#ler!gus

All of her friends surrounded her. They looked angry, disappointed, upset. And it was all her fault. Why does this always happen? Why does she cause these things?

Amity came for her with a yell, holding her staff out. Luz dodged, trying to reason with her. It fell on deaf ears. Gus came up behind her, grabbing onto her sides. She couldn't help the surprised squeak that escaped her.

Her friends froze for a minute, and Gus kept his hands on her sides. She tried to pry them off, but his grip was solid and immovable. He squeezed her sides experimentally, and she cursed the yelp that came from her.

The Collector felt the shift in his illusion. He looked into it, and found out what happened. He had Gus squeeze her sides a few more times, and Luz giggled. When people giggle, they're happy. So they went with it, and instructed their puppets to continue with the strange movements. Maybe if she's happy, she'll stay...

Gus wiggled his fingers into her sides, a smug smile on his face. Luz tried not to giggle, pushing at his hands. Stringbean floated near his head, nudging his face. He didnt react, continuing to tickle Luz. The others unfroze and approached the pair, grinning.

Willow summoned some vines to hold Luz's arms above her head. Gus sped his fingers up, scribbling across her sides. She tugged at her magical restraints, but they held strong. "Guhuys, wait! Wh-what's gohohohoing on?!"

She did not get a response. Hunter poked at her armpits, eliciting squeaky laughter from the young witch. "HUHUhuhunter! Whyhy are yoUHUHUhu guhuys DOHOHING THIHIS?!"

Luz had emotional whiplash. They were upset and angry at her a few moments ago, and now they're tickling her? What on the Isles was happening?!

Willow sent a few vines to her legs, wiggling them behind her knees. Her legs gave out, the vines now the only thing holding her up. She was so confused, trying to make sense of everything.

Amity fluttered her fingers on Luz's neck, a blush forming on the latter's cheeks. Stringbean was floating nearby, curious as to what was going on. Luz seemed okay, but why were her friends acting like this? Best to observe and find out.

Gus moved his hands onto her stomach, clawing at the sensitive flesh. She yelped and dissolved into loud, squeaky belly laughter. "NOHOHO! COHOHOME ON, WHYHYHY?!"

The vines on behind her knees dug in, pressing harder and bringing her laughter up an octave. Gus was going at her poor belly, roughly tickling her. Her laughter was loud and bouncy, in no short supply.

She was so, so confused. What was happening? Why were they doing this? Why were they all acting so weird? "GUHUHUYS! WHYHY ARE YOUHUHU T-TIHIHICKLING MEHEHE?!"

They gave her no response, just smiled smugly and kept tickling her. It was like talking to brick walls. They wouldn't respond, almost like they were... OH TITAN!

"COHOHOLLECTOHOR! STOP IHIHIT! LEHEHET THEM GOHOHO!"

All the fingers tormenting her froze, going stiff. She panted, trying to regain her breath. Looking around, all of her friends' faces were frozen, unblinking, wearing that smug grin.

Suddenly, glowing pink wires revealed themselves, connecting to each of her friends' limbs. Their faces unfroze, and the vines holding her up withered. They all wore a similar, concerned expression.

Amity was the first to speak, struggling to move her hands up to Luz's cheeks. "Luz, you have to wake up! We aren't really here, we were all collected! This is a nightmare the Collector trapped you in. You need to break out, come and save us!"

The human's eyes widened. She had gotten through to them, but by the strained looks on their faces, it wouldn't be for long. She hung on Amity's every word, trying to form a plan. "How do I help you guys? I don't- what do I do?"

Amity smiled, and forced her hand down to hold Luz's. "What's the first thing you do when you wake up from a nightmare?"

Her friends started to be lifted away by the strings. Luz tried to hold on to Amity, to say something, to help, but there was nothing she could do.

"You turn on the light."

With that, they were yanked into the sky, up and away from her. She looked at her palm, seeing the light glyph. The illusion around her started to melt away, trying to right itself.

