“Kirby, I’m very disappointed in you.”
His father’s words stung worse than any wound he received on the battle field, and Kirby found himself avoiding his gaze as he focused on the floor. He knew he messed up, and he knew something like this would happen if they ever found out, but even knowing the consequences beforehand didn’t soften the blow in the slightest.
“Kirby…’ Kes’ voice is softer than his father. He heard her give a disappointed sigh, and he didn’t dare to look up until she reached over to lift his head. “Why did you try to hide this from us? It’s not like you.”
“I…I’m sorry…” Was all he could say.
“Your mother didn’t ask for an apology, she asked you a question.” Meta’s words came out sharper than usual, the look of irritation growing by each second.
“I didn’t want you to worry, okay?-!” Kirby's voice came out harsher than intended. His father knows exactly why he hid it, and the fact he wanted him to say out out loud urked him. “It was a mistake, a stupid mistake. I know I messed up. But I fixed it in the end, didn’t I? I got him cleaned up, I got all the candy off of him, and I thought….” Kirby’s voice went quiet again, and eventually he, too, let out a sigh. “I wasn’t thinking, alright? Sorry.”
Meta didn’t speak, and the pair locked eyes for a moment before he turned away and headed down the hallway into his room. When the two heard the door shut, Kirby looked up at his mother.
“It was an accident, mom. I turned away for 5 minutes to get dinner ready, and-“
“Five minutes is all it takes, dear. Toddlers will do that, you know.” She takes a seat next to him. “It seems Tulok knew exactly what he wanted once we left, and nothing was going to stop him from getting it. I’m proud you did everything you could to get him cleaned up, but I’m disappointed you lied to us. We trust you to be honest to us at all times, especially with Tulok.”
“I know….” He lowered his head once more. “I..was just scared. I didn’t want to mess this up, I wanted to show you I could take care of him. Guess I really blew that one, huh?” He gave pitiful laugh. “Dad can’t even look at me, he probably thinks I’m an absolute joke.”
“Don’t say that, Kirby.” Kes comforted. “You know, your father was so happy during dinner, so proud that you stepped up to care for your brother and give us a night off. In fact, we /were/ thinking of letting you babysit a bit more during the weekends. Of course, after this incident...”
“Mom, you can’t be serious.” His voice shook once he heard that. "Really, you too?”
“Kirby, we all know what you did was an accident, but if something like having candy stuck to his wings caused you to lie, what’s going to happen if it’s something worse? Toddlers will get into all sorts of trouble when no one's looking, and Tulok is the prime example of that. If he breaks something, will you cover it up? If he goes outside when he’s not supposed to, will you tell us? What if he gets sick? Kirby, you know how sensitive his health is during the warm season. If his temperature becomes irregular, or if he doesn’t take his medicine- that’s something we need to know. No matter how big, or small- we need you to be honest with us.
Kirby didn’t respond immediately. He sat there quietly, wings slightly sagging after hearing what his mother had to say about it. As much as he didn’t think not telling them was that big a deal at first, hearing her explanation made him realize why his father was so frustrated with him. Something finally clicked, and the warrior stood up and excused himself to talk to him. Kes nodded, a smile slightly visible.
Kirby, although still weary, knocked several times on his parent’s door before letting himself in. There he saw Meta picking up the last bits of candy off the floor before he looked up and caught eyes with him.
“Dad…I….” Kirby started, but slightly hesitated when he didn’t really know what to saw. He already told him he was sorry, he already told him how badly he messed up. He knew his dad didn’t want to hear any of it. What should he do, what should he say? Was it a mistake even talking to him?
“Come, sit.” Meta Knight spoke, cutting the tension when he clearly saw Kirby struggling what to say. Kirby didn’t say anything and did what he was told. He sat down on the bed, while Meta stood in front of him.
“Did you talk with your mother?” He asked.
“Y-yeah. And I get it. I get why you’re disappointed.” He let out a small sigh. "You trusted me to not only take care of Tulok, but to be honest with you. And I broke that. If I didn’t tell you about the candy, what’s stopping me from telling you anything else that goes on."
Meta didn’t speak, and Kirby didn’t know if that was good or bad, but nonetheless he continued.
"Even if I’d get in trouble, not telling you and breaking your trust would be far worse that any punishment I receive.I just…hope it’s not too late to mend what I broke. And if not, well…I understand.”
Kirby anxiously waited for his father's response, part of him terrified what he was going to say. Meta still stood firmly in front of him, and it was only until he started to move did Kirby look up. He watched the old knight lift up his mask, and looked down at him.
