Welcome, one and all! Welcome to my weird little speck of the Internet. So, as I said in the summary, this is going to be a series of Meta Knight + Marth one-shot stories. Some of them will be romantic in nature – you have been warned! There is a reason for the T rating, though most stories will be rated differently. Some will be focused purely on friendship. For your convenience, I've decided to label each chapter so you can focus on one or the other, as you prefer. I will provide warnings as necessary, so you can skip a story if it has something you don't want to read. I know the idea of a romance between two male characters is weird to some, and the idea of a romance between a human and a puffball is even weirder to most. What can I say? The idea took hold a long time ago, and it just stuck with me.

Also, the characters' personalities in this may be skewed from how you know them. I base Meta Knight mainly on how he's presented in the anime, Hoshi no Kaabii; and Marth is based on the OVA portrayal. If you've read my old stories, you know the drill already (and speaking of the old stuff, I'm mainly writing these as a warmup to rewrite the others; expect updates sometime soon). Their physical appearances are based on the ones shown in Smash Bros, though, so Meta Knight is not exactly tiny. He comes up to about Marth's hip, and he's quite big around.

Without further ado, let's get on with it!

In this chapter: Fluff; romance if you want it to be, but otherwise just a friendship piece

Soaring

"I could carry you, if you wanted me to." The suggestion startled the knight, who turned and looked up at his companion as if he doubted the prince had actually said those words.

"You could what?" Meta Knight said.

"If you want to get there faster, I could carry you." Marth nodded towards the castle in the distance, which they were returning to after a day in town.

"… Why do you insult me?" Meta Knight asked after a moment of just staring at the prince.

"Ah, I didn't mean- that is, I just thought you would appreciate a break." Marth shook his head and continued walking. "I apologize, so just forget I said anything." He hadn't meant to offend the knight, but they were making slow progress and Marth was anxious to get home. Ike was beginning to outpace him in the tournament, so he had planned to squeeze a bit more practice into his evenings before dinner. Meta Knight's stubby legs could carry him fast and far when running, but at a walk he was much slower than Marth was. Besides, he had been privileged to carry the knight before.

"Would you like a ride?"

Marth stopped walking, and looked back at Meta Knight, who hadn't moved. "What do you mean?"

"How would you like it if I offered to carry you?"

The prince laughed, hoping that Meta Knight was joking. The masked warrior hardly ever joked, though, and he glared up at the prince as he closed the distance between them. "You think I could not." It wasn't a question. "I didn't know you were one to judge a warrior by his size."

"I wasn't judging you," Marth said, his cheeks turning pink. "Only, I don't see how you could possibly carry me. Aren't your arms too short?"

Sometimes the knight was a man of action, not words. Instead of a verbal reply, Marth got a whack to the backs of his knees as the denizen of Popstar rushed forward. He stumbled and fell back, but was surprised to find himself suspended above the ground. Meta Knight held him with one hand on his back and the other behind his legs. The warrior's arms were too short to wrap around him, but his hands were large enough to support him. His gloved hands were like the pads of a chair. Marth could almost hear the smirk behind the mask, and he smiled.

"I concede victory to you, my friend," he said. "I knew you were strong, but now you've proven your dexterity as well. I'm sorry for doubting you." He then moved to stand up, but was not set on his feet. "Let's go," he said.

"As you wish," Meta Knight replied, and his cape fluttered out to become a pair of wings. Marth's eyes widened.

"Sir Meta Knight…" was the only thing he had time to say before they took to the air. He let out a most undignified yelp of alarm as the ground suddenly moved away from him, and he flailed for something to hold onto. That something turned out to be Meta Knight's pauldrons and collar.

"Loosen your grip, Your Highness," Meta Knight said calmly as they climbed higher. "It is… difficult to see."

Marth shifted so that he was no longer thrown across Meta Knight's face, feeling like an idiot. They flew into the clouds, and Marth closed his eyes against the cold wetness bombarding his face. When they emerged above the low cloud cover, though, he blinked and dared to look around.

"Sugoi…" The prince could see everything so clearly. With one layer of clouds below them and one above, it felt as if they were between two different worlds. The sky was so bright and clear, he couldn't look in the direction of the setting sun without hurting his eyes. Orange, pink, and gold all blended together to create swirling patterns in the clouds, and in some places, he couldn't tell where they ended and the sky began.

If he squinted, he could see a faint impression of the land below them. They were flying over the hills now, and making a short trip of the usually arduous path that led through the forest. Master Hand's castle wasn't too far off now.

"You've never flown before?" Meta Knight asked.

"No…" He had fought on the stage high above, in the realm of Lady Palutena; however, he had never soared through the sky like this. "This is amazing…" he said. His words were lost to the air whipping around them, but Meta Knight seemed to have heard him.

"I'm glad you approve, Your Highness," the warrior said.

They landed all too soon for Marth's liking, touching down in the courtyard and startling Luigi as they did so. "Sorry," Marth called to the retreating green figure. "Ah, it appears he is running towards Ganondorf's tower…" The sorcerer had claimed an entire tower for himself, and nobody was really inclined to challenge him about it. "Should we stop him?"

"No," Meta Knight said simply, his eyes flashing magenta for a moment before he turned and motioned towards the great hall. "Shall we, then?"

Marth led the way to the dining room, thinking that he would have to find a way to apologize to the knight for inadvertently insulting him. The little star warrior was capable of great things, and Marth vowed to never doubt him again.