#uugh forget the waving | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

theultimateultimateweapon · 3 years

Text

Kirby: Meta Knight and the Knight of Hades (Chapter 10)

Morpho Knight swung his sword down the slope, releasing a powerful shock wave. The crescent-shaped waves hit Meta Knight in quick succession.

Meta Knight flew left and right, but his arm was hurt and he groaned in pain. Morpho Knight didn’t even look tired.

Meta Knight remembered what happened in the underworld. In that world, he couldn’t feel tired, hungry, or pain at all. The red knight might not feel any of those feelings no matter how much he fights because of the power of the butterfly of Hades.

If so, does Meta Knight have no chance of winning…?

(No, it can’t be...) Meta Knight gripped his sword and thought. (Those who do not feel tired do not understand the breath of battle. Those who do not feel pain cannot read the movement of their enemy.)

Behind Meta Knight were King Dedede, Kirby, and Blade Knight. Both the great king and Kirby fought desperately, but they had finally lost their strength.

Only Meta Knight was standing. He didn’t know if he could get through this mess. Already, just breathing was painful and his whole body hurt.

(Good. I feel tired and painful because I am alive!)

Meta Knight gathered his strength and jumped up, slashing at Morpho Knight.

However, he repelled it easily.

Morpho Knight slashed violently at Meta Knight’s landing.

Due to his tiredness, Meta Knight, who had been struck before, couldn’t move. He held his sword over his body and guarded desperately, but the damage was great.

His head was fluttering. His eyes were hazy, and his feet were swaying.

(Will I… will I go to the underworld again? This time, forever?) When such an ominous idea came to him, something happened.

“Meta Kniiiiight!”

He heard a loud voice. Waddle Dee’s voice.

Meta Knight raised his face.

Waddle Dee overcame a broken pillar holding something.

“Don’t come any closer!” Meta Knight shouted out.

Waddle Dee turned around, gained momentum, and threw what he was holding in his hand.

“Meta Knight! Here…!”

Something flew through the air. Meta Knight quickly reached out and took it.

Immediately, Meta Knight’s whole body shook. His fatigue and pain disappeared as they were swept away. He felt the power in his hand.

“My treasured sword… the Galaxia!”

It’s unmistakable and genuine. Meta Knight held the Galaxia high. A bright light spilled from the tip of the sword.

Morpho Knight attacked. Meta Knight lightly dodged, shook up and jumped high.

“Spinning Knight!”

While spinning in the air, he slashed at Morpho Knight.

Morpho Knight flinched and was struck down.

Then, immediately, he held his sword horizontally and drill slashed!

Morpho Knight was blown off and struck against a collapsing wall.

Meta Knight had completely regained his power. The Galaxia gave him strength. And the Galaxia was also strengthened by returning to the hands of its true owner. The sword fighter and the sword, united for increased power!

However, Morpho Knight wasn’t finished.

When he stood up, he swung his sword down and sent crescent shock waves one after another. They flew with tremendous speed, but Meta Knight didn’t give up, dodging one after another, getting closer to him.

“Take this-!” Meta Knight swung after Morpho Knight.

Morpho Knight disappeared suddenly. He escaped with teleportation in an instant. Morpho Knight materialized above and behind Meta Knight.

Meta Knight looked back, feeling sick.

Morpho Knight slid in and rushed through the air.

It was tremendous speed. Meta Knight couldn’t dodge it.

“Kah…!” He was moving before he realized.

He grabbed the Galaxia, held it in front of him, and took a strong stance.

At the moment of attack…

“Galactic Counter!”

A deadly mystery that uses the enemy’s attack power against them!

There was no delay, the timing was perfect.

“...ts!” Morpho Knight stiffened his whole body and his attacks were slow.

The game was on. Meta Knight quietly stared at the enemy.

A streak of light spilled out of Morpho Knight. The lights gradually increased, two, three, and the brightness increased. His mask, his sword, and his wings on his back were swallowed by the white light. The knight turned into a ball of light and disappeared with a burst.

After the knight disappeared, countless red butterflies were dancing. The butterflies flew turbulently, fading little by little, and eventually disappeared as if melting away.

“Meta Knight…”

Meta Knight, staring at the disappeared butterflies, was called and turned around.

It was Kirby. He had been injured in the fight, but seemed to regain some energy.

