Dedede, being a bird, suffers through the great injustices of molting. Thankfully, he has a small, sarcastic assistant on call to rescue him.

Friendship/Fluffy/Kinda Hurt/Comfortish?
Rated K+
While none of these stories are canon to my primary timeline or characterizations, or necessarily in order, they are canon to each other!

"Ughhhhhhh, Metyyy-" Dedede groaned, "I'm DYIN' here…"

The monarch had collapsed limply onto his bed with no small amount of drama.

Not that Meta Knight was at all surprised. There was usually a certain amount of drama anywhere the avian royal was concerned. Of course, he had some rather theatrical habits himself, he wouldn't deny it; putting on a bit of a show was often an effective tactic to demoralize your opponents, after all. But that was in battle. Meta Knight made an effort not to be quite so ridiculous during his day-to-day life.

And anything dramatic he did then usually took the form of oozing sarcasm at that point, anyways.

"I find it greatly unlikely that you are near death, your majesty." He said frankly. "...And I believe I told you not to call me that." An eyebrow raised underneath his mask.

It was a nice enough day. Gold sunlight spilled from the massive windows in the castle's royal chambers, filling the spacious rooms with the pleasant warmth of natural light. Between that and the bold kingliness of the space, it painted a grand picture, and was only somewhat sullied by King Dedede's usual, childish behavior, (though it wasn't quite unwarranted this time. For once.), and by the presence of dozens and dozens of little blue feathers littering the floor.

And the bed. And probably most of the castle by that point if Meta Knight had to guess. He doubted even the vast numbers of Waddle Dees present could put a dent in the king's mess that quickly.

"Eh, yer name's too long," The king waved him off flippantly, "Ya needed a nickname an' I gave you one." One hand reached up to scratch fervently at the feathers on his neck, prompting one to flutter free. "...'Sides," He'd grimaced, but quickly flipped it into a grin, "It suits ya!"

Meta Knight twitched, standing near-imperceptibly taller in indignation.

"No it does not."

Dedede didn't immediately answer. He was preoccupied with scratching.

"...Your majesty." The knight tried after a moment, watching as another feather fell, gently swaying through the air until it came to rest on the covers.

Dedede seemed to remember himself, then threw his hands up in the air.

"AAAAAAAAAA, I'M LOSING MY MIND!" He sat bolt upright and began angrily brushing the little plumes onto the floor like a madman.

Meta Knight sighed. Quietly. He wouldn't be seen as too judgemental; he wasn't feeling too judgemental for once. The king had a valid complaint for the first time in what felt like three centuries, so it felt right not to be too harsh.

Besides, from what he'd heard, (and seen), Meta Knight was certain that molting was its own special brand of hell. As much as he liked them, it was the reason he was perfectly happy without feathers; it made them seem like more trouble than they were worth.

"I doubt that-" Since there wasn't usually much to lose there in the first place, "-Although I concur that what you're experiencing is… unpleasant."

The idea of itching incessantly while bits of you fell off all over the house was… Distasteful, to say the least.

"It's HORRIBLE! You dunno what this's like…" The king scrubbed at himself hastily, before flopping back down and rolling over to plant his face firmly into his bed covers.

"Mmph mmph mrmm…"

"I'm afraid I didn't catch that, your majesty."

King Dedede slowly raised his head until his beak was free of the sheets.

"I. HATE. This."

"Ah. Well, I know you called me all the way over here to complain-" Because he did. The king did that a lot, actually. "-But perhaps… I can be of some assistance…?"

Meta Knight did take pity on him every so often, after all.

Dedede slowly turned to look at him, his expression uncommonly blank.

"...Can you make it go away?" He asked flatly.

Meta Knight blinked.

"...Well. No-"

"Can you pull all my feathers out and make sure they never grow back and I never have to deal with this crap again for the rest of my life?"

"...I think you'd look… odd… without them," The knight managed to say, trying not to picture it and ruin his mind forever with the image, "And you'd probably be cold in the winter and very sunburned in the summer. I don't know if you'd think it was worth it then."

"Hhhhhhhh I don't even CARE," Dedede insisted, rolling around, "I just want this to END! Who cares if I'm bald afterwards; you're bald all the time! Everybody still thinks you're cool..."

Meta Knight elected not to comment.

"...Would you like my help?" He asked after another moment of watching the king scratching pitifully at himself like a stray dog with fleas.

"...Meta Knight I will take any help you can possibly get me," Dedede moped defeatedly, "You can light me on fire if you want to."

