What does "love" really mean, anyways? - GlueInMySoup (2023)

Chapter 1: A Pleasant Surprise on a Peaceful Day

Chapter Text

To and fro, the cool breeze danced its way around the bright green fields of spring grass. These were the perfect conditions for an outdoor nap, without a doubt. Where one could just lay down on the grass, and it would feel like the most wonderful mattress. Where the wind would wrap around anything it touched as if it were a blanket, and its gentle howls would inspire sleep as if they were a lullaby.

These were the conditions Kirby had been anxiously waiting for. Reaping the rewards of his patience, he stretched out under a tree, lying there peacefully as he drifted off to sleep. Dreamland was finally at peace again, much to Kirby’s relief. While he was a hero at heart, it was extremely exhausting to be Dreamland’s main line of defense against threats that only seemed to grow in intensity as time passed.

However, he was fine with that. If his exhaustion was the price for peace, then so be it. For the sake of happiness, he would give anything. For the sake of peaceful naps under trees as well, of course.

It didn’t seem like there was anyone around for miles, or so he thought. Just as Kirby was about to completely doze off, his slumber was interrupted by the echo of a whistled tune. Normally he would have slept in spite of the extra noise, but something about that whistling captivated him. The tune was somber, but somehow triumphant. As the melody repeated, Kirby found himself quietly humming as he began to memorize its mellow notes.

Time continued to pass, and the whistling never ceased. Thus, Kirby’s curious mind was unable to find rest. It was such a pleasant tune, it reminded him of the feeling he got once all of his troubles were over for the moment. Relief in spite of how hectic his life tended to be. It was those moments of relief that Kirby lived for. It was those moments that he was willing to fight for.

Losing himself in the song completely, he began to whistle in tandem with whoever was whistling that wonderful tune.

Not much longer after that, the stranger’s whistling ceased. “Maybe they’re embarrassed.”, Kirby thought. They likely expected there wouldn’t be anyone else in this field, exactly how he did.

He stumbled up, if the person could hear his whistling they could surely hear his voice.

“I like your song!”, Kirby shouted.

There wasn’t a response, and only the howling of the winds could be heard. “Did I scare them?”, Kirby thought. The last thing he wanted was to distress that musically gifted stranger. As the silence started to become overwhelming, he decided that he would go to sleep after all. Lying down on the soft grass and closing his eyes, it wouldn’t be much longer for him to doze off at this point.

Just before he was able to get shuteye, a familiar voice roused him from his slumber, “Kirby.”.

While the voice woke him up, it was gentle enough to not violently pull him from his rest. Fluttering his eyes open, he looked at the figure in front of him.

“Meta Knight?”

The swordsman hummed curtly in response, as he usually did to simple questions. “I wasn’t expecting anyone else to be here at this hour. But if anyone in Dreamland is napping in the middle of nowhere it’s likely you. I should’ve figured.”.

“Mhm!”, Kirby nodded, “I found this spot a while ago, so I decided to see if it’d be good for napping.”.

“I see...”

“I ended up not napping though, because I heard whistling. Was that you, Meta Knight?”

Meta Knight nodded, “It was.”, he said, with a somewhat nervous tone in his voice.

Standing up from the grass, Kirby bounded over to Meta Knight and gripped both of his hands. “That’s so cool! I’ve never heard a song like that! It sounded like one of those western ballads! Did you make it yourself?”.

“Ah...”, Meta Knight paused, “Yes. I made it a very long time ago, though.”. He shimmied out of Kirby’s grasp, backing away so he could regain his personal space.

“I getchya! I had no idea you made music.”.

“Well, I don’t make music often. Simply put, the tune I was whistling is one of the only ones I’ve made. One day, the melody just popped in my head, and every once and a while I whistle it.”

Kirby nodded, a bright glow resting within his eyes, “Cool...”. For anyone else, simple, curt responses would mean disinterest, but Kirby and Meta Knight were able to keep conversations rather simple-worded.

Turning his head, Meta Knight gazed at the dimming light that passed through the openings in the tree above him. “If you took a nap here, you probably wouldn’t have waken up till’ midnight.”

“Eh? Really?”, Kirby said, tilting his head in confusion, “Oh, it must be the afternoon then, I thought it was the morning.”.

Meta Knight furrowed his brow in frustration, “I’ve ought to get you a watch...”.

Looking back at Kirby, he returned to his initial subject after clearing his throat, “You should be getting back home... Wouldn’t want you shambling through Dreamland in the middle of the night.”.

“I would nap anyways, but you make a pretty strong point about the shambling thing. I guess I will go home.”, waving energetically, Kirby giggled, “I’ll see ya later, Meta Knight.”.

Before he moved a couple of steps, he was interrupted. “Wait.”, said Meta Knight.

Stopping dead in his tracks, Kirby turned to face him, “What’s up?”.

“May I escort you to your home. It is getting late after all, you might trip and fall on something because of the poor lighting.”.

Kirby tilted his head in confusion once more, “Eeeh? Nah, I should be pretty fine on my own. You shouldn’t be so worried!”.

Just as Kirby started to move again, Meta Knight interjected, “Wait!”

Simply turning around to address him, Kirby wore the same confused expression he had earlier.

“You can’t be entirely certain. Nighttime is quite unpredictable.”

“I’ve handled worse than unpredictable, I’m fine, really.”, Kirby said, smiling at Meta Knight reassuringly.

Before he even had the chance to move, Meta Knight interjected once more, “But...”. He closed his eyes and sighed, “Fine... I’m not worried. In fact, if I’m being honest I’d just like to accompany you.”.

Eyes widening in shock, Kirby hardly believed that Meta Knight was saying such a thing, “You... you just wanna walk with me?”

“Yes.”

It was unlike Meta Knight, to be so open, to be so honest. Even though this change in demeanor threw Kirby for a loop, he happily adapted to the situation. “That’s all you had to say! C’mon!”, he said, taking Meta Knight’s hand as he lead him forward.

The pair walked in silence, holding each other’s hands as they paced forward. Kirby was giddily trotting, whilst Meta Knight simply walked as he usually did. It was rare that Kirby was able to do friend-things with Meta Knight, so he was quite pleased as he basked in the scenery with his distant partner. Their pace was slow, neither of them were in any particular rush. As the wind gusted around them, it had a different feeling than it did before, almost as if it was an old friend waving at their presence.

Not a single word was uttered that whole trip. But in the sounds of the gusting wind and rustling greenery, did the pair find the conversational value of simply being in each other’s presence. If they both spoke the whole time, then things wouldn’t be quite as magical, Kirby thought.

In the distance, the gray dome-shape of Kirby’s house began to poke out through the endless fields of green. However, this didn’t cause either of them to speed up. They remained at that same, slow pace until they had finally reached the door.

Still holding onto Meta Knight’s hand, Kirby chimed, “Well, it looks like we’re here!”.

Meta Knight simply hummed curtly in response, he took his hand out of Kirby’s and turned towards him. “Thank you.”, he said, with the same matter of fact tone he always had.

“No problem!”.

By now, the sky was already pitch black. Kirby had a poor concept of time, but he assumed it would have been around 10pm. Needless to say, there was no way Meta Knight would be able to fly back to his ship in complete darkness.

But boy did he try, “Alright, I’ll be off now. Sleep well Kirby.”.

Kirby tugged onto Meta Knight’s cape before he had the chance to move forward, “For someone as safety-obsessed as you, I’d think you’d be smart enough to realize you aren’t gonna be able to fly to your ship when its this dark.”

“Oh no. I have excellent night vision, I should be fine...”

Holding his hand up, Kirby interjected, “Not only that, I can’t see a single star in the sky. That means there’s a ton of clouds, so it might rain soon.”

“I can handle it.”

Kirby grabbed onto both of Meta Knights arms, “Nuh-uh! Even though you can fly just fine in the rain, it wouldn’t be too fun, would it?”. Gesturing towards his house, Kirby made a proposition, “Hows’ about you stay at my place for the night? We can have a little sleepover!”.

It took a moment for Meta Knight to respond, and when he did, he sounded a bit reluctant. “I suppose so...”, he muttered, sounding more nervous than disappointed.

Meta Knight was one of those mannerly fellows, so Kirby figured he was antsy because he would be a guest in his house for the first time. Of all the people Kirby had let inside his house, possibly Meta Knight never had the opportunity or desire to visit. To calm his friend’s nerves, Kirby reassured him, “You can make yourself at home as much as you like, I won’t judge.”.

Opening the door to his house, Kirby lead Meta Knight inside. He tried to do the polite thing, that being holding the door open for him so he could come in first. But as Kirby held the door, Meta Knight just stood there expectantly. So he simply walked in first, and Meta Knight quickly followed.

“Welcome welcome!”, Kirby chimed, holding his arms out grandly.

Yellow eyes began to analyze every nook and cranny of the single circular room that made up Kirby’s house. If it was anyone else, Kirby would’ve been a bit offended, having his house stared at so deliberately. However, he knew that Meta Knight was just a cautious guy that needed to fully understand the area around him in order to get comfortable.

“Where will I sleep?”, Meta Knight asked. Kirby figured he noticed that there was just one bed.

