Work Text:
An entire week straight without any sleep, finishing his work in the late hours of the day to then scour the skies of Dreamlands for threats at night, has taken its toll on Meta Knight.
Currently on forced leave from his duties, he’s resting up in Castle Dedede, nursing a nasty headache and other physical as well as mental side effects from his lack of self-care. Dedede keeps watch over him, letting Meta recover in his room and holding his knight perhaps a little too tightly when they go to sleep at night to ensure that Meta doesn’t wander off as he is prone to do.
Though Meta had asked Dedede to keep his condition quiet, the king relays it to Kirby regardless, who tells Bandana Waddle Dee. So a day into Meta Knight’s so-called “sick leave,” he’s greeted with their two friends worrying by his and Dedede’s bedside. Although Bandana Dee had had the decency to knock, Kirby had burst in without a thought, dashing over to prod the Meta-shaped lump hidden under Dedede’s covers and ask him if he’s okay.
All Kirby gets is a grumble as Meta wraps the blankets a little tighter around himself. His mask rests on Dedede’s nightstand, and even though both Kirby and Bandana have seen him without, he still hesitates to reveal himself so readily.
Dedede sighs, gently lifting the covers off Meta’s form. “Meta,” he murmurs, keeping his voice down, mindful of the knight’s headache. “It’s just Bandana an’ Kirby. Don’t be stubborn, they’re worryin’ about ya over here.”
Meta begrudgingly lifts his face from underneath the blankets. He’s sporting a bright flush on his cheeks, but rather than being brought about by an emotion, it’s due to the nasty fever he’s nursing. He squints up at Dedede, who’s sitting on the bedside, handing Meta a refreshed wet cloth. He applies it to the knight’s forehead, who mumbles, “I had asked you to keep it between us.”
“C’mon, Meta, they’re our friends. Ain’t no way Kirby wasn’t gonna find out, and Bandana lives in this castle,” Dedede says with a sigh, gently directing Meta to lay properly on his back. He helps the knight prop himself upright against some pillows, holding the cloth in place on his forehead. Not usually one to openly accept affections, Meta leans into Dedede’s touch a little.
“Is he okay?!” asks Kirby, who has yet to get an answer to his question. Meta flinches, and Dedede shushes the child.
“He will be, if ya keep it down a lil. He ain’t right now, and I gotta point that out ‘cause he’s too stubborn to admit it himself,” Dedede snorts, giving Meta a Look.
Bandana Dee quietly shuts the door behind him, drowning out any light that’d been seeping in from the corridor leading up to Dedede’s extravagant quarters. “Is there anything Kirby and I can do for you, Sir Meta Knight?”
Kirby answers him before Meta can. “Oh, I know!” Another look from Dedede has the pink puff mutter an apology before lowering his voice down to a whisper. “When I’m sick, I always eat yummy warm soup. It makes you feel better in no time!”
“Hey, good one,” Dedede smiles, nodding at Kirby. Knowing how Kirby’s own home-made meals tend to turn out, the king offers, “Why dontcha keep watch over Meta while Bandana an’ I make him some soup?”
Kirby’s face brightens. He nods with a look of determination in his eyes, putting a hand against his chest. “Leave it to me!”
“Kirby, voice!” Bandana gently chides in a whispered shout.
Kirby chuckles awkwardly. “Eheh… sorry.”
Bandana Dee and Dedede take their leave to make Meta some soup, very quietly closing the door behind them as they go. Kirby hops into Dedede’s king-sized bed with Meta, crawling over to sit beside the other, larger puff. Meta arranges his wings for Kirby to be able to sit close to him, and the child immediately invades his personal space. Kirby mimics what Dedede did earlier, reaching up to hold the wet cloth in place on Meta’s forehead. He looks real worried at the knight, sporting a frown and a pout.
“Why aren’t you okay?” he asks, genuinely curious. “Is it a cold?” Then, Kirby gasps, “Is there a mean stomach bug going around Dreamland?! I’ll defeat it!”
Meta raises up a hand, sighing deeply. “Nothing of the sort, Kirby. I only made an oversight, that is all.” He readily admits to it, averting his eyes. Shame is evident on his exposed face, so much so that Kirby immediately picks up on it and his frown deepens. Kirby doesn’t really know what half the words Meta Knight uses mean, but it sounds like…
“Meta… has been working too much?” Kirby guesses, putting his free hand on top of Meta’s own. He looks serious now, clearly wanting to get a point across. “That’s no good! You gotta make time for sleep and breakfast and lunch and dinner and snack times and—” he rambles on, listing off as many things he thinks Meta should do other than work, losing Meta halfway through his lengthy list.
“Anyway!” Kirby snaps Meta from his thoughts with a loud whisper. “You’re our friend! If anything happens to you… I’ll help! But you gotta sleep, and eat! Me, Dedede, and Bandana are here to protect Dreamland too!”
Meta cracks a smile, letting his eyes fall shut. They’ve been feeling rather heavy already. “Thank you, Kirby. I suppose with you around, I mustn’t worry so much about the safety of our home.”
Kirby beams in pride—Meta Knight praised him! But that aside, Meta’s a little out of it, and he’s already sliding down the pillows Dedede helped him up against, breathing heavily. Kirby does his best to help Meta lay down in a position where the cloth doesn’t fall off his head and then grabs the blanket, gently draping it over Meta’s lower body. Poor Meta falls asleep almost immediately, and his wings lift up a little, wrapping them around himself.
