#mario deserves to be a little incomprehensible. as a treat.

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

One Track Mind

Rating: General Audiences Characters: Peach, Mario, Luigi, Toadsworth Relationships: Mario & Peach, Mario & Luigi Tags: Fluff, Nonverbal Mario

Summary: Mario comes back from a trip with some souvenirs. Word Count: 1,376 words

[AO3 Link]

~~~

Taking a deep breath of floral-scented garden air, Peach placed her cup of tea back onto its saucer with a soft clink. The cup was long empty, as was the accompanying teapot; the cup sitting across from her on the garden table, on the other hand, was still half-full of tea. Not that the person who’d been sitting across from her had disliked it; he’d loudly expressed his delight as soon as its flavor had hit his tongue. Peach still wasn't sure why Luigi had been surprised. It wasn't like she wasn't going to make his favorite tea for their little meetup.

Regardless, Peach and Luigi had spent the last few hours here in the castle gardens catching each other up on the books they’d been reading lately — Peach absorbed in the discussion enough to only get through one cup of tea and Luigi rambling on and on enough to get through many more than one up until his bladder finally got through to him and he’d begged off to use the restroom.

So Peach waited for him to return, and soon enough she heard footsteps approaching. “Oh, Luigi,” she said, turning around, “I was thinking about that prince character...do you think she’s actually —?”

The words Peach was going to say next died in her throat. Because, well.

The true reason Luigi had been visiting her today was for a change in routine from minding an empty house. Mario, as was per usual when Bowser was quiet for an extended period of time, had an accumulated wanderlust that had demanded an outlet lest he vibrated out of his own skin and crumbled into dust (Luigi’s description, not hers). As such, Peach had decided to fill two needs with one deed and pointed him toward one of the kingdoms she both hardly had contact with outside the quarterly letter and the occasional formal event and knew Mario hadn't been to yet. If anyone could give an honest and inadvertently thorough account of how a kingdom’s citizens and culture were doing, it was Mario, for sure. And by the last letter he’d sent, he wasn't due back for another week or so.

So it was a complete surprise to see him standing before her now. Least of all looking like he’d picked a fight with a gang of Thwimps and had only barely managed to win by the skin of his teeth.

“Mario?!” Peach rushed forward to him. “What — what happened?”

Mario waved hello, eyes unfocused; as the motion finished he blinked down at his hand as if he was seeing the bandages wrapped around it for the first time. Peach took that hand, and used the point of contact to assess the rest of Mario’s injuries. Her lips pursed as she realized that, while none of them were life-threatening, he had way too many for her to heal on the spot. They’d need to go to the castle’s medical wing.

But when Peach said as much to Mario, Mario only tilted his head absently. He wouldn't follow her out of the garden either, not when she tried to herd him out nor when she tried to push him along by the shoulder (to which he hissed in pain and she immediately stopped). “Mario, please,” she said, growing frustrated. For all his self-sacrificial tendencies, he usually ultimately listened to her about attending to his own injuries!

Mario considered her. His face broke into a grin; with a splash of eagerness in his eyes he rooted around in his inventory, and placed an object into Peach’s hands.

Peach examined it hesitantly. In a little ceramic pot of fake dirt sat a little artificial tree; copper colored wires coiled up to shape the trunk, splitting off into branches dotted with little multicolored crystals that sparkled in the sunlight and would probably throw pretty spots of translucent color all across her desk and she was letting herself get distracted by this.

“Thank you,” Peach said automatically. She placed the gift on the edge of a nearby flowerbed. “Can I take you to the medical wing now? It would be good to treat your injuries before Luigi sees you and worries.”

Mario perked up at the mention of Luigi’s name. Peach cursed internally as Mario spotted the extra tea cup and realized Luigi was nearby. Fine. Okay. She could work with this. Luigi would want his brother to go to the medical wing, too. And unless Luigi came back right now to say so, then it was still up to her to get him there before —

“Mario?!”

On a second story balcony, Luigi leaned over the railing, eyes wide. Mario grinned up at him; it warped the bruise on his face. Peach could see Luigi’s face fall from here. Luigi looked around for the quickest way back down to the garden; said way was, technically, the direct line from him to Mario. So over the railing he jumped, falling into a tree. Then into a hedge. Then into a bush. He luckily didn't squash the daisies too badly.