Smiling nonchalantly, Kirby responded, “With me, silly!”.

Meta Knight’s eyes lost their glow somewhat, he seemed off-kilter, to put things lightly. “What?”

“It’s not like you’re gonna sleep on the floor. I’m fine with sharing.”

“Ah...”

Metallic clunking echoed throughout the room as Meta Knight stepped drearily to the corner, sitting down as he wrapped himself in his cape. “I’m fine with sleeping on the floor.”, he said.

“Don’t be a doofus! You’ll be sore in the morning if you do that.”, Kirby exclaimed, walking over to Meta Knight’s spot. He picked the armor clad fellow up as if he weighed nothing. “Why are you making such a big deal over sleeping with me anyways? It’s not like I’m gonna bite you.”. He stomped across the room, and placed Meta Knight onto the bottom half of his bed.

“Here, you can half the bottom half and I can have the top half. I’ll let you have one of my pillows.”, Kirby grabbed one of the two pillows that sat at the top of his bed and handed it over to Meta Knight.

The light in Meta Knight’s eyes had just about disappeared. Kirby knew what that look meant, he was clamming up. It appeared to Kirby like he was resisting the urge to get comfortable.

“Pbbbft, don’t be all stoic with me. I know that deep down inside you’re a big softie, there’s no reason to hide it around me.”

With the force of a truck, Kirby tackled Meta Knight out of his stooper. The widened yellow eyes that showed through the slit in his mask was enough proof to Kirby that he managed to shake him back to reality. Laughing giddily, Kirby began to nuzzle up to him, cuddling up to the cold steel of his mask as if it was soft as a pillow.

“Cut that out.”, Meta Knight insisted, hands held up in resistance even though he hadn’t tried to break free from Kirby’s grasp.

“No.”, Kirby chimed, looking at the steel-faced fellow under him with a grin.

Latching onto Meta Knight’s side, Kirby hugged onto his armor-clad body as effectively as he could. Most egregiously, a shoulder guard was digging right into Kirby’s head, but he tried to not focus on it too much. It was so difficult to cuddle with Meta Knight, even without his abrasive armor. Both of their bodies were round, so they almost repelled each other like matching sides of a magnet. Rolling around each other fruitlessly. Never quite being able to “fit” together.

There hadn’t been any more protests from Meta Knight, to Kirby’s relief. He simply continued to lay there as Kirby wedged himself against his body. Placing a gloved hand on his head, Meta Knight sighed, “You’re quite persistent...”.

With his arm re-positioned, the shoulder guard he wore was no longer against Kirby’s body. Allowing him to nestle in much more comfortably than before. Kirby hoped that some of his own comfort would find it’s way to Meta Knight, that his friend’s worries would melt away with enough warmth. While averse to the touch at first, the tension in Meta Knight’s body began to release, causing him to lean into Kirby’s embrace ever so slightly.

Such a fidgety man that Meta Knight was. It always took him so unreasonably long to give into relaxation. Time and time again, Kirby insists that he needs to rest, and accordingly, he resists the thought of loosening up for even a little bit. However, time and time again, Kirby would crack through his tense exterior, making his way to the serene core that so few people had been able to see.

Inside of Kirby’s house, there was only a lit fireplace as lighting. So it was quite easy for the two to drift to sleep, allowing the warm glow and soft crackle of the fireplace to lead them off into the land of dreams.

Having slept like a log, Kirby was only woken by the sunlight that began to pass through his windows. The layout of his house was incredibly open, so any minuscule speck of sunlight spread across the room like butter on toast. Sunlight was yellow like butter too, gosh did Kirby need breakfast.

Fluttering his eyes open, he finally seemed to notice that he was the only person in his bed. He didn’t pay much mind to it, it was often that he had dreams with a realistic feel to them. Something as absurd as Meta Knight spending time with him had to be a dream, right? But after glancing over to the table and chairs that stood on the other side of his house, he realized that Meta Knight was simply sitting down there.

“Good morning.”, Kirby mumbled, yawning loudly after he finished his statement. “Seems’ like you’re up and at em’, huh?”.

Meta Knight nodded curtly. He was tense again, Kirby thought. The way he sat in the chair, pulled in and guarded. He almost looked like a mouse, based on his stance, at least. It would’ve been funny, seeing such a revered man cower simply because he was in someone else’s house. But, to Kirby, it wasn’t funny at all, in fact he found it kind of sad. That he couldn’t even get truly comfortable around people he had known for years.

It must be horrible.

Kirby sat in the seat parallel to Meta Knight’s, giving him a warm, reassuring smile. “So what’ve you been up to?”, he asked.

“I haven’t done anything but sit here since I’ve woken up.”

Of course that was the case. Kirby didn’t even have to confirm, when Meta Knight said he did nothing, he meant it. Shifting around in his seat nervously, Kirby chuckled, “Interesting...”. He thought for a moment, fishing through his head for things to talk about. “What do you do in the mornings usually, anyways?”, he asked.

“Ah... well I usually just make tea and read a single chapter of whatever book I’m interested in.”, the subject of routine seemed to ground Meta Knight, even if just a little.

“OH! Yeah I have tea... and books! Wait just a sec.”

“You don’t have to-”

Kirby had completely ignored every halfhearted plead that came his way. Dutifully filling a kettle with water, he hung it over the fireplace so it could heat up. From under his bed, he dragged a box filled with dusty books next to the table.

“Mind the dust, I don’t really read often, heh. I have read all of these at least once, though. So there’s that.”

While he seemed reluctant at first, Meta Knight eventually started to look through the wide assortment of books that had been acquired from many different sources. Most of them were gifts, given to Kirby on some sort of special occasion, the rest were just books he found in random corners of Popstar. He couldn’t resist bringing interesting things home, after all.

Leaving Meta Knight to his own devices, Kirby tended to the kettle, placing the teabag inside now that it was properly heated. He had no idea how tea-making even worked, but from his experience the method he used seemed to work just fine. Once the water had turned the right color, he removed the bag from the kettle and the kettle from the fireplace.

He placed the kettle on the table, and acquired the remaining things he needed. Two cups, two spoons, and oh-so delectable sugar. What would Kirby do without his 30 pound bag of sugar? Placing the objects on the table, he then poured the tea into Meta Knight’s cup first.

“How much sugar do you want? I have lots to spare.”

Glaring over at the massive bag of sugar, Meta Knight shook his head, “I like my tea without sugar.”.

“Alrighty, more for me then!”.

Upon pouring tea into his cup, Kirby shoveled god knows how many spoonfuls of sugar into the small container. Even he lost count of how many spoonfuls he ended up putting in his tea. And across the table, in utter disapproval, was Meta Knight, who was staring at Kirby as if he committed homicide.

Kirby sat in his chair and began to blow on the still-hot contents of his cup. As he did so, he couldn’t help but notice that Meta Knight was reading something. And that something... was quite... interesting.

In his hands was a book titled “Til death do we part”. It took a while for Kirby to remember where he got this book from, but once he did he was flooded with rather bitter memories. One year, for fun of course, Kirby and some of his friends played a game of White Elephant, and that book was the present that he ended up with in the end. It was the gift that Ribbon had brought to the table, and after reading it, Kirby could definitely figure out why.

It was a tragic but sweet love story about a prince and a princess who married and then lost each other. Each chapter switched perspectives, between the prince and the princess, as they traversed on their journey to find their missing half. Occasionally flashbacks of them together would be strewn in-between all of the adventuring, and it was clear that the two were very in love. In the end, of course, they reunited, and all was happy.

While Kirby didn’t consider it horrible, he still couldn’t grasp as to why it was a romance. Just as easily, the plot could have been about two friends reuniting. In fact, he thought it would have been better if that was the case.

Romance was never Kirby’s forte, really.

But he never thought that Meta Knight, of all people, would be into romance.

Looking over at him, Kirby could easily tell that he was very invested in the book. Eyes fixated so heavily on it’s text that he hadn’t even noticed that he was being watched. Puzzled, Kirby tried to make sense of the whole ordeal, but nowhere in his head could he find an explanation for his friend’s unexpected taste.

Occasionally looking back up at Meta Knight, Kirby silently drank his tea once it was cool enough. He hadn’t seen Meta Knight drink his tea, but Kirby knew he was good at drinking and eating sneakily.

It seemed that he wasn’t going to go for another cup, so Kirby pulled the kettle over to himself and filled it with sugar. He drank the tea through the spout, guzzling it all down in mere seconds. Once he was done, he sighed contentedly and looked back over to Meta Knight.

He was done with his reading, the book was closed and neatly placed next to him. Apparently, he saw the display Kirby had put on earlier, so he was looking at him in a dull sort of way. Snapping back to a more casual position, Kirby nervously chuckled, “So you’re done reading?”.

“Yes. I finished the first chapter, and the tea as well.”

“Good good!”

Meta Knight hopped off of his chair, and bowed, “Thank you for having me over.”. He placed the book he was reading back in its container, then pushing it to its original spot.

“No problem!”, Kirby beamed. It was clear that Meta Knight was intending to leave soon so he made sure to say his goodbyes, “I hope we can hang out again sometime!”.

“I hope so too.”