"First off, Kirby- you're grounded."
"G-Grounded-?" Kirby stammered. Really? He was an adult! He wasn't a little kid anymore! As he was about to speak up, Meta cut him off.
"It's only for a week, and I know Gooey will be able to handle your rounds until then." He said.
Kirby crossed him arms and looked away as he wasn't too find of being treated like a kid. "Okay, fine. What do you want me to do? Clean up attic? Repaint the house? Polish all the silverware?" He named off some of the things he had to do in the past whenever he was grounded.
"No, this time it's going to be a bit different. I have something else in mind." He spoke, and continued what he was going to say only when Kirby looked up at him. "You'll be staying with us. Keeping an eye and watching how we care for Tulok. And if you're able to pay attention and listen to everything we say....then we'll let you try watching over him next Sunday."
Wait...really? REALLY?
Kirby's wings hiked up in excitement, and he stoop up with a huge smile on his face before nodding. "So, does that mean-"
"Your mother and I had the pleasure of talking to the owner of the restaurant. Once they found out we were the parents of the one and only savior of Pop Star, he offered us unlimited visits anytime we wanted. We...were thinking of going again next week. Of course, that's only if you follow through, and do everything we say this week."
"You have nothing to worry about, Dad, I promise I'll do everything to make sure I meet you and mom's expectations." He nodded, weakly smiling at the other. "Thanks...for giving me another chance."
"Of course. You're his big brother after all. I know you'll be able to handle it." He spoke, but then slightly paused for a bit before asking Kirby something important. "So, if you don't mind me asking...how DID you calm Tulok enough to get all those candies out of his wings and hair?"
And with that, Kirby's cheering stopped. He completely forgot his promise! He gave a weary smile to the elder, slightly backing up so he doesn't receive the full wrath of his father. "So, I....ah...it's a funny story, actually. I may have promised him an 'all you can eat' candy shopping spree tomorrow....?"
"YOU WHAT?!!!"
Kirby figured his father wasn't going to let him go through with it, yeah, he knew. He could deal with his father's angry rambling how irresponsible he was, but it was nothing compared to how Tulok was going to respond once he hears the heartbreaking news tomorrow.
He's not looking forward to that one bit.
His father’s words stung worse than any wound he received on the battle field, and Kirby found himself avoiding his gaze as he focused on the floor. He knew he messed up, and he knew something like this would happen if they ever found out, but even knowing the consequences beforehand didn’t soften the blow in the slightest.
“Kirby…’ Kes’ voice is softer than his father. He heard her give a disappointed sigh, and he didn’t dare to look up until she reached over to lift his head. “Why did you try to hide this from us? It’s not like you.”
“I…I’m sorry…” Was all he could say.
“Your mother didn’t ask for an apology, she asked you a question.” Meta’s words came out sharper than usual, the look of irritation growing by each second.
“I didn’t want you to worry, okay?-!” Kirby's voice came out harsher than intended. His father knows exactly why he hid it, and the fact he wanted him to say out out loud urked him. “It was a mistake, a stupid mistake. I know I messed up. But I fixed it in the end, didn’t I? I got him cleaned up, I got all the candy off of him, and I thought….” Kirby’s voice went quiet again, and eventually he, too, let out a sigh. “I wasn’t thinking, alright? Sorry.”
Meta didn’t speak, and the pair locked eyes for a moment before he turned away and headed down the hallway into his room. When the two heard the door shut, Kirby looked up at his mother.
“It was an accident, mom. I turned away for 5 minutes to get dinner ready, and-“
“Five minutes is all it takes, dear. Toddlers will do that, you know.” She takes a seat next to him. “It seems Tulok knew exactly what he wanted once we left, and nothing was going to stop him from getting it. I’m proud you did everything you could to get him cleaned up, but I’m disappointed you lied to us. We trust you to be honest to us at all times, especially with Tulok.”
“I know….” He lowered his head once more. “I..was just scared. I didn’t want to mess this up, I wanted to show you I could take care of him. Guess I really blew that one, huh?” He gave pitiful laugh. “Dad can’t even look at me, he probably thinks I’m an absolute joke.”
“Don’t say that, Kirby.” Kes comforted. “You know, your father was so happy during dinner, so proud that you stepped up to care for your brother and give us a night off. In fact, we /were/ thinking of letting you babysit a bit more during the weekends. Of course, after this incident...”
“Mom, you can’t be serious.” His voice shook once he heard that. "Really, you too?”
