Work Text:
Much needed peace that came with the golden hour of evening was warmly welcomed by Meta Knight. It was such a chaotic yet rewarding day; he had put a lot of pressure on Kirby throughout the Grand Prix earlier (he had began to worry during the moment that it may have been too much initially). However, it had resulted in the little warrior being awarded his very own Starship pilot license, issued by the knight himself after seeing his charge once again excel in his abilities.
Kirby…You really do grow stronger and stronger with every passing day. I couldn’t be prouder.
The pink puffball had ended up winning second in the race, it would have been first if not for the mayor abusing the slip stream drift created by Kirby’s Wheel ability. Still, a wonderful success for Kirby’s first proper time piloting his starship.
The starship in question had been abandoned towards the end of the race, when the baby warrior took on his wheel ability to make up the lost laps caused by the meddling of the king (and admittedly himself as well). After sacrificing his own vehicle to keep Kirby in the race, hoping his little one would reign victorious in the end, Meta Knight took it upon himself to secure the ship and take it somewhere safe. He was able to make a quick escape with the ship now that everyone had their eyes on wheel Kirby- he made for the perfect distraction.
Sitting in the pilot seat he knew rightfully belonged to Kirby felt surprisingly odd, but as he began to drive, instinct he had built up eons ago eagerly kicked in; piloting a starship was essentially second nature to a seasoned star warrior like himself. It needed to be taken somewhere safe in fear of King Dedede and his lackey Escargon finding their grubby hands on it and destroying the precious thing once more, undoing all of his and his two companions’ hard work to restore the star to its former glory. Their hard work had brought the ship back to its original state, back when it was used as a cradle for the baby warrior to sleep safely within. It was a miracle to restore it to such a state.
It now looked barely any different from when Meta Knight had originally placed Kirby within it all those years ago…
Perhaps I’m just sentimental, but I’m glad we were able to repair it, rather than leave it to rot as a heap of scrap metal hidden away within the King’s castle as it used to be. It kept him safe for me, and someday it will be of use to him once more… not as a cradle but as a tool of infinite exploration once he’s ready to ‘fly the nest’ so to speak. Perhaps it’s selfish to think, but I hope that day doesn’t come for a while yet.
Meta Knight had a perfect idea of where to store it; under the castle lay an enormous hangar where he had begun construction on his own ship- a battleship that would be much larger and more combative than Kirby’s tiny starship- but it meant there would be plenty of space for the ship to stay there, kept safe under his guardianship.
It was a quick job taking the starship to its new home, Meta Knight was able to slip in and out of the hangar undetected as most of the king’s servants were attending to the race. He’d made it back to the village with haste, anticipating the results to the race and expecting Kirby’s victory only to see the mayor in first…He had been disappointed initially, but after seeing the pink puffball joyfully stood on the second place podium, all the disappointment swiftly washed off of him. A smile invisible to the rest of the world replaced anything else he had felt before as he approached Kirby, licence in hand, ready to present the baby warrior with his true prize (who thought giving champagne out was a good plan when two of the three winners on the podium were children).
A celebration of the day’s events had continued on within the village, honouring the victors of the race, the mayor and his wife, on their fortieth wedding anniversary as well as the win. The festivities had lingered on into the evening, leading to the present moment.
Meta knight gazed upon the land blanketed in golden hues, stood quietly in his own mind continuing process the day at his own pace. He wasn’t outright hidden as he usually was, but he was out of the way of the town and so unseen by most citizens.
Except one. The one who was always able to find him.. Though, Meta Knight didn’t mind the company of the one in question.
“Meda Kni!”
“Kirby.”
The pink puffball trotted up to his mentor with a pep in his step, as excitable as ever. He stopped just before the blue knight so they wouldn’t collide, greeting him with a heartfelt smile. Meta Knight unfurled one arm from his cloak, returning Kirby’s greeting by placing his now exposed hand onto the baby puffball’s head. He traced a few circles atop Kirby’s head, affectionately petting the baby for a job well done earlier. As he addressed the infant warrior his petting ceased, though his gloved hand stayed comfortably atop of Kirby’s head.
