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Waddle Dee bumps into Dedede's legs. “Sorry,” they mumble, rubbing their eyes. “I'm just sleepy.” Kirby hums in agreement.
The three of them are traveling home together after that long adventure, despite the fact that Kirby's house isn't that close to Castle Dedede. Adeleine and Ribbon stayed behind on Ripple Star.
Waddle Dee runs into Dedede again. “Sorry.” They look like they're going to fall asleep standing up.
Looks like Dedede is going to have to carry them. Dedede scoops them up. “Alright. Let's get you settled.”
Waddle Dee yawns, leaning against his beak. “Okay.”
Dedede tips them into his mouth. Their apple pie flavor is new. It's really good. He lets them rest on his tongue for a few seconds before tipping his head back and swallowing. Waddle Dee travels down his throat and lands in his stomach. He feels them getting comfortable when he also feels a tug on his robe. He looks down at Kirby. Kirby stares at Dedede in confusion. “What's it?” Dedede grumbles.
“What happened to,” Kirby yawns, “…to Waddle Dee…?”
Right. Kirby's never seen Dedede (or probably anyone else) do this before. “They're in my belly.”
Kirby's eyes widen. “In your belly?”
“Yep.”
They narrow their eyes. Their glare would be scarier if they weren't half asleep. “And they're safe?”
“Perfectly.”
“...Okay.”
Waddle Dee seems to be settled so Dedede starts walking again. It takes him about thirty seconds to realize Kirby is no longer following him. He groans. Does he really have to go back for them? He should. They’re the most powerful thing on the planet, but they’re also currently a sleep deprived child. Dedede turns around and trudges back to where he left Kirby. He's still standing there, a mildly confused look on his face. He looks up at Dedede when he comes back.
“Are you coming?” Dedede asks. “I can leave you here.”
“Can I try?”
“Can you try what?”
“Your belly.”
Of all the questions he was expecting, that was not one. Dedede has wanted to give Kirby a proper taste, it’s not like it’s a mystery that most larger Popstarians do. He just hasn't, because even if he's a massive a-hole to the puffball, he's got some standards. He told himself he wouldn't do it while they're actively hostile to each other. But the two of them aren’t fighting, and haven’t been in a few months. They just saved the world together, too. There’s never going to be a better time than this. “Sure,” Dedede says.
Kirby smiles sleepily. Dedede lifts them up. He opens his mouth and tips them in. Kirby tastes like bubblegum. He's not sure why he thought they would taste like anything else. Kirby feels different than the waddle dees. He's slightly bigger but weighs less. Dedede tips his head back and swallows. Kirby goes down easy. They land in his stomach. There's some wiggling. They probably landed on top of Waddle Dee. After a few seconds, the wiggling stops. Dedede starts walking again. He's gotta get everyone home sooner or later.
When Dedede stops at Kirby's house, he realizes there's a problem. He can't get Kirby out without releasing Waddle Dee too, because he can't tell them apart while they're sleeping. Dedede groans. “Godsdamnit,” he mutters. He grumbles as he continues onward.
When Dedede gets to Castle Dedede, he's exhausted. He says hi to some of the guards and flops onto his bed face first when he gets to his room. In the back of his mind, he feels like he shouldn't be doing that.
Wriggling in his stomach.
That's it. Kirby and Waddle Dee.
Dedede rolls over to stop squishing them. Whichever one was squirming stops almost instantly, returning to sleep. Dedede shrugs his robe off and tosses it on the floor. Welp. Time to go to sleep like this. He's not changing. Dedede closes his eyes, resting one hand on his core. Kirby and Waddle Dee cuddle close to each other, one of them nuzzling the inside of his stomach. Dedede pulls his blankets over his head and falls asleep himself.
Kirby wakes up slowly. They’re nice and warm, like they’re wrapped in a big hug. Someone is cuddling them. That’s nice. They don’t cuddle with friends enough. Kirby smooshes his face into whoever he’s cuddling with. They squeak. Hm… That’s his new friend Waddle Dee. Kirby lays back down on the squishy pillow.