“Did you win?”

“...Yes.”

“Meta Knight really is strong! I couldn’t do it at all.” Kirby looked a little sick.

Behind him, King Dedede stood up slowly. “Uh… Uugh…!”

The king, leaning on his hammer, managed to support his body and said with envy. “I was supposed to do it… I could’ve mustered the strength…!”

“Didn’t you turn and run?”

“I didn’t run off! I was getting a better vantage point!”

Blade Knight also stood up, in tears. “Meta Knight, sir, wow, you’re safe!”

“Yes. No need to worry about me.”

“But what happened? I could have sworn you were on the battleship Halberd…”

Waddle Dee rushed in before Meta Knight answered. “Meta Knight! You won!”

“Waddle Dee.” Meta Knight turned to Waddle Dee.

“I’m grateful you returned my strength with the Galaxia. Thank you.”

“I just carried it. It was the Galaxia that strengthened you…”

Waddle Dee jumped up. “Wait, we still need your help! Your knights are in a hole!”

“A hole?”

“This way!”

Meta Knight followed Waddle Dee to the knights.

The rescued knights were quiet, even surrounding Meta Knight. Everyone’s hearts were so full that no words came out.

Meta Knight opened his mouth. “It was foolish of me to worry, everyone fought so well.”

“Meta Knight, sir…!”

The Meta Knights wept as if the thread of tension had broken.

Sword Knight said. “You’re the real Meta Knight, aren’t you”

“Do I look like a fake?”

“No! You’re definitely real! There’s a big difference!”

Sword Knight saw Beryl crouching down.

Mace Knight snuck behind and grabbed Beryl’s head.

Axe Knight asked, “Let’s punish him for what he’s done. What do you think?”

“Hm…” Meta Knight thought about it.

Beryl was shaking, rattling.

Javelin Knight spoke. “Let’s tie him to the bow of the battleship and let him enjoy space travel.”

Trident Knight replied, “Why don’t we send him to Castle Dedede? Let the Waddle Dees take a break and let him do all the castle work alone!”

Axe Knight added, “No, let’s send him to all the towns he destroyed and make him fix them back up again! First, Dreamland!”

Meta Knight spoke. “That’s still too kind. Let’s tie him up so he can’t move and have Kirby perform a song for him.”

“Eh!?” Kirby was surprised. “Why do I have to sing for this guy!? What a waste…!”

“...No, trust me.” Meta Knight told Kirby. “Persuade him with your wonderful singing that he should never do anything wrong again.”

“...Eh? Persuade him?”

“Listening to a wonderful song can change someone’s mind.”

“Oh yeah… songs have the power to move hearts. I see!” Kirby was determined and nodded. “I will sing! It’ll be a moving song that will gentle the heart of any villain!”

“While you’re at it, would you like to serve your home cooking as well? You should make a special dish that will make him cry with excitement.”

“Okay! Looks like Meta Knight is kind to his enemies.”

“Waddle Dee.”

Waddle Dee, who was swaying and listening to the story, jumped up when Meta Knight called out.

“Ye...yes!”

“I’ll leave it to you. Hold Kirby a concert and set up a special seat for Beryl. Don’t forget to serve Kirby’s special dishes. Have Beryl eat until he is full.”

“Uh… uh… uh, yes…!” Waddle Dee imagined it and nodded in tears of fear.

(Me, Meta Knight…! What a terrifying thing! Kirby’s song is so terrible it could crack the walls of Castle Dedede, and Kirby’s food is so bad he could lose his appetite for the rest of his life…!)

Kirby said with a smile. “Heh, I’ll do my best! Let’s work together, Waddle Dee!”

“Ah… okay…”

“What should I sing? I have to sing with all my heart so Beryl doesn’t do bad things again… of course, I’ll do my best to cook too… Wow, I’m excited! Hey Beryl, I hope you’re looking forward to it!”

“Oh, oh. I’m sure I’ll change my mind.” Beryl was relieved and grinned.

The Meta Knights and King Dedede whispered in the shadow.

“Beryl’s acting like he’s saved.”

“How stupid, he doesn’t know the horror of Kirby.”

“Meta Knight is too cruel. No matter what he did, I’m sorry for Beryl.”

