AN: I most certainly do Guest Reviewer! Hope you like it!
It was only after suffering through so many playful attacks to her person, that she devised the sneaky plan to get back at those who thought to torture her as they did, Akeelah was nothing if not spiteful after all. She bid her time, watching and listening, they all gave away their weakness at some point, taking in her unintentional pointers as they were given to her in the silence of someone who knew how to play their cards the right way.
It was only right that the first one on her list of revenge be the one who had initially started it for the most of them, and she stayed in tune with him for nearly a week, agreeing to visit the Garden with him rather quickly when the offer was given.
If he noticed anything strange about the quick acceptance, he made no mention of it, and nodded in approval at the fledgling. It had been a busy few weeks, what with training and battles and taking on a new charge, it had been some time since he'd gotten to spend quality time alone with his little fledgling friend.
Akeelah skipped along the Axis, her direction in that of the Garden, humming to herself as the plan slowly fell into place. She hopped up the stone steps, swinging her hands back and forth with every one, and jumped to a stand still at the top.
Waving happily to the Gardener, the fledgling walked down the dirt path, between the trees, to the clearing on the other side where they had first met all that time ago and smiled to herself as she spotted him.
He had his back to her, leaning back on his arms, head tilted up to the warmth of the sun. He didn't hear her coming, her footsteps deliberately as silent as she could make them, as she tiptoed up behind him. She smiled to herself, kneeling behind him, not disturbing his silent rest in the slightest. She grinned slyly and reached up with a little finger, managed to stealthily not rub against his arm, and poked her finger into that one spot over his highest left rib.
The mighty Power jumped in surprise, yelping loudly, and leaned forward with a quickness that was unseen. His arms wrapped around his middle as he turned to see what had poked him in that precise spot, spotting the fledgling cracking up behind him came as a surprise, but his eyes quickly narrowed.
"You little…Is this why you agreed to come with me so quickly?"
She nodded, reaching her hand out again, perhaps for another poke in the place that had garnered such a response. He was more aware this time though, and snatched her wrist up in quick succession, causing her to yelp this time around, and he pulled her around into his lap.
"No! Nis! No!"
"You thought you could sneak attack me?"
She curled in on herself when she realized that she would not be able to squirm out of this swiftly served retribution, giggling already, when he leaned forward, free hand cradling the back of her head, and set her down under him. He leaned over her from above, resting on his elbows and he smiled down at the fledgling.
"One does not just try to attack me and get away with it."
"It wasn't an attack!"
He smiled brightly, "Oh?" and leaned forward in playful wonder, "And what was it then?"
"It was a poke."
"Really now?", he pulled on his hands out from under his chin, raising a single finger for her to see, smiled at the giggles, and poked it into her chubby little belly, "And what was that?"
"Nihihis! Nohoho!"
He poked at the left side of her tummy button and she yelped brightly "What was it?"
"Tihihihickles!"
The Power chuckled, "No, you little sneaky thing you, it's just a poke."
He moved his other hand out from under his chin and curled his fingers around her little wrist, pulling her arm up over her head, and poked his finger into the smooth undersurface, and she giggled brightly, a bubbly sound and it lightened his heart.
She tugged at her arm and tried to curl up, "Nihihis!"
"I'm going to poke here a bit."
The fledgling shook her head quickly, her smile a contagious one, and Nisroc didn't try to stop from returning it.
"What?" he tilted his head, poking his finger into the little underarm, and gave it a small wiggle, chuckling softly as she shrieked and jumped slightly "You don't like being poked? But you poked me, I thought you would like it if I poked you too?"
"Nihihis! Tihihickles!"
"We've been over this, my little sneaky friend, I'm simply poking you."
Nisroc let her wrist go, her arm coming down immediately, and instead moved on to poke at her belly. She wiggled and laughed brightly, her fingers curling around his in an attempt to stop him, it did nothing of the sort and he continued his poking spree of her little belly undisturbed.
"Let this be a lesson to you should you ever try and poke me again."