Yearning
word count: 2,311
summary: sometimes, you don’t realize how much you miss something until it’s right in front of you.
this fic is a bit different then my usual ones! i played around with my writing style, and it’s pretty much half tickle fic, half me exploring characterization stuff. it’s a tad bit messy but whatever. anyways i haven’t written any eternalduo fics since last year, and that is too much time for me to not write about them. enjoy! :D
warning: this is a sfw tickle fic! don’t read if that makes you uncomfortable :]
extra notes: this fic takes place a couple of days after c!foolish joined the smp, in january of 2021. also, this fic is platonic. if you tag this as romantic i will fight you in a denny’s parking lot at 3am /neg
Foolish didn’t think he would ever see her again. And he still hasn’t, in a way.
When the totem of death had met Eret, she was a powerful being. She could defeat anyone in battle, yet still had the most relaxed, carefree, whimsical personality out of anyone that he had ever met. It was a perfect balance of light and darkness.
When the totem of life had met Eret, she was frantic. Uptight. Cautious. And he didn’t really blame her. She was a king, after all.
He just wondered what had made her this way.
So, here he was, in her castle, wandering and looking for the royal. Foolish wasn’t sure why, but he wanted to speak to Eret. He didn’t even know what he was going to talk about. He just… yearned for her, supposedly.
Some familiar humming could be heard around the corner, and Foolish saw the door to the castle library wide open. Taking a peek inside, he could see Eret walking amongst the bookshelves, a stack of books in her arms. It didn’t take long for her to spot him.
“Foolish?” She questioned.
“…Eret!” He said, stepping inside the room. “Uh, are you busy?”
“Not really. What’s up?”
Foolish paused, wondering what to say next. He didn’t know why, but she seemed to not really know who he was. From her perspective, they had known each other only for a few days. But from his perspective, they had known each other for a whole lifetime.
And he wasn’t sure if “We were best friends years ago and fought against monsters along with a wither cult together, except you don’t seem to remember it or me at all” was the best conversation starter.
“I just… wanted to check in.” He shrugged, walking to her. “How have ya been?”
“I’ve been alright.” She nodded, giving him a soft grin. “How about you? How have you been adjusting to your arrival here?”
Instead of answering right away, a thought crossed his mind. Why was she acting so formal? It was just the two of them…
“It’s been pretty good, yeah.” He said in response.
“Can I help you with anything?” Eret wondered aloud.
“Not particularly, but… is it okay if I stay here for a little bit?” The totem asked, hoping to not intrude.
“Oh, of course!” She nodded. “My castle is a home to all who pass by. You don’t ever have to ask, Foolish.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He smiled as Eret turned back around.
As she went back to stacking books on the bookshelves, Foolish looked around the surrounding area. The walls were sky-high, decorated with paintings and glass mosaic windows. Yet, the library felt small, but not in a bad way. It was homey, in a sense. Multiple chairs were set around a table, an ottoman couch aligned itself against the wall, and the lit fireplace emitted warmth into the library.
Foolish sat down at the table, which had various books and papers scattered about it. “So, what exactly are you doing right now?” He asked.
“Oh, just some organizing.” Eret called back to him.
“You seem like the organizer type.” Foolish thought.
“Hm, I suppose I could be described as such.” Eret said with a light chuckle.
Wait, did he say that out loud?
“It just helps me keep my mind off of things, I guess.” She continued. “I enjoy it, it keeps myself busy.”
Foolish nodded in acknowledgment, his eyes drawn to what was on the table. He could see books open to pages about historical events, and he saw a couple of photos of people he had and hadn’t met yet. Eret walked over, giving Foolish a soft, comforting smile as she placed some books onto the table, and grabbed the ones that were already there. She turned around and started walking away, and Foolish quickly stood up to follow her.
“This castle is really big… did you build it all yourself?” He asked.
“Mostly, with a bit of assistance here and there.” Eret nodded.
She had always had a passion for building. Foolish remembered times of back in the day, when Eret would always talk about large building projects she wanted to do, but didn’t have the time for.
