The air was filtered with the welcoming aroma of baking, which overwhelmed the fusty trail Ness had brought from his bunk. He paced towards Blue's room, overlooking the peeling stickers scattered around a distinctly ordinary door handle.
Usually, Blue could disband Ness' Flying Men with her gaze alone, but it was too early for him to gather courage, or feel anything other than fatigue. Rubbing his eyes, Ness set foot over the boundaries of the hallway.

Red shut the door behind him. "Good morning, Blue," He greeted, adjusting Ness' baseball cap. No amount of alteration could hide his accomplice's matted bed head. His habitual choice to wear his cap was the only effort he had made to look decent. His droopy demeanour coincided with his groggy guise. He wasn't a morning person, nor was he interested.
"Hey, Blue." He yawned, stretching his arms. The scent of a delicious cake baking in the oven was able to rouse him. "Oh, man, that smells good!" Ness licked his lips and sauntered about the room. He intook more indulgence with every draw of his breath.
"I'm sure it'll taste even better!" Blue beamed, delighted with her guest's enthusiasm. Her trust in Red to take charge of their plan had been wise. "You have a real sweet tooth, don't you?"
"Who doesn't like cake?" Ness managed an affable smile for Blue as she put on her oven gloves.
"Oh!" Blue stooped over to Red and whispered, "Isn't he a dish!"
Red politely accompanied his Animalese agreement with a nod. He flashed a pink smirk at Ness, exposing his amusement whilst successfully repressing the laughter that bounded within him.
Before Ness could apprehend his friend's glance, he noticed the stripes. Everything as far as the eye could see was striped yellow and blue. The dress and oven gloves Blue adorned camouflaged her amongst the geometric décor. The gaudy walls were plastered with posters of Ness and his friends, the Chosen Four: heroic art and newspaper clippings, a blown-up print of Ness' entrant photo from his first year in the Super Smash Bros. Tournament. Striped accessories that matched his iconic t-shirt were strewn on her shelves and hanging from her wall hooks. He laced his fingers through his hair, and his mouth gaped in disbelief. An impeding yawn escaped it, ceasing his compulsion to cry out.
Red sat orderly in a numbered t-shirt. For the first time in years, he appeared to be perfectly normal, but the moment soon passed. The translator's personality manifested itself in his deceitful duties. "Who am I to deny your charm, Ness? Your dress looks almost as smart as your face. You've earned that cake."
"Get outta here. Look around, Red. Didn't you notice? Blue loves stripes!" Ness contested, upturning his palms to their surroundings.
"I'd be more than happy to grant you the privacy with Blue you so desperately want."
"Oh, fuck off." Ness barked, gesticulating in his temper.
Villager shook his head, disappointed in his friend's quickness to anger. "With those manners, I'm surprised Blue hasn't proposed."
"How much d'you wanna bet she won't?"
"More than you can afford."
"Yeah, okay. And you better shut up about my clothes."
"Why? You're a mess."
"'Cause you... You wear the same thing all the time."
"That makes two of us!" Red sniggered.
Blue had stepped back; she stared down at the floor in silence, pressing her oven gloves together.
"Blue, allow me to explain. Ness doesn't need me to translate whenever you speak. His psychic abilities are sufficient to cover for him."
Blue brought the over gloves to her face to conceal her embarrassment.
"I fail to see why I'm here." Red approached the door and opened it.
"Wait!" Blue's mitts reached out to him, "Has he been reading my mind?"
"I've told you everything I know. You'll have to find out for yourself."
His remark left Blue very disconcerted. She looked Ness over. Her attempt to suppress her licentious thoughts only invigorated them.
"I'll be leaving now. Enjoy yourselves." Red bid farewell to Ness with a stoic semblance before returning to his room.
After a futile glance at the hallway, Ness closed the door, then turned to Blue. Her eyes were fixed on him, widened in a thrilled terror. He sighed, and approached the brooding doter. Without warning, he established a lingual link with her. A section of the language barrier was fabricated, just enough for Blue to comprehend Ness for the time being. With the little energy he had, Ness was careful to leave their thought bubbles unscathed. "I haven't been reading your mind, okay? Red was messing with you. With both of us."
Blue couldn't contain her excitement; she shrieked and gabbled in Animalese aloud. "Oh my goodness, Ness, are you inside my head? Ah! You're in my head! I didn't think your voice could sound any better! But, oh my word, now that I can understand you, it does."
"Thanks, I guess, but please, calm down. I wanna say something real quick."
"That's fine. Oh, I hope it's not anything bad. You still like me, right?"
"No, Blue. That's the thing. I don't like you."
"What? Not even a little?"
"No, that's not what I'm saying. You're okay, what I meant was... I don't like you as much as you like me." He admitted, temporarily lifting his hat to scratch his head and neck.
"I already knew that, you great big joker. I don't suppose anyone could like me like that."
"Hey, c'mon-"
"I mean, I certainly wouldn't expect you to, you being perfect an' all."
"I get it. Ya think I'm God's gift, right? Well I'm not. Don't believe me? Ask Red. He'll tell ya himself how much of an asshole I am."
"Alright, honey pie." She cooed, dismissing his defensive self-doubt. "My cake should be done right about now, so, let's talk over a nice slice, shall we?"
The cake steamed beautifully. Its scent flourished about them. Blue promptly brought two servings over to a charming wooden table. The tablecloth was unfortunate; gingham would have been more appropriate.
"Thanks, Blue!" Ness blurted, eyes on the prize.
"You're welcome. I'll get you a fork-" Blue chimed before he shovelled the cake into his mouth with his hands. "Oh. Never mind."
She placed her serving next to Ness' before joining him. She giggled, gratified by her gorging guest. "Red wasn't kidding when he said you like cake, huh?"
Ness sat back and picked the crumbs off his plate. They settled at his feet, for he kept missing his mouth. Despite his clumsiness, he resumed to no avail, apologising and grunting in frustration before his plate dropped to the floor. He slumped against the sofa and fell unconscious.