Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Collector flew down towards the Boiling Isles after coming back from visiting their siblings. They loved their siblings, and a lot has changed since they've started reconnecting with them, but they could still be difficult at times to talk to. At The Owl House though, it felt like a bit more of an open environment. There was always open communication with each other, except for King lately. During his last few visits, King seemed more anxious around them, quieter too, or zoning out and getting distracted, then talking real fast to try to cover it up. They didn't know why he was acting like this. Whenever they tried to ask about it he would always tell them he's fine and not to worry about it. It did little to ease their worry.

The Collector soon came upon the city of Boughs Burrow where the Owl House resided. The salty air consumed them in a light mist as they landed at the doorstep.

Excitedly they walked up and eagerly knocked on the door. Russling was heard from inside along with muffled voices. A few heavy footsteps approached and the door swung open revealing Eda, The Owl Lady.

"Hey, Welcome back kiddo. We were wondering when you would show up." Eda smiled brightly at them, showing off her fang in the process. She motioned for them to come inside. "KING! Guess who's here!"

There were fast paced tippity taps of claws coming from upstairs, getting louder as they drew closer.

"Weh!!"

King suddenly appeared at the bottom of the stairs facing the Collector. He stood for a moment before scampering happily to them.

"King! Aww I missed you!!" The Collector shouted. They felt their cheeks heat up and their eyes glow as King landed in his arms, nuzzling in their space like pj's, which were still warm from entering the atmosphere.

"Collector!" King's tail wagged with excitement, "You're just in time, Luz is visiting for the weekend and we're gonna be doing…" He suddenly jumped off them and went into a dramatic fighting stance, "An ULTRA COMPETITIVE GAME NIGHT," and quickly turned back to the Collector, "There's even gonna be prizes!"

"Cool! What game are we gonna be playing?" The Collector asked

"Well, hold your horses kid," Eda interrupted, "We still gotta eat and wait for Luz. She's the one bringing the game tonight. I think it was called U-now, Unoo?? Eh, something like that," Eda said, dismissing the topic, "Anyway, while we wait for Luz to get here, you guys wanna come help with dinner? We're making Gouresketti!"

"Actually Eda, I wanted to talk to King alone real quick-"

"HAH- yeah sure Eda, we'd love to help with dinner!" King cut in, a little too enthusiastically.

Eda didn't pay too much mind to it, but The Collector however was taken aback by King's sudden interruption. They were really looking forward to talking to King and getting to the bottom of his spontaneous behavior, or even talk to him in general, but every chance they try to bring it up, something happens or the subject changes. It’s irritating.

Eda started walking to the kitchen, King quickly followed, but turned to the Collector,

"Comon," He started, beckoning for them to follow, "We can eat the pasta while she's not looking!" King whisper-yelled to them before leaving to the kitchen.

"I heard that!" Eda yelled.

"Alright then. Another time." The Collector said to no one in particular and made their way to the kitchen to join Eda and King, disappointed that this would be addressed later rather than sooner.

~~~

King was nervous.

He had been nervous before, like when he had stage fright during Grom. But this felt like a new type of nervousness. It reminded him of Luz being nervous around Amity, which confused him as to what this feeling actually was; because Luz and Amity were nervous and awkward around each other because they liked each other. And he's found himself acting like them in their early stages of their relationship, it honestly frightened him a bit.

It couldn't be a crush…could it? I don't actually like The Collector like that, right? I mean we are good friends, but that's it.

Just friends…

King looked behind him where The Collector was chopping vegetables, unaware of King's staring.

Why are they so cute?

King could feel his face practically light on fire. He quickly snapped his head back to the pot of pasta he’d been tasked to watch, quietly cursing himself for his intrusive thoughts.

Maybe it is a crush…

~~~

The Gouresketti sauce was almost done when King and the Collector heard the portal door activate as well as a familiar voice ring through the house,

"Eda, Kiinng! Collector perhaps?" Luz called out. The Collector quickly flew out of the kitchen and went to hug Luz, almost knocking her over in the process. King ran out soon after and clung to her leg.

"Hey you two! I missed you guys so much!!" Luz sat down to better hug King with the Collector following, "Collector! I haven't seen you in a minute, still rocking those pjs ayee?" Luz teased.

"Hey Luz! I am so ready for game night. THE KING OF DEMONS WILL WIN AND BEAT ALL OF YOU WITH A FIERY PASSION."

