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sunstone-smiles · 11 months ago

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The Bright Black Eagle Tickle Fight

Author’s note: The Black Eagle’s fic is finally here! Earlier this month I FINALLY finished the Scarlet Blaze route, meaning I’ve FINALLY completed all three routes of Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes and we’re celebrating with a fic! This has become my longest fic yet and I am so excited to share it! With this, the trilogy of the Three Hopes Golden Deer, Blue Lions, and Black Eagles tickle fight “series” is complete. I hope you enjoy!

Series: Fire Emblem: Three Hopes

Characters: Shez, Edelgard, Hubert, Ferdinand, Dorothea, Petra, Linhardt, Caspar, Bernadetta

Word count: 6,732

Summary: Edelgard is looking for a way to relax, so Shez thinks up a playful method for stress relief that quickly turns into a free-for-all battle between all of the Black Eagles. Enjoy!

___

It’s rare that anyone gets a chance to relax during times of war. With the Adrestian Empire pushing towards their goal of unifying Fódlan, every waking moment seems to be dedicated to fighting for the cause. However, the Adrestian Empire’s most recent wins allow a short break for the army to prepare and relax for the next battle ahead.

Having made themselves comfortable for the day, Shez, one of the commanders of the Adrestian army, has dressed out of their typical pieces of mercenary armor and is instead donned in casual black clothing. They head back to the tent of their outdoor private quarters after finishing some chores down at the camp’s Tactics Academy, where their duties included dusting and organizing books and documents. Every little bit around camp allows them to do their part for the army and, in the long run, hopefully help the Adrestian army thrive.

Just as the mercenary nears the front of their private quarters, a familiar female voice calls out from behind them.

“Shez!”

Turning around, Shez sees Edelgard a few tents away with her hand waving above her head to signal Shez of her presence. Edelgard walks over to meet them.

“Oh! Hey, Edelgard.” Shez greets the Emperor of Adrestia.

“I came to your private quarters looking for you earlier and I couldn’t find you. I figured you would show eventually though.” Edelgard ends her approach with a confident hand on her hip. Closer now, Shez sees that Edelgard is not dressed in her eagle-designed armor, but is also in comfortable attire that consists of a red short-sleeved sweater with ruffles around the cuffs of the sleeves.

“Yeah, I was helping with some chores around camp. Did you need me for something? Some important Empire business that needs to be taken care of?”

Edelgard shakes her head. “Nothing of the sort. I simply came to ask you for a favor.”

“Oh, of course,” Shez happily obliges. “What’s the favor?”

“Well, you’re a laid back person, yes?”

Shez’s expression turns slightly duller than before. “I don’t think I’ve ever really been described like that before. I don’t know whether to take it as a compliment or an insult,” Shez jokes, but is still weary of where this conversation is going.

Edelgard lets out a short chuckle. “It’s a complement in this case, I assure you.” Shez’s expression eases a little. “I asked because I’m wondering if you have any effective methods or suggestions on how to relax?” the Emperor inquires.

“Oh, that’s it?” Being the Emperor must be a heavy burden to carry, so it’s no wonder Edelgard is asking for some ways to relieve stress. “Sure, I can try to help. Have you been having trouble relaxing recently?”

“You could say that…” Edelgard’s head droops down a bit. “Everything I’ve tried has been ineffective so far, so I finally decided to search for help.”

Shez gestures an open hand forward. “Not that I mind, but are you sure I’m the best person for the job? I would think Linhardt is much more suited for this than me. He’s the ‘master’ of relaxation.”

“Taking naps all day like Linhardt is a bit too relaxing for my taste. I need to relax, but be active at the same time. A contradiction, I know. Also, when I found Linhardt, he was fast asleep. I thought you would be the next best person.”

“Well, I’m flattered,” Shez teases. “Alright then, let’s start thinking up some suggestions, shall we?” They place a hand to their chin. Their elbow rests in their other hand that’s crossed under their chest.

“Let’s see, let’s see… Methods to relax.” Shez takes a moment to think. “How about making some tea?”

“I’ve tried that before and it unfortunately didn’t work as I had hoped. Plus, someone once made it sound like all I do is drink tea in my free time,” Edelgard says while looking directly at Shez with a knowing half-smile.

“Heh, right.” Shez rubs the back of their head, “That would have been me.” The mercenary clears their throat and returns to the task at hand. “How about reading a book?

“I tried that too and although it’s a temporary fix, I always find my mind wandering to more pressing matters and lose focus on the words entirely.”

“Hmm…” Shez’s options are beginning to dwindle. “Maybe a walk around camp then?”

“I do like walks and nature.” A glimmer of hope surges through Shez hearing Edelgard’s words. “But I’m afraid to say that I've tried that as well. A walk doesn’t become very relaxing when you’re an Emperor worried about safety, questions, and concerns of others you may run into.”