The knight managed not to snort.

"No need for anything that drastic, but if it suits you, I will rescue your poor, suffering self." He said it almost sarcastically, but his voice lacked any sort of barb, and Dedede had a feeling that maybe he meant it for real, just a little bit.

He watched as Meta Knight made his way to the windows and neatly pulled all the curtains shut. It wasn't nearly enough to drown the sunlight, the curtains weren't thick enough for that, but it did dim the room somewhat.

"...Mety?"

"Meta, if you really insist on shortening-"

"Mety. What're you doin'?" Dedede pushed himself back upright.

"Trying to ensure I don't go blind." Came the reply.

Dedede forgot sometimes just how sensitive his eyes were. Though they were pretty ginormous, so maybe it should've been easier to remember…

The king forced himself to look somewhat presentable, (brushing another pair of stray feathers off of his robes, making the conscious choice not to scratch himself silly even though he felt like he was covered in ants), as Meta Knight fluttered up on the bed beside him, his gloved hands reaching to loosen his mask.

"...Soooo." Dedede blinked at him.

The mask was removed, and gently set on the bed.

"...What're… you doin' exactly?" The king asked, now looking at a familiar blue face and enormous white eyes.

"I was going to preen for you, if you're comfortable with it." Meta Knight replied. "...I suppose I might've asked first to confirm that," He said almost sheepishly, though his now visible expression remained an unreadable neutral, "But… I'm asking now."

Dedede blinked at him incredulously.

"...You're gonna preen me?"

Meta Knight dipped his head just slightly in a nod.

"...You've been a bird this whole time? When were you gonna tell me that?" Dedede demanded, trying to joke.

"I do understand the basics of the process, and I'm certain I can perform it properly if you desire." Meta Knight assured him, sounding perfectly confident in his claims.

Dedede just stared for a moment.

"...Huh." He'd file that away as Just Another Weird Thing about Meta Knight. "I mean. Okay. If you want to. Yeah."

"Do you want me to? It should help quite a bit."

Help. Help was nice.

Help was really nice. Especially right now, when Dedede had exhausted just about all his power to fix this issue by himself. Preening was kinda… personal, but it wasn't like Meta Knight was untrustworthy. Prior conquest attempts aside.

And Meta Knight was his friend.

His weird, snarky, aloof friend who was always shirking Dedede's graciously-given nicknames, trying to get out of eating anything he cooked for him, and escaping into the void at the merest mention of hugs…

But… Meta Knight always seemed to be there whenever things were really going upside-down and backwards, and usually he had some pretty good ideas on how to fix it. He might be prickly as a porcupine most of the time, but sometimes when it was just the two of them together, talking, well. He really wasn't so bad.

He was actually kinda nice. Like he always knew what to say, and when it was better not to try and say anything at all. When Dedede just wanted quiet and some company. Meta Knight was really good at that…

"Uh…" Dedede felt himself reaching back up to that nasty little spot below his cheek and quickly slapped his hand back down on the bed.

Meta Knight pretended not to notice, which the king appreciated.

"...Uh. Yeah. If you really wouldn't mind." The king found himself saying, thinking back to his most recent failed attempts at killing the itch.

He'd been going about it with just a comb, which kinda worked, but it was hard not to nick at the new feathers that way, which hurt, so eventually, frustrated, Dedede had been forced to give up and lament the fact that he couldn't reach any part of his head with his own bill, (obviously), and for once none of his Dees could help him with the issue.

Hence he'd called up his funny little masked friend and bemoaned his much-undeserved ill fate into his voicemail, and then, not an hour later, the man had actually appeared, perched on his balcony, tapping one claw politely on the window like some sort of weird pigeon.

And after venting to him, (again, in person this time), on the grand injustices of molting, here the knight was, supplying a solution.

"Of course. I did offer." Meta Knight stepped forward. Looked at him. Frowned thoughtfully. "Although… you are rather… absurdly tall. Do you mind lying back down? I'm not sure I can reach when you're sitting up without perching on your shoulder like a parrot."

That finally got the king to laugh out loud.

"Hey! I could be the pirate king!"

Meta Knight rather comically winced.

"Please, no-"

"Sailin' the high seas with my trusty Waddle Dee crew, beatin' the tar outta people with my pirate hammer and stealin' all their gold stuff-"

"I believe sabres were much more popular with pirates," Meta Knight interrupted, looking far too happy about it.