"Edas in the kitchen making gouresketti. She said once we eat we're gonna start game night!" The Collector said slowly releasing their hold on Luz's torso.

"Oh yeah, I brought Uno for tonight's game," Luz smiled and pulled it out, then handed it to the Collector because they seemed the most interested.

"Kids, is Luz here yet?" Luz, hearing Eda in the kitchen, ran over to greet her leaving the two kids in the living room.

It fell silent. The only sound that could be heard was the muffled chatter coming from the kitchen. It lasted for only a minute before King broke the silence,

"Hey Collector..?" King looked over to his friend. Their bright eyes seemed to light up the already well lit room as they stared at him with mild curiosity, he felt his heart suddenly flutter in his chest and a recurring warmth dusting his cheeks,

"Yeah King?"

He couldn't get anything out. He wanted to apologize for cutting them off earlier, but it was as if the butterflies in his stomach had gotten caught in his throat. His breaths turned shallow and all he could do for a moment was stare into those bright firefly eyes.

The Collector tilted their head to the side, "You ok there King?" They asked, again wondering about their friend's odd behavior. "You've been acting pretty strange lately whenever I come over. Is there something wrong?"

That warmth in his face grew but he forced himself to speak "Ah-no, no, I'm alright," He turned his head away, he didn't think he'd be able to hold eye contact anymore without exploding from this feeling in his chest. "I just- I really missed you..."

A slight unexpected blush creeped onto the Collector’s face and they turned their head away from King just as he was doing to them. This feeling confused them. They had never felt it before, but the longer they had been around King, the more frequent it happened. "I missed you too, King." A small smile found a way to their face as they glanced back down at their bestest friend in the universe.

The moment was interrupted when Luz peaked her head into the Living room, oblivious to the atmosphere before her,

"Hey, Eda and I need help setting up the table and serving plates."