Shez’s glimmer of hope is swept away as quickly as it came.

“I won’t lie, Edelgard,” Shez says after taking another opportunity to think, “I’m drawing a blank.”

A sigh comes from the Emperor’s expression. No sound. Just the movement of her face does the work of a sigh for her.

“Well,” her eyes lift towards Shez, “I appreciate you for trying anyway.”

Shez bears witness to a full view of the Emperor’s disheartened expression. They greatly dislike seeing any of their friend’s like this. There’s got to be at least one way to help. One way to put a smile back on the Emperor’s face…

Just then, another idea clicks.

“Actually, I just came up with one more suggestion,” Shez perks up at their own thought. “I don't know if it'll work though.”

“Any suggestion is better than none,” Edelgard’s voice reaches out like open arms. Hope returns to her face.

“Are you sure? It’s a bit more of a… playful method.” Shez can’t wipe away their growing smile.

“Try it. I’m all ears.”

“Ookay then,” Shez’s smile expands even wider and their voice sways from a giddiness that's trying to stay hidden. Shez approaches Edelgard and stands near her side.

“Just remember, you asked for this.”

Edelgard lifts a confused brow. “Asked for what?” she manages to say before a sudden hand pokes her side.

“Eek!” Edelgard jolts from surprise. She snatches Shez’s wrist to hold back the hand that had poked her.

“Shez!” Edelgard looks at the mercenary with a quivering smile on her face. A giggle already slips as she speaks, “What are you doing?”

“I’m tickling you,” Shez says oh so casually. “And by the looks of it, it’s working.” Shez gives another poke to Edelgard’s side, causing the emperor to squeak and clamp her arm down. More of Shez’s pokes are quickly thrown her way and Edelgard throws her hands across her torso to guard herself.

“Shez!” Edelgard lets out a giggle as she wrestles with Shez’s hands. A few more giggles escape from pokes that are able to breach Edelgard’s defenses. “Wait! Hold on a minute!” The Emperor turns on her heels and tries to flee, but Shez grabs her from behind and unleashes a barrage of scribbling fingers upon Edelgard’s sides.

“AHH!” The Emperor lets loose a loud squeal of laughter and shoots her arms down. She tries to twist herself away as a little bit of child-like joy spills from the Emperor with every giggle.

“Shehehehez!” Edelgard’s smile burns bright like a healthy flame. The flame spreads and lights up Shez’s own smile.

“Where do you think you're going? The relaxation method has just begun.”

“I didn't know that thihihihis was what you– hahaha had in mind!”

“Well I couldn’t just tell you outright what it was. That would ruin the surprise! And the surprise factor is what makes it effective! Watch!” Shez quickly delivers a surprise attack to Edelgard’s ribs that makes the Emperor scream with laughter. Taken off guard, Edelgard crumbles to the ground with Shez following her down to keep up the attack.

Edelgard attempts to push Shez away while still giggling in a puddle of her own joy. “Shehehez! Thihihihs is unbefitting of an emperor!”

“Emperor or not, everyone could use a laugh once in a while,” Shez grins above her. Seeing their relaxation method take its full effect makes Shez more than happy to help. Sure, it’s unconventional, but it’s fun. And it’s exactly what Edelgard needed.

Suddenly, an urgent voice shouts from ahead, “Lady Edelgard!”

Shez looks up to the source. A casually dressed Hubert in a dark button up is bolting towards them.

“Lady Edelgard! Is everything–” Hubert slows down as he processes the sight in front of him: a giggling Edelgard with a joy filled smile and Shez tickling her silly. “...alright?”

“Hey, Hubert!” Shez greets the retainer, as if they weren’t just making the leader of a nation crumble under their touch.

“Shez, what in the world are you doing?” Hubert scolds, still trying to wrap his head around the circumstances. He doesn’t know whether or not to be mad at Shez, or relieved that Edelgard is not hurt. (Probably a little of both.) “I heard Lady Edelgard scream. I thought she was in danger.”

“Sorry for worrying you, Hubert,” Shez says over Edelgard’s laughter. “I’m helping Edelgard relax. She asked me for help and after going through a list of suggestions, I thought that tickling would be the best option!” Shez moves their hands to go for Edelgard’s sides, but the Emperor swiftly snatches their wrists in another attempt to wrestle them away.

Edelgard tilts her head back to look at her retainer. Extra giggles coat her words while she’s in the middle of tussling with Shez’s approaching hands. “I’m fine, Hubert,” Edelgard provides her retainer with extra reassurance. “Just a little play fight is all.” Edelgard suddenly squeaks at the end of her sentence when Shez gets a successful scribble at her stomach, sending the Emperor into another round of giggles.

