Whoo! I hope you enjoyed the previous three-shot, because now here is the one-shot I promised to have up on Friday but couldn't due to the Unfortunate Happenings expanded upon on my profile. If you wish to know, you can look there. Okay, let's get on with this.

Disclaimer: Blah blah blah... blah di blah blah... that is all...

Sitting Underneath the Stars

=Lilo's POV=

When I exited the house through the back door, I was greeted by a gentle breeze. It sifted through my hair as I stared up at the night sky, a few stars twinkling onto the void. I walked about the path, pushing away bushes and branches, to visit my most favorite place of the house.

The meadow.

I loved how the ultramarine river gleamed against the moonlight, and how the trees would sway in the wind, and how lush and green the grass was. It was such a sight to behold. But then, another sight caught my eye, and I now knew that I wasn't alone.

A figure sat beside the calm river, his dark blue cape flowing gently behind him with the breeze.

I smiled, as I knew who he was.

Sir Meta Knight.

I walked up to him, "Hey, Meta Knight."

I saw him start, and I was a bit surprised by his action.

Perhaps he wasn't expecting that.

He slightly turned to face me, his glowing golden orbs studying me. I felt a little uneasy; dark as it was, I could barely make out his features, I could only see his eyes. They never did blink, and it unnerved me even more, but the owner of those orbs never hurt or threatened to hurt me or anyone else, in spite of what his appearance would have you think, and I loosened up. Sometimes I wondered if Sword and Blade felt this way.

"Oh, it's you, Lilo," he said after what seemed like an eternity, but was really five seconds. "What brings you here, and at such a late hour?"

"This is my favorite place," I replied, and I felt him raise an eyebrow at me; I don't know if he actually did or not.

"…I thought the tree house was your favorite place…?"

I shook my head, my feet shuffling against the grass, "This is my favorite favorite place."

"So it is…"

"Yep, it most definitely—" I caught on to his light sarcasm," hey…!"

I saw his sharply-curved pauldrons—they kinda looked like a demon's horns—shake slightly, and deduced that he was laughing at me. I made no comment on it, though, and he turned back to face the stream. I brushed away my hair, and asked, "Do you mind if I accompany you?"

He didn't say a word, but just patted his white-mitten-clad hand on the spot next to him, and I took that as a "no". I stepped forward and sat a few inches away from him, as I knew he might want his space. We sat in silence for a few moments, and I discreetly spared a few glances at him. He held the dark blue sky in his golden gaze, scanning each and every star, be they bright or dull, and I realized that he, too, had found his own little place. And it happened to be the same place in which I took refuge, my secret place.

But I didn't complain, as Sir Meta Knight wasn't the type to talk a lot or hang around with a bunch of people, so it will, I knew, remain a secret.

"So…" I awkwardly began, hoping to strike up a conversation, "when did you find this place?"

He never took his eyes off the stars, and replied, "A few weeks back."

I bowed my head, trying to think of more questions, "Uh…do you…come here often?"

He glanced at me for a split second, before he answered with: "Yes…"

This "conversation" was getting increasingly unbearable for me, but this was Meta Knight for you: taciturn, stern, and stoical.

Oh, and don't forget sometimes Brutal Honesty.

It suddenly got chilly for me, and I shivered, wrapping my arms around my body in a futile attempt to keep the warmth from leaving it. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him glance at me, and he scooted closer to me and flung the left side of his cape around me, effectively knocking out the chill that had threatened to supplant my warmth.

I looked at him and smiled, "Thank you."

He nodded in response, and his glowing golden orbs gazed upon the sky once again.

There was something…odd in the material of his cape. I couldn't put my finger on it, but…it seemed…somewhat alive. Like, I could feel it…pulsate, or something. But then again, it could just be my imagination going wild for the millionth time. I brushed off the strange sensation, and I didn't ask about it, for fear that I might push another wrong button.

Silence reigned over us as we sat here, me still wrapped in his cape and Meta Knight, well…doing what he had been doing since I came out here.

I decided to break the silence, "Have you ever searched for your lost loved ones in the stars?"

He looked at me, taking his attention from the stars for once and giving it to me, but he didn't answer.

"I do… I try to look for mom and dad each night, 'cause I believe that the stars are the souls of people who died, and went to Heaven."

I bowed my head, brought my legs closer to me, and hugged my knees, and continued, "I know my parents are good people," I shakily sighed, "since they took good care of me, and I know they took good care of Nani as well…and they put Ohana first—before anything else…"

I saw a green light dance across Meta Knight's ambers, and he looked away and rubbed the forehead of his mask thoughtfully.

"I also believe that the 'Soul Stars' are much brighter and bigger in comparison to the regular ones, and that they tend to be placed directly above an area of which the people's last thoughts consisted."

I felt him looking at me, and I looked back at him, my eyes quivering as I came close to crying.

"I never found them…" I choked up, and I felt the tears roll down my cheeks. I directed my eyes to the ground, sniffling and weeping silently, "I never…found them…"

After a few moments, I felt a comforting hand on my back and heard his gentle voice, "Hey…do not cry, Lilo."

I looked up at him, my vision blurred by the presence of tears, but I still saw his golden eyes staring at me. He tenderly wiped away my tears, and I was dumbstruck; I half-expected him to let me cry and do nothing to console me, but I was proven wrong. I deduced this to one thing; since I comforted him over the loss of his friends, he was now returning the favor. But I was unsure if it came from an unspoken duty to protect me, or from genuine feelings…

…or maybe from both.