“How could sir make such a proposal…”

“Wow, he’s not kidding around! Good luck, Beryl!”

Meta Knight turned over his cloak and started walking. “Well then, let’s go back to the battleship Halberd.”

“Yes sir!” His subordinates saluted in unison and lined up.

Captain Vul and the Meta Knights were enjoying tea time leisurely for the first time in a long while.

Meta Knight wasn’t there. It seems he had something to do, so he went out without telling them where he was going.

Captain Vul was talking about, of course, Meta Knight.

Axe Knight said. “Even so, it’s strange. Why did Meta Knight, who had been unconscious on the Halberd, appear in the ancient temple?”

Captain Vul replied. “I have an idea, but I can’t quite explain it. I think…”

Captain Vul took a sip of his tea and continued.

“At that time, Meta Knight’s body and mind were disjointed. His body was in a bed in the Halberd here, but his mind was wandering somewhere else.”

“...Huh.”

“Usually, the wandering heart returns to the body. However, Meta Knight is a very strong person, so I think this time his body was called to his heart.”

“...Hmm.”

Blade Knight said. “Meta Knight has a strong body, though.”

“...Well, that is correct. However, if anything, his heart is stronger!”

“Persuasive, if not…” Sword Knight muttered.

“At that time, Galacta Knight took a big hit. Moreover, he was combined with the red butterfly to become even more powerful.”

“Yeah, but what about it?”

“I think I’ve got it. Meta Knight’s desire to fight a strong opponent called to his body.”

“I see, then I understand.”

The Meta Knights nodded.

“Meta Knight’s enthusiasm to fight can be a bit overkill.”

“Hold your tongue. Meta Knight doesn’t like fighting. He likes to make himself stronger.

“Regardless, his desire to fight a strong enemy caused a miracle.”

“As expected from our master!”

Around the time when the peaceful tea party was held on the Halberd, Kirby’s special dinner concert was being held in the basement of the Castle Dedede.

Meta Knight was standing alone in a flower garden of Dreamland.

A pleasant breeze blew and the colorful flowers swayed.

Meta Knight picked up a yellow flower and took a deep breath. It had a refreshing smell.

“It has a nice scent. Pink was… too sweet, wasn’t it?”

Meta Knight couldn’t forget Papi’s happy voice. The whole time he was trying to stop Meta Knight from returning to the original world… At the very end, he was desperate to save Meta Knight. Without Papi, Meta Knight wouldn’t have been able to return to this world.

He wondered, what was Papi doing now? Was he fluttering around looking for someone to talk to?

At that moment, a white butterfly flew by and perched on a yellow flower. It was slowly drinking from the flowers.

Meta Knight muttered in a small voice. “If one day you go to that world, let me know.”

The butterfly stopped moving, as if it had heard Meta Knight’s words.

“I’d like to thank that talkative butterfly with light blue wings. Papi was a good guide… no, a good friend.”

The butterfly fluttered away, and began to fly from flower to flower.

Meta Knight quietly watched until the butterfly disappeared.

(Chapter 9 - Table of Contents)

(The end, thank you so much for reading and all of your support!)

236 notes · View notes

teen-cups-au · 3 years

Text

FOLLOWER'S SUBMISSION:

Recovery

Part 21.

Warnings : mention of blood, swearing, angst / light angst

Back to Cuphead

Cuphead had panicked. He searched the area around their home frantically. He was looking everywhere for Mugman.

"Mugman?" "where are you?" "come back!"

"if there is a problem tell we will solve it together!!" "MUGMAN??!!" "MUGMAN!!"

He was looking for him even under small rocks. (poor guy) He ran left and right up and down, he even climbed upon a tree to have clearer view.

"MUG - *HRK COUGH COUGH HACK PANT PANT* he climbed down the tree.

He stopped to catch his breath. He sat down on a flat rock. He rested his elbows on his knees and caught his face. He slowly rubbed his face and nape.

" Where are you Mug? Why did you leave?" he whispered. "Did I do anything wrong? Did I say anything? Did I hurt you?" he whispered to himself. Some owls, nocturnal animals and the sound of waves smashing the coast could be heard.

What if something bad was happening right now?! What if he had an asthma attack and couldn't call for help?! What if something hit him!? What if he fell somewhere and he is dying slowly painfully and cold?! Is he even wearing warm clothes?! What if he got trapped somewhere?! What if-?!

