#ler!enid

“There! You’re all done!” 

A few thumps of glee, and the appendage flexed its fingers, giving a thumbs up. Enid clapped her hands together with a prideful grin at her latest achievement. After some convincing, Thing’s nails now glimmered with a glossy coat of charcoal polish. Tapping a few fingers together, it then waved around, and Enid nodded with a smile, “Well yeah, it’ll take a few more minutes to dry, but you look amazing!” 

The door creaked open, and the hand spun around, hopping up and down with glee to greet Wednesday, who simply looked it up and down as she approached Enid’s bed. “Hmm. It’s a new look, for sure. Maybe it’ll stick after a week.” Thing only waved a few fingers, before tapping Enid’s hand followed by a thankful snap. 

“Glad I could help! You look fantastic, don’t worry.” She assured, and they exchanged fist bumps before Wednesday cleared her throat, making her way over to her desk. “I see you and Thing are getting along nicely.” 

“Yup! We’ve had a few heart-to-hearts, and I learned how much he needed some reimagination for himself—sooo, that’s the nails!” She hopped to her feet, her tail flicking to the side as she tried to get a glance at Wednesday’s expression, but as usual remained blankly concentrated on her next task. She sat to continue her writing, the steady stream of clicks from the typewriter now filling the room. But as soon as they had started, they ended, Wednesday squeezing her eyes shut with a sigh, Thing climbing up her desk and drumming a few fingers against the wooden top. 

“I’m fine.” Wednesday mumbled, her eyes opening to an unconvinced finger wag from the appendage, and Enid's brow furrowing in confusion. “He’s right, you’ve been acting weird—well, weirder than usual.” Wednesday turned her gaze to meet Enid’s, the girl's ears perked in curiosity. 

“I’m stuck.” The discouraged air to her voice only proved her sincerity, as she pushed her chair back with a constrained creak against the wooden planks below them. Enid’s mind remained at a standstill for a few seconds, blinking before raising an eyebrow, “Writer’s block?” Wednesday gave a silent nod, frustration evident with an exhale. Enid folded her arms in thought, pacing over back to her side of the room. “Wait wait—what always helps me when I’m bored—”

“Boredom isn’t the same thing as writer’s block—”

“Well I know that…but they’re both unavoidable states of frustration right? In this case, like a block of your creative flow!” Thinking out loud at this point, her tail flicks only confirming her concentration as she paced about. Also joining the determined effort to help, Thing hopped down from the tabletop, scampering over to the foot of Enid’s bed, where she now sat. It extended an index finger, and Enid’s ears perked up once again, her eyes now wide with resolution. “That’s it—Wednesday!”

The other lifted her head in response, awaiting Enid’s words. “Try to think outside the box…trapping yourself in a box of what you want to write about can limit your ability to write or think!” A few lengthy moments of silence, now wondering if she’d even heard her, caused her brow to furrow as she rose to her feet again. “...Wednesday?”

Her voice fell on deaf ears, as the other only remained silent, eyes glued to the typewriter. Enid’s ears fell, her eyes now focused directly on her, as she gradually made her way over to the desk. Thing wasn’t far behind, even crawling up the legs of the chair to rest on its top. Wednesday was either deep in thought, or didn’t care enough to respond to either of them. It wasn’t entirely out of the ordinary, but Enid found her eagerness to help fend off the writer's block that plagued her partner more defining than a simple zoning out. 

Thing’s patience however, was immune to Wednesday’s apathy. Her surprised jolt from a swift poke to her side had brought her back to reality, feeling her cheeks reddening as she inhaled sharply. “Do that again and you’ll lose a finger.” The vexed tone in her voice only made Thing hop down from his pedestal to the floor, while Wednesday still attempted a look of irritation, which was almost ruined by the red hue making itself more visible by the moment. Enid couldn’t help but notice as much, her ears perking up with a glimmer of mischief in her eyes. She was blushing? Oh, this was too good. 

“Oh my god—Wednesday, are you ticklish?!” Her face lit up with a wide grin, the excitement of a puppy strongly resembled through her now swishing tail. Thing’s fingers drumming against the floor somehow was enough of an expression for Enid to pick up on, Wednesday quickly rising to her feet, “Like I said, the last person to tickle me lost a finger. Try me.” She uttered, her composure slowly slipping away as Enid rocked from side to side with that shit-eating grin, a strategy clearly brewing. “Mhm, like that time you were also going to smother me in my sleep? Bury my snood in the graveyard?” 