“Buhuhuhut I could use yohohour assistance!” Edelgard rolls over onto her stomach to try and squirm away as Shez switches back to her sides.

Hubert just blinks in disbelief. He’s unsure exactly how to react. “Lady Edelgard…this is an unusual request...”

Edelgard lifts her head up and playfully yells in Hubert’s direction, “Thahahat’s an order!”

Hubert lets out a sigh. “Fine…”

The retainer starts to walk around the two. As Shez sees him approach, they already start giggling. They curl into a defensive position. “Oh no, Hubert? Hubert!”

“Come on, Shez.” Hubert gently grabs Shez under their arms to pull them away from Edelgard.

“Hehe! Hubert!” Shez giggles again and kicks out their legs.

The retainer lifts a brow. “I’m barely even touching you.”

Shez gives him a sheepish smile. “It’s the thought that counts, right?–Whoa!”

With the speed of a swooping eagle, Edelgard tackles Shez to the ground. The Emperor instantly dives her hands towards the mercenary’s sides, causing Shez to squeak and burst into full blown laughter.

“Edelgahahard!”

“Much appreciated, Hubert,” the Emperor smiles up at her retainer.

Hubert gives a half-stunned response, “Uh… Of course, Lady Edelgard.”

Just like how the commotion of Shez and Edelgard’s game caught Hubert’s attention, the continuation of the noise naturally brings over more of their friends to investigate.

“Ah, so it seems we have finally discovered the source of the laughter,” Ferdinand walks up to the scene. By his side stand fellow Black Eagles Dorothea and Petra. All three of them are also dressed in their casual attire of vests, dress shirts, and informal dresses.

Dorothea chuckles into her hand. “I never expected our Emperor and our commander to be engaged in a tickle fight.”

Hearing Dorothea’s words, Petra takes a moment to herself to think. She tilts her head as she observes the scene intently.

“A ‘tickle fight?’” Petra asks. “I am having trouble understanding. Shez and Edelgard are not actually fighting each other, are they? The two are tickling each other, yes, but I am not seeing any signs of combat. The language is confusing me.”

“It’s different from actual combat, Petra,” Dorothea kindly explains. “A tickle fight refers to the game they’re playing that, well, uses tickling! It’s like how bear cubs wrestle with each other as a form of play. They’re not fighting, they’re having fun!”

“Right you are, Dorothea!” Ferdinand agrees. “It’s a game that can boost the morale of nobles and commoners alike. Judging by the situation, it seems that Shez needed the morale boost.”

“Hahaha! Edehehelgard needed it first!” the mercenary exclaims through their laughter.

“I did,” the Emperor admits, “but I thought that I would return the favor.” She smiles as she continues to scratch at Shez’s ribs.

Petra chuckles. “Hehe, I have understanding now. We have a similar style of playfulness in Brigid. Although, it is translated as something different back home.”

“Well then, perhaps you would like a demonstration on how a tickle fight is done in Fódlan, Petra?” Dorothea’s eyes point in Ferdinand’s direction before glancing back at Petra with a scheming grin. A smile appears on Petra’s face. She receives the message loud and clear.

“Yes, that would be of great help,” Petra nods, trying to conceal the mischief in her voice.

“Perfect. Ferdie can be our volunteer,” Dorothea tilts her head to the noble beside her.

Ferdinand stiffens when he hears his own name in the context of their conversation. He looks over at Dorothea. A nervous laugh escapes him. “Heh. Volunteer for…what exactly?”

Ferdinand suddenly yelps when Dorothea hurls her hands at his sides. “Hehehey!” the noble uses his arms as a shield and haphazardly steps back, “Dorothea– Whoa!” Thud.

Ferdinand trips to the ground from his own two feet. Recovering from the fall, the noble looks up to see Dorothea and Petra quickly approaching. His eyes flash wide and he frantically attempts to crawl back on his arms.

“Wait, wait, wait! Dorothea! Petra!” Ferdinand throws his crossed arms over his face, giggles already pairing with his words, “Hold on!”

He braces himself for the incoming attack, but after a few moments there’s… Nothing. Confused, Ferdinand peeks through the gap in his arm-made shield, seeing Petra hovering over his left side, while Dorothea sits to his right.

“Hehe, we haven't even done anything yet, Ferdie,” Dorothea giggles. Her hands are still poised like the shape of talons.

“You must have much ticklishness if you’re giggling already,” Petra adds.

Hubert lets out a short laugh from the sidelines. At this point, he’s warmed up to the childish sight in front of him. “It’s the nervousness before facing the inevitable fate that awaits him. Shez did the same thing.”

Ferdinand sits up and shifts his focus to Hubert. “Ha! I am not nervous! I am simply… um… preparing myself!” Ferdinand looks to Dorothea and Petra with a gaze of determined confidence. “Go ahead! You can tickle me all you want, but I will not break! For I am Ferdinand von Aegir–AHA!”

