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Dark Sorcerers Don’t Laugh

(So I’m exhausted and I’ve been going through some ~family issues~ but I live and here’s a fic that I finished a couple of weeks ago. I’m still not doing too hot, so I don’t know if I’ll post anything else for a while, but I’m technically okay and I’ll probably still write on and off for the next few weeks. On a lighter note, I actually really enjoyed writing this one, so I hope you all like it!)

Warning: This is a tickle fic, and I run a SFW tickle-themed blog. NSFW are more than welcome to read, but please do not reblog if you are primarily kink themed blog. Thank you for respecting my boundaries.

Fandom: Cookie Run: Ovenbreak (can apply to Kingdom as well)

Ship: Pre-romantic(?) Licorice x Herb

Characters: Lee!Licorice, Ler!Herb

Words: 3106

Potential Warnings: I see Dark Enchantress as a pos but she’s only talked about, not physically there; mentions of kidnapping (but once again, no action)

"Stupid Dark Enchantress, sending me on this dumb tracking mission…"

Licorice was not having a good day. His normally-respectable boss, Dark Enchantress, had called for him earlier that day. She said she had an "important mission" for him -- but he felt that any old subordinate could have pulled this off. He was meant to track down someone named Gingerbrave, as he had been in contact with some hero-types lately and could have some valuable information. A simple fetch quest -- how insulting. Licorice couldn't believe it! He'd shown so much dedication to the Enchantress, hoping that she would throw him a bone and treat him like a proper employee, and he'd put so much effort into even the smallest of assignments (though he often screwed up). But apparently, he just wasn't good enough.

Well, fine then. He didn't need her anyway! It's not like she would even notice if he quit.

But...for as much as he didn't want to say it, he did need Enchantress. She'd given him purpose, for as twisted as it was, and he needed to help her see all of her plans to fruition. That was the deal, and if he didn't complete his own duty, then he'd be regarded as a coward. He was at an impasse.

He thought for a moment as he walked, trudging his feet in the dirt. His adversary, Pomegranate, had received a much better quest than him -- she was going to spend the next week designing weapons and writing spells to make Enchantress' forces even stronger. Just thinking about it made Licorice green with envy. He could do impressive things, too! He just had to prove himself, and with the slim opportunities he was getting, he'd have to go above and beyond.

What if, instead of simply interrogating this Gingerbrave guy, he kidnapped him instead? Then he'd bring him back to Enchantress, and she would not only be proud of Licorice's accomplishment, but she'd also have a potential new underling. If anything, that would put Licorice above someone else, and he'd get closer to being Enchantress' favorite! The sorcerer snickered deviously -- all part of his master plan. That'd show all of them! He felt powerful just thinking about it.

That is, until he tripped and tumbled into someone's garden.

"Agh! What the--?!" Licorice growled with annoyance, muttering curses to himself while trying to stand. Unfortunately, whatever kind of plants these were had long and thick vines, and the more he struggled, the more tangled he became. "What kind of maniac grows something so frustrating?!"

"Oh, my goodness, are you alright?" a sweet voice called out. Licorice flinched and looked up, making eye contact with a young and adorable gardener.

He was very sweet-looking -- that was the first thing that Licorice noticed. His hair was soft and a light green color, and he had a tan skin tone. His clothes were simplistic and modest, and he was slightly covered in dirt. He looked concerned, and Licorice realized that he must have stumbled into this person's garden in particular. "So this one is responsible for these stupid vines," Licorice thought.

"Yeah, I'm...fine." His response wasn't convincing in the slightest, but what else was he supposed to say? "I just...fell and got stuck, I guess. Stupid things..."

"Do you want some help?" the gardener asked, holding his hand out kindly. Licorice sneered.

"I'm fine," the sorcerer repeated, struggling but remaining tangled. "I can handle it. But while you're here, do you know anything about a guy named Gingerbrave?"

The plant lover did not respond right away. He stared at Licorice, clearly studying him and trying to figure out his motive. Licorice glared back -- he knew this soft boy probably wasn't going to tell him anything, but it was worth a shot. What could go wrong?

"I...don't know much about who you speak of," the gardener answered finally, "but I might be able to point you in the right direction. Just let me help you get free, first."