Even with how much she’s changed, it made him happy to see that this passion of hers had stayed the same over time.
Eret hummed to herself, quickly walking amongst the bookshelves and finding the right places to put the books in. Foolish was low-key amazed with how easily she did it, even if it was relatively simple.
“You’re quite intriguing, you know.”
Foolish looked to his friend, who was looking back at him. “…I am?” He raised an eyebrow, confused.
“You are.” Eret nodded, turning back to the shelves. “I know we only met a couple of days ago, but I felt drawn to you, if I’m being honest. I’m not really sure why… it could be your personality, or that we share similar interest in building things… I don’t know. It’s just… you’re a very interesting person, Foolish.”
Foolish kept staring, unsure what to say in response. The royal turned back to see his surprised face, her lips curling into a small, awkward grin.
“Sorry, that was very sudden. I just felt like I should say it.” She apologized.
“No! No, it’s fine! I appreciate it!” Foolish reassured. “Really, I do.”
Eret nodded. “Well, it’s true. You’re very interesting, I’ll admit.”
“…I’m not really surprised that that’s what you think. I mean, they don’t call me “Foolish “Most Interesting God Alive” Gamers” for nothing.” He joked around, knowing no one had ever called him that. The joke made Eret smile, and then it made her laugh. She shook her head, laughing softly at the other’s silly behavior.
As they stood, Foolish’s emerald eyes looked out the window, seeing the dark night sky. “Oh- wow. I didn’t realize how late it was.” He pointed out.
Eret turned, noticing the darkness as well. “Oh my. It doesn’t even feel like you’ve been here for long.” She sighed, turning back to her friend. “Well, you know what they say. Time flies when you’re having fun.”
The totem grinned, happy to know that Eret enjoyed his company.
“I should probably get going.” He said, unsure if he wanted to leave, in all honesty.
“Well, you get a good night’s rest.” She nods. “And like I said earlier, my castle is home to anyone that steps inside. You’re welcome to come and visit any time.”
“I’ll be sure to, Eret.” Foolish nodded in return, leaning forward and placing his hand on her shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze, as if to say, “I’ll definitely be back.”
However, Eret let out a startled noise, stepping away and placing a hand over her mouth.
Foolish stared at her, intrigued. “What was that?” He asked.
“I- Nothing. It was nothing.” Eret said, looking away and placing one final book on it’s shelf.
“Nothing?” Foolish repeated. “It didn’t seem like nothing, it-”
Oh.
Oh.
In that moment, Foolish had remembered one small, tiny detail about his friend.
And by the looks of it, it was a detail that had stayed the same about Eret, even after all these years.
“Eret?” Foolish questioned, this time, with mischievous intent that was obvious to the other.
“Foolish, I thought you said you had to get going.” Eret said with a nervous grin.
The god huffed out a breath. “You know what? You’re right. It’s getting dark. I had fun spending time with you, though.” He exclaimed, holding his hand out to Eret. She looked a bit confused at first, but slowly reached towards his hand to give him a handshake. And then…
BZZZT!
As a small spark united between them, Eret burst into giggles, pulling her hand away. “Whahat the hell?!” She asked Foolish, who held a shit-eating grin on his face.
“Gotcha!” He giggled along with her.
“That… that felt weird.” She said, looking at her own hand.
“Weird how?” Foolish smirked, knowing the answer. Eret looked up, giggling with a nervous smile on her face.
“Oh, come on, pal! You were all chatty with me earlier, and now you’re not answering my question! Kind of rude, don’t you think?” He poked at her side a couple of times, watching her flinch and squirm away.
“Fohoolihish-” She snickered, returning to covering her mouth with her hand. She felt the other’s hands wrap around her torso and squeeze at her sides, and she didn’t have time to properly think before her body went limp like jello.
“Oh goHOD!” Eret melted in his hold, uncovering her mouth and letting her laughter flow free.
“Awww, there’s that smile!” Foolish cooed, squeezing up and down and up and down again. He noticed that Eret was losing balance, so he slowly lowered her to the ground, following her down and continuing his playful attack.