“Congratulations for your efforts today, you’ve already made so much progress and it was your first proper time driving. Though, I’ll be expecting a gold trophy from you next time, you know.” Although his choice of words sounded strict, his tone was the exact opposite; his voice was airy and light-hearted in order to playfully tease his young charge who giggled in reply. “I mean it! Only the best from my star of course,” he chuckled, ruffling his student’s head in a joyful manner.
Once the conversation had reached its natural end, Meta Knight changed courses to seek out why the baby puffball had sought him out, as where he was situated was nowhere he could be randomly ran into, the infant warrior must have been looking for him.
“So, what’s brought you here to me at this hour, little star?”
His one track mind did him no favours, as becoming distracted by Meta Knight’s affections caused the baby puffball to momentarily forget his reasoning for seeking his teacher in the first place. He allowed Kirby a few moments to reminisce, the infant warrior cooing to himself whilst in thought. It was only a moment before a metaphorical bulb seemed to have lit up in Kirby’s mind, and the baby star warrior now found himself able to answer Meta Knight’s question.
“Stahship! Kaabii stahship poyo-“ Kirby held his little nub above his eyes, turning his body side to side to mimic someone trying to look out for something.
“You’re looking for your starship? I see, there’s nothing to worry about- I took it upon myself to secure it once you assumed your wheel ability during the race. It has been placed in a safe location where King Dedede will be unable to find or destroy it.”
Like a wave of water washing over him, Kirby relaxed knowing his ship had been put into the capable hands of Meta Knight. A grateful ‘poyo’ Meta Knight took as a thank you was reciprocated with a silent but acknowledging nod.
It did make Kirby wonder…where did Meta Knight store it? Unknowingly the baby warrior pouted in thought, which was picked up by his elder very easily.
“Is there something wrong, Kirby?”
Like a little puppy, the infant tilted his head slightly to the side in curiosity as he spoke up, “…Kaabii see, poyo? Stahship!”
Meta Knight hadn’t expected him to wish to see it again so soon, but it did make a bit of sense with the race fresh in his mind. A rather sudden intrusive thought of the baby warrior wishing to leave Dreamland now he was capable of piloting his ship impaled the older warrior’s heart, but that was a rather unlikely scenario. At least that is what Meta Knight had hoped, and that he was jumping to conclusions so fast. Kirby still needed his guidance and protection at his age, especially on his journey to defeating Nightmare, and he had his whole life here in Dreamland- surely after one drive the baby wouldn’t wish to uproot his whole life and leave just like that!
He couldn’t believe he had found himself becoming…clingy…of all the things to be. Even so, the knight had no right to deprive Kirby of what was rightfully his. Meta Knight shoved his paranoia aside; it was just his mind jumping to conclusions. Surely Kirby wouldn’t leave. Surely.
“You wish to see it? I suppose it is only fair, it does belong to you after all so you should know where it is being kept. Come, I’ll take you to it.”
The knight began a brisk walk knowing that Kirby would quickly follow suit. The baby warrior kept pace with his teacher easily, but purposefully lagged ever so slightly behind him so he had a constant guide on where to go. Meta Knight quickly realised Kirby lagging behind, not minding too much until the mental imagery of a baby duckling following their mother from behind entered his head. Thankfully his mask hid his flushed cheeks at the display that bystanders would be able to witness. He didn’t have the heart to say anything though (secretly even liking the idea of Kirby following him like a little duckling) as it did make sense for Kirby to allow him to lead, and the journey was relatively short anyways. Their walk took the two warriors back towards Castle Dedede, a route that the duo had made multiple times now.
Trotting over the drawbridge and now within the walls of the archaic castle heading into the outer gardens, the two witnessed a horde of waddle dees surrounding the king’s broken limousine in a panicked attempt to repair the destroyed vehicle. It seemed the poor things had been threatened into fixing it with Escargon taking the lead in directing repairs. The group buzzed with activity; waddle dees with tools, paint, and parts all had a different role to play in repairing the hunk of metal. Clearly the limo was here to stay should they fix the damned thing.
