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aaaaah i cant believe i forgot to post this...! i did some art for my wonderful girlfriend's metadede fic, Kirburbia... it means so much to me... its got cats and karaoke and meta knight trying to order a mcrib and most importantly, that good good slowburn. its completed and amazing, everyone go read it!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
I’m so sad yet happy to see Kirburbia finished!! It was a great fic, so I made some fanart for the final ending scene. Congrats on completing such a wonderful fic!
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WEHHH for some reason this didn’t show in my inbox which is a crime?? this is really wonderful and i’m so touched that something i’ve done inspires other people to draw, honestly... A+ work, if you like this go follow @nonbinarycowboy !
kirburbia ch. 34 - epilogue
and it’s finally finished.
huge, huge thank you for everyone who’s read to this point, no matter where or when you started! i’ve had such fun writing this and it’s been a real challenge and experience for me, personally. there will be future kirburbia-verse materials, and lots of other fanfic/writing posted to this and @millimallow but for now please enjoy the final chapter and conclusion to kirburbia!
love you all and have a wonderful day.
read here on ao3 or under the cut. if you’d like to support future kirburbia works and similar, you can donate here!
This time around, standing in front of the strange whirring machine Dedede keeps in one of his spare rooms isn’t so intimidating. Kirby and Meta Knight know it leads back to home just as Dedede does, its purplish-blue energy no longer threatening once the sense of certainty and familiarity was present. Just a few more minutes for them to collate all of their bags, say goodbye to their temporary neighbours and make sure everything in the house was safely turned off. Then it was back to the world they were most familiar with, regardless of how charming Earth and its various eateries of varying quality could be. Dedede had insisted on taking care of the last few pieces, so all that was left for Kirby and Meta Knight was to stand in front of the portal which would lead them home.
“Are you ready to return?” Meta Knight prompted, watching the portal fiz and pop like human sweets in soda. Without saying anything, Kirby nodded and drew closer to Meta Knight’s leg, clinging on and trying to climb up his back. “It’ll be strange adjusting to being in a different body. Not that I won’t be relieved to feel more like myself again.”
Almost immediately after Meta Knight stops speaking, Dedede barges in with the last few bags- mostly things that Kirby had brought with him onto Meta Knight’s vessel and which couldn’t be kept in the castle. Heaving them onto the ground with an overdramatic sigh and meeting Meta Knight’s eye, he turns to face the other two.
“You ready to head home, huh? Sure look like it, standing there like statues staring at this damn thing.”
“What else are we supposed to do in here? You specifically instructed us to not mess with it. I’m following your command.”
“I’m just jokin’, honey.”
“I’m ready.”
-------------
The portal doesn’t take more than instant to work its magic, sending the three across universes within the span of a thought or a breath. And to their infinite satisfaction, everything has returned to normal as they stretch and stumble around in their old bodies, finally returned to them. It burns initially, but quickly turns into comfort as the wide expanse of Planet Popstar becomes visible from the castle window, as green and lush as it ever was. From the same window, a beam of light shot through and onto the stone floor, warming the room for their re-entry into the ordinary where everything has changed. And Dedede took Meta Knight into his arms, pressed him against his softer and welcoming body, loosening the mask away from his face in a way that would have once aggravated him. But in the moment, all Meta Knight could do was plant a single kiss on Dedede’s face, wings whipping up the air around him as Kirby laughed. The calm warmth of the Sunday afternoon conveyed to them that things would be fine, at least for a while. And that was enough for them as a family- togetherness and peace.
kirburbia ch. 33 - caffeine dreams
this is the penultimate chapter of kirburbia! i really enjoyed writing this one, and i hope you’ll enjoy its cuteness as well.
read below the cut or on ao3 here! and if you enjoy the fic, please consider supporting financially here.
“Let me tell you about my dream.” Dedede says. Meta Knight nods, and takes another sip of his coffee when Dedede begins.
“It happens before any of this shit goes down. Actually, I don’t know when this happens, and Kirby isn’t there. I guess we’re humans because that’s what my brain is at the moment, but who knows. It won’t change when we get back home, I promise. You get it?”
Meta Knight looks up from his coffee. “Yeah, I get it.”