"Nah. Swords are for weaklings, Mety," Dedede waved him off, ignoring the knight's absolutely appalled expression, "Besides, you wouldn't get one anyhow; you're my pet bird, remember? Parrots don't get swords."

"You know I just remembered I left my battleship running. I'm afraid I might have to leave you here after all."

"H-Hey!" Dedede backtracked, almost nervous he was serious even though he knew he probably wasn't, "I was just jokin'! Swords are for badasses! And hammers are for weirdos! And… you'd probably be a better pirate captain than me, anyways… I can be the parrot! The sad, pitiful, molting parrot who's suffering-"

"Save your pleas," Meta Knight shook his head in amusement, "I'm not going anywhere."

"Ughhhh, thank Nova for that." Dedede flopped back down on the mattress, digging his fingers in to keep from scratching himself. "If you do this is gonna drive me nuts… Gonna end up pluckin' myself…"

"Now don't go doing anything of the sort," Meta Knight insisted, creeping closer across the sheets to peer down at him.

Which was kinda funny. Meta Knight probably shouldn't ever get to look down on anyone, but if Dedede mentioned it there was always the chance he might get an armored boot to the stomach.

Not a super likely chance, but he didn't really want to risk it.

"It doesn't last, anyhow." The knight pointed out, seemingly to be encouraging, "You'll finish this in a week or so and be free for another year."

"Yeah. But when my head stops itching it's just gonna move down all the way to the rest of me! My chest's gonna itch, and my arms are gonna itch, and eventually it's gonna reach my butt before it's over-"

"Well I am not helping with that," Meta Knight cut in neatly, "Before you try to ask-"

"I wasn't gonna-"

"But just think. You'll be all nice and glossy. A fresh new coat of feathers to impress all your non-existent girlfriends with."

"Hey!"

"Well I'm just saying that I've never actually seen a single one of these women you describe fawning over you at every opportunity," Meta Knight remarked casually, a smug little smirk on his face again, "So forgive me for assuming you made them up."

"I called you here to rescue me, not to insult my love life!"

"Very well." Meta Knight knelt somewhat beside him, peering again with that oddly intense stare that showed up whenever he was focused on something. It was kind of spooky having it directed at him, but Dedede could tell it wouldn't proceed violence this time. "I imagine you're suffering enough."

Then he opened his mouth, and Dedede watched as rows of uncomfortably-sharp teeth slipped out of his gums in little points-

And very, very gently, Meta Knight leaned in and began combing the tips of them through Dedede's feathers.

It sort of tickled at first, and Dedede felt that whole spot ruffle up, but that seemed to be a good thing, because Meta Knight's only response was to angle his head slightly, and the king felt what must have been the largest of his fangs cutting through the fluff and grazing lightly against his skin.

And it felt AMAZING.

The king of Dream Land sighed heavily, practically melting into a puddle on his bed. He'd have wanted to sink into the floor if he wasn't already lying down...

"That is SO much better already," He said firmly, leaning into it without really meaning to.

Meta Knight paused, pulling slightly away to speak.

"I'm glad." He said, looking almost surprised, and Dedede almost twitched.

"Hey, I never said you could stop! You're just getting started!"

The knight chuckled.

Preening generally entailed locking the delicate feather barbs back together after use wore them apart, resulting in a newly-rejuvenated plume that functioned properly, but molting feathers were a bit of a different story.

The old, worn plumes were pushed free of the skin by the new ones growing in behind them, until they finally came loose and were lost. In their place, the new feathers grew out encased in waxy little sheaths, which were eventually shed, or removed, and the barbs would unfurl nicely. A neat, tidy process. But a greatly irritating one, if the rabid scratching meant anything.

So Meta Knight did his best to release the stuck feathers, and nudge the sheaths off of the new ones, all while avoiding the growing pinfeathers that were actually fragile, and would bleed if he plucked one accidentally.

Meanwhile, Dedede came slightly down off his temporary high.

"Uhhh… Mety?"

"Mm?" White eyes flicked up in his direction.

"I don't… like… smell bad, right?" Dedede asked awkwardly, suddenly aware of just how close they were.

Meta Knight seemed to think a moment, and Dedede almost swore he saw his little nose twitch like he'd actually sniffed him-

"...'Mo," He mumbled through feathers before resuming his work.

"Oh. Good. Heh." Dedede forced a weak laugh. "...I don't taste bad, either, right? Like I know feathers don't taste good but-"

"Mmh… 'Our mahesty," The mumbling returned, "Ish' really okay."

"You sure?"