Ferdinand yelps from the abrupt ambush to his sides that sends him crashing onto his back. He squeezes his mouth shut to try and hold in his giggles, but he quickly crumbles into laughter after being taken by such surprise. “Ohoho nohohoho!” Ferdinand compresses his arms close to himself for defense.

“Success!” Petra cheers as she scribbles into his torso, “We have defeated that challenge with great swiftness.”

“I’ll say,” Dorothea agrees as she tickles his other side. “At this point we should call him Ferdinand von Giggles.”

“Heh,” Hubert chuckles again as he watches the scene unfold before him, “It seems that your lie unraveled rather quickly, didn’t it Ferdinand?”

Ferdinand turns his head to Hubert to glare at him with the one eye that’s not shut from laughter. “Hubert! Thihihis is no time for criticism!” Ferdinand mangages to say. “Stohohop standing there and hehehelp me–AHA!” Ferdinand squeals when Dorothea manages to waltz her fingers up to his ribs. “Dorohohohothea!” he kicks his boots in the dirt. The songstress replies with a silent smile.

“I am quite fine standing here on the sidelines, thank you,” Hubert smirks.

Edelgard playfully rolls her eyes at Hubert. “Not to worry, Ferdinand,” Edelgard glances over to the orange-haired noble. “I will gladly be of assistance!” With that, Edelgard releases Shez and lunges towards the others.

“AHA!” Petra shouts when tickles inflict her sides from behind. “Ehehehedelgard!?” Petra squirms, now stuck in Edelgard’s grasp.

“Petra!” Dorothea’s focus shifts, which gives Ferdinand just enough time to tackle her to the ground. Ferdinand hovers over her, hands outstretched to both sides with his fingers curled and at the ready. A grin flashes across his features. “Now it’s your turn! Let’s see how you handle a noble’s revenge!” He swoops his hands towards Dorothea’s sides, scribbling with a playful fury.

“EEK! Ferdiehehehe!” Dorothea loudly projects the sound of her laughter. She tightens her arms to her sides while bringing her legs closer to curl herself into a ball. She tucks her face into her shoulder as a vibrant smile takes over her face.

“Thanks for the assist, Edelgard,” Ferdinand says to the Emperor beside him.

“Of course. What kind of Emperor would I be if I left my allies without reinforcements?”

During the fun-filled battle, Shez recovers from their previous encounter, then sits themselves up on their arms. In their peripheral vision, they see Hubert on the sidelines, his arms crossed, as he watches the game. A smile weaves its way onto Shez’s face, but Hubert must have sensed their eyes on him. He turns to glare directly at the mercenary.

“Whatever is on your mind, erase it this instant,” Hubert says coldly.

“Alright, alright,” Shez lifts their hands like they were surrendering, but their smile remains unfazed by the response. “I won’t… yet.” They flash one more grin towards Hubert before changing their target.

“Here, Edelgard! Let me help!” Shez scoots over and gets Petra’s other side.

Another scream of laughter comes from Petra as the secondary set of hands creates a pincer-like tickle attack at her torso. “Shehehez!” Petra giggles and wriggles between her two friends, “I thohohought you were Ehehedelgard’s opponent!”

“There's no sides in a tickle fight, Petra! Opponents can become allies, allies can become opponents. It’s a free-for-all!” Shez exclaims.

As if on cue, three more of their friends from the Black Eagles—Linhardt, Caspar, and Bernadetta—approach the giggly mayhem.

Linhardt reaches a hand up to his mouth as he releases a yawn. “Can’t a guy get any sleep around here? All this noise has disturbed me from my nap.” He pauses as he takes notice of the display in front of him. “But I will say, this is far beyond what I expected to be the source of the noise.”

“Hey you three!” Shez welcomes them. They see that Caspar, Linhardt, and Bernadetta have their casual wear on as well.

Caspar elbows Linhardt. “See! Aren’t you glad that I dragged you both along to investigate? We would have been missing all this action!”

“I would still rather be hiding…” Bernadetta shrinks a little. “But it’s nice to know that all the laughter is because everyone is happy.” A soft smile brightens her face slightly. “I am curious though, how did this happen?”

With most of the group preoccupied, Hubert responds for them. “Apparently Shez was trying to use a method of relaxation on Lady Edelgard. One thing led to another…and now everyone is participating in this fight.”

“Everyone except Hubert,” Shez and Edelgard say at the same time. The two look at each other and smile, taking note of their similar mindset.

“A fight? And I wasn’t invited?” Caspar jokes.

“Are you sure you wanted to be invited to this kind of fight, Caspar?” Linhardt asks. “A tickle fight is much different than a regular one.”

