Sorry for not updating in forever. I've been watching Happy Tree Friends lately and have been writing a few stories about that, like "Splitting Image" and two currently unreleased ones; "Need" and "The Return of Commander Snuggle-Muffins," so if you like HTF then you may want to look out for those. I'm going to be getting back to writing this, however, as well as "A Day in the Lor Starcutter," (maybe), "Detective Kirby" and "A Strange Place if There Ever Was One", as well as a new one; "Mistletoe", which is a one-shot about my Tumblr AU, which will be out soon.

Enjoy the chapter! Reviews help me know that people are actually reading and liking this!

Chapter Ten: Clichéd Movie Moments

It wasn't long before Falspar and Fumu reached Kawasaki's.

Inside, it was very dark, other than the light of candles from each table.

"Hey, what happened here?" Fumu asked the chef. "Is there something wrong with the lights?"

"Yeah, there's a blown fuse." He answered. "We decided to make the best of it, so... Romantic candle-lit meals! I hope you don't mind me saying, but two look like a couple!"

Falspar squeezed Fumu's hand and smiled. "Yeah, we're dating!"

"Aww!" Kawasaki chuckled. "You two look perfect for each other! Now, here, I'll lead you to a table!"

The pair follower him to a nearby table, where they sat side by side. He passed them a menu each, and then hopped off to the kitchen.

A few moments later, Bandanna Dee and Marx came in.

"Oh great, this just makes it so much harder." Marx mumbled. His eyes were a deep orange color. Annoyed.

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Bandanna assured him. "Just come on… And don't worry about anything, 'kay? I'll pay…"

He held Marx's claws in his paw and led him over to a table. It wasn't long before Kawasaki came to check on them.

"Oh, what do we have here? Another couple, huh?"

It took a moment for the two to figure out what he was saying.

"Wait, what?!" Bandanna cried. "No, we're not a couple! We're j-just friends!"

Kawasaki rolled his eyes, smiling. "Sure..."

He dropped a menu on the table in front of them.

"I suggest the spaghetti bolognaise. It's for two and, also, it's the only thing I'm not in charge of cooking."

With a small smirk, he walked off.

"... Bandanna?" Marx looked back at the Waddle Dee with curiosity. "What do you think?"

Bandanna Dee shrugged. "Sure. Now... How are we going to get Fumu and Falspar away from each other?"

"No idea." Marx replied, leaning his head in his wing. "Maybe we should just give up..."

"W-what do you mean? Marx...?"

"You know, this isn't going to work. We're never going to be able to do this. We should just give up..."

His eyes had faded from orange to grey. Bandanna was worried.

"...M-Marx..."

He placed a paw on the Noddy's shoulder. Marx just sighed and plopped his head down on the table.

"This is pointless..."

Off at Falspar's table, the two had just ordered their meals.

"You know," Kawasaki told them as he wrote their order on a notebook, "I think there might be another couple young here somewhere here..."

"Really?" Fumu asked, surprised. "Where?"

Kawasaki pointed to Marx and Bandanna Dee. The Waddle Dee had taken Marx's face into his paws and was looking him in the eyes, telling him that everything was fine. To Fumu, it looked a bit different, however.

She felt something grow hot inside of her. She had no idea what was happening, but she suddenly felt... Angry. Threatened. Jealous.

"Hey, Fumu, are you alright?" Falspar asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You seem worried."

Fumu snapped out of her daze. "I-I'm fine."

Kawasaki left to pick up the other's order. Bandanna quickly let go of Marx as the chef came near.

The Waddle Dee gave the order, and Kawasaki happily went off to the kitchen.

"Now," Bandanna sighed, turning back to Marx, "Are you feeling better now? A bit?"

Marx looked the Waddle in the eyes for a few moments, the purple returning to his, before closing his eyes and smiling, nodding his head.

"Yeah... I actually don't know what came over me. It's strange, but I have no idea why I felt sad!"

"I know what you mean." Bandanna sighed, resting on his paw. "Before, I felt really angry for some reason, but I have no idea why!"

"I have a bad feeling that the Ice Dragon, Dark Nebula, that servant person, and our random mood swings are all connected..." Marx mumbled. "I mean, I don't usually feel depressed, you're not usually angry, I don't think Meta Knight is usually this... Childish... And I'm not sure, but I think that Addie, Ribbon, and Fumu aren't acting themselves either..."

Bandanna nodded. "Yeah, I've noticed that too. Addie never used to be so sensitive, Ribbon wasn't usually this sarcastic, and Fumu... She's acting kinda rude."

"Yeah..."

...

Back the other table, Falspar and Fumu were ready to set up their trap.

