Work Text:
“Who do these blasted winds think they are being so cold?!” Clatters and clunks scattered around as Mato rushed inside his home. “Ugh!” He grunted, pulling his cloak around him with one hand. He shivered, but had other things on his mind.
“Ogrim!" He called to his boyfriend, hoping he made it home before Ogrim retreated to his burrow for sleep.
"Are you still here? I got dinner!” Mato looked down at his bag of assorted game, pleased with himself. Food has been much better for them nowadays as the world slowly but surely became healthier.
“I do hope you’re hungry. I have some good ingredients for-'' Mato registered Ogrim’s hearty chuckles and they warmed his heart. He smiled, but he wondered.
What in the world was Ogrim laughing at? During the time they’ve been dating, Mato has come to know that Ogrim talks to himself and that leads to him laughing at absolutely nothing.
Mato was interested in what was making him do that this time, so he happily pulled back the curtain and stepped in.
“What’s so funny?” He asked Ogrim as he placed the bag on the ground to free his hands. He needed to tie down the curtains due to the winds picking up tremendously.
“Dear, welcome home! How I missed you!” Ogrim continued to laugh, and Mato was pleased to feel his claws wrap around his back in a tight squeeze. How he loved that laugh!
“I missed you too!” Mato chuckled, but realized fast that something was afoot when Ogrim’s hold turned less into a hug and more into a combative grip. Mato yelped when Ogrim quickly grabbed around his arms and swiveled him around.
“GET HIM, LITTLE ONE! GET HIM!” Mato yelped at this rebellion when two little hands were suddenly repeatedly smacking him on the face.
“Ah! Ah!” Mato struggled against Ogrim’s hold but his claws were too strong! He couldn't get a good look at his assailant, due to their tiny hands hitting towards his eyes. He knew full well who they were though. The crack splitting their forehead was as big as a giveaway as the chill of their hands.
“Haha! Yes! Get him, young ghost!!” Ogrim kept egging Ghost on, making the child smack their father faster. He laughed at Mato’s annoyed yet amused expression.
“I bring you- oof! The ingredients for Crawlid and Walnuts- ah! And this is the thanks I get???”
“You know you love us!” Ogrim jeered lovingly. Mato mumbled to himself, something that sounded like “..Yeah I do-” but he needed to free himself from this childish assault if any of them wanted to eat.
Mato struggled for a few seconds, trying to free one arm from Ogrim’s hold. Once he pulled it out, he turned his body halfway into Ogrim and pinched the tip of his upper claw where it connected into his shoulder piece.
“Ah!! Ahahaha!” Ogrim sputtered as that spot was quite ticklish. Using this moment of vulnerability, Mato pushed away and grabbed Ghost by their underarms. “Oh you win!” Ogrim snorted, trying to catch his breath. Mato was still being smacked indignantly by his child, who was trying hard to wriggle out of his grip.
The hero who united the void to swallow the Infection and they cannot best the power of a father’s caring hand.
“Alright, alright calm down now, Ghost.” Mato bounced them and held them close for a moment. A brief hug and then they calmly sat in his arms, looking up at them with those giant eyes as per usual.
“How long have you been in the cliffs? I do hope you avoided that big wind surge, it seems like it would blow you straight back to Dirtmouth!”
Ogrim took a deep breath, small chuckles breaking out but he got them mostly contained.
“They came right when you left for the food. I had to convince them to wait and stay for dinner by planning this attack- pff!”
“You and I know well that that is half-true and you would have done this anyways.”
Ogrim burst into laughter again, clapping his claws. It was true and he would not deny it!
Mato shook his head and set Ghost down. He was confused when they pointed to the door. He turned and saw the curtain blowing about more freely.
“Oh!” Mato rushed back over to tie it down without being attacked by tiny hands. It was quite the weakness!
Ogrim handed him the usual objects they used as wind-blocking materials. Once the curtain was weighed down, the chill of the room was less presently intense. It really was only uncomfortable for Mato at times.
Ogrim was constantly warmed by his abundance of fluff underneath his armor. Ghost was naturally (and scarily) ice cold to the touch and seemed largely unbothered.