Licorice rolled his eyes impatiently. "Fine. Make it quick, alright?"

The kind man nodded and knelt down, working to gently untangle the vines. "My name's Herb, by the way. What's yours?"

"None of your business," the sorcerer grumbled rudely, tapping his foot and letting Herb do what he needed to. This wasn't a horrible setback, but it was still a waste of time, and this made Licorice angry. The sooner he got out of this jungle that could barely be called a garden, the better. He had an evil plan to put into motion, and being slowed down wasn't helping him at all.

"Ah, hold on, there's a really big knot right here...might take a little while," Herb pointed out.

Licorice groaned. "Why don't you just get some shears and-- AAH!" The spellcaster jerked in surprise at the very sudden feeling of fingers on his rib cage. They weaved underneath the vines and wiggled around, making him clear his throat and look away. "L-look, just hurry up!"

"Of course. I'm going as fast as I can without hurting you or my plants," Herb explained, continuing to prod around Licorice's torso and make him twitch with suppressed mirth and embarrassment.

There was no "big knot," really. Just one small vine curled around Licorice's torso. It could be undone easily, if Herb found the end of it. But, of course, Licorice didn't need to know that. He was clearly up to no good, with the way he'd been muttering and sneaking around before tripping into Herb's precious garden, and then he'd asked about Gingerbrave. Herb was a generally trusting person, but he wasn't stupid, and he'd never sell out one of his friends. So for now, he'd distract this mysterious stranger, and then he'd send him on his way.

Apparently, though, his "untangling" method was yielding some interesting results.

Licorice was trying to cover up his reactions, and he was failing miserably. He wasn't laughing (yet), but he was still flinching at every little poke that Herb gave to his torso. He bit his lower lip in an effort to hide a growing smile.

"Are you okay there?" Herb asked after a few moments. His voice was kind, but with a slight air of amusement to it -- it made Licorice's ears go red.

"I-I'm fine!" the sorcerer snapped, though it sounded more like a squawk in execution. He tugged at the vines on his wrist -- Herb hadn't undone them yet, and he was still stuck.

"You've been saying that a lot, and I'm starting to think it's not true," Herb hummed, deciding to use Licorice's nerves to his advantage. The gardener started by poking more strategically, testing the waters -- he first counted a few ribs, and then he went in between them for good measure. Then he walked his fingers up and down Licorice's side. The smothered giggles were absolutely worth it.

"Y-yohou're doing that on puhurpose!" Licorice whined, trying to seem annoyed. Herb simply chuckled at him.

"I don't really know what you're talking about -- of course I'm purposefully trying to untangle these vines." Feeling a little more playful, Herb gave a few soft pokes to Licorice's underarms (this earned a not-so-quiet squeak), and then he went a bit rougher by tweaking Licorice's lowest rib.

"GAHA--" Half of a cackle escaped the sorcerer before he clamped his mouth shut out of embarrassment. Herb smiled at him sweetly.

"What's so funny?"

"N-nothing!" Licorice blurted, looking away from the gardener and wishing that he could hide the smile that he was failing to force down. He had to make it through this -- he was not going to be humiliated by some simple, random man that he had stumbled across on this stupid mission.

"Nothing?" Herb confirmed with a soft chuckle. "But you laughed."

"I did not," Licorice responded indignantly, having a sort of 'how dare you' tone. "I'm a sorcerer, and a powerful one too. Dark sorcerers don't laugh."

"Oh, really?~"

At the sudden mischievous tone, Licorice went bright red and gulped. He'd made a challenge, he realized, and that would likely be the death of him. He didn't get another chance to protest before Herb started kneading at his stomach, making him break out into surprised guffaws.

"BAHAHA, WAHAHAHAIHIHIT! NAHAHAHA!"

Herb smirked slightly, still kneading gently as well as he could through Licorice's cloak. It didn't really seem to protect the sorcerer much, though -- he was already cackling, and Herb couldn't tell if it was from the tickling itself or the built-up tension.

"GEHEHET OHOFF OF MEHEHE!" Licorice protested, kicking his legs and reaching to try and pull his hood over his face. Why, of all things, did it have to be this?! It didn't hurt him, physically or mentally, but it was embarrassing -- his laugh was loud and he hated it, and he was more ticklish than he'd ever care to admit. He couldn't tell what was worse -- the idea of any of his coworkers finding out about this, or having this weakness exploited by a random cute guy.