Wednesday swallowed dryly, blinking in response as she slowly backed a few steps back. The giggles from Enid were enough to convince her of her fate, her heart skipping a beat when she placed Thing atop her shoulder. “What it sounds like to me is that you have quite a few empty threats, wouldn’t you say?” Still at a loss for words, Wednesday didn’t know what to do besides remain standing. Making a run for it surely wouldn’t end well—the last thing she wanted was for anyone else to see what fate would possibly await her. 

“I’m not.” She finally managed after a minute, startling herself with her sudden difficulty with making eye contact. “…ticklish, I mean.” She clarified with a slight furrow of her brow, realizing the need to clarify when Enid’s head cocked to the side in confusion briefly. What a feeling, a very odd one at that, she couldn’t recognize at all. It was like butterflies in her stomach but, why wasn’t she anxious? Why was she intrigued? 

Before she could finish that thought, Thing’s fingers drumming against her sides had her preoccupied with a lip bite, swallowing back any giggles that threatened to make an appearance as she crumpled to the floor. Afraid if she spoke she’d lose composure, she swatted at her companion with furrowed brow. Enid only skipped over not long after, giggling as she gave some quick squeezes to her sides, her face lighting up when Wednesday’s lips quivered into a faint smile. 

“Well, I seem to still have all ten of my fingers—and you seem like you might be ticklish.” Enid’s words only earned a death glare from the other, but it quickly crumbled away with the sudden prodding up her ribs from the appendage, replaced with a wide grin, giggles following close behind. Enid couldn’t help but gush over her reactions, her eyes lighting up when she saw her smile only grow.

“Wednesday—you have dimples?! Oh my god—you're adorable!” She found herself laughing along with the other, the comment making Wednesday’s cheeks flush darker. Thing halted its movements for a moment, jumping up and flexing its fingers briefly. Enid grinned from ear to ear, suddenly scribbling her fingers up her ribs, “Oh, go for the ribs? Ahaww—you’re right!” She cooed, Wednesday’s laughter picking up in volume as she squeezed around her upper ribs. Enid’s eyes only widened with a grin at every new reaction she discovered, laughing at a few snorts she didn’t expect. 

“God I had no idea you could laugh like this! You’re adorable, holy shit!” She snickered at the weak shove Wednesday attempted at her hands, which only pinched at her sides for a moment, before halting her attack. “Oh my god,” Enid repeated again, her grin still present as she tilted her head a bit, trying to get a good look at Wednesday’s expression. And to her pleasant surprise, she was still smiling. In fact, not even a second later she was leaning into Enid’s touch, which only encouraged a growing flush against her face. 

“You had fun didn't you?” Enid sang with a few additional pokes to the other’s torso, her tail thumping happily against the floorboards as Wednesday dissolved into another quite giggle fit, offering nothing in response but laughter. “I-I’ll get you—“ She managed to get out, still giggling even when Enid withdrew her fingers. 

“Mhmmm, I know I know! But now I can get you.” She smirked with a playful hum, Wednesday rolling her eyes once Thing waved around. “This whole thing was your fault, wasn’t it?” The hand was still for a moment, before swiftly scampering off. Enid chuckled, “Don’t be mad at him, it was my idea.” Her ears drooped as her cheeks flushed slightly, averting eyes, “You were so in your head and upset about writing so…I just wanted to help get your mind off of it?” She offered a bashful smile, and Wednesday blinked, before nodding slowly. 

“I see what you meant…I appreciate the efforts.” She mumbled the last bit, staring up at the ceiling now. What was it she said about thinking outside a box? A box was restricting…isolating. 

With a sigh, Wednesday rose to her feet. “Maybe you and Thing could stay. I think having company might help me get out of this…box.” She stated, before walking over to her typewriter and cracking her knuckles. Enid couldn’t help but smile, her gaze fixed on the girl in front of her. Wednesday Addams was difficult to read for sure, but that’s only if she wanted to make it hard for someone to. Counting herself lucky to be one that she didn’t feel the need to hide behind any mask, Enid stood with stretch.