Caspar shrugs, “Hey, any fight in my book is a good fight.”

Bernadetta shakes her head. “I’m not good in any fight, even though it’s only a tickle fight.” She looks around and sees the smiles on everyone’s faces. “Although… it does look fun.”

A big, excited grin grows onto Caspar’s face. “Fun, huh? Then let’s join in!” He scoops Bernadetta up in a huge hug from behind, lifting her feet off the ground.

“AAHH! Caspar! I didn’t mean– EEK!” Bernadetta squeaks when Caspar’s hands ticklishly dig into her sides. “Hehehey!” she paddles her legs in the air. Caspar places her feet back on the ground, keeping her in a playful hold.

“Didn’t mean to what? To join the fight? Come on, Bernadetta! Not only is it fun, it’s great endurance training!”

Bernadetta tries to wrench away her friend’s hands latched above her waist, “I already have endurance! Lots of endurance! I can hide in my room practically all day with only coming out for food and water!”

“But you can’t hide away from this flurry of tickles!” Caspar pulls her into a tighter, tickly hug.

“Cahahaspar! Nohohoho fair!” An eased smile reveals its presence on Bernadetta’s features as she giggles her worries away.

“Actually, I would argue that it’s completely fair, Bernadetta,” Linhardt chimes in and steps closer to Caspar. “It’s because the playing field is even. Caspar is ticklish too.” Linhardt ends his statement with a scribble to Caspar’s sides.

“Ack!” Caspar’s muscles momentarily seize up before a rush of giggles cascade from his mouth. “Linhahahardt! Thahahat’s cheating!”

“It is called a tickle fight, no?” the mage unveils a teasing smile. Caspar releases Bernadetta, then twists around and tackles Linhardt to the ground with all his might. After the green-haired noble hits the dirt, he looks up to see Caspar hovering over him with wiggling fingers itching to strike.

“Then the fight is on!” Caspar exclaims. He plummets his hands into his friend’s sides. Linhardt yelps and immediately attempts to shove at Caspar’s chest.

“Cahahaspar! Gehehet off of mehehe!” the mage exclaims through his rising laughter.

“Nope! You can’t just give away my weakness and think you can get away with it!” Caspar looks over his shoulder, “Bernadetta, you want to help?”

“Um…” The archer shies away for a moment. She glances back to the scene of a giggling Linhardt and a playful Caspar and remembers the comforting feeling that warmed her heart when she first laid eyes on the tickle fight. She straightens her posture. “Yeah, okay!” She runs over and kneels down to Linhardt’s side, now assisting with the attack to his torso.

At the same time Bernadetta joins in, Petra uses her own surge of strength to shove Shez to one side and knock Edelgard down to the other. Petra vaults herself at the Emperor and targets her belly, causing Edelgard to shriek with laughter once more. Hearing his ally under fire, Ferdinand leaps into action. He tickles Petra from behind causing her to crumble to the ground beside the Emperor.

“Allow me to return the favor of assistance, Edelgard!” Ferdinand exclaims. Shez slides over to aid him with Petra.

Edelgard nods as a silent thanks, then picks herself off the ground for a short break. She walks over to Hubert, who’s still watching just a few paces away.

“You know, if you stand over here alone for too long, you're putting yourself in a dangerous position,” Edelgard teases and joins him by his side.

“The only danger that worries me is any that concerns you. Actual danger.” He stands stern with his arms crossed.

Edelgard shakes her head. “Hubert, I appreciate the concern, but really, I want you to drop your guard down a little. I can’t have my trusted retainer be weighed down by piles of stress all the time, now can I?”

He glances at the emperor. “Your point, Lady Edelgard?”

“All I mean to say is that I want you to take this opportunity to relax, Hubert. Loosen up a little.” Edelgard pauses to uncover her grin. “That’s an order.” She ends her statement with a single poke to his side. Hubert flinches.

He whips his head towards her and flicks his eyes down at her hand before looking back up at her face. He restrains his glare, but his expression shifts to subtle worry as Edelgard stares at him with a mischievous glint to her eyes.

Hubert gives her a curious look, instinctively leaning back a little. “Lady Edelgard?”

“Ha!” Edelgard flings herself at him as a response, nearly knocking the taller man off his feet. She achieves another poke at his side and Hubert jumps. His arms shoot down in defense.

“Lady Edelgard!” He jolts again from a third successful poke. He gently pushes her back with an arm to keep her just out of reach of his torso, as if he’s keeping at bay an energetic cat trying to pounce at a mouse. “What is the meaning of this?!”

“You know exactly what the meaning is, Hubert,” Edelgard beams as she tries to swipe through Hubert’s defenses. She looks over to her similar minded mercenary friend. “Shez! Your assistance please!”

“On it!” Shez jumps up.

