The rainy day seemed to stretch like syrup all over Townsville as Ace and Snake were moping around in the run-down city dump shack the Gangreen Gang called home. The room was quiet except for the small tv set showing some commercials and the steady rhythm of the rain drops drumming on the roof and splashing against the walls.
Snake gave a deep sigh, shifting into another position on the couch, dangling his head off the seat and propping his feet on the back rest. Ace who had sprawled in his favourite chair at the table gave a small snicker at the sight of Snake's well-worn black sneakers being the only visible part of the reptilian teen. Just as Snake's hat slipped off his head and hit the floor, the commercial was replaced by a wrestling match that immediately grabbed their attention. Snake swooped up his hat and put it back on before he shifted into a sitting position to watch in awe how a burly wrestler smacked the other one down before pinning him down until he was out for the count.
Ace furrowed his brow when a low hissing sound mingled with the tv sounds. He turned his head to see Snake shaking with silent laughter, his nose and mouth buried in his long-fingered hands.
"See something funny?" Ace asked when Snake had gotten a grip again. The reptilian teen shook his head at the gang leader, feigning innocence. However, his rapidly flicking foked tongue told a different story as he said, "Jus-s-s-st thought about your chancs-s-ses-s-s-s in a wres-s-s-stle, Boss-s-s-s."
"Against who?" Ace wondered, his voice carrying a hint of curiosity.
"Ummm... me?" Snake suggested, a broad smile spreading across his face and making his slanted pink eyes twinkle mischievously as he rested his head on his folded arms where his feet had been before and gave Ace a challenging stare. The corner of Ace's mouth twitched, revealing his left fang as he returned the stare, giving this a thought. A few minutes passed until the gang leader took a deep breath and agreed by hauling his lanky body off his chair, tumbling the chair backwards with the sudden movement. He took off his sunglasses and put them on the table. Then, he pushed the table aside, giving himself some elbow-room. Finally, he cracked his knuckles and his neck and watched the reptilian teen hauling himself off the couch as well and adjusting his hat. A second later, Snake rushed at Ace with the surprising speed of a pinball set in gear. As his hands hit Ace's chest, knocking him flying on his back like the wrestler had done on tv, the sudden blow made Ace wheeze hard. Snickering, Snake sat in a comfortable position on top of Ace's legs, pressing his knees against his hips, pinning him to the floor.
Cherishing the unfamiliar sensation of advantage, Snake took a deep breath and looked at Ace who had closed his eyes halfways, trying to struggle against the unexpected pressure holding him down. A broad grin crept across his face as Snake noticed that the lowest buttons on Ace's shirt had come undone, revealing inticingly smooth green skin around his belly-button. Snake rubbed his long-fingered hands in anticipation, before he steadied himself with his left hand to lean in close and scribble his fingers across Ace's exposed belly, making him jump so violently that Snake almost had fallen off. Within minutes, Snake had sent Ace into the loudest laughing fit he had ever heard.
Sweat was breaking on Ace's brow as he wrapped his arms protectively around his upper body, struggling harder against the tight grip of Snake's legs simultaneously. After a felt eternity of intense tickle torture, he was able to take hold of Snake's left arm and flex one leg to buck him off. The reptilian teen curled up into a protective ball as he fell on the floor and went into another fit of gloating giggles as he watched Ace gasping for air.
"Is-s-s knews-s-s," he snickered, taking a deep breath himself.
"So... not... fair," Ace complained as soon as he could breathe better and wiped the sweat off his brow. When Snake didn't react to that, he sat up in a swift movement, grabbing Snake by the neck and pulling him close. Snake yelped in surprise when Ace put one leg across his chest and arms and the other across his hips, pinning him to the floor. The grin crawling across Ace's lips made Snake gulp. A split second later, Ace dug his fingers into Snake's belly, making the reptilian teen yelp in surprise and squirm hard.
"Well, well, well," Ace teased, unwilling to give Snake a pass on the tickle torture, "What do we have here?" Grinning from ear to ear, Ace started a full-force ten-finger-attack on Snake's belly while intensifying his legs' pressure to keep him in place. Snake gave another surprised yelp, trying to slither from the grip of Ace's legs and escape the fingers poking and prodding his flat belly and his highly sensitive sides. Since Ace had never been one to do things halfways and was amusing himself way too much on Snake's expenses, he took his sweet time to temper justice with mercy. As soon as Ace loosened his grip, Snake quickly curled his skinny body up into a protective ball, wrapping his arms around his knees. It took almost 10 minutes until Snake could pick himself up and sit back on the couch, returning his attention to the tv.
About an hour of silently watching tv later, the door inched open wide enough for Lil'Arturo, Big Billy and Grubber to enter. Each was carrying two soaked and fat-stained pizza boxes. Quickly, the gang gathered at the table to share a small pizza with pineapple and ham, two medium-sized pizzas with extra cheese, a big square pizza with sliced tomatoes and bacon bits and two medium-sized pizzas with salami and ham.
"Good job, boys," Ace said through a mouthful of salami and ham, his blue eyes shifting from one of his friends to the next. Lowly muttered words from Lil'Arturo and Big Billy, directly followed by a small burp and a cheerful raspberry from Grubber answered his glances. Snake arched an eye brow when he noticed that Ace's gaze had lasted a bit longer on him than on the other gang members. A chill went along Snake's spine since he couldn't escape the feeling that Ace wasn't done yet with tickling him.