasure, and still further broke down into begging and pleading whimpers. "Y-You're hot, Bruce, you're hot, okay! Aaeh!" She giggled as her fingers wrenched at the pillow.
"The subject exhibits interesting physical reaction to stimuli on her arms and sides. Further testing is required to come to a conclusion." Bruce massaged her as his hands slid lower to rest on her thighs. "Oh god, I love it when you talk science to me." Darcy mumbled, barely coherent as she watched his hands travel lower and lower.
Suddenly his hands gripped at her denim-shorts clad thighs as his fingers pressed against her, rhythmically and powerfully. Darcy moaned loudly as a wave of pleasure washed over her, feeling a deep, heated urge grow and twist in the pit of her stomach. It tapered off into a pathetic plea for more touch, more teasing, more Bruce Banner. She could hear Bruce give a chuckle as he refused to relent, fingers trailing lower to tickle down the back of her leg. Darcy couldn't help but laugh as a response, but what she wanted to do was moan, but that feeling of helplessness of being at Bruce's mercy and discretion only fueled her ever-growing arousal and sensitivity.
"The subject shows most response to stimuli at the apex of the thighs and the back of the knee. The back of the knee is most commonly known as an erogenous zone, leading the researcher to question what other stimuli could be functional. Further experimentation is still required." Bruce hummed as he lightly patted at her legs. Darcy blinked in temporary and dazed confusion, riding the increasing pleasure and curiously wondering why it had to come to a pause.
Bruce moved to reposition himself, kneeling between her legs and moving his knee to rest between her thighs. He gently lifted one leg onto his shoulder. He looked down at her as he slowly moved his finger over the sensitive skin behind her knee, watching her body jolt in surprise. Keeping eye contact until the very last possible second, he moved his head to the side, brushing his lips against her bare skin. Darcy gasped, fingers clawing back into the pillow above her. He ghosted his lips across her, closing his eyes as he gently nuzzled his face against her soft skin. "The subject shows strongest stimuli here," His voice was husky as he breathed against her. "Darcy, do you like it when I touch you here?"
Slowly and languidly, his tongue moved out to lick at the underside of her knee. Darcy let out a beautifully sensual stifled cry in response, motivating Bruce to continue the motion. As he licked at the sensitive spot, Darcy's body writhed once more, rocking and grinding up against his knee that was planted between her thighs. "Yes, yes," She begged, her breaths labored and uneven. Bruce briefly paused to glance down at her wonderfully curvy body rhythmically rocking against him, begging for and taking the pleasure she so desperately craved. He was thankful that while he couldn't give her everything she wanted, he could give her this. "I want to make you cum," He growled softly against her skin before biting down.
Darcy moaned out loudly, a scream escaping her as her body moved against him. She could feel her sensation washing and waving over her as he licked at the spot again, before giving another bite that caused the heat in the pit of her stomach twist. The pleasure curled and twisted in heat deep down inside of her, pulling and tugging at every part of who she was. "Please," She cried out, feeling Bruce's free hand grab of her other leg, bending it to rest sideways against his leg that she moved to grind up against. As he licked and nipped at the sensitive spot behind her knee, his fingers traced up down her bare leg, traveling to her bare foot.
"Oh my god, Bruce, Please, Please." Darcy cried, her hands releasing from the pillow to curl into her own dark hair. Bruce's fingers slowly moved under her bare foot, increasing the fervency of his tongue against her flesh as she cried out, rocking her body against him. Darcy was reduced to a begging, pleading, wanton mess as she moved under Bruce, ready and eager to lose herself to her pleasure and surrender it to him. She could feel her arousal deepen and intensify as he touched her, as he tickled her, licked her, bit her, and slowly, tantalizingly slowly, moved his a single finger across the bottom of her foot.
Darcy moaned as her body grew taut, tensing under him as she came. Her face flushed as her jaw went slack, her cries filling the room. Tears filled her eyes as she gasped and moaned, riding one wave of pleasure to the next. "Bruce..." She mumbled before her entire body fell relaxed against the couch and against his body.
Bruce smiled and softly kissed her leg, before slowly moving her legs to rest against the couch. Repositioning himself, he moved next to her, fitting in what little space he could next to her as he hovered over her. He gently moved the hair from her face as he cupped her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open, her brilliantly blue gaze meeting his. Her brows pulled together in confusion for the briefest moment, not understanding the one-sided give of pleasure.
"But what about you?" She mumbled. Bruce chuckled, only smiling. He looked down at his pants, but Darcy didn't need to, she could feel his arousal press against her leg. She felt awfully good and awfully accomplished. She reached up her hand but Bruce spoke up.
"No, No, Darcy-Darcy. It's okay. You don't need to. I'm... really happy, really, really happy I could do this with you." He whispered, reaching out to hold her hand in his. He smiled as he watched her fingers flex around his hand. He laughed, relieved.
"Thank you," Darcy whispered as she looked up to him. This was why she told wanted to go out with him, this was why she liked him. Despite his problems, despite his hardships, and despite the effect it could have on their relationship, he was genuinely good, through and through. He was kind, smart, giving, and his science dirty talk was amazing. It was by no means a normal second date, but hell, Darcy Lewis and Bruce Banner didn't do normal. "I guess you could handle me after all."
Bruce smiled as he looked down at her, searching her eyes.
"Can I kiss you?"
End.