“Right, good. So the dream starts with us on the couch together, just like on one of those days we stuck around in there and watched human TV while Kirby played outdoors. I’m on the left, you’re on the right, and I have the remote. So obviously I picked what’s on TV. It’s some comedy film- listen, the content of the TV isn’t important. I don’t know why I’m even telling you about this.”
“I find your storytelling very illuminating, Dedede.”
“Thanks. So even though you don’t have the remote, you somehow turn the TV off and turn to me. You tell me there’s something more interesting than watching TV together that we can do. And I’m confused for a minute because I know that the TV is pretty kickass. And then…” There’s another silence between them.
“Then what?” Meta Knight replies, his expression piercing Dedede’s eyes.
“Well.” He gulps. “You come and you kiss me on the lips. It doesn’t last long, but it’s real exciting in the dream, you know? And you ask me if I enjoy it. Dream me isn’t so worried about my shitty parents, so he says yes, because it’s true. So you stop standing over me and get on my lap and wonder for a moment if I died on my sleep and I’ve gone to heaven, which seems like a pretty weird thing to wonder if I wasn’t really into you kissing me at the moment.”
“Correct. Though it’s not abnormal to dream about people you’re not fond of, even in a romantic context.”
“Can you not be a spoilsport, please? I was just about to tell you about how you got on my lap and began kissing me more, all over my face. It feels goofy, you know? But also right. Maybe you annoy me sometimes, but there’s nobody I’d rather have annoying me than you, so…”
“I was quite affectionate in this dream.”
“You betcha. Most of the other end is kind of hazy, so I don’t have too many fine details about that bit, but c’mon. I had a whole kissing dream about you. That’s not the stuff that happens if you’re full of anger at the idea of two dudes kissing each other.”
“I suppose not.” Meta Knight’s coffee mug is almost drained from the amount of pensive caffeine consumption he’s endured over the last hour they’ve been talking with each other. Dedede wonders why, as the coffee he buys is pretty shitty- he has to drink it, and all coffee tastes exactly the same to him regardless of any quality or stated flavours. “Then… are you open to continuing with an alternative relationship? An alternative to friendship, I mean. Of course, I understand if your answer is no. This is of course not a great decision to ask you to make on the spot.”
“Geez, stop talking so fast and let me say what I want first. I wanna have an alternative relationship or whatever the hell it’s called with you. I mean, it’ll be new and shit, but I think I’m okay with that idea.”
“…I like that very much. With that in mind, though, we’ll have to inform Kirby of the changes in a way that he can handle and understand.” Without thinking about it too much, Dedede slides his hand onto the centre of the table. Noticing this, Meta Knight meets this with his own hand. The warmth underneath is new and welcome, sending his heart rate high almost immediately.
“He knows about people kissin’, right? It’s not like we can give him a sadder idea of relationships than Taranza and the spider chick I had to fight. Oof, that situation just upsets me.”
“Granted,” Meta Knight replies “but it will be a change regardless. And it puts us in… Awkwardly, more of a fatherly position towards him. Both of us. He will be independent, but the two of us will be a unit.”
“Honestly, I think if that was going to be a problem we’d have found it out by now. We’ve basically been acting like his dads for ages now and he’s only run away and stolen my money once.”
“Which is perhaps too low of a bar.”
“Come on.” Dedede can’t stop grinning when their banter picks up. “He has good intentions, always. We should go to him with the same.”
Without any prompting, both Dedede and Meta Knight stand up in tandem, lifting their hands from the table. It takes them only a few seconds to kiss, quiet and loving in the curtain-darkened room.
----
It takes a week full of distraction and hushed intimacy for Meta Knight and Dedede to come up with a workable explanation for Kirby. Meta Knight gets to be the one who sits down with Kirby, under the pretense of talking about going back to Popstar, and tell him about the way things have changed underneath his nose.
“You wanna talk, Meta Knight?” The way he curls up on the sofa with his legs tucked in at any opportunity is adorable, Meta Knight notes.
“Mhm.” As if to intentionally contradict his statement, Meta Knight clams up for a moment before working up the courage to speak again. “You know… You know how, sometimes, two people love each other a lot? And they have a special connection.”
“Being married.”
“That’s... a big version of that. But like being married.”
“Yeah, I know. What does this have to do with going home?” He’s adorable, but learning to talk has only made him mouthier, Meta Knight thinks to himself.