He then said, "Perhaps you were looking in the wrong place."

I raised an eyebrow at him, and he pointed upwards behind us. I pursed my lips, gently let go of his cape, and turned to look in that direction.

And that's when I saw them.

The two brightly-lit stars were located high in the night sky, directly above the Pelekai House, and the smile that crept on my face seemed to shine almost as bright as they did. My face lifted, and my tears were long since forgotten. There they were, my parents' Soul Stars, above my house the whole time I had been searching for them. They both twinkled, as if happy to see that I had finally noticed them and as if to say "hello". I waved back, and I glimpsed Meta Knight and noticed that his eyes flashed both pink and blue; he felt both content that he successfully consoled me and amused that I was treating the stars like actual people, which they were.

I didn't call them "Soul Stars" for nothing.

I turned back to the river, focusing on that, and a minute later I heard my protector sigh.

I focused on him then, "What's wrong?"

He shook his head, letting me know that he didn't want to delve into the matter, and I didn't persist. This time, a slightly awkward silence hung in the air for what seemed like hours. Five minutes passed before he finally said something:

"I still have not forgotten your curfew, Lilo. You really should not be out this late."

I jumped and questioned, "Says who?"

"Says your sister," he replied bluntly.

I frowned, "But going to bed is boring."

He then reacted in a way I didn't expect…

He laughed.

I never heard him laugh before, and it sounded kinda mystical and perhaps a bit creepy, but at the same time it sounded laidback. His laughter was only brief, though, but I still smiled; I used to think he couldn't laugh, and I was more than relieved when he did.

"It is almost always the most boring things in life that are the most essential," he then looked at me, "is it not…?"

I pursed my lips, and put my finger on my chin, and then murmured grudgingly, "I guess…"

"It is," he corrected. "When you are hungry, do you not eat?"

"…Yes…but eating isn't boring," I countered.

He bowed his head, "Of course not…but if it were boring to you, would you honestly starve yourself in order to continue having fun?"

"What? No!" I replied rather forcefully, and then I realized too late.

"Huh… see how that is absurd to you…? Eating is a necessity we all have, and avoiding that need for any reason—except religious—is a cause for concern," he explained somewhat abstrusely, but I was always able to decode his sentences into something I could understand, but don't ask me how. "Sleep works the same way."

"But…I could sleep out here!"

Meta Knight sorta twitched, and he said, "Sleeping safely and comfortably, which means in your own room and in your own bed, is also a necessity. As you might know, I cannot stay up to protect your family forever, and neither can Sword and Blade. We all have to sleep to refresh ourselves for the coming day," he then added as if he read my mind, "even if you do have energy that is as endless and as deep as the waters of this Earth."

I sighed.

Dang it…

"Besides, it would be pointless to end up having to hold in the energy you've stored up because your sister took away all your means to have fun, since you didn't obey the most important rule of the house."

I gasped: the thought of that terrified me, and I whimpered, "She…she would really do that…?"

"Yes," he looked at me, "since being outside the house after hours will jeopardize your safety taking everything away is the only suitable punishment. Even in this secret place, there is no chance that a person could sleep soundly in darkness. The only place…is in your room."

I could feel him smirking, but I paid no attention to that.

"This world is not safe, Lilo, and I would not want you to find out the hard way."

I gasped, jumped up and ran back to my house, but then I forgot something and ran back. He was now focused on the stars again and I snuck up to him and hugged him and delivered a kiss to his metal-covered cheek, and whispered, "Thank you."

I didn't see that his eyes flashed orange, but somehow I knew, and I ran back and into the house.

=Regular POV=

Meta Knight rubbed at his mask, the same spot where Lilo kissed him, and sighed. He focused on the ground now, and instinct told him that his time protecting the house was up. He got up, wrapping his cape around himself, and chuckled at Lilo's expression, still lingering in his mind, when she ran away, "(Works every time…)"

Meta Knight then took the same path Lilo ran to enter the house, and the scene zoomed out to show a full view of the house and the sky, where the two Soul Stars flickered on.

~Loved ones will never truly leave you, as long as you believe in the afterlife~

-END-

A/N: Awww... isn't this adorable and fluffy? Please say yes. Hm, I know you will. ^^
Meta Knight's eyes change green and orange, both of which could be understood by the context in which they appear. But if not, I'll list them here so you can reference them.
Orange: Surprised
Green: Thoughtful
Finally got it up here. Hope two more days added on to the waiting didn't send you under a rock of suspense. I know the feeling. As usual, before you leave, leave a well-meaning review. I always get cheered up when I see reviews and favorites and subscribes sitting in my email when I wake up, or when I'm already awake. Doesn't matter the circumstances (except I don't check emails while I'm at school; strict rule-follower ^^), I will always be happy then.
Oh, and don't you think "Do you mind..." questions are kinda strange? The way you answer is flipped: no means yes, yes means no. If it were a regular question, e.g., "Do you have any chocolates?", it would be yes means yes and no means no. Strange, huh? ^^ Anywho, ta ta, and I'll see you next Friday with the next one-shot, More Than Meets the Eye (still not a Transformers Fic, need I remind you thrice. *dodges the bombardment of bricks that followed* 0.0 People really do care about their Transformers... Good gosh... ^^").