Meta Knight left quietly, leaving the gentle words he spoke behind long after he was already gone. Kirby was almost too flabbergasted to speak, “He wants to come back?”, he thought. How strange it all was, but in spite of that, Kirby didn’t mind. It was a good strange.

Needless to say, Kirby thought about Meta Knight for a very long time after that.

Chapter 2: The Sweetness of Donuts and a Friend

Chapter Text

At the tail end of spring, the heat of summer began to sink in, as it usually did. Even if it wasn’t unbearably hot, the temperature was enough of an excuse for Kirby to get some ice cream. Regardless of what it was, Kirby always found a way to tie it to food somehow. It was a talent of his.

Dreamland was full of activity around this time, from people getting ready to go off on vacation and other sorts of adventures. Especially this year, now that there’s a whole new world to explore.

But Kirby was simply seated in a bench, lapping up his ice cream so diligently there wasn’t any spillage. As he indulged himself, he observed the hustle and bustle in the streets of Dreamland. It was mostly Waddle Dees, of course, they were always busy with something. Be it their work or their play they completed their tasks rather efficiently.

With how similar they all acted, it was hard to tell them apart unless they had a unique feature about them. Kirby could think about a few. Bandanna Waddle Dee was the first to come to mind, such a brave and humble fellow, he was one of Kirby’s closest friends as well. Kirby also thought of Wise Waddle Dee, Weapons Shop Waddle Dee, and Commentator Waddle Dee. Especially Commentator Waddle Dee, with their silly little stutter.

Kirby didn’t see them often, but Sailor Waddle Dee most certainly existed also. They were one of the Meta Knights, so obviously Kirby hadn’t had much of a chance to interact with them. He already visited the Halberd so rarely as is, and it definitely didn’t help that a majority of the crew were horrified of him. Albeit some crew members hid their fear better than others. Sailor Dee in particular was very squeamish around Kirby, for obvious reason.

... How did most of Meta Knight’s men even survive such a violent crash?

Cold, mint green liquid slid down Kirby’s arm. Drat, he let himself go off on a tangent. Loosing focus on what really mattered. He came here to relax, not to ruminate.

However, as soon as he escaped the bubble within his own head, his focus snapped to something else. He had been so absorbed in his own thoughts that he hadn’t noticed. Speak of the devil, Meta Knight was right across from him, wrapped up in his cape tightly.

“Are you ok?”, he said, tilting his head a bit, “I was on an... errand... but I couldn’t help but notice you were staring in to space as if you’ve seen death itself.”.

“O-oh? Did I really look like that?”.

Meta Knight nodded, “Indeed.”.

"O-oh...".

How bothersome, having a peaceful outing ruined by pointless brooding. Kirby shoved the rest of the ice cream cone in his mouth, having decided that patience with it was no longer an option. Now with the source of the mess on his arm was gone, it was time for him to address the mess that the ice cream had made on him. And he had to be quick, or he would be in quite the sticky situation.

Sticking his tongue out, he was just about to lick his arm clean until-

“Let me get that.”

Gently erasing it with a indigo handkerchief, Meta Knight managed to address Kirby’s mess before he could. Having the melted remnants of the ice cream wiped off of his bright pink skin, Kirby looked over at Meta Knight, who was completely focused on removing every last drop of liquid off of Kirby’s arm.

Once he was finished, Meta Knight softly pulled the handkerchief away, “There.”.

What a nice thing for him to do... but why did he do that exactly?

... Now his handkerchief would get sticky! If Kirby had simply licked off the ice cream that wouldn’t have been a problem. Besides that, it still was quite a thoughtful thing to do, so Kirby absolutely had to give his regards.

“Thanks, Meta!”

Merely humming in response, Meta Knight slid his handkerchief into... actually, Kirby couldn’t quite tell where he put it. But... Wait a second, Kirby had never seen Meta Knight with a handkerchief before!

Kirby couldn’t help but wonder, “Hey, are ya going somewhere to eat? Seeing as you have a handkerchief and all.”.

Like a deer caught in headlights, Meta Knight froze in place, stiffening his arms and wearing a wide eyed expression. He was caught clean-handed.

Eyes darting left and right, he appeared as if he was scrambling to find an excuse for his possession of a handkerchief. He usually never had any other objects on him except the ones he absolutely needed. In his words, “Possessions weigh me down, thus I only need my sword and my sharp wit on me at all times.”.

Meta Knight sighed in defeat, “Quite the observation...”. He loosened himself up a bit, acting as if he wasn’t in a complete panic moments earlier.

The topic of food always made Kirby quite invested, so naturally, he had to continue the conversation. “Niceeee! Where are you gonna go?”.

“Idon’tknow.”, blurted Meta Knight.

As hard as he tried to hide it, Kirby could read Meta Knight’s bluff from miles away. But he decided to humor him, “Oh? Yeah I understand, sometimes I just wanna eat but I don’t know where. Heh, happens all the time.”. One could assume Kirby was playing along, but no, he was being quite honest about that particular situation. He was a very hungry guy, after all.

“... Is that so?”

“Mhmm! Usually when I don’t know where to eat I just look at the clouds.”

“The... clouds?”

Kirby directed Meta Knight’s hand and attention upwards towards the sky, “Yeah! I just see if any clouds look like food to decide what to eat.”. Moving it to the left somewhat he angled his hand so that it was pointing towards a very strange shaped cloud, “Like that one! It looks like a cake!”.

“It looks like a shield to me...”

“Well then, what food do you see? I’m sure what you see is waaaay different from what I see.”, Kirby let go of his hand to see what he could find without his guidance.

“...”

Meta Knight remained silent as he observed the clouds, squinting ever so slightly in an adorable display of focus. Kirby looked at the sky as well, already having found a whole plethora of odd objects. A dragon, an apple, a dancing man, and much more, Kirby saw lots of things in the clouds. He wished that he could see what Meta Knight sees in the clouds as well.

“I... I see a...”

It took a while for Meta Knight to finish saying what he wanted to say, and during that period of silence, Kirby sat in eager anticipation.

“A... donut...”

“Oh? OHHH! Yeah now I see it!”. Kirby held onto Meta Knight’s hand, “So then donuts it is then! See? The clouds are pretty effective aren’t they?”

“I suppose they are...”, Meta Knight tapped his chin, “I... I don’t really have sweets too often, but if the clouds say so then...”. A soft chuckle reverberated from under his mask, “Yeah... I’ll go!”.

“Yay! I’m glad I was able to help you on your quest for good eats.”, Kirby tilted his head with a pleased look on his face, “Hmmm, actually, can I come with? Donuts sound pretty dang good right now.”.

“Absolutely. I-”, Meta Knight cleared his throat, “I might need help deciding which donut to pick. I’m not too familiar with sweets, after all.”

An open mouthed smile found its way onto Kirby’s face, and his blue eyes twinkled in endearment. “Alrighty! Off to flavortown we go!”, he chimed as he struck a bold pose.

Kirby knew exactly where to go, obviously. He led Meta Knight to a quaint little donut shop that sat in a quaint little corner in the streets of Dreamland. Upon opening the door, a little bell rung, welcoming the two circular fellows inside.

The establishment was rather small, its primary furnishings only a couple of tables and a counter for business. Behind the counter was a single Waddle Dee, and behind them was a door that probably led to the kitchen.

Upon noticing the pair, the Waddle Dee waved, “Hello, hello! Welcome, welcome!.” Their eyes curved as if they were smiling, “I reckon that you want the usual, huh?”, they paused as they finally noticed the armor clad lad standing right next to Kirby, “Oh! If it ain’t Meta Knight, you were the last fella I expected to see here!”

Kirby giggled, “Yeah, today he couldn’t figure out what to eat so he let the clouds decide. And he saw a donut, so yeah!”

“Is that so? Well I’m glad the clouds brought him here then! Serving a fella like him sounds like a hoot!”

“A hoot?”, Meta Knight asks, sounding genuinely confused.

“OH! Right, you speak all proper like. Uhh, it sounds fun! Challenging! I love a challenge!”

Kirby nods excitedly, “Yep! If anyone in Dreamland can make a donut that the revered masked swordsman Meta Knight will like, it’s Wa-Donu!”

“... They have a name?”

Wa-Donu chuckled, “Oh, not necessarily! That’s just what Kirby calls me. No Waddle Dees have names, remember?”

“Ah, that’s right.”

“Mhmm! I call him that because he makes the best donuts in dreamland. Wa-Donu. Waddle Donut! Get it?”

Meta Knight snorted, “Heh, nice.”

Kirby smiled, it was nice seeing him so loose for once. Of course, knowing Meta Knight, Kirby specifically chose Wa-Donu’s shop because it never really got that many customers inside, and when it did it was an “in and out” sort of affair. Most of its business was through the walk through window on the side. But above all else, Kirby thought that Wa-Donu and their family made the best donuts in all of Dreamland.

Kirby and Meta Knight walked to the counter, and they both started to observe the selection. An assortment of plain-looking donuts were on shelves inside of glass casing. While they looked dull, Kirby knew that flavor wise, those donuts were far from ordinary. Pointing at an oval shaped donut, Kirby had made his selection rather quickly.

“One filled donut, please. The usual!”