“Me and… Dedede. We have that connection. But not being married yet. He wanted me to tell you that.”
“Oh.” In the moment, Meta Knight couldn’t tell if he’d said the right thing or not. “But we’re still going home on time, right?” Okay, I can work with this.
“Nothing is going to change, I promise you. You’ll still have to get stronger every day, and we’ll do the same.”
“That makes me happy, Meta Knight.” Awkwardly, Kirby tried to bring Meta Knight in for a hug, which he reciprocated after the initial shock wore away.
kirburbia ch. 31 and ch. 32
hi! first of all, clarifications and apologies. i meant to post ch. 31 on tumblr like usual but i ended up only posting it on ao3. so this has been out for a day, but it’s now being linked here. i’m also adding ch. 32 because i don’t want my goofup to mess with the publishing.
with that said, enjoy ch. 31 on ao3 here and ch. 32 on ao3 here! you can read them both under the cut as well.
thank you!
CH. 31
“I’m not buying you a dessert.”
It’s the first thing Meta Knight says to Kirby when he sits himself down at the table. Now distracted from his thoughts of reconciling Dedede and Meta, thinking entirely about desserts, he grunts in frustration and slaps the laminated menu down on the table. The gust of air lifts Meta Knight’s loose, un-brushed hair up, and he laughs at the temporary return to normality. It similarly distracts him from the fact that they don’t have any money to pay for the steak Meta Knight ordered, and they certainly don’t have the money to pay for a dessert that Kirby might want.
“Aw. You’re no fun.” The humour and carefree attitude that Kirby exhibits towards the situation at hand never fails to entertain Meta Knight. “But I’m glad I found you here!”
“Yeah.” Meta Knight pauses to think, chewing on a piece of the rubbery and tasteless meat. “How did you even figure that I was going to be here? I never told you.”
“Well…” Kirby smiles broadly. “You were mad at Dedede.” This time, Meta Knight flinches upon realizing that Kirby wasn’t as oblivious about the situation as he had hoped. “And when you’re mad at someone, you want to do things that will make them mad! And the Outback Steakhouse makes Dedede very, very mad.” The emphasis Kirby places on the final “very” makes it hard for Meta Knight to not laugh out loud. Still, the fact that Kirby made the journey alone is concerning and confusing for him.
“You should have asked Dedede to bring you here. Going on your own here was irresponsible and dangerous.”
“But,” Kirby replied, “he wouldn’t go here. Especially if he knew you were here, because you can’t get along right now. And I don’t understand why.”
Meta Knight freezes. Now’s the time it has to be explained to him. Or he has to tell a lie- and live with it for the rest of his life. He could clear it up when Kirby was older, but he’d rather commit to what he said now so that they could live in peace. Taking a deep breath, he speaks.
“I told Dedede something personal. And he got angry at me for what I said. Then it got more intense, so the conflict emerged between us. Now… Well, I’d like to make it up to him. But he will need to apologize first.” Kirby looks pensive for a moment after Meta Knight speaks, then turns his eyes to Meta Knight.
“So… if I can make Dedede say sorry for what he said, then it’ll be okay, and we’ll all be friends?” Distracted for a moment, Meta Knight realized just how far Kirby had come during their trip. How quickly he picked up speech in comparison to humans. That, for all the shit he’d given Dedede, he had been instrumental during this time.
It took him a moment, but eventually he could speak. “I suppose. We’ll have to have an adult conversation about the issue, of course. Something that you’re too young for.” And though Kirby’s disappointment at not being privy was apparent, the little starry light in his eyes made Meta Knight confident he’d given the right response.
----
Dedede was halfway through a rather intense panic attack when his phone rung. His initial reaction was to ignore it, forgetting his conversation with Meta Knight, but when the caller name and image appeared he couldn’t have responded to the call faster. Holding it to his ear, not knowing when to speak, Dedede listened for Meta Knight’s voice on the other side of the line.
“I’ve found Kirby.”
And he was sure it was a prank, some sort of cruel trick that Meta Knight was pulling on him in revenge for his complete ineptness, until he heard Kirby’s voice in the background with its energy and its youth.
“Is he really calling? Hey, Dedede! Dedede! I’m here!”. All Dedede could do was take a large gulp of air and try his best to speak.
“…No kiddin’, Meta. How in the world did that happen?”
