The One Tactic They Know
Lee!Jax
Ler!Kaufmo Ler!Ribbit
This fic is based off the wonderful art made by PinkleBelle! Link Here :D
Word Count: ~2200
Warnings: None
This is a SFW tickle fic, if you don't like that then don't read :)
Kaufmo and Ribbit notice Jax hasn't smiled much lately. They only know one way to fix that. Jax remembers exactly what that way is :3
The circus was quiet that afternoon.
Not the bad kind of quiet. Not the heavy, tense silence that sometimes settled over the tent when something had gone wrong with an adventure or someone was off sulking in their room. This was the good kind. The calm kind. Jax was frowning at the ceiling.
He was sprawled across the couch, his long legs dangling over one armrest and his head laid against the other. His ears were drooping. And he was frowning.
He'd been frowning for a while.
Kaufmo noticed first. He usually did. Spending enough time around the same handful of people made it easy to notice when something was off.
Kaufmo set down the deck of cards he'd been shuffling for the past ten minutes and tilted his head toward the couch. His bow tie was crooked. It was always crooked. Ribbit had told him seventeen times, and he still has never fixed it.
"What's up with him?" Kaufmo asked.
Ribbit was sitting cross-legged on the floor nearby, poking at one of the circus's weird little creatures that Caine made. Some kind of floating blob. It made a soft boinging sound every time she touched it. Boing. Boing. Boing.
"Dunno," Ribbit said. "He's been like that all morning."
"All morning?"
"Since breakfast."
"That was four hours ago."
"I know."
Kaufmo frowned. Four hours was a long time to stare at the ceiling, even for Jax. Jax wasn't exactly a ray of sunshine on a normal day. He was smug, lazy, and just mischievous enough to steal the last donut while looking you in the eye. But he didn't usually frown for four straight hours.
"You think something's wrong?" Kaufmo asked.
Ribbit gave the blob one last boing and then turned to look at Jax properly. His ears were still drooping. His arms were crossed. He hadn't moved in at least twenty minutes.
"He's been kinda off all week," Ribbit said. "Quiet and distracted. I tried asking him about it yesterday and he just said he was 'just tired'."
"Tired for a whole week?"
"That's what I said."
Kaufmo picked up his cards again and shuffled them absently. The soft flick of the deck filled the quiet. "We should do something."
"Do what?"
"I don't know. Something. He's been frowny."
"Frowny isn't a word."
"It is now."
Ribbit snorted. She pushed herself up from the floor and dusted off her knees. The little blob drifted away, boinging softly. "You want to cheer him up?"
"Yeah."
"How?"
Kaufmo thought about it. They'd tried the usual things. The joke routines. The card games. The long rambling conversations about nothing in particular that usually got Jax to crack a smile. None of it had worked this week. He'd still joked around. He'd still smiled. Something about it just felt… quieter. "We could try the tactic," Kaufmo said.
Ribbit blinked. Then a slow grin spread across her face.
"The tactic?"
"The tactic."
"The one that always works?"
"The one that always works."
Ribbit's grin widened. She looked over at Jax, still sprawled on the couch, still frowning at the ceiling. He had no idea what was coming. He had no idea they were even talking about him.
"I like this plan," Ribbit said.
Kaufmo set his cards aside and stood up. His bow tie was still crooked. He didn't fix it. "Let's go cheer up our rabbit."
Jax heard them coming.
He didn't move. He didn't look. But his ears swiveled toward the sound of footsteps, and he knew. You didn't survive in the circus without developing a sixth sense for when your friends were about to be annoying.
"Whatever it is," he said to the ceiling, "no."
"We haven't said anything yet," Kaufmo pointed out.
"You didn't have to. You're doing the thing."
"What thing?"
"The thing where you two scheme."
Ribbit and Kaufmo exchanged a look. Jax was sharp. He always had been. That was part of why they liked him, even when he was being a grouch.
"We're not scheming," Ribbit said. "We're just concerned about your well-being."
"My well-being is fine."
"Your ears are drooping."
Jax's ears immediately perked up. Not because he was happy, but because he'd been caught. "No they're not."
"They were."
"It's… gravity."
"Gravity doesn't affect rabbit ears."
"It's circus gravity. Different rules."
Ribbit and Kaufmo had reached the couch by now. They stood on either side of it, looking down at Jax, looking far too pleased with themselves. Jax stayed exactly where he was, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the ceiling.
"You've been frowning for four hours," Kaufmo said.
"I'm not frowning. I'm thinking."
"About what?"
"Stuff."
"What kind of stuff?"
"Rabbit stuff. You wouldn't get it."
Ribbit sat down on the armrest.
"You know," she said, "me and Kaufmo have been talking."
"Terrifying."
"And we noticed you've been kind of frowny lately."
"Frowny isn't a word."
"That's what I said," Ribbit said to Kaufmo.
"That's what she said," Kaufmo confirmed.
Jax's eyes narrowed. "Why are you two ganging up on me?"
"Because we care about you," Kaufmo said.
"Gross."
"And we want to cheer you up."
