#ler!willow

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“Oh Hunter~! Can I see you for a second?”

The tone of Willow’s voice shot a chill down Hunter’s spine. Oh Titan, what did she want now. Still, he shouted, “Coming!” as he turned off his stitching machine and ran outside where the girl was calling from.

Willow waved to her friend to come over to her. “I wanna show you a new spell I learned!” She explained.

Hunter was still skeptical as he reached Willow. The latter noticed this and quickly eased his nerves that it wasn’t a harming spell. Not that Hunter was scared Willow would ever want to harm him, but you just never know with the young witch.

“Okay then. What’s the spell?” He asked impatiently. He loved Willow and all, but he really wanted to get back to making his 5th wolf hoodie.

Willow smiled as she made some quick movements with her hands. While she did, a blade of the red grass grew abnormally long.

Hunter was a little confused. “That’s cool, Willow, really. B-But couldn’t you… uh… already do that?” He stumbled over the question, trying his best not to accidentally insult her.

“Well I mean, yeah, but I was never able to do it one blade at a time though!” That’s when the ex-guard noticed that there were 9 more singular blades of grass surrounding him that reached just about his height.

Hunter looked at the tall grass in awe. It always impressed him whenever Willow did something new. “Not only that, but watch!” Willow then moved her pointer finger up and down, making one of the blades of grass look like it’s waving at Hunter.

The latter chuckled and waved back at it. “Woah, neat!”

Willow’s smile turned more into a smirk as she said, “Thank you! And best of all, I can do this!” She said as she used the magic to make 2 blades of grass quickly go over to Hunter’s ears, tickling them lightly.

Hunter was not expecting this. He gasped as he tried not to laugh, but the tickling on his ears making it difficult. “Willow! Cuhu- Cut it ohout! That tihi- hehehehey!” he stuttered out. He shot his shoulders to his ears and swung at the plants.

“Ah, ah, ah~! Can’t have you doing that, Hunter!” Willow curled her other fingers, making the remainder of the grass blades wrap around the boy’s arms and hold them out to his sides, so he was holding a “T” position. Doing this also left Hunter completely exposed.

The sudden vulnerability made Hunter incredibly flustered as his cheeks burned bright red, the colour quickly moving to his ears. And what good of a friend would Willow be if she didn’t use this as an opportunity to fluster him further?

“Aww, Hunter! Your ears are red! It’s like they're screaming at me to tickle them!” Willow cooed, using the grass to trace around his pointy ears, occasionally dipping it into the blond’s ears, making him cringe at the feeling.

“WIHihihillow! StahahahAHAP IHIHIT!”

“Why should I? Because it… tickles?” Willow giggled when her friend let out a gasp at the word, as if attempting to hold his breath would stop the word from making his face heat up further. “It’s hilarious how much that word gets to you! Like come on, Hunter, it’s just a word! A very cute, and fun word!” Willow chuckled, clearly enjoying this just as much as Hunter was, “come on Hunter! Say it with me! Tickle tickle tickle tickle tickle~!”

“ShuhuhUHUT UHUHUP- Wihihillow! Mahahake them stohohoHOHOP!” Hunter shook his head to try and dislodge the plants, but to no avail.

Willow let out a few more giggles, not even bothering to try and hold them back to seem ‘more menacing’. Hunter just had the most contagious laughter, how could she not?

She moved the grass to now tickle all around Hunter’s neck, paying special attention to under his chin.

Now Hunter shrieked.

“WIHIHILLOHOHOW! NAHAHAHA- QUIHIHIT IHIHIT!” Hunter’s laughter went up another octave as Willow used two more blades of grass to go up his t-shirt and tease his ribs.

“Oho my titan! Hunter, how high can your laughter go? Every time I think it’s peaked, there’s always another level! Maybe it’s because you’re so ticklish! You might just be more ticklish than Luz!” Willow giggled, “Tickle tickle tickle!”

Hunter didn’t know how much more he could take. The light tickling of the grass over his neck, ribs, and now stomach making him squirm and cackle.