“Alrighty!”

Wa-Donu pulled the donut out with a piece of paper, then grabbing a piping tool filled with strawberry jelly. With a surprising amount of speed and precision, they filled the donut, handing it over to Kirby once they were done. Kirby slid the amount of point stars needed for the purchase over the counter, which Wa-Donu happily collected.

“So, Meta Knight, what are you gonna get?”, Kirby asked.

“Umm...”, Meta Knight shakily pointed to the donut covered in chocolate icing and sprinkles, “That one.”.

“Coming right up!”

Kirby was in shock. He never expected Meta Knight to choose such a sweet donut. Especially having heard his whole,“I’m not too fond of sweets.”, spiel more times than he could keep track of.

Wa-Donu handed the donut over to Meta Knight, and he paid accordingly. “Kirby, do we sit down?”, he asked.

“Yeah.”

There were only two tables in the shop, and Meta Knight chose the one that was nestled near the corner away from the window. He sat down, and then Kirby followed suit soon after. It didn’t take very long for Kirby to start chowing down, but he let himself savor the flavor, rather than just inhaling the donut completely.

After the first bite, Kirby melted in bliss. The donut was firm enough to properly compliment the jelly, but fluffy enough to still feel like a donut. The glaze and strawberry jelly combined to make something even sweeter, something that couldn’t quite be replicated anywhere else.

When Kirby finally descended from heaven, he noticed that Meta Knight had his mask propped up. He was taking small bites out of his donut, savoring it just as Kirby did. His mouth was completely visible, and it was just as cute as Kirby remembered.

Kirby took another bite out of his donut, “Hey so, Meta Knight?”

Meta Knight hummed, acknowledging Kirby’s words.

“Do you like the donut? I can’t really tell cause I can’t see your eyes.”

When Meta Knight’s mask was slid up in such a manner, the slit where his eyes would be visible from was on his forehead instead. “Oh,”, said Meta Knight, “Well, I do like it, quite a lot actually.”.

Meta Knight cleared his throat, “The clouds are never wrong, so of course I’d like it. Even if I’m not too much of a-.”

“Fan of sweets, yeah, yeah.”, Kirby giggled, “But everyone can have something sweet every once and a while don’t you think?”

Smiling ever so slightly, Meta Knight sighed, “You’re right.”

The pair eventually finished eating their donuts. But just before they were about to get ready to leave, the door behind Wa-Donu opened, and out came... another Waddle Dee!

“Here you go.”, said the other Waddle Dee, as they handed over a tray with a truckload of donuts over to Wa-Donu.

“Thank ya! Thank ya! And just in time too, the lunch rush is about to start!”

Kirby waved at the other Waddle Dee, “Hi, Chef-Donu!”.

And accordingly, they waved back, “Hello Kirby!”.

Directing Meta Knight’s attention over to the Waddle Dee, Kirby chimed, “That’s Chef-Donu, they make all of the yummy donuts here. They’re Wa-Donu’s partner!”

“Ah, I assumed that this place wasn’t just staffed by one person. Naturally there’d have to be someone who makes the donuts and someone who attends the counter... but...”, Meta Knight tilted his head, “Umm, who works the window? I saw that this place has a walk through, but, if Wa-Donu is at the front counter and Chef-Donu is cooking...”

Wa-Donu laughs boisterously, “Ohhh! Well, when Kirby said that Chef and I are partners, he was being literal.”.

Chef-Donu nods, “Precisely. And the person who works the window is none other than our child!”

Kirby beams, “Mhm! Wa-Donu and Chef-Donu are married and have a kid! I call them Win-Donu, for obvious reasons.”

“Just a year ago, the little fella insisted that he started working here, so we set up the window and the rest is history! They grow up so fast.”

“I see...”, Meta Knight cleared his throat as he usually did, “That sounds nice.”

Meta Knight tugged onto Kirby’s arm, “Anywho, we’ve ought to be going. I heard something about a rush and I wouldn’t want to be in your way.”

“Oh, alrighty! I’ll see-”

And they were already gone. The same little chime that welcomed them also gave them it’s goodbyes. Meta Knight let go of Kirby’s hand and let out a sigh.

“Thank you for offering me company, but I should go ahead and leave. I’m sure you have lots to do.”

“Not really, in fact I have so much nothing to do that it’s driving me crazy. It’s alright, you can stay with me if you want.”

Eyes growing dim, Meta Knight whispered, “Okay.”

For the rest of that day, Kirby and Meta Knight simply strolled the streets of Dreamland. Not really saying much, but enjoying eachother’s company all the same. Occasionally Kirby would point out something interesting, and Meta Knight would offer his thoughts on the matter.

This went on until the sun began to set.

After all that walking, Kirby decided to rest in a relatively unoccupied playground. He sat on one of the swings, swaying himself ever so slightly so that the calm from the wind would seep into his very being. Meta Knight stood not too far off, intently observing the gentle motions of the swing.

“Hey, Meta Knight?”

“Yes?”

Kirby stopped swinging for a moment, allowing the air around him to become still. He looked off to the side somewhat, deciding if it would have been a good idea to ask Meta Knight the question he had.

In the end, he decided to take the chance, “You got really jittery when you learned about Wa-Donu and Chef-Donu. At first I thought it was just about the rush but, the way you looked... you seemed...”

“Jealous?”

Eyes widening from Meta Knight’s conclusion, Kirby sheepishly responded, “Yeah... just a bit.”

Meta Knight approached Kirby, sitting in the swing right next to his. He closed his eyes wistfully, “As expected, you read me like an open book. It’s no wonder you manage to best me in combat so easily.”.

Drawing his gaze to the sky, Meta Knight opened his eyes ever so slightly, “It is quite pitiful... Any time I see happy couples I get a strange... sinking feeling... in my chest. Part of it is Jealousy, but I suppose a majority of it is...”

“Sadness?”

His yellow eyes snapped back to Kirby, glowing gently as if they were the flames of a candle, “... I guess you could say that.” A long, drawn out sigh escaped the knight, holding a melancholy that shook Kirby to his very core. “I... I...”

Kirby patted Meta Knight on the back, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t wanna. I’ve heard enough to understand.”.

Smiling warmly, he wanted Meta Knight to know that everything was okay. He wanted Meta Knight to know that he wasn’t alone. The gesture reached him, thus he relaxed under Kirby’s touch and presence. And for a while longer that day, the two reveled in the comfort that they brought each other.

Before the sky grew dark, Meta Knight flew Kirby over to his house. Patting him on the head in order to say his farewell before he left for the Halberd. As he flew off into the sunset, Kirby waved, wishing him a good rest.

Kirby could tell. Ever since he met him, Meta Knight always exuded a lonely aura around him. He was standoffish and introverted, but like anyone else, he truly did want to have a deep connection with someone.

Maybe that was why he liked romance books, Kirby thought.

Chapter 3: Self Doubt of an Exceptional Swordsman

Chapter Text

Staring at the chess board, Kirby furrowed his brow. He had never really taken the time to try to understand the game too much. While he knew how all the pieces moved and what the objective of the game was, he could never wrap his head around how to effectively play the game. So naturally, he made some erratic and confusing choices regarding his moves.

Across the board from him sat Meta Knight, who had already claimed more of Kirby’s pieces than he’d like to admit. Even though Kirby appeared frustrated and focused, Meta Knight was impressively stone-faced.

A day prior, Kirby had received a call from Meta Knight, which surprised him to put things lightly. Even more shocking, was the knight’s proposal, “May I come over tomorrow?”.

Of course, Kirby accepted his request.

Nonchalantly moving his next piece, Meta Knight chimed, “Checkmate.”.

Kirby’s focus darted over to his king, and sure enough, Meta Knight’s statement was correct. “Eeeeh! I didn’t even notice you were moving that piece over there.”

“I suppose you were too occupied with trying to take out my knights.”, Meta Knight remarks, as he picks up his king and sways it back and forth, “This is the one you want, though.”

“But your knights were taking out all of my pieces, going all zig-zag and stuff. They were the main threat.”

“Only because you forgot that knights could even move diagonally, it let me pry into your defenses.”

Kirby pouted, “How am I supposed to keep track of all this stuff, it hurts my head.”

Meta Knight chuckled as he began to clear off the chess board, “Well, chess is a game with a lot of intricacies. Many different things can happen at once, so it’s all about trying to predict what your opponent will do.”. Having placed all of the pieces inside of the hollow cavity in the chess board, Meta Knight stood up and slid the board under Kirby’s bed, “I don’t blame you for finding it hard, though, it’s much more strenuous than checkers.”

“Tell me about it!”, Kirby leaned back and stretched, “Though, you still do beat my butt at checkers though... even though I understand all the rules. You’re pretty good at chess and checkers and stuff like that.”

Meta Knight looked over at Kirby, eyes widening ever so slightly, “Is that so...”. The tone in his voice sounded somewhat disappointed.

Kirby bounded upwards, nodding reassuringly, “M-hmm, you’re way better than me when it comes to logic based stuff.”

“I see...”, Meta Knight mumbled.

Eyes glowing dim, Meta Knight averted his gaze from Kirby. He sighed deeply, “You shouldn’t deny yourself the praise you deserve, you outclass me in nearly every field.”