"Yesh." The knight rolled his eyes, sort of smiling. "... 'Ou know, Ah cahn' really tahk while Ah do thish-"

"Right, right! Sorry."

"Ish' okay; jush be quied." Meta Knight chuckled.

"Fine, fine! ...This's so much better." He couldn't help but say, practically grinning.

"Mm. 'M glad."

"Just don't drool on me or anything, right?" Dedede asked, suddenly assaulted with the terrifying thought of having puffball drool in his feathers, which for all he knew was toxic or something.

"Ah'l 'oo my besht." The knight kept combing through the feathers.

"I know ya will. Oh, hey; little to the left?"

Meta Knight sighed dramatically, (though the king swore he saw him smile), and shifted over.

"No, no; the other left!"

"You kno' thah's call'd righd-"

"Whatever, same thing."

Meta Knight seemed to mumble something to himself, but Dedede couldn't really make out any of it. It was probably borderline impolite anyhow, and he grinned to himself, though he did his best to relax and let the smaller creature help without being too much of a pain.

After a few minutes of quiet between them, though, he spoke again.

"...I kinda wish you had feathers."

The knight paused, presumably to speak, shooting him a glance.

"Oh? And why is that?" He resumed preening him, though his milky eyes were trained on the king as much as they were able to be.

Dedede sort of shrugged.

"Well. 'Cause then I might return the favor, I guess."

Meta Knight chuckled.

"Well," He combed at the pin feathers, "I suppose nothing is impossible, but I'm afraid I don't plan on growing any of them anytime soon."

"Yeah. Figures." The king seemed to think for a moment, his expression turning pensive, and then almost suspicious. "Say? Where'd you learn to preen people, anyhow? You got some birdy girlfriend you've been keepin' a secret that I oughtta know about?"

The knight practically snorted.

"...No," He said, after composing himself. "Nothing of the sort. But you aren't the first person I've ever met with feathers by a long shot."

"Hmph. Good," Dedede decided, "I don't want any competition, after all."

"Competition?"

"Yep." The king said brightly, tilting his head a little so Meta Knight could reach another rough little spot.

"What for?"

"Your affections," Dedede shot him a cheeky grin, feeling his feathers ruffle up.

Meta Knight, as he often did, rolled his eyes.

"I would not categorize-"

"This ain't affectionate?"

"No."

"You'd do this for just anyone, then?" Dedede crossed his arms.

"...I would not," The masked knight replied, a hesitancy to his tone, cape collar twitching as if he'd flicked his wingtips in wariness.

"Weeeeeeell," The king grinned slyly, nudging at the small knight with his elbow.

Meta Knight's face transformed into a pouty sort of scowl.

Which was adorable, and Dedede couldn't help but start giggling about it.

Until Meta Knight nipped at him.

"OW! Hey-!"

The knight only smirked.

"You can't assault a king, you tiny vampire!" The penguin yelped, jumping upright, scandalized, and gave the knight a shove. Meta Knight, having landed harmlessly on the softness of the bed, only laughed as he sat back up, his fangs glinting.

"You actually went fer my throat 'n everything!" Dedede cried.

"Your neck," Meta Knight corrected lightly, looking entirely unbothered, perhaps even smug- "And I didn't even break the skin; don't be such a baby"

"Yeah? Well that still hurt!" Dedede insisted, poking his finger into the knight's chest.

"Well, you asked for it." Meta Knight pushed his hand right back.

"You know I could throw you in the dungeon for attempted regicide!"

Meta Knight blinked at him; slow, catlike, and thoroughly unperturbed.

"Really, sire?"

"Yeah! In fact, I oughtta git my guards in here right now and have you arrested-"

"I do wonder who will tend to your little problem in my absence."

King Dedede paused. Thought about it. Thought about it some more…

"...I SUPPOSE," He said, "That MAYBE I could let you off the hook this once."

"Thank you, your majesty." Meta Knight lowered his head obediently, wearing a smirk so thoroughly victorious it ought to be illegal.

"This once-"

"I do appreciate it, sire."

"So's you can finish helpin' me. And maybe if you do a good enough job I can even think about forgiving you for real." Dedede puffed himself up importantly, looking almost regal for once. Until he found himself scratching again.

"You are very gracious. I'll endeavor to control any regicidal urges I experience."

"Hmph. You better. I can exile you and your little fanclub from the country if I feel like it."