“Kirby got the instinct that I would be in this place, and he was right. You-“ Meta Knight turned to Kirby so he could speak.
“-took the bus! All the way here to the Outback Steakhouse.” Between knowing Kirby had taken the bus halfway across town without supervision, and that he had taken it to Outback Steakhouse, something snapped within Dedede upon hearing.
“C’mon, okay. Scratch everything else, I’m coming to pick you guys up whether you like it or not. And you better get in the car, because you’re not spending any longer in that place if I can help it.”
“…I went here to make you mad, honestly.” Meta Knight replied. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t know what to do. Because I was… mad at myself.”
“We can talk about it at home, alright Meta? Seeya soon.”
When Dedede’s voice was no longer pumping through the phone, Meta Knight knew the conversation was over. But for the first time in a while, there was a glimmer of light in their relationship.
And the phone rang again.
“Shit,” Dedede said when Meta Knight picked up, “I forgot that you took the car in the first place. You, uh… you wanna come home in that car? I promise I’ll only punch you once, and it’ll be soft. On the shoulder.”
“Okay, Dedede. Just as soon as we… figure out a way to pay for the steak I ordered. It’s terrible, and we don’t have any money.”
“Didn’t Kirby take my wallet?” Meta Knight turned to Kirby with exasperation on shock on his face.
“Did you really take Dedede’s wallet? That’s unacceptable.” In the second between the two sentences, Kirby had rooted around in his pocket and fished out the brown-leather packet, handing it to Meta Knight. “But I guess we’ll have to use it so we can get out of here.”
“…I’m going to call the bank and ask if they can take this transaction off my record.”
CH. 32
Two mugs of coffee lie on the table when Dedede and Meta Knight sit down to talk. With the scent lingering in the air, Meta Knight keeps his face pressed down to the tabe until Dedede arrives for the second time with his own mug, waiting until he can drink from it. Though it’s a hot day, Meta Knight can’t help but admit that it’s a tiring one and that the AC is on high in the building, so he drinks hungrily from the mug as soon as it’s cool enough. Dedede laughs when he nearly burns his tongue on the liquid.
“I should have made iced coffee, huh?” The friendly tone is back and Meta Knight can’t be more thankful.
“It doesn’t matter.” Despite the heat, Meta Knight takes in another sip of the unsweetened coffee. “Thank you. For this, and everything.”
“I don’t know why you’re saying that. I should be saying that. Hell, I should be saying it a thousand times over- thank you. You’ve put up with some unbelievable mess from my end. And you- you don’t deserve it. Anything I did or anything I said about you. That was mean. All the nice stuff I’ve said still applies.”
“You have a very brusque way of apologizing, don’t you? But I do appreciate it. And I suppose that when I’ve been cruel, the same still applies. You are not the bad person I’ve made you out to be.” The pause in conversation after this gives Dedede a moment to take a sip of his own drink and consider the situation.
“But I was a jerk to you about… That stuff. You know. In the café and whatever, why you actually got so mad at me you stole my goddamn car.. I don’t think I can be sorry so easily about that, you know?” Meta Knight takes similar pause upon hearing the words, then looks at Dedede.
“It would mean a lot to me to know you’ve changed your opinion on the matter.”
“One million times over, dude. I don’t know who I thought I was then, being like that. It’s not like I’ve ever really dated a dame or whatever. Not my place to talk.” For the moment, he holds his tongue on the gradual revelation he’s endured since the morning.
“I’m glad to hear it. And I do not intend to pursue you in any way other than our continuing friendship and combined responsibility of protecting and training Kirby and Planet Popstar.” Upon hearing this, however, Dedede finds his tongue harder and harder to hold. It still embarrasses him that he’s thinking of Meta Knight like this- the dream of his lean figure and proper posture melting into them curled up on the couch together, lips locked- but for once amongst many times he’s afraid to let something good escape from his grip so easily.
“You don’t have to be so uptight about it. And, uh, thanks for saying we’re gonna be friends still. Because I wasn’t sure… You know, that it’d still be that way.”
“Even if it’s not in any other way, I still value you immensely as a companion and a colleague.”