"Alright, we'll be right there Luz!" King called out to her as she was already making her way back to the kitchen. "Let's go help." King turned to start walking towards the kitchen, blush slowly depleting from his cheeks. The Collector followed suit, still with lingering confusion about the sensation they keep feeling around King, but all of that got blown away when they smelled the Gourgsketti, and the confusion was replaced with a need for food and some quality time with their found family.

~~~

"UNO!" The Collector yelled and placed down a blue +2 card then looked around the table with a triumphant smirk, "+2 King~ I'm totally gonna win this round.."

"WHAT THE HECK?? I already have like, 17 cards.." King reluctantly picked up 2 cards from the dwindling deck and stared at the Collector with a salty look, with a hint of something underneath. Eda chuckled to herself from across the table.

"What's so funny, Owl Lady?" The Collector questioned

"Oh nothing, nothing." She said dismissively, "King, It's your turn right?" She glanced over at him and his many cards.

"Yeah." He placed down a blue 7. Luz then placed down a yellow 7. The Collector chuckled at this because their last card was indeed yellow, all they needed to do was wait until their next turn and victory was sure to be theirs. For now it was Eda's turn. She places down a card from her group of 6. Everyone looked at the card and the room filled with an instantaneous silence. But then King started laughing, hard, which was followed by Luz in stifled chuckles. The Collector stared with disbelief at the card placed down before them.

"Oh no..No it can't be.." Realization dawned on them as they looked up to meet Eda’s gaze.

"Oh it is kid. Hand it over."

She had placed down the wild swap hands card

"AGH NOOOO... I was so close...." They reluctantly swapped hands with Eda and laid their head on the table in defeat. Eda changed the color to yellow and placed down the final card.

"Ha, guess you forgot about the wild card." She crossed her arms to the best of her abilities and shot the Collector a smug smirk when they peaked their head up, knowing it would irritate them more.

"Nooooo, Eda, we promised never to speak of Hexis Holdem." King said

"I'm not, I'm not." Eda said, a hint of humor in her voice.

"Ugh, I really thought I was gonna win that one..."

"Well, it looked like it, until Eda pulled an uno reverse on you," Luz said, "Eda is the master at card games, usually."

The Collector looked at her confused, "She put down a swap hands card.."

"Uh yeah she did.. Anyway Eda," Luz smiled, "Do you want your prize..?" Luz slowly pulled out a beefy toy gorilla from Titan knows where and held it up in front of herself. Eda stared at her and chuckled a little bit.

"Nah, that's ok. I think I'm gonna grab a cup of appleblood and head to bed. It's pretty late." Eda said, stretching, then standing up from her spot on the couch. "You guys should probably head to bed too."

"Ah what, bed??" The Collector whined, clearly still energetic, despite it being around 10pm, "Not even one more round?"

"Nope, bedtime!"

"We'll be able to play more in the morning if you really like this game so much." Luz gave them a small shoulder nudge, "You and King can have a sleepover of sorts, mostly just the sleeping part." Luz murmured the last part to herself knowing they would be staying up as late as they could possibly manage without her or Eda noticing.

The Collector sighed, secretly liking the idea of a sleepover, "Fine." Mortals sleep so much, they thought. They found it kinda odd since they didn't need to sleep, but had become accustomed to it after being trapped in the inbetween realm. It was the only thing they could do really until Philip found them. Even though they were free now they hadn't been able to shake the habit, especially since King needed sleep to function, and they usually stayed glued to his side 24/7, especially when they first met.

With that Eda started walking to her room. She yelled a good night kiddos as she disappeared up the stairs to her nest. The Collector, still quite full of energy (and had shaken off his pouty mood) took King by the paw and led him up the stairs up to their room for a sleepover. They took little notice of the surprised and quickly flustered Titan, who had almost tripped over himself while being hastily led up the stairs.

When they had gotten there, King had to take a moment to calm the redness in his face that had abruptly arisen. He rubbed his face with his paws in hopes to subdue the feeling and calm his nerves. It worked to an extent, with something still lingering. He looked over The Collector. They seemed to be in a world of their own, excitedly working on a blanket fort,

“I thought Eda said we had to go to bed…”

“Yeah she did, but Luz also said we could have a sleepover, so why not make the sleeping part fun with a blanket fort!” They levitated the last blanket into place, leaving a tent looking structure that took up the corner of the room. “You wanna see the inside…?” They motioned King to go first, holding the doorway slightly open so he could walk in.

