☆ reverse ed-ology ☆
lee!ed / lers!eddy, double d ๋ ࣭ ⭑๋ ࣭ ⭑ wordcount : 1068
part 1 - the tickle tax
i want to give ed some love because UGH i wanna pinch his cheeks and spoon feed him gravy◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜
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By the time the two scam artists dragged themselves back to the cul-de-sac, they looked absolutely unequivocally wrecked.
Sweaty, red-faced, shirts rumpled, breathing hard like they’d run a marathon… or been thoroughly tickled half to death by vengeful peers.
Which, technically, they had.
Ed was waiting by the sidewalk, happily humming to himself while stacking bottle caps in a pyramid. He looked up as they approached, beaming wide and knocking over the tower for the fifth time.
“Oh boy! Eddy! Double D! You’re back! I missed you, you little dickens you!”
Eddy stopped dead in his tracks, eyes narrowing. “Ed.”
“Yuh-huh?” Ed blinked innocently.
“Where the heck were you when we were getting tortured within an inch of our lives?” Eddy demanded, stomping up and giving Ed a shove (which did absolutely nothing to Ed’s unmovable frame). “We got jumped! Tickled half to death! Where were you?!”
Ed tilted his head. “You did not say you needed me.”
“WHAT?! YOU ALWAYS KNOW WE NEED YOU, YOU LUGNUT!” Eddy threw his hands up. “Unbelievable! You missed the whole show with your selfish self preservation!” He accused, as if he’d never weasled his way out of retribution for his actions and left Ed and Ed to take on the brunt of the storm.
Edd rubbed his arm awkwardly. “Eddy, really, there’s no need to-”
“Oh, no, Sockhead, not this time! If Ed wants to know what he missed so badly, I say we show him.”
Ed’s eyes sparkled. “Show me, Eddy?” He asked as a grin spread across his face.
Eddy’s grin turned slow and impish. “Yeah. Come here, ya big oaf.”
Before Ed could question it, Eddy pounced. He tackled Ed onto the grass with surprising force, straddling his waist and digging in mercilessly at his belly.
“LEMME SHOW YA WHAT IT FEELS LIKE, BIG GUY!”
“BWAAAAAHAHAHAHA!! EDDY!! I AM SOHOHORRY!!”
“Oh no, it’s too late for sorries now! This is what you missed!” Eddy sneered, scribbling fast and ruthless across Ed’s sides, his fingers practically vibrating with the effort. “Hope you’re enjoying the show!”
“EDDYYYYY! I CAHAHAHAN’T—BAHAHAHAHAD IDEA—BAHAHAHA!!”
“Eddy,” Edd tried, “do you really think this is productive?”
“Either help or get outta the way, Sockhead!”
Double D sighed. “Oh dear…” But his hands hovered uncertainly above Ed’s thrashing body. “Ed, do you… mind if I…?”
“PLEHEHEASE! SAVE MEEE—OR NOT!! I DOHOHON’T KNOW!!”
Eddy barked a laugh. “You heard him, Double D! No mercy!”
Double D nervously bit the inside of his cheek. He felt wrong participating in a revenge that was not Ed’s fault, but he did look like he was enjoying it. What would be the harm?
Eventually, he knelt beside them, far more reserved as opposed to Eddy who had immediately taken the chance to leap onto Ed and practically cling onto him. His fingers brushed lightly up Ed’s sides, skimming over his ribs with feather-soft touches.
The difference was immediate. Ed’s laughter somehow grew even louder, more frantic despite the gentler approach.
“EEEHEHEHEHE DOUBLE-DEEHEHE THAT TIHIHIHICKLES SO BAD!”
“Oh my, you’re quite sensitive here, aren’t you?” Double D mused, his face going pink. “I didn’t realize…” He always enjoyed Ed’s contagious laughter, deep and rumbly.
His hand slid up between Ed’s shoulder blades, intending to soothe—but the moment his fingertips lightly scratched at the spot just below the center of Ed’s back, Ed shrieked.
“EEEEEEEK! STOP! STOP STOP STOP!!”
Eddy and Edd froze.
Eddy blinked. “Uh… he’s never said stop before.”
Double D pulled his hands back immediately, looking horrified. “Ed? I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to upset you. Are you alright?”
They both stared at Ed, who lay panting, wide-eyed, and flushed.
And then, to their utter confusion, Ed tilted his head. “Why did you stop?”
Eddy’s jaw dropped. “Y-You screamed bloody murder to stop, you idiot. That’s usually the part where people stop!”
“But it was funny,” Ed said simply. “I was having fun.”
Double D stared. “Ed… do you… enjoy being tickled?”
“Of course I do, Double D!” Ed beamed. “It makes my tummy feel happy and my toes feel like tap-dancers!”
Eddy groaned and flopped onto Ed’s chest. “You’ve gotta be kidding me. I was trying to punish you.”
Ed giggled as Eddy’s face mashed into his shirt and encouragingly lifted up his arms, leaving him defenseless. “Oh no… don’t tickle me again!”
Double D’s face burned, finding himself plagued with a little second hand embarrassment. “That sounds rather like… reverse psychology, doesn’t it?”
Eddy smirked against Ed’s chest. “You’re so weird, Ed.”
Then he sat up. “Fine. You asked for it.”
“Nohohohoho I DIDN’T MEAN IT!!” Ed howled, already laughing as Eddy dug back into his belly with fast, scribbling fingers.
“You love it, ya weirdo.”
“I DOOOHOHOHON’T!!”
Double D sighed, exasperated but fond. “Well… if you insist…” He resumed his gentle ministrations at Ed’s ribs, making sure to avoid the devastating spot on his back… for now.
Eddy’s fingers were a blur as he pounced again like a determined cowboy trying to tame a bucking bronco. Or an unruly kitten with zero concepts of personal space. “You wanted the show? You're gettin’ the show!” he announced dramatically, then went right back to work on Ed’s belly.
“EHEHEHEHEHEH!!! EDDYYYYY!! MERCYYYY!” Ed cried out, arms waving in surrender, only to accidentally whack himself in the face. He didn’t even seem to notice. His cheeks were glowing pink, eyes squinting shut in ticklish agony. Or bliss. Probably both, knowing Ed.
Double D covered his mouth, stifling a chuckle despite himself. “Honestly, Eddy, I don’t believe this is teaching him a lesson at all.” He gazed down at Ed in fondness, his skilled fingers wriggling into Ed’s ribs.
Between the two of them, Ed was reduced to a happy, wiggly puddle of giggles. Eddy’s rough teasing and Double D’s sweet technique made for a combo Ed could barely withstand yet clearly loved, no matter how he
Eventually, Eddy flopped down beside him, exhausted. “Okay. Okay. I’m not mad anymore.”
“I knew you couldn’t stay mad,” Double D smiled, resting beside them. “Ed’s laughter is quite… disarming, isn’t it?”
Eddy rolled his eyes again, but a grin pulled at his mouth. “Yeah, yeah… stupid contagious laugh.”
“I love you guys,” Ed sighed happily, eyes closed.
Eddy groaned and smacked Ed’s arm. “Oh shut up, ya dork.”
Double D chuckled. “We love you too, Ed.” He responded, already knowing Eddy felt the same way.