	Magolor hovered closely behind his partner as they neared the Halberd. He glanced about the hangar itself some before they entered, observing some of the people coming in and out of it, and occasionally waving when they would look his way.

	"Do all of these people work under you?" he ended up asking.

	“Most of them are under the King's command more than mine,” the swordsman explained as they boarded the vessel. “Only a few steadfast crew members are solely my comrades. We'll likely meet them soon.”

	The entrance to the ship's main lobby was several feet off the ground, accessible via a ramp. Though the inside was spacious enough to hold a high number of occupants, only a few workers here and there moved about, all busying themselves with some form of preparation or another. Scarcely a moment after they stepped onto the dark tiled floor, two waddle dees from the castle's kitchen passed them with the ingredients the knight had requested for their dinner, earning a few curious glances as they headed in the direction of the galley.

	“What would you like to see first?” Meta Knight asked openly. “Weapons, perhaps? You never did show me the ones on your ship, but we could still compare notes.”

	"Hm? Uh... weapons?” Magolor repeated, having been more focused on noting the layout of the lobby than listening. He did have an answer prepared for that question, though.

	“Sure, that sounds nice, but I... I don't really have any weapons on my ship. At least, not that I could find," he lied, clearing his throat. Of course the Lor had some formidable weapons, but he didn't want to make that known at the moment. There were far too many risks in telling even just Meta Knight about them, much less allowing those nearby to hear.

	“I see...” the armsman answered dryly, not at all believing what he was being told, but deciding against confronting Magolor directly about it for now. Was he really expected to believe a ship as advanced as the Lor Starcutter, and with so many other capabilities, had no weapons or combat use of any kind?

	“In that case, we can skip it and look elsewhere,” he suggested a bit more lightly. If Magolor wasn't willing to be open about whatever secrets the Lor was hiding in the combat department, the knight saw no reason to do so with the Halberd. That was information that could be used against him, and it would be quite unfair if he didn't have the same kind of information himself.

	"A-alright!" Magolor held back a sigh of relief. Though it was clear even to him the swordsman knew he was hiding something, he just didn't feel safe giving away information like that. It was less the fact that he had weapons, and more the exact kind of weapons that he worried might make Meta Knight wary of him. After all, if he knew that those valuable ship parts being collected from all across Dream Land also doubled as powerful tools of destruction, Magolor doubted the warrior would be as inclined to help.

	Just as the swordsman was about to suggest a different area to tour, he caught sight of several crew members approaching them.

	“We're ready for liftoff as soon as you give the word, Sir,” Axe Knight spoke first, following behind Captain Vul while Sailor Dee trailed even further back. “Mace Knight's already in the control room,” the axeman informed further, stealing a curious glance at his commander's companion.

	Vul was far less subtle about his curiosity than Axe Knight. He went right over and squinted at Magolor, staring closely at him, and frankly worrying the poor Halcandran.

	[i]'What is this guy's deal? Is there something on my face? Why is he staring at me?!'[/i]

	"...So... what's the deal with this little guy? 'S he your new pet cat or something?" the captain finally spoke, laughing just a bit before clearing his throat and stepping back. "In any case, it's as he said. The moment you give the word, we can take our ship to the skies!" he announced, jutting out his chest and looking quite proud.

	“Captain,” Meta Knight started with a very flat tone once he'd mentally counted to ten, “allow me to introduce you—and the rest of you all—to our guest, Magolor.” He gave an indicative tilt of his head in the foreigner's direction. “His ship crash landed not far from here a few days ago and is currently being repaired. He'll be joining our patrol today, since there's nothing that can be done about retrieving the missing pieces other than to wait for now, and he's quite enjoyed Dream Land so far. I took it upon myself to offer a better view of it, since we have such a convenient opportunity.”

	"Um... H-hello?" Magolor mumbled quietly and waved. Having so many eyes on him certainly put him on the spot. He wasn't sure what else he could say. Thankfully, it seemed like he didn't have to say much.

	"Are you sure about letting him on here? I mean, this isn't some cruise ship!" Vul brought his wings to his back and stood up straight, looking much more stern now. "Not to go against your judgment, but I at least want your word that he won't play around in here."

	“Who else is there to trust with an airship more than a fellow owner and pilot?” Meta Knight reasoned, hoping the questioning wouldn't go much further, and biting back his resentment at the patronization at Magolor's expense. “Besides, it's not as if I'm absent. I don't mean to boast, but I consider this ship safe under my personal watch.”

	The lower-ranking knight nodded in somewhat begrudging agreement.

