#mlv.fic

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

Hello! A few days ago I read @stripetkattelalala54-gf's headcanon about Mario in Bowser's lap and then some dialogue popped into my head. So here's my attempt to give context to that dialogue! I think I ended up straying away from the original headcanon in the end but this was still fun to write! ^o^

~~~ [AO3 Link] ~~~

“He was hardly sleeping the last I saw him, you know.”

Peach’s words stayed Bowser’s hand. “Is that supposed to mean something to me?” he asked, eyebrow raised.

Peach didn't answer, only waving her arm in a ‘go on, then’ motion. Bowser narrowed his eyes at the sarcasm in the gesture. Still, he didn't move to jostle Mario’s shoulder just yet. Even though he didn't see a reason why he shouldn't wake Mario up; he’d been a pain in Bowser’s neck ever since he’d spotted him a few days ago. At the market in the town nearest his castle, no less, the Princess still safe at home. With a damn backpack on his shoulders.

Bowser had watched him closely from afar, sure he was going to cause trouble, but all he’d been doing was looking at wares and buying trinkets and being disgustingly nice to the vendors he’d talked to. He hadn’t even been haggling; how he hadn't been snubbed for that rudeness was beyond him.

Regardless, Bowser had meant to walk away and let Mario burn under the late summer sun, but the tank top Mario had been wearing and the freckles on his shoulders it had exposed had stalled him long enough for Mario to notice him. Which was a mistake, because from the second Mario had seen Bowser he’d stuck to him like gum on his sole and it had been distracting. Distracting for his troops, when Mario’d swept himself up in their training exercises — which Bowser had meant to watch for insight into Mario’s fighting moveset but ended up watching for the way his sweat-soaked muscles tensed before he threw a punch — distracting for his kitchen staff, when Mario’d decided to visit their workspace — managing to wrangle a recipe for Hot Drumsticks out of them that he then made and had the idea to deliver to him in his office personally, which considering how poorly the dish came out should have been terrible, but it somehow wasn't — distracting even when Bowser tried to bore him with paperwork to get him to leave — parking himself on the couch and doodling who-knew what on a spare page, humming a tune that should have been annoying and looking up whenever Bowser moved something to the ‘done’ pile and shooting him that damn cheery grin that lit up his whole face —

“I hate having feelings.”

“You didn't seem to mind the ones you’d had for me.”

Bowser glared at Peach. Peach smiled placidly. Bowser glared harder, because the entire reason he’d sent his lieutenants to kidnap her in the first place was because after that first day of Mario making a nuisance of himself, it had become glaringly obvious that he was running himself into the ground for some stupid reason or another. And with Greenie apparently out of town, somebody had to knock some sense into the idiot, and it wasn't like Mario had listened to him so far.

But instead of doing that, Peach had sat herself in his chair behind his desk and watched Mario fiddle with literally everything in the room until he finally ran out of energy, at which point he'd draped himself over Bower’s lap and passed out. Half an hour ago.

Bowser lowered his hand onto Mario’s shoulder. Mario sighed in his sleep, expression relaxing. Bowser scowled against the blood rushing to his cheeks. “I hate it,” he repeated.

“You’ll deal.”

“I wouldn't have to if you’d just take him home.”

Peach shrugged. “Give him a break; he’s lonely.”

“What, and you weren't good enough company?”

“Not when I’m in so many meetings.”

Bowser scoffed. “As if I don't have work to do, either.”

“You foist it all onto your advisors, though!”

“So? That’s what they’re there for! I have better things to do than reading.”

Peach rolled her eyes. In doing so, she caught sight of Bowser’s ‘done’ pile by his desk. “I don't suppose all those papers magically signed themselves, then,” she teased.

“I —! It was him!” Bowser sputtered, pointing at Mario. Peach stifled laughter.

Mario stirred, the volume of Bowser’s outburst interrupting his nap. Bowser clacked his jaw shut. “Don't you dare,” he hissed.

For once, Mario listened to him and didn't dare, sinking back into sleep. The relieved slump of Bowser’s shoulders was minute, but Peach giggled at it anyway. Bowser ignored her, because she sucked and he hated her, actually, until that giggling moved and Bowser looked up from staring at Mario’s face to find her partway out the door.

Peach waved at him. “I’ll bring back snacks,” she stage-whispered with a grin, and then disappeared. With the weight of Mario on Bowser’s legs preventing him from stopping her from wandering around his castle unsupervised.

“I should wake you up,” Bowser muttered to Mario, who only snored in response. Bowser sighed, and reached his other hand to carefully move him, because the way Mario’s neck was bent was shooting phantom aches into his own. Not because he actually cared about the state of Mario’s neck, or anything. But regardless of the true reason, almost as soon as Bowser settled Mario into a better position Mario stretched and rolled over to smush his face into Bowser’s stomach. Bowser’s scowl did nothing to stem the blush forming on his cheeks, this time, despite how hard he tried. Feelings. Hated them.

Bowser sighed, leaning back against the couch. No, he thought, with the weight of Mario curled around his waist, who was he kidding? He couldn't say he hated this. And wasn't that the problem he’d been trying to ignore for a while now?

Mario shifted, a sleepy smile growing at something playing out beneath his eyelids. Bowser wondered what he was dreaming about. Something stupid, probably, like a mountain of pasta. Or maybe someone. Like his brother. Or Peach. Or —

...or.

Bowser frowned, shaking his head to dispel that train of thought before it could travel any further, a train of thought that’d had Bowser’s hand finding its way back to Mario’s shoulder without him even realizing. He huffed. What a ridiculous mess, this was. Maybe he did hate his feelings, after all.

Well, whatever. He’ll deal.

#fics that make me create headcanons for when the mushroom and bowser's kingdom's hypothetical fiscal years end #(mid winter and late fall btw. maybe.) #mlv.fic #smb #bowsario

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

A Calm(ish) and Relatively Relaxing Time

Rating: General Audiences Characters: Bowser, Luigi, Daisy, Kamek Relationships: Bowser/Luigi Tags: Humor, Fluff, Minor Character(s)

Summary: Wherein Luigi and Bowser were watching their Baby Yoshi and they’d only taken their eyes off it for a second, they swear, where the heck did it go —? (Postlude to An Egg in a Trying Time) Word Count: 6,774 words

[AO3 Link]

~~~

Bowser and Luigi’s talk didn't go as horribly as Bowser had feared.

Well — it wasn't like it was going to go horribly in the first place; the two of them hadn't spent a non-zero amount of time holding hands in that plaza for nothing. But Bowser had made a complete fool of himself in the days prior, and he was still reeling from the scale of it. Talk about a major screw-up.

...Though maybe it wasn't that major of a screw-up, considering he’d still managed to charm Luigi despite it all. Heh.

Still, they’d both agreed there were better starts to a relationship than Bowser’s hindbrain going haywire, so a bit of a do-over was in order. They still had the rest of the vacation, after all, to hang out normally without any instincts or surprises getting in the way. Which was fair. Bowser welcomed the chance to redeem himself, even if his vague memories and Luigi’s assurances softened the necessity of that.

And in Bowser’s opinion, said hanging out was going great so far! Yesterday he’d met up with Luigi to hang out with the kid as promised, and it was then they'd gotten a chance to have their talk, and even walk around and grab lunch in what he wasn't going to dare call a date for fear of getting his hopes up too high. And sure, he’d had Mario glaring at him from afar the entire time, but that hadn't mattered because he’d honestly hardly imagined getting Greenie to smile at him this much outside of his wildest dreams but there he’d been, grinning just as much back. It had been a lot of fun!

And Luigi had evidently thought so, too, as today was more of the same; he’d wanted to check out some of the shopfronts in the center of town, so here they were, minding their Baby Yoshi as they walked down the street.

Bowser looked down at Luigi — brown curls bouncing with every step, Baby Yoshi cradled in his arms. Yep, it's been fun having Greenie metaphorically on his arm, especially as his gloriously grade-A self. The rest of this vacation was going to be awesome!

Sensing his stare, Luigi raised his head to meet it. “Whatcha thinkin’ about?” he asked, tilting his head curiously.

Bowser debated actually telling him the entirety of it. He decided not to. “You,” he instead smirked, and smugly delighted in the red of Luigi’s face. This was his new favorite thing, he was pretty sure.

Luigi’s gaze, averted in embarrassment, caught on an outdoor stall selling hats. He drifted over to it and the vendor cheerfully began giving him a sales pitch, showing him a bunch of hats to consider buying. Despite Luigi’s interest, the sheer number of options clearly had him overwhelmed; the vendor’s pushiness wasn't helping, either. Besides, none of the hats Luigi was being shown suited him to begin with — at least in Bowser’s opinion, anyway.

Bowser plucked a hat that did from a hook hanging above them; a tan, wide-brimmed sun hat he dropped on Luigi’s head. It covered Luigi’s eyes as it landed, and the end of the green ribbon tied around it fluttered under Luigi’s nose and caused him to scrunch it in a way cute enough to be borderline illegal. Good thing Bowser was a villain then, wasn't it?