After around another minute of loud laughter, and teasy remarks, Willow stopped after she saw Hunter smacking the grass around his arms as a way of tapping out. As soon as Willow let him go, the blond fell to the ground, one of his arms immediately wrapping around his torso, the other up at his neck to rub out the residual tingles.

Willow sat down beside her friend, using a blade of grass to tap Hunter’s shoulder, “Hunter? Are you okay?”

Hunter let out a small squeak at the feeling of the grass and immediately scooted away, “Gehet thohose menaces ahawahay from me!” He yelled, not actually mad at the situation as his smile was still wide, showing off his tooth gap. Still, Willow listened, and reversed the spell, causing the blades of grass to shrink down to their original size.

“Whahat was that fohor anyways?” Hunter asked as he finally sat up to look at Willow.

Willow’s cheeks flushed a little, and she began to play with one of her ponytails. “Well, I noticed you’ve been pretty stressed out recently. I thought it would be nice to hear you actually laugh again. For both of us.” the brunette explained, fixing her glasses, “You know you don’t have to be scared anymore, right? We’re back home now, and we’re under the creator’s protection. On top of everything, we can visit the human realm whenever we want! Which means we can see Luz and she can see us whenever we want!”

Hunter’s smile faded slightly, “I know, I guess I’m still a little scared that I’ll end up like…” he sighed, as if the words were physically painful to say, “like my uncle.”

Willow’s hands cupped Hunter’s face. “Hey, you’ve proven so many times that you are nothing like him.” Hunter’s smile returned, much softer than the toothy smile before, but still just as there.

“Thank you, Willow.” Before the girl can respond, they heard thunder from a nearby cloud. Willow got up, offering her hand to Hunter as she helped him up.

They spend the rest of the day together, the rest of the gang joining after the acid rain settled.

It’ll take some convincing to prove to Hunter that he isn’t a dictator like his uncle, but Willow was willing to prove it to him, time after time until it finally clicks. And it doesn’t matter how long it’ll take.

Amity’s knee bounced in front of her as she sat on the couch, trying to appear somewhat normal. She’d been in one of those moods the whole morning, but Luz and Hunter had gone to the library for a comic signing. The two had been spending more time together, and Amity was all for it. It just made things harder for her at that moment.

Willow walked in then, carrying some lemonade she and Vee had made. It was just the powder stuff, but they’d added some blueberry juice as well. “Hey, Amity! You want some lemonade?”

“O-oh, sure.” She smiled as she took the drink, trying to stop her jitters. It was no use, though; her knee was bouncing again the moment she took her mind off it.

“Are you okay? You look…fidgety.” Willow sat beside her friend, her brows slightly pinched in concern. Amity usually wasn’t an antsy person, but she knew how far she’d let her problems spiral if they weren’t confronted head-on.

“I’m fine, Willow. Just…one of those days.” She wasn’t technically lying; it was one of “those” days, though she didn’t specify what “those” meant. The blue-haired girl wasn’t going to let that vague answer slide.

“Yeah, no. What’s going on?” Her tone was firm, yet caring. It made Amity feel a little guilty for hiding something so innocent from her, though the thought of saying it out loud made her stomach do a flip.

“Fine. I’m…” Amity sighed, feeling her face start to heat up. Her blush wasn’t full-tomato level yet, but it was still visible. “I’m in a lee mood, and Luz is out with Hunter today. I’m happy they’re getting along, but…well. Yeah.”

“Oooh, that’s all?” Willow smiled softly at that, an idea already forming in her mind. It had been a while since she’d done anything like that with Amity, but then seemed as good a time as any to take that next step in their rekindled friendship. “Want some help?”

Amity blinked, feeling the rest of her face pinken. Ugh, why did she have to blush so easily when she was in moods? “U-uhm, sure? Only if you’re comfortable.”

“Trust me, it’s no problem.” The girl raised her hand, a green ring lighting as she summoned a handful of vines. Amity’s face burned at the sight of them, a giddy feeling rising in her stomach. Oh Titan…

“W-Wihillow, wait-” Amity’s half-hearted protest was quickly cut off by her own giggles, a vine wiggling on the thin tank-top beneath her “Boo” shirt. The small plant was somehow very good at tickling, immediately making her squirm and giggle like a child.