Dedede tries to keep silent as he takes in a deep breath, preparing for a possibly unwise plunge. “So, ah… Did you like me in the other sense, then? Because I, uh, am not sure. Based on the stuff you’ve said to me I generally just took it as you being attracted to other dudes in a general sense and not me personally, which might just be me reading the situation badly, but-“
“Yes.”
Dedede’s heart twitched and jumped in his chest. “What, really?”
“I hope this isn’t a negative revelation for you. I understand you are just coming to terms with the situation, but I feel that I should be as honest as possible, as that’s why we’re sitting here. To be honest about how we feel about each other.”
Then the breath catches in his throat and refuses to budge. And it’s almost like a sticky syrup has taken hold of Dedede’s brain as he tries to think of a decent response, anything, that would alleviate the situation and Meta Knight’s obvious perception that Dedede couldn’t return any feelings he had.
“Well.” It’s the only thing Dedede can get out, and he regrets saying it when Meta Knight looks up from his coffee at him, clearly confused. In the moment, he regrets assuming that the rest would come to him once he started the line of thinking, and a pause remains in the air for several seconds. “Actually.” Now it’s obvious what you’re going to say to him, idiot. Unless he takes it and assumes you’re announcing you can’t be friends anymore, which will be the worst. Sometimes you should shut your beak and give yourself a while, even just a little bit of time, to think about what in the world you’re going to convey- “I love you.”
In the ensuing silence, Dedede looks down at his mug in the same way Meta Knight did, petrified by his decision to speak.
“Ah. A-as a friend, then. Well, I appreciate it.”
“No.” More half-thought sentences and unfinished statements. “In the other sense. The one we were talking about. With kissing and calling each other stupid names in public and stuff.”
“…You expressed a distaste at the idea of two men sharing that relationship barely a day ago. I’m not sure I understand.”
“Do you understand that I’m stupid, Meta? I said a bunch of dumb shit because you confronted me with a reality I didn’t want to face. Like always.” It was too similar to Meta Knight’s attempt at usurping Dedede’s control over the kingdom all to protect it.
“But you don’t have to say that you love me just to reassure me your perspective has changed. I do very much believe that this has changed, and I see no reason to presume the opposite.”
“I’m being honest, okay?”
kirburbia ch. 29 - where are you?
it’s time for an adventure.
read in full below or here on ao3! and if you’d like to support me please go here!
thank you!
Meta Knight is unsurprised that it doesn’t take long for him to be seated at the Outback Steakhouse. From Dedede’s description of the place as an abysmal hellscape and a disgrace to “Australia”, whatever that was, he didn’t doubt for a moment that it saw its fair share of disgraced bachelors wandering through the doors and asking for a table seating one. Looking around at the discordant decorations and the lifeless servers, he’s also surprised- and regretful- that his bitterness against Dedede prompted him to turn up at a place almost as terrible as he’d had it described to him. Thinking for a moment- well, I might as well lie in the grave I’ve dug- he took his place at the table a member of the apathetic staff directed him to and began to peruse the menu.
-----------------
Of all the embarrassing things in the world, Dedede was convinced at this moment that he was going through the glut of everything ranking high on the list. He’d humiliated and angered his only real friend, acted like a complete hypocrite because of people he didn’t even like, fallen asleep straight after a light breakfast, vented his emotions to strangers on the internet and now- as if it couldn’t get much worse for him- lost the kid he was supposed to be taking care of. A good twenty minutes of searching on his part had returned nothing but the abstract traces of Kirby’s presence- a mostly-eaten breakfast and residual muddy footprints in the hallway in particular. Though he’d managed to assuage Kirby’s apprehension upon hearing him and Meta Knight yell at each other over the phone, every second of the kid’s absence made Dedede a little more sure that Kirby had been pulling the wool over his eyes successfully when he took Dedede’s bluffing at face value.
Especially when the wallet he’d left on the counter was gone. And the door was still unlocked- no doubt Meta Knight hadn’t bothered to lock it after last night, but he hadn’t taken the wallet, just the keys. And, Dedede thought as his heart sank, the only person who’d need that is suddenly nowhere to be found.
Fuck’s sake, I’m not cut out for this family business.