“Nuh-uh!”, Kirby retorted, holding onto both of Meta Knight’s shoulders, “I may be able to beat you in a fight but you’re good at a lot of stuff too, don’t say things like that.”

“Ah...”, his eyes darkened completely, “Forgive me... Kirby.”

“Forgive you for what?”, Kirby’s eyes widened in shock.

“This... I...”, tensing up, Meta Knight moved one of Kirby’s hands off of him, “I made it all about me...”

Kirby frowned, shaking his head, “No, you didn’t. If anyone should be sorry it should be-”

“You... isn’t it?”, Meta Knight shook his head also, “No, you aren’t at fault, I... I just had to bring my weakness into this... I...”.

Kirby stepped back, holding both of his hands at his sides, “You’re not weak!”, he shouted.

Checkmate.

Meta Knight was left with nothing to say, so all he did was stay still. All he could do was stay still, eyes still darkened from his emotional state. Kirby stayed still as well, and in spite of his stillness, he felt as if he was being shaken. From his innermost core he felt a pressure not unlike a violent storm welling up inside of him. Not this again.

Kirby breathed, in an effort to calm the storm, but that would only work for so long. He composed himself enough to speak, “You’re not weak.”, he said, gentler than last time.

In all his efforts to keep his storm contained, speaking was enough to release it, and thus, the storm came out through his eyes. Ever so faintly, tears welled up in his eyes, that glistened with the sympathy he felt for his dear friend. Meta Knight remained unresponsive, as to be expected. Kirby knew that it wasn’t his fault, but damn did it feel like it was.

Choking his words, he couldn’t speak straight with the ever-looming threat of releasing more of the storm. Yet, he spoke, “You’re not weak... Meta Knight.”. His words came out in what was almost a whimper, a last ditch effort to reach his friend.

Kirby held in his sobs, he was uncertain if Meta Knight was looking at him or not, but if he was he would have noticed that Kirby was crying. He didn’t seem to notice, so Kirby tried his hardest to contain the emotion inside of him. Though try as he may, his efforts were futile.

The storm had completely escaped him.

His vision blurred, his whole life blurred, but through the foggy lenses he had to cope with, he saw a faint glow.

“I’m sorry...”, said Meta Knight. His eyes were visible again, but he was looking away from Kirby.

No, no, he shouldn’t have been sorry, he shouldn’t be guilty. But-

His apology only made the storm rage further.

“Don’t be sorry... don’t... I...”, Kirby sniffled, trying to compose himself, “I just... I...”. Thunder struck within Kirby’s head, and the downpour fell at its strongest, “I... I want you to believe in yourself... I want you to listen to me! You’re not weak!”

He was able to keep his eyes open no longer, screwing them shut in a fruitless attempt to stop the flood. This only made things worse.

“That’s why I’m sorry...”.

Kirby hiccuped, opening his eyes that were distorted from his tears, “What...?”.

His blurry vision was greeted with the color yellow, front and center. In a surprisingly warm gesture, Meta Knight placed his hand on top of Kirby’s head.

“You... you were only trying to make me feel better. And because I was stupid, I made both you and I feel horrible. I’m sorry.”

Kirby looked at him, eyes wide open in a thousand yard stare. Meta Knight wasn’t wrong.

Rubbing Kirby’s head gently, Meta Knight said, “You’re right... I’m not weak.”

Kirby softly pushed Meta Knight over, hugging him tightly as he sobbed. “Dummy, dumb-head, dumb-ass...”, he shakily chanted, relieved that his message reached Meta Knight but aggravated at him all the same.

Meta Knight continued to console Kirby, stroking his cheek and wiping away his tears. Everything was so hot, the room was hot, his cheeks were hot, the glove was hot, it was so hot that it was unbearable. But in that heat, Kirby found peace. It was over, it was finally over.

Stumbling on his own words, Kirby managed to speak somewhat coherently, “You... you’re a big dumb hypocrite... Saying I’m denying praise when you deny every bit of praise that’s given to you.”.

Kirby lightly punched Meta Knight on the head, “Dummy, dummy, dummy, you can’t see the good in you.”

“Please, forgive me Kirby.”

Kirby chuckled, still disjointed from the sinking feeling that remained in his gut, “O- only if you promise to never say anything like that ever again. And... and if you cuddle with me.”

“I cannot guarantee that I will fulfil my promise, but I will promise nonetheless. I... however... I’ll... for... for you I will try my hardest...”, Meta Knight stood up and held onto Kirby’s hand, “Come...”

It was frustrating, trying to get the simple concept of “self worth” into Meta Knight’s skull. Kirby would witness this self doubt in short spurts, making failed efforts in changing Meta Knight’s mind. He was stubborn, but Kirby was stubborn too.

Meta Knight led Kirby onto his bed, sitting down and gently nuzzling up to him in order to fulfill his demands. He was stiff and uncoordinated, clearly not used to initiating those sorts of things. Kirby further nestled into Meta Knight’s also spherical form, squishing up against him so that there was no gap in between them. Besides each other, they both melted, relaxing under the other’s presence.

Kirby was still shaken up, softly whimpering every once and a while. He struggled to remember why he cried in the first place. He wasn’t sad and he wasn’t angry, so why did he cry in the first place? His head already hurt from the pressure that welled up inside of it, but the questions he had regarding the origin of his peril only made that headache worse.

The same glove that caressed him earlier was patting his head again, the slow back and forth motions it made almost put Kirby in a trance. Such gentle touch, coming from Meta Knight of all people. He was too distant for his own good.

Dumb, Meta Knight was dumb, but Kirby was dumb too. He didn’t have to blow up and make a big deal out of Meta Knight’s self deprecation, but Meta Knight didn’t have to doubt himself either. They were both dumb, and Kirby wouldn’t have it any other way. Even though they were dumb, together, they helped each other understand.

Kirby nodded off to sleep, with his tender thoughts on comradery. All that crying made him tired, he hated it. He hated it so he tried not to cry, but trying not to cry would make him cry anyways. A frustrating cycle of headaches and tears, what a bother.

When he finally woke from his nap, the room was darker than it was when he had first slept. And more importantly, Meta Knight was gone. Though, Kirby expected that, knowing his aversion to touch.

Rubbing his eyes, he hopped off of his bed, preforming his midnight wake up ritual of pouring himself a glass of milk. When he sat at the table, though, he noticed a crumpled up piece of paper. Curiously, he inspected it, reading its contents with the help of his still lit fireplace.

"Forgive me for leaving without telling you. I had an errand to run and I have to stay on the Halberd tonight. In reparation, I got you a box of donuts. Wa-Donu’s shop was in the same path as where I was running my errand, so I decided to get you some. There’s six of them, and they’re the jelly-filled ones that I noticed you liked. There was seven, but I admit, I succumbed to the curiosity I had regarding their taste. They were good. Enjoy them."

The note was written on the back of a donut receipt. At the end of the note, Meta Knight signed it with his insignia. Curiously, the receipt had the expected charge for the 7 donuts, but it also had a charge for 20 water bottles. Kirby was too tired to really try to think on that, though.

How thoughtful of Meta Knight to do such a thing, Kirby decided that the next time he saw Meta Knight he would offer him something as well. He deserved something nice.

With his milk, he had all the donuts, and with a full belly he managed to get tired far quicker than he usually did in these circumstances. As he drifted off to sleep, he wished that Meta Knight was also sleeping peacefully.

He deserved that much... at least.

Chapter 4: Friends Who Aren't too Different From Family

Chapter Text

Flying on his warp star, Kirby was on his way to the Halberd. When he checked his mailbox and saw a letter with Meta Knight’s insignia on it, he didn’t know exactly what to expect. But an invitation for a party? That was something he would have never expected in a billion years.

Apparently it was Blade Knight’s birthday, and Meta Knight had formally invited Kirby to the festivities. Kirby had never been invited before, but Meta Knight prefaced in the letter that he usually didn’t invite people outside of his crew to personal celebrations like that. What was so different now? Maybe it was to make amends for his outburst, but Kirby didn’t let their assumptions stay so glum. Perhaps Meta Knight was more comfortable around Kirby now, so he invited him to such a personal event.

Once the Halberd was in view, Kirby smiled. He was excited, Meta Knight wasn’t a “party person”, so Kirby wondered what a party organized by him would be like. Zipping past the side of the ship, Kirby saw Meta Knight on the deck, anticipating his arrival. With a small burst of stars, Kirby landed, bounding towards Meta Knight and hugging him as soon as his feet hit the ground.

When Kirby tackled Meta Knight, he let out a surprised yelp. Well, as much of a yelp that a guy like Meta Knight could belt out.

“Now that you’re here... I’ll lead you to where we’re holding the party.”, stated Meta Knight.

“Gotchya!”, Kirby nodded, letting go of Meta Knight and allowing him to lead.

The two of them made their way into the ship, and inside was the menagerie known as the Meta Knights. They were all bustling about, but the first one to notice Kirby and Meta Knight’s entrance was Sailor Dee, alert as ever.

“Welcome back, sir!”, they greeted.