To use both hands to adjust it, Luigi put the Baby Yoshi down on a nearby overturned box. As Luigi turned away, it sniffed. It stared off into the distance at something Luigi couldn't see because he was smiling shyly at himself in the mirror, at something Bowser couldn't see because he was busy staring at Luigi smiling shyly at himself in the mirror. The color of the hat actually matched his blouse now. Not bad, if Bowser did say so himself.

Luigi’s eyes flicked to the side, and all at once his smile faded to confusion. “Hey,” he said, staring at the empty box.

“Huh?” Bowser tore his eyes away from Luigi’s figure to focus on his face.

“Where’d...piccolino go?”

“Uh...” Bowser looked around. Oh. Good question. “You had it a second ago!”

“I...” Luigi, face paling, mentally retraced his steps. He searched the surrounding area, and Bowser did as well. Where did it go? It couldn't have gone far; they only weren't paying attention to it for a literal second!

Yet Luigi’s search radius kept widening. The patterned edge of Luigi’s skirt swished about his knees as he frantically spun every which way, calling for their piccolino.

“Greenie, wait —!” Bowser reached out a hand as if to grab Luigi, but he had long drifted out of reach. He whirled around to the vendor. “You! Where’d the kid go?”

The vendor gulped. “I — I don't know, I wasn't watching —”

“Whaddaya mean, you weren't watching?!” Oh, how Bowser wanted to punch this guy’s face in. But Luigi’s voice was getting farther and farther away. Bowser yelled in frustration, knocked one of the hat displays over, and chased after him before he lost both Luigi and the Baby Yoshi.

Bowser caught up relatively quickly, his larger strides winning out over Luigi’s unfocused wandering. Luigi’s panic, he understood; there was something in the back of Bowser’s brain that was also spinning off the rails about losing a kid of his, but he wrestled it down. Luigi was freaking out enough for the both of them as it was; he was already near tears. But tears and aimless wandering weren’t gonna help them find the kid.

And so, when Bowser finally reached Luigi he picked him up bodily off the ground with both hands. Luigi struggled, kicking his feet and hitting Bowser's wrists as if he could make Bowser let go with those tiny fists of his. “Put me down,” Luigi pouted, and Bowser was almost too distracted by the facial expression to acknowledge the request.

“Don't wanna.” Bowser shook Luigi lightly, as if to wipe his despair away like one of Junior’s old drawing toys. “Stop running around.”

Luigi’s face twisted. “Piccolino is lost,” he said. “Aren't you worried?”

“Yeah,” Bowser admitted. But this wasn't his first rodeo. Hell, he could hardly count the number of times Junior would up and disappear, even with half the castle watching him. That was just how kids were, sometimes. They always found him, though. And they’ll find their kid, too. “So screw your head back on, already.”

“It’s probably scared!”

“It’s probably hungry.”

Luigi scrunched his brows in thought. “...so...it’ll stay nearby, where all the food is,” he said slowly.

Bowser’s face broke into a proud grin. “Hey, there’s the brain I’d gotten a crush on!”

Luigi sputtered, blushed, and took a deep, calming breath. “Right.” He wiped his eyes. “We’ll find it.”

“Of course we will!” Bowser set Luigi down and adjusted his hat. “It's probably waiting somewhere obvious, eating its weight in who-knows-what by now!”

“Ha! It’s definitely got your appetite.”

“Mine? No way, it’s got yours for sure!”

They both couldn't help but chuckle, tension cut. But they needed to get back to business and make a game plan for finding their kid.

“Alright.” Bowser nodded resolutely. “You gotta ask around for the kid.”

“Me? Why not you?”

Bowser gestured to himself with a raised eyebrow, noting how naturally intimidating he was.

Luigi pursed his lips. “You look like a handsome yet concerned parent to me.”

“Just get to askin’,” Bowser grumbled, face hot.

Luigi got to asking, flagging down nearby passersby to ask if they’d seen a small, green Baby Yoshi around. Most of them were happy to help where they could, however despite Luigi doing most of the talking, Bowser standing at his five o’clock not quite keeping his own worry for their kid completely off his face ended up intimidating them out of giving many details.

Luigi glanced at Bowser after the nth try, one that had nudged them closer to finding their Baby Yoshi, but not by much. He beheld the results of the negative feedback loop of worry and the lack of leads and irritation that had spiraled Bowser’s mood down, down, down for all he tried to remain relatively composed, and his eyes trailed down to Bowser’s clenched fist by his side. Luigi extended his own hand. He hesitated. He reached out the rest of the way, and Bowser jolted at the touch of warmth to the back of his hand.

Amidst Luigi’s anxious expression, his eyes reflected Bowser’s assured words from earlier; to it, Bowser huffed, tentatively loosening his grip enough for Luigi to curl his fingers around one of Bowser’s own. Bowser adjusted his grip and carefully squeezed it, tension on his face chased away by the frenzied butterflies in his stomach crashing into each other about Luigi’s hand in his.

It was enough for the next person Luigi asked about the Baby Yoshi to give them more than a few breadcrumbs, pointing them toward the amusement park. “I hope it's alright...” Luigi worried as they drew closer to the wooden sign marking its entrance.

“It hasn't been that long,” Bowser replied, though he was still craning his neck every which way for any hint of their kid.

Suddenly, they heard a shout. “Yoo-hoo~!”

A blur of orange ran toward them. Luigi brightened upon seeing it. Daisy beamed back as she approached, but she slowed to a stop seeing Luigi and Bowser’s linked hands. She stared at them, and then at Luigi, brows raised.

Bowser could practically feel the self-conscious desire to tug his hand away radiating out from Luigi. But too bad for him, because Bowser didn't wanna let go! So he tightened his grip. Luigi sent him an apologetic glance Bowser didn't see in favor of glaring at Daisy challengingly. “Got a problem?” he growled.

Daisy met his glare unflinchingly, leaning forward. “Only if you're gonna treat him badly,” she threatened, “because if you break his heart...”

“Oh, save it.” Bowser rolled his eyes. “Peaches already gave the whole speech, and hers was way more intimidating than any crap you’ll say.”

“Hmph.” Daisy stood up straight. “That's fair. I don't think she and Mario would leave anything left of you for me to beat up, anyway.”

“Tch.”

“Daisy,” Luigi broke in before the conversation could escalate, “have you seen a Baby Yoshi around anywhere? We lost it.”

“‘We’?” Daisy did a double take. “You have a kid now?”

“No! Yes. Ah...” Luigi shook his head rapidly. “It doesn't matter. It's all alone; have you seen it?”

“Hm...” Daisy rifled through her memories. “Was it cute and little and green?”

“Yes!”

“I think I saw it earlier!”

“You did?”

“Yeah! It was trying to get into the amusement park, but got turned away. Argh,” she tugged at her hair. “It struck me as weird, but before I could do anything it’d vanished in the crowds! If I'd known it was yours, I would've...Sorry, Lu.”

“No, no, no, it's fine,” Luigi reassured her, tugging his hand from Bowser’s — to Bowser’s dismay — to flutter around her placatingly. “You didn't know! Did you see where it went, at least?”

Daisy nodded. “It was headed toward the beach, I’m pretty sure!”

Luigi smiled wanly. “Thanks,” he said, though he still looked troubled.

“Hey, don't worry” — Daisy smacked Luigi on the back in encouragement; he almost fell forward, hat falling over his eyes — “you’ll find it! The island’s only so big!”

“But it's so small...”

Daisy put a comforting hand on Luigi’s shoulder and jostled it. Bowser’s mood soured the longer it rested there.

“Which is why we should leave and go to the beach now,” he said crossly.

“Oh, hey, maybe I can come with you guys to help with the search!” Daisy bounced on her heels. “Six eyes are better than four, right?”

“No,” Bowser said, in a way that had Luigi frowning at him. He tried again. “You should stay here just in case it wanders back.”

Daisy laughed. “That's quite the sensible idea from you!”

Bowser grumbled. Luigi sent Daisy an exasperated look.

“You can count on me,” she continued regardless, clasping Luigi’s hand in a handshake. “Who knows? I’ll bet I’ll even find it first!”

Bowser scoffed, turning to leave for the beach. Daisy tugged Luigi back for a few extra words; Bowser side-eyed them as she whispered something to Luigi, elbowing him with a wink. Luigi rubbed his side with a blush on his cheeks. Bowser resisted the urge to march over and drag him away from her.

Luigi jogged over to him before long, though, and he matched Bowser’s frown with one of his own. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” Bowser replied mulishly. “Forget about it.” He stomped towards the beach. Luigi fell into step next to him, concern and contemplation on his face.

As the two of them sped into a run, Bowser took Luigi’s hand in his own. “So you don't slow us down,” was the reason he gave, face averted and cheeks red.

Luigi’s face softened as he adjusted his grip and squeezed. After all, even in sandals, Luigi was still the faster runner of the two of them.

---

Bowser and Luigi stopped short at the edge of the beach, heads turning every which way to see if they could spot their Baby Yoshi. They didn't, but Luigi did spot Peach’s beach umbrella in the distance. He ran ahead to it, Bowser following close behind.

