"dad?" king sighs, prancing into the living room with his favourite comic.
"son?" his father responds from his lounge chair, his eyes leaving the newspaper in his arms and looking at the blonde boy.
"why am i.. the way i am?" king blushes, making sure to word it correctly to avoid his father being upset.
"you're normal king. you're perfect. no more overthinking son, okay? you've nothing to worry about." his father replies, his stern expression ushering the small boy to be quiet.
he'd always been different, and he loved it.. most of the time.
his shorter stature at 5'6 made him a target in public. he'd been called ridiculous names in the past. the way he looked, he had a baby face and looked a good few years younger than his actual age. not to mention the way he acted.
his father explained that when he was born there were complications. it caused him to always be a younger age than his body was. this caused the childish nature that king portrayed.
"mkay, dad. i love you. when are you leaving?" the green-eyed boy asks, pulling a cookie from a plate on the brown coffee table and shoving it into his mouth, slumping against the brown leather couch.
"as soon as delilah arrives, king." he hums, his head tilting back to the newspaper.
#
hearing a knock on the door, king sighs. the impending introduction was making him nervous, he'd never been the best at interacting with new people, especially women.
"dad! the door!" king yells from the kitchen, not wanting to be the one to greet the lady.
he puts down his glass of orange juice as he hears his father greet delilah at the door, inviting her in. "king" he calls.
"mhm!" he walks into the entry-way, stopping in his tracks and smiling at the beautiful lady he's greeted with.
"hi!" he chirps, his voice higher-pitched and more feminine than usual, but he reassures himself it's the nerves.
"hello, little king!" she smiles at him and makes her way to stand in front of the boy.
the first thing he noticed was that they were similar in height, her only being a couple of inches taller. usually it would make the boy insecure, but the aura around the lady he was stood in front of was different, he didn't feel insecure.
"hello- delilah" he breathes, a dimpled smile covering his feminine features.
"call me lilah, delilah is just way too formal" she laughs, and he puts his head down and nods, the furious blush covering his cheeks embarrassing him.
"mkay."
"so, i hear you have quite the bug collection, hm?" she starts, causing king's eyes to sparkle as he looks at her in excitement. "mind showing me sometime?" she smiles.
"mhm!" he giggles, the friendliness radiating from her making him want to hug her taller frame. he resists, though, not wanting to creep-out the older lady.
"i'm going to play outside, dad! nice meeting you, lilah!" king smiles politely and skips towards the garden, leaving the two adults to talk about his needs in private.
#
marcus hands the lady a cup of mint tea, sitting down opposite her on the couch. "he's so sweet" she smiles at the man, sipping the warm beverage.
"he is." marcus nods, his eyes trailing to the opened sliding back door, being able to see his adult son playing on the garden swing.
he was always different. his father never knew why but he'd always embraced his innocence. he didn't want to ruin the one good thing going for the small boy after his mother's passing.
"he's developmentally delayed, his psychiatrist thinks. he's also known to regress from the ages of 1 to 11, and he's done it since his mother passed, coping mechanism i think." his father starts, a weak smile encasing his wrinkled face.
"he doesn't know. he thinks he's normal and i want it to stay that way. he's a very happy boy, he just has different needs to other adults." he finishes, looking at delilah who smiles.
"so- does he have a basic understanding of self care, and how to provide for himself?" she questions, following marcus' eyes and glancing at the boy on the wooden swing.
"he's very smart. he's always been great at keeping himself clean. he shops for groceries alone and he can drive. he's just got a childlike innocence about him, that hasn't left, as it usually would." marcus nods, sipping his coffee.
"is there any specifics on caring for him that i should take note of?" delilah asks the man, placing her tea on the lounge table and grabbing out her phone, probably to take notes.
"yes- he has a set bedtime. he knows it, it's at 10pm. he should be okay but sometimes he will ask to stay up 15 minutes later. allow it, but not every night. he requires a pill twice a day for his anaemia, he will refuse to take these so mix it in with his juice. he is only allowed to drink juice, milk and water." his father lists, and delilah nods along with his statement.
"he may need help taking baths sometimes, when he's regressed he will need constant care to ensure he stays safe. he's pretty easy to care for, but he will try and drag you to the forest whenever he gets a chance." marcus finishes.
"is that all?" delilah politely asks, having noted down his needs on her phone.
"yes, that should be all. if there are any issues feel free to contact me, i will also write a list of his rules and send it digitally to you sometime this week. he's mainly got free roam of everything." marcus smiles at the lady.
"king, come here!" his father calls the boy inside as rain begins to pour from the cloudy skies.
YOU ARE READING
little king | agere
Teen Fiction"little king.. don't ever let your crown fall." his father whispers to him as his heavy eyes fall. [ ageregression ]