His phone rang. Pulling him out of his thoughts. "Gah!" he jolted. He pulled it out from his pocket. He saw Hilda's name. He picked it up. "Hello? Hilda?" he asked.

"Cuphead!.. I have Mugman here... -" Cuphead straightened up "Is he okay? Where are you?" he asked both relieved yet upset.. That kid...UUGH!!

"-He looks fine! He is sleepwalking. I'll send a star and a cloud to bring you here." she said.

She took a piece of her cloud and created a smaller one. Then she took one of the stars that accompanied her and sent them to him " Go sweeties, bring cuphead here"

They nodded. A tiny cute star along with a cute cloud traveled. It took them 20 minutes and eventually found him.

Cuphead saw them and raised his hand. The cloud and star went in front of him. Cuphead carefully stepped in the cloud "Thank you! Uh I'm ready?" they nodded and led cuphead back to Hilda.

However, due to the fact he's been gathering a lot of stress inside him. It was time he exploded.... They reached Hilda. Mugman was standing close to the sea.

"Thank you! Thank you for finding him Hilda!! I'll take care of it" He said to Hilda, the cloud and the star. They nodded.

Hilda caressed the star and the cloud. "Great job darlings!" the cloud and star smiled and rubbed affectionately on Hilda's cheeks. Then the cloud joined with her bigger one while the star joined the other stars.

When Cuphead saw Mugman tho... /he/ran to his side and grabbed Mugman violently from the arms. Forgetting he is still fragile.

"WHAT THE HECK WERE YOU THINKING?!?!" he yelled. His teeth clenched, tears of fear ran down his eyes.

He slapped him hard... Hard enough for the poor boy to slip and fell inside the sea.. (*) *SLAAP!! SPLASH!".

[ Author's Note *: It wasn't deep. Mugman was in the coast. Only his feet were wet. When Cuphead slapped him he fell down on some small rocks. Then he rolled and fell down receiving water in the face mostly from the waves. I hope that helps! Im always here to answer questions!]

He fell on his side upon some rocks. He woke up abruptly and rolled on his front. Hilda flinched. *gasp* she covered her lips with her hands.

Mugman couldn't move. His body was in shock due to the abrupt waking, cold water and the strong impact.

He gasped "*GAAAAAAASSPP* huh?! What-?! *hrk cough cough ptu*". Mugman asked completely perplexed. He drank some seawater accidentally.

He slowly moved his hands trying to stand up. But fell face down in the water. *hrk cough cough hrk *. He managed to roll on his behind again.

Cuphead jumped inside the sea as well. He grabbed him from the collar of his shirt, lifted him up and pulled him out violently. Mugman collided with the ground "OOFF!" *huff huff gulp wheeze wheeze cough cough*

"Cuphead! Don't!! He didn't mean it!" Hilda yelled. Cuphead ignored her.

Cuphead grabbed the collar of Mugman's shirt tighter and yelled at Mugman's face.

"COME HERE!!! YOU FUCKING MOTHERFUCKER! *SLAP* COME HERE!! THIS FUCKING INSTANT!! IM DONE OKAY?! WHAT ON ACTUAL EARTH ARE YOU DOING?!? YOU CAUSED ME SO MANY FUCKING HEART ATTACKS!!! ARE YOU OUT OF YOU FUCKING MIND?! WHAT THE HELL MADE YOU THINK THAT... THAT!. WAS A FUCKING GOOD IDEA!?! YOU COULD HAVE HURT YOUR FUCKING SELF!!?! WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU FUCKING THINKING?! HUH?! CANT I FUCKING TURN MY DAMNED BACK FOR LIKE ONE FUCKING SECOND?!"

Mugman was trying to understand what was going on.

What was he doing here? Why was Cuphead so mad? why did he slap him? Why he pulled him violently from the sea? How did he ended up here? Why he doesn't remember anything?

He was shaking. (Due to the cold and fear) Mugman lowered his face. He licked his lips and noticed that some blood was running down his lips.

[author's note : Because his organism is still weak even the slightest hit will cause a bruise or a small crack etc]

Hilda stepped in " Cuphead, I don't mean to interrupt.. But he didn't mean it." She said.