He was walking. It looked like the forest, but darker. Shadows lept at him, ominous and evil-like lights flashed in the darkness, convulsing under the moonlight. A loud groan broke through the trees, sending a shiver down he spine. Now he was running.

To where, he didn't know. He had this overwhelming sense of fear, driving him to go faster and faster with every step. His heart hammered in chest, nearly downing out the loud, angry groans from the trees. Nearly.

He had wound up in a clearing, eerie and desolate. There was nowhere to go, the treeline far to thick for navigating. A loud SNAP echoed just a few feet behind him. When he whipped his head around, all he saw was the jaws of Belos, his rotten nub-teeth and thick blue veins.

CRUNCH

Hunter woke up screaming. It had been like this almost every night, one Belos nightmare after another. That night's, however, had been the worst yet. He hugged himself and curled into a ball, fighting back tears. Gus was upstairs already, and they had sound-proofed the basement for musical reasons.

He just sat, rocking himself and trying to calm down. He tried to be positive. He was fine, Belos was dead, and nobody was going to get hurt because of him.

'Again ' a voice whispered. It wasn't wrong, either. He had tried to hurt Luz multiple times, kidnapped and almost forcefully covened the whole Flier Derby team, and helped cause the Day of Unity.

'You're a monster. They're all going to hate you once they know. Know that you're just a bag of dead bones and magic, know what you've done, what you've helped create. FREAK!'

Finally, the dam broke. He cried, sobbing into his pillow. He let it all out, tears pouring out of him, along with all the thoughts that caused them. Hunter believed every word of it, just crying and feeling horrible.

When he calmed down enough to stop the tears, he went into the bathroom. Perring into the mirror,, He saw how puffy his eyes were, the bags under his eyes deeper than usual. Hunter tried his best to clean up, drying his eyes and washing his face. It helped a bit, but didn't do much.

He fussed with his hair, trying to look presentable. He was still getting used to his new look, struggling to comb out the knots. Hunter made his bed, cleaned up, and changed his clothes. When he was ready to actually head upstairs, he looked normal, save for the deeper bags. He would have to manage.

In the kitchen, he was greeted by friendly "good morning"s and "hey sleepy head"s. Mrs. Noceda had made pancakes and sausage. She slid him a plate of some; he nodded, thanking her. He poked at his food, only nibbling a small piece of the fluffy disk. Willow and Gus noticed, shooting eachother the friend-is-sad-mission face.

Once breakfast was over, Hunter lumbered into the living room, plopping down on the couch. He laid down, getting comfy. He was going to nap, but a pair of shadows loomed over him. Opening his eyes, Hunter saw the smiling, yet concerned faces of Willow and Gus.

"Hey, Hunter. Watcha doing?" He sighed, closing his eyes again. "Taking a nap. I'm tired." Gus creased his brows, confused. "But you were in your room 'til 12!" They took a good look at his face, noticing the extra deep eye bags. It was clear he hadn't been sleeping. Hunter just turned away from them. "Still tired. Afternoon."

They were not taking that for an answer. "Come on, buddy! Cheer up!" Gus poked him in his belly, trying to get a response out of him. What he didn't expect was the squeak he got in return. Hunter whipped around, eyes wide and defensive. Gus was smirking, same with Willow. The distance between them now seemed nonexistent.

"Wait, guys, don't!" His plea fell on deaf ears, the pair already trying to pin him down. Hunter kicked and squirmed, but he was outnumbered in energy and hands. In seconds, his arms were above his head, Gus on his waist. A pair of hands started clawing at his belly.

"Gahahaha! Noho!" His sleepy giggles were soft and sweet. Both his friends just had to hear more. "You know, I think Hunter's a bit stressed. What do you think Willow?" She hummed, mock thinking. "Yeah, you're right! Maybe tickling him will help! He seems a lot happier when he's not brooding!"

"Ihihi'm rihight here!" He couldn't belive them! They were talking like he wasn't in the room! "Oh yeah! Hey Hunter, is this helping? We wanna know how you feel." The tickling slowed down, but didn't stop.