“What?!” Hubert swerves his head over his shoulder in the mercenary’s direction, who’s quickly approaching. “Shez! Don’t you dare!” he snarls.

Right as Shez charges at him, Hubert swiftly dodges to the side, spins around, and makes a run for it.

“Oh no you don’t!” Shez catches a handful of the back of his shirt. The abrupt halt of his momentum causes Hubert to fumble forward a few steps before tripping to the ground below.

He attempts to lift himself back to feet, but a quick tweak to the side of his ribs from Shez sends him crashing back down flat. He rolls around to face them, and before he knows it, Shez comes up from behind and hooks their arms under his, successfully holding him in place.

“Shez! Let go!” Hubert struggles and attempts to break free.

“No can do, Hubert. That would be going against the Emperor’s orders, and we don’t want that, now do we?” Shez taunts him.

Hubert kicks his boots in the dirt in an attempt to gain enough momentum to push Shez over, but Edelgard kneeling by his side with wiggling fingers in his view makes him halt in his tracks.

“Lady Edelgard,” a brief expression of panic creeps through Hubert’s composure that’s currently holding on by a thread. “Don’t you think this is a bit unnecessary?” He leans back again from the movement of her fingers nearing.

“I think this is of the utmost importance,” Edelgard grins like someone who’s found a horde of buried treasure. Finishing her statement, she brings her fingers down and bombards his sides with skittery tickles.

Hubert sharply inhales and closes his mouth shut. He squirms and kicks in Shez’s hold as the tickly sensations surge through his skin. Ever so slightly, there is the occasional twitch at the corner of his mouth that threatens to crack into a giggly smile.

“You’re wasting…your time!” Hubert barely manages to growl through his maximized effort to vanquish the sound of joy creeping in his throat.

Edelgard gives him a stern, yet lighthearted look. “Hubert, I know when you’re lying. So stop being stubborn and just laugh!” She crawls her fingers up to his ribs. Hubert suppresses a giggle that nearly breaks through his defenses, only allowing them to hear a sizzled sounding version of what they’re after. The longer he holds out though, the more he tries to tuck his face into the side of his shoulder to hide the increasing signs of his smile.

“Still holding your ground, huh Hubert?” Shez says. Hubert doesn’t respond. No, scratch that. There’s no way he can’t respond now without him giving away the gold mine of his laughter that they want to reach.

“Yes, he will be difficult to crack, but we’ll get him. Don’t worry,” Edelgard shines a determined smile.

Around the same time, Dorothea decides to mingle with the other three Black Eagles. While Caspar and Bernadetta are distracted with a squirmy, giggly Linhardt, Dorothea sneaks her way behind them. With her hands in position, she surprises Bernadetta with a squeeze to her sides.

“AH!” the archer nearly jumps out of her skin. She springs to stand and whips around to see her attacker. She puts her hands up in defense and starts backing away from a mischievously approaching Dorothea who has their sights locked on her.

“Caspar! Dorothea is after meeee!” Bernadetta shrieks for help.

“I’ve gotcha, Bernadetta!” He shifts from Linhardt and jumps to his feet. He runs in between Bernadetta and Dorothea, then spreads his arm out like a bird, facing the songstress. “You'll have to get past me first, Dorothea!”

“Ha! Brave words for someone so ticklish!” Dorothea pounces at Caspar, then drills her fingers into his middle. Caspar yelps and twists away. He loses his footing and collapses onto his side. As he sits himself up, a green blur tackles him back to the dirt.

Linhardt leans over him. He darts his fingers down and spiders them around Caspar’s sides, sending his friend into a secondary fit of giggles.

“I’m not one to fight, but if it’s a fight you want, then it’s a fight you’ll get,” Linhardt says as he enacts his revenge. Dorothea glaces at Bernadetta, so Bernadetta immediately bolts away. The songstress chuckles and turns her attention back to the squeaky Caspar by her feet. She kneels to his side. “Mind if I join in, Lin?”

“By all means,” the green-haired noble welcomes her and Dorothea happily contributes.

Capsar’s giggles increase with the help of Dorothea. “Twohoho against one is sohohoho unfair!”

“That’s funny coming from the warrior who takes on hordes of enemies all by himself,” Linhardt remarks.

Now, having properly escaped from Dorothea, Bernadetta catches her breath on the sidelines.

“Bernadetta?”

The archer’s posture stiffens like a tree trunk as shivers run down her spine. She turns to see that it was Edelgard that called her name, who’s still sitting by Hubert and in the process of trying to get her stoic retainer to laugh.

“Y-yes?” Bernadetta responds.

“Sorry that I frightened you,” Edelgard says. “Since you’re free, could you give us a hand with Hubert?”

“WHAT?! Are you crazy?! Hubert will kill me!”

The Emperor can’t help but chuckle. “Hubert will not kill you, I assure you. You have my word.”