"Okay!" Falspar smiled. "Now, I have the rope, so all we gotta do is get inside the kitchen and tie it to... Something!"

Fumu giggled, letting herself be distracted from the other couple. "We just need to wait for Kawasaki to be distracted... The Waddle Dees won't bother to give you a second look, and even if they do, what can they do? You're a knight!"

Falspar smile proudly. "Okay! I'm going to hide near the door. When the coast is clear, give me the single."

"Single?"

"Signal! I meant signal! You know what I meant."

"Sure." Fumu rolled her eyes, smiling. "So, what's the 'single'?"

"Um... A thumbs up?" Falspar got up, shrugging. "I'll figure it out."

Fumu nodded. "Go get 'em!"

The puffball saluted, and then walked off to hide next to the door of the kitchen.

Moments later, Kawasaki came out with some bowls, followed by a couple of Waddle Dees that were also carrying different foods.

Falspar's eyes darted over to Fumu. She gave him the thumbs up. He quickly dashed inside the kitchen, looking for something to tie the string to. Then he spotted it.

"Perfect."

Back at the other table, Marx and Bandanna had received their food.

Bandanna thanked Kawasaki and was about to pay him, but the chef told him that it was "on the house for such a cute couple." This, of course, embarrassed the two, but they said nothing.

"Why don't you just tell her?" Bandanna asked Marx as Kawasaki left. "I mean… what have you got to lose?"

Marx looked at him like he was crazy.

"What are you, crazy?!" Apparently, he also thought that. "I can't just tell her! I mean… W-what would I even say? How would I even start?!"

Bandanna rolled his eyes.

"It was just a suggestion…"

The two looked away from each other, with Marx nervously eyeing Fumu and Bandanna looking away in embarrassment.

Bandanna Dee took a forkful of spaghetti into his mouth, chewing slowly. How did Waddle Dees even eat? They didn't technically have mouths, but still needed to eat like normal people. Their mouths were pretty much invisible.

One particularly long strand of spaghetti seemed to go on forever. And seemed to be lifting itself into the air. What was going on?

He turned to see what was happening… and ended up kissing Marx. Turned out that clichéd movie moments do happen in real life, and the two had been eating the same piece of pasta. They had turned at the exact same moment, and ended up in this awkward situation.

Bandanna broke away almost instantly, covering his mouth and tightly closing his eyes in embarrassment as he turned away.

"Crap… I-I didn't mean to do that…"

He couldn't see Marx's reaction, but the other wasn't saying anything. Bandanna felt so guilty.

"I'm so sorry…"

Just then, he heard Marx chuckle. "Why are you sorry?"

Bandanna turned back to him. Marx was smiling, his eyes glimmering a soft pink colour. That didn't mean the Waddle Dee was any less embarrassed.

"B-because… th-that was your first kiss, a-and.. y-you don't even love me!"

Marx just chuckled even more. "Whoever said I didn't?"

Bandanna's eyes widened. "W-What do you mean?"

Surely he was just joking. Maybe he was pretending to love him as to make Fumu jealous.

… Or not. The Noddy suddenly leaned over and placed a kiss on his forehead.

"I mean exactly what I said. I love you. Platonically, of course. You're like a little brother to me, you know?"

It took a second for Bandanna to register this, but he soon was smiling at the thought of it.

"Aw, th-thanks! I… I love you too…"

He hugged the other, still smiling. Marx hugged him back.

Fumu had watched this whole thing from her table, and was silently furious. She, of course, hadn't heard a word they had said, but that just made it so much worse. She angrily stabbed her fork into the table.

She honestly had no idea why she felt this way. Maybe… maybe she had…

She didn't want to think it. It was ridiculous. But… the thought was already there…

… Maybe she was in love with Marx.

Suddenly, there was a crash sound from the kitchen. Fumu turned towards it to see Falspar by the door, holding onto and pointing to the rope in his hands, giggling silently. Fumu realized that he must have pulled it.

Kawasaki came out of the kitchen angrily. He was covered in flour.

"Alright, whoever set up this prank, I will catch, and they'll spend the rest of the day cleaning the dishes!"

He suddenly noticed Falspar standing by the door. The green puff smiled nervously.

"Hi?"

"You!" Kawasaki cried. "Why, you…"

Falspar suddenly bolted. "Fumu! Run!"

The girl got up and followed him. Kawasaki chased them out the door, but stopped there.

"And don't come back until you're ready to apologise!"

He went back to the kitchen. Bandanna and Marx swapped glances, and then got up.

"We better go follow them." Marx said. "I mean, they already have two points, and we're supposed to be stopping them, aren't we?"

Bandanna giggled. "And you have to keep an eye on your soon-to-be-girlfriend."

"Yeah." Marx smiled. "That too…"