"I'm cheered. Mission accomplished. You can leave now."
"You're still frowning."
"I'm SMILING." Jax flashed them the most exaggerated grin he could manage. "See? Smiling. Hooray."
Ribbit looked at Kaufmo. Kaufmo looked at Ribbit.
"The tactic?" Ribbit said.
"The tactic," Kaufmo agreed.
Jax's grin disappeared.
"…What tactic?"
Neither of them answered.
They just smiled.
And took a step forward.
Jax immediately scooted backward across the couch.
"…W-Wait."
Another step.
He slid off the couch and stumbled backward onto the floor.
"W-WAIT, guys."
Ribbit wiggled her fingers in Jax's direction.
Jax took another step back.
"Please… n-not again."
Kaufmo kept walking.
"So you do know the tactic."
"I'm SMILING!" Jax blurted, forcing the widest grin he could manage. He pointed frantically at his own face.
"LOOK! I'm smiling!"
Neither of them slowed down.
Jax couldn't stop letting out a nervous little, "Heheh-"
"…Guys?"
Another step.
He bumped into the wall behind him.
Dead end. Jax looked at the wall and then slowly turned his head to face his friends. There was nowhere else to go. Kaufmo and Ribbit's shadows loomed over him like a tower as Jax curled in.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me…"
Jax wasted no time and made a break for it.
Ribbit caught one of his ankles with a laugh.
"Ha! Gotcha."
Jax stumbled.
"WAHAIT-"
He hit the floor with a startled yelp.
Before he could push himself back up, Kaufmo slipped in behind him and caught both of his wrists, lifting them up beside his ears.
"WAHAIT-"
"There we go," Kaufmo laughed.
"Nohoho, don't 'there we go' me-"
Ribbit knelt down in front of him, flexing her fingers.
"You know," she said with a grin, "you're making this really easy."
Jax's eyes darted from Ribbit… to Kaufmo… then back again.
His ears flattened.
"N-No…"
"Heheh…"
"I'm already smiling…"
His nervous grin returned before either of them even touched him.
"LOOK! I'm smiling!"
Ribbit wiggled her fingers just above his stomach.
"Plehehease don't…"
"Don't what?"
"Tickle me… WAIT NO-"
Her fingers landed on his stomach in quick, playful scribbles.
"GAHAHAHAHA-!"
Kaufmo tightened his hold just enough to keep Jax's wrists comfortably pinned beside his ears as the rabbit immediately started squirming.
Jax gave one hopeless tug against Kaufmo's grip. It didn't even budge.
"N-NOHOHO-"
"Oh~?" Kaufmo teased. "We haven't even done anything yet."
"YOHOHOU KNOW WHAHAHAT YOU'RE DOHOHOING-"
Ribbit grinned.
"I do."
Her fingers fluttered across his stomach, scribbling circles that sent him into another fit of laughter.
"GAHAHAHAHA-!"
Jax folded forward instinctively before Kaufmo gently pulled him upright again.
"No fair," Kaufmo laughed. "You have to stay where we can see you."
"NOHOHO-!"
Ribbit barely had to move.
Every tiny scribble sent another wave of helpless laughter out of him.
"Hehehehey!"
"There it is," Ribbit giggled.
"The real smile."
"IHIHI HAHATE YOHOHOU-"
"No, you don't."
Kaufmo rested his chin on top of Jax's head.
"I think we're making progress."
Kaufmo couldn't help laughing along with him.
"You really were frowny today."
"IHIHI WAS FIHIHINE-"
"You seem much happier now."
"I CAHAHAN'T BREHEHEATHE-"
"That's not a no."
Jax threw his head back, laughing too hard to answer.
His whole body had gone limp except for the occasional helpless squirm.
He wasn't even escaping anymore.
He wasn't even trying.
He was completely, utterly wrecked.
"PLEHEHEASE- YOHOHOU'RE BOTH TEHEHERRIBLE-"
"Terrible?" Kaufmo said. "Us? We're just trying to cheer you up."
"THIHIS ISN'T CHEERING-"
"You're smiling."
"I'M NOHOHOT-"
"Your face is so red," Ribbit observed, never letting her fingers leave his stomach and ribs. "It goes all the way down your neck."
"IHIHI DOHOHON'T BLUSH-"
"Your ears are pink."
"THEY'RE ALWAYS PINK-"
"Not that pink."
"Nnhehehe-"
Jax jerked violently against Kaufmo's hold.
"Awww," Ribbit cooed. "Look at your little blush."
"IHIHI DOHOHON'T BLUHUSH-"
"And that smile."
"IHIHI'M NOHOHOT SMIHIHILING-"
"You are now."
Ribbit's fingers drifted higher across his stomach until they found another sensitive spot.
"GAHAHA- RIHIBBIT PLEHEHEASE-"
"Please what?"
"PLEHEHEASE- PLEHEHEASE IHI CAHAHAN'T-"
"Can't what?"
"CAHAHAN'T-"
"Awww," Ribbit cooed. "He's too flustered to even finish his sentence."
Jax's face flushed even brighter.
