Chapter Text
“C’mon sire! We haven’t hung out since the whole Forgo fiasco! Aren’t you hungry?”
It was the first time in his life that King Dedede wanted to say no. No, he wasn’t hungry.
And in a weird sense, he wasn’t. Not really. Since the whole “Forgo Fiasco”, his appetite’s been noticeably lacking.
It wasn’t like it was on purpose or nothing, far from it! He had tried to eat something when he got back, folks who possessed him didn't usually keep up with his generous dietary habits, but fruits and berries felt almost too squishy and/or off-puttingly round to him and the smell of meat nowadays made him want to gag.
So, eventually he just kind of gave up and settled with napping most of the day.
Much to the growing concern of his friends and subjects.
“Pretty please, Sire?” The Waddle Dee begged, his eyes growing wide and sparkly like a puppy begging for a treat. It was an unfair tactic to use against the King and Bandana knew this. One that Dedede would argue was treasonous for how terribly effective it was with how fast he folded.
“A’ight fine. I’m comin’ I’m comin’...” The large penguin grumbled bitterly, greatly exaggerating the effort it took for him to get up with many obnoxiously loud grunts and groans as he watched the small Waddle Dee cheer happily like a kid on Christmas.
After a good few overblown stretches, he sighed. "Lead d'ah way."
To say he found Kirby's smiling face unnerving when it was plastered onto the toasted bun of his burger, would be a bit of an understatement as the king just found himself blankly staring back at the sandwich on his plate.
Bandana had told him “It’s the restaurant’s favorite dish!” so, of course he ordered it.
But, uh…
Did they really have t'ah put the kid’s face on it…?
“Is something wrong, King Dedede?”
He looked up from his plate to see Meta Knight eyeing him from across the table, fork already embedded in a blueberry tart as he seemed to almost glare at the penguin from behind his mask.
Honestly, it surprised Dedede to even see Meta Knight outside of the Colosseum, as that old bat seemed to only ever think about training and fighting. But here he was, sitting calmly at the table. Enjoying a sweet treat with two rambunctious kids that were practically demolishing their food like starved dogs and judging him.
Granted… It’s not like Dedede himself had the right to judge here, as he just slept in the same spot nearly every hour of the day… But STILL!
Dedede frowned as if Meta Knight's question smelt foul. “Yeah! A’course! Why wouldn’t I be?” He asked, arms crossed in a weirdly defiant huff.
“Well, it’s not like you to just eye your food like it’s a criminal.” Meta Knight replied simply, lifting his mask just a touch so his fork could reach his mouth. Of course NOT breaking eye contact with the king, as if daring him to argue.
“Yeah!” Bandana piped up, pausing only briefly from his meal to speak. “If ya don’t eat it soon, Kirby might take it from you!”
Hearing his name, Kirby lifted his head to let out a happy trill. Specks of food falling from his pudgy cheeks.
Dedede found himself staring at the small puffball. A weird, almost guilty feeling twisting in his stomach as he watched the little guy go back to gnawing on his plate as if nothing else in the world mattered.
“Your Majesty?”
Meta Knight’s voice seemed to snap him from his thoughts as he immediately went on the defensive, quickly grabbing the burger from his plate and holding it close to his chest protectively. “Like heck i’mma let that little twerp so much as BREATHE on dis here sandwich!”
And like that he pulled the thing to his face, readying himself to take a bite.
It was impossibly soft yet firm in his massive hands as he held it to his face. Absentmindedly squishing it between his digits as he stared almost dazedly at the slump of meat.
His stomach growled embarrassingly loud, like a spoiled child demanding attention. And it seemed to work with how his eyes seemed to sharpen on the burger.
He responded with a guttural growl of his own as his grasp tightened around the now writhing piece of meat as it desperately tried to wriggle out of his hands as he pulled it closer to his now drooling maw.
It was almost too good to eat with that adorable face staring back at him with fear.
Wait. No no no that’s not right! STOP!