	“Not much gets past you...” he muttered, recalling a few times in his first few weeks of recruitment when he'd stepped out of line, done a cursory job, or simply made idiotic mistakes. Even if his commander was seemingly nowhere within sight or earshot, he'd always found out about these things somehow. As long as Meta Knight was on the ship, he doubted so much as a pen could drop without him knowing.

	"Well... I mean... Y-you're right, but..." Vul tried to come up with a good argument, but found himself at a loss for words at each turn. He had to admit, Meta Knight was a perfect guardian of their ship.

	"A-alright, fine. But keep a good watch on him, just in case. I don't want this thing at the bottom of the ocean like the last one." With that said, the avian turned and walked off, grumbling to himself. With the captain relatively placated, Meta Knight turned his attention to the other present crew members.

	“We'll take off, then,” he announced, already heading for the control room and beckoning the others to follow. “The sooner we leave, the more time we have to stay airborne.”

	He led both his crew and his companion through a corridor that opened up to a spacious flight deck. The dashboard and ceiling near the windshield had a vast array of buttons, levers, lights, and switches of all sorts, some with labels, others without. As they entered the room, Mace Knight had been fiddling about with some of the controls, and looked over his shoulder. As soon as he saw his commander, he stood at full attention.

	“Ready for takeoff, Sir,” he informed with a salute.

	“Start the launch sequence, the lot of you,” Meta Knight ordered, taking his place at the center of the helm, and gesturing for Magolor to stay beside him, where he would be out of everyone else's way.

	Each of the other crew members took their respective positions as well, occasionally pushing a button or flipping a switch here or there and relaying the status of various systems. Once it was clear that everything was fully functional and online, Meta Knight activated an intercom of sorts, and informed everyone aboard the ship that the launch sequence was about to begin. Moments later, the ceiling of the hangar opened, and the ground lurched upward, carrying the vessel with it. They were raised up to the surface, allowing a near-blinding amount of direct sunlight to come in through the wide windshield. A long runway stretched forth before them, and beyond that, a crisp blue sky.

	A loud [i]hiissss[/i] sounded, followed by a faint [i]whiirrrr[/i] as the wings of the ship extended at its sides. Then, the entire vehicle began to move forward, gradually picking up speed. By the time they neared the end of the runway, they had to be moving faster than the speed a normal airplane would have needed to become airborne, but only when the thrusters were activated did they achieve liftoff, and somewhat suddenly, at that. Within only a few seconds, a great distance had grown between the Halberd and the ground.

	Magolor grasped one of the knight's pauldrons, trying his best to adjust to the quick liftoff. Being a legless, hovering being had its advantages, but this was certainly not one of them. His eyes were shut tight at the sudden takeoff, and it took a few moments of being in the air for them to finally open, and for the Halcandran to let go of his partner.

	"Wow... Um... I'm not used to having some... windup to flight, so to speak. I suppose I'm just used to flying in the Lor.." He chuckled a bit awkwardly, looking out at the sky through the windshield.
	
“Unfortunately, we don't have technology quite that advanced just yet,” the swordsman replied somewhat reproachfully as he entered the coordinates of their destination. Normally, he'd steer the ship himself, but given that there were other plans for today, he left it on autopilot, not wishing to burden his copilots with the mundane task. Once the ship had reached its full altitude, it slowed down to a leisurely cruising speed.

	“Since this is a simple routine patrol, I trust the rest of you to get us where we need to go, and I will be elsewhere,” Meta Knight announced, making his way to the room's exit. “If something should happen, use the intercom to notify me.”

	Magolor watched the clouds leisurely float by, feeling somewhat calmed at the sight. He was so entranced by the familiar feeling of cruising comfortably high in the air that he only barely caught sight of Meta Knight walking out.

	"H-hold on, wait for me!" he called, reaching a hand surprisingly far from his body to grab the knight's shoulder, with the rest of him following suit shortly after.

	The door closed behind them, and a moment of awkward silence fell over the control room. Axe Knight was the one to break it.

	“Anyone else have any idea what's up with that...?” he ventured in genuine confusion, feeling very out of the loop. He'd never seen his commanding officer act so uncharacteristically friendly to anyone before this, nor had he seen anyone else so comfortable in his presence. He and his guest acted as if they'd known each other for years. There was obviously something strange going on there.

	"I don't have a clue... I don't think I've ever seen him so okay with anyone—especially someone new—putting their hands on him like that..." Sailor Dee piped up, voicing his own concerns.