Mario attempted to run to him, but made it only a few steps before stumbling. Luigi burst out of the hedge in a stumbling-run of his own to meet him. “What happened?” Luigi asked, turning Mario this way and that to examine his injuries.

“He won't go to the medical wing,” Peach burst out before Mario had a chance to answer. Luigi frowned at her, unimpressed at the interruption. Peach crossed her arms and turned away with an impressive frown of her own. Mario frowned too, finally picking up on her souring mood.

“She’s just worried, bro,” Luigi reassured him. “You look really bad. Whaddaya got that can't wait until you’re healed, anyway?”

Mario hummed, reached into his inventory, and gave Luigi a little box. Luigi opened the box and held up a bundle of packets. “Oh, are these seeds?” he asked. At Mario’s nod, he beamed and (very carefully) patted Mario’s knee. “Thanks, bro!”

Though the air between them was peaceful, the brothers couldn't quite ignore Peach’s narrowed yet concerned gaze any longer. Luigi helped Mario to his feet. Now upright and with his mini-missions accomplished, the dull ache of Mario’s injuries finally caught up with him, and a grimace pushed its way onto his face. And though the phrase ‘I told you so’ was written all over her, Peach stepped forward for him to lean against so he wouldn't fall over.

Luigi stepped forward to help, too, but not before pocketing his gift and retrieving Peach’s from where she’d left it. He passed it to her. “One track mind, yeah?” Luigi stage-whispered over Mario’s head, smirking. Mario grunted, rolling his eyes skyward. A little bit of a smile came back to Peach’s face.

Together, the trio made their way out of the garden and into the castle. They’d almost made it to the medical wing when a “My word!” gave them pause. It was Toadsworth, who had heard about Mario returning early and about a commotion outside near the gardens but hadn’t realized those two things were connected. “Master Mario! What in the world happened while you were away?!”

Mario looked up from carefully placing one foot in front of their other at the sound of Toadsworth’s voice. Luigi took one glance at Mario’s shifting facial expression and sighed. “He’ll...be fine. He’s got souvenirs for everybody,” Luigi said, which was as much of an explanation as he could give considering he hadn't been given any details yet.

Toadsworth took in the scene before him: Mario’s dawning excitement, Luigi fond exasperation, that tiny yet foreboding pinch to the corners of Peach’s eyes. “I’m quite honored you’ve gotten a gift for me,” he said, “but I’m afraid I’m a bit busy at the moment. Might I visit you in the medical wing later and you can give it to me then?”

Mario considered this. He nodded, waved goodbye, and continued his shuffle down the hall. “Thank you,” Peach mouthed to Toadsworth as they passed him.

Toadsworth winked. “Let me know if there's anything you need,” he whispered back, and strolled off down the hall in the other direction. They could still hear his whistling as they passed through the medical wing’s doors.

#mario deserves to be a little incomprehensible. as a treat. #mlv.fic #smb #super mario

[restlessmaknae]

Smile for me #5

A photographer and a girl who hates being photographed.

Pairing: wedding photographer!Jungkook x Nam Jia (OC)

Genre: fluff, comedy, romcom, slice of life

Chapters: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7

Word count: 11.7k in total

Warning: slightly tipsy Taehyung 😂

Actually, I realised that Jungkook wasn’t a bad guy.

Okay, I may have overreacted the whole thing with my insecurity concerning photographers but hey, you know what it’s like when it comes to girls! I was never the type who liked being on photos and I wasn’t even afraid to say so. Nonetheless, he didn’t deserve to be a witness of my reckless behaviour and I knew it by the time I brought him some food.

“Oh, thanks.” He snapped out of his thoughts as he saw me walking up to him with a plate full of food. “You shouldn’t have done this for me but thank you.” He bowed at my direction which was kind of weird since I didn’t usually earn such respectful response.

“You’re welcome.” I eased him with a smile as we sat down on a bench. It might sound peculiar but I enjoyed just sitting beside him while he was eating. I chattered about the dishes I had chosen for him and he nodded while his mouth was full of rice. He looked funny but I didn’t want to outright laugh at him, so I made an attempt to suppress my teasing grin.

All of a sudden, someone cleared his throat behind us and we both turned around to see who it was. I assumed that it was Mr. Grey Hair who crossed his arms and furrowed his eyebrows, making his bafflement clear but it could have been Mr. Hot Pink as well. But the latter looked surprisingly delighted to see his friend with the girl who almost strangled him 4 hours ago.