Kirby and Meta Knight were easily able to pass by without garnering attention as the group’s main attention was on repairing the limo before having their heads bitten off by the king. Meta Knight led Kirby into the inner courtyard, a very recognisable location for the baby puffball; Bun and him loved to play around in the courtyard, playing ball and splashing around in the cooling waters of the elegantly decorated fountain. The knight stopped in his tracks, and Kirby, in his distracted state thinking of how he loved to play in the courtyard with Bun, failed to realise in time and as a result collided with his teacher’s back. Luckily, Meta Knight’s cloth cloak was a soft break, and Kirby with his small size barely dented the knight at all. When his mentor turned to face him, Kirby squeaked out an apologetic ‘poyo’, to which the knight responded by laying a forgiving hand gently atop the infant warrior’s head as a comfort.
Meta Knight observed the rest of the courtyard, checking for any onlookers before removing his hand from Kirby’s head in order to plunge it within his cloak pocket. From the abyss of cape, he pulled out a small remote controller with a singular red button on the middle of it. Immediately he pressed the red button, and minor shaking from the fountain rumbled the two warriors. The fountain miraculously split into two, moving aside to reveal a staircase leading downwards into an infinite pit of darkness.
“Down those stairs now, quickly.” The knight spoke, ushering Kirby towards the staircase. After descending a few steps so that they were safely under surface level, Meta Knight pressed the button again and the fountain slowly began to converge once more, closing the entrance to the stairs behind them.
The two were left in complete darkness.
It was almost as if the knight had anticipated Kirby’s unease being unable to see, he impulsively arched an arm around his young charge to keep him close and safe from falling until the automatic lights kicked in. In the dark, Kirby only felt the familiar warmth of his beloved mentor encompassing him like a safety blanket. He leaned into it as an extra comfort. It was only mere seconds until the lights blared to life, but those mere seconds of darkness dragged on for the baby puffball, he was thankful for Meta Knight keeping him close and safe.
“I apologise, usually I wait until the lights turn on to close the entrance, but I didn’t want to chance anyone in the castle potentially seeing us enter. Now let us head further down,” he pulled away from Kirby, starting down the stairs to guide the way for the baby puffball. Kirby nodded from behind, trailing behind the knight as they descended downwards.
The staircase led to a large open air elevator which the duo quickly embarked. Meta Knight worked a lever which sent the elevator further downwards into the depths. All the while Kirby remained close to his teacher, concerned that he may get lost within the maze of low-lit tunnels without the guidance of the elder warrior by his side.
Soon enough, the rickety elevator had reached its end, clicking into place with a loud, metallic thud. The safety barriers lifted, allowing the two star warriors to disembark. They had been deposited into an enormous hangar, Kirby observed a large…thing? It was a skeleton of something much larger, a framework of something yet to completed that spanned across the entirety of the hangar. He wasn’t quite sure what it was meant to be. Meta Knight picked up on his curiosity, answering the young warriors silent questions.
“This is an ongoing project of mine that I have been working on with the help of Sword and Blade, its not going to be ready for a while yet, we try to work on it when we have the time. I’m sure you will see the final result one day- I believe it will be a great asset to aid our endeavours in the future to come.” The knight smiled, excited for the final result of all his hard work to eventually come to fruition and support Kirby in the inevitable fight with Nightmare. The Halberd wouldn’t be finished for a while yet, but the framework of the ship had been laid out and thus they could begin actual construction soon.
Sword, who had been down in the bunker working on some blueprints, noticed the initial thud of the elevator, perking up at the two visitors. He marched over to his lord’s position in a hurry. “M’lord! What are you doing here, aren’t you meant to be- wait, why is Kirby is with you?”
“I brought Kirby’s starship here for safekeeping, he wished to come see it after the race.” Meta Knight’s response was straight forward enough, from his side Kirby waved bashfully towards Sword not knowing whether the young knave was potentially agitated with his presence based on his reaction to him being there. He responded with a friendly wave back, not meaning to scare the young puffball into thinking he wasn’t welcome down in the hangar.