Under the umbrella, Peach was sitting crouched over a Mario buried in a mound of sand. Deep in concentration, she was using the edge of a seashell to trace designs in said sand to make it look like a dress of scales. Her focus broke at Bowser’s laughter. “Shh!” she hissed, mischief warring with the scolding frown she sent his way. “He’ll never stay still long enough to finish if he wakes up!” Her gaze turned toward Luigi, as Bowser quieted himself. “Luigi!” she greeted him. “How’s your date going?”

Bowser's laughter caught in his throat. “Uh,” they both stuttered, glancing between each other and back again. Luigi pulled his hat over his face. “It’s not a date,” they tried to insist.

“Sure,” Peach smirked. “Though...” She examined the worried lines on their faces. “Something’s gone wrong, hasn’t it?”

“We were watching the kid and it up and went missing on us,” Bowser informed her. “Daisy said she saw it heading this way; you seen it?”

“No, I haven't!” Peach gasped. “But I can start looking. I suppose I'll have to wake Mario up after all. “

Just then, Bowser Junior ran up to them. “I found some!” he cheered, and dumped a bucket of kelp onto Mario’s face.

“Change of plans, Junior.” Peach brushed some kelp off Mario’s forehead. “The Baby Yoshi’s gone missing, and we need to help Luigi and your dad search for it.”

“Oh.” Junior drooped. But he bounced back quickly, claiming that finding the Baby Yoshi would be easy. For all their sakes, Bowser hoped he was right.

The group agreed to split up; Peach, Junior, and Mario would search one half of the beach. while Luigi and Bowser would search the other. Their discussion roused Mario, who blinked owlishly at the predicament he found himself in. Luigi offered him a brief wave as Peach filled him in before he and Bowser hurried off for their part of the search.

Unfortunately, they hit the end of the beach with no sign of their kid. Hoping that the Baby Yoshi was on the other side of the beach, or that it had decided to continue onwards on its journey to stress its guardians out something fierce, they waited for a text message from Peach or Mario while they followed a nearby path that wound through trees and eventually split into two.

They found Mayor Pauline rummaging through her purse at the intersection, and she spared a moment to greet them. “Oh, you don't have whatever it was under your shirt anymore,” she remarked to Luigi.

“That was a Yoshi egg, actually, and it's a baby Yoshi now,” Luigi sheepishly explained. “A baby Yoshi that’s lost. Have you seen it?”

“No, I haven't.��� Pauline frowned. “I’ll keep an eye out, though. I did see — Kamek, was it? — skulking about down that path over there.” She pointed to said path. “Maybe he had something to do with it?”

“What kind of assumption is that?” Bowser glared.

“I don't know!” Pauline crossed her arms defensively. “Mario mentioned once that he had something against the Yoshis! It was just a guess!”

Bowser sneered at her. Was Mario wrong? No, though it pained to admit. But still, Kamek knew better than to mess with one of his kids. But speaking of Kamek, he’d probably have a spell that could find the kid quickly, so maybe they should go find him. Bowser said as much to Luigi, who agreed.

“Before you go,” Pauline said, “Do you know where I can find Princess Peach? I’ve got something to...to give to her.”

Pauline tried to keep a straight face while giving her request, but the color on her cheeks betrayed her. It darkened at Luigi’s visible amusement. “She’s at the beach,” he told her. “She’ll be thrilled to see you!”

As Pauline stammered a thanks and hurried off, Luigi and Bowser continued on down the path she’d indicated. Along the way, Bowser couldn't help but wonder aloud why Pauline was acting weird about seeing Peach. When Luigi told him the reason, Bowser’s resulting cackling earned him a surprisingly strong shove for someone of Luigi’s size. It didn't put a dent in Bowser’s amused incredulity, though. At least he could say she had good taste, he supposed.

That amusement lasted until they got farther down the path and came across a tree. If it was a tree on the side of the road, it wouldn't be very remarkable, but this particular one was smack-dab in the middle of it, growing straight out of the cracked asphalt.

“Interesting urban planning decision,” Bowser remarked, examining it.

“I...don't think this was on purpose?” Luigi plucked a bright red fruit from a branch. “These trees aren't even native to the island!” He noticed more trees beyond this one, in a misshapen line stretching out down the path. “How’d they get here?”

Bowser peered over Luigi’s shoulder at the fruit. He reached over Luigi’s shoulder to pick another one off the ground. That one had a bite mark in it. A bite mark that, even after only two days, Bowser knew like the back of his hand.

They both stared at it. As one, they looked forward to the line of trees, each one having scattered half-eaten fruit at its base. They shared a glance. They sprinted down the path.

---

The trail of half-eaten fruit led them to a park. With the lack of any additional fruit trees in the vicinity, they searched for where to go next.

“I think I saw some fruit over — yikes!” Luigi ducked, and a frisbee whizzed through the space where his head just was.

“Watch it!” Bowser snarled at the group of kids who’d thrown it.

“Bowser,” Luigi admonished him, picking up the frisbee and throwing it back. The kids scattered as soon as they caught it.

“What?” Bowser said, completely unapologetic. Luigi had almost gotten hurt, after all! “What were you saying?” he asked, getting back on track.

Luigi sighed, but decided to let it go. “There’s some more fruit over there,” Luigi pointed to the new trail of it curving around the concrete path. They followed it until it veered into the grass and stopped in front of a curtain of foliage. Bowser parted the leaves and there was a path: dirt-floored, overgrown, seemingly rarely visited. Luigi ducked under Bowser’s arm to proceed onwards, and the curtain fell closed as Bowser followed.

Bowser had little trouble stepping on and over the branches and brambles and roots, inadvertently paving a way forward, but Luigi’s open-toed sandals forced him to slow down, and his cute skirt getting caught on low-resting branches wasn't helping either, even as he found himself in Bowser’s wake instead of in front of him like he’d started.

“You go on ahead,” Luigi told Bowser when he turned back in concern. His face was screwed in concentration with the effort to navigate the path, tongue poking out. “I’ll...catch up soon!”

Instead of doing that, Bowser watched Luigi struggle for a little bit longer, huffed fondly, closed the distance between them, and picked Luigi up to sit him on his shoulder. Luigi yelped in surprise.

“W-warn a guy first, will ya?!” Luigi exclaimed, one hand on his hat and the other gripping Bowser’s horn tightly. He was smiling, though, and Bowser playfully shrugged his shoulder to jostle him until he got comfortable enough for his grip to loosen.

Up this high, Luigi was clear of all that was giving him trouble moving before, so the two of them were free to continue on at a brisker pace. As thanks, Luigi patted Bowser on the head; Bowser acknowledged the touch with a nudge to Luigi’s side with his head that accidentally turned into more of a nuzzle. He thought he’d be able to get away with the slip-up, but given that Luigi carded a hand through Bowser’s hair right after, maybe he hadn’t been as subtle as he thought. And given that Luigi kept up the motion as they walked, maybe it didn't matter at all.

Regardless, onward they went, to hopefully either find their Baby Yoshi or find Kamek, for him to help them search for it.

---

The path opened up to a clearing that, in contrast to the path itself, was incredibly well-kept and peaceful as far as groves went. Near the middle of it, leaning against a large stone, was Kamek, working away at some crochet.

“Look alive, old man!” Bowser shouted, shocking Kamek into dropping his yarn. “You’ve got somethin’ to do for me!”

“Lord Bowser,” Kamek greeted him. “What fortunate timing. I believe I have something you can do for me. And that thing is retrieving what you’ve gone and lost.” He pointed his crochet hook towards a nearby pond, where near the edge walking towards them was —

“Piccolino!” Luigi leapt off Bowser’s shoulder, Bowser too slow to catch him. He landed, slipped, hit the ground, stumbled to his feet, and ran over to their kid. In those motions he lost a sandal, and Bowser bent to pick it up. He watched Luigi kneel on the ground, tearfully cradling and scolding their kid, and something in his chest settled.

“How’d you find it?” Bowser asked Kamek, as Luigi pressed his face into the crown of the kid’s head.

“It was just wandering around, without a care in the world.” Kamek rolled his eyes. “Honestly, were you so distracted to lose a single Baby Yoshi?”

“Well, yeah.” Bowser shrugged. “Just look at him.”

Kamek scoffed.

“Thank you so much, Kamek,” Luigi said, voice still thick with tears.

“Don't mention it,” Kamek replied. “Don't,” he said again as Luigi opened his mouth again. “Just get the brat on a leash, so I never have to do this again.”

Luigi sniffled. Kamek’s stern look melted away with a sigh, and he floated a handkerchief to him to wipe his eyes with. As Luigi blew his nose, the Baby Yoshi babbled up at him. Luigi patted it on the head.

After all of today’s worries, there was little left for Luigi to do now that they were resolved besides slump to the ground in exhaustion. So he did, Bowser sitting next to him. The Baby Yoshi, meanwhile, squirmed out of Luigi’s grip and waddled off. Luigi and Bowser watched it like a hawk, but all it did was find the nearest apple and roll it over to Luigi with a concerned-sounding chirp. Bowser and Luigi both relaxed.

“You’re gonna be the death of us, kid,” Bowser said to it. Its response was to reach for him. Bowser obligingly gave it a claw, and it sang a little tune as it grabbed hold.