Now his face was bright red. To be honest, he did enjoy it. It took his mind off of things, and it made him feel happier. Not that he would ever say any of that out loud. "Maybehe."

That was all they needed. Willow fluttered her hands at his neck, while Gus went to work on his ribs. "GUHUHUHUYS! AHAHAHA!" Hunter was nice and awake now. His laughter was squeaky and loud, filling the room.

While he was there, squirming and thrashing on the couch, he only thought one thing:

Hunter sat on the couch in Luz’s house, looking at his hands. Camilla had all but forced him to give her his gloves, they were falling apart at the seams and smelled horrible, she promised to hand wash them and sew them back up good as new. But in the meantime… he was left to sit with uncovered hands for the first time in… well he didn’t know how long. 

He stared at the myriad of scars on his hands, left there from years of abuse. Not just from Belos even, missions, spars, kitchen accidents. There were a million ways he’d hurt his hands, and each one left him feeling… insecure, at best. He didn’t like how his hands looked, as ragged and worn as his gloves really. He also didn’t like the feeling of them out of the gloves, it was like pins and needles. He tried to wear other gloves around the house, but none felt right. It was… frustrating.

“Hey man!” Gus exclaimed, bouncing next to him on the couch, startling Hunter out of his reverie.

“Oh! Uh… hey Gus. What’s up?” he asked tentatively, subtly trying to hide his hands from view.

“Just wanted to see how you were doing. …Plus I’m super bored. Willow’s in the garden, Luz and Amity went for a “romantic walk” and thus here I am. Poor little Gus-Gus, left to fend for himself!” the younger boy whined dramatically, flopping over Hunter's lap, a hand to his forehead. His theatrics made Hunter giggle a bit, “Oh you poor thing. But I’m afraid I can’t help you much, I’m not really doing anything interesting at the moment.” “That could change though! Come on! Let's have a guy day! You and me! Taking on the human world!” Gus grinned, bouncing back up and looking at Hunter with wide expectant eyes. Hunter looked away, his brief jovial mood souring. “Sorry… I can’t right now. I’m… a bit stuck here. Till Camilla gives me my gloves back.” Gus tilted his head like a curious puppy, “She took your gloves? Why?”

“They were getting gross apparently.” he shrugged, hands hidden under his thighs. “Oh… ya know I don’t think I’ve ever seen your hands.” Oh no. “They’re just… hands.” Please don’t ask. “Can I see them?” Noooooooooo. “I… they’re kinda…” he started, not really sure how to explain without sounding childish

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” he said earnestly, shocking Hunter. He was still getting used to this… freedom, so to speak. He didn’t have to do a lot of things nowadays. He didn’t have to go on patrols, he didn’t have to do all the chores, he didn’t have to get up at 4am every morning, he didn’t have to make his own food, heck he didn’t even have to eat all his food if he didn’t want to! It was… so strange, and new and weird. But… he found himself nodding, and lifting his hands up for Gus to see. He looked away though, not wanting to see his friend's reaction.

“Whoa… did… did He, do that?” he asked softly, and Hunter nodded again.

“Sorta… some was him, some was just… normal wear and tear from my job.” he mumbled, hugging himself.

Gus sighed, “I’m sorry you had to live with that.” 

Whether THAT was Belos or his old job, was up for debate.

“Yeah… me too.” he sighed.

“...Is it ok if I touch them?”

Hunter thought for a moment, but hesitantly shook his head no. He was… getting used to saying no to people. Sure when it was an underling, or someone he used to see as “lesser” it would be easy. But now… he saw his friends as his equals, so it was certainly harder.

“Ok! That’s fine!” Gus smiled, holding his hands up in front of him. “…Can I hug you though?”

“I… guess?” hugs were still odd to Hunter. His friends were always hugging each other, and they tried to hug him a lot. Mostly Gus, Willow, and Luz, but still. He didn’t mind the hugs. Especially the tight “bear hugs” Willow gave.