“You’re not even fighting back!” Foolish noted out loud, to which his friend let out an embarrassed, giggly whine into his chest. While keeping one hand squeezing away at her side, he surprised her by using her other hand to scribble at her stomach. Eret let out a sudden squeal, her squirming increasing almost instantly. She continued to laugh until she grabbed onto Foolish’s wrists.
“O-Ohokahay! Thahat’s eHEnohough!” She giggled as Foolish’s hands came to a stop. They were looking right at each other, and he could see her smile.
Now, for the past few days of knowing each other, Eret had smiled at Foolish. She had given him small, welcoming, smiles and warm grins. This, however, right now? It was a smile. A large, goofy, genuine smile.
It was the smile that Foolish had recognized from seeing it years ago. It was the smile that would be on Eret’s face whenever exploring a hidden temple. It was the smile that would be on Eret’s face when she was laughing too hard to be able to get out a full sentence. It was the smile that was Eret’s face when she and Foolish had realized that they had defeated the wither cult for good.
And right now, it was the genuine smile that Foolish had longed to see. He didn’t realize how much he wanted to see it. How much he needed to see it. All of those years of memories were flooding back to him, and it made him feel warm inside.
However, his thoughts were interrupted by a shriek of his own laughter.
“EHERET-! Wahait! WaHAhait!” He squealed out, feeling fingers start to dance along his sides. “Thihis ihisn’t faHAIHIR!”
“Oh come on, I’m just doing what you did to me! And I, for one, think that’s completely fair!” Eret grinned, swiping her nails across his belly and making him giggle like mad. “Wow, it looks like you’re a lot more ticklish than myself.” She teased.
“NohOHOhoho!” Foolish whined. “Ihi’m nohot!”
“Really?” Eret smirked evilly, more than willing to test that theory. She increased the speed of her fingers, wiggling themselves all around his side and stomach.
“And you’re not even fighting back, either! How adorable…” She smiled, giggling as she watched Foolish’s face become pink with embarrassment. In this moment, her hands trailed down to his hips, lightly scratching along them. Foolish’s laughter went up a whole octave, and he covered his face with his hands.
“Is this a bad spot?” Eret teased, her movements light and taunting. Foolish shook his head no, and the two of them knew that was a lie. She squeezed at his hips and used the tips of her nails to add light scratching to the sensation. The shark hybrid let out a loud snort, laughing and grabbing onto her wrists as she had done with him earlier.
“OKAHAY! Okayokayohokahay! Tihime ohout!!” He insisted, watching as Eret laughed and pulled her hand away. The two of them sat together on the floor, looking into each other’s eyes and letting leftover giggles fill the air.
“I should prohobably go, it’s pretty dark out.” Foolish stated, standing up and helping Eret stand up as well.
“Alright.” Eret sighed, grinning as she held onto Foolish’s hand. “…Foolish, I know we’ve known each other only for a couple of days, but… I have a feeling this friendship will last for a long time.”
We’ve known each other only for a couple of days.
Those words rung painfully in Foolish’s ears. They had a lifetime of memories together as best friends, and she didn’t remember a single one of them.
And before he realized he had done so, Foolish had pulled Eret into a tight hug.
The library that was filled with the joyous sounds of laughter just a few minutes ago was now filled with a cold silence.
Eret paused, surprised, but she hugged him back after a moment. Her warmth made Foolish feel a familiar feeling that he had not felt in a while.
He felt at home.
Eret pulled away, smiling. “I suppose I’ll see you soon?” She asked.
“Yeah… yeah.” Foolish nodded, giving her one last look before walking towards the door. “Night, Eret!”
“Goodnight, Foolish.” She said, following him until he had left the room, and then gently closing the door behind him.
Foolish walked down the halls of her castle, heading towards the entrance to leave. As he walked along the wooden floor, he couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit upset. He didn’t know what had caused Eret to lose her memories, and he wanted to know. However, the sadness was quickly replaced with a feeling of hope. Hope for a bright future with his friend.
It was just as she said. Even though Eret had only known him for a couple of days, they were already very close.
Maybe one day, they would become as close as they used to be.