So Mato was the only one shivering at that point. He clapped his hands together.
“Okay! It’s! Cold!” He said, keeping his hands intertwined and rubbing them together.
“So! I’m starting the fire and we’re eating hot food with less attacking me with small hands and hugs!”
“For now!” Ogrim teased, making Mato smile and roll his eyes.
“Stop it, you.” he said, nudging him gently with a leg. Ogrim laughed, pushing it by grabbing Mato by the small of his back and leaning in for a headbonk and getting a push to the forehead.
“Fire and food first. Kissing later.” Ghost raised their hands in an annoyed manner and smacked both of them on their torsos. They seemed disgusted by the thought of them kissing in front of them and that only made the two men laugh together.
When they had all calmed down, the fire was lit and blazed merrily. The three of them settled into sitting in front of the fire, Ogrim and Ghost watching Mato cook. Mato toasted the assorted nuts and herbs he found with the crawlid and covered the pan.
Ogrim was always looking around for ways to help, it was in his nature. Peeking through subtleties and acting accordingly. Seeing Mato shiver in front of the fire when his hands weren't busy in front of it was one such thing.
“Hey, little ghost, are you cold?” Ogrim asked, but the child was busy looking fondly at the pan. Seems they were more hungry than bothered by the cold. He wanted to get them to play along because he knew that was exactly how to get Mato into the idea faster. Ogrim reached behind Mato and tapped them on the shoulder.
“How about we all build a pillow fort to be nice and warm, hm?” They silently stared at him so he made the choice for them. “It will be fun! Let’s do it!” Ogrim stood and offered his claw to them.
Ghost hesitated for a moment. “You do like Pillow Forts, yes?” They were ever silent, but took the claw.
“You don’t know how to make pillow forts, do you?” Ogrim asked, a bit saddened he had to. Ghost shook their head.
“It’s easy and very fun! Your father and I will show you!” Ogrim flexed a bit, trying to get Mato’s attention.
“That’s very charming, Ogrim, and I’d love to join once I can take my eyes off the food.” Mato said, plainly.
So the paths were crossed. Mato searched for any other ingredients he needed, and Ogrim and Ghost gathered every single blanket in Mato’s house to make a giant comfy pile.
“Why do you have so many pillows, dear?” Ogrim asked, likely for the 50th time as he and Ghost spread a blanket over the ground.
“They do your body well when you sleep, and you know that!” Mato said, back turned away from the two rascals while he looked for his saved bits of sugar.
Ogrim shook his head and started explaining to Ghost how to make the fort in a more creative way.
“A pillow fort is just a big pile of soft fluffy things that are used to make a sort of shelter for people to sleep together. It’s very comfortable!” Ogrim shot Mato a look, took the pillows and propped a few up into a sort of vague wall shape.
“Like that! You see?” Ghost nodded and joined Ogrim in stacking the pillows. “We can drape a blanket over the top if you want, and it’ll be like a hut within a hut!” Ogrim chuckled.
Mato shook his head, poking around his jars for the desired ingredient. Once he found it, however.
“ My child, be careful with that so close to the fireplace!!” Ogrim yelped, grabbing the edge of a blanket Ghost had trailing behind them.
Mato only registered the first two words in Ogrim’s voice. My child. He had to catch the jar and lean forward to try to minimize the sheer utter joy those three syllables shot into his heart. If he didn’t, he feared he’d explode. Or rather melt into a puddle. Could he fall in love even harder than he already has?
Ogrim hadn’t even noticed his words, nor their effect on his boyfriend. He merely held the blanket in his claws and was shocked to see Ghost tilt their head, confused. “Little one, you nearly caught this on fire!” Ogrim helped Ghost with the blanket while Mato blushed and moved to finish the food.
Ogrim considered Ghost his child as well? Or was that a slip of the tongue caused by Mato constantly saying that?
Were they at that point? Is a child of Mato’s a child of Ogrim’s?
Mato didn’t know and had a big smile in his eyes at the mere idea. He stirred the food when it was clear Ghost wasn’t going to burn down his house.