“Oh, we interrupted something?” Yoongi asked pryingly and before I could say anything, Jungkook instinctively stood up and raffled his chocolate-brown, slightly curly hair.

“No, hyung! I’ll go right away!”

“You don’t have to, kid.” The photographer raised his arms in defeat while the blondie smiled supportively. I was quite amused by the nickname he used because it was obvious that Jungkook was the youngest out of the three but he didn’t seem like someone who appreciated this particular compellation. “We were also thinking about having something for dinner.” He explained gently while letting his arms flop by his sides.

Jungkook fidgeted so anxiously that I bet that he was never as nervous in his whole life as he was now. After all, I was the one who mentally killed him for taking pictures of me and even yelled at him in public, so it wasn’t a surprise that he was ashamed, now that he was talking with me. And the other guys didn’t even know that I had already apologised.

“You can go with them if you want. I see that you’re quite uncomfortable around me.”

“No, I’m just−“ Mr. Innocent bashfully looked up at me and I could tell that he was dead wrong. Hell yeah, he was embarrassed!

“He’s just shy around strangers, especially girls.” Seokjin whispered like it was our secret but his voice had a teasing edge to it. Well, I was aware of that fact, thank you very much. Maybe Jungkook wasn’t the most outgoing person on Earth but he made quite a progress in the last hour. Until his friends showed up, he was pretty talkative and seemed just fine. But I guess it’s okay if you’re more terrified when your friends are around.

“I’m surprised that he hasn’t run away yet.” Mr. Grey Hair joined in and he was definitely donning a grin. “But it seems that everything is alright between you two.” He accentuated mildly and a half-knowing, half-questioning look came into his eyes. He wasn’t that kind of guy who tried to look scary and make me want to scamper away because I had definitely hurt his friend’s feelings but he was more like that kind of guy whose words were the ones that could kill you.

“I’m sorry for being rude to the two of you, too.” I darted between the two elder guys who had totally different reactions. Mr. Hot Pink was incredibly happy and my sudden confession made him jump in excitement while his friend merely shrugged his shoulders.

“No problem. If Jungkook accepted your apology, we’re also fine.”

“I did.” The boy blurted out but his voice was barely audible.

When everyone averted their eyes to him, he looked down at his fingers and started toying with his camera. His face was flushing red.

“And that’s okay if you’re a little harsh sometimes.” Yoongi cleared his throat and tried to clear the tension in the air. “I guess he got used to that beside me.” He finally boasted one of his gentle smiles and it made him much more attractive. If he didn’t act like a grumpy grandpa, he was quite nice.

After Yoongi’s chuckle, the next few minutes were spent in an odd silence. None of us knew what we should say or do, so we said nothing. It was hilarious since there were 3 guys around me who probably hated me hours ago and now they treated me like I was their good buddy.

“But why do you hate cameras so much?” Seokjin met my gaze, his eyes hinting at his incomprehension. I was kind of prepared for this question but not for the following compliment. “You’re pretty, so that shouldn’t be a problem.” He declared confidently like it was a fact that nobody could counter but I almost fainted.

Mr. Hot Pink was really handsome, and when a handsome guy says that you’re pretty, you tend to believe it because he must have had his definition of beauty.

Yet, I didn’t want to cherish this perfectly false statement, so I tilted my head and vigorously shook my head.

“First of all, I don’t think I am pretty and plus, I just don’t like how I come out on photos.” I snorted but Yoongi cut me off.

“Oh please, I’ve seen worse.”

“Believe him, he’s prominently honest.” The cameraman put a hand over his mouth and whispered into my ears. Upon locking eyes with Jungkook, I swore I saw a jealous glint in his onyx-black eyes. Or maybe I was wrong. Maybe, I don’t know. But that’s for sure that his shoulders stiffened as he was watching our scene which could be easily misinterpreted.

“Thanks.” I murmured, not sure about what I should say. When I peeped at the blondie, judging from how clueless he looked, he may not have noticed my hesitation. Gosh, even if I grew up with Taetae, he didn’t even compliment me, except for the times when I kicked his ass at Mario Kart. Other than that, I could have been a boy, he would probably treat me the same way, so I was definitely not used to receiving compliments.