	"Think they might've hooked up or something?" Vul blurted, looking back at the exit just to make sure the knight hadn't been standing there, listening to them.

	“Nah, there's no way.” Axe Knight wrote off the idea with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I don't think Meta Knight even has a libido. Have any of you ever heard of him even dating before, let alone getting laid?”

	“Yeah, you're probably right...” the captain conceded.

__

	Magolor paused in his tracks to let out a tiny sneeze, turning his head to the side out of habit, even though his collar already covered his mouth.

	"Ugh... Hope I'm not starting to catch a cold..."

	“It's likely dust or something of the sort,” the armsman answered dismissively. “The ship hasn't been used in a few weeks.” He slowed his pace about halfway through the corridor, glancing around to make sure no one was within earshot.

	“Anything in particular you're interested in seeing?” he prompted. “We can get a better window view later on, during dinner.”

	"Heheheh... Weeeelll~ There is something I'd like to take a look at..." The smaller one hummed, trailing a finger down his partner's body suggestively. "Wanna go to your room and... let me see?" he whispered before pulling back and acting as if that little moment hadn't happened.

	"Oorrrr maybe we can take a look at your engine room? I'd like to know how this ship runs!"

	The knight swallowed, and found himself particularly thankful he had a mask to cover his face. Otherwise, he was certain his blushing would be very visible. He actually had planned on making a quick stop in his quarters at some point to retrieve a book or two he'd left there, but he was less than certain about that now.

	“Of course,” he obliged, regaining his composure. He led his companion through the remainder of the corridor, through the lobby, and down a flight or two of stairs before they'd reached their destination. It was considerably darker below deck, with only dim overhead lights to illuminate the rather compact spaces. They came to a thick metal door that opened up to a large room, and a wave of warm air washed over them from within it, much to Magolor's delight. It seemed as though every wall in the room had some kind of machinery covering it, crowding up the room. Each component seemed to emit muted whirring, cranking, or hissing noises.

	Meta Knight stepped into the center of the unoccupied room and gestured to the spaces around him. “All of this is controlled at the helm,” he informed the Halcandran, “so it's rare anyone comes down here. The only time that happens is during inspection and repairs, really.”

	"Wow... These remind me so much of the engines back on my planet,” the alien observed, looking over the complex mechanisms. “You might like that place! It's where I first learned about this sort of technology," he suggested, for once feeling some sort of pride for his place of origin, only for it to immediately be taken over by a feeling of disgust toward it, sending the alien slowly lowering to the ground.

	“Really?” The knight had trouble reconciling the cluttered masses of machinery surrounding them with the simplistic, spotless, and overall bright look of the Lor Starcutter's interior. If anything, it made the appearance of the Halberd seem dingy and outdated.

	“I doubt it's all that similar to Pop Star, where you're from,” he replied a tad dubiously.

	"Oh, no! Well... Sort of,” the alien stumbled over his reply for a moment. “The engines back on my planet... Well, they're more advanced than this, but they don't even compare to the Lor. Even I don't fully understand everything about it!" He started to brighten up as the talk of technology continued. "But I digress. This technology and the stuff back on Halcandra are a lot more similar than you might think. I'd say the engines back home are only a little more complex. Maybe a decade or two ahead of this,” he speculated.

	“Quite a feat it must have been, then, to learn to pilot the Lor all on your own,” the armsmaster commented absently.

	One of the engine's components near him emitted steam with a sharp [i]hiss[/i], and his wings twitched minutely underneath his cape in annoyance. He didn't dare remove a single piece of clothing for the sake of comfort while he and Magolor were in a dark, secluded spot where no one would find them. At the same time, the room was stiflingly stuffy, and the heat would become increasingly bothersome the longer he stayed in it.

	The appreciative smile Magolor had been wearing turned into a smirk as he saw the knight's discomfort. He approached slowly upon seeing this opportunity.

	"Hmmm... What's wrong, Meta? Feeling a little hot? I guess it is pretty stuffy in here...” He kept inching closer until their bodies had scarcely any space between them. “And I can imagine wearing all of that armor has to make things even worse... Maybe you should take some of it off~?" he suggested, raising Meta's mask just a bit, but not going far enough as to remove it.

	The moment his mask was raised enough to expose part of his face, the knight grasped it and lowered it again, almost as fast as the blink of an eye.

	“Or perhaps we could leave,” he countered, keeping his tone dry and hoping Magolor would take the hint. He was determined not to engage in certain activities at all today, let alone in such a location as this. It was the only fathomable way he could think of finding out whether the foreigner actually did think of him as anything more than a sexual partner. Besides, wasn't two nights in a row enough, especially considering they'd only known one another for the same number of days?

