the scent of the sea filters by the curtains of their window. the kitchen was modest, bordering small, but it was cozy.

he sits on a chair in what he assumed to be their humble dining room. three other chairs were situated around it, with only two of them occupied at the moment: his, and the one opposite him.

"hey son. what do you want?"

the voice tugs his heartstrings. the face was foreign to him, but his head plasters a label on him: dad.

the sound of the doors swinging behind him catches his attention. two other people older than him run off. he turns his head back to catch his dad wave goodbye before noticing him staring.

"nothing!"

he finds himself answering it enthusiastically. the reaction was natural, but not in the same way he acts in his daily life. there's no weight with each action he does, no pressure of keeping up an image.

"are you sure? your birthday is coming soon."

birthdays. they weren't something he really had. it was just a date he counted down until he can be considered an adult by technicality before, and after he had reached it, he barely remembered it.

"hmm, let me think..."

the man in front of him stands up and follows after the other two. on his way out, his hand reaches for priam's hair, ruffling it in between his fingers.

"don't think hard about it. i'll check up on your brothers before they kill each other. let me or your mother know later. love you, son."

brothers. it's who those two are, he supposed. the mention of a mother he barely has memories about bring out excitement. it was the last part that ultimately hits the hardest, however.

he turns around his chair, raising his voice before the figure disappears to the door outside.

"alright! love ya too, dad!"

conveniently, he's left alone. his lips can't help but push upwards, but the beads flowing down his cheeks contradict the logic behind smiles and tears.

priam lifts his legs up his seat, wrists trying to dry his face from the stream of tears from his eyes. he's happy no one's here to make a fuss over him, nor to judge him.

this emotion is new to him. it's different from when his gabite died, and when he went back to life. from the heavy feeling he experienced after waking up from galar. from rocket giving him autonomy as soon as blackwell's rule ended.

it's bittersweet, but he welcomes it.