With the claws on his other hand, Bowser cut the apple into three pieces. One to feed to himself, one to feed to the kid, and one to feed to —

The fruit in Bowser’s hand stopped mid-journey to Luigi’s mouth.

Wait.

Luigi was staring at him, face red. There was no way Bowser’s wasn't the same as he stared back. Yet he remained frozen in place, the silence stretching into eternity as he scrambled to escape this painfully awkward situation. What Bowser should have done was retract his arm and refuse to acknowledge that the moment had ever happened. But no, instead of doing anything sensible like that, Bowser pushed his hand forward and all but stuffed the apple slice into Luigi’s mouth. Because of course he did.

Luigi made a noise of surprise as it happened. “...Thanks?” he mumbled confusedly around the mouthful, and the urge to curl up into his shell and hide crept up Bowser’s spine. But of course he wasn't going to do that, because it was the coward's way out, and he was no coward!

...He really wanted to, though.

During Bowser’s crisis of embarrassment, Luigi chewed, swallowed, and sat up, the Baby Yoshi in his lap. He didn't meet Bowser’s gaze; though his embarrassment wasn't as grand as Bowser’s it was nonetheless very much present. His attention lingered on Kamek, who was busy examining his crochet. “Hey Kamek, what’re ya making?” Luigi asked.

“...nothing.”

Bowser squinted at the shape the loops of yarn were forming. “What are you making a hat for?”

“None of your business.”

That was kind of a tiny hat, wasn't it? Almost the size of a... “I thought you didn't like Yoshis.”

“Who said this was for your Yoshi?”

“You did.”

“I —” Kamek scowled. Bowser grinned. Hah, he never got to outsmart the old man like that! He grinned at Luigi, too, who offered a bemused thumbs up in what was definitely congratulations, he was sure!.

“That’s nice of you! It'll love it!” Luigi cheered. Kamek’s eye twitched.

“As if the kid didn't like you already!” Bowser laughed, loud and boisterous. “Just admit you like it back! Heck, maybe you should tell it — it's not like it won't be happy to hear it!”

“Truly? You know, I’m not so sure,” Kamek deadpanned. “Maybe I should wait a season and a half before doing so, in case something goes wrong, and it decides to ‘hate me forever’ for it, hm?”

...That was a low blow.

“A season and a half...?” Luigi repeated, brow scrunched at the sly lilt to Kamek’s words.

“Uh!” Bowser stiffened. “N-no, he’s just being stupid — exaggerating — it wasn't that long...”

“Exaggeration, is it...?” Kamek lazily propped his chin on his hand. “You know, on second thought, maybe I should pester someone in the dead of night to come up with a way to remove all my feelings entirely because they’re too confusing for me to handle.”

“Old man if you don't shut up right now I swear I’m gonna —”

“Going to what? Pretend I’m a mirror and talk yourself hoarse about —”

“Kamek!”

Kamek cackled, sitting back and picking up his crochet work again. Bowser fumed at the failure to intimidate him into shutting his trap before —

“...you tried to remove your feelings for me?”

“No!” Bowser snapped his head down to meet Luigi's slack-jawed stare with his own wide-eyed one. “That's stupid! Why would I do that? I didn't do that!”

“Why?”

“I—! Because—!” How was Bowser supposed to explain how half his universe turned upside down after that damn kart race? How he’d watched Luigi claw his way to first place in the final race of the Grand Prix, utilizing all sorts of tricks and treachery he never would have expected him to be capable of? And how the image of Luigi on the podium, sheepishly holding his trophy aloft, nose still bleeding a little from when he’d fallen flat on his face when he’d tried to get out of his kart after the race had ended, had stuck in Bowser’s mind for the rest of the day, and the next, and the next, and the next? Or how Bowser’s idle curiosity about a hero’s sidekick like Luigi having a hidden ruthless side had grown until he’d found himself watching him for another sign of it, and even though he’d just kept getting his usual goody-goody behavior over and over again he’d stubbornly kept observing him, hoping to see Luigi finally slip up and do something else just as interesting? How weeks later, during some downtime at one of the tennis tournaments, Bowser had looked across at Luigi returning a lost ball to a child, a scratch on his chin from a mishap during the search for it, a bright yet soft smile sitting on his face, and had been slammed with the realization that Luigi’s usual goody-goody behavior had inexplicably become the interesting thing he was watching for? And how said behavior had somehow transitioned from interesting to endearing in the meantime? And how it felt when he’d prodded at the reason why, and in doing so crashed the status quo of liking Peach all around his ears, leaving him standing in the rubble of it with no idea what to do next in the absence of the familiar and faced with the unknown?

“...It was a stupid idea and I'm not doing it, so stop looking at me like that,” Bowser settled on saying. “I’d regret it, anyways,” he added, and Luigi’s face softened.

“Would you?”

“Yeah.”

With a complete lack of ceremony, the Baby Yoshi kicked its legs and tipped itself sideways out of Luigi’s lap, snapping Luigi and Bowser out of the spellbound staring at each other they had settled into. As it righted itself and milled around the pair, Luigi caught it by the arm to stop it for long enough to press a kiss to the top of its head and regard it thoughtfully. “Why did you run away from us, I wonder?”

“Like I said before” — Bowser crossed his arms, consciously and adamantly refusing to be jealous of a child, of all things — “it was probably hungry. Or maybe it was just bored.”

Luigi hummed, considering. The Baby Yoshi toddled away, then back; Luigi stroked the Baby’s head, and it hummed. “I guess we’re hardly doing anything interesting, as grownups. Not when we’re on a...” Luigi stopped. He glanced at Bowser, unsure.

“...a date?” They both chuckled sheepishly.

“If this is a — a date, then isn't this kid supposed to be being babysat right now? So we can have time to ourselves or whatever?”

“Hm...” Luigi glanced at Kamek. “Hey, Kamek?” Luigi called, voice saccharine.

“What?” Kamek studied Luigi’s face. He realized what Luigi wanted to ask. “Absolutely not,” he scowled. “No,” he repeated as Luigi’s gaze turned hopeful.

“Please?” Luigi added a pout to round out the pleading image.

“No,” Kamek said again, less surely this time. Bowser stifled a laugh. As someone who fell victim to that face yesterday while being convinced to pay for an extra sandwich or three for lunch, he knew Kamek didn't stand a chance in hell of resisting it.

And as if to reinforce this futility, the Baby Yoshi freed itself from Luigi’s grip and toddled over to Kamek. It plopped down next to him, balled a fist into his sundress, and dropped right off to sleep. Kamek stared at it like it was a particularly ugly bomb.

“Thank you so much!” Luigi beamed.

“Stop thanking me.”

Luigi got to his feet, and it was then he finally noticed he’d lost a shoe. He blinked. “When’d that happen?” he wondered aloud.

With a raised eyebrow, Bowser held up the missing shoe. The expectation was that Luigi was going to take it from him to put it on. Instead, Luigi lifted his foot and slipped it into the shoe while Bowser was still holding it. Bowser stiffened in surprise; Luigi froze, foot halfway in the shoe. They stared at each other.

Face red, Luigi jerked his foot upwards out of Bowser’s grasp, shoe and all; the suddenness of doing so sent him stumbling. As Luigi finished putting his shoe on, movements stiff and eyes glancing everywhere except for the person he was leaning on to keep his balance, said person was resisting the urge to snicker at him. He really was too cute. Even better was that he didn't move his hand when he was done, even as Bowser got to his feet! So with his other arm, Bowser waved at Kamek. “See you later, old man!”

Kamek sighed. Hand-on-arm, Bowser and Luigi left him frowning resignedly at the Baby Yoshi.

---

As they walked down a different, better-maintained path, the color of Luigi's face gradually dimmed back to its normal shade. When he finally gathered the courage to meet Bowser’s eyes again, it was after glancing worriedly back at the clearing they’d left. “I hope he isn’t mad...” Luigi worried.

“Are you kidding? That was hilarious!” Bowser answered, not answering Luigi’s question. Luigi huffed.

“Maybe we should get him something to pay him back for this.”

Bowser shrugged. “Suit yourself.” There’s gotta be a good enough knick-knack for him somewhere around here.

They tossed around ideas of what to get Kamek while continuing down the path. As it brought them over a bridge, Luigi, distracted by the lily pads floating below it in the lake, stopped to lean over the railing to peer at them. And although Bowser kind of wanted to hurry up and get back to the beach, he couldn't help but feel it wasn't so bad, pausing to bask in the fluttering feeling in his chest spurred by the relaxation resting on his companion’s face.

After a while, Luigi spoke up. “Was it really that long?” he asked.

It took Bowser a minute to realize what Luigi was referring to. He shrugged self-consciously. “I had to...get used to it first. It's only really ever been all about Peach for so long. And this...with you it...felt...” He struggled for words. “...Different. Bigger than that. S-so however I told you about how I felt had to be bigger, too — I couldn't settle for kidnappings anymore! But...” Bowser glowered at the water’s edge. “But then I ended up kidnapping you anyway...ugh, stupid brain...”

Luigi smiled wryly. “I guess it technically worked, in the end.”