Meta Knight sort of smiled, and instead of asking the king to lie back down within his reach, he crept back over and climbed up his arm until he practically was perched on his shoulder like a parrot; one wing braced around the king's back to support himself. Dedede gave him a look, but he ignored it entirely and gently resumed preening him.

Dedede sighed heavily, feeling his feathers ruffle up contentedly, which they hadn't done in days, now.

Meta Knight stopped abruptly, making a small disturbed sound and an equally disturbed face as he reached to pluck a newly shed feather from his tongue.

"Heh, sorry." The king smiled apologetically.

"No trouble," Meta Knight replied, distastefully flicking the thing onto the floor with the others, "I'd just rather not eat them, is all."

"They pro'ly don't taste like much." Dedede agreed. "Might get stuck in the back of your throat or somethin'. You'd probably choke on 'em."

"What a pleasant thought." Meta Knight remarked flatly, parting some of the fluff and peering at the growing rows of new feathers. One of the old ones looked to be hanging on by a thread, so he gave it an experimental tug and wasn't at all surprised when it came free in his hand.

Dedede twitched.

"Hey. You just pluck one out?"

"I thought you didn't care about being bald." The knight dropped the plume dismissively.

Dedede huffed.

"No, but I care about lookin' scraggly, and I have a feeling yer not gonna get the rest of 'em."

"Wasn't planning on it. But you won't look scraggly, you'll look like you're molting, which you are." Meta Knight reminded him. "There's no shame at all in that." Even if there was a fairly scraggly patch on that side of the king's neck. He didn't need to know about it.

"Just don't pull too many?" King Dedede asked hopefully.

"If I pull any that aren't ready to come out," Meta Knight said, selecting another, "It's going to hurt-" He yanked.

"OW! Hey!"

...Oops.

"...Like. That one, evidently." Meta Knight muttered, his eyes flicking an embarrassed pink. "I apologize for the misjudgment."

Dedede scowled at him, reaching over to rub at the sore spot.

"Now I'm gonna bleed all over the place. I just washed these robes-"

"You're not going to bleed; only blood feathers bleed, these old ones have been dead for a year." Meta Knight shook his head, though he was sort of smiling. He flashed the king a look. "And I'm very sure someone else washed your robes for you."

"And they do a nice job, too! So you're lucky."

"Of course I am." Meta Knight said lightly, tilting his head to gently rake the edge of his fang over one spot. "Mmm… 'Or feadders ah fo timy."

Dedede snorted.

"What did you say?"

Meta Knight carefully wiped a bit of down from one of his teeth.

"I said; 'your feathers are so tiny'," He replied, "I've only ever preened… bigger ones. Flight feathers, mostly. Nothing this small."

"Is that bad?"

"Not bad…" Meta Knight seemed to be thinking about something, "Just different. Easier, if I'm honest. I think a lot of these are just too small for my teeth, so I'll have to try a slightly different approach."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

Meta Knight partly extended his opposite wing, flexing the hooked claw pointedly. Dedede stared at it uneasily.

"...You're gonna cut me up with those things? After all I've done for ya?"

"Hush. Hold still-"

That was hard to do; the claws were even scarier than the teeth were, but in some odd act of juxtaposition, they felt even lighter and softer.

"Dedede- Stop squirming!"

"I can't help it! You're tickling me!"

"Well if you don't stop moving it's going to hurt. My claws are sharp, you know." Meta Knight said chastisingly.

"Well maybe you should trim those ninja talons more often, Mety."

"Knight talons, thank you-and that isn't my name-now hold still."

"You can't give me orders; I'm the king!"

"Do you want to be stabbed accidentally?" Meta Knight demanded.

"...Not really."

"Then stop. Moving!" Meta Knight almost laughed.

The little wax sheaths were absolutely tiny, but Meta Knight had eyes like a hawk, and his claw movements were surprisingly deft; scratching ever-so-lightly at the pins, freeing the itchy little outer layer of them easily…

He just pretended to ignore the little cloud of feather-bits and down that was beginning to pile up on Dedede's sleeve and the blankets below them both.

"...I've got another loose one," He said after a minute, "Shall I pluck it for you?"

"Is it really a loose one this time?" Dedede asked warily.

"Yes, this time I'm sure."

"All right; go ahead." Dedede sighed, and felt the funny yet painless sensation of losing another plume. "...Hey uh… I'm not actually getting a bald spot there, right?"

Meta Knight… didn't immediately reply.

"...Not really, no."

The king crossed his arms.

"You hesitated."

"What? No I didn't." The knight dismissed.