	"O-oh...." Magolor brought his hands back to himself at that, quickly gathering that the armsman was not quite in the mood for such a thing at the moment. "Um... s-sure. Uh... Maybe we can explore more above deck? Perhaps somewhere cooler than in here?" he quickly suggested, already heading to the door.

	“Gladly,” the swordsman replied, leading them back the way they'd come.

__

	By the time evening rolled around, the ship was still cruising casually, high above Dream Land's eastern border. There didn't appear to be anything of interest going on below, and it was likely they would change course and return to the castle soon.

	As the sun had begun to sink gradually lower toward the horizon, the ship's owner and his companion had retreated to a room that, although not intended as a dining room, served well enough as one with the overhead lights dimmed, allowing most of the illumination to come from the setting sun shining through the window on the starboard side. They had a clear view of the vast, open sky from the booth they shared.

	The very same waddle dees who'd prepared the meal brought it to them, promptly setting the plates, silverware, wine, and empty glasses onto the table before leaving just as quickly as they'd come.

	"This place sure is nice,” Magolor thought aloud once they were alone. “I didn't think a room like this existed on the ship... Though, honestly, I should've expected it." He paused as he looked over their meal. Even at first glance, it was finer dining than anything he'd eaten in a long while.

	"This is really nice of you to do for me," he eventually said, giving a small, grateful smile. "Thank you, Meta."

	“It's nothing, really...” The knight removed his mask as he spoke, assured that they would be left alone for some time, yet not meeting Magolor's eyes. It occurred to him how ridiculous the entire situation was. He'd made such a successful effort at leaving behind romance and sentiment in general for so long, yet within a few short days of meeting someone from an entirely different galaxy, there they were, sitting at a table, about to have an expensive dinner with a sunset view.

	He took it upon himself to remove the cork from the wine bottle and fill his glass, once again contemplating what a horrible idea it may be to continue on this way. Hopefully a drink or two would help him relax.

	"Nothing...?” Magolor gave him a look of disbelief. “Not only have you been helping me fix my ship—practically my home—here you are, giving me, a near-total stranger, a really nice cruise and dinner... Really, I mean it,” he insisted, trying to make sure his sincerity came across. “Thank you. You're the first person I've met that... well... that's been so kind and trusting to me..." He began to fill up his own glass the moment the knight had finished, then raised it up.

	"Cheers?"

	The swordsman nodded in reply, raising his own glass against that of his companion to create a small [i]tink[/i]. He took a long sip, thankful that the unpleasant taste of alcohol was minimal in the otherwise sweet drink, before setting his glass back down and cutting into his steak. As he'd hoped, it had been cooked just under medium, with only a thin, faint pink line left in the middle.

	“En ese caso, I should thank you as well,” he admitted with an unintentional mixture of languages. “I couldn't tell you how long it's been since I even knew anyone I could do something like this with.” He separated a bite-sized piece of meat from the rest of it, shifting a little in his seat. “Pero I'm sure you're sick of hearing me talk about the past, hm?” he added self-consciously.

	Magolor took a sip as well, savoring the taste of the well-aged wine before swallowing.

"Oh, no, I'm not sick of it at all! It sort of makes me glad to know I can... well... That I matter to someone.” He gave a genuine smile that was only visible in his eyes. “I'm so happy to be an important person in your life."

	With that said, he began to cut into his own steak, having to pull his collar down a little to take bites. He shivered at the warm, delicious taste, and he had to hold himself back, lest he devour the rest at once. The other male took a bite of his own cut as well, but was significantly less enthusiastic about eating it. He chewed slowly to savor it, appreciating the hint of spices and seasonings used to add flavor. He tried contemplating what to say next, but couldn't find a subject that seemed appropriate. The knight wound up staring out the window in silence instead, gulping down more of his drink and inwardly fretting over how bad at this whole dating thing he was.

	Magolor took a few more bites of his steak, but was quick to stop as he looked at the knight and noticed how distracted he was. The lack of conversation was concerning... Was he still mad about what happened earlier? Or was there something else?

	"Meta? Is everything alright?" he asked, reaching across the table to place a hand on the other's shoulder. His ears were low, indicative of his concern.

	“Hm?” The knight blinked once and snapped back to attention, almost as if out of a trance. He hadn't realized how long he'd been watching the clouds pass by outside, nor had he expected the Halcandran to reach that far and touch him.