“Maybe I should keep doing that, then!”

“Please don't. I don't know if I could handle that. Or if Mario could handle that.”

“All the more reason to kidnap you!”

“Bowser.”

Bowser laughed. Luigi tried to keep his stern expression in place, but Bowser’s mirth was too contagious for it to hold.

“Hey,” Luigi said when their laughter died down. “What were you thinking of doing, anyway? Instead of the kidnapping?”

“Oh, well...” Bowser rubbed a hand behind his head. “It was just gonna be a song, 's all.”

“A song? I didn't know you wrote music!”

“You kidding?” Bowser puffed his chest with a smirk. “There’s no one in my kingdom — or anywhere else — that's a better piano tapper than me!”

“Wow!” Luigi’s eyes sparkled. “I’d love to hear it! Uh, the song you were writing for me, I mean?”

“Y-yeah, for sure! It’ll knock your socks off, guaranteed!” Bowser bragged. “‘Specially because I spent ages working on it!”

“Oh! That’s a long time!”

“I had to spend that long.” Bowser peeked at Luigi out of the corner of his eye. “‘Cause it’s gotta be perfect like you!”

“I —!” Luigi’s face went ablaze for yet another time today. Bowser’s smirk deepened. Hah. Definitely his new favorite thing.

“Well—!” Luigi managed to say after a whole lot of sputtering. "I'm — I’m looking forward to hearing it!” The effort to push past how flustered he was to say that made it come out as a shout, and it bounced off the trees alongside Bowser’s chuckling. Put out, Luigi pointedly turned his attention back to the rippling water below them, and then to his phone, to message his friends and tell them the Baby Yoshi had been found. Bowser watched him do so, the brim of Luigi’s hat shading the screen, and — wait.

“We stole that hat,” Bowser said aloud, and Luigi paused.

“What?”

“The hat. You just ran off with it.”

“What are you —?” Luigi’s brow furrowed. His hand hovered near his head in thought for a moment, then he snatched his hat off his head. The price tag fell free, and Luigi stared at it with such horror on his face that it circled back around to being hilarious.

“You gonna show your face to give it back?” Bowser teased, and Luigi looked even more panicked. He did, however, elbow Bowser in a vain attempt to get him to stop laughing at him.

“It’s not funny,” Luigi insisted. “It’s not....oh...!” He buried his head in his hands.

Bowser slung his arm around Luigi’s shoulder. “Not even a week and I’m already corrupting you!” he crowed. “What's your brother gonna have to say about that?”

“Absolutely nothing,” Luigi answered, with a glare that held no heat, “because he knows it’ll happen the other way ‘round”

“As if,” Bowser scoffed, despite knowing full well it was, indeed, starting to happen the other way around.

Luigi seemed to know it too, by the crinkling at the corners of his eyes. And by the way he thanked Bowser. “For calming me down when I was freaking out earlier,” he clarified. He leaned into Bowser’s side, and Bowser desperately hoped that he couldn't hear how his heartbeat was thudding a mile a minute.

“Well, what was I supposed to do, let you walk yourself straight into the ocean?” Bowser rolled his eyes with a mask of nonchalance. It was a mask with some cracks of bashfulness in it, and now it was Luigi’s turn to laugh at him. He stood on his tiptoes to kiss Bowser’s cheek before ducking out of his one-armed embrace and dancing away off the bridge. Bowser almost fell over the railing, counterweight gone. “Hey,” he complained, trying to look mad but failing hardcore because holy shit

Luigi twisted to face him, skirt flaring out; his eyes flicked to somewhere just behind Bowser, where Bowser’s tail was absolutely threatening the structural integrity of the bridge he was still standing on in light of recent events. Thankfully, Luigi didn't comment on it as Bowser also got off the bridge. Nor did he comment on how red Bowser’s face was, either.

“I think we should go back and pay for the hat,” Luigi decided.

“You sure we can’t just keep it — alright, alright,” Bowser amended at the flat expression Luigi sent his way. “We’ll go be good guys, I guess.”

“Quite the sacrifice for you, I'm sure.”

Bowser snorted. “I think I can manage. It's just about worth it, anyway.”

“‘Just about?’” Luigi prodded, curious about what could possibly bump it up to ‘completely worth it’.

Mere moments before asking for another kiss, Bowser’s brain caught up with itself. Hold on, would that come across as desperate? No, he already got one, so another wouldn't be weird. Maybe? Probably. Argh, he’s never had to think about these sorts of things before...! At least there was something else he could for sure ask for, though.

“I could get that story you promised me the other day,” he said, trying his best to sound casual.

“Right, I didn't get around to telling you, did I?” Luigi winced. “Sorry. I guess I’d gotten” — his eyes roved over Bowser, briefly — “distracted.”

“Finally!” An exaggerated fist pump had Luigi near-giggling — as if Bowser’s cheeks couldn't hurt any more than they did already. “I’ve been waiting to hear what kind of story ends with you getting called that.” Bowser nudged him, good-natured. “You trying to hold out on me, Greenie?”

“No, no, I was just...heh.” Luigi shook his head. Bowser raised an eyebrow, bidding him to continue. He also held out his elbow, and Luigi slotted his hand in the space as if it belonged there. The two of them fell into step side-by-side, and as Luigi began his tale about the ridiculous events that had followed that fateful job he and Mario had taken all those years ago, Bowser knew the memories of this awesome vacation were going to stick with him for many years more.

And by the way Luigi was practically glowing with happiness, he was more than positive Luigi would, too.

#bowuigi #bowser #luigi #super mario #*dabs* yay I finished this one before 2024!!! #mlv.fic #smb #bowuigi egg fic project

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

Shopping Trip Detour

[AO3 Link]

It was a beautiful day in Toad Town, and Mario and Luigi had just finished their grocery shopping.

Bags loaded into the back of Luigi’s kart, the two of them had decided to wander around town for a little while longer before going home; it had been a while since the last time they’d visited. And the Toads made sure they knew it, too, waving at them and calling out to them and roping them into enough small talk to make their heads spin.

In a lull in socialization, Luigi examined the surrounding shopfronts. “That one looks new,” he remarked, gesturing to the colorful sign of what looked to be some sort of toy shop. He changed course towards it, and Mario followed behind him.

Peering through the window, Luigi contemplated the thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle and the little robot with its remote resting in its arms, and whether he could convince his brother to buy either of them for him. He glanced at Mario, considering. Mario was also looking through the window, but his focus was further inside, where the presumed shopkeeper was arguing with a person in a hooded cloak. The person was leaning over the shopkeeper threateningly; the shopkeeper was gesticulating wildly, face dark.

Mario pushed the door open. The sound of the little bell connected to it drew the attention of the squabbling pair. From where Luigi still stood outside, he saw the hooded figure turn for one last parting insult before pushing past Mario to exit the store. The shopkeeper yelled something unintelligible but no less angry after them.

While Mario dithered in the doorway, staring after that mysterious figure thoughtfully, Luigi squeezed past him to enter the store himself. The interior was quite modest — and mostly full of toys for much littler kids — but the sprawling active toy railway network hanging suspended by the ceiling was particularly impressive. Getting all of those toy trains up there to begin with must have been quite the ordeal!

As Luigi ruminated over the existence of extremely tall ladders, Mario went up to the shopkeeper to ask what that earlier patron was arguing with him about. The shopkeeper huffed, pointing at a figurine sitting in an unassuming display near the back of the store. “That uncultured idiot was talking about her like she’s some common doll he could buy for cheap!” he spat. “As if! She’s the rarest item of the series and the highest quality! Show her some respect!”

Luigi walked over to the figurine. A little plastic woman wearing a semi-elaborate gown stared dourly back at him through her glasses as she posed with a wizard’s staff, her hat barely fitting over her puffy hair. She was very pretty, but Luigi wasn't really sure she was worth the shopkeeper’s continued rambling about “scales” or “articulation” or whatever. There were certainly other things in the store he would rather spend his money on, at any rate. But when Luigi turned to whisper as much to Mario, he found his brother reaching into his pocket for his wallet.

“Eh?” Luigi goggled at him. “You wanna buy that?”

The shopkeeper crossed his arms. “Oh, yeah?” he said, going for an air of nonchalance and mostly failing. “That’s cool. But you’re not getting a discount just because you’re a celebrity.”

“How much is it, anyway?” Luigi asked, and then regretted asking because then the most absurd price for a vaguely fancy-looking toy left the shopkeeper’s mouth.

Mario rocked on his heels in shock. “But it’s just an action figure!” Luigi exclaimed.

“She’s not an action figure!” the shopkeeper shouted over Luigi’s immediate apologies for setting him off. “She’s priceless! I’m doing y’all a favor!”

Hesitantly, Mario began counting his coins. Luigi watched with bated breath. With a frown, Mario emptied his wallet. He didn't have enough.

“Too bad,” the shopkeeper said, not looking all that sorry. “Guess she’s not going home with you!”

Mario’s frown deepened. It tugged a frown onto Luigi’s face as well, and after a moment of watching his brother sulk, he sighed. “Alright,” he said, pulling out his own wallet.