"Hilda. Thank you for everything! However, I kindly ask you to stay out of this!" Cuphead said calmly. Hilda stopped. She lowered her eyes. Cuphead kept yelling.

Hilda looked at Mugman who had his head low like a child that is being scold by its mother.

"WHAT!?... What... would I have done if something bad was happening to you..?!DANGIT!!" Mugman's lips quivered. He cried quietly.

Hilda couldn't stand this.. She understood quite well both sides. Mugman because indeed it wasn't his fault for what happened..

Cuphead because he is afraid of losing his little brother... Cuphead wasn't bad, she knew that. He was yelling because he cared deeply for Mugman. She tried again.

"CUPHEAD! Please! Listen to me!" Hilda insisted. Cuphead stopped *huff huff pant pant * He looked at her. He nodded. Still holding Mugman from the shirt.

"He was sleepwalking. Sleepwalkers don't remember what they did while asleep. They are confused. I understand you freaked out but please! It's not safe here."

Cuphead looked back at Mugman. A soft sob escaped Mugman's lips. *sob sob sniff sniff * Cuphead's eyes softened. He sighed and relaxed the grip around his shirt.

Mugman kept sobbing... "What - *sob*- ever I.. I - *sob sob*- did.. Im - *gulp hic sob sniff*- sorry... please don't - *sob sob sob sniff hic * - be mad... I am sorry.. *SOB SOB HIC SNIFF SNIFF-- *

Cuphead sighed. Mugman turned his head away from Cuphead and started coughing.

*COUGH COUGH HACK WHEEZE COUGH COUGH HACK WHEEZE COUGH COUGH HACK WHEEZE COUGH COUGH HACK WHEEZE COUGH COUGH HACK WHEEZE WHEEZE COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH HAAACK WHEEZE *

He clenched his chest. Cuphead pulled out an inhaler from his pocket. "Mug.. Breathe slowly and deeply okay?" he said.

Mugman nodded. Cuphead gave him up to 10 puffs. *pchit pchit pchit pchit pchit pchit pchit pchit pchit pchit*

Mugman breathed 4 times with each puff.

"Thanks" he said. He didn't dare to make an eye contact with Cuphead.

Cuphead hugged him protectively. I am sorry for yelling, I just got really scared! I.. Don't want to lose you!!" he said and pulled him deeper into his hug. "It's okay! I know! Don't worry about it!" Mugman said and hugged him back.

Touching his shoulder blades Cuphead sensed something. "huh?" he put his hand under his shirt and touched Mugman's bare skin. He sensed something sticky... He pulled his hand out and saw....

Blood...........

Blood...?

BLOOD?!

_______________________

End of part 21! ❤️

Thank you for reading!! 💙 💙

MOD'S REPLY:

Doudy (mod): Why do I picture the stars from Dora the Explorer 😐

Off... The slap... I wish that was also a nightmare :Y This is so horrible... Thank god Hilda's here.

#submission #cuphead au #cuphead #fanart

14 notes · View notes

gll-chui · 3 years

Text

☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲

★彡( 𝙻𝚘𝚐𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙾𝚗 )彡★

Thank goodness he was finally free to relax for a little while.

Well, as much as he could, anyways.

Today wasn’t all that thrilling thankfully, Lieutenant Garuru of the Garuru Platoon was tasked in the early morning to meet with his team and take them off planetside to look over a beacon that was on the cusp of X territory. X--pronounced ‘cross’--was Keron’s largest moon, and they had taken the opportunity many years ago to set up a beacon on the outskirts of their solar system for defence purposes. Specifically they housed the beacon on a cluster of asteroids that floated around their system in a single long-tailed ring. The beacon and it’s incredibly small one person outpost was easy to find with a click of a few buttons from their computer’s panel. Garuru and his team looked over the technology that was there, chatted briefly with the soldier that was tasked with staying there and even greeted the second soldier that was going to relieve the first before heading back home to Keron.

They still had a few hours before the platoon had to regroup for their ‘conclusion’ meeting of the day and then be dismissed, but Garuru took his newfound free time to find himself a quiet room. It wasn’t fancy, just a simple room with knobs in place instead of the usual light switch so that the lights themselves could be dimmed if desired. The quiet rooms frequented Keron’s military bases and even the space stations, mostly used so that higher officers could have an undisclosed chat with one another if the topic was private. Or even for civilian use, like if someone needed to catch a break from the overwhelming atmosphere of the space station---

Or now. To recover from a splitting headache.