---------------------
If there was one thing Kirby knew about Meta Knight, it was that he liked to make a show of himself. Not necessarily in a bad way- just that he was desperate to present an image to others. Especially if it was necessary to hide his true feelings. He would never admit to lacking self-confidence, or being upset, or feeling sorry for others. Which, Kirby knew, was why Meta Knight insisted on challenging him to fight instead of caring for him more conventionally. Why he would behave so brusque and walled off towards those he really did care about. And why his inevitable destination in the car he’d procured was always going to be the one place that’d spite Dedede the most- his most detested restaurant in Oklahoma and the world, Outback Steakhouse. A lot of his impassioned rant on the subject had been lost on Kirby, but he’d picked up the core aspect- that Dedede was never going to take Meta Knight there. Which he’d accepted at the time, but was now going to defy.
If there was a second thing Kirby knew about Meta Knight, it was that his constant insistence on projecting an image left him vulnerable. And predictable. The poor state of Meta Knight and Dedede’s relationship wasn’t lost on Kirby, who noticed almost immediately that they stopped the casual intimacy and connection which had grown between them previously. So he rationalized it in his mind-
if I can get to Meta Knight, I can talk to him, and it’ll all be okay again!
Having grabbed the wallet and snuck out of the house while Dedede remained slumped over asleep in his chair, Kirby felt infinitely thankful that the vivid memory of the restaurant’s location still remained in his mind’s eye. He’d worked out the local bus routes as fast as he could, eventually able to devise one path that included only fifteen minute’s worth of walking. Easy for someone with his energy, and he’d worn his tallest shoes to look as mature as possible while talking to the bus driver.
He just had to hope that Dedede wouldn’t wake up and look for him before he’d left.
---------------
Ten minute’s worth of looking at the menu placed in front of him hadn’t helped Meta Knight make a decision whatsoever. On the brink of some undeterminable breakdown, he’d made the decision in his mind to ask the next server who passed for their recommendation.
“Excuse me, ma’am, can you issue a recommendation as to the recommended dish in this establishment?”
The server looked at him blankly for a moment, confused by his formality but obliged to respond.
“Well, we have a wonderful selection of steak to offer you. And you can have that with.. salad, if you wish.” Meta Knight contemplated the proposition in silence for a few seconds.
“Okay, then. I’ll have the steak.”
“…Which steak would you prefer?” the server asked. Meta Knight shrugged.
“I don’t know. Whichever one you think is the best steak.” Realizing that she wasn’t likely to get any more information from the strange man who shacked up at the restaurant alone, the server moved quickly on to convey the order.
All Meta Knight could think of was Dedede and Kirby. Hoping they were safe. Regretting running away so irresponsibly for no reasonn. Only the tacky interior of the venue kept him from crying, and for that he was thankful.
------
Kirby counts his blessings as he sees the bus turn the corner minutes earlier than he expected. Without hesitation, and adopting the convincing voice of a child several years his senior (because it wasn’t like he could tell a human bus driver he’d killed evil itself in a swordfight) he climbed on board and proudly presented the woman behind the counter all of the change he had fished from Dedede’s wallet. It slunk into the collection hole without a word from her and Kirby took his seat- as close to the front as he could so he knew when he was close. The excitement nearly overwhelmed him- it was going to be fine once he got there, it would be okay.
kirburbia ch. 28 - save as draft
you’ve gotta get your feelings out somehow.
support me here, and read in full on ao3 or below!
Meta Knight tries his best to think. Tries to think about where he’ll go now, what he’ll do with the time he’s been afforded. Lets the car engine thrum underneath his fingers and attempts the best he can to focus his mind- concentrate and know.
Is there anything out there for me?
Then it comes to him. The one place that Dedede forbade him from going- at least as a formality. Or some kind of joke. To Meta Knight, in the moment, it doesn’t matter.
The Outback Steakhouse. Whatever Dedede’s problem with that place is, it’ll piss him off real good if I show up there.
The car kicks into gear again as Meta Knight puts his hands on the equipment, adjusting it as necessary and taking off from the parking lot and onto the road. Before long, he’s driving alongside hundreds of anonymous faces, unknown people, going wherever whenever regardless of Meta Knight’s actions. And it soothes him, at least a little, to know that he’s not alone in the world, but it can’t stop the craving he has for the world to start turning again. For him to see Dedede and Kirby, making up and going back to the way things were before.