Squishy pillow…
They’re in Dedede’s belly! Kirby forgot. They slept really well. It’s like a sleeping bag. Rick showed Kirby one. Kirby couldn’t figure out how to zip it up so Coo had to do it for them. This feels like when Kirby was at the bottom of the bag. Cozy and warm and really good for sleeping.
Is Dedede sleeping? Kirby can’t tell. He probably was at some point if he isn’t now. They can hear him breathing. It’s a cool noise. Kirby tries to match his breathing with Dedede’s but starts getting dizzy. Maybe they can do that later. There’s another repeating noise that sounds like a clock. Kirby listens to it for a moment. Oh! It’s Dedede’s heartbeat. There’s lots of interesting sounds.
It’s dark, slimy, and a little wet. Kirby taps his hand next to his face lightly. It splashes a little. Hm… It’s a little like when they accidentally dropped their towel in the pool. When they would slap it, it would splash everywhere. But they don’t want to hit Dedede. That would be mean. The slimy is like when they were playing in that really watery mud puddle. It got all over him and Meta Knight made him take a bath.
Kirby likes it in here. It feels good and safe.
There’s a big grumbling noise and Kirby tips their head slightly. That’s new. It happens again. It sounds so familiar… Dedede’s tummy is rumbling! Kirby and Waddle Dee are still in here, and they’re taking up all the space that the food can go. Kirby thinks he and Waddle Dee will be okay. Dedede wouldn’t hurt them. After a few more tummy rumbles, Dedede groans. “Alright, alright, I’m up.”
He must sit up, because Waddle Dee lands on top of Kirby. Kirby squeaks. Waddle Dee pats Kirby apologetically. “Are you okay?”
“Mhm,” Kirby says. “It’s cozy.”
“My sister said it would be.” Waddle Dee says.
“Wow…” Kirby says. “Mmm… Good morning.”
“Oh, good morning.”
Kirby can hear Dedede doing something, but he's not sure what. “I don't wanna get out. I'm still sleepy. It's so cozy and warm.”
“We can't stay here forever.”
Kirby can’t win that argument. He knows they can't stay here forever. He can start a new argument though. “I bet I tasted better than you.”
“Nuh-uh!” Waddle Dee tries to do something, but all they succeed in doing is slamming their forehead against Kirby’s. “Ow…”
“That hurt,” Kirby says.
“Stop moving.” Dedede presses something against them. Probably his hand.
“They’re bullying me!” Kirby yells.
“I’m not!” Waddle Dee says.
Dedede takes a deep breath and mutters something in another language. “Naptime’s over. Time to get out.”
One moment, Waddle Dee is squishing Kirby. The next, they’re gone. Kirby pats in front of them. They’re not there. What happened? “Waddle Dee?” Kirby says. “Waddle Dee?!”
Then Kirby is being squished and going up. There's no transition. Dedede spits them into his hands and drops them on the floor. Waddle Dee is standing next to them, wiping slime off their face.
Kirby is covered in slime too! He flicks his hand at Waddle Dee. They squeal when it splatters on their face. “Hey!” they say. Kirby giggles. Waddle Dee flicks slime at him too and he yelps.
Dedede pulls the two apart. “Go wash off,” he says, pointing at a door.
“You're not my dad!” Kirby says. Kirby doesn't have a dad, but they've heard some other kids say that before.
“I'm sure that'll feel really nice when it dries in an hour.” Kirby knows he's right. All their fuzz is sticking in weird directions and it will hurt to brush if they don't clean up immediately. That doesn't mean they have to like it. Kirby huffs and grabs Waddle Dee’s hand. He pulls them away from Dedede. Dedede laughs. “Goodbye,” he says, waving.
“Bye,” Kirby says.
“B-bye?” Waddle Dee says. “We're not leaving yet.”
“We will,” Kirby says.
“Oh. Okay.” Waddle Dee follows Kirby. Hm. Kirby should get them something so he can tell them apart from all the other waddle dees, since they just went on a big adventure with him. Maybe a hat? A bandana? A bandana would be cute. The two of them wash up and run away from the castle before Dedede comes back. Kirby saved the world, learned something new about a friend, and took a bath. Now there's a whole new day to have fun, and they're going to have it.