Garuru had no idea what the hell happened last night that prompted his head to be assaulted by wave after wave of throbbing, sharp pain that radiated from the front of his head, behind his eyes, and then to the top of his skull but it seemed as though no matter what the damn thing wouldn’t go away. He’s tried his usual medicines from his own medicine cabinet, hell, he’s even asked Pururu about it but she instructed that the over-the-counter medicines was ‘just enough’ to get rid of it and “it just needed some time to go into his system”. Yeah, well, it’s been six hours since she’s said that and, nope, the headache was still there. Painfully reminding the Lieutenant it was there with every harsh throb to his temples and eyes, every breath, every glance, every blink. Pure. Unbearable pain. Uugh.

He knew skipping meals would make it worse so he accepted Taruru’s offer to get lunch with the team, he had something light and drank lots of water--took another pill or two for the headache--then excused himself to find a quiet room to get some shut-eye. Thankfully, the room was completely free for use, the lights were on when he went in but he turned them off immediately after getting comfortable. Again, they weren’t fancy by any means, there was a black loveseat, a matching recliner, a short table, large windows that dimmed the moment he had turned off the lights and ‘played’ a scene with stars on a simple dark colored galaxy. Garuru made his way to the loveseat and laid down, removing his visors from his face so that he could hold it in his left hand while his right went behind his head to keep his head and neck propped up. Just closing his eyes was enough to make the headache subside a little, and he sighed in the temporary relief, even if the throbbing was there behind his eyes they no longer felt painful. Just...obnoxious. But he’ll take obnoxious twitching over painful throbbing anyday. The Lieutenant crossed his legs together at the ankles and sighed, letting go of his visors just so he could snap his fingers.

“Set timer for two hours and forty-five minutes.”

‘Timer set, two hours and forty-five minutes by Lieutenant Garuru.’

Perfect. Now he can rest easy and still wake up in time to meet his platoon for their conclusion meeting. Garuru took another long comfortable sigh and grabbed hold of his visors again, letting the artificial hum of the air conditioning lull him to sleep along with the distant chatter of Keron’s military base outside of the quiet room. He didn’t dream of anything, usually, when he takes naps they’re so short he can’t really remember what he was dreaming of anyways but he did get a ‘glimpse’ of a dream. Or was it reality? He heard music, it was relaxing but electronic and smooth, like some strange form of ‘synthwave’ or whatever that music genre was called. It was relaxing, calming, and it made him completely forget the headache that was bothering him all day.

That was when Garuru felt something on his face, thinking it was still the same dream as whatever strange music he was listening to; he just moved his face away from whatever was touching him in hopes that it would stop. And it did. For a solid two seconds. He had no choice but to open his eyes when he felt something touch his face again, and then at his hands, grasping for his visors. Though something was grabbing at him in his sleep his body didn’t feel like it was in danger, so, he’ll go with his instinct that there was no attack or anything. Good thing too, when Garuru opened his eyes he was surprised to see that staring back at him was a tadpole….wait. What?

Yup, yup that definitely was a tadpole, a very small tadpole wearing little overalls and a t-shirt with star patterns all over, with the brightest green eyes he’s ever seen. The music was coming from a plush Keronian they held in one arm that was playing the calming music and its cheeks and tummy were softly glowing to the beat, wearing a matching set of overalls and shirt as the tadpole. Garuru blinks back when the small toddler is still watching him and blinks in puzzlement, then he sees them reaching for his hand to try pulling his yellow visors out from his grasp.

“Mm-mm.” he softly warns, just loud enough so that the tadpole could hear him and they turn towards him again, eyes widening because maybe they didn’t expect him to actually say something to them. Against his warning, the toddler tries to grab his visors again. “No, starshine. That ain’t yours.” Now that he’s said tangible words the tadpole lets go of his hands and instead sits on the floor with their musical friend, trying to hide their face and peeking up from behind the cushion of the couch that Garuru was still laying on. He couldn’t help but chuckle, the little troublemakers! They’re so lucky he adores babies at this age, they’re so curious and silly. “Where’s your momma? Hm?” he asks them, the tadpole doesn’t do anything but smile and hide their face behind the cushion and their plush by slinking down towards the floor. Oh, now they’re shy since he’s awake?