“Ah, alright then- also congratulations on second place Kirby! Considering it was your first time driving, next time I bet you’d win first by a landslide, especially if our lord is taking you out for more practise-“
“T-that’s not what we had planned to do,” Meta Knight hadn’t thought of such a possibility frankly, but the idea of tutoring Kirby more in his piloting skills was certainly alluring. He had driven sure, but only spent a small amount of time airborne and thus might need further training on actually flying his ship. It would be training sure, but Meta Knight also spun the idea in his head as more time to spend with the baby warrior. It would secure their privacy to be within the starship up in the air, making the knight more comfortable knowing that he could share more with Kirby without fear of unwanted ears potentially listening in to his conversations with the puffball warrior. “…unless you would like to do such a thing, Kirby?”
Kirby’s eyes sparkled at such a question, cooing happily in response to his question; it was all Meta Knight needed to know to understand his stance on the matter. He couldn’t stop himself from lightly chuckling at the adorable display Kirby was performing in reply.
He ushed the excitable baby over towards a small corridor towards one of the corners of the towering hangar, “alright then, we’ll get started immediately then if you’re so eager- your ship is this way.”
Meta Knight gave a single wave to Sword as a goodbye, prompting the younger swordsman to continue with his work as he returned his attention back towards the blueprints he was studying previously.
Delighted footsteps danced towards the corridor in the corner, followed by tamer more consistent ones. The star warrior duo quickly entered the corridor, Kirby waiting for his teacher to lead the way. Once caught up with Kirby, Meta Knight confidently took the lead, heading towards a small alcove not too far ahead of the both of them. Immediately after turning into the alcove the duo came face to face with the familiar, golden metal of Kirby’s starship. It sparkled in the exact same way Kirby’s own eyes did, truly a machine reflective of its driver; it wasn’t connected to Kirby the same way his warpstar was, but Meta Knight did find it somewhat amusing that the starship he just so happened to come across when scavenging for any type of ship in order send his infant cub into hypersleep had managed to perfectly encompass Kirby’s shining personality so well.
Kirby trotted up towards the ship with vigour, the dome opening up automatically ready to take in its driver once more. The determined puffball effortlessly hopped on top of his ship, but stopped short of the cockpit now open to him, turning back to Meta Knight and gesturing towards the pilot’s seat.
“Is something wrong?”
“Meda sit, poyo!”
Meta Knight furrowed his brows, an action invisible to his small charge of course, “it would be a tight fit with the both of us in, it would be best for your training to fly alone- I have walkie talkies for communication-“
“Sit! Meda fwy wi’ Kaabii! Togever poy~!”
Surprisingly Kirby interrupted his mentor, speaking quite seriously, in a failed attempt to seem almost authoritative, but then ending his barely-put-together sentence with a fit of excitable giggles in anticipation for the coming activity they were about to indulge in. Usually Meta Knight would have lightly scolded Kirby for improper manners, but he wrote the pink puffball’s slight outburst off as eager enthusiasm, not anything remotely malicious or purposefully rude…and he also adored hearing Kirby’s little laughs as well, deciding not to risk upsetting the baby star warrior and sour the time they were about to spend together.
It may be a tight fit, but I can at least try to make it work for him.
Not wanting to put up a fight with the determined toddler, Meta Knight swiftly approached the ship where Kirby stood, “alright, if that’s what you wish to do then.” With the elegance of a swan, the knight hopped on top of the glistening starship to join his student, the force of his landing caused the ship to sway ever so slightly. It would be easier to fit Kirby in after himself, so the knight took the lead in order to seat himself within the singular pilot seat. The seats were build with adults in mind, so he was able to sit pretty comfortably within the starship, though there was little room remaining- just a small spot between his feet. Meta Knight gestured his hand towards Kirby, beckoning him to which the little puffball quickly obliged. Even with his small size, Kirby barely managed to fit within the remaining space, the two of them packed like sardines in a can that was the metal ship that held them. With the two warriors snuggly inside, the two piece of glass dome moved into place to close above them, encasing them safely within the ship.