Luigi counted his coins. Mario watched him with bated breath. While he didn't have nearly as much money on hand as Mario did, on account of being the one to pay for the groceries earlier, it was somehow enough to make up the difference. Mario beamed at him.

---

Sale made, the bros exited the toy store, their purchase dangling from Mario’s arm, both politely ignoring the shopkeeper’s tears about the loss of his “Darling Dami” — the name of the character the figurine was modeled after, apparently.

As they walked, Luigi asked Mario, “So why did you really buy that?” because Luigi knew full well that Mario had no idea of the show the figurine-lady was from, let alone anything about her specifically.

Mario only winked. With purposeful steps, he made his way towards the outskirts of town. Luigi followed behind him, full of questions but nonetheless letting his brother lead him to a clearing just outside of town, where that hooded figure that had been in the shop before them was grumbling about stupid Toad stores and their ridiculous owners. They reached into some hammerspace and pulled a broomstick longer than they were tall, and the motion of doing so knocked their hood off their head, revealing —

“Kamek?!”

Kamek started, whirling around to face them. “Wha — you?!”

Out of all of them, Mario was the only one who didn't look surprised. How in the world had he known?

Kamek was the first to recover, schooling his expression into something sardonic. “Two against one?” he drawled, brow raised. “That’s hardly fair.”

Mario shook his head. He reached into the bag on his arm and pulled out the box containing the figurine they’d bought.

Kamek’s face soured. “Oh, of course it was sold to you. Here to rub it in my face, then?”

Mario shook his head again. He put the figurine back into the bag and held it out to Kamek. Kamek regarded it warily.

“We bought it for you,” Luigi added, finally catching on to what Mario was trying to do. “No need to thank us!”

“I wasn't going to.” With a harsh wave of his wand, the bag was ripped out of Mario’s grip and settled on the end of Kamek’s broomstick. With one hand securing it, he gave the bros a long, considering look and then flew off, kicking up an unnecessary amount of dust that had the bros coughing and shielding their faces. They watched him shrink to a speck in the sky in silence.

“...You're doing my laundry for the next month.”

Mario made a face.

“That was all of my pocket money!”

Mario sighed.

#dont mind me this wip is from 2020 lmaooo i just wanted to get it off my plate #also i couldnt decide what the figurine was gonna look like so i was like 'fuck it its me but a magical girl' #because i'm a writer and i can do whatever i want #anyway #mlv.fic #smb #super mario

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

Bowsario Rapunzel AU

Okay so I saw @istadris' post about figuring out what fairytale would fit Bowsario best and then I spent all day yesterday thinking way too hard about Rapunzel. This was supposed to be a little pithy ‘oh it's Tangled but Bowser’s Flynn’ thing, but then I started thinking about how being locked in a tower by himself would fuck with Mario’s psyche A Lot and then I had a 2.5k word outline oopsies.

So regarding Bowsario fairytales I would like to formally submit Rapunzel with Mario stuck in the tower for Magical Curse Reasons I haven't figured out yet.

Bowser hears about this and visits regularly to taunt him about it because he thinks it's hilarious the best and bravest knight of the Mushroom Kingdom who was always a personal pain in Bowser’s side when he'd go terrorize it got himself cursed.

(And then Bowser goes to terrorize said kingdom in Mario’s absence and severely underestimates Luigi, who kicks his ass so thoroughly that Bowser goes back to Mario's tower to complain about it. Music to Mario's ears, that is.)

(The insults directed to Luigi himself, on the other hand...much less so. And since Mario’s stuck up in the tower all he really could do to defend his brother was insult Bowser right back, instead of jumping down and wringing his neck like he sorely wanted to, with overcharged barbs that not only channeled Mario's overprotective big brother energy but also the genuine frustration and fear about being stuck in one place, isolated from his brother and his friends and the world as it spun on and on without him for maybe the rest of his life)

Eventually Bowser figures out that if he climbs the tower then he can get a better look at Mario's angry face as he insults him and thus derive even more joy from making this goody-two-shoes knight lose his composure.

But then he gets up there and Mario's anger turns out to obviously just be a way to cope with being sad and lonely and scared Bowser realizes that insulting Mario isn't really that fun anymore (Have the last couple of times been fun either? Especially as rumors started circulating, and Bowser pieces more things together about Mario's situation? And as he starts to wonder what it would be like if it was him, separated from his Koopalings against his will in a similar way — would his eyes have that same defeated and despondent look Mario’s do right now, a look that doesn't suit Mario at all?)

Bowser finds himself starting to feel low-key bad about making fun of Mario all this time, and about Mario's current lot in life. It eats away at him until Bowser begrudgingly starts acting nicer, and then he and Mario start having proper conversations that aren't angry screaming matches.

And then maybe Bowser starts visiting longer and more often, bringing card games to pass the time, or food Mario hasn't been able to have in a while, or some new books and recent newspapers to read, or a kidnapped Luigi or Peach to hug for the first time in ages...

Maybe even a different kingdom tries to capitalize on Mario's absence, wanting to attack the Mushroom Kingdom for one reason or another, and Bowser realizes that if he lets them win Mario will be sad (and probably lose the will to live while he's at it). And the spark in Mario’s eyes had literally just come back more often than not these days...Bowser sighs. He has Kamek pen a letter to Luigi and Peach offering aid. He goes to the Mushroom Kingdom personally to prove he's not kidding, and maybe Luigi and Peach catch on to Bowser's true feelings about Mario even before Bowser himself has.

When the dust from the invasion settles, Bowser and Peach hash out a fledgling alliance/peace treaty in the wake of it. Mario is ecstatic when Bowser tells him, and it takes most of the journey back home for Bowser to figure out why he's still flustered about the way Mario had looked at him for the rest of the visit.

Meanwhile, Mario is kind of baffled about the concept of Bowser being nice now. The insults from before were awful, sure, but it was a routine. It was something to focus on that wasn't the walls slowly caving in on him despite them not moving an inch, the yawning jaws of apathy lurking in his blind spot getting ready to swallow him whole, how he was already starting to forget what his family's voices sounded like —

(Luigi and Peach do visit, don't get me wrong. But Peach has a kingdom to run almost single-handedly, and Luigi is practically running himself ragged trying to fill in the void that Mario had been forced to leave behind because the big brother he was supposed to rely on had gone and poked something he shouldn't have like an absolutely stupid idiot. The tower is a multiple days' journey from the heart of the Mushroom Kingdom, just barely on the outskirts in a forgotten corner of it, and neither of them really have a way of getting up the tower, with it being so tall and the doors being locked. So. Less frequent visits than they would like.)

(They send as many letters as they can, though. Mario reads them at least five times and reverently puts each in a special box in a hiding spot to keep them safe, to bring out on particularly hopeless days. Luigi and Peach do the same with Mario's replies back home.)

(They're delivered by Toad, who's the only one willing to go all the way to the outskirts of the Kingdom to begin with — none of the other mailmen are especially willing, despite Peach’s pleas. He goes with a bundle of letters to the tower, gets them to Mario via some sort of cable system or something, and then camps there for a few days as Mario writes his replies. It's him that first informs Luigi and Peach of Bowser’s visits, having witnessed one of them — thankfully it was one of the...lesser charged ones.)

So. The weekly interruptions were welcomed by Mario. Even if they were annoying.

And then Bowser had the bright idea to come up here, which...wasn't ideal. He didn't need Bowser to see the mess he lived in, for starters, and once Bowser was face to face with him who knew what fodder he would be getting to insult him further? Especially with how vulnerable Mario had been lately?

But for all of Mario's imagined fears, the poorly-masked pity he got from Bowser of all people, King of the Darklands and the number one enemy of the Mushroom Kingdom, was a thousand times worse.

Bowser had continued to act off for the next few visits. He hadn't come back up to Mario's room, staying on the ground and shouting up at him about random things like weird inter-kingdom gossip he'd heard from his advisors or some of the other kingdoms he was sending his troops to and why or 'your brother’s a real piece of work I tried to kidnap the Princess last week and he went and talked down my Chain Chomps I literally trained them to bite everything they see with no hesitation when the fuck did that loser stop being a wimp' followed by the most concerningly detailed reportback on the Mushroom Kingdom's current defenses Mario had ever heard, considering Bowser wasn't supposed to have any way of getting half the information he was telling Mario due to both being banned from stepping foot where most of those defenses were located and the ironclad loyalty of the Kingdom’s citizens. He even started to include an upsettingly long list of inferred weaknesses, at which point Mario hurried to invite him into the tower proper so he wasn't just shouting them for anyone to hear.

From there Bowser’s visits officially got less annoying; instead of the distraction Bowser provided being a chance for Mario to yell and be mean until he tired himself out it was instead Bowser awkwardly telling him that Peach and Luigi were looking more or less healthy, he thought, based on how hard they fought against him the other day. Or it was Bowser sharing stories about his kids, whom Mario hadn't known existed until now, and Mario telling childhood stories about Luigi in return. Or it was getting to eat pizza for the first time in weeks, and almost bursting into tears before practically eating himself sick.