I was praying again for someone up there to help me break this awkward silence and God must have heard my desperate words because Mr. Grey Hair finally spoke up.

“Alright, Jungkookie.” He patted the youngers’ back and started walking forth. “We’ll leave you here. It’s for your own sake. Socialise a bit!” He was already bawling the last sentences as they were getting further and further away. They literally ran away to make sure that Mr. Innocent wouldn’t follow them but I still heard as Seokjin said:

“Do you think there’s still something left off of the cake?” He asked his friend and that was it. They were gone.

Poor Jungkook was too dumbfounded to process what was happening. Aigoo, they were such cunning guys! I didn’t think that they would just leave him with me. Not after our unforgettable first encounter. It looked like they actually supported our relationship. Wait, what?! We weren’t even in a relationship!

“It looks like they love teasing you.” I let out a giggle as I sat down on the bench again. Jungkook followed me but didn’t start eating, he answered my question instead.

“As the youngest, that’s what I get.”

“Not like you mind it,” I pointed out and his sly smirk indicated that I was right. Instead of annoyance or wrath, hints of felicity and gratefulness were swimming in the onyx-black sea of his eyes.

“Not like I mind it.”

And so this is how our little conversation begun. First, he was talking about his hyungs and how they treated him, hence how he respected them. When Jungkook was young, Yoongi was his neighbour and both of them were the only kids in their family, so despite their age gap, they were spending most of their free time together. Even if it meant that they were eating out, walking along the Han River or taking photos. Yoongi was always keen on photography but Mr. Innocent wasn’t really at that time. One day, he took his friend’s camera without permission and upon seeing his works, Mr. Grey Hair encouraged him to try it out. Jungkook got a camera for the following Christmas and that’s how it all started.

Seokjin was actually Yoongi’s best friend and the three of them all attended – or used to attend − the same university; Seoul Institute of the Arts. Not to mention that they were also roommates at the flat they rented since the elder guys moved out of the dormitory after completing their degrees. Now, they had a studio with some friends where Jungkook also worked. They did this for a living while Mr. Innocent thought that it was a rewarding job besides studying. Well, he got paid well and his friends didn’t look down on him, so he stated that he was having the best time of his life with them. They had taken tons of photos for schools, companies and families, so it wasn’t a surprise that they even came to Busan for my aunt’s wedding.

The fact that at least we both lived in the same city perked me up. I didn’t know why because it wasn’t like we will ever meet again but it made my heart leap. When I didn’t ask more questions, Jungkook turned to face me and boasted one of his sheepish smiles.

“And what about you? What are you studying?”

“Biochemistry at Sungkyunkwan University.”

“What?” His jaw literally dropped and it was so funny that I couldn’t hold back my laughter.

“I really do.” I said in between laughs but he still stared at me like I was the craziest person on Earth. Believe me, I’d seen this expression on literally everyone’s face who asked me the same question. “I’ve always been interested in how biological molecules give rise to the processes that occur within living cells, so that’s how I ended up at the field of biochemistry.” I shrugged because it was interesting for me but I saw that he was still in the state of shock.

“Sorry, Miss, but were you even speaking Korean?” He wiggled his eyebrows and I knew that he wasn’t any serious about it. I playfully smacked him in the chest like we were already good friends but I didn’t really mind his teasing.

We were talking more about my studies since he was curious what kind of classes did I have to attend, what will I do for a living in the future and somehow, we even started talking about my family – aunt and Namjoon as well. The last topic was weddings when Jungkook got a text from Seokjin that they needed him for the newly-weds first dance, so we both headed to the hall. When I bid my goodbye, I was smiling like an idiot and Taehyung happened to be there when I sat down at our table.

“And you say that you don’t have a thing, hah?” He caught me completely off-guard which only resulted in my irritated grumble and my grandmother’s confused expression. Thank God that my parents were at another table with their friends, so they couldn’t see as I was trying to shut him up with covering his mouth with my hands.

Who knows if he was right or not? What if we really had a thing?

Gosh, boys were complicated.

#sfwbangtan #bangtanbuds #kpopwritingnet #kkreationsnet #kreativewritersnet #bts scenario #jungkook scenario #bts fluff #jungkook fluff #bts comedy #jungkook comedy #photographer!jungkook #photographer!bts #wedding!bts #wedding!au #photographer!au #bts slice of life #jungkook slice of life #my story #restlessmaknae #smile for me