He stepped inside. The first thing he noticed was the ground was covered in various blankets and some scattered pillows along the floor. There were even more blankets, (he didn't know how they had so many) hanging high with a levitation spell, and little glowing lights floating aimlessly around the ceiling, filling the fort with a dull warm glow.

King went and sat in the corner of the fort and The Collector came inside and sat across from him.

“Pretty neat, right?”

“Yeah, I don’t think I could make one any better than this. The lights up there are kinda like our own little stars.” King stared up at the lights, a dazed look on his face.

…

“What if.. we went out and saw the bigger ones?” The Collector suggested, averting eye contact.

“The bigger..you mean like… outside?” King questioned, not sure how real that suggestion was.

“Yeah! We could go out stargazing! It would be such a good night to do it to.”

“That would be fun, but we're supposed to be going to bed. I'm not sure Eda would be too happy with us if we snuck out to go stargazing, nor do I think she would let us if we asked.”

“Awww, com’on King.. You'll be with me, it'll be fine. If she’s worried you'll get lost or hurt…well, you literally can’t! At least as long as I'm around, I can protect you.”

“Well, what if they came in here and were gone?”

They laughed at this, “I can make decoys silly,” The Collector grabbed King’s paw and led him out of the blanket fort, King let out a surprised yelp, but let The Collector lead him to the window. “We can take one of my stars.” The Collector opened the window and floated King outside it with them soon following. They pulled out one of their star charms and expanded it into a larger version of it that happened to be purple. After carefully placing King down onto it, they hopped on themselves.

“A-are you sure about this?” King asked.

The Collector simply shrugged, “Too late to turn back now!”

And with that, they zoomed off into the night sky. King looked back and watched the Owl House get smaller with every passing moment. The cool wind swirled around them as they made their way higher and higher into the clear starry night sky. They could see the arm of the Titan come into view as well as the head with the crown, and some of the ribcage. The air grew thinner and it became colder. Finally, after about 5 minutes, they slowed down. They were at the Titan’s skull well above the crown and overlooking the Boiling Isles. The stars shone brightly and the moon illuminated the fallen Titan in a soft-blue glow. Everything seemed quiet and peaceful. There were a few scattered lights across the isles where things were still lively, other places dark, where witches and demons settled down for the night.

“It’s always so pretty up here, “The Collector started, “Everything looks a lot smaller, and it's easy to just forget about things while floating up above the clouds.”

“Yeah, almost makes me forget about how mad Eda’s gonna be if she finds out we’re missing,” King sat up on the star, “You set up the decoys right?”

The Collector stared at him for a second, realization settling onto their face, “Before I answer that…”

“You didn't set up the decoys did you?” King’s face deadpanned

“No I did not.” They said quickly

King let out a chuckle, “Oh man, we're gonna be in so much trouble...”

“Eh,” The Collector waved their hand, “We’ll be fine.”

It went quiet. Both of them sit there for a bit. King was a bit appalled by the idea of sneaking out to stargaze, but now that he was actually here, he couldn't think of being anywhere else. It was the best, just sitting next to someone he adored so much, gazing at the sky.

“I didn’t think we’d be back up here again. Kinda reminds me of the old days.” King tells the Collector.

“King, that was only 7 months ago. How would it be considered ‘Old Days’ if it happened so recently?” The Collector questioned.

“I don’t know.. It feels like it was a long time ago. We've gotten to actually know each other since then. It’s nice.”

“Not enough thought…” The Collector mumbled and they loosely pulled their knees up against their chest and continued staring over the isles.

King was slightly taken aback, confusion presented on his face, “What do you mean?”

The Collector scrunched their pajama sleeves as they pondered their response, but realizing this was finally their opportunity to talk to King about this, they hesitantly spoke,

“You've been…off lately, things are happening with you and you won’t tell me what's wrong,” They pulled their knees tighter, “It’s been going on for months, even since we met!” They looked over to King who had a mixed expression on his face, with a trace of guilt. The Collector's eyes softened, “We’re friends aren't we..? I want to be there for you and for you to be able to trust me enough to be able to tell me what's wrong.”

“I do trust you, it’s just…” King paused and looked away from The Collector. He felt his cheeks warming, mostly from thinking on how the heck he was going to explain what was happening, and because of the Collector's presence and silence, waiting for a reply, the feeling only grew stronger, “Well it’s complicated…to say the least.”

It really wasn't much of an explanation, but heck! He didn't even fully know what was going on himself.

It was no surprise the Collector wasn't exactly satisfied with this answer, King knew that.