Or it was that one time the night of the Mushroom Kingdom's Star Festival when they figured out that Mario could access the roof, so they sat up there and watched the countless shooting stars for most of the night, teasing each other about the wishes they were making on them, until Mario fell asleep up there leaning against Bowser, the celebratory lights and fireworks from the capital visible from even way out here. Bowser had even brought a few fireworks of his own, based on secondhand knowledge about how this festival was celebrated, and they had lit them in a manner that was definitely and decidedly unsafe. Yet the fireworks at the castle had seemed to burn brighter and burst louder upon them doing so.

Or it was that other time when they figured out that Mario couldn't go down the tower like he could climb up to the roof — he would hit some sort of invisible floor and would seemingly be standing there in midair scaring passersby like Toad half to death. And then a few weeks later during a summer storm Mario had the bright idea to stand outside on said invisible floor to get soaked to the bone, and a few hours after Bowser called him crazy and pulled him back inside and pretended that Mario was just wiping rain from his face and nothing else Mario started sneezing, and Bowser had to stay with him a few extra days. Just to make sure Mario didn't keel over and die and waste the sweets Bowser had bought at the market before he came over here, that was all. Mario knew he didn't like this flavor of candy, Bowser had said, and he sure as hell wasn't letting his kids eat all of it and dealing with their sugar rushes. Besides, he could hardly get back home right now anyway, with the roads so muddy.

Or it was Bowser telling him about how Peach had held a ball for the first time since Mario had “disappeared” and it had gotten completely derailed because someone loudly and conspicuously talked shit about Mario within earshot of Peach.  Luigi was across the room and Bowser couldn't let a Princess get her hands dirty so he had to obviously not let that shit go unanswered and haul that idiot out by his gaudy lapels and throw him into the moat himself to teach him a lesson and — why are you looking at me like that. What did I — she had better things to do then — stop laughing — they were all just standing there, what else was I — argh, shut up! I’ll show you funny, come here, you —!

It was a far cry from the abrasive hostility that Bowser wore like a cloak whenever he'd attack their kingdom in the past and Mario...liked it. It was nice. He looks forward to Bowser's visits, as regular as they were.

But...Bowser keeps talking in the future tense, about places in his kingdom he’s going to take Mario that’ll pale in comparison to any sights in the Mushroom Kingdom and people he’s going to bring Mario to meet because they can't make the trek here and all sorts of experiences that he’s decided they’re gonna have, all of which were very much impossible to have in the tower. And while the optimism was certainly appreciated, it...was never going to lead anywhere, Mario knew. He'd tried it, at the beginning of all this. It hadn't worked out.

And yet Bowser keeps at it, even if Mario would roll his eyes and shake his head every time he brought it up, that stubborn brash confidence that he could get Mario out of here slowly but surely reigniting that spark in Mario's soul that had dimmed but not quite died, holding a mirror to that hero’s spirit that persevered against all odds, no matter how small or nonexistent. And somehow, Mario starts to believe that Bowser would get him out of here, actually.

Which, of course, is when Bowser stops visiting all of a sudden.

Almost immediately after Bowser had realized he was Attached he’d tasked Kamek and Kammy with researching how to get Mario out of the tower, and finally, finally, they found something that would actually work. But in order to get it ready — or, perhaps, by consequence of getting it ready — they had to drop off the map with no warning, so Mario gets to sit in his room and spiral for a week or two or three. Within this spiral Mario thinks about what Bowser means to him, realizes that it's more than just a distraction from his situation and that there was a nonzero amount of hope and affection attached, and spirals harder. He doesn't quite spiral to the point of things getting as bad as those first few weeks, but it gets pretty dang close. For example, for the first time in weeks and months he tries to do everything he can to escape the tower again, short of throwing himself out the window (because he already knew that wouldn't work).

It's another couple of days after those futile efforts that Mario wakes up from a nap. It was arguably one of the best naps he’d had in years, he thought as he sat up and stretched, to have him feeling so much lighter than when he'd fallen asleep. It takes him a second to register an unfamiliar noise in the tower, and another three to realize it's the door, specifically the door handle, and Mario squints at it. He's not sure why it's moving, but it's not like it could be opened; Mario had locked it ages ago, shortly after discovering he couldn't leave the tower that way, and then the door had sealed itself shut, and Mario couldn't open it again even if he'd wanted to. And the door at the bottom of the tower was similarly closed off, so the stairwell itself was supposed to be inaccessible.

Mario creeps closer to the door and hears muttering. It...sounds like Bowser, almost. The muttering turns frustrated, and then there's banging on the door. That doesn't work either, Mario already knew; he’d almost broken bones in his hands trying that.

Except...the hinges are starting to bend, and the stone is starting to crack. Mario has a second to rub his eyes to see if he’s still dreaming before, with an almighty crash, the entire door and most of its frame falls forward, dust and fragments of stone raining down from where it once was.

Bowser glares at the door, smoke coming from his nose in an angry huff, and then he looks up and sees Mario. They stare at each other. 

Bowser quickly dons a boastful smirk. How about that, he brags, I told you I could get you out of here! No need to thank me or anything —

Mario punches him in the face.

Bowser recoils in pain, and he's offended for about two seconds before he starts laughing, loud and delighted. And here I was wondering if you were gonna wither away while I was gone, he cackles, and Mario can't help the twitch of his lips at that.

(He does kick Bowser in the shins, though. As a warning to never fucking do that again he thought he been abandoned up here —)

(Abandoned? As if! Bowser grins and scoffs. I like you, so you're stuck with me, pipsqueak, and there's fuck-all you can do about it!)

(Mario contemplates pushing him down the stairs. He settles for a hug instead, which was just as well because doing so seemed to throw Bowser off his game more than otherwise. His cheeks were bright red when Mario pulled away, and Mario smirked at him, despite his own face being pink to match.)

Mario packs up his stuff (i.e. grabs his boxes of mail and stuffs them in a bag, and then also puts the various gifts he's received from Peach and Luigi and Toad and Bowser into it) and with one last look around at this shoddily-gilded cage Bowser and Mario start descending the staircase.

They approach the point where the curse would usually stop Mario from progressing any further and Mario hesitates. Bowser pulls him over the invisible threshold with a casual ease, and Mario has to take a minute to stave off the incoming onslaught of tears about the fact that the curse was truly broken. Bowser awkwardly tries to comfort him, and Mario pulls himself together with a watery laugh at the attempt before marching the rest of the way down the stairs, Bowser right behind him.

(And it was a good thing that Bowser was so close, because it turns out being cooped up in one room for several months meant your stamina rested at an all-time low. Bowser had to carry Mario at the halfway mark down the rest of the way, to the embarrassment and secret delight of both of them.)

The two of them step outside. Mario squints, the sun bright in the sky. Luigi and Peach are there waiting for him, and he stumbles over to crush them both in as tight a hug he can manage; the three of them cry a lot and are generally glad that they don't have to be separated anymore and maybe poke a little fun about how pale Mario is now.

Bowser watches them from a slight distance, nearer to Kamek and Kammy, letting them have their Moment(tm). Yeah, he'd meant it when he said he wasn't going to leave Mario ever, but also he's feeling like the world's biggest fourth wheel of a tricycle right now and the uncertainty about what’s going to happen now that Mario had his family back and didn't have to rely on him for socialization anymore is starting to fuck him up a little. Kammy tells him not to worry about it while giving him a Mushroom for the bruise on his face. Bowser is having a hard time not worrying about it.

The Mushroom Kingdom trio finally part — well, Luigi and Mario are still draped over each other and Luigi’s still crying, but that's neither here nor there — and Peach goes over to Bowser to thank him profusely, to the point where Bowser starts squirming both because of the genuine uninhibited positive emotions being expressed and also if he’d been in this exact scenario a year ago he’d be milking it for all it was worth but now it’s just something to sit through as he steals glances at Mario throughout. He’s not exactly subtle, with those glances, and Peach starts teasing him about it. Bowser scowls, face red. 

Peach mentions that they’re going to have to plan something for Mario’s formal return, including letting the Mushroom Kingdom citizens know about it. Bowser, of course, is more than welcome to join the inevitable festivities.

I can handle things back home, Kamek says, I was already basically doing that anyway, with how often you were gallivanting over here instead. He shoots a pointed look at Bowser, who rolls his eyes.

As long as it's not one of your ridiculous parties, Bowser grumbles to Peach, Red hasn't talked to anyone besides us in ages you can't just parade him around for your people.

Red? Aw, is that your nickname for him? A color? Peach laughs.

...What did he ever see in her, honestly.

The last thing they do before they leave is destroy the tower. Bowser’s brought some explosives with him, for some godforsaken reason, and Mario and Luigi and Peach take great delight in spending the rest of the day rending the entire structure to rubble with him. Kamek and Kammy pull out all the decor from the tower’s main room and Mario gets the honor of lighting the whole thing up in flames. It's very cathartic. 

In the morning, they’re all going to go back to the Mushroom Kingdom to celebrate Mario’s return in a more semi-private setting, and then work out how to do so plus thank Bowser and his advisors for their efforts in a more formal and public way later.

