Work Text:
Dad! Dad! It's me, King! Your son! Oh, I'm so, so happy to finally meet you! Now we could do all the things I've always dreamed of: share our own internal jokes, make fun of Hooty, bake cookies... Come on, dad, don't keep me waiting!
The demon in front of him still didn't turn around. King, with his chest tight, whispered:
Hey, dad? Listen. I know this is all kinda messed up. I find you like this out of nowhere, out of the blue. I'm not angry if you don't want to talk to me right now, or tomorrow, or... longer than that. Things can't go so smoothly so suddenly, right? But before I leave, I want you to know something. I... I found my home in the Owl House. Hooty is a pain in the neck, as I told you before, but Luz has become something like a big sister to me. And Eda... Eda is the mother I never had, and no matter how much we get on each other's nerves, I love her. I know she loves me, too, in her own weird way. And it makes me genuinely... happy. Knowing I have a place to stay, people who care about me... this feels just like home, dad. I would never want to leave, even if... even if you wouldn't approve of my decision. I love you, too, whoever you are, but I can't leave my family. I can't... I can't come with you. I'm sorry.
Silence. King stepped forward, very cautiously touching his father's shoulder. It was ice cold.
Dad, I...
...you're not my son.
King froze from head to toe and immediately pushed the hand away.
W-what? Dad, I'm sorry! I really am! I didn't mean to be-
You are not my son. You never were, and never will be. You have already been tricked once.
King fell on his back when the demon turned around. They seemed so alike, yet so distant at the same time.
But you're not a trick! You're real! You love me! I'm your long lost son! You can't leave me, you can't leave me again!
Of course I can't, when I've never been there in the first place. Why? Because you're a total failure. Why would I want such a fool for a son? I'd rather raise a rock. My son would be strong, brave, and smart, and you don't even have a brain. You are utterly useless.
King shook his head desperately. Tears clouded his vision.
No, no, no! Y-you don't mean that! You... you're just under a lot of pressure! B-because our meeting was so sudden! A-and even if you are disappointed in me right now, I promise I can make it up to you! I could be all those things you want me to be, just please stay! Please stay with me, dad! I need you so much! I don't want to be alone!
But you are not alone, said the demon. You have your little Owl House friends. Why don't you go back to them? Obviously, you're all just as pathetic as each other.
King's heart flooded with sadness he couldn't cope with. It was unbearable. He tried to reach out for his father's hand, but he turned his back on him.
Please. Please don't leave me again.
The shadow began to fade.
Dad! Stay! I need you! I love you! I...
It disappeared anyway, and King was left alone to sob on his knees. That was, until he heard someone calling his name:
"King? King! KING!"
***
King awoke with a scream of pure pain. His chest felt so tight he thought it would burst. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to move. Everything hurt, especially on the inside, deep in his heart.
Once he saw Eda by his side, he felt such relief he cried: "Eda! O-oh, E-eda!" and threw himself into her arms, holding on tight. The witch stiffened for only a second before she returned the hug, embracing her adoptive son like never before. Like a mother.
King couldn’t stop his sobs. Thankfully, he had fallen asleep in Eda's room, so she was able to hear his nightmare.
Luz doesn't need to worry about me, too, he thought, burying his eye into Eda's chest, who stroked his fur gently and mumbled:
"Hey, King. Hey... calm down, kid. It's okay. It was just a stupid dream. Nothing real about that. Now calm down and tell me what it was about. You'll feel better. I promise."
The certainty in her voice soothed King. He sniffled, took a few deep breaths and croaked:
"M-m-my... dad... l-left me again. He thought I was stupid and useless and that he had never loved me! That he never will, no matter how hard I tried to do things right for once! Maybe I don't belong anywhere! Maybe I don't deserve to be called King!"
Eda couldn’t believe that her son could ever even think thoughts like that. She grabbed his face, forcing him to look at her. It was wet from tears.
"King. King, I want you to listen to me carefully. You are not a failure."
"B-but I'm such a j-jerk a-and-"
"Repeat it with me: 'I am not a failure. My family loves me.' "
King hesitated for a second before obeying:
"I am not a failure," he said weakly. "My family loves... me."
"Attaboy," Eda sighed in relief, glad to have been able to comfort him. However, she soon noticed King was about to break down again and pulled him in close. They stayed like that for a long, long time, until both of their tears dried up. The demon curled up on her chest like a toddler and allowed the remaining emotions to come to the surface. Eda held him through it all, whispering that she cared, that he was important to her, that he mattered.
"I love you, mom," King blurted out without thinking. Both blushed and stayed silent for some time, until Eda replied, in the gentlest tone King had ever heard:
"I love you, too, my son."
And they meant it.