The food and fort were: messes. They both looked haphazard but the three of them knew that appearances weren't all they seemed.
The food appeared charred due to the sugars and high heat. The fort was just a pillow mass.
It didn't stop Ghost from grabbing their bowl and diving in. “Watch your head, my child!” Mato called at them.
Ghost didn’t listen and collided into the pillows without spilling their food. They got comfortable and gave their father a knowing, stubborn look.
“You better watch that head, little one. Last thing we need you to do is faint when you aren’t in a nice pile of pillows.” They threw their head back, as if daring their weakened body to make them faint once again. If they had a voice, Mato would think they blew a raspberry at him, annoyed at his care.
Mato shook his head at them and Ogrim gave him a nudge. “Let’s just relax, beloved. They’ll probably end up just falling asleep until the big winds pass, and we can walk them home.”
Mato sighed. He was still pretty cold. Ogrim gave him a peck on the cheek and they both joined Ghost in the comfort of the pillows.
Their dinner was delicious. The meat was sweet and everything was delightfully crunchy. It was one of Mato’s favorite dishes to make, so getting the ingredients for it was such a special treat.
What was an even bigger treat was Ogrim sneakily pulling a blanket over Mato’s shoulders and leaning in.
Mato smiled as the warmth spread over them all. They ate comfortably, sharing jokes and stories between bites. Ghost had finished their bowl before either of them and was hitting the pillows trying to lay down snugly with their shell feeling weird. They kicked around almost restlessly.
“Do you think they’d like pillow fights?” Mato asked Ogrim while sliding away both their bowls.
“Do you think they know what a pillow fight is?” Ogrim hummed, pressed pleasantly against Mato’s shoulder.
“It's a pillow fight! It’s in the name. You just smack your opponents into the dirt with absolutely no mercy!” Mato could remember fun nights with his brothers having vicious pillow fights.
The second he said “no mercy” Mato had some second thoughts about suggesting it. “No, no, their head is bothering them. We should forget it.” Mato swiped his hand down. “They don't have the energy. I don’t want their head to ache or for them to actually have a bad fainting spell again...”
Ghost was not a patient child and they never had been. They had scraped and clawed to live, climb and see. They were slowly figuring out who they were as a person once that will to climb was a will no longer needed.
One thing they knew well about themself was that they hated it when people talked about them like they weren't there when they were still present. They hated people telling them how they were feeling! What they could or couldn’t do!
So Mato got quite the shock when they grabbed the first pillow beneath them and chucked it at his head. They stood, quickly and wobbly, taking a charge to smack him with another pillow. “Oof! Ghost, take it easy!”
“Ho-ho! Seems they have energy after all, Mato! They’re alright!” Ogrim laughed, but he immediately got a rough smack too. Ogrim gave Ghost a mischievous look. He grabbed one of the pillows in between both of his claws and smacked Ghost gently with it.
Ghost took that gentleness and hit Ogrim harder. “Ghost! Come now!” Mato tried to ease them but Ghost continued to throw the pillows at the two of them. Their mind had stopped thinking and now they couldn’t stop themselves from throwing all the pillows.
Mato tried to grab them, but their arms flailed wildly making it difficult for him to get any hold on them.
Ogrim was laughing so much he was rolling back on the floor and shaking. The roughhousing father and child looked at the cackling beetle and shared a look. Mato put Ghost down and grabbed a pillow for himself, handed Ghost another and tilted his head towards Ogrim. Ghost leapt on Ogrim’s stomach and hit his face with the pillow and Mato whapped him repeatedly on the side. Call it revenge for earlier.
“Oh-hohoho!!” Ogrim scream-laughed when Ghost jumped up and down on his torso. “This seems to be getting a little too wild!!” He teased and reached back to pull Ghost off of his body and toss them onto Mato, giving Mato time to catch them. Ogrim smiled. “Looks like we are going to have a pillow war! Hmhm!”
And they did; tossing and smacking and throwing to their hearts content. Life was getting better as they all slowly healed, adjusted and warmed their hearts with love and togetherness despite all the troubles the winds threw at them.
The world was getting slightly healthier every day. Each of them were too.