“We’re certainly…close. Are you still comfortable proceeding? I’m fine like this but if it bothers you then I’m sure we can figure something else out,” Meta Knight usually wasn’t one for being in close contact with other bodies, only Kirby was the exception to this rule due to their hidden family ties. Kirby, however, had to be left in the dark about such a connection for his own safety; years in hypersleep and loss of memories meant Meta Knight was merely a stranger the baby had first met when he first crash landed in Dreamland. The knight was unsure if their relationship had developed enough yet for the baby to feel comfortable in such close quarters with him. They had hugged and cuddled before sure, but being physically pressed against someone was an entirely different can of worms.
In response, Kirby spoke out rather confidently with a signature but determined ‘poyo’ trying to appear completely unphased by the current situation, ready and wanting to start flying. Pressed against him, Meta Knight could feel how relaxed Kirby’s body truly was- it was no façade; Kirby truly was comfortable nestled in the seat with him. It was quite a relief to know that the baby puffball felt safe enough to be so physically close to him despite the awkward positioning, Kirby trusted him to such a degree despite his short time living on Dreamland even with the amount of distance Meta Knight had initially tried (and eventually failed) to put between them- it meant a lot.
Momentarily he fell distracted by the sweet fondness in his heart at such a revelation, but quickly Meta Knight shook it off to focus back on the task at hand: flying the ship.
“Alright, if that changes at all then let me know immediately. For now, I’ll steer us out of the hangar, and once we are out I’ll let you take over if that’s alright?”
With Kirby’s nod of approval at the plan, Meta Knight carefully snaked his arms around the pink puffball so he could reach the controls. Taking a hold of the steering stick with his right hand, he pushed forward to will the ship into finally making its move. Turning out of the alcove, Meta Knight took them in a different direction away from where they had entered the hangar, considering they couldn’t leave the way they came. The shimmering ship continued down a long corridor with a segmented door at the very end blocking their way.
Sword stood near the door, choosing to station himself there temporarily in anticipation of Meta Knight choosing to leave this way. As they approached, Sword pulled on a lever connected to the door, causing it to slowly roll upwards.
Reaching its apex, the door ceased in rolling, allowing passage to the ship as it crossed over the boundary of the hangar, exiting into the outside world. The corridor of the hangar exited onto the coastline, quite far from the castle grounds- Kirby didn’t realise how long the hallway they had gone down truly was.
True to his word, Meta Knight released the controls in order to allow Kirby to take over, stopping the ship temporarily so they could switch.
“I’ve seen first-hand that you’re confident in your driving, so we will jump straight into flying- let’s see you take off, little star.”
Doing as told, Kirby flicked between several buttons preparing the ship for lift off, initially struggling to remember all the buttons like he had done before with the added pressures of the race. Noticing this, Meta Knight gently guided the baby warrior on the right buttons to press seeing his small struggle; eventually they had gone through the notions enough times to build Kirby’s confidence significantly more. With a final run through and properly pressing down the right buttons, the prompt to lift off appeared on the front screen, a stick to the side humming to life with the pop up. Kirby grabbed onto the stick, pushing it forward as he did the same with the steering stick, the wheels of the ship withdrawing back within its metal casing as it hovered above the ground, the ether booster on the back of the star bursting to life at lift off, propelling the ship speedily into the air. Within seconds the ground below them had grown further and further apart from their position. Specific landmarks like Castle Dedede, or the hulking tree within Pupupu Village’s plaza that usually towered over the forms of every living being were now but ants beneath the two star warriors barrelling through the air.