----------------
so. long post below.
i fucked up real bad. the situation is a little hard to explain, and though it may be hard to understand it please give me the benefit of the doubt here. i’m a guy, a bachelor, mid-30s and i live alone. i’ve dated briefly in the past, but there aren’t many important people in my life. amongst the people i’m close with is a male friend of mine. we’ve had a long and complicated past together, but too much crazy shit happens to us together for us to not come out of it with our friendship intact. mid-30s, probably even more of a loner than i am. doesn’t associate with his family often, like me.
my normal home is on a sizeable family estate outside of the us, but amongst my personal property is a very generic suburban home in the midwest. i stay there sometimes when i need to clear my head. recently, due to events including a natural disaster, aforementioned male friend is staying with me in this home. he has his nephew with him. again, complicated story, but it’s basically a parental relationship. he’s not surface-level parental, so he doesn’t get called dad or anything, but all i can say is thank fuck he’s a competent adult in the situation. sweet kid, but he gets into trouble a lot, meanwhile i feel like i’m barely out of my 20s. i don’t like to admit it, but my current job is a managerial position and basically the result of nepotism incarnate. his thing is complicated, but he’s self employed, and i’ve always admired that he runs his own shit.
so this weird inter-family vacation starts with us on fairly rough terms. life has been busy as all hell and things happen so fast, whatever. but we warm up to eachother a lot quicker than i expected. like, way quicker. i was more expecting hanging out with a kid and the guy i know who doesn’t say shit to be something i’d tolerate, not enjoy. we go to the park, teach the kid a new words, hang out and grill in my backyard etc. basically just two bros chilling. this stretches out over a bunch of lazy summer weeks where we really aren’t doing anything much other than hanging out with the kid. once we’re able to take him to daycare, we spend a couple days together instead of just the nights. and i don’t think anything in this post would be so much of a problem if i didn’t enjoy his company as much as i do. i stated previously that i’m not close to many people. my career mostly involves telling other people to do things and mandated showboating, so no colleagues i can relate to, and i don’t get out much. you are entirely right to think this is a bit sad. this is a dude i’m really interacting with for the first time in a while, and it feels great.
so where’s the fuckup, you might ask? well, it happened yesterday. we go to a café after finding a lost cat (mostly irrelevant to this) and, well, he “comes out” to me. we talked about a joke and i said it was weird for two men to date. understandably, this did not fly with him. i promise i’m not close-minded, okay? or at least i’m trying not to be. my parents spend a lot of time trying to hook me up with girls they know, so i never thought of it like that is all. he gets mad, i gets mad, frostiest drive home you’ll ever experience. no telling the kid, who gets his favourite cartoons all night to distract him. we avoid each other until the morning.
in the morning, my car is gone, as is my friend. the easiest conclusion here is the correct one. he drove off with it, taking the keys and everything. which absolutely sucks, by the way, but we’ve survived way worse. i call him and we kind of start our regular joking banter routine before i just, really want my car back, ideally with him in it. then we disagree, it goes on and the call disconnects. i forget who turned it off. then i go to sulk and mope and make this post on reddit so you guys can goof on my failure. all after taking a nap and dreaming.
i don’t hate him. and i don’t really understand that dream exactly, but i know he was there, and we were both crying. after a while we were kissing each other. like, on the lips and shit. it finished before it could get any more interesting, but now i know that i’m not just an idiot, i’m a hypocrite. guy who internalizes years of pressure from his family to marry a woman for business purposes represses exclusive attraction to men.
what a shocker, huh.
kirburbia ch. 27 - hideaway
there's a limit to what you can get away from.
full text is on ao3 here, or you can read it all under the cut!
as always, you can support me here. sorry for lack of updates- real life has been a little tough, but we’re back!
Bacon popping in the pan, Dedede runs through an imaginary list of his options. Calling the cops on Meta Knight is out of the question- it’s not like Meta has a license, so he’ll be arrested, and Dedede isn’t prepared to find out how he’ll react to the concept of human jail. Second path of action- calling Meta Knight himself. Dedede remarks to himself that those two should be the other way around, but only if Meta Knight had somehow overlooked the chance to destroy his phone. Or shut it off.
He’s overdramatic, so he’ll probably break it before it occurs to him he doesn’t have to.
“Debebe!”
