Knight let a barely audible sigh escape his lips as he softly waved goodbye to the all-familiar pair of holy knight best friends, the both of them happily bouncing away with a smile. Madeleine and Milk had hearts as pure as newfallen snow and they would never willingly hurt anyone within this sacred kingdom the three were sworn to protect, Knight knew that much, though it didn't take a detective to notice his subtly pained expression each time [i he] was addressed as [i she]. 
As much as he hated fooling them by assuring them he was fine each time he was unintentionally misgendered, he couldn't quite come clean about it either. The two were as talkative as one could imagine they were, and they never hesitated to gossip amongst each other each chance they got, so there wasn't a doubt in the fact that they'd both spread the news around like wildfire. To add to that, he wasn't quite ready to come out entirely either, which just rubbed more salt into his wound so to speak.


Madeleine and Milk were sweet, and Knight was confident they'd support him entirely when the royal knight finally decided to, so he shouldn't bother to think twice about the faulty, old pronouns he was forced to have since he was a kid and that they used for him, right? 
Despite how hard he tried, Knight ended up painfully grimacing at the thought and reminder, flicking the visor of his helm down to hide his expression from the sight of other Cookies. He couldn't let others worry about him! After all, he still had the duty to stay alert while on patrol, and getting tangled in his emotions would only serve more damage than help for that task. However, it wasn't every day that he had his visor down to shield his face from sight, something others noticed quickly as the armoured Cookie strolled around.
Eventually, it came to the notice of Blackberry Cookie, who walked over to him and had whispered in a hushed tone that he was free to leave from his patrol and return home. Much like Princess Cookie and Almond Cookie, she was one of the few in his very small handful of people he had come out to thus far, so it hadn't taken her long to figure out what exactly was wrong. Knight was quick to refuse, but Blackberry continued to insist, stating she would make up a feasible excuse to tell anyone who might ask about him, which, after a few silent moments, was enough reassurance to convince him to call it a day early. With a soft, audibly shaken-up murmur of his thanks, she gestured him to hurry off quickly, which was an order he didn't hesitate to follow as he didn't want to risk ending up crying on the streets. 


With a soft huff, Knight had found himself at the doorsteps of not his house, but at his boyfriends. Somewhere during his rushed pacing, he had come up with the idea that a little comfort from his lover would probably be the better choice rather than dealing with his emotions by himself. Only Earthbread knew what might happen if he dealt with it by himself yet again, so he trepidly made his way through the front door, leaving each and every piece of his complicated armour set by the door; there was no need to carry around anything heavier than what his heart felt like it was, after all; before silently walking around. Knight would bet Almond was couped up inside his office at this time of day considering it was still working hours for the detective, which is exactly where he went to first, gently nudging open the already halfway open door.
"With all due respect, I know that finding, uhm, the all-elusive Roguefort Cookie is extraordinarily important to you and your investigative career, but can... Can we cuddle, please?... I'm sorry for entering without knocking and intruding as well, gosh aren't I so considerate..."

Almond looked up from his books, watching him curiously as he blinked. "Hm-? Oh, hello there. Come on in." He kinda waved his hand to welcome the other Cookie into his office, scribbling down instructions for his underlings to follow. He hummed to himself as he scooted his chair back, setting his pen down before lightly patting his lap. "Come on." He spoke out quietly, putting his arms around him once he got close enough. "What happened?" His eyes glimmered softly as he looked up at him, kissing at his cheek and shoulders gently. He knew he would need to be gentle with him, fearing that he wouldn't be able to comfort him. However, he decided to shake himself of it mentally, placing his head on his shoulder and sighing softly. "I'm here, love, it's okay..."

Knight had no need to be told twice to slide over for the cuddles he asked for, practically collapsing into Almond the second he sat in his lap and his arms were around him, quietly and frustratedly groaning out after doing so. "Why does gender even have to exist if people get misgendered because of stupid preconceptions people have??? I want to fight it; [i slay] it as if it's a dragon, even; so I don't have to deal with it ever again! It's so stupid!" He grumbled out in a whine, unable to help his tangent from stopping as he carried on. "I know Maddy and Mik didn't [i mean to] misgender me and that they have no idea that I'm a [i he] and not a [i she] and that I really shouldn't be upset because that's cruely selfish of me, but damnit... It hurts hearing those pronouns addressed towards me non-stop Almond, and from fellow knights nonetheless..."

He gently held him, rubbing his back and closing his eyes as he sighed quietly. "I'm sorry you've had to deal with that today, sweetheart. Is there anything I can do, or do you just need me to be here for you?" He spoke out gently, looking at him with a soft hum. He knew that he just needed to be there at the moment, but he needed to make sure that everything was gonna be okay for him. "I love you." He spoke gently, kissing his cheek.