It was vague and honestly only worried them more. The Collector wanted a straight answer so they would know if they could help.

“Kinnggg…” They poked their friend’s shoulder.
…

“Do you know what love is, Collector..?” His gaze continued to sweep across the isles, but never making contact with the Collector’s, unsure if he’d be able to explain much more if he ever caught their eyes.

“Love? Yea…what about it?”

“Did you know there's different types of love? There's familial love, like how Eda and Luz love me, then there's platonic love, like what most friends have, and then there's…the one I think I've been feeling…” King didn't dare look over to see his friend's reaction. Silence washed over them, and even though they were still unmoving in the air, King couldn’t help but feel like he was falling.

The Collector was confused, they didn't exactly know where this conversation was going to go but he did not expect it to go in this direction. Slowly, King's words seeped in and pieces began falling into place.

It was love?

“What's the third kind?” They asked rather quietly, as if trying not to startle a wild animal.

“Collector I-” Kings breath hitched slightly,

It’s fine, you’ll figure it out as you go..

“I think,” he turned more towards the collector, still not daring to look up at them, “...I like you, more than a friend.” King glanced up to see his friends reaction, face red and stomach twisting. To King’s surprise however, the Collector was smiling, which was accompanied by glowing red irises and blush on their cheeks.

That wasn’t the only odd thing tho, they started laughing as well, clutching their stomach as they did.

This startled King a bit, confused him, and even frightened him to some degree. Was the laughing supposed to be a good sign? He just confessed his feelings(I think?) and then this happens? What’s he supposed to make of that?

The Collector’s laughter soon died down, tears pricking their eyes.

“Umm, you ok there..?” King asked in a rather hushed voice.

The Collector sighed, a pleasant expression on their face as they stared over the isles,

“Yeah, everything just..makes a lot more sense,” They wiped their eyes, “I'm glad you're ok.”

The silence was deafening, ringing loudly in King’s ears, his face still hot.

The Collector was somewhat relieved, they found out their best friend is in fact ok, but this does complicate things. Where did they go from here? Are they still best friends?

Did they feel the same..?

“Um..” King started, not being able to stand the ominous silence, “What are you thinking about..?” ‘That's a stupid question,’ King thought, ‘you know exactly what they’re thinking about..’

“I- I think I feel the 3rd kind of love as well..” The Collector fidgeted while they talked, “I just assumed it was platonic I guess, even though I only ever felt it around you…” The Collector looked over to King who had an expression on his face that seemed to be a mix of wondrous child and disbelief. The Collector softly chuckled at this, but then their face grew slightly less humorous and they looked over the Boiling Isles, “Will this change things..?”
…

“I guess it could if we let it.” King shuffled closer to The Collector, “Do you want things to change like this? We don’t have to if you don’t want to..”

“I-” the Collector hesitated, “I want to try but,” Their gaze kept steady on the view in front of them, their voice grew quiet, “I’m scared to change what we already have…”

“Me too.” King said in agreement, “If we do decide to pursue this, we could take it one day at a time, if you want to try..” King held out his paw.

The Collector thought for a second. They trusted King. This could change their friendship, but instead of changing for the worst, maybe this one could change for the better.

“Yeah,” The Collector took King’s paw and held it, “I think we can try.” The Collector smiled and blush tinted their cheeks. King mirrored their expression, except with a hint of nervousness behind his eyes.

“What does this make us?” the Collector asked.

“I’m not sure actually, maybe I'll ask Luz about those kinds of things. Boyfriends, or umm partners might be more appropriate.”

“Partners. Do they kiss..?”

King looked at them, flustered at the question,

“Aw-um, yeah usually.” King had a feeling he knew where this was going, but that knowledge didn’t help at all to prepare him for what The Collector would say.

“Hey.. I know I didn’t win the game tonight but,” Their face was beet red and King’s face was getting there at an exponential rate, “Can I have a kiss, as a prize.?”

Yep, It hit as hard as he expected it to, his face felt as hot as the boiling sea and he couldn’t quite stop his tail from doing soft pitter patters behind him.

“Ah- yea, sure.”

The Collector hesitantly leaned down and kissed King at the very tip of his snout. King could feel the tingle of where their lips touched his nose, sealing in place a sort of reassurance that everything would be alright, things could work out for the better.

The Collector layed down on their star and King nestled down next to them, staring up at the sky.

There they spent their last tidbits of energy pointing out constellations, telling stories, and reveling in each others' company, forgetting to return home and they fell asleep under the stars.