But for now, Mario watches the light from the makeshift bonfire somehow cast Bowser’s fond grin warmer than it already was, and Bowser watches Mario’s eyes sparkle brighter than any fire or star could barely dream of managing. New freedoms meant new beginnings, and as they reached for each other’s hands they knew that this beginning was already off to a great start.

#bowsario #bowser #mario #princess peach #luigi #super mario #smb #hey check out the reblogs for an alternate concept of this i wrote lololol #(help me) #mlv.fic #Mario’s a fun character to fuck up emotionally and psychologically imo people should do it more often #give Luigi a bit of a break for once #but for real tho this is the first bowsario i’ve ever written it was fun~

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

Tiny Adventure

Chapter 2 (of 2)

Fic Summary:“Either that spell I’d cast was more powerful than I’d realized,” Kamek slowly said, “Or I somehow managed to shrink myself, instead.” “…” “I’d shrunken myself, didn't I.” Fic Tags: Humor, Shrunken Character, Nonverbal Mario

Word Count: 2,975 words

[AO3 Link] [Link to beginning]

~~~

Kamek woke up just after sunrise.

He sat up, wincing at the noises his back made in protest, blinking blearily at what was left of the campfire. Still not a dream. Damn. And the pain of being one of the greatest wizards of the modern age is that none of the spells you cast tended to wear off on a whim, including this one.

Mario was snoring away, a sound amplified due to his size though still not as loud as the worst of Lord Bowser’s snoring. Kamek quietly left his makeshift bed, wandering away to stretch and privately bemoan the lack of coffee in his vicinity. In the absence of caffeine, Kamek stared vacantly at some beads of dew on a leaf until a loud noise from behind surprised him into spinning around to face it. It was the same bird from yesterday, pecking at the ground as if it hadn't been the one to terrorize him back then.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Kamek muttered. The words caught the bird’s attention, of course. The two stared at each other for a long moment.

“So...” Kamek took a step back. “I’ll...be going now, if you don’t mind —”

The bird squawked, flapping its wings to charge. With a shout, Kamek bolted, scrambling to get out of the way of its dive. He clambered up a still-sleeping Mario’s leg — almost getting flung off when Mario sprang awake and kicked it in confusion — and Mario scooped him up the rest of the way. Kamek resisted the urge to stick his tongue out as the bird drew up short and flew away.

“Put me down,” Kamek commanded Mario, heedless of the drowsy glare aimed at him. With a huff, Mario did just that. He then stood, tidying up their campsite. “Leaving so soon?” Kamek called.

Mario raised an eyebrow. He had an evil plan to stop, after all. Still, he extended a hand for Kamek to use to get back into his pocket, and while Kamek didn't really want to take it on account of the humiliation inherent in doing so, it was better if he could make Mario do all the walking for him, instead.

Their trek started off quiet, the both of them busy with some berries Mario had foraged for them to eat. In a few hours they were out of the forest, following the winding curves of the river up to its source. Kamek had spent most of that time napping, due to the lack of caffeine and the desire to try and recover a bit more of his magic. But now he had some extra energy, with which to complain about things such as Mario’s general presence, the loss of his wand and how it prevented Kamek from doing anything about said presence, how being small did almost nothing to alleviate his allergies, somehow, the abysmal texture of Mario’s overalls, the excessive jostling to Mario’s stride —

Mario opened the pocket to glare at Kamek.

Kamek smiled innocently. “I’ll shut up if you go home.”

Mario scoffed.

Kamek’s smirk widened. He stood and peered out at their surroundings; currently they were crossing a small bridge, what was left of the river flowing beneath them. So Kamek made sure not to pull himself out too far, lest he fell and had a terrible time navigating the currents at his size.

On the other side of the bridge, Kamek and Mario heard voices. Mario’s eyes narrowed. He reached for Kamek.

“Wha — Hey!” Kamek kicked at Mario’s hand. “What are you doing?”

Mario ignored Kamek’s protests, dropping moreso than placing him in a nearby bush. Pushing aside the leaves revealed a group of scouts from the base that were approaching Mario. And instead of leaving to warn the others about Mario’s location like they were trained to do, they got it in their heads to try and take him down themselves to gain favor with Lord Bowser. Ughhhhhh. Kamek smacked his forehead. These recruits...!

Obviously, Mario dispatched them quickly. And upon being beaten, those idiot scouts finally decided to do their damn jobs like they were meant to in the first place. Kamek scowled after their retreating forms, and as if they knew he was there and angry with them they ran even faster.

By contrast, Mario was completely unaffected by said scowl when it shifted to him, grinning brightly; unfortunately, he was too used to Kamek’s ire in other contexts to treat it with the seriousness it deserved.

They continued on. The scouts' warning had evidently been passed along, by the way they were next accosted by a group of Koopa guards. Mario stowed Kamek away in another bush without a word and rushed into battle. In this fight, though, the Koopas’ shells getting knocked around made the sphere of collateral damage much larger. So much so that by the time Mario finally defeated his foes, the bush Kamek had been in had been flattened.

Kamek, meanwhile, crawled out from under the rock he relocated to when he’d realized he’d needed a better hiding spot to find Mario frantically searching the area around his first hiding spot. He could leave now, Kamek realized. Slip away, make his way back to the base, grab his spare wand, unshrink himself, fix his broom, and come back to defeat Mario for good. The initial traveling would be a bit difficult, but he didn't get this far in life without being resourceful. But the edge of distress he could see creeping onto Mario’s face from here felt a bit much to leave Mario with, even for him. Especially after...

Before Kamek could make a final decision, Mario turned and spotted him. The open relief on his face had Kamek’s eyes rolling. “I can take care of myself, you know,” he said as Mario ran up to him. Mario smiled weakly.

The farther upriver they traveled, the more soldiers appeared to block their path. Mario had long since stopped bothering to find shelter for Kamek every time and had decided to just try and be careful about what hit him in the chest. It helped that Kamek had managed to scrounge up enough magic and focus for a wandless shield spell — “Of course I can cast spells without a wand, what am I, your average wizard?” — though it took more strain than he was willing to let on.

Unfortunately, none of the groups of minions sent to stop Mario hardly even managed to slow him down. Soon enough, he was staring up at a giant wall spanning from riverbank to riverbank; behind it on one side stretched a convoluted mess of pipes and dials and the occasional small building, and above it loomed the very tip of a waterwheel. On the opposite side of the pipes stretched a wide chute, water rushing out of it over the cliffside.

Mario looked down at Kamek. Kamek looked back up at Mario, because he had no intention of explaining any of this to him.

Around them, minions gasped. “It’s Mario!” they muttered amongst themselves. “What do we do?” If he’d gotten this far, they reasoned, then he’d wipe the floor with all of them for sure; but if they didn't fight back, then Lord Kamek would tear them all a new one for certain!

“What are you all standing around for?” Kamek shouted at them, actively tearing them a new one. “Stop him!”

The minions hesitated. But they could practically hear Kamek yelling at them right now, so it was probably a good idea to try and do something before he actually came to do so.

Kamek ground his teeth, because of course they didn't hear him, and thus didn't know he was here. He geared up to get their attention, and spin his predicament into something that didn't undermine his authority over them, but —

“Ho, there!”

Above them standing on the dam was a figure, a hulking humanoid mass of metal pipes and blocks of concrete. It bent its legs and jumped, hitting the ground hard enough to create a small crater in the grass and for Mario to almost lose his balance and fall over. “So you’re the enemy that Lord Kamek had taken care to warn me about!” it said, staring straight at Mario. It rose from its crouch, standing at its full height of almost thrice the size of said enemy. “Hardly the formidable foe he built you up to be, aren't you?” it remarked, looking Mario up and down.

Still in Mario’s pocket, Kamek scowled. “Hey!” he snapped. “I didn't create you to guard the base against Mario just so you can write him off when you see him —!”

“No matter!” The main guard of the base shifted its weight. “It simply makes it easier to dispose of you posthaste, so that what's being gathered here can be used for its glorious purpose! A purpose you won't live to see!”

“Oh, just give away our all plans, why don't you,” Kamek grumbled, and then the guard surged forward with a punch. Mario threw himself to the side to dodge it, and the fight was on. Kamek wished he could appreciate it, but as it stood he was too busy trying to keep his shield bubble up so he wouldn't be crushed by any of their attacks. What he could gather, though, left him quite impressed. By himself, that is. He really did a solid enchanting job on this particular magical construct, for it to keep up with Mario this well.

Case in point, it got a good right hook in on Mario. Mario went flying in one direction, and Kamek in his shield bubble was knocked away in the other. It was seemingly eons of rolling and bouncing before the bubble finally burst from the strain, sending Kamek tumbling the rest of the way inside a nearby building.

Luckily, the building was empty, so there was no one to witness Kamek groaning and clutching his back in pain as he got to his feet. He shuffled further into the room, the sounds of fighting echoing from outside. Near the back wall was a large computer console, connected to screens with readings and graphs that he couldn't read from his place on the ground. But he needed to read them, because this was the console linked to the main generator and thus could give him information about how much energy this operation had gathered up until now. Kamek sighed. He approached the console and started climbing.

At the top, he needed more than a few moments to catch his breath. A part of him thought that maybe it was time to admit he was too old for all this. The rest of him thought that he would be