Mairimashita! Iruma-kun One-shots

Thumping

On Earth, it's common knowledge that when scratched correctly, a canine's leg will start uncontrollably thumping. Even with this in mind, you really didn't see coming that the Babyls 'Guard Dog' would have the same issue.

It had been an average weekend when you had discovered a rather interesting titbit about the Naberius clan.

It was a rare day when neither of you had any work to do, and could simply exist as you wanted. Both Kalego and you had been lounging on the couch at the time, you were peacefully on the verge of having a nap and curled into his side as he read. A gentle orchestra played in the background on an enchanted gramophone, a mix of strings and woodwinds playing along with the barely discernable scratching of the needle against the record.

The moment was so tranquil and pleasant that your mind was permanently stuck in that in-between phase in the middle of being asleep or awake. It was why you didn't notice it at first. In your sleepy haze, one of your hands that was draped over his stomach lightly trailed up and down. Tracing non-existent patterns and going no particular way, your hand simply moved — following its own made-up path. Your hand moved closer to his side and continued its aimless wandering there, when suddenly you were more awake than you had been a mere few moments ago.

You blinked, eyes bleary with sleep and confusion running through your brain. You weren't entirely certain what had woken you. In fact, you had no idea at all. One moment you had been dozing peacefully, the next you were staring across the room at the bookcases lined with novels and textbooks you had both collected. Mentally, you shrugged it off and settled back in again. You assumed it had been hypnic jerks, the sudden jerking awake with a muscle movement often accompanied by a sensation of falling. You had simply too close to drifting off to realize if you had moved, and hypnic jerks didn't always include sensations of falling specifically, or sensations at all really. Shifting to get more comfortable, you felt Kalego's arm lift slightly to give you more room to move, before falling gently again around you when you finally settled down.

Once again, you slowly started to drift off, your hand moving once more to continue its aimless wanderings along his side. Tracing your fingers along, you suddenly jerked your eyes open again, only this time you knew why. It hadn't been you that had jerked.

It had been Kalego.

Blinking in confusion, you forced yourself not to give anything away, to continue moving your hand gently along as if you were still drifting off when you felt it again. His leg had moved. Just a quick twitch, but it had moved all right. You buried your face into his side to hide your grin. Who would have thought the great Naberius Kalego — the doom and gloom emperor— would be ticklish? Though you had to admit, it was a bit odd that only his leg had twitched. Generally, someone who was ticklish had a full-body reaction, but you chalked it up to the famous Naberius control he had.

Running your hand into a more deliberate pattern, you trailed it up his side and back down again, being sure to keep your breathing even as if you were still on the verge of sleep. Once more, you felt his leg twitch by your side, and you shifted gears to rub circles occasionally as you moved your hand along his side. The leg twitching grew, and yet he didn't even seem to notice from what you could feel.

As it became more consistent, you suddenly realized something. Kalego wasn't being tickled, he would have gently smacked you upside the head and moved your hand if he was. This seemed more like an unconscious movement that he potentially had no control over. And the movement was so consistent in a way, always just the one leg moving, almost as if- but no, that wasn't possible.

That was such a dog-like thing and while your mate was cursed with dog spirit, he did have some dog traits such as sensitive hearing, and constant snarling (which reminded you of a prickly hissing cat to be honest) along with some other more intimate similarities, you didn't think he would share something so, so mundane. So human world like. After all human world dogs only did it due to the way they were built, the neurons crossing wires they weren't supposed to, and it led to an uncontrollable movement. You didn't have enough experience with Netherworld canines to know if they did the same thing or not, but you wouldn't be too surprised if they did or didn't do it.

Regardless, you never thought the day would come when you learned that Kalego's leg thumped when you pet his sides.

You personally felt like this was such a monumental find in a way. The waspish, no-nonsense guard dog of Bablys thumps his leg like a common canine. You loved it. It was pretty adorable to find out, and you kind of wanted to tease him about it. At the same time, you were certain he would be extremely offended and find some way to turn it on you. The last thing you needed was for him to discover your tickle spots.

A book thumped your head, and you let out an ungraceful squawking noise in surprise. Your hand jerked away from his side to clutch at the back of your head, lifting your face from his side to glare up at his smirking one. As you glared up at Kalego's smirking face, you couldn't help but seize this opportunity to tease him about his unexpected quirk. With a playful glint in your eye, you decided to go for it.

"Kalego, my darling mate," you began, feigning innocence, rolling over on top of him so that you could look him in the eyes, "I must say, I've made a fascinating discovery just now."

Kalego raised an eyebrow, still smirking, but his curiosity was piqued. "And what, pray tell, have you discovered, my dear?"

Leaning in closer, you whispered with exaggerated seriousness, "I've discovered your secret weakness, your Achilles' heel if you will."

His smirk faltered slightly, replaced by a mixture of surprise and annoyance with a bit of confusion. After all, the Netherworld had no concept of the Greeks, much less who Achilles was. Probably for the best, you really didn't want to know what their version of the Trojan horse would be. "And what might that be, exactly?"

You grinned mischievously as you sat up, straddling his hips and pointed back to his leg, which had been twitching all this time. "This," you declared triumphantly, "your leg thumps when I pet your sides. Who would have thought our mighty Naberius Kalego is as ticklish as a common Earth dog?"

Kalego's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he regained his composure. "Nonsense," he huffed, trying to brush off your discovery. "It's just a reflex from staying in one position so long. A need to stretch, nothing more."

You chuckled and decided to push his buttons a bit further. "Oh, come on, Kalego. Admit it. You're not as impervious as you want everyone to believe. You have a soft spot."

He scowled and leaned up closer, his voice dropping to a low, threatening growl. "I suggest you drop this topic immediately, or I might discover your weaknesses as well."

You couldn't help but laugh at his attempt to intimidate you. "Oh, I'm not worried, Kalego. I can handle a little tickling. Don't worry though, this will be our little secret."

Kalego rolled his eyes, but you could see a hint of amusement in them despite his gruff demeanour.

"Though now, I'm really curious," you stated, nails lightly drawing a line from his side down the prominent v-line before stopping right above his pants line where you were sitting. His stomach visibly grew taunt; breath coming out in quickening pants as he started to grasp your intentions.

"If you share this trait with earthen canines," Your finger lightly tapped the bulge forming in the tent of his skirt. "What others do you share?" You looked up and locked eyes with his. A slow smirk grows on your face, as you already know the answer to the question.

"Shall we find out?"