(For reference, this takes place after Star Allies, where the crew is at least moderately familiar with each other.)

Dedede let his spoon slowly fall from his grip, watching in boredom as it clattered on the table. It was a quiet, peaceful summer day, five months after an adventure or accident had happened, and it felt like the air was stifling. Stagnant. Suffocating, maybe. There was no breeze, no hint of change, not even an electronic fan blowing. It was that kind of day, and he hated it. He'd have loved it as a kid, but since he'd grown older, he found that he'd outgrown some of the things he was comfortable with.

But he had nowhere to be, so having a picnic on a castle balcony seemed to be a pretty decent choice. Particularly since he had company over this time.

"Say Meta."

Meta Knight glanced up at him questioningly from his seat, reaching for another piece of fruit.

"You haven't been around much lately. What've you been doing? A king gets lonely without any subjects."

The knight leaned back in his chair. "I've been at work. Being a star child and defender of the universe requires effort, after all."

"You sure you're good though? I know you don't like saying much about your troubles." Dedede tossed a few grapes in his mouth, swallowing them almost immediately afterwards. "Be honest with me, pal. We've spent a few months traveling and living together at this point. If you think I'm gonna let one of my best friends and most reliable workers run into the ground, you don't know me."

Meta Knight stared at him from behind the mask, and the king wished he could have knocked it off. Some would debate it, but Dedede liked to think he could read people at this point. Conversing with someone who had a complete face mask and voice distorter though? It was completely unfair. It was more of a guessing game than anything, and he hated guessing games. Certainty and blunt force were the king's strong points, and that was a point definitely not debated.

"Great King, I'd like to remind you that my life purpose is to fight against whatever monster of the week appears to traumatize the galaxy. That being said…" The knight shoved a whole peach into his mouth, savoring it for a bit while he thought. "I do acknowledge I've been absent from your life lately. Most people's lives. I'm not excluding you on purpose. There's just…things to do. You have to remember, I'm the owner of one of few battleships on this planet, as well as a technology council member, and as I keep repeating, a star child. Each of those requires an extreme amount of focus and improvement of my skills. As a star child in particular, if I don't continuously keep improving to face whatever growing evils we encounter, we could all be done for. Battle skills combined with technology could save us someday, or at least buy time. You have to understand that."

Dedede shifted his position to lean an elbow on the table, taking a sip of a fruity-smelling drink. "I do understand Meta, I just…heck, it's lonely at the top. Don't you know that too? I'm not saying that defense isn't important, but man, take a break…I miss you."

The look the knight gave him was definitely odd; he could feel it. Or maybe it was the breeze from his wings twitching.

"I'm…grateful to hear that, Great King."

Another peach vanished under the mask, followed by another moment of silence.

"I'm sure I've told you my philosophy at some point, haven't I, Great King?" the knight asked, adopting a posture that mirrored the king's.

Dedede cracked a grin. "Which one, nerd? You got so freakin' many of them, how am I supposed to know?"

"The one about trying to be your best self. About seeing how far you can go. About trying to reach your full potential. Though I'm sure that's changed since I've last exposited about it." The puff flapped his wings a few times, creating a quick but much-appreciated breeze. "Call me power-hungry, but I want to see how far I can go. Technology and warfare are very important to me. Not just as a test of strength or character, but also to defend the life I care about. You've seen people die on our adventures. I've seen my school classmates die." He crossed his arms. "Fault me for sentiment if you'd like, but after everything, I'd like some stability. To protect the peaceful life I have amidst all the chaos elsewhere. So maybe not entirely a glorious philosophy about self-improvement and being your best self, but…it's what I need. I need to work a bit harder, for a little longer, and then I can live in peace, knowing that I can protect my loved ones and be satisfied with my life. I hope you understand."

"Yeah, I guess." Dedede sighed. "I get it though. Heck, you're so mature, doing all this soul-searching and stuff…almost puts my life story to shame." A grin reappeared on the king's face. "But don't worry too much about protecting all the galaxy though; you just gotta protect home front like the castle or something. We got Kirby here to beat back all the baddies; you could probably just take a vacation and get kidnapped and nothing would happen to the world. Not like it's happened before, hmm?"

Dedede was pretty sure the knight was glaring at him.

"Great King, if you wish not to be compared to Kirby, I'll comply, but if you drag the same into this conversation against me, I can create some reciprocating insults for you…"

The penguin king laughed, shoving the puff's arm. "Insult me! Heck, just enjoy your time off! I love a good argument." Dedede reached for a peach, only to find that they had all been eaten during the conversation. "Let's go inside. You looted all my food, and it's too hot out here."

"As you wish, Great King." The knight hopped off the chair, moving to open the door—only to be beaten to it by his king, who stared down at him and smirked.

"Nope. But seriously though…if you need me, give me a call. I know I'm pretty lazy, but with how hard you're working, I still think you should take some breaks."

"I love what I do, Great King, but thank you," Meta Knight replied, folding his wings. "For your peace of mind, I'll have you know that I spend every weekend in Hex City competing in skate line races and drinking milkshakes, as well as spending time reading books every night after work. Aside from running out of groceries on occasion, I assure you I'm well taken care of."

"Good. I'm glad to hear it. Actually…it's nice to hear from you, Meta. I may not get to see you a lot, but it's nice to know you're not dead and actually enjoying life."

"You're welcome, Great King. I appreciate your time and concern, as well."

C/N: Well look who it is. I swore on Discord I was going to wrap up my Kirby fanfics, but I got a nostalgia kick, and honestly I feel bad abandoning such an important piece of my younger life. While I may not have the time to devote to fanfics anymore (or much of anything), I wanted to let anyone left in my audience, old or new, know that I'm still alive, am winning against suicide, and am working toward a better place in life. I appreciate all the support in my younger years, and I'm working hard to be my best self here in the future. This will likely be my only update for the year, but I've found where I belong, and am hopefully on the path to a good life. I pray you all are finding/will find your way too.