My Ticklish Adventures 2

Love Tickles the Heart

It was fully dark by the time we headed back to the mansion, only moonlight and a few torches left to guide us. As we walked through the halls once more, Talia's ear twitched when she heard me give a long sigh, and she noticed an odd, almost melancholic look on the my face as I let my gaze wander around. At one point, I even reached out to touch the white marble walls, my fingers sliding along them noiselessly.

"Remind you of something?" The tigress could barely keep her voice from shaking. She was far from being on the verge of tears, but the rush of emotions were powerful all the same. Instinctively, her fingers embraced my hand, and we walked at a slower pace, now much closer to each other, our sides in almost constant contact.

"Mhm..." My voice seemed to waver a good deal as well. Talia nodded silently as she watched me from behind, once again struggling to restrain myself as every inch of her screamed at her to pull the tigress into a warm embrace. Moments later, her eyes lit up when an idea struck her. "The old days... Hmmm. Maritza, how would you like it if we went back in time for a bit? Just for today?"

"Huh?" I turned around, a confused look on my face.

"Our old play room." Talia smirked and placed a hand on my shoulder, gently turning me in the direction her other hand was pointing. She could almost feel the mixture of disappointment and broiling excitement within me, the former due to how it was not a new time travel spell. "It's still there, we never repurposed it. In fact, I'm quite sure the maids wouldn't mind setting it up."

My jaw dropped as my eyes landed on the familiar oak doorway, and for a few seconds, I could not even speak. "Oh!" I gave an awkward chuckle and waved it off. "Oh, thanks, but... uh... that's really not necessary."

My efforts were in vain, however, as soon enough I was fidgeting with my hands and concealing my blush off to the side, while a dozen servants and maids were busy cleaning the room and removing the excess furniture that had been stored there. My concerns were readily dispelled, as it was only a couple that Talia asked first - the rest joined in on their own, clearly delighted to do something nice for the girl they knew for so long. Talia made an effort to distance herself from the labors, and, judging by the lack of anyone working solely to "be on her good side", sighed to herself yet again, mentally preparing to loosen her wardrobe and attitude up even more in the future.

The staff were dismissed, the head maid personally receiving a gentle pat on the head from Talia as an attempt to further dissolve any tension. The cat on the receiving end was about two heads shorter than the tall tigress, her snout just above chest level, and her reaction was to quickly shrink to an even smaller size and scurry away, blurting out thanks until she was out of hearing distance. Talia huffed and shook her head, making a mental note to further investigate this issue later, and instead focused on adding just a few personal touches to the room before letting me in.

I stared wide-eyed the moment I stepped in, my breath stopping for a few seconds, and the tigress could swear she could see tears in the corners of my eyes. Her own threatened to do the same when I tiptoed up to a small bookcase in the corner, taking out a worn tome and dusting off its cover before opening it. Talia recognized it as the very first book I had gotten from her, and my expression was just as awestruck as the day that now felt like it was a lifetime ago.

"Oh my gosh..." I muttered. "All these years... and it's still... all here?"

Talia nodded and quietly made her way to the door. She had a feeling this was enough for her lover to take in for one day. Best leave something for tomorrow. She closed the door halfway before leaning in for a moment to whisper softly. "Sleep well, Maritza."

I hugged the book against my cheek, as though I were snuggling with it. "Mmmm, thanks. Good night, Prince—" I caught myself and blushed. "Er... Talia."