“Wow, still works on you, huh?” Willow giggled as she watched Amity’s reaction, conjuring up a few more little vines to toy with the girl. It had been a long time since she’d been able to use the silly technique on the Blight, but it still worked perfectly.

“Y-yehehes!” Amity didn’t see a point in lying, leaning back on the couch as her fellow witchling’s magic continued to attack her. Willow followed her down, sending the extra vines to her personal favorite spot: Amity’s underarms.

“NAHAHAHHAHO! *snort* OHOHO MYHY TIHIHIHITAHAN!” The purple-haired girl was not expecting Willow to go for her worst spot so soon. The vines snuck under the warm fabric of her purple sweater, attacking the exposed skin beneath her arms. The black tank-top she was wearing beneath it did absolutely nothing to protect them.

“King’s not here right now, sorry. Just us,” Willow teased, sneaking a few jabs to the girl’s sides with her hand. Sure, she was using her magic already to be evil, but a few little pokes here and there wouldn’t hurt. “You still snort, too.”

“WIHIHILLOHOHOW!” Like she hadn’t noticed she snorted, the bully. Despite that, Amity was massively enjoying the tickling; the annoying buzzing in her stomach was gone, replaced with the chaotically blissful sensation of tickles.

“Yes?” She tilted her head innocently, acting like she had no idea what was going on.

Amity would’ve whined about that, but she was too busy laughing her head off to get anything other than the essentials out. Having your most ticklish spot attacked tends to make it kinda hard to talk.

“I-IHIT TIHIHICKLES! *snort* GYAHAHAHAHA!” Amity kicked her feet as a new vine settled on her stomach, that one teasing her navel. Willow narrowly dodged a foot to the face, holding back a few laughs of her own.

“Well, duh. That’s kinda the point, Amity.” Willow rolled her eyes fondly, acting exasperated at the statement. She might have been having more fun teasing Amity than actually tickling her. “You were dying for some, so that’s what I’m giving you, silly. Did you forget?”

“N-NAHAHAT THEHEHERE! *snort* MOHOHOVE!” Amity shook her head as she cackled, pleading with the young witch beside her. She could only take so much under her arms, and she wasn’t done with the tickling yet.

“Alright, alright. Since you asked so nicely.” Willow’s words were full of sass, but she did as she was asked, focusing in on the Blight’s belly. The two vines under her arms receded, disappearing into Willow’s sleeves. Only the two on her stomach remained, soon joined by the blue-haired girl’s hands.

“G-geheheez, Wihillow! Youhuhu’re mehehehean,” Amity whined, sucking in air between giggles. Her face was on fire with her signature blush, making it difficult to take anything she said seriously.

“I wouldn’t say I’m mean. Just efficient.” Willow giggled as she said it, spidering five fingers on either side of her tummy. Meanwhile, the vine in her navel continued to wiggle about, pulling little squeaks and the occasional hiccup out of the witchling. The vine that was in the middle of her stomach had moved, twirling lazily across her side.

“Thahahat’s nohot ahahahany behehetter!” Unable to hold back any longer, Amity grabbed Willow’s wrists and gave them a little shove. She wasn’t done quite yet, but she couldn’t keep her arms up.

“Oh, here: lemme help you with that.” With a smirk, Willow sent the vine on Amity’s side up, coiling it around her wrists and hoisting them above her head. There wasn’t any pressure, but she made sure Amity couldn’t escape the hold.

“Ihihi dihihidn’t ahahahask!” Amity weakly tugged at her wrists, her eyes silently thanking Willow for the help. She didn’t have to worry about holding back her squirms anymore, thrashing and twisting in the vine’s hold.

“Didn’t have to. I’m just that good, Blight,” she taunted, suddenly vibrating both of her hands into the girl’s stomach. Amity kicking out, squealing before dissolving into a wicked giggle-fit.

“GYEEEEHEHehehehehe! Wihihillohohow *hic* nohohoho!” Amity shook her head, little tears of mirth beading in the corners of her squeezed eyes. She couldn’t keep them open any longer, just blindly giggling beneath her friend.

