Weak Constitution

Nicky was already shaking as he walked through the looming doors of Hades.

Well, it was the local gym but it might as well have had a large plaque inscribed with the words "Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here" for all he cared. It was terrible, it was awful, it was cruelty incarnate.

"Nicky, you really need to build some muscle." Knuckles had mentioned as he stretched. He had once again pulled Nicky out of a fight he hadn't wanted nor instigated. He was a small gay guy in a rural town, it wasn't his fault people had such a problem with him. He just wanted to Hollow Knight and hide out in his room, but he was currently covered in bruises and being pulled out of a bar by a beefy red echidna.

"Knuckles, I appreciate the thought but-" Knuckles cuts him off as they move toward the exit.

"I don't want to hear it. This is the third time in a month someone has tried to start shit with you and I'm not always going to be here to pull your ass out of the fire." Nicky frowned but he couldn't argue because Knuckles wasn't wrong. Nicky had been bullied most of his life and his new roommate had made it marginally easier as he moved from being bullied to full on aggressed. Nicky wasn't sure what egged these guys on, but it had certainly gotten worse.

"Knuckles, I don't know what to tell you." Nicky groused.

"You're going to tell me yes." Nicky eyed his friend as he sat in the passengers seat of his SUV. Knuckles was a big guy with big arms and a big heart, he wondered if on some level it was to make other people around feel safe...or scared depending.

"Yes to what?" Nicky asks.

"Meeting my friend." Knuckles says, turning the key in the ignition, "I've told you about Sonic."

He had. Which is how he found himself currently shivering in the lobby of a gym owned by some local celebrity. A former champion of something or other who got his fix from aiding in the development other people's health and physique.

It made Nicky want to hurl at the thought. He was not built for this environment. He considered turning tail and running while he still had the chance when his dreams of escape were shattered by a call of his name.

"Nicky?" He gave a deep chested sigh and turned. If he'd been drinking water he'd have spit it out in shock. Sonic, the friend Knuckles had known since middle school, looked nearly identical to him. This seemed to shock Sonic as well because he whistled and placed his hands to his hips.

"Damn, Knux said you were a dead ringer for me but I thought he was joking." Sonic chuckles and claps Nicky on the shoulder. Even with barely any force, the movement is painful and Nicky winces. Sonic smiles down at him and says,

"Except for the glasses. They look good on you." Nicky blushes and pulls away slightly and Sonic swats at Nicky's fur. "And the bangs."

This was not going to be easy, Nicky could see that clearly.

"So, Knux said you need to learn how to fight?" Sonic asks, motioning for Nicky to follow him into the gym proper. Nicky stands up marginally straighter and follows.

"Is that what he's saying?" Nicky scoffs.

"No, his exact words were 'my friend Nicky has noodles for arms and I'm worried he'll snap like a twig' but I used my context clues." Sonic jokes. Nicky rolls his eyes.

"Sounds like him." Sonic chuckles and leads Nicky into an area with scales and various medical equipment, nothing too invasive but still daunting for Nicky who really never thought about his body much other than as a conduit for food and video games.

"It does, he said he'd drop by later." Sonic mentions as he adjusts the scales nearest him. "Are you ok if I take your weight?" He asks. Nicky nods and steps on the scale, Sonic calculates the numbers and adds them into an Ipad that Nicky only now realizes are in his hands.