~~~

Eda woke up sometime around 8 in the morning. She stretched her bones and made her way out of bed with grogginess still in her limbs. She got ready nonetheless with a collared shirt, jeans, and her signature gold tooth and made her way downstairs. She spotted Luz at the couch drawing something with colored pencils,

“Morning kiddo, are the troublemakers up yet?”

“No, I don't think so. I haven't seen them or heard anything from their room all morning.”

“Hmm, weird.” Eda turned back around and made her way upstairs. She would’ve just brushed it off but the Collector was usually up and bouncing around the walls pretty early in the morning(literally, there are still some footprints on the ceilings hadn't been able to get off yet).

She opened the door to the other guest bedroom and saw a blanket fort in the corner. Eda chucked to herself and she made her way over to the fort. But when she silently lifted up the blanked, only intending to check on them, she was ment with empty space(besides all the pillows and blankets ofc.)

“LUZ! WHERE ARE THE KIDS??”

Chapter Text

It goes quiet. Both of them sit there for a bit. King was a bit appalled by the idea of sneaking out to stargaze, but now that he was actually here, he couldn't think of being anywhere else. It was the best, just sitting next to someone he adored so much, gazing at the sky.

~~~

“Hey King? Do titans get sick like mortals do?” The Collector asked nervously, glancing over to King who had a confused expression on his face.

 “Where did that come from?”

“Well you’ve been acting weird lately. Alongside that, your face always gets all red and you’ve been randomly going quiet n’stuff!” The Collector loosely pulled their knees up to their chest and looked off into the horizon, “Like, what if you're getting sick..? I would have no idea how to help…”

King stared at them. He supposed he should've been expecting this at some point, them questioning his behavior. He didn't expect this would be the conclusion the Collector would come to, but it kinda makes sense..? How do you even respond to that tho?

“I-I’m not sick, Collector. Not how like Luz is sometimes, well actually, I take that back, it is kinda similar-” 

“SO YOU ARE SICK!? Is it contagious? Is that why I've been feeling like that too??” The Collector questioned, worry present on their face

“No, no- wait what? What do you mean ‘feeling like that too?’”King stared at them, face heating up at the unintentional implications of the statement.

The Collector didn’t respond, their face having looked like they were caught in a lie of sorts,

“Collector…” King said wearily. 

Their face scrunched up slightly before they spoke, “Well, I've been feeling things whenever I'm around you. My face usually gets really warm and it feels like there’s firebees in my stomach, but I also feel really…happy?” They rubbed the fabric of their pajama leg inbetween their fingers, “I’m not sure how to describe it, but it feels positive, even with the firebees,”

…

“Am I sick?”

“What? Nono, you’re not sick,” King felt his fur puff up slightly, “It-uh, It sounds like a crush to be honest.”

“A crush? What's that?”

Huh, how have they never heard of a crush before when they’ve been around longer than me?

“Generally, it’s when you like someone more than a friend. It’s usually romantic ‘n stuff.”

“Oh-OH, WAIT? So you have a crush on someone??” The Collector stared at King, a hint of bewilderment in their eyes. 

Well the cats already out of the bag, what more could happen?

“I guess you could say that..” They nervously looked away from The Collector’s gaze. 

“OOOOOH you gotta tell me!” They waved their hands excitedly in front of themself before planting them firmly on their lap, “who is it, whoisitwhoisit?” They smiled, a slight blush tinting their cheeks.

“Ah-well,” Should I tell them? I’m not even sure it’s The Collector-actually screw that stop lying to yourself. You know who it is. 

I guess there’s no point in avoiding it..

“Um,” King tapped his claws together while avoiding eye contact, “I-I guess it’s, it’s you..” He looked up to meet his friend’s gaze.

The Collector sat there staring at their friend in disbelief. They could feel their eyes glow brightly and felt light in their limbs (even though they were already light to begin with.) They couldn’t believe it was them . Actually, after earlier events, it was pretty believable, now that they knew what was going on. 

Oh wait.. How do I know I like King? I just found out what a crush is, how would I know for sure??

“I think I like you too, but I can’t tell for sure,” The Collector tells King, “What.. do crushes usually do after they tell each other they like each other? Is there something specific so I’d know for certain..?”

“Well, usually afterwards, if they both like each other, It would change from crushes to boyfriends, girlfriends, partners,” King emphasized with various hand movements, “They’re actually a lot like friends. They hold hands, hug, kiss-” 

“Wuzza kiss?” The Collector interrupted. 

Oh Titan.. “..A kiss is kinda when,” He felt himself blush, “Two people put their lips together.. I think?” Luz would know way more about this stuff. King thought of her reaction if he and The Collector actually became a thing. All the ‘Awws’ and teasing. Eda would probably hop on that train as well.

“Can we try..? Kissing I mean.” The Collector sat criss-crossed facing King’s direction.

King felt his heart flutter in his chest and a deep red coat his face. 

Feeling embarrassed when they saw King’s reaction they quickly sputtered out, “B-but we don’t have to if you don’t want to-”

“Ah-nono!” King cut himself off, surprised by his own reaction, “No it’s not that… Umm.. we can try, if you want.”

The Collector laughed nervously, “Ok..”

They both stared at each other for a moment, neither of them sure what to do next.  Eventually, it was King who took initiative and scooted to sit closer to The Collector. In response they took King’s paw in their hand and looked into his eyes, silently asking if it was ok to continue. King gave their hand a reassuring squeeze. 

With that, The Collector leaned down, closed their eyes and felt their lips come into contact with King’s. 

It felt soft and they suddenly felt like all their memories with King turned into a tangible feeling, all just with that kiss. 

They parted and King’s tail was wagging softly behind him. The kiss had left a tingly sensation on his lips. He had a feeling it would stay like that for a bit. 

Hand in hand, they both just stared at each other for a bit. 

Neither King nor the Collector had kissed anyone before.

Sure, King had been kissed, but that was by Luz or Eda on the forehead. He’s never kissed someone he had a crush on. 

This felt nice. It felt right in some weird way. 

“I think it is a crush.” Muttered The Collector

“Me too.”

The Collector flooped down onto their star and stared up into the sky, “Does this mean we’re partners..?”

King went and curled up next to them, “I guess only if you wanna be..If it feels right.”

“Yeah, I think so,” The Collector placed their hand on King’s skull, “Oh stars, I'm glad you weren't sick.”

“Heh yeah, me too.”

~~~    

There they spent their last tidbits of energy pointing out constellations, telling stories, and reveling in each others' company, forgetting to return home and they fell asleep under the stars.