His attention moves suddenly from the phone to Kirby, sitting of course at the reasonably-sized dinner table Dedede covered with a red gingham cloth. Apologetic under his breath, Dedede rushes over to the pan and observes the grease sizzling, hit on his cheek with several drops. What I do for this kid. Unable to stop for anything now, he pulls out the spatula hanging over the burner and takes it to the pan, doing his best to scrape the pieces of meat from the black iron pan. Hit with several other drops of oil and grease, it takes Dedede a moment, but he’s eventually able to free the food and load it onto the eggshell blue plate set out for Kirby to eat from.
“You not having breakfast, Debebe?” Kirby enquires. Dedede shakes his head and sighs.
“I don’t have much of an appetite, kid. Just enjoy what I’ve made for you, alright?” After a moment, Kirby smiles and receives the plate. Loaded next to it, Dedede remembers the grilled tomatoes he halved and the toast he… toasted. A satisfying spread, hopefully enough to distract the young being from the situation at hand.
“I gotta go call someone, you understand? I promise I won’t be out long. Just don’t interrupt me.” Mouth full of food, Kirby nods politely and returns to his breakfast, downing half a glass of orange juice after he swallows. Dedede takes his chance to dart out of the room, taking the door into the living room and shutting it behind him, becoming ever more conscious of the weight inflicted by the phone in his pocket. Knowing that in just a minute he’ll have to take it out and try his best to contact Meta Knight, unsure of the answer he’ll receive, or whether he’ll receive one at all. Lifting it from his person- holding it to his mouth. Pressing down on the button that he’s had open ever since he realized Meta Knight took the car.
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Meta Knight, if asked, would always say that he preferred to wake up with the sunrise. It was natural, fulfilling and good for the body. In the human world, however, he was prone to indulging in lazy mornings. No wings meant none of the joy that a sunrise flight over the forests offered. So what was the point? And on this particular day, it was the sound of a ringtone that led him to awaken, the sun having been up for hours at the time. Shocked out of sleep, it took a few seconds for Meta to respond, instinctively searching for the phone before realizing that the endeavour might not be positive for him. With the whole running away with his friend’s car situation. And that Dedede would probably be up at this point-
Oh. The phone is still going off. Do I pick up the call?
Knowing that any attempts to call back would be an expression of interest on his part, Meta Knight slid the green icon on his screen to the right. He didn’t need to know who it was, or even check. Dedede was the only contact he had, the only one who would care if he disappeared. That made it harder to let everything which had happened go.
After a second, he was able to hear Dedede’s voice.
“Meta.”
“Dedede.”
More silence. What could be said? Was anything worth saying?
“I don’t suppose you have my car, by any chance.” Well, two can play at being coy, Meta Knight thinks.
“I might do. What’s it to you?”
“Well, it’s my car. And I didn’t give you permission to take it, actually…”
“You’re awfully concerned about material objects. I’m just going for a drive, and then I’ll bring it back, safe and sound, no problem.”
“You can’t- you can’t give me that answer!” The sudden change of Dedede’s tone alarmed Meta Knight. It seemed that they had stopped joking around now, after Meta Knight admitted passively that it wasn’t some kind of make-up joke intended to repair the wall they’d erected between them. “Bring the goddamn car back! You left Kirby all alone, now you’re goofing off somewhere without even having a license. For fuck’s sake. “
“I’m driving fine, alright? And I don’t know why you can’t take care of Kirby. He’ll be fine as long as you’re around. Are you always afraid of confronting the things you’re scared of, huh?” Dedede knew as soon as Meta Knight said the final part of his sentence that there was no good answer. He hadn’t listened to Meta Knight’s perspective, now he was demanding him back because he felt out of his depth. Without considering how upset he must have felt at him, what provoked him to take off. Why he didn’t want to be in the house anymore.
God, I’m a disappointment, Dedede thought.
“Yeah. I guess I am, honestly. Take the car, do what you want. Bring it back in one piece, okay?” Before Meta Knight could say anything else, the disconnect noise pierced his ears. Despite everything, Dedede was the one who hung up upon hearing Meta Knight’s words. He felt a bubble of shame in his chest, despite being given permission for what he did. Until he realized that Dedede had listened to him.
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“Why’re you yellin’?”
Kirby’s voice came from behind Dedede just a few seconds after he hung up. He felt his heart sink, knowing that there was no way to hide from himself or Kirby any more.