"But why should I? I'm helping," Herb teased. The growl that Licorice tried to respond with lost its thunder as it was swallowed up in his laughter. He started to object and declare that he was not, in fact, helping -- but then he noticed that the gardener had started kneading with only one hand, and he was moving the vines around Licorice's legs. Of course. The sorcerer pouted a bit, trying to regain his composure and squirming away from Herb's ticklish touch.

After a little while, the kneading stopped, allowing Licorice to catch his breath. He whispered a few not-so-subtle curse words, and he eyed Herb carefully as the other worked around his calves and thighs.

"Are you doing okay there?" Herb asked, looking up and meeting Licorice's gaze. His expression was genuine, and the sorcerer could only respond by averting his gaze with a flustered grumble. Herb chuckled a little. "Alright, good."

The gardener began working to unwind a rather thick vine, which was curled around Licorice's thighs and knotted with other vines in some places. This one was going to take a while. Herb sighed and started by untangling the knots -- they were all tight and close to Licorice's legs, so they were hard to work with.

But as he worked, his fingers brushing against Licorice's legs, the sorcerer flinched at each little touch. He glared at Herb, but this proved to be a bluff as his shy smile began to creep its way back onto his face. "Cahan you go any faster?!" Licorice snapped in an effort to hide his rising giggles.

Herb didn't seem to be threatened, and he instead raised an eyebrow at Licorice with a teasing smile. "Don't tell me you're ticklish here, too."

The sorcerer's face had to be completely red at this point. "I'm n-nohot!" he huffed, jerking his legs away. His heart skipped a beat when Herb grabbed them back and clawed gently at the tops of his thighs. "W-wahahahait! Thahat's nohot fahahahair!"

Herb giggled a little to himself, clearly enjoying this. He continued to work at the knots, but he would periodically pause to scribble at Licorice's sensitive legs, keeping the poor sorcerer in stitches. Though his laugh was much less loud here, his thighs were a worse spot than his stomach (and he was grateful for Herb remaining gentle this time). And even though it was quieter, his laugh was still humiliating. Thankfully, Dark Enchantress and Pomegranate had never seen him like this -- he didn’t know what he’d do if that happened.

"You're adorable," Herb murmured, not realizing he'd said it out loud. Licorice just about died, sputtering and staring at Herb indignantly. ADORABLE?! He was not adorable! How dare this random gardener call him that?!

"E-excuse you?!" he retorted. "I am not adorahahaAHAHA WAHAHIT WAHAIT NOHOHO!" The sorcerer was cut off by sudden clawing at his ribs, another one of his bad spots. "YOHOHOUHU--!"

“Sorry, what were you saying?” Herb asked nonchalantly, unable to hide his smile as he went up and down Licorice’s rib cage. He wiggled his fingers in the spaces in between the ribs, making Licorice throw his head back with laughter, and then he began to count from the top ribs down to the bottom, one by one. It drove the sorcerer absolutely mad.

“CUHUHUT TH-THAHAT OHOHOUT!” he whined, trying not to lose himself in the mirth. He couldn’t stand this! A random cute boy, whose garden he had fallen into, was somewhat trying to help him, smiling at him sweetly, and tickling him to the point of tears. Was he dreaming? That was the only possible explanation for something that was so humiliating.

“Oh, I will! And I’ll get you free pretty soon, don’t worry,” Herb said reassuringly, patting Licorice’s head with one hand and thoroughly confusing him. “But I’m enjoying myself right now -- it’s not every day that I get an adorable stranger tangled in my plants -- and you seem to be enjoying this yourself, too!”

What?! Impossible. There was no way that Licorice was enjoying this! It was far too demeaning to be likeable in any way...wasn’t it? It wasn’t like Licorice was...leaning into the touch, or...wishing it would never end...