Something in him snapped and he slammed his fists back down onto the plate with a startled clamber, sweat dripping from the side of his head as if he had just run a mile as he looked back down at the pink slab of bread in his shaky hands.
It was a sandwich again.
The edible facsimile of the pink puffball he liked to call a rival stared back at him with that same empty smile, as if daring the penguin to try and take a bite.
But he couldn’t.
Not again.
“Sire! Are you alright?” Bandana Dee squeaked in worry. Clearly startled from the king slamming the sandwich against the table like it owed him money.
“Yeah! Yeah… I’m fine, kid…” Dedede breathed, leaning back in his seat with a hand to his mouth. Wincing like it stung his hand when he found it wet with drool.
“M’ just not hungry.” He managed a huff out as he pushed the plate away from him, much to the shock of everyone else at the table.
"You are not hungry? " Meta knight asked incredulously while Kirby looked at him like the very concept of full was taboo.
Which it kind of was for them, As Dedede’s appetite used to be almost on par with Kirby's own bottomless pit of a stomach. To the point that the only thing that made them "bitter rivals" was when it came down to getting the last slice of cake at a party.
Dedede seemed to pause at Kirby's expression before shaking his head, sitting up so abruptly it jostled the table and its residents along with it. "Yup. I'm all burgered out an' such."
Bandana Dee stood up from his chair. "But, you didn't even take a bi-!"
Clearly trying to ignore the small Waddle dee, the penguin just casually waved a hand over his shoulder, refusing to so much as glance back as he marched back to his probably now cold seat by the Colosseum. "See ya!"
Leaving the table wearily silent.
Kirby couldn’t help but sneak a glance over to the abandoned burger, tilting his head in confusion as to why Dedede would ever leave a good piece of food without so much as a bite.
Standing on his tippy toes and reaching over to grab it himself, he hesitated when he heard Meta knight sigh heavily beside him.
Kirby couldn’t tell if he was angry or sad, but he certainly didn’t sound happy as he stood up abruptly from the table. “If he’s going to be stubborn about it, fine. It’s not like losing a few pounds will kill him.” He grumbled as he began walking away.
“Still…” Bandana piped up, already following close behind. “I’ve hardly seen him eat anything since coming back to Waddle Dee Town. Are you sure he’ll be fine?”
“Just let him be for now… My guess is he’s still working out a few things after the Beast pack.” Meta Knight replied, his voice along with Bandana’s fading in the distance as Kirby still sat there, looking back over to the seemingly innocent sandwich.
Now allowing himself a chance to grab it, instead of immediately shoving it down his throat like he originally planned, he tried a little more of this “self control” thing Meta Knight liked preaching about and inspected it for a bit.
To Kirby, it made no sense that Dedede would just pass up on a perfectly good burger on a simple lack of appetite! That guy used to steal all the food for himself and would still have fist-fights over the last slice of pizza! It had to be the food itself! BD and Meta were just missing something!
Hoping to find this insidious something that had even King Dedede himself denying to so much as try a nibble, Kirby combed through every layer and sesame seed that he could see. Going so far as laying out each layer on a plate and scanning each slice with his eyes.
And yet, no matter how hard Kirby looked, he couldn't find even a slight mold growing on the edge of the bun. Which was apparently one of the only outliers on what Dedede refused to eat.
At this point, Kirby began just glaring at his bread-like reflection, as if it was taunting him with the answer like an adult jingling keys in his face.
And the more Kirby thought about it, the less sense it made to him.
Maybe it really did have less to do with the food and more to do with Dedede…
The thought saddened Kirby, slowly putting the burger back together with a deep frown.
Did his time under the control of the Beast Pack get to him this time?
That wouldn’t do! That wouldn’t do at all!
Puffing his cheeks with a newfound determination, Kirby quickly hopped from his chair and set off to find a way to get Dedede’s old appetite back!
But then just as quickly, he halted his search. Forgetting something…
Turning on his heel, he rushed back to the table, grabbed the burger and shoved the whole thing into his mouth.
Couldn’t waste a perfectly good burger, after all!