Willow took that as a good sign to stop, slowly switching from tickles to gentle belly rubs. She dispelled the remaining vines, her magic slowly receding back into her. “You okay? Want some water?”

“Y-yeheheah, and yehes plehehease.” Amity took a few deep, giggly breaths as she recovered, relaxing from the soothing rubs. Willow was surprisingly good at tickle aftercare; then again, Willow was good at a lot of things.

“‘Kay. Be right back, tomato face.” Willow got one last crack in before heading to the kitchen, leaving Amity’s mouth agape. She wasn’t that red…

Oh, who was she kidding. She was as red as a sunburnt ghost.

Willow returned with a nice glass of ice-cold water, which Amity happily gulped down. The little cubes of ice clinked in the glass as she finished it, promising some more hydration when they melted a bit. Amity set the cup aside before meeting Willow’s gaze, her face somehow burning even brighter.

“H-hey, uhm…thank you for that, Willow. It really helped.” Amity’s voice was a little light from embarrassment, but she didn’t break eye-contact once as she spoke. “You’re a good friend.”

Willow beamed at the praise, a happy smile lighting up her already-cheery face. “Aww, thanks, Amity! I’m glad you trusted me with it.”

“Of course; you’re awesome.” Amity straightened herself out on the couch, scooting a little closer to her friend. Willow immediately met her in the middle, the two teens leaning against each other in a half-cuddle.

Dressed in Belos’s clothing, she stood before her friends. Their eyes were empty, devoid of any sympathy or care for her. Willow, Gus, Hunter, and her beloved Amity. They all hated her. Luz was certain of it, and she was certain she deserved it.

“I’m sorry.” She said simply, lacking any real sorrow. “But for the sake of everyone you hurt,”

“Please, no!” Hot tears welled in Luz’s eyes like lava. She couldn’t even bring herself to say that it wasn’t her fault. She took a step back and squeezed her eyes shut, waiting to be hit by a glob of abomination goo, or a spiked vine.

“I challenge you to a witch’s battle!” Witch’s battle?

Luz peeked one eye open. “W-wait… say that again?”

“I said, I challenge you to a witch’s battle!”

Amity’s tone didn’t change at all when she repeated the phrase. It was robotic, as if the response had been programmed into her to say it exactly the same every time. She didn’t move from her defensive, fighting stance. 

“Witch’s… battle?”

She hesitantly approached her girlfriend, then gingerly squished her pretty face in her hands. “Bep.” She playfully flicked her ears. “Boop.”

She observed how Amity didn’t respond, and her fears began to melt away and were quickly replaced by a fuzzy feeling. She lifted up Amity’s arm and poked her, like she was a doll she could position and pose.

“You look like Amity, you feel like Amity, but you’re not Amity, are you?”

Luz’s face broke into a smile as she stepped back. Of course something was weird! 

“Ha! You’re not her! None of you are you!”

“How dare you? Of course we’re us!” Willow spoke, but she barely moved.

“It’s, ‘I challenge you to a witch’s duel,’ not battle!” She waved her finger at them, her confidence quickly returning. “And the Amity I know would never misquote The Good Witch Azura!”

She took a step back and smiled, Stringbean formed a staff in her hands.

“So come on, attack me. I know what’s going on now.” She watched as her friends readied themselves, charging right at her. She closed her eyes, waiting for the first hit, and- “No, no NO!” A childish voice echoed around the bridge. Luz opened her eyes, and her friends were frozen in place. Glowing wires were wrapped around their wrists and ankles, like they were little puppets. Floating above them all, was a very grumpy looking Collector. He had his arms crossed and was glaring down at the group with a pout. “You weren’t supposed to figure it out! This isn’t fair!”

“Collector?!”

“What am I supposed to do now?! Oh, you’re probably so angry with me!” They floated in circles and flipped himself upside down while clutching his hat. 

Luz’s eyes wandered from the Collector to her friends. They were starting to come out of their trance, and their eyes were shining again.