“Great job- your driving is wonderful, it seems you only need more confidence building in functions and controls, it’s an easy amendment we can focus on as you go on,” Meta Knight was full of nothing but praise for his young charge, the pink puffball having only driven for the first time less than 24 hours ago and already so confident in most aspects of piloting a starship. For their first time flying together however, he wanted the experience to be a positive one for Kirby, and so chose to give him the reigns so to speak. “For your first session, I want you to enjoy the feeling- the freedom that comes with flying one’s starship. Keep a high altitude so what we are doing is unnoticed by the townsfolk, but other than that, I permit you to fly as you please. Perhaps if you’re feeling it we could even go off planet-“
The knight had to cut himself off, why was he encouraging Kirby to go off planet? what if he did so and wanted to leave permanently-
No, I must remind myself that Dreamland is his home, it will take more than one flying trip to encourage him to leave so easily. It’s a new experience that he will enjoy of course but Kirby wouldn’t abandon m- his friends so quickly.
Kirby poyo’d in a curious way in response to Meta Knight’s statement, his curiosity swiftly replaced with excitement at the opportunity to explore someplace new! Observed by the knight, he obstructed Kirby on how to increase or decrease altitude.
“Use the lever you used to lift off to rapidly change your altitude, push it forward to go up, and pull it back to go down. Simple right? Use it in conjunction with your driving stick to travel on multiple axis in a prompt manner.”
Kirby pushed the lever forward with such vigour, the ship shot upwards with the power of a full-blown rocket. The change in G-force was so sudden to the elder star warrior, it took him a slight moment to recover before prompting Kirby, “remember that your ether engine can overheat if you push it too much in one go, star, slow your ascent.”
Cooing apologetically, Kirby took his force off of the lever, allowing it to fall slightly before its default position so the ship would still ascend, just with less speed. Meta Knight hummed in content, grateful that Kirby was so receptive to his feedback.
It didn’t take too much longer for them to break the atmosphere- vibrant oranges and purples of the incoming dusk began to fade into a midnight black as the starship came closer and closer into contact with the vacuum of space. Specks of white all in different sizes littered the entire cosmos; stars sparkling in the dark abyss filled the universe for as far as the eye could see, each one a glimmer of hope in the unending void that was the threat of Nightmare ruling over the universe.
Kirby was completely starstruck by the scenery that encompassed the starship; he withdrew his paw from the lever to stop the motion of their vessel. The remaining embers of the ether engine propelling the ship forward faded out, slowing the star until it came to a smooth halt. Their now stationary position allowed Kirby to take in the vacuum of space, placing his focus on staring out into the darkness over piloting his ship.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Meta Knight spoke softly, full of fondness. There was something about the solitary silence of space that was…oddly comforting to him. A lot of time he had spent traversing the galaxy before settling on Dreamland had been done via spaceship voyages, travelling in the quiet nothingness had brought some solace to him amidst the chaos and conflict he experienced as a constant when exploring planets and stars. The small amount of time he had spent jumping from planet to star on ships was the only amount of ‘peace’ he had ever had away from Nightmare’s influence, away from the colonies he had begun to construct on every planet he touched.
“The stars are unending, just like my hope that our universe will be free of Nightmare’s control someday. Many may see space as somewhere devoid of anything- there’s not a sign of life in sight. To me it is the opposite- I look out there and see so much life, so many lives existing just as we do, wanting peace just as we do… Whenever I begin to feel my conviction start to falter, I take a ride out into space to remind me why I do what I do, all of the lives that are depending on beings like us who are able to stand up and fight for those unable to. It gives me the strength to carry on- for the future generations who will inhabit these stars far after my time has come.”
Meta Knight hadn’t meant to ramble on the way he did, a surprising feat for the knight considering his usual blunt demeanour when it came to conversing. He disregarded it as him being out of it; he had not been off planet in years and as such, he felt a little sentimental at being in space once more- perhaps even missing the feeling of the silent yet peaceful void encompassing his entire being, a rare moment of peace upon him once more. Pulling himself out of it, he observed how Kirby had shrunk into himself, likely in response to his words. It was quite unlike the jovial and outgoing baby to be so bashful.
All of those lives out there wanting peace in the universe once more- ‘to bring peace to the universe’ is something that had been drilled into Kirby’s head the moment he had woken up on Popstar, even from Meta Knight himself at times. The pressure and expectations placed upon the baby puffball had already been far too much for a child of his age, but now being presented with a whole galaxy of people who were depending on him…it was a lot for Kirby to take in at that moment. He was unsure of how to react, how to handle the pressure, and so he caved in, shrinking in on himself and shutting down.