"Yeah you DID! I knew it… I'm feelin' so much better but now I'm gonna be ugly." Dedede moaned despairingly.

"You are not going to be ugly-"

"I'm gonna look like I have a disease or somethin', Mety!"

Meta Knight sighed.

"It's… noticeable."

Dedede felt himself frown.

"Not awfully so," Meta Knight said quickly, and he could tell he meant it, "But… it is a little noticeable. And… am I correct in assuming you'll want me to get the other side before I leave, as well?"

The other side. The side that Dedede had just been scratching intermittently himself the whole time.

"...Maybe." He admitted in a way that sounded an awful lot like 'yes please'.

Meta Knight only sighed again.

"Well listen, I'll do the very best I can, but it isn't as if you weren't going to look like this at some point anyway, even without my help."

True. Those feathers were still going to come out.

And the replacements would still take time to grow back.

Much later on, the pair stood side by side, in front of a large mirror.

"...Meta."

"Yes, sire?"

"I look like an ugly chicken."

A sigh.

"You do not look like an ugly chicken."

He really didn't, as far as Meta Knight was concerned. It wasn't like a whole patch of his feathers were missing or anything so drastic. Just… thinner than usual, and a bit dull, and there were a good number of pinfeather tips poking through, which looked oddly similar to stubble, in a way…

So. Scraggly.

Which was exactly how Dedede had expressed he hated looking.

He kept turning his head at weird angles, staring at himself, and judging by his increasingly disappointed expression, it wasn't doing him any good.

"...Dedede."

The king flinched, turning to look down at his friend.

Meta Knight stared up at him, white eyes bright and sincere.

"You look perfectly fine."

"Fine?"

"Yes. And even if you didn't, who would say anything? Not the Dees,"

No, not the Dees. The Dees wouldn't breathe a word against him even if he looked like death warmed over. They were too good for that, and far too loyal.

Still.

"...I know. An' I know this's normal and it's gonna go away an' all that." Dedede sighed, crossing his arms as he glanced away. "I guess I wish I didn't have to see it, is all… I don't like seeing myself like this."

Meta Knight tilted his head thoughtfully.

"Well… maybe you can hide it."

"How'm I gonna hide that?" Dedede jerked one arm at the mirror.

But Meta Knight was already stuffing one of his stubby arms into his cape for something, though the king had no idea what it could possibly be-

"Here," The knight said.

Dedede watched as he pulled out a darkly colored bundle.

"...What is that?"

"It's a scarf." Meta Knight gently unwrapped it and… yes. It was. "I think it will fit you; if it's long enough to wrap around my whole body, it ought to be big enough to fit around your neck."

It wasn't really Dedede's color, as it matched Meta Knight's style perfectly; a richly dark, near-indigo shade, trimmed with gold to match the knight's cape. But it was smooth and shiny and absolutely could be used to cover the gross little pinfeather-y spaces that Dedede didn't want to think about.

Meta Knight held it out in offering, and bending slightly to reach, Dedede took it from him, looking it over before looking back at his companion.

"It was a gift," Meta Knight said, "So I will be needing it back undamaged, and unstained and… otherwise protected from whatever chaos you'd usually be performing."

"Hey, you're pretty chaotic yourself," Dedede reminded him, carefully wrapping the thing around his throat, "I'm surprised you didn't show up here today covered in blood or with your cape on fire or somethin'." He adjusted the scarf a little, then offered the knight a hopeful smile. "How's it look?"

Meta Knight blinked thoughtfully, then a sly smile crept over his lips.

"...Like a scarf."

"METY-"

"I'm joking!"

"You aren't even allowed to joke! 'Specially not about important stuff!"

"All right, all right! Remind me to never attempt humor again and remain the boring, unfunny friend for the rest of eternity."

Dedede huffed impatiently.

"I'm serious; how's it look?"

"I think it looks good. Doesn't quite match your outfit, but it's probably the best-looking article of clothing you currently possess."

"Ha ha." Dedede rolled his eyes.

He looked over himself in the mirror again, and… it didn't look half bad, did it?

"...You'd really let me borrow this?" He asked.

Meta Knight nodded.

"Certainly."

"You don't mind? I know you said someone gave it to you, so it's probably real special 'n stuff and means a lot to ya…"

"Yes. But I trust you not to lose it or set it on fire or something."

"Heh, yeah…" Dedede smiled. "...Thanks, Mety. For the scarf, and the preening, and the listenin' to me rant and everything… Just… thanks."

"Of course. What are friends for, after all?"