Suddenly, he was right next to Luz. He dramatically flopped onto her shoulder, nearly knocking her over. “You aren’t angry with me, right? For trying to scare you?”

“Uhm…” She quickly glanced at her friends, who were all giving her very hesitant looks. “No?”

“Really?” The Collector’s eyes lit up. Then they scowled. “Cause I’m still pretty mad at you for screwing up my fun!” “W-well, there’s other ways to have fun!” Luz stammered. She backed away from him, in between all her friends. “Like, um, maybe instead of scaring people, you should try making them laugh!”

The Collector tapped his finger to his chin a couple times. Then slowly, his lips curled into a mischievous grin. “Hm… y’know what, human? I think you’re right!” He snapped his fingers, and Luz’s friends went limp. The light in their eyes faded along with the glowing wires. The Collector giggled rather deviously and clapped his hands a few times. Luz’s friends sprang to attention, and grabbed her all at once.

“H-Huh?! What are you-”

“And I’ve got the perfect way to do it! Get her!”

Luz wasn’t quite sure what she was expecting to happen, but feeling the skittering, tickling fingers of all four of her friends definitely wasn’t it! She made a noise that was akin to a startled seagull, which quickly dissolved into confused giggling.

“What in the wohohorld?! Collector! Cuhuhuhit out!”

“Man, you mortals can never make up your minds, huh?” The Collector floated over to her, hovering inches away from her face. Personal space wasn’t much of a concern for a child of the stars. “First you want me to make you laugh, then you want me to stop? Come on, we’re having so much fun! You’re laughing aren’t you?”

Those dang fingers were everywhere! Poking at her sides and belly, scribbling up and down her neck and around her ears, Luz could barely focus on just one spot! Every time she’d flail in an attempt to protect herself, they’d just get her somewhere else. 

“This- this isn’t whahahat I meant whehehen I said- EEK! NOHOHO!”

Nails that unmistakably belonged to Amity made Luz’s sentence crumble when they spidered up her sides and into the hollows of her underarms. If it weren’t for her friends all holding her steady, she was certain her legs would’ve just given up.

The Collector just laughed right along with her. “Man, you were right! Making people laugh is way more fun than scaring them! Just listen to all the silly noises you make!” “COLLEHEHECTOR!” “That’s meeee! Hey! I should try this on your other friends, too! I’ll be back!” They clapped their hands, and they vanished in a puff of sparkly purple smoke. Luz was much too busy laughing her head off to even realize where he had gone, or what he had meant by that. It wasn’t like the feeling was bad, she’d always enjoyed tickle fights as a way of bonding or cheering someone up, but this was ridiculous! And not to mention the fact that it was turning her mind to mush! It couldn’t get much worse than this-

“Your laugh is just so sweet, I could listen to it forever!”

Nevermind. It could.

Amity had leaned over to coo teasing compliments in her ear. It had caught Luz so off guard her knees buckled and her friends all shifted to keep her up. 

“WAIHAIT! Nohoho, Amity, please! You know I cahahan’t take it-” “But it’s true!” Man, the Collector had really gotten her friends' personalities down. And it only became more abundant when the rest of them started teasing too. “Come on, Luz! I know you’re tougher than that!” Willow giggled as she kneaded Luz’s side at a steady rythm, making her squeal “You can take it!” Gus had a different tactic, constantly switching spots and jumping around so Luz could never tell where he was going to strike next. “Where’s the spot that makes her laugh the most again? Is it here- or here- or maybe heeeere?” “Man, if only I had known about this little weakness of yours when we were still enemies.” Hunter had a smug mischief in his voice that just dripped with the cockiness of an older brother messing with his younger sister. It reminded Luz of how he acted when they first met. “You would have been done for! Would’ve made our fights go by a lot faster, huh?”

That was really about all Luz could take. Her loud laughter was starting to turn into wheezes, and her friends finally let up. She sunk to the ground and curled up in a ball, still tingling with phantom tickles. “Collector… thahat… phew…” She looked up when she felt Amity’s comforting hand on her shoulder, and realized something she hadn’t before.

