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It must have been only two hours, but it feels like they were supposed to have fallen asleep forever ago. They kept tossing, turning, tossing, turning and yet, they couldn’t sleep.
They were starting to get worried. What if Hornet knew they were still awake? Why can’t they just rest? They had to sleep. It has been expected of them, so why did they have to be awake?
They shouldn’t be thinking these things, they can’t be thinking these things. They couldn’t help it.
The front door opens. The light of a candle appears.
That’s her. That must be her. She's coming closer. She’s going to check on them and see that they aren’t asleep and instead they’re curled up and panicking and she’s going to be so mad-
“No way. They’re- they’re here?”
…
That’s not Hornet. That’s someone else. Whispering about them. Directly outside their doorway.
“I can’t believe it. They’re- no way.”
That person. That familiar voice. Are they happy? They didn’t do anything to deserve such a response. Who could that be? They have to look.
Subtly, they tilt their head out of the covers…
And almost yell.
It’s Ogrim. The dung defender. One of their father’s five great knights. Without his armor, just a robe, and no putrid smells, but right there.
This is bad this is horrible he’s going to have them killed if he learns they’re impure and there’s nothing they can do to stop him-
“Huh? Are they awake?”
Yes. They were. They were curled up into a shivering ball right in front of one of their father’s specially appointed knights. They were awake and fucking TERRIFIED. And they couldn’t do ANYTHING.
He stepped closer, and sat down in front of them.
“Hollow Knight, if you can hear me, give me a sign.” Ogrim whispered.
Oh gods. He was absolutely going to hurt them. Whether that be simply scolding them, or anything else, he was going to hurt them, and they were not going to protest. They deserve it. They deserve all of it.
Ogrim took that as a sign to continue, despite how much it hurt him to see them shake.
“Now, I need you to listen to me,” Ogrim said, softening his voice as much as he could to show he wasn’t a threat. “I am going to ask you two questions. I need you to give me a one for yes, and a two for no. I do not care how you convey your answer, I just need you to show it to me, okay?
They did not respond. This was going to be a lot trickier than he had anticipated.
“Hollow Knight, look at me.” He said shakily, and without much thought.
They slowly unearthed from their blanket shell, looking directly at him with pure terror in their eyes.
Ogrim was fully convinced that this idea of his might just blow up in his face, but he had to try anyway.
“Listen to my words,” Ogrim said ever so slightly shakily. “I know you’re not pure. I also can tell that you are very, very afraid right now. I promise you, I will never, not ever hurt you for not being empty, nor will I scold you for being afraid, or happy, or sad, or feeling any sort of emotions whatsoever. I’m only here to ask you two questions, okay? That’s it. Do you understand?”
The Hollow Knight, in a yes, stuck one finger out of their blanket, carefully following orders.
Ogrim just wanted to hug them then and there. They were so, so scared, just trying to do what was asked of them, and he wanted to let them know he was so sorry for everything they had been through. Unfortunately, he had to keep his composure. Had to remain calm, at least for now.
“Now, are you okay with touch?” He said timidly, trying to keep them, and himself calm.
Once again, The Hollow Knight stuck one up from under their blanket, faster this time.
The Hollow Knight needed touch. They had been starved of it for over 100 years. They weren’t going to let this opportunity go.
Ogrim noticed, and then rested a hand upon their arm.
They were on the verge of exploding into tears, but they had to, had to stay calm.
Ogrim asked another question “Now, are you okay with words of endearment?”
They held up one again, even quicker this time, and Ogrim responded by rubbing circles into their back.
“Alright, good. That’s all I needed to ask, everything’s alright,” Ogrim said, still keeping his composure.
“You’re safe here.”
That did it. Those three words tipped them over the edge. The Hollow Knight, once a beacon of perfection, hugged the defender, buried their face into his abdomen, and burst out into tears.
“Woah!” Ogrim yelped, jumping in surprise, The Hollow Knight’s lightning flash hug coming completely out of the blue. He quickly recovered however, proceeding to give them as much touch as he could.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. Cry as much as you need to. You did incredible. I’m so proud of you. Everything’s okay,” Ogrim said quietly, starting to cry with them.
Despite his attempts to keep them from breaking down completely, his praise only made them cry harder. Tears of void kept streaming down their face, and they were quietly sobbing, wailing , screaming into him while Ogrim just kept rubbing their back, trying to release any tension.
After a few minutes, they started to wheeze, showing Ogrim that they had been focusing on crying more than breathing.
“Hey, it’s okay, breathe, follow my hand,” Ogrim said, moving from “giving them touch wherever” to “move hand slowly up and down their back.”
It did the trick. They slowly, but surely calmed down. Still sobbing, but quietly, controlling their breath as much as they could along the way.
After what felt like ages, they finally stopped crying, moving to put their head on his shoulders and nuzzling in to try and show their affection ( they had to find a way to thank him, please, they’re so grateful, please ).
Ogrim sighed, “I’m so, so happy to have you back. If you can, try and get back to sleep. You deserve it. I’ll go get some water for you.”
With one last nuzzle, The Hollow Knight nodded, and proceeded to lay down, tears of void drying on their mask. Ogrim nodded in satisfaction, and got up to find a waterskin to fill.
While Ogrim was away, they quietly emptied the tears from their mask ( carefully, carefully, making sure nobody saw ) and proceeded to get as comfortable as possible, laying on their side, using their arm to help lift up their flat pillow.
Their position didn’t last long though, as they quickly sat up when Ogrim entered the room. Grabbing the waterskin and looking at it in hesitation.
“Do you need me to look away?” He asked, nervously trying to keep them as comfortable as possible. They made a small nod, and Ogrim quickly turned to face the opposite direction.
Once they were done, they were about to nudge him to let him know but then…
They had an idea.
They nudged him weakly, not trying to startle him, and as he turned around, they slowly turned around too.
“Hey, what’s going…” Ogrim said, confused for a second, until he saw their shoulders ever so slightly shake in a silent chuckle, then it clicked.
Oh.
They were trying to play.
His heart melted.
“Two can play at that game, Hollow Knight,” he said with a playful tone and a smirk.
The two kept turning and nudging each other, both laughing in enjoyment, before abruptly stopping at Hollow’s whim, them looking even more exhausted than they were just a few minutes ago.
Ogrim sighed at the sad realization that that was probably the most fun they've had in their life, and put his hand on their shoulder, smiling melancholically.
“Get some rest, Hollow Knight, you must be exhausted,” Ogrim whispered.
The Hollow Knight quickly obliged. Laying down, resting their head in Ogrim’s lap, causing him to let out a small chuckle.
As they fell asleep listening to the defender start to hum a lullaby, they felt… different.
They felt lighter.
For what might be the first time in their life, they felt… happy .