Hollow Knight Oneshots (Requests open)

Male! Hornet x Lace

Requested by @YusefClark. Notes from me will be in bold.

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Hornet slashed with his needle at Lace, but she danced away, giggling.

"What's the matter, little spider? Have you forgotten how to use your weapon?" she asked teasingly. Hornet felt himself flush, and he missed his next attack. In response, Lace jumped at him and slashed three times with her pin. Hornet jumped back and the sharp end missed his face by inches. Close one. 

When Lace slashed at him again, Hornet parried it and the metallic clang of metal echoed around in the arena, the sound seemed to make the huge pipes looming in the background vibrate. White rose petals flew up everywhere as Hornet jumped into the air and lunged at Lace, successfully hitting her.

"Nice one, little spider," she panted slightly. "But this is far from over."

"I know," said Hornet. When neither of them made a move, Lace suddenly charged at Hornet, somehow managing to catch him off guard. That wasn't common. Hornet was sent flying backwards, but managed to stop himself before he hit a pipe. A possible strategy popped into his head. Using his needle to help him, he darted up a pipe. Halfway up, his needle slipped on the smooth metal and he fell. Meanwhile, Lace was watching his fruitless attempts looking amused.

"You aren't a climber, little spider. Don't even try, you're cute enough even when you're not messing something up," she said, the hint of a laugh in her voice. Abandoning his attempts, Hornet charged at Lace, but just before he reached her, he did a wide slash that did double damage. Lace was quick, though. She twisted away and only the tip of Hornet's needle grazed her arm. 

"Nice try, little spider. I've got you now!" Lace said gleefully as she suddenly jumped up, out of Hornet's range, and landed on him, knocking the needle out of his hands and pinning him to the ground. But he wasn't giving up now. Lace just smiled at him teasingly. "What are you going to do? Actually, what can you do?" That last comment enraged Hornet even more.

Lol, imagine a boss called Enraged Protector or Enraged Sentinel.

Lace wasn't that heavy, actually. Hornet supposed he could fling her off with all his strength, but perhaps she was prepared for it. Worth a try anyway.

For such a skilled fighter, she wasn't prepared when Hornet summoned all his strength and successfully threw her off. She let out a startled cry but landed gracefully on her feet.

"I see you've gotten stronger since we last met." Lace's eyes gleamed mischievously.

"Enough of this," Hornet ordered. 

"Ooh, the itty-bitty spider's giving orders now! How cute," Lace giggled. Hornet felt himself turn scarlet, which was a color that did not match his cloak. He threw his needle forwards and pulled it back, but Lace jumped over his needle and struck down with her pin on the needle's way back, bouncing off the needle and keeping herself in the air for longer. While preparing his next attack, Hornet silently commanded his face to stop blushing. Lace did something she never did before: she jumped and slashed down at Hornet. 

"What the-" Hornet swiveled out of the way just in time, and Lace's pin slammed down and missed him by a few millimeters. Before Lace could pull it out, Hornet quickly stabbed her with his needle and dashed away, bracing himself for another attack. But instead, Lace pulled out her pin and didn't move.

"It seemed I underestimated you, little spider. It's not usually a mistake I make," Lace mused. Being the flirty one she was, she added, "You're even cuter when you fight!" Her expression turned serious after a while. "Until we meet again, spider." Lace put away her pin and vanished in a blur. Hornet watched her go, still slightly flustered.

"Until we meet again," he echoed. He traversed the arena. At the edge, Hornet stopped and picked a white rose from the ground. Inhaling the sweet scent, he realized that he wouldn't mind seeing Lace again.

He realized that he was looking forward to it as well.