Knight didn't immediately offer up another word, falling into an uneasy silence, instead ducking his head under the other's and staying like that. It took the royal guard a handful of moments to respond, slowly sighing out in order to help calm himself before softly nuzzling Almond. "I just need to be physically close to you right now, that's all..." He explained in a soft murmur, lifting his head to give him a quick kiss on his cheek before going back to keeping his head nestled under the detectives. "You can go back to your work if you're able to, I shouldn't be too much of a purposeful distraction... I love you too."

He rubbed his head softly, kissing his cheek and humming softly as he closed his eyes. He softly scooted closer to his desk in order to go back to his paperwork, deciding to hum a song that Knight seemed to like as he smiled at the feeling of his boyfriend resting on his lap. He closed his eyes and smiled to himself, nuzzling at his cheek slightly. "...Comfortable?" He asked after a moment, looking at him as he smiled lightly.

"Mmhm," Knight hummed out in affirmation, a tiny smile on his face as he tried to snuggle closer than he already was. As if his issues never existed in the first place, he happily stayed seated there in his lap, humming out the same tune Almond was as he truly did like the song, though he paused after a moment. It was a thoughtful pause, and it was one that earned him to slip himself away with a quiet, but very noticeably happy, "I'll be right back." So, leaving Almond's office with a smile, he walked himself to the kitchen and made what he had the bright idea to make; hot chocolate. It always made him feel better, and it gave him a small way to thank Almond, so he thought it was perfect. Making his way back to the office with the cups of cocoa when he was finished, he set one of them down on the desk before carefully reclaiming his spot on his lap to calmly sip at his own cup of cocoa.

Almond had mostly gotten the chocolate for Pancake since he liked decorating himself with chocolate too, but he knew he could get some more later. He picked up his cup and quietly took a sip of it, relaxing after a moment as he leaned back with a soft sigh. It seemed like he was happy to be able to relax, rubbing his side with his free hand idly as he let out a comfortable sigh. "...This is nice..." He spoke after a moment, his eyes closing as his thumb rubbed over Knight's side a couple of times before coming to a stop and just resting on his side. His eyes glimmered as he looked over at him with a soft hum, reaching up to rub at his cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too. It still feels like a dream that you accept me for who I am," Knight gently admitted, unable to stop himself from smiling further, softly leaning into the hand rubbing his cheek as he took another sip of his cocoa. He leaned forward and kissed the end of Almond's nose once his sip of cocoa had been downed, seeming happy with the moment as he hummed. "Oh! Have you slept recently, or in the past twenty-four hours? Do I need to literally drag you to bed if you haven't? And have you eaten at least one proper meal today? Or had anything else to drink other than coffee, or that cocoa too?" Knight worriedly rapid-fire asked, only meaning to have good intentions as he was painfully well aware that Almond sometimes forgot to take care of himself.

He ran his hand through his hair softly, kissing his cheek as he rested his head on Knight's shoulder. "You know I love you unconditionally, honey." He spoke honestly, kissing his cheek as he purred softly. "I'll always be with you, you know that." He spoke gently, watching him and letting his eyes glow softly. "I love you more than anything."

Sighing out comfortably, he lightly shifted to set his cup down after one final sip from it before cupping Almond's face to press a propper kiss to his lips with a soft smile. "I don't know [i what] I did to deserve you, but I am so very glad I did it." He murmured out affectionately with a slight laugh, nuzzling at his cheek for a few moments. "Hooooowever, you didn't answer my questions, my love. Nice attempt trying to avoid them though, but you're not getting off the hook that easily."

He let out a mock-disappointed tsk as he shook his head, putting his arms around him and nuzzling his cheek. "Fine fine...I have slept at least 8 hours recently...but no, I haven't eaten or drank much today." He hummed out quietly, bonking his forehead against the other's gently. "I'll be fine, though." He spoke quietly, trying to insist on that point.

Knight hummed contently with the answer he was provided with, deciding against prying any further as Almond had bothered enough giving him an honest answer. "Make sure to eat and drink something else today; thank you for telling me that. Keep taking care of yourself, you're on a roll! Otherwise I might just have to move in to take care of you instead," He lightheartedly and playfully half-threatened, pecking his lips with a smile.

"I mean...I wouldn't complain." He spoke honestly, placing their foreheads together as he hummed softly. "After all, who wouldn't want a handsome knight in shining armor helping take care of them all the time? I certainly wouldn't mind." He chuckled out lightly, kissing him gently as he closed his eyes and sighed out comfortably. "You're comfortable." He mumbled out, resting his head on his boyfriend's gently.