“Well… okay,” Bernadetta relaxes. “But only because it’s your word, Edelgard.” She kneels by Hubert’s other side.

“Excellent! Now, perhaps if we work together we can finally get Hubert to laugh. I’ll get his ribs, you get stomach, alright?”

The archer nods. “Got it.”

Hubert’s eyes grow wide when he hears their plan. “Wait!” Hubert tries to tug his arms free with a little more force. “Don’t you even think– Gahack!”

Hubert slams his mouth shut. His face scrunches up, the corners of his mouth begin to lift higher into a quivering smile, and quiet snickers start to escape. A snort finally slips from Hubert’s mouth and the dam shatters.

Wheezy giggles, that bellow from the center of his chest, pour from Hubert, showing no signs of stopping. He tilts his head back and into his shoulder; the bangs of his hair that usually veil one of his eyes shifts to the side of his face, allowing a complete view to his full, joyful expression clearly like the light of day. The radiance of Hubert’s bubbly laugh causes the rest of the Black Eagles to stop what they’re doing and focus on the scene, just to hear this rare opportunity.

Bernadetta has a shocked, yet cheerful smile on her face. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Hubert doesn’t look threatening at all!”

“Perhaps this is what’s been hiding all this time under that cold exterior of his,” Shez smiles. She continues holding onto a squirmy Hubert and adds extra tickles under his arms. It really is a sight to see the usually unfazed man giggling like a happy child.

“Yohohou’re all gohohoing to regret thihihihs!” Hubert attempts to ‘threaten.’ It would usually be frightening, that is, if he wasn’t currently giggling up a storm.

“You’re right, maybe we will. But right now, it is so worth it,” Shez responds.

“Indeed,” Edelgard chuckles. “Also, was that a threat towards your Emperor just now, Hubert? Treacherous behavior like that is subject to punishment,” she teases and creeps her fingers a little higher up his ribs, adding a bit more pressure to the tickles and causing Hubert’s laughter to rise in volume.

“Lahahady Edelgahahard! I didn’t mean–Hahahaha!” the laughter overshadows Hubert’s sentence before he can finish.

“Hehe, I know you didn’t mean it, Hubert. I’m just messing with you,” Edelgard responds. She suddenly hears a shriek from behind her. Caspar has returned to laughter after a failed attempt to re-engage Linhardt.

“Ferdinand, could you take over here for me?” Edelgard requests from the noble beside her. Ferdinand smirks with an undertone of smugness as he witnesses Hubert in his giggling state.

“It would be my absolute pleasure.” Ferdinand shifts from Petra to Edelgard’s place to keep Hubert laughing. “It seems you’re not as strong-willed as you thought either, hmm Hubert?” the orange-haired noble relishes in enacting revenge from their earlier interaction. Hubert’s too busy dealing with the current circumstances to scold him.

With another smile, the Emperor then dashes over to the other group. Edelgard hops down behind Dorothea and Linhardt to tickle them both at once, halting their attack. A chaotic cluster then ensues between the four when Caspar lunges back at Linhardt and Edelgard takes down Dorothea.

Meanwhile, Petra regains enough of her energy to jump back into the battle. She scans the scene, quickly finds her target, then dashes towards them.

“Take this, Shez!” Like a speedy gust of wind, Petra swiftly ambushes Shez from behind.

“AH! Petrahaha!” Shez squeezes their elbows closer to their body. Feeling Shez’s grip falter on him, Hubert quickly slips his arms out of Shez’s hold and launches himself to sit upright; he snarls at the two in front of him. Ferdinand and Bernadetta immediately cease their attack with terror on their faces.

“Scatter!!!” Bernadetta screams. She jumps from the ground and darts out of Hubert’s reach. Ferdinand attempts to do the same, but Hubert springs himself to his feet and stands over the noble, cutting off Ferdinand’s escape route before he could even get off the ground. Hubert looms above him like a giant wolf on its hindlegs, hungry for vengeance. His hands are curled outwards like claws. His expression has quickly shifted to one of a bubbly, unthreatening smile to a wicked, fear-inducing smirk.

Ferdinand slowly crawls backwards, refusing to take his eyes off the man who’s eager for payback.

“Now now, Hubert!” the noble tries to reason with him, “You know it is all just for fun and games, yes? No harm, no foul, right?”

“Of course I know that, Ferdinand,” Hubert’s words drip with a mischievous grin plastered to his face. “Which is exactly the reason why I would be happy to join this fun.”

Hubert takes another step towards him. Ferdinand backs up a little more. “Hubert! Wait! Let’s talk about– tHiS!!!” Ferdinand yelps in the middle of his words due to Hubert pouncing at his sides with a squeeze, followed up by a rush of scribbles across his torso that makes the noble burst into hysterics. The retainer kneels to the ground to better position himself beside Ferdinand while continuously tapping his fingers along the noble’s middle like he was playing an instrument.

