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Two weeks.
That’s how long it had been since King learned of the demise of his father. The one who had given him life. The one who was supposed to protect him and keep him safe.
And to make it worse, it turns out his father was the Boiling Isles themselves. He had been living on his father’s remains this entire time. Everything that he’d ever done, whether that’s all the snacks that he had stolen from Luz, or the times he’d stomp and pout when Eda wouldn’t let him have his way, or all of the emotional turmoil he was having over not knowing who his father was… The entire time, the answer was right under his feet… literally.
How was that even supposed to make sense? King wasn’t very old. His father must’ve had him a very very long time ago, if he really was dead. He was just as confused as anyone else would be. Was he never supposed to be raised by him? Was he supposed to navigate the world on his lonesome, without any guidance? Was this even how a Titan was supposed to be raised?
It just… stunk. Badly. Like Eda after doing an hour long workout in the back of the Owl House. King had no time to even process anything. Hunted for being a Titan… something he couldn’t even control. He still remembers how his heart was racing as he and Luz escaped those horrid Titan Trappers. And right after that, it was escaping from their sense of normalcy and preparing for the Day of Unity.
And after that, it was just him and The Collector. King was stuck with him, playing with and indulging him in all of his ridiculous little games. King had only been doing it for a week, but he didn’t know just how much longer he’d have to keep doing it. Another week? Two? Four? Maybe even months.
It couldn’t have been any longer than the past two weeks he’d been through. It couldn’t have been any worse than the amount of crap he’d learned. Only now did the reality of his situation start to set in. He’d never felt more alone in his entire life. He was overwhelmed with just how much had happened in the short time frame, and he wanted to crack and break like the entire Skull of the Ti- of his father had.
And as he sat in his small bed, only a few feet away from where The Collector was sleeping, he felt tears begin to pour from his eyes. Too much had happened in two weeks worth of time. TWO weeks. Half of which was spent playing mindless games with a child that had the powers of GOD. And the other half of which was spent away from the one place he could truly call home.
Was his father able to hear him cry? Or was he too shrouded by the curse that The Collector had spewed on this land? Whichever was true, he knew one thing:
Now would be a really great time to have a hug from his father.
Too bad he couldn’t get one.
He started to sob. His yellow eyes were drenched with tears, and he couldn’t muffle his sounds very well at all.
He must’ve been too loud, because he started to hear The Collector stir in their bed. King quickly forced down his sobs and kept his vocal cords quiet.
The Collector opened their eyes and sat up in bed, immediately looking over at the small Titan. “King? Was that you?” they innocently asked. “Don’t be so loud!”
“S-Sorry, Collector,” King replied, trying his hardest to choke down his sobs. “Just… having some trouble falling asleep.”
“Oh! Would you like me to read you a bedtime story?” They slowly floated over next to King’s bed. “That always manages to help me sleep.”
“N-No thanks. I’m just about to sleep now, anyway.” That was a total lie. King was nowhere near being close to sleeping. Maybe if he cried enough he would tire himself out, but that sounded like too much effort.
…For now.
“UGHHH,” The Collector exclaimed. “You are so boring! It wouldn’t even be that long of a story!”
“They don’t r-really work for me.” King made absolutely sure to keep his head turned away from him. If he saw him crying, there’s now telling how he’d react.
“If you say so.” He floated back over to his bed and got back under the covers. King opted to try and do the same thing. Sitting on his bed wasn’t the way to fall asleep, even if sleep was nowhere close to happening.
King just stayed under the covers for minutes… trying to sleep. But just like he thought, his mind was nowhere near ready to sleep. He sat up and looked over at The Collector, who was strangely staring at the little Titan. King squinted his eyes at them. “Why do you keep looking at me?” he asked.
“You’re so nice to look at. You’re like candy for my eyes.” They dramatically bulged out their eyes, using their weird form of magic.
I’m not sure how to feel about that comment, King thought, careful not to say that. The Collector might take that the wrong way.
If nothing else, he could at least try and talk about his problems. “Collector, can I ask you something? It’s… a little bit serious.”
“I hope it’s not a boring question…” They squinted their eyes. “I hate those.”
“It’s not! It’s just…” King paused, letting out a sigh. “Do you know what it’s like to be abandoned?”
The Collector physically recoiled at that. “Why are you asking? You’re not thinking of abandoning me, are you?!”
“N-No! It’s- My father. I was never able to meet him, and… I would’ve liked to.” He wiped a single stray tear from his eye. “I miss him, even though I’ve never met him.”
“Well, that’s okay, buddy! You’ve got me to keep you company now!” The Collector smiled goofily. He managed to do a loop in midair, coming out from under the covers and then going back under.
“Yeah, but… Don’t you ever miss your family? Certainly there’s some people you miss.”
The Collector frowned, turning away from King. “I don’t wanna talk about this anymore.”
“Okay, I’m sorry,” was all King said. After that, he didn’t push it any further and went straight back to trying to fall asleep.
The Collector was certainly hiding something about his family, but he didn’t know what. He knew he was nothing like them from the small snippets he’d been told. And he was able to piece it together from the murals on the wall, but it wasn’t enough.
King idly thought of his father. It was weird to think that he was floating way above him, but at least he was safe from the chaos. And… at least Luz was safe…
Luz…
King closed his eyes, feeling tears come again. He shouldn’t think about her. No. He couldn’t. Not at all. He just… had to be optimistic.
Dad, If you’re somewhere out there are able to somehow hear this… please. Keep her safe. Keep Eda safe. Keep me and all of the people I care about safe, he longingly thought. I might not know you very well, but you’re still out there, right? Please. Lend me your strength. I need to be able to last… It’s so hard on me…
And as King finished his thought, for some strange reason… He felt as though his nerves were calmed in an instant, like a wave of relief washing over him. And as he finally, finally, drifted off to sleep, he could think that things would somehow be alright.