	“Lo siento. I'm alright, really.” He tried to make his reply sound convincing, but wasn't sure whether he succeeded. He took a rather large bite of his meal, if only as an excuse not to have to speak for a moment, giving him time to steel his nerves.

	"Are you [i]really[/i] okay, Meta? Is... Is something bothering you?" He put his silverware down, feeling less hungry now. It was clear to him that something was on the warrior's mind, and he was not going to rest until he found out what.

	The winged swordsman gave no immediate answer. He still wasn't looking his date in the eye. He finished off the last of what was left in his glass, and took his time about it. He could think of many answers to that question, but he wasn't willing to say any of them aloud.

	[i]'Oh, nothing that terrible. I'm only sitting across from the one person in the stars-damned galaxy who can take complete and total advantage of me, and I'm not even sure whether he means to. I could be making another horrible mistake that will impact me for the rest of my near-infinite life, that's all.'[i]

	“I guess you could say I'm slightly worried,” he said finally, pouring himself a refill. “I can't help but think we rushed into all of this too quickly.” He hoped Magolor would accept that answer. It wasn't exactly a lie, after all.

	"Oh... I-I see." Magolor found himself mimicking his partner somewhat, staring blankly outside the window as he pondered his next response.

	[i]'What can I say? He's right. This has gone so fast in only a few, short days time. But... these few days have been the best days of my life. For once, someone respects me. For once, someone appreciates me. For once, someone likes talking to me!'[/i]

	He took another sip of his drink...

	"...For once, I found someone whom I like being around... that I have so much in common with, and that I can hang around with, and trust..." The alien trailed off as he realized he'd been speaking aloud, and cursed himself for having developed that habit. He turned back to the knight, covering his mouth in embarrassment.

	The knight had to restrain himself not to chuckle at the Halcandran's slip-up.

	“A little too much wine, hm?” he allowed himself a good-natured joke instead, and punctuated it with another sip of his own drink, raising an eyebrow. He set the glass down again before reacting a little more seriously.

	“I'm glad you feel that way,” he said in full sincerity, meeting the other male's eyes. “I've enjoyed our time together as well. That's part of what worries me.”

	"What about it worries you?" The hand that had been resting on the knight's shoulder moved to lightly grasp his free hand. The way he was speaking, something definitely seemed wrong.

	The armsman shifted a little in his seat, wings rustling his cape as he debated whether or not to give the real answer this time.

	“I just...” he started, and wasn't able to keep some of the truth from spilling out, even knowing it would make him more vulnerable than he already was. It was too tempting to just give in and confide in someone for once. Besides, he was sure the Halcandran would ferret the answer out of him eventually anyway.

	“I haven't felt this way for anyone in a long time,” he admitted, his voice faltering just the teeniest bit.

	Magolor had a hard time keeping the sense of triumph he felt from becoming evident. He really [i]was[/i] getting to him, after all. He practically had Meta right where he wanted him.

	The problem now was he might be starting to feel the same way.

	"You're... worried about what might happen, right?” he guessed. “You're worried that this won't work out the way we thought it might. The way we want it to. I... think I know the feeling." He took another sip from his glass, nearly emptying it.

	Meta Knight nodded solemnly, almost finishing off his glass as well. He was faintly aware of the alcohol starting to get to him, but couldn't bring himself to care.

	“Perhaps I shouldn't say this, but...” the armsmaster swallowed before he could finish his sentence. He could practically hear the sensible part of his brain screaming at him to shut up, but he kept talking anyway, not caring enough anymore to stop.

	“The last time I tried this, it ended... unfavorably.”

	"U-unfavorably?" Magolor repeated, lowering his glass, and bringing his hands to his sides. He could tell that what Meta might say next was not going to be the start of a pleasant conversation.

	“[i]Very[/i] unfavorably,” the swordsman confirmed. “I'll spare you the details if you'd rather not hear them, but... Francamente, there's a reason I haven't done any of this in so long.” He finished off his second glass, hesitating before pouring a third. He ate another bite or two of his steak instead. It was only warm now instead of hot.

	“What happened? You can tell me,” the Halcandran offered encouragingly.

	“Well...” he started, hardly believing he was going to actually explain this, “it had lasted for quite some time. At least three years, perhaps four,” he speculated, not wanting to dig deep enough into the memory to find an accurate answer. “I cared for her more deeply than anyone I've ever known, and I had thought she felt the same for me,” he went on, and had to pause for a moment to take a deep breath. He felt as if he were cutting deep into a scar he'd gotten long ago that had never healed quite right to let it bleed again, hoping that this the wound would vanish completely after the pain was gone. This was something far more personal than he would ever share with anyone else, but he wanted so badly to be able to confide in someone. He was so tired of the solitude he'd buried himself in all this time. It was only natural to have a need to share your troubles and griefs with someone, wasn't it?