Garuru slowly sits himself up, slowly, because he wasn’t sure if his headache was finally gone or if it was just plotting some sneak attack to get him when he least expects it, but, no, it seems to have vanished already. The toddler hobbles up from the floor and gleefully hurries over to the recliner across the room, their little shoes squeaking away--oh, were those the popular baby shoes that squeaked whenever they take a step? That’s cute--while they hide behind the recliner. Garuru lets his eyes adjust to the darker atmosphere, noticing that in the recliner was another Keronian, a female, with a carrier attached to her chest. Looking a little further he could make out the head of another smaller tadpole in the carrier, oh, this woman was a mother of two then? She probably ran into the first quiet room available to get her kids to calm down or something if they were getting cranky out there at the base. She didn’t look like a soldier, or if she was then not one that he’s seen around here at Gerosect’s Capital.

The toddler pokes his head out from behind the recliner and laughs when he catches eyes with Garuru, the Lieutenant smiling and putting his finger to his lips. “Shh, shhh, shhh.” he points to the poor sleeping mother in the recliner and the little tadpole seems to have understood. Looking up at their mom and then copying Garuru by putting their own finger to their mouth and muttering ‘shhh, shhh, shhh’ back to him. “Turn off alarm. Set.” Garuru says softly, hoping that the A.I in the quiet room would hear him and thankfully it did.

‘Alarm set for thirty-two minutes. Offline. By Lieutenant Garuru.’

To think that the A.I was so advanced in these rooms that it not only heard his whispering but also ‘answered’ back by whispering too, well, it was called the quiet room for a reason so it had to have a whisper function, right? Garuru looks back at the toddler, now regaining the courage to come closer to him and attempting to climb onto the empty space beside him on the loveseat. He gave the toddler a hand by holding his hand out and letting the little tadpole grab hold and clamber up on him, not minding in the least when they pretty much dead-weight fall against him once they got over and grab the back of the loveseat to peek over it, looking at whatever the other side of the room had to offer.

Maybe he should check up on that woman and make sure she’s alright, the last thing he needs is to leave two young children unattended before leaving for his meeting. So Garuru slowly gets up from his seat, stopping when the toddler grabs hold of his arm and then mumbles something incoherently in earnest. Oh no, from the way that the kid is pulling on him he could tell that the toddler probably didn’t want him to go...and possibly wanted to be held? Maybe? Garuru tested this theory by taking a step towards the sleeping mother and then standing back closer to the loveseat when the toddler pulls him back and then tries to grab his arm by his elbow and pulling him up. Yeah. The poor kid wanted to be held. “Fine. Fine, starshine, you win.” Garuru mutters under a tired breath, turning around and hoisting the toddler from the loveseat and onto his hip comfortably. The little child gurgles with laughter and Garuru once again puts his finger to his lips “Shhh, shhh.”

“Shh, shhh, shhhhhh.” the toddler copies, putting the little plush to his mouth; he points at his mom and then looks back up at Garuru. “Shhh.”

“That’s right, they’re sleeping now.” he takes a few steps closer, getting on one knee so that he's in a position to not be looking down at the poor mother when he tries to wake her up and scaring her half to death. Now that Garuru was even closer to the mother in the recliner he could definitely make out the smaller tadpole’s features inside the carrier, they were incredibly young still, their cheeks still flushed from hatching. They had to be a couple of days old, right? Since they were still young enough that they had to be facing the mother’s chest, he managed to see squishy little red cheeks and adorable light purple mittens on their hands when they yawned and tried to rub away something from their face. He’s gotta hand it to this mom, her kids were absolutely adorable. “Excuse me.” Garuru musters, grabbing the young woman’s arm as gently as he could and nudging it enough so that he doesn’t startle her too much. The young mother mumbles something under her breath but doesn’t wake up. “Excuse me, ma’am? Are you alright?”

“Mamamamama--” the little tadpole in Garuru’s arms finally speaks up, though hushed as Garuru’s voice, he figures that was all it needed for the mother to wake up because upon hearing her child’s voice her eyes opened almost instantly. The boy bursts into another fit of giggles as his mom wakes up, wide-eyed and looking around the quiet room hurriedly. “Mamamamama!”