“You’re right, Ferdinand. Perhaps I should have helped earlier,” Hubert taunts. He glances up in Bernadetta’s direction with a similar mischievous flicker, immediately making the archer run the other way. This time, however, her route takes her close to Petra and Shez.

The soon-to-be queen sees Bernadetta running her way and leaps to a standing position. She snatches up Bernadetta in her arms and instantly delivers tickles to her ribs.

“AHA! Nohohoho! Petrahahaha!” Bernadetta squirms with her arms trapped by her sides.

Petra turns to the retainer, “I know we are not on a team, but I am providing you with assistance, Hubert.”

“Appreciated, Petra. Your assistance will not go unnoticed,” Hubert replies.

Recovered from Petra’s previous attack, Shez scoots themselves back and leans on their arms to rest. They watch over the whole group, hearing their laughter and seeing their smiles. It’s easy to forget that they’re still in the midst of the war when joy like this emanates around them.

What battles that lie beyond the safety of their camp are pushed momentarily out of their mind, as if some semblance of peace has been achieved. Should they feel guilty? It’s hard to say. But, maybe it’s okay to be a bit selfish for the chance to experience happiness when the rest of the world feels too bleak. Their game provides that small spark of optimism that creates stepping stones through the rushing waters of the darkness.

Edelgard peeks at Shez, seeing them alone in a corner. A thought comes to the Emperor, which she proves with a smile.

“I think Shez can use some company,” she says to gain the attention of the three Black Eagles around her. “Follow me, everyone! I have a plan to end this!”

Edelgard jumps to her feet, then starts charging towards the mercenary. “Everyone, get Shez!”

“What!?” Shez laughs. They immediately push themselves from the ground and bound for safety. Upon hearing the command from Edelgard, all the Black Eagles trickle in to assist.

Petra cuts off Shez’s first escape route. When the mercenary turns, Edelgard cuts off their other route. Shez steps back and Hubert has them blocked from behind. Soon, the mercenary is surrounded, but fun-loving giggles continuously spill from Shez the whole time. Eventually, the hands strike!

Hubert and Petra get Shez from behind, while Edelgard and Caspar attack from the front. Shez curls in on themself and slides to the ground on their back, allowing the other Black Eagles to join in. Ferdinand and Bernadetta join Caspar and Hubert on the left, while Dorothea and Linhardt join Edelgard and Petra on the right.

Squeals of laughter release from Shez. The happiness that fills their heart overflows and forms itself into the smile that beams on Shez’s face. A collection of giggles fills the area, not just from Shez, but from all of her friends playing the game along with her.

“Ohohohokay! Ohohohokay! I surrehehehnder!” Shez manages through the giggly mass.

The Black Eagles gently pull away and while Shez is flat on the ground catching their breath with residual giggles, Edelgard lends the mercenary a hand. Shez grabs it and appreciates the help in sitting upright.

“Are you alright?” Edelgard asks, a worried expression on her face. “We didn’t go too overboard did we?”

Shez shakes their head. “Nah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. How about you? If you don’t feel relaxed after that, I don’t know what will help!” Shez jests.

Edelgard provides the mercenary with a chuckle. “I feel very relaxed now, no doubt about that. It seems we’ve found a method that works. Thank you.”

Shez returns a soft smile. “Glad to hear it.”

“That was of much enjoyment.” Petra says. “I cannot recall another time I had fun like that with everyone.”

Bernadetta chimes in, “Yeah, I’m actually glad I didn’t stay in my room and miss the whole thing. Hehe, especially seeing Hubert laugh in a way that isn’t maniacal for once.”

“Revenge was rightfully served for that,” Ferdinand rubs the back of his neck. “But I must say, seeing that side of Hubert was the highlight for me too.”

Hubert glares at them both. “That ‘slip up’ stays between us and only us. Under no circumstances should you utter a word of it to anyone.”

“Hehe, we won’t, Hubie,” Dorothea chuckles beside him. “It'll just be our team’s little secret.”

“Well I don’t know about everyone else,” Linhardt stretches and yawns, “but all this fighting has made me exhausted.”

“For once, I actually agree with ya there, Linhardt,” Caspar replies. “Who knew this type of ‘fighting’ could be like a work out.”

Edelgard glances back to the mercenary with a grateful smile. “It seems your relaxation method worked on more than just me.”

A burst of comforting warmth captures Shez’s heart. This all started when Edelgard asked for a little help during a stressful time, and now, it’s become a moment that the whole team can cherish. It is uncertain exactly what lies on the tough road ahead of them, but for now, at this moment, it makes them stronger knowing that they have each other as they keep moving forward.

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