	“Had I not kept her in my thoughts, I'm certain I would have lost many more battles than I did,” he admitted reluctantly. He didn't dare refer to this person as anything other than 'her.' The name was to bitter on his tongue to speak.

	“I was sure we would marry one day, once that war was over, but...” he faltered, feeling his voice start to shake. He had to steady it again before saying anything else. He was absolutely [i]not[/i] going to allow himself to come anywhere near tears. Not in front of anyone. Ever. He refused to stoop to such a pathetic level, even with his judgment skewed.

	Magolor was starting to regret asking about this at all. He didn't like seeing the knight getting so torn up like this, but he fought it back and asked anyway.

	“... But...?” he pressed, gentler than before.

	The swordsman's wings trembled just the tiniest bit under his cape, which he subsequently wrapped tighter around himself as if it were a lifeline. He wrestled whatever emotions were threatening to boil up to the surface back into submission and put a wall up around them, keeping his voice completely even.

	“... But then I returned home early from service one day,” he finished, his voice sounding suddenly hollow. “I wanted it to be a surprise, so I didn't tell her ahead of time, and...” Even with the mask covering his face, his expression visibly hardened. There was a smoldering rage there, clearly visible within his eyes, even though his voice sounded calm.

	“There was someone [i]else[/i] there. With her.”

	“O-ohh... I...” Magolor tried to say something, but he was at a loss. Suddenly everything he'd been building up to, everything he had planned, felt... far more questionable than it ever had. He'd never been able to sympathize with anyone before, but now, hearing Meta Knight speak about this... It was impossible not care, at least a little.

	“It was no coincidence,” the swordsman went on. “Nightmare didn't care about taking control of that planet, or even destroying my possessions. He sent only a single monster there to take the one thing I cared about most away from me, and nothing else. And he made certain I knew it.”

	“What, um...” Magolor faltered, now more aware than ever what the implications of his plans were. “What did you do?” he asked helplessly, fearing what exactly the knight was capable of when he was pushed that far. How did he react to being hurt so deeply? How would he react if—when—it would happen again?

	“I gathered my things, left, and told myself I would never be close to anyone again,” the winged swordsman answered with a sense of crumbling resolve. “That way, I couldn't be hurt. Nothing could get to me.” Finally, he looked into the Halcandran's eyes again, but there was no searching this time, no gauging reactions. He looked him in the eyes for no reason other than to convey the honesty of his next statement.

	“Now I fear I could make the same mistake again.”

	"I..." Magolor looked back down at his food. The knight still had doubts about him... and he was completely right to do so.

	[i]'This is it, then. It's now or never. I have to make a decision. Should I go ahead and follow my current feelings? Or wait until it's safe?'[/i]

	After waiting quite a bit, going back and forth over and over in his mind, trying to think of all the consequences, he finally closed his eyes and spoke. There was no point in stalling any longer.

	"Meta Knight... You're the only one who's ever put so much trust and faith in be before. You're the first one to really care about me to this extent. And... Well... I think... I-I think I feel the same about you as you feel about me... Y-you know... I uh... I-I like you." His voice gradually got quieter and quieter as he lost confidence. He fretted over both how sincere he was really being, and how his companion would react.

	Meta Knight gently pushed his plate aside, along with his glass, to reach one hand out and place it atop that of his partner.

	"I'm honored," he murmured, "and fortunate." He squeezed the smaller male's hand in his own. "I want to pursue this. I want it to last."

	"M-me too. Thank you, Meta. Thank you for everything you've done for me in the past few days. I don't think I'll ever forget anything that happened since I landed on Pop Star." He opened his eyes and looked back up at Meta, smiling sincerely.

	[i]'I hope I'm not taking this too fast...'[/i]

	The knight gave a weak smile of his own in return, feeling his fears and doubts melting away.

	"Well, then..." He retracted his hand and reached instead for the wine bottle, which was still half full. "Shall we finish our dinner before landing?"

	"Heheheh... Yes, we should." Magolor nodded, raising his empty glass for the knight to fill as well. "Cheers?" He repeated, feeling far happier than he had in some time.

	"Cheers," Meta Knight echoed, obligingly filling both glasses.