"I-IHI'M GOHONNA SHOVE CENTIPEDHES UP YOUR A#$-"
Silence.
"…"
"Pfft."
Ribbit slapped a hand over her mouth.
Kaufmo curled his lips inward.
"…Snrk."
Neither of them dared look at the other.
…
They looked anyway.
That was a mistake.
"BAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Neither of them could stop.
Jax's face somehow turned an even deeper shade of red.
"SHUHUHUT UHP-!"
Ribbit doubled over, laughing even harder.
Kaufmo laughed so hard he nearly fell off the couch.
"C-CEHEHENTIPEDES?!" Ribbit managed between wheezes.
"WHOHOHO SAYS THAHAHAT?!" Kaufmo laughed.
"STOP LAHAHAUGHING-!"
At some point, without either of them noticing, both of them had stopped tickling him.
Kaufmo let go of Jax's wrists.
Ribbit offered him a hand.
Still giggling under his breath, Jax accepted it, and between the two of them they helped him flop back onto the couch.
The moment he landed, Jax grabbed one of the couch cushions and buried his burning face in it.
"Heheh…Hah…Hehe…"
Jax went limp on the couch. His chest was heaving. His fur was ruffled. His ears were still flat against his head, but slowly, very slowly, they started to lift. Lingering giggles kept bubbling up out of him, his body still not quite believing the attack was over.
"Hohoholy shihihit," he managed.
"That good?" Ribbit asked.
"I hate you."
"No you don't."
"I hate you so much."
But he was smiling. Not because he was trying to prove anything. Just because he'd been laughing so hard he couldn't think straight. Kaufmo leaned back against the armrest, satisfied.
"See? We cheered you up."
"You tickled me until I couldn't breathe."
"Close enough."
"I'm never trusting either of you again."
Ribbit poked his side.
Jax flinched with a tiny yelp. "HEHEY-"
"See? Still ticklish."
"I KNOW that. I've always known that. That's not new information."
"But it's funny."
"It's not funny."
"It's kind of funny," Kaufmo said.
"You're not helping," Jax mumbled into the couch cushion.
Ribbit snorted.
It took a long time for the laughter to fade.
When it finally did, Jax was slumped sideways on the couch, his head resting against the armrest. His ears were completely limp. His eyes were half-closed. He looked exhausted. But he was still smiling.
"Feeling better?" Ribbit asked. She'd recovered enough to sit up, wiping tears from her eyes.
Jax thought about it. His chest still ached from laughing. His face was still hot and his fur was a mess.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "Actually. Yeah."
"Told you the tactic works," Kaufmo said.
"It's a stupid tactic."
"It's the only tactic we know."
"Then it's the only stupid tactic you know."
But Jax's voice had no bite to it. He was too tired for bite. Too warm. Too comfortable. The kind of comfortable that came from being completely wrecked by people who cared about you.
Ribbit crawled over and flopped down on the other end of the couch, her feet bumping against Jax's. "You know we did that because we like you, right?"
"Gross."
"I'm serious."
"So am I. Gross."
But Jax's ears lifted slightly. Just a little. Just enough.
Kaufmo pulled out his deck of UNO from wherever he'd stashed them and started shuffling again. "Uno?"
Several rounds later…
"…I don't have a green."
Kaufmo drew.
Red.
Still nothing.
He drew again.
Blue.
"Nope."
Another card.
Yellow.
"…Seriously?"
Across the table, Jax quietly laid down another green.
Ribbit followed with one of her own.
Kaufmo stared at them.
"…You two planned this."
"We're literally just playing Uno," Ribbit said, barely holding back a smile.
Kaufmo drew again.
Still no green.
"…Give me a break."
Another draw.
Another card he couldn't use.
He threw his head back dramatically.
"GIVE ME A GREEN CARD!"
Jax's shoulders were already shaking.
Ribbit had started snickering into her hand.
Finally…
A green.
"YES! HOLY S#$%!"
Kaufmo slammed it onto the pile.
Her eyes landed on the bright green Reverse.
She immediately buried her face in one hand, already wheezing.
"Ohoho no… dohohon't do it…"
She shook her head.
"Dohohon't do it…"
Without saying a word, Jax placed down a Reverse.
Kaufmo froze.
Slowly…
Very slowly…
He looked down at his hand and looked at Jax.
"…"
"I DON'T HAVE A GREEN!"
"PHFFT-"
Ribbit lost it first.
"BAHAHAHAHA!"
Jax folded over the table.
"GAHAHAHA-" Jax wheezed.
"NOHOHO WAHAHAY-"
With a defeated groan, Kaufmo reached for the draw pile again.
He drew again.
Red.
Kaufmo threw his hands into the air.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
Another round started almost immediately. Kaufmo insisted he was about to make a comeback. Jax and Ribbit insisted otherwise. The tent filled with laughter all over again.
Jax kept smiling.
Around Kaufmo and Ribbit, it came easily.
Thanks for reading my fic, and I hope you enjoyed it! :3
This fic is based on the lovely art by PinkleBelle. 😊