It looks cozy. Kirby wishes he had wings, because then he would need one less extra blanket! Or maybe he could convince Meta to let Kirby cuddle up against him and be swaddled in his wings, like Dedede lets him do with his robe… it’s a very low chance, but worth a try! Only when Meta’s better, though. Kirby wants to help him first.
Kirby slowly starts drifting off himself as well. He wonders what’s taking Bandana Dee and Dedede such a while, but then again, he’s been banned from Castle Dedede’s kitchen together with Meta for various reasons. He doesn’t dwell on it long, instead yawning sleepily and quickly succumbing to a nap, snuggled up against Meta.
Kirby rouses when the lights flick on and immediately dim to their lowest setting. He sleepily rubs his eyes, sitting up at the delicious scent of freshly made food. “Mm…?”
Bandana giggles. “Great King, they fell asleep,” he whispers, pushing a tray inside.
“Can’t blame ‘em. My bed’s mighty cozy, best in all of Dreamland,” Dedede grins. He grabs a bowl of soup from the tray and sits on the edge of his bed. Bandana follows, jumping up on top of the bed and crawling over to Kirby when he notices the pink puff is awake.
“Hey, Kirby,” he whispers, looking over at the still-sleeping Meta. “Is he okay?”
“Mm! A nap will cheer anyone right back up,” Kirby insists. He tugs at the back of Dedede’s robe, grabbing the king’s attention. “Smells nice…”
Dedede holds the bowl above his head. “That ain’t for you,” he says, pointedly avoiding Kirby’s saddened expression. But then Kirby remembers about Meta’s condition and he cheers right back up—Kirby can get a snack later! Meta needs his food first, he’s sick, after all!
As if drawn by the scent of Dedede’s home-cooked soup, Meta slowly wakes up, still struggling to sit up. “Ugh…” he groans, reaching for his head. The wet cloth slips off, but it’s already gotten lukewarm by now and does little to alleviate his headache. Though his first instinct is to hide under the covers again, Dedede scoops him up with one arm and puts Meta on his lap without a single complaint from the knight.
“Hey,” Dedede murmurs, reaching down to kiss the top of Meta’s head. “How’re ya feelin’?”
“Like sh— bad,” Meta very quickly amends his wording when he remembers Bandana and Kirby are in the room with them, his eyes going wide. Dedede chuckles, reaching his free hand down to gently rub the spot between Meta’s wings.
“Figures. Though I wanna say ya reap what ya sow, I can’t help but feel bad for my poor knight. Here,” Dedede hands Meta the soup, still rubbing his back. Despite the glare Dedede earns from the knight at his words, Meta eagerly takes the meal.
Kirby prods Bandana Dee. “What’s that mean?” he asks quietly.
“When you do something that isn’t good for you, bad things will definitely happen to you,” Bandana explains.
Kirby nods thoughtfully. “Seems kinda mean.”
Bandana laughs quietly. “It’s a saying. Great King doesn’t mean to be mean to Meta Knight.”
“Of course not! They’re in love!” Kirby cheerily exclaims. The volume of his voice isn’t what makes Meta choke on his soup, however. Dedede laughs heartily, patting Meta on the head also.
“Still embarrassed, huh? Don’t worry, I think it’s cute,” Dedede teases. Meta averts his gaze, focusing very intensely on his soup.
Bandana and Kirby giggle. Dedede grins at them, winking. Sure, Meta Knight is cool and composed, but he’s really bad with compliments, and blushes very quickly! Although, currently he’s flustered due to his condition.
When Meta finishes his soup, Dedede puts the bowl back on the tray for him.
“Good?” Dedede asks.
“Mm,” Meta nods. “Thank you. I seem to have needed that.”
“Yeah, no kiddin’,” Dedede snorts, “that’s what ya get for neglectin’ your health, you silly knight.”
“Great King is right,” Bandana chimes in, looking quite serious all of a sudden. “Your health is very important to us, Sir Meta Knight! Please take better care of yourself! O-otherwise… we should perform routine check-ups!” That took a great deal of courage for Bandana to say, admonishing Meta so openly!
Dedede hums in thought. “Huh, that ain’t a bad idea.”
Meta groans. “That is unnecessary…”
“Nuh-uh! Meta worked himself sick, we gotta make sure he doesn’t do it again!” Kirby says.
“Right!” Bandana agrees.
“Exactly,” Dedede adds.
Meta sighs, defeated. “I have little choice in the matter, then. Fine, if it would put your minds at ease…”
The three of them silently rejoice. Meta’s eyes are falling shut again, and his wings droop, exhaustion really settling in. Dedede regards him with a fond smile, and suggests, “Let’s go to sleep. We’ll all keep an eye on him, yeah?”
“Yay!” Kirby cheers, “sleepover!”
“I-I’ll take first watch!” Bandana Dee offers. Dedede laughs, patting the Waddle Dee’s head.
”Ain’t any need for that, Bandana. Why don’t we all take a nap together?” Dedede offers.
Bandana and Kirby nod enthusiastically. Dedede’s bed is the coziest and biggest in all of Dreamland, but even then, Dedede makes it even cozier by snuggling Meta against his chest as Bandana and Kirby cuddle against his robe, the four of them sticking close as they drift to sleep.
Though the circumstances aren’t ideal, Meta… doesn’t entirely mind recovering with his friends here to help him through it.