They had that light in their eyes. They had it since the Collector had disappeared!

“H-hey wait a minute! You’re you! Really you! You were tickling me on PURPOSE!” “Sorry…” Amity said with a giggle “I couldn’t help it, you’ve just been so down recently, we haven’t heard you laugh like that in so long.”

“You really needed it.” Willow said, crouching down next to her. “Seriously. And you better believe the nice things we said about you, or else.” Hunter tazed her side, earning him a loud squeak.“You guys are-”

But there wasn’t much time for Luz to finish. Her friends gasped when the puppet strings seized them again, jerking their limbs away from her.

“There’s no time to waste!” Shouted Gus. “You need to stop the Collector, you need to wake up!”

“Wait, but how?!”

Amity used the last of her strength to press a familiar glyph into Luz’s hand and offer her a warm smile.

Thirty…" Luz said, her hands over her eyes. As soon as she started counting, everyone scattered to find a hiding spot.

"Willow!" Gus whispered, gesturing wildly. "I need your help!"

29

He ran down the hallway, Willow's footsteps close behind. They ran down to the basement, closing the door as quietly as possible.

26

"What do you need help with?" Willow asked, speaking quietly. Gus grinned and simply pointed at a high shelf on the wall.

25

"Really?" She sighed as he nodded. "Fine, but I better have time to hide too."

"You will!" He said cheerfully, approaching the wall.

24

Willow rolled her eyes and stood behind him. He lifted his arms dramatically.

"Raise me to the heavens!" He announced, making his friend giggle.

23

"Ready?" She asked, putting her hands on his sides. He flinched slightly and nodded. In an easy motion, she lifted him into the air.

22

He stiffened so suddenly that she almost dropped him. She quickly set him back down to adjust her grip.

21

"Hey!" She whispered. "I don't wanna give you another concussion!"

"Sorry!" He whispered back. "I wasn't ready for it to tickle so much! Just try again."

20

"Are you sure? Cause you can't squirm." He nodded so she grabbed him again. Once again, he was lifted off the ground

19

He flinched and grabbed onto her hands. He bit his lip and tried to keep himself from moving too much. Willow rolled her eyes with a grin.

18

"You're too ticklish for this." She stated, standing on her tiptoes. "Reach for the shelf!"

17

He raised his hand, shifting slightly in his attempt to reach it. Willow slid her hand down to his hip to support him.

16

He snorted and clasped onto her hand, bending to the left and offsetting her balance. She squeaked and stumbled, squeezing him a few times by accident.

15

"Hehey!" He giggled, starting to squirm. "Dihid you do thahat on purpose!"

14

"No I didn't!" She finally steadied herself. "Reach for the shelf again! And stop squirming!"

13

"I cahan't!" He spluttered, shaking his head. "Stohop holding my hip!"

12

"If I do that, I'll drop you!" She retorted. "Just try! We're running out of time!"

11

He slowly raised his arm, his body shaking in somewhat withheld laughter. He swiped for the ledge, only to fall short.

10

Willow stumbled as their weight shifted again. She held on tighter, making Gus bring his arms back down as he laughed harder.

9

"Why couldn't you reach it?" She whispered, slightly louder to speak over his laughter.

8

"Nohot tahall ehenoughff!" He cried, really wiggling now. "Stahand ohon youhour tihiptohoes agahain!"

7

"You're moving too much!"

6

"Juhust tryhy!"

5

"Than stop moving!"

4

"Ihi cahan't!"

3

"We're almost out of time!"

2

"Ihi knohow! Lihift mehe hihigher!"

1

"What in the world are you two doing?"

Willow glanced behind her, still holding up the giggling boy. She sighed as she saw Luz, who looked incredibly amused.

"Helping him get to his hiding spot." She said, putting Gus down. He bent over, holding his sides as he calmed down.

"Well, I found you!" Luz grinned from ear to ear. "Come upstairs when he's calmed down! Now to find everyone else..."

With that, the human left.

Gus stood up straight, smiling nervously. "Better luck next time?" He said sheepishly.

Willow slowly turned to face him, her face unreadable. He gulped and stepped away.