With Sailor’s acknowledgment, the rest of the Meta Knights greeted their leader as well. Huddling around him and happily announcing his return. None of them had noticed Kirby, yet, but Kirby noticed that they were all quite happy today, for obvious reason.

Meta Knight sighed, “You’re all acting like I was gone for a week. I was only outside so I could keep watch for our guest.”

“Indeed, but for all the effort you made for the party it’s great that you can be here to celebrate too!” said Mace Knight.

Meta Knight sighed yet again as he put his hand on his forehead. He wasn’t really able to stop how doting his crew was towards him but he showed as much aversion to it as he could. Kirby could only giggle at his feigned distaste for their kind words, he wondered how much longer Meta Knight would be so adamant on not receiving praise. This giggling is what made the Meta Knights all divert their attention to Kirby.

“Oh! We’re so sorry Kirby! How rude of us to not address our guest!”, Sailor Dee said in a frantic tone, partly from their polite nature, partly from their slight fear of Kirby.

“It’s alright!”, Kirby smiled reassuringly, “You don’t really gotta worry about formalities with me, I’m not some kind of king or something.”

Meta Knight looked at Kirby, “Nonsense, today you are a guest to none other than the Meta Knights, we’ve ought to ensure that you are impressed by our hospitality.”

Blade Knight, who was wearing a cute blue birthday sash, put his hand on his chest triumphantly, “And your a guest to a birthday party, we take birthdays very seriously, you see.”

Meta Knight’s flusterdness could practically be seen through his mask, “That’s- That’s correct.”. He couldn’t lie, not around his crew.

“Happy Birthday Blade!”, Kirby approached his old friend and gave him a big hug. Occasionally Blade Knight would adventure with Kirby and help him out with his endeavors, adding him to the seemingly endless list of friends that Kirby had acquired over the years.

Blade Knight returned the hug, “I’m really glad you could come here, Kirby.”. Once he was released, he gestured towards the decorated tables, “Now that everyone’s here, let’s begin the festivities.”

Meta Knight nodded, “Yes, lets.”.

For a party hosted by such a glum guy, the decorations were rather well done. Beautiful blue streamers adorned the ceiling, which was so high up that Kirby assumed that Meta Knight had to be the only one who would have been capable to reach. A set of tables adorned with various sword-themed decorations was under this grand display. One of these tables was for food, and the other was for sitting, obviously.

“It looks very pretty!”, Kirby complimented.

“... Thank you.”, Meta Knight mumbled.

“You did all this? That’s so cool!”

Blade Knight nodded, “He does the decorations for all of our birthday parties, and he made this sash too! Its our special birthday sash.”. He presents his sash to Kirby, letting him see how intricately the wording was embroided onto it.

Kirby smiled, it would have been easy to tease Meta Knight about all this, but he found it more admirable than comical. He clearly cared quite a lot about his crew, for them to look up to him so fervently.

“Lets start eating.”, Meta Knight says firmly. The last thing he wanted was for this subject to continue on further.

Immediately, everybody started serving themselves from the buffet table. While Kirby usually had a big appetite, he controlled himself when it came to parties... somewhat. The food available was what would be expected by a group of knights, everything was roasted. Kirby was a bit surprised at the inclusion of a roast bird, given that Captain Vul was a bird himself. But this surprise only increased tenfold when he saw him take out a heaping helping of the roast, so Kirby really had nothing else to be surprised about.

Other than the large quantity of water bottles that sat on the very edge of the table. Those must have been the water bottles he bought at Wa-Donu’s shop.

With a plate full of roasted-everything, Kirby looked at the table for where he could sit. Blade Knight waved at him, and then his decision was made. Both of the spots next to Blade Knight were occupied, one by Sword Knight, the other by Meta Knight himself, so Kirby compromised by sitting next to Meta Knight.

“Usually we don’t have guests, so this table might be a tad bit cramped.”, stated Blade Knight.

So far, Blade Knight had been doing a majority of the talking. The rest of the crew, including Meta knight, ate in silence. Clearly most of them hadn’t forgotten about how Kirby made them crash into the ocean years prior.

Ever the gentle-dee, Sailor was the one to break the silence, “S-so, um, how has everyone been?”

“I’ve got a new helmet.”, said Axe Knight plainly.

“You- You got a new helmet? I didn’t even notice...”

“It’s the same type of helmet, but it’s newer. Its understandable that you didn’t notice.”

“Your old helmet was in good condition, what compelled you to acquire a new one?”, said Sword Knight.

“I just wanted to.”, Axe Knight shrugged.

Meta Knight groaned, “It’s better to make due with what you have until it’s broken, lest you be wasteful.”

Captain Vul laughed boisterously, “Easy for you to say, you break your mask so often you don’t even have to worry about it wearing down. It’s always new and shiny.”

“Watch your tongue.”, said Meta Knight in a halfhearted tone that implied he wasn’t being serious about his scolding.

Laughing erupted from the entirety of the Meta Knights, even Kirby couldn’t help but laugh at how lax the crew was with eachother. When the laughter died down somewhat, Blade Knight continued the conversation, “On a related note to helmets, I hope one of you got me a helmet this year, I’m thinking of changing up my style a bit.”

Meta Knight hummed, “If I knew that, I would have gotten you one. What a shame.”

Blade Knight gasped, “Meta Knight?! Not getting me the perfect gift this year?! Is the moon going to be full tonight?”

“Apologies, I’ve been occupied.”

“It’s alright of course, but it’s so rare that you don’t know exactly what one of us wants for our birthday.”

Sailor Dee raised up and chimed in, “You even managed to figure out that I wanted a Floralia teaset last year, and that’s probably the most specific thing I’ve ever wanted.”

Meta Knight closed his eyes and tilted his head, “It was easy, you talked an awful lot about Floralia after we visited to help the rulers out with some business.”

“... How did you know that I wanted a teaset though?”

“You just started drinking tea out of nowhere.”

Sailor Dee put their hand on their chin, “Observant...”

Sword Knight looked over at Meta Knight, “If you don’t mind me asking, sir, what have you been occupied with?”

“... I’ve just been thinking about things...”

“I see.”

Everyone got back to conversing and eating. Kirby even joined a couple of times, albeit he was out of the loop with most of the stuff the Meta Knights talked about. Even though he wasn’t the light of the party, per se, he felt very happy being one of the rare guests on the Halberd.

Out of nowhere, Meta Knight had come back with cake. He had left stealthily and returned stealthily, only being re-discovered by the lights of the candles that adorned the cake. It was a decadent-looking chocolate cake with an angular pattern drawn into it with white icing. Putting the cake in the middle of the table, he clapped his hands together.

“I noticed that everybody was done eating, so I took the liberty of bringing the cake.”, Meta Knight held out his hand to Blade Knight, “Shall we?”

Blade Knight nodded, “Yes sir!”

When the two of them held hands, this started a chain of everyone holding hands with the two people adjacent to them. Kirby was somewhat surprised especially when Captain Vul took his hand all of a sudden. Meta Knight looked at Kirby expectantly, holding his hand out to his. Kirby smiled, grasping onto his hand, and completing the circle.

“Today, our friend and comrade, Blade Knight, celebrates another revolution around the star, from the point where he was first alive to see it. Like a star, he shines in ways that he may not see. Thus, on this momentous of days, we shall remind him of how he shines in our eyes.”, Meta Knight closed his eyes, “Sword, you will be first.”

“Blade Knight is my most treasured training partner. Without him and his determined aura, I would not be able to execute my full potential.”

Like clockwork, Mace Knight, who was next to Sword Knight, spoke. “He has an enthusiasm that is greater than any of us could be capable of. An enthusiasm that will continue to bring great things.”

As the rest of the Meta Knight’s sung their praises, Kirby listened intently. This was far more personal than a birthday song could ever be. While it threw him for a loop, Kirby got into the swing of things.

Just in time too, “An excellent knight, and an exceptional swordsman, Blade is a man that I am glad to call my comrade.”, said Captain Vul.

Kirby breathed in, “Blade has a kind heart, and is strong enough to help bring down the bad guys that terrorize Dreamland. He’s a friendly guy that never gives up and I think that’s cool.”

Huffing out quietly, Kirby’s heart raced, he hoped he didn’t mess that up.

Meta Knight straightened his posture, “Blade Knight is a shining example of knighthood, for that and much more, I am proud of him. He possesses a indomitable positivity that I and many others lack, and his kindness has brought happiness to those around him. And now that he has been reminded of what he means to us, he may have his wish, a wish that all of us hope to come true.”

After a few seconds, Blade Knight blew out the candles on the cake, causing everybody to release their hands so they could clap to celebrate the start of his next year.

Blade Knight sniffled, “You all just about made me cry, but I toughened it out, it woulda been hard to blow out the candles otherwise.”

Meta Knight cut into the cake, giving the first slice to Blade, then cutting the rest of the cake and passing the plates down through Kirby’s side. Once all the plate-passing was complete, Kirby licked his lips, ready to enjoy the special birthday-energy-infused cake.

Before he took a bite, he felt a familiar glove on his back. “You did perfect.”, softly said Meta Knight.

Kirby nodded, putting a forkfull of cake into his mouth. It was as decadent as it looked, and it practically melted in his mouth.