Gus’s grin grew and he wrapped his arms around Hunter, hugging him tight. His face nuzzled Hunter’s neck a bit, making the teen squeak involuntarily. Gus pulled back a bit and tilted his head again, “Dude, you ok?” Hunter rubbed his neck, a weird feeling without his gloves. “Y-yeah… when you brushed my neck it just felt… weird.” “Weird?” “Weird.” “Weird… how?” he asked, scooting a little closer.

He shrugged, “I don’t know… tingly? I guess?” 

Gus hummed and smiled again, this seemed… mischievous. “Can I do it again?” Hunter narrowed his eyes but nodded, lowering his hand and tilting his head to give Gus better access.

Gus brushed his fingers over Hunter’s neck, fluttering them a bit. This made Hunter squeak again, a few involuntary titters leaving him as his shoulders scrunched up. “Hehehe! W-what the heck is that?!”

Gus laughed as he pulled his hand back, “I can’t believe it! You’re ticklish!”

“I’m… what?” he blinked, “I’ve never heard that word before.” “Ticklish! It means that basically there are some spots on you that are ticklish! Like your neck! Someone pokes you, or does what I just did, and it makes you laugh! Some people like it, some hate it, some people are ticklish, some aren’t. It’s different for everyone.” Gus explained, “My dad used to tickle me all the time, it was a fun bonding thing for us! Plus, Willow and I get into tickle fights a lot, same with Luz!”

“Huh… so is it just necks that are… ticklish?” he asked.

“Nope! There are lots of spots! If you want, we can find out if you’re ticklish in other places! It’ll be fun!” he grinned, practically bouncing on the couch cushion.

Hunter looked at his friend but eventually shrugged, the… ticklish feeling on his neck hadn’t been unpleasant. Besides, it wasn’t like he could be that ticklish in too many places. Surely he’d know about that by now if that was the case.

Gus pumped his fist in the air and raised his hands, forming claws with his fingers. “Alright… let’s see… where to start. How about we go from the top down?”

Hunter shrugged again, “I doubt I’m that ticklish.”

“That’s what they all say.” he chuckled, his fingers lightly scratching behind Hunter's ears.

Hunter immediately jerked forward with a squeal, holding his ears and looking shocked. “EEK! W-what the- How- What- I-” “Whoa! Dude, your ears are crazy ticklish! That’s hilarious!” Gus giggled, moving closer and scratching behind his ears again.

Hunter honest to titan shrieked, his ears wiggling as he tried to keep still this time. “EHEHEHEHEHE! IT-IT TIHIHIHIHIHICKLES! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!” “Well that’s the point! Oh! Oh! I wanna try something!” Gus then drew a spell circle in the air, a feather appearing in his hand. “Ok, this might tickle more, let me know!” Hunter was still fizzling out giggles when he felt that horrible, soft, bristly, torture device on his ears. “AAAAAAHHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! NOHOHOHOHOHO! W-WAHAHAHAHAIT! GUHUHUHUS! OH TITAHAHAHAHAN! I CAHAHAN’T TAHAHAKE IT! AHAHAHAHA!” Gus snorted, “Dude I just started! How ticklish are you?” “V-VEHEHEHEHERY! STAHAHAHAP! PLEEHEHEHEHEASE!” he shrieked, shooting his hands around his ears as soon as Gus moved the feather away. The Gus in question just giggled at him, “Maybe we should take a breather. LEt you get your bearings.”

“W-whyihihihi dohohoes it tihihickle so muhuhuch?” he asked, still giggling as he tried to rub away the lingering ticklish feeling.

“I don’t really know, it just does.” Gus shrugged, “We can find more of your tickle spots later. We’ve already got ears and neck. So that’s a start!” Hunter nodded, he felt… better honestly. Lighter even! It was… nice to laugh a bit, he hadn’t even thought about his gloves, or how weird his hands looked or felt. “Yeah… I’d like that.”

Gus beamed at him and hugged him. “Heck yeah! Just beware, when the others find out your ticklish, there’ll be no stopping them.” Hunter scoffed and pulled Gus into a noogie, “I can take ‘em!”