It wasn’t often that he got much affection anymore. He got along with a few of his coworkers, his fellow servants of Dark Enchantress, but the others made his life increasingly difficult. He and Pomegranate didn’t talk to each other if they didn’t have to, and both of them were fine with that arrangement. And as for Enchantress herself, she was very...authoritarian. Licorice was devoted to her, yes, but that didn’t make her any less annoying when she assigned him stupid missions like this or repremanded him for little things. But that was fine -- she was an evil overlord, and that was her job. He was fine with that. He could live like that.

Right?

His thoughts were rudely interrupted as Herb brought his hands down, squeezing at Licorice’s sides and then at his hips. This made the sorcerer squeal and buck before breaking into an endless string of giggling. “W-wahahait! N-nohohot th-theheheherehee! Heheherb!”

Herb melted at the adorable tittering, and he was absolutely enamored with Licorice’s giddy smile and rose-colored blush. He continuously switched between squeezing and clawing for Licorice’s hips to keep the giggles coming, and his efforts rewarded him with a few snorts. “You’re so cute!~” he cooed, smiling down at the sorcerer (who whined at him in response).

“Nahahahat cuhuhute! Nohohoho! Ehehehehe!” Licorice forgot about struggling and began to worry only about hiding his face -- he was so embarrassed that he thought his heart was going to explode. Herb had discovered all three of his worst spots (right after the other, no less), and he was still tangled in those dumb vines that were keeping him there. He didn’t know what to do, and he’d given up fighting back his laughter, so he decided to just sit there and take it. It wasn’t like he minded much, anyhow.

“Well, I think you are!” Herb argued back with a smile, slowing to a stop. Licorice was starting to hiccup, and Herb didn’t want to go past his limit. Once he stopped, he let the sorcerer catch his breath and went back to working at the vines. There wasn’t much left -- just the ones around his arms now.

It didn’t take long for Herb to finally untangle the last few vines, and he slipped them off with ease. Licorice was still catching his breath with a few stray giggles escaping now and then, so the gardener ran off quickly to fetch a bottle of water. When he returned, Licorice was a bit more stable, and he took the bottle gratefully. He drank quite a bit before stopping and looking up at Herb.

“W-what...the hell...was that for?” he managed to ask. Herb smiled at him and patted his head again.

“Well, like I said, I don’t get many cute strangers around here anymore,” the gardener explained, earning a quiet embarrassed groan. “But also, I saw the way you were sulking earlier, all angry and mumbly. They say laughter’s the best medicine, so I thought I’d try to cheer you up while untangling you!”

Licorice was quiet for a few moments. Cheer him up? Why? Perhaps it was better not to ask and just accept it. He tugged his hood lower in one final effort to hide his shyness.

“T-thanks, or...whatever. Now can you give me some directions?” he asked impatiently. He wanted to complete his mission quickly.

“Oh, of course!” Herb stood up, helped Licorice to his feet, and then pointed off in the distance (which was the completely wrong direction, but once again, Licorice didn’t need to know that). “You’re gonna want to go that way, as far as you can reach. I’m not sure if the guy I’m thinking of is who you’re looking for, but that’s what I remember.”

The sorcerer rolled his eyes. “Alright. I’ll be on my way then.” He started to leave, then paused. “Maybe I’ll...see you again on my way back.”

Herb chuckled a bit. “Let’s hope you don’t get tangled up in my garden again if you come back. Safe travels!” He waved as Licorice began to leave, content, but also hoping that his friends would be safe.

Licorice walked onwards. He was still jittery from the encounter, and he was watching his footing a lot more closely now, but he was...oddly calmer. He was in less of a ranting mood, and he was much less tense than he had been earlier in the day. Maybe the encounter was a good thing for him -- but of course, he’d never admit that to anyone. He tried to get his head back in mission-mode, but it was hard when all he could think about was Herb’s teasing and that stupid, sweet smile of his. What gave him the right to be so cute, anyhow?!

The sorcerer sighed and continued to think on the matter. He likely wouldn’t be able to find this dumb Gingerbrave person, and even if he did, he’d likely fail in capturing him or getting any information -- he always failed, even when he tried his hardest. A crippling defeat would make Enchantress even more disappointed in him, and he already knew that he wouldn’t want to return to her for a couple of days. He’d need some way to relax, detense, unwind.

Maybe he would stumble into Herb’s garden again on his way back. On accident, of course. He wouldn’t mind.

#cookie run tickling

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