Purple could call him a mother hen all he wanted, but King was worried.
He knew Purple's background was...less than fortunate, and he was obviously still scarred and healing from that.
But he had almost no clue on how to help.
Any unexpected/uncalled for touch resulted in flinches or started shouting, Purple woke up literally screaming from nightmares in the middle of the night(King couldn't blame him for that. He understood that feeling.), and King knew for a fact that everything would boil over for Purple.
And it was going to suck.
King's horrible sleep schedule some how leads him to the couch in one in the morning.
Eh. He's slept in worse places. Like sitting upright at a desk in the middle of the day.
The house is eerily quiet, which King supposed was a good thing: at least Purple was asleep...hopefully.
Poor kid couldn't get any type of sleep at all, and it was going to worry him into an early grave, and he knew that.
King sighed, laying back on the ground, sparing a glance at the stove clock he could vividly see.
1:32 a.m.
"God damn it..." He grumbled, moving back to lay down.
Before a small and quiet sound catches his attention.
King blinks, pushing himself back up. The sound was...eerily familiar.
Something that always made his heart drop.
The quiet sounds of whimpering.
Then King remembered he still had a child to take care of.
And said child was obviously scared or hurt.
King all but fell off the couch,scrambling to his week and staggered towards Purple's room.
Sure enough, Purple is...fighting some unseen force above him, which King would've found slightly hilarious if Purple was on the verge of tears.
King takes a few hesitant steps over, lightly tapping the kids arm. "Hey, kid, wake up. It's just a dream."
Purple shoos King's arm away, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. King tries grabbing his arm again, this time with a firmer, but still a gentle, grip.
"Purple. Come on, kid, wake up-"
Purple suddenly freezes, startling himself awake. King grabs his arms in an attempt to ground him.
"Hey, hey! Your okay! It was just a dream!"
Or a nightmare.
Nobody reacts like that to just a basic dream.
Purple stared blankly at him, wide eyes with tears pricking the corners.
"Purple?"
King extends out a hand to try and comfort the child, but is slapped away before he can touch him.
"Hey, kid, it's okay."
Purple aggressively wipes the tears trickling down his cheeks and tries to play it off. "I-It's fine, I-I can handle this, I can just-"
"Breathe, kid. Purple, I need you to breathe."
Purple doesn't listen, only continuing to ramble until King grabs one of his hands.
"Purple."
Purple freezes, and before King gets a second to react, he breaks.
King flinches when Purple starts sobbing.
Then his heart shatters.
King wants to hug him, but he knows Purple would just shoo him away.
Until Purple suddenly throws himself at King, sobbing hard, his body wracked with sobs and trembling.
King hesitates, but hugs him back, holding him tight.
"Hey, it's okay, your okay, kid, I promise."
Purple clings to his shirt tightly, the sobs gradually ceasing. King notices the shaking slowly come to a stop.
"Breathe, kid. Can you breathe?"
Purple nods slightly, and sucks in a couple of breaths.
"There we go. You okay?"
Purple wipes at the tears trailing down his cheeks.
"I'm sorry."
King blinked.
Did he hear that right?
"Purple, kid, it's not your fault. Nothing is your fault right now."
"But...I drove him to leave..."
King brushed a strand of hair out of Purple's face, noticing the tear tracks on his cheeks.
"Who's...who's he?"
Purple stares up at him, tears welling back up.
"M-My dad, he-" Purple swallows back more tears again. "He...he wanted me to become a fighter, a-and he w-would put me through these...intense exercises, a-and he-he always got upset when I-I w-would collapse from exhaustion. A-and when he f-finally ha-had enough, then-" Purple's explanation is cut off by heartbreaking sobs.
King pulls the kid back into an embrace, gently brushing fingers through his hair.
"Purple..."
"He threw me into a wall, a-and then he-he called me weak, and worthless, a-and a failure, a-and h-he-" The sobs grow harder. "H-He left us..."
King's blood boiled hearing Purple's last sentence.
What kind of parent throws their child into a wall?
What is wrong with him?!
"Purple, I...I'm so sorry..." King hugs the kid tighter. "What about your mom? Was she-"
"She's gone..."
King's heart breaks even more.
"Oh, Purple, I-"
"It's fine, it...we knew it was coming, but..." Purple lets more tears fall. "It hurts to think about...King, you would've loved her," A small smile graces his face. "She was so sweet, and she loved me for who I was, and..." Purple chokes on another sob. "Oh, God, I miss her so much-!"
Purple breaks down sobbing again. King hugs him tighter.
"Oh, Purple...I'm so sorry..."
Purple doesn't say anything.
"Hey, Purple?"
Purple stares up at him.
"I promise you, if he ever tries to hurt you again, I swear to God, I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. I promise."
Purple stares at him for another moment before collapsing into his arms again.
"Thank you..."
King just holds him, gently brushing fingers through his hair.
"I've got you, kiddo, I've got you..."