Because this dumb idea was too cute to pass up. You can't say this wouldn't be a plausible scenario, with how disconnected from our worldly customs that the Skeksis are.

More of the TahHak fluff train! Enjoy!

Hug

"Do you know what a hug is?"

skekHak paused, having drenched a red-hot blade into a bucket of water to cool it and keep its shape. Setting the knife and the tongs on his workbench, he turned to look at his companion. Behind the goggles was a baffled expression.

"A what?" he asked.

"A hug," skekTah the Note-Taker repeated, hands wringing in front of him. "Do you know what one is?"

"…I'm assuming it's a Gelfling thing," the Machinist said.

"Well, it could be," skekTah shrugged. "I saw Podlings do it during the last banquet. They seemed to enjoy it."

"And this…hug…entails what?" skekHak asked, curiosity nipping at him.

"Well, it involves two people. They wrap arms around one another and just stand there for a bit. Then they pull away and they're…happy?" skekTah explained, though it sounded rather questioning.

"…You want to try it, don't you?" skekHak guessed.

"…Maybe," the Note-Taker replied sheepishly, looking away.

skekHak sighed. He honestly wished that the shorter Skeksis would be a bit more assertive with his desires. There was only so much you could get if you pined and dropped hints and waited. If skekTah would just come out and say it, he'd probably achieve so much more than he normally did.

But skekTah was so very skittish and antisocial and withdrawn. It was hard to get him to do much of anything for himself.

That was why skekHak was there, though.

"All right, get up," skekHak said with a dramatic shake of his head. "Let's try this…hug thing."

The Machinist could almost see the childlike glimmer in the Note-Taker's eyes, practically feel the youthful spring in his step as skekTah hopped out of his chair and scurried over to the taller, older Skeksis. skekHak held his arms out, hoping he was doing this hug right. He'd never witnessed this strange activity before, so he was relying on skekTah to guide him.

"Okay, wrap your arms around me, like what I'm doing to you," skekTah explained, embracing his friend.

skekHak mimicked the gesture, long arms securely wrapping around skekTah's back. He could feel the body heat of his companion, who was pressed flush against his chest. If he listened hard enough, he could swear that he could hear skekTah's heart beating against his own chest. It was rather eerie…and intimate…

They stood there for several minutes in the middle of skekHak's chambers, engaging in this mysterious act of hugging.

"…I don't get it? I just feel warm," skekHak said finally.

"So do I," skekTah muttered, obviously disappointed.

The Machinist frowned. Clearly skekTah had had high hopes for this hugging thing. It hurt him to have let the Note-Taker down.

"Well…it didn't feel bad," he offered.

"You're right. It didn't," skekTah admitted. "Maybe it's just a Podling thing?"

"Perhaps," skekHak shrugged. "At least one can't say we didn't try it."

"…Maybe we could do it again? Just in case we didn't do it long enough," skekTah rationalized quickly.

"If you say so," skekHak consented.

skekHak didn't argue. He didn't want to. Maybe the hug wasn't working the way it did with Podlings. Maybe it was and they just couldn't see it.

But it made skekTah happy, so skekHak would do it.