“Kirby, we all know what you did was an accident, but if something like having candy stuck to his wings caused you to lie, what’s going to happen if it’s something worse? Toddlers will get into all sorts of trouble when no one's looking, and Tulok is the prime example of that. If he breaks something, will you cover it up? If he goes outside when he’s not supposed to, will you tell us? What if he gets sick? Kirby, you know how sensitive his health is during the warm season. If his temperature becomes irregular, or if he doesn’t take his medicine- that’s something we need to know. No matter how big, or small- we need you to be honest with us.
Kirby didn’t respond immediately. He sat there quietly, wings slightly sagging after hearing what his mother had to say about it. As much as he didn’t think not telling them was that big a deal at first, hearing her explanation made him realize why his father was so frustrated with him. Something finally clicked, and the warrior stood up and excused himself to talk to him. Kes nodded, a smile slightly visible.
Kirby, although still weary, knocked several times on his parent’s door before letting himself in. There he saw Meta picking up the last bits of candy off the floor before he looked up and caught eyes with him.
“Dad…I….” Kirby started, but slightly hesitated when he didn’t really know what to saw. He already told him he was sorry, he already told him how badly he messed up. He knew his dad didn’t want to hear any of it. What should he do, what should he say? Was it a mistake even talking to him?
“Come, sit.” Meta Knight spoke, cutting the tension when he clearly saw Kirby struggling what to say. Kirby didn’t say anything and did what he was told. He sat down on the bed, while Meta stood in front of him.
“Did you talk with your mother?” He asked.
“Y-yeah. And I get it. I get why you’re disappointed.” He let out a small sigh. "You trusted me to not only take care of Tulok, but to be honest with you. And I broke that. If I didn’t tell you about the candy, what’s stopping me from telling you anything else that goes on."
Meta didn’t speak, and Kirby didn’t know if that was good or bad, but nonetheless he continued.
"Even if I’d get in trouble, not telling you and breaking your trust would be far worse that any punishment I receive.I just…hope it’s not too late to mend what I broke. And if not, well…I understand.”
Kirby anxiously waited for his father's response, part of him terrified what he was going to say. Meta still stood firmly in front of him, and it was only until he started to move did Kirby look up. He watched the old knight lift up his mask, and looked down at him.
"First off, Kirby- you're grounded."
"G-Grounded-?" Kirby stammered. Really? He was an adult! He wasn't a little kid anymore! As he was about to speak up, Meta cut him off.
"It's only for a week, and I know Gooey will be able to handle your rounds until then." He said.
Kirby crossed him arms and looked away as he wasn't too find of being treated like a kid. "Okay, fine. What do you want me to do? Clean up attic? Repaint the house? Polish all the silverware?" He named off some of the things he had to do in the past whenever he was grounded.
"No, this time it's going to be a bit different. I have something else in mind." He spoke, and continued what he was going to say only when Kirby looked up at him. "You'll be staying with us. Keeping an eye and watching how we care for Tulok. And if you're able to pay attention and listen to everything we say....then we'll let you try watching over him next Sunday."
Wait...really? REALLY?
Kirby's wings hiked up in excitement, and he stoop up with a huge smile on his face before nodding. "So, does that mean-"
"Your mother and I had the pleasure of talking to the owner of the restaurant. Once they found out we were the parents of the one and only savior of Pop Star, he offered us unlimited visits anytime we wanted. We...were thinking of going again next week. Of course, that's only if you follow through, and do everything we say this week."
"You have nothing to worry about, Dad, I promise I'll do everything to make sure I meet you and mom's expectations." He nodded, weakly smiling at the other. "Thanks...for giving me another chance."
"Of course. You're his big brother after all. I know you'll be able to handle it." He spoke, but then slightly paused for a bit before asking Kirby something important. "So, if you don't mind me asking...how DID you calm Tulok enough to get all those candies out of his wings and hair?"
And with that, Kirby's cheering stopped. He completely forgot his promise! He gave a weary smile to the elder, slightly backing up so he doesn't receive the full wrath of his father. "So, I....ah...it's a funny story, actually. I may have promised him an 'all you can eat' candy shopping spree tomorrow....?"
"YOU WHAT?!!!"
Kirby figured his father wasn't going to let him go through with it, yeah, he knew. He could deal with his father's angry rambling how irresponsible he was, but it was nothing compared to how Tulok was going to respond once he hears the heartbreaking news tomorrow.
He's not looking forward to that one bit.
Species © Nintendo/ HAL Laboratory
Interpreted characters created from said species © Rhylem
Interpreted characters created from said species © Rhylem