His speech hadn’t resonated with Kirby the way he had expected, Meta Knight initially felt surprised at Kirby’s adverse reaction, but imagining the baby’s perspective allowed the knight to understand the reasoning for it. Needing to amend his mistake, Meta Knight brought his arms around the shaking ball of pink in front of him, slowly wrapping them around Kirby’s form as not to spook him. Once encapsulating him, he gently squeezed to gain Kirby’s attention, as well as whispering a barely audible “it’s okay, I’m right here,” to console him.
It brought Kirby back to his senses. Upon coming back to himself, the baby slightly turned to angle himself towards the knight, leaning into his teacher’s loving affection. In turn, Meta Knight held Kirby tighter, hoping to bring some presence of safety, even if only temporary, to his cub.
“I apologise, I didn’t mean to scare you with that, you’re under a lot of pressure…but you know, so many of those stars out there house warriors such as ourselves, warriors who are also putting in all of their efforts to bring peace back to the universe too. We aren’t alone- we have allies out there. We might meet them someday, we might not…” He gingerly nuzzled the side of Kirby that was pressed against his mask, careful not to put too much pressure onto his baby due to the metal barrier between them. “No matter what though, I will always be your ally, even if it doesn’t feel like it at times, I promise I always have your best interest at heart.”
Kirby began to relax more in his arms; holding him so close, Meta Knight was able to feel the tension melting away, that pressure being lifted even if only for a short while. He loosened one arm from around his charge to grab onto the steering stick, tilting it and rotating the ship around back towards where they had come from, back towards their home. He nudged Kirby to look forward again, to show him their home from afar, how truly magical their star was.
He was unable to see Kirby’s reaction, but a small gasp and awestruck ‘poyo’ was all he needed to know the baby warrior felt the same way he did when looking upon Popstar, the joy and love for such a planet, and a newfound reason to protect it. The two sat together in silence, taking in the beauty of the planet that was their home.
The moment was sweet, and he could have sat there for an eternity with his little charge given the chance, but Meta Knight decided it was best to break the silence, “That was a good first lesson into taking you further out. We will continue to work on it and go further out until I’m able to safely show you more advanced controls like warping that will allow you to across long distances in a pinch.” Wanting to dote upon the baby warrior whilst they still had this personal time together, Meta Knight lightly squeezed Kirby with the arm he still held around him, the latter part of his speech was spoken more tenderly, more loving. “In the future, when it’s safer, I want to show you more of our world, we can explore it together… if you’d like that, of course.”
Kirby’s joyful coos was all he needed to hear to know the child’s stance on his proposition. An excited smile only known to himself was plastered on his face. He was just as ecstatic at the premise of exploring and bonding with his cub in the future, in a world with no Nightmare to hunt them down.
“Wonderful, for now…let’s call it a day. I’ll take us back to the hangar.” Even one handed, Meta Knight drove effortlessly in comparison to Kirby’s inherent focus on diving; it just showed how he still had a ways to go, but his teacher would be there for it all.
They descended, finally making planetfall. Meta Knight had taken control of the ship in order to allow Kirby a small amount of rest, it had been a big day for him still with the whole grand prix taking a lot of energy out of the baby warrior- he needed his rest after such an action packed day and his evening added on to it.
Upon reaching the hangar and safely storing the starship back in its designated alcove, the elder knight prompted his student to go home and finally rest; Kirby quickly decided on staying the night at the castle with his friends. As they ascended the stairs and quickly closed the entrance to the hangar with no witnesses to observe them, Kirby bid his teacher goodbye, bouncing off into the corridors of the castle to hunt down Fumu and Bun for a sleepover.
Meta Knight watched his small pink form disappear into the endless hallways, keeping an eye on the baby puffball until he had completely disappeared from his visage. His smile from earlier had yet to fall from his face, the knight still found himself excited and determined for the future he had thought of for them today.
Get some well-deserved rest Kirby, so we can explore the universe together in the future.