“So goooooood.”, Kirby enthused.

“I know right? Meta Knight’s a really good baker.”, said Sailor Dee.

Kirby’s eyes widened, he nearly choked in the shock of it all, he thought the surprises were all done today. Soon enough, though, Kirby stopped caring, choosing to enjoy the delicious cake rather than think about how insane it is that a guy like Meta Knight knows how to make cake this good.

After the cake, Blade Knight opened his gifts. Kirby got him a gift too, a jar of candies.

Once the celebration had fully died down, everybody went back to their duties except Meta Knight, who stayed behind once everybody had left to do their own thing. Like any good host, he began to clean up after the party.

As Meta Knight began taking down the decorations, Kirby started helping him out. “I’m fine, I can do this on my own.”, Meta Knight protested.

“Nuh-uh! You’ve got a lot of stuff to clean up, having some help couldn’t hurt.”

Meta Knight clicked his tongue, “Persistent persistent.”. He patted Kirby on the head, “The only favor I need from you is for you to forget about everything that happened today.”

Kirby giggled, “I couldn’t even if I tried. Today was fun and new. And I didn’t realize you were such a sentimental guy.”

“... And I’m a massive hypocrite, hm? Wishing for my friends to see the good in them even though I can’t see the good in myself?”

“Heh, yeah I was... about to say that.”

“... I’ve... I’ve been trying lately, at least. You’ve helped alot with that.”

Kirby squeezed Meta Knight into a hug, “That makes me really really happy.”

“N-now now, I have to finish cleaning. We can cuddle later.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

Kirby smiled, releasing Meta Knight from the hug so he could do his thing. He cleaned everything up lightning fast, having wings and whatnot, he zipped around so fast that if you blinked you’d miss him. Once he was done, he landed next to Kirby.

“Cleaning is good training, I’d say. Anything can be training if you put your mind to it.”

“Yeah! Like eating.”

Meta Knight chuckled a bit, “I suppose.”

Taking one of Kirby’s hands, he tilted his head quizzically, “Would you like to stay over? You can stay in my bed. I can’t guarantee that I’ll sleep with you all night, but I’ll try.”

Kirby nodded happily, “Of course! You’ve slept at my place so its only fair that I sleep at yours too.”

“Indeed.”

Now that the chaos of the day was over, the moon began to rise, crescent shaped as always. Meta Knight slowly led Kirby through the halls of the Halberd, the same halls that Kirby had to navigate through to stop him from trying to take over Dreamland. Though Meta Knight didn’t want to admit it, he had grown since then.

“Hey, Meta Knight?”

“Hm?”

“I’m proud of you. I know today is Blade’s day and all but... I’m proud of you too! You really need to hear that.”

“... Thank you.”

Eventually, the two of them made it to Meta Knight’s room. Slowly, he opened the imposing door and led Kirby inside. It was furnished minimalistically, with a table, chair, dresser, and bed.

While Kirby looked around Meta Knight’s room, he hadn’t noticed that he had began to take his accessories off.

Kirby yelped, “You really trust me that much?!”

Meta Knight groaned, “It’s not as if I’m stripping, if so you’re naked all of the time!”

“No, it’s not that.”, Kirby points towards their own face, “Are... are you...”

“... Yes... The last two times I slept with you gave me the worst markings on my face from how hard your squeezing pressed my mask against my skin.”

After everything else was off, Meta Knight finally removed his mask. Yep, he still looked like Kirby, except a bit meaner. Though this had been the first time that Kirby had seen Meta Knight be unmasked so casually. Even though he had a plethora of questions about his face, Kirby spared him lest he be overwhelmed.

A reddish-purple grazed Meta Knight’s cheeks, “What is it?”

“Ah- Sorry!”, Kirby averted his gaze, trying to be considerate of the easily shattered ego that Meta Knight had.

Meta Knight sighed, “You don’t have to be sorry... Nor do you have to look away.”. He sat on his bed, looking off into the distance blankly.

Kirby sat down next to him, nuzzling his side against him affectionately. With every cell in his body, he had to resist the urge to tell him how soft he was. Meta Knight’s cheeks were warm from his flusteredness, and seeing him so blatantly, undeniably red his cheeks were made Kirby chuckle.

One of the reasons he had that mask on all the time was to hide his expressions, Kirby was sure of it.

“You and your crew... you’re alot like a family...”, Kirby said.

“Indeed. They’re the closest thing to family I’ve ever had.”

Kirby smiled, “Its good that you have that. To have people that are so important to you that you consider them family.”

Meta Knight wrapped his arm around him, “You’re important to me too.”

“Same!”

Laying back, Meta Knight’s smile was in full view, “You’ve helped push me to better myself, you mean so much to me.”

Kirby sat there in silence, seeing his precious smile for the first time was enough to thoroughly put him in shock. Meta Knight’s face was still red, but his expression was confident.

Meta Knight sighed, closing his eyes, “You know, I love how you look when you learn something new about me. The pleasantly shocked look in your eyes makes me want to be much more transparent with you.”

Kirby smiled, “So, I’m finally starting to crack you huh?”

“You could say that.”, Meta Knight paused for a moment, ruminating on his words until he finally said them, “You’ve cracked through my cold exterior, yet... yet you’ve managed to... to...”. He sighed, “... Before I say anything rash... what are your thoughts on... love?”

“Love is great! I love alot of people. I love you too.”

The blue tone of Meta Knight’s skin was almost entirely a bright-purplish red now, “I...”.

Meta Knight sat up, “I’m talking about romantic love. Being with someone and trusting them with your very heart.”

“Oh.” Kirby looked up, “Well, I don’t know, really.”

“I see.”, Meta Knight places his hand on Kirby’s forehead, “Could you ever see yourself getting into a relationship.”

“I’ve kissed and hugged people and stuff, I’ve even kissed and hugged you but, I dunno if I’d ever get into a relationship like that with anyone unless they wanted to.”

Placing his hand on his mouth, Meta Knight looked away, “I see..........”

Kirby scooted a bit closer to Meta Knight, close enough that he could give him a short and small kiss on his forehead. “I’m pretty dumb, but not that dumb... Do you wanna be in a relationship, Meta Knight?”

“Y-yes.”

“Then it’s settled. I’m all yours now.”, he smiled, “Now that we’re a thing though you gotta stay snuggled up to me from now on, okay.”

Meta Knight let out an elated chuckle, “Of course.”

“Alrighty! Then lets go to sleep, it’s getting late.”

“Of course...”

Pulling Meta Knight into a hug, he nestled with his new partner under the comfortable plush sheets that adorned his bed. Tomorrow morning they could sort out all that complicated relationship stuff, but for now, all Kirby wanted to get some shut eye.

Chapter 5: Something To Get Used to

Chapter Text

Once Meta Knight had woken up, the only thing he could do was think. Sure, his confession was somewhat premeditated, but he hadn’t considered what he would do if Kirby accepted his hand. Staring at the ceiling, he couldn’t look to his side because the sight of his beloved would make him blush like a maiden. It was unbecoming of him to be so weak for someone, but at that point, he had no reason to regain his bearings.

He furrowed his brow, of course Kirby had to be more romantically composed than him. How he kissed his forehead so effortlessly had an element of suaveness that a guy like him shouldn’t have. While he wasn’t eloquent by any means, his bluntness was always a fatal shot right towards Meta Knight’s heart. He knew that Kirby wasn’t trying to be a casanova, not one single bit. However, the weakness that Meta Knight had for him made the pink fellow one in his eyes.

The main thing he needed at that moment, though, was alone time.

Carefully, Meta Knight wriggled his way out of Kirby’s grasp, he had done this before so it wasn’t hard. Kirby was a deep sleeper, so Meta Knight figured he could carry out his morning routine without disturbing him. Though he would be considerate as not to wake him up.

He silently shuffled to his bathroom, closing the door slowly so that it didn’t make too much sound. When he was finally enclosed himself in the room he let out a wistful sigh. On days like this he liked to have a nice morning soak, something that could ease the nerves out of him.

Meta Knight’s master bathroom was rather small, but it still had that upkept aura to it that one could tell it was Meta Knight’s. Gathering various sanitary products from the shelves, he started up a cozy little bubble bath for himself.

As he prepared his bath, he allowed his mind to wander. Bubble baths weren’t very knightly, but he enjoyed them nonetheless. He would die from embarrassment if anyone found out that he liked them, so he made sure to lock the door even if nobody would ever open it.

This time, he made EXTRA sure that the door was locked. This time, there WAS someone who could possibly open it.

Every time he thought about it he had a mini heart attack. He knew better than anyone that Kirby is as dumb as a rock. Surely he would open the door while he was looking for him, and then, he would know. He would know about Meta Knight’s love for warm little bubble baths.

He groaned, pinching his temples, he needed to stop thinking himself into a paranoid fit. The door was locked and his bath was ready. He could relax.

Submerging himself, he eased his body and mind into the warmth of the water. Bubbles floated around him like fireflies, glistening from their reflection of the light. While he was still alone with his thoughts, at least those thoughts became less hostile from the pleasantness of the situation.

