Hollow Knight Oneshots [REQUESTS CLOSED]

Fem! Grimm / Male Reader / The Radiance

~Vying for Affection~

Immune to light; impervious to fire; both traits so alluring to the ladies in Y/N's life. The Radiance, how radiant indeed, with her gorgeous glow and angelic wings. Troupe Master Grimm, with her slender form and piercing, fiery eyes. So alike the ladies were: so passionate, so strong, so dominant. But they were so different. These traits drew Y/N to them.

"Let me apologize, oh radiant one, in advance for the utter heartbreak you will be forced to endure. You know as well as I who will be chosen."

"You might as well dream it, Troupe Master! If you see the way he stares as I pass, you'll know who he really wants."

"You???" Grimm held a clawed hand to her chest and chortled, prompting a glare from the moth. "He only stares because you take up his entire field of view!"

The Radiance scowled, stomping closer to the bat, curling her feathered fingers into a fist. She appraised her, eyeing her lanky body from head to toe. "Not all women are light enough to be carried like trophy wives, Grimm."

"Oh, trophy wife, how clever—" Grimm scoffed, leaning on one hip. "Though, might I remind you there are still lowly hermits who carry your figures in the palms of their dirty hands."

"Those statues are a sign of reverence, of immortality. With them, I don't need to summoned by some meandering fool."

"Tschh, like plaguing the minds of poor insects for millenia is much better— you ought to be the most incessant "goddess" anyone has ever heard of!"

"Better me than some rabid bat fluttering about and clinging to their antennae." The Radiance gesticulated a wild creature flapping its wings and hissed, appalling Grimm.

"Rabid?"

"Am I wrong? Well, pardon me! I figured the behavior of that ratty-little-gremlin of yours must've come from somewhere."

"Do not bring my child into this..." Grimm balled her fists, each knuckle cracking in the following silence.

"Struck a nerve? Well, it's only fair— struck my nerves plenty with the biting and scratching, the fireballs. An absolute lunatic!" The Radiance examined the faded scars on her hands, each one a memory of the Grimmchild's hostile, protective nature. "Let's hope Y/N wasn't planning for children..."

"You dare speak of my son in such a way, witch!?"

The Radiance folded her large winged arms and sent Grimm a wicked grin.

"...Well, perhaps you'll be more grateful, should you live to meet yours at all!"

Grimm unsheathed her claws and lunged, swiping at the Radiance. The moth leapt into the air, narrowly averting the ferocious attack. The Radiance screeched, summoning a barrage of silver swords that reigned down on vicious Grimm. The bat, with her unparalleled agility, weaved through the blades and pounced again with her luminous claw. Just as Grimm struck, a golden beam shot from the sky, clipping her side. The wound staggered Grimm and she missed, clutching her scorched rib as she stumbled to the ground. The Radiance prepared her blades again, but Grimm rebounded, shuffling to her feet and vanishing in a plume of crimson. The Radiance was blinded— that was her chance! Grimm materialized behind the moth and sliced across her back. The Radiance howled and flung her arms, sending Grimm flying straight into a steel-plated pillar. Silence ensued.

With all the hate and adrenaline of the fearsome enemies depleted, they sunk to the ground with deep, throbbing wounds.

"I..." Grimm coughed between heavy pants, "I'm sorry, Radi."

The Radiance caught Grimm's meek words from the other end of the room. She sniffled and reciprocated her apology with a swollen throat.

"I was out of line. Taunting your weight, threatening your life—"

"No, Grimm— grrr!" The moth growled as her gash pulsed, "I-I'm the one to blame. I insulted you're child. I should have known better than to... detest one's motherhood."

The ladies sat cradling their bodies, seething in the silence.

"We must be more accepting of eachother..." The Radiance spoke at last.

"Yes... We must learn to love one another before we can love our Y/N..."

The Radiance rose unceremoniously. She trudged over to Grimm, who leaned weak against the pillar. She offered a trembling hand to Grimm, who gazed up with dull eyes. The bat reached and faltered, drawing back her hand. Then she reached again, and the Radiance gently pulled the bat to her feet. The ladies stood in the ambience, gaze cast to the cold floor. Grimm glanced at the Radiance's pure orbs and the Radiance followed. Grimm's crimson eyes lit just a bit.

Grimm and the Radiance smiled and they [gently] embraced, their bright eyes welling as they held each other close. The ladies sputtered profusely, letting all there thoughts and emotions spill from their lips.

"I-I've always been jealous of you Grimm! You're so petite and sultry!"

"But you're so much stronger than me, Radiance—with your magic swords and beams of light! All I do is scratch and burn and turn into a pink pufferfish—!"

CLANG!!!

The ladies whipped around in shock to see him standing in the open doorway. Y/N's (weapon of choice) collided with the floor as he stared back, utterly speechless toward the sight before him.

"...What happened here?"

"O-Oh! Nothing to see here, Y/N— ahhaaaah!" The Radiance moved too quick and she winced, the slice on her back flooding her senses with a stinging pain. The burning of Grimm's wounds retuned to her and she clutched her abdomen.

"Grimm, Radiance—" Y/N abandoned his weapon and rushed to them, eyes glued to their fresh, seeping wounds. He ushered Grimm and examined her side, catching a surprising sight: sizzling skin under her cloak. He turned the Radiance on her heels and discovered, to his horror, three vicious claw marks stretched across her back.

"You two were fighting..."

"We're sorry, Y/N!" The ladies whined.

"We were corrupted by jealousy! We nearly killed eachother—"

"Over you!"

"Over me?" Y/N pressed a clammy hand to his forehead and sighed. "This is exactly what I was worried about..."

"No, no, no, sweetheart! Do not worry," The Radiance cooed, capturing him in her warm embrace. "It was a silly fight, tossing around petty insults and vying for your affection when we know we've already won it."

"But we've settled things, my love... The right way." Grimm slithered in, trailing her left hand, free from blood, along his jaw.

"...I hope so," Y/N detached himself from the ladies, reaching up to encase their rosy cheeks. "I would hate to have my girls fight like this."

The ladies flushed— a reaction only evoked by a tone like Y/N's. They glanced at eachother, then back at their love, and locked hands.

"Do not fret, love," Grimm crooned. "I doubt there will be much to contest over from now on."