“Ayuyu--” the mother finally speaks up, her eyes falling on Garuru before widening even more in horror. “--Lieutenant Garuru, I-I’m so sorry! I was just running around all day and I needed a place to feed the babies and--”

“Please, don’t apologize at all,” Garuru says, his smile warm and sincere. “I know it could be tough to walk around with a toddler, let alone two small children at once. And by yourself at that.” It was true, thankfully he was old enough to understand that he shouldn’t try running away from his father or making a scene when Giroro was a newborn. But, he was still a child, and children do get tired if you decide to wander around the base for more than five hours straight. Garuru knew that his father worked hard as a single parent, trying to juggle the needs for a newborn as well as keeping his older elementary school son entertained and happy while he had important matters to deal with at the base. Growing up with a single parent Garuru understood and empathized with other parents that tried to juggle childcare on their own, married, widowed, or single. The young mother looked relieved when Garuru comforted her, he could only imagine what kind of scolding she received from other entitled parents that think they know more than her. Poor lady. “Are you feeling alright? Did you need any help at all?”

“I think I’m okay right now, thank you so much, Lieutenant.” She says reaching over and grabbing her toddler from Garuru’s grasp, though they seemed comfortable with him the moment their mother had grabbed them the little child immediately tried to dive back into her arms. “I was only supposed to be running errands until my husband’s shift ends. He promised to meet with me earlier but he was held up by some assignment, so I didn’t have enough time to go home and get the babies’ usual lunches.”

“Assignment?” Garuru asked with a focused expression. “Who’s your husband, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Corporal Daichichi, sir.” the woman answers, her voice wavering once she finally answers. “Is he in trouble?”

“No, no, of course not ma’am. I just don’t think that he should be keeping his family waiting for so long that it exhausts you and your children, that’s all. Hardly in any trouble, I know he probably couldn’t control the situation.” Garuru explains, standing up fully and clicking his visors back into place on his hat. “I will go see how your husband is doing, ma’am. You and your family are free to relax here as much as you need to.” The Lieutenant gives her a firm nod in goodbye, giving her older child a soft pat to their head as she bids farewell and he starts to head towards the direction of a reception desk to ask about the woman’s husband.

He didn’t have to go that far, he was still walking in the middle of the hall when one of the side doors for a conference hall opens up and a soldier nearly runs right into him. The poor man stutters an apology as he salutes, standing there stiff but surely eager to leave but Garuru instantly takes notice of the soldier’s eyes. An intense and familiar bright green color, could he be…? “Corporal Daichichi, I presume?”

“Y-Yes, sir?” the Corporal asks, calming down some when Garuru only nods his head and informs him that his wife and children were in the quiet room just down the hall waiting for him. “O-Oh, did you meet them, sir?”

“I did.” Garuru’s eyes narrowed at him, though it wasn’t because he was angry, he just wanted to ensure that the soldier standing before him knew that his words were indeed serious. “If you get held up on one assignment too many with your family waiting for you outside of their home, please contact me. It’s not fair for your wife to be waiting around with two small children, and it’s not fair to you to be held here longer than you need to be. Do I make myself clear, soldier?”

“Y-Yes sir, thank you, sir.”

“Good. You’re dismissed, I’m sorry for making them wait.” Garuru turns on his heel and starts to head back towards the direction of the elevators, he still had some time to kill before he needed to see his platoon for their conclusion meeting for the day but maybe he could get himself a soda or a canned coffee to fully wake him up. And be it that his headache was finally gone he can thoroughly enjoy the caffeine rush without it affecting him anymore. When Garuru boarded the elevator he saw the soldier still standing in the middle of the hallway, watching him with a shocked expression on his face that slowly turned to that of acceptance and then gratitude. Garuru could only nod and give the Corporal a short silent wave when the man yells back a second ‘thank you’ and then hurries off down the hall, no doubt to meet with his family.

Well. Back to work.

☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲

★彡( 𝙻𝚘𝚐𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙾𝚏𝚏 )彡★

#╚»★«╝ LT in Command ╚»★«╝ (Self)#╚»★«╝ Civilian Encounter ╚»★«╝ (NPC)#╚»★«╝ Mission Log ╚»★«╝ (Stories)

3 notes · View notes