Now that he was properly courting Kirby, he could start being much more open with him. Not open enough to reveal the most incriminating secrets about himself, but enough to maintain his composure around him. Ever since he had taken some barriers down he really started feeling closer to Kirby. It had been a slow process over the years but it had finally reached a peak.

Partly from the water’s warmth, and partly from his own flusteredness, a blush creeped over his cheeks. It would take a lot of getting used to. HE would take a lot of getting used to.

Once he had enough of his relaxation, he exited the bath, drying himself off and applying lotion to his skin. Like his armor, he had to keep himself polished, it was an important part of his routine.

He opened the door slowly when he was done, only to realize that the reason for his consideration was wide awake.

Smiling widely, Kirby waved, “Mornin’!”. He wasn’t much different than usual even though he was nestled in the bed of his lover.

“Good morning.”, Meta Knight said curtly.

That pink ball of glee bounded towards him like a skipping stone, pulling him into a tight hug. While Meta Knight liked being given affection, after a whole night of cuddling he had his fill. He stiffened up, letting out a nearly-silent groan.

Seemingly getting the hint, Kirby released him from the hug. “Sorry.”

Meta Knight winced, “Its alright, I... I just... Sometimes it’s... too much, you know?”

“Yeah, I need to be a bit more considerate about that. Though, it is gonna be a bit hard heh...”

“... Even just staying put last night was difficult, after the bustle of the party... and- the other thing... I think I might need some space.”

Kirby nodded, “I understand! Um, do you need space like PERSONAL space or ALONE space?”

“Alone space until I get dressed, then I’ll be fine with your company as long as you aren’t all over me.”

“Gotchya!”

Kirby scuttled back to the bed, laying on his front and fiddling with his hands absentmindedly. Quickly, Meta Knight put on his usual getup, feeling a wave of relief once he had gotten his mask back on. He figured next time he slept with Kirby he would have to cover himself with something, skin-to-skin contact always made his patience drain faster.

“So, Kirby, what do you propose we do today? I don’t have any duties today so I can humor you for a bit.”

Kirby turned towards Meta Knight quickly, “I dunno.”, he was clearly in his own headspace for a while.

“I see... well, perhaps we can discuss some things?”

“Sure.”, Kirby said, getting out of his mental bubble, “Whaddya wanna talk about.”

“Us as a unit.”

“Huh?”

“Ah, right, I mean a team.”

“Ohh, what about it?”

Meta Knight closed his eyes, “Since our bond has deepened perhaps we can strengthen us as a unit... team.”. Opening his eyes again he crooked his brow somewhat, “As we discuss this, let’s leave this room, it’s... awkward being in here.”

“Roger!”

The pair exited the room, and Meta Knight led Kirby down the hall as he talked. “I haven’t ever considered this with you until very recently. Our greatly differing power levels made it hard to think of us working as a coordinated team. But...”

“We’ve been a pretty good team so far, I think!”, Kirby said enthusiastically.

“Yes, you, King Dedede, Bandanna Dee, and I make an amazing team, but what about just us two. What are we capable of doing when it’s just the two of us?”

“Silly, we’ve teamed up alone too, if it wasn’t for our cooperation then some things would have gotten waaaaaay out of hand.”

“...” Meta Knight stops in his tracks. “Wh-what I mean is- Can we start being more in sync in combat, moving in tandem with eachother and using our skillsets to make powerful attacks.”

“OOOOOOh, so like you and King Dedede.”

“Precisely.”, Meta Knight cringed at his mistake, “How did you catch onto that?!”

“Its hard not to notice, you two fight together like a pair of flashy superheroes.”

“F-flashy??”

Kirby fumbled around, “Nonono, I didn’t mean it in a mean way I mean it was cool! Flashy is cool!”, after a sigh he continued, “Not even me and Bandanna Dee have such a unified fighting style, and that’s cause we’re real close.”

Regaining his composure, Meta Knight cleared his throat, “I’d argue that you’re at fault for that. Bandanna is an elite soldier, not too far off from a Knight like myself, I’m sure if you started to coordinate with him he would settle into it quite nicely.”

“Oh.”

The two of them continued walking as he spoke, “Even so, you have quite a good grasp of basic attack coordination, but if we refine that then Popstar will be much safer as a result.”

Kirby nodded, “I see.”. They had finally made it outside, the morning sun shining as brightly as it always did. “So, how does this relate to us being a couple?”

“Ah...”, Meta Knight froze up for a bit, this was a question he was somewhat reluctant to answer.

Illuminated by the sunlight, the pink puffball giggled, his smile was brighter than the sun could ever muster. “It’ll be alright, I think. As long as we stay nice and close we should stay on the same page when we’re fighting together.”

“... That is correct.”

“Besides, we’re gonna be able to get a whole lot closer now that we’re a couple. Its gonna be way different now... I think.”

“... Right.”

It would be different. Meta Knight knew that his bond with Kirby could now become much deeper than it was. He didn’t ruminate too much on “how” that would be, but he knew that their bond would flourish over time.

“That aside, training with you sounds fun! I wanna be able to do cool stuff with you like how you can with Dedede!”

Meta Knight nodded, “Good. We can come together at least once a week. I intend to take things slowly with you, so that we remain in sync.”

“Slowly? Gee I wonder how long it’s gonna take for us to kiss each other, then.”, Kirby snickered.

“A while. I intend to court you first so you can be certain that you truly want to do such things with me.”

“I getchya! Though I’m excited to finally feel what a real kiss feels like when it does happen.”

Meta Knight crumpled his lips, looking off into the sunset, he still didn’t know how to handle the fact that he had technically kissed Kirby before.

“Uhm... Sir?”

His gaze immediately snapped towards the voice, naturally such a reflexive look was rather scary. “S-sorry for bothering you sir!”, it was Sailor Dee... How long had they been there?

Meta Knight softened his eyes, “It’s not a problem. Though I wish you made yourself known earlier.”. He approached the Sailor, trying to not seem intimidating after spooking them earlier. “What do you need?”

“Blade... uhh, he dropped his sword out of his window.”

He sighed, “I see. I’ll fetch him a new one, it wouldn’t be worth the trouble to look for it... but... how did he drop it out of his window?”

“He said he was trying to dry it quickly after washing it so he could get straight to training but he miscalculated how fast the Halberd was really moving so he lost his grip.”

“That’s an awfully... uncharacteristic mistake of him. What did he really do?”

Sailor Dee slumped in defeat, “He was trying to see how many clouds he could cut... and then he lost his grip... Forgive us for lying to you.”

“You are forgiven. I’ll still fetch him a new sword, though. Just remember that I won’t look down upon any of you for doing something childish.”

“Yes sir! Anyhow, if you’ll excuse me, I will get back to my morning crossword puzzle.”

“Farewell.”

Kirby had been silent the whole time, he must have assumed that Sailor Dee was shaking in their boots because of him. Though, now Meta Knight was shaking in his boots, but he tried to not make it obvious. One of his crew members might have just learnt about his new relationship with Kirby and he wasn’t ready to tend to all the baggage that would bring.

“... Would you like to watch me forge a blade?”

Kirby’s smile returned, “Yeah!”

Meta Knight led him to the well-sized forging room that he had, he prefered to fashion his crew’s weapons himself. Not that the smiths in Dreamland were untalented, but they could never make an armament forged through the knowledge of a strong companionship.

“Sooooo you can smith too?”, Kirby asked, relaxing over the smithing table.

“Indeed, in fact in a time before I had Galaxia I forged my own weapons.”

“Cool! I haven’t had to ever make or get any new weapons cause I have all of the weapons I need inside of me.”

“... I still cannot fathom how that works... though I don’t question why because I already know the answer.”

Kirby’s expression soured a bit, but he pepped himself up soon enough, “Anyways, yeah, I’ll be watching you do your thing!”

Nodding, Meta Knight got straight to work, forging the blade with utmost care and precision. He knew exactly what type of sword he had to make to compliment Blade’s fighting style.

Kirby watched attentively, he looked at it as if he thought it was cool even though he didn’t really know what was being done exactly. Obscured by his mask, Meta Knight smiled, he couldn’t deny that Kirby was just as interested in him as he was in Kirby.

As attentive as Kirby was, it took a very long time to make the sword, and at some point he drifted off to sleep. Resting his head gently on the smithing table, peacefully, in spite of all the noise that was being made.

Once Meta Knight was finished with the base shape of the blade, he set it on the table and put his hand on Kirby’s back. He wouldn’t wake him up from such a peaceful slumber, but he didn’t want to leave him there while he worked.

He picked the puffball up gently, spreading his wings and walking towards the open window. It was large enough for him to fly through, so he did, soaring through the sky while keeping Kirby safe in is grasp.

Holding onto Kirby in such a way gave him many emotions. Nostalgia, joy, and butterflies in his stomach, even though he had only been with him for a day he could already tell that his relationship with him would be a strange one.

He softly landed at Kirby’s house, opening the door as he looked at his partner, smiling. He put his love into their bed, making sure to tuck them in comfortably so they could have the most comfortable sleep. Once he was done, he stepped back a bit, looking at Kirby as he slept peacefully.

He could get used to things like that, he thought.

Without noise or fanfare, he left the house and his beloved, already eagerly awaiting when the two of them would spend time together next.