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King was humming softly to himself, eyes closed. He was sitting on the couch, Bim splayed out beside him and lying face-down in his lap as King combed his fingers through his hair, Bim almost definitely asleep.
“King –”
He jumped a mile, eyes flying open and letting out a startled noise, Bim groaning in his lap at the sudden movement. He glanced around wildly, breathing hard. Dark and Wilford were standing in the middle of the living area, hand-in-hand, Wilford trying – and failing – to smother his laughter with his free hand while Dark just gave him a small, amused smile. “Jesus Christ, you two! Don’t scare me like that!”
Dark chuckled. “Sorry.” King saw him squeeze Wilford’s hand as his face darkened slightly. “We…were wondering if you wouldn’t mind taking us out into the forest. To pick a spot for our wedding.”
King instantly brightened. “Yeah, of course I will!” He glanced down, carding his fingers through Bim’s hair again. “Bim, I have to get up.”
Bim let out another groan, lifting one leaden arm to grip King’s cape. “Nnooo…”
King couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him. “Bim please.” He shoved lightly at Bim’s head, and he easily rolled off his lap, landing on his back with a dull thud.
Bim didn’t even open his eyes, just muttered, “Ow,” and made no attempt to get back up.
Wilford muffled a snort as King stood, raising an eyebrow and placing his hands on his hips. “You’re pathetic.” Bim just raised an arm, flipping him off before said arm flopped over his chest. King just rolled his eyes before grinning at Dark and Wilford. “Come on! I think I know the perfect spot!”
Ten seconds later he was bursting into the backyard and tearing toward the woods, his crown falling off his head as his cape whipped behind him.
“Wait – King – slow down!”
He spun around when he heard Wilford’s call, smiling sheepishly as he slowed his pace. “Sorry! Hurry up, though, the spot I’m thinking of is quite a ways in!”
He waited at the edge of the forest for them before he began walking again, a bounce in his step. He faltered, however, spinning back around. “Okay, before I get too excited, did you guys have anything specific in mind?”
Both Dark and Wilford shook their heads. “No,” Dark replied, giving him a smile. “We trust your judgement.”
King clapped his hands together once, grinning from ear-to-ear. “Great! I think you’ll really love this place, just – bear with me!”
King led them deeper into the woods, till the trees shifted from oaks and maples to looming pines. Still he kept going, weaving through the trees with confidence. King knew every inch of these woods like the back of his hand. He knew exactly where he was going.
“Okay, not much farther!” He paused, brow furrowing. “Just…let me…” He launched himself at the nearest tree, scaling up it with practiced ease until he was just a red blur to the two below. He peered over the tree line, and his face lit up in a bright smile. “I see it!” He climbed back down the tree, somehow even faster than when he went up. He grabbed both Dark and Wilford’s hands, tugging them along. “Come on!”
It didn’t take long for them to burst into a clearing. Dark and Wilford’s jaws dropped, stopping dead on the outer edge, and King let go of their hands to wander into the clearing. The outer edge was surrounded and outlined by wildflowers of all sorts and colors, thriving in the spongey covering of dried pine needles. The clearing itself wasn’t actually visible due to one specific feature – the massive willow tree in the center, its branches reaching out just to the edge, draping down and hiding the space from view.
Dark and Wilford exchanged awed glances before pushing aside the natural curtain, stepping into the clearing. It was delightfully shaded, the sun still peeking through the wispy branches and highlighting little particles that floated through the air. The willow’s roots arched from the ground, stemming from the trunk in an almost perfect star. It looked like something straight out of a fairytale. King himself was lying on a thick, gnarled branch close to the trunk, his cape bunched beneath his head like a makeshift pillow and his hands folded over his stomach. He turned his head when he saw them enter, smiling at them.
“I like to come up here sometimes,” he said, rubbing one hand over the branch he was lying on. “It’s…peaceful. I catch the Host up here occasionally, too, whenever he goes on one of his wanderings. Do…do you like it?”
“It’s beautiful!” Wilford was still staring around open-mouthed, sticking his hand into the nearest beam of sunlight and marveling the way it seemed to glow. “How did you find this place?”
King just shrugged, blushing a little. “I wander, too. That’s all I did when I was first created, till I’d memorized this place from the inside out.” He slid off his branch, moving over to the edge and crouching down. He returned with two flowers – a red one that looked a bit like a poppy, and a pink one that just looked like a dyed, more solid version of a dandelion. He tucked the pink one behind Wilford’s ear, the red into Dark’s handkerchief pocket, and he smiled up at them again, rubbing the back of his neck. “So…do you think it’ll do?”
Dark let out a disbelieving huff of laughter, staring up at the natural ceiling above them before glancing at Wilford (still staring at his hand in the sunlight). “It’s perfect, King. It’s absolutely perfect.”