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It'd been a week since Scott got back to the Blue Kingdom. No one had seen him since he stumbled through the gates with red, swollen eyes, and tear tracks on his cheeks. Nom made a point to go to Scott’s house every morning and night. He hadn’t been allowed in, but he dropped off food and other supplies every time, just hoping Scott was taking care of himself.
Tonight was no different. The sun would set in about two hours, and Nom had a bundle of food in his hands as he made his way up the path.
“Scott,” he called, knocking on the door like every time before, “I have some more food for you.”
Nom expected the usual trembling reply “put it by the door” and was already setting it down.
But the door swung open.
Scott’s face was red and splotchy. His nails bit down to the beds, a few on the verge of bleeding. His eyes had deep bags and tear tracks still stained his cheeks. But at least he didn’t look like he’d been starving himself.
“Oh, Scott,” Nom said sadly, “do you need anything?”
Scott started to shake his head, but he paused and whispered, so quietly Nom almost didn’t hear it, “I could use a hug.”
Nom didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms protectively around Scott, letting the smaller man bury his head in the crook of Nom’s neck where his armor didn’t quite cover.
“Are you okay Scott?” Nom asked worriedly, “At least physically.”
Scott mumbled, “I’m alive,” before clinging tighter to Nom.
After a long moment, Scott pulled away and went back into his house, but he didn’t close the door, so Nom grabbed the bundle he brought and followed the half-elf. The interior of the cottage looked the same as usual; tidy floor, overflowing greenhouse, and dishes in the sink that proved he’d eaten, thank goodness. Scott wandered over to his greenhouse and sat on the moss flooring with his knees pulled up to his chin, looking out the large window that framed the lake.
“Do you want me to make you something to eat or get something for you,” Nom asked worriedly.
Scott shook his head and patted the ground next to him. Nom easily followed the request and sat next to Scott. After a moment of hesitation, he wrapped his arm around Scott’s shoulders and in return Scott laid his head on Nom’s shoulder. They sat there in silence for a while.
Nom’s thoughts wandered to his own parents. The pain wasn’t as sharp as it used to be, but he knew what Scott was feeling. He remembered hectic family game nights, quiet moments late at night, sparring matches against Katie, or occasionally his father. A particular memory slipped to the forefront of his mind.
Katie was upset over some kids bullying her at school and was crying to their mother. She quietly listened as she braided Katie’s hair. When she finished the braid and Katie wasn’t done talking yet, she undid the braid and redid it again. Nom remembered a particularly hard day of knight training, not long after their mother’s passing, where Katie was bruised badly. That night was the first time Nom had tried to braid hair.... It’d gotten Katie laughing though. He’d gotten a lot better over time from how often there were days like that. Katie had told him that the feeling of someone playing with her hair was soothing, which is why it’d often calmed her down.
Scott’s hair reached down a little past his shoulders and brushed against the little exposed skin on Nom’s arm. It looked long enough to braid....
Before Nom could think about it too much, he gently nudged Scott off his shoulder, then moved behind him. He took off his gloves and gauntlets and started combing his fingers gently through Scott’s hair. Scott stiffened in surprise but relaxed after a second and didn’t tell Nom to stop, so he kept going. He gathered half of Scott’s hair and sectioned it out. When he started to braid his hair, a shiver ran through Scott and Nom heard him take a sharp breath. Nom shifted so he could see Scott’s expression and saw tears running down the mage’s face.
“I-I’m sorry,” Nom stuttered, quickly pulling his hands back, “I-I wasn’t thinking. I just... Katie...” he fumbled to explain.
Scott shook his head and grabbed Nom’s hand to keep him from moving further away. “No, it’s just...” Scott took a deep breath before whispering, “My mom used to braid my hair when I was upset. No one’s done it since. It's.... Comforting.”
“I used to braid Katie’s hair. Our mother did it when Katie was upset and after she passed away, I would,” Nom explained.
Scott gave him a weak smile and squeezed his hand lightly. “If you want to, I don’t mind.”
Nom nodded a bit awkwardly, so Scott turned back to the window and hugged his knees to his chest. Nom restarted the braid and once he finished it, he moved to the other braid. When the second one was done, neither of them made a move to leave, so Nom undid both of them and restarted. The moon had risen by the time Scott went to bed, and Nom left his cottage.
Memories of what you’d lost were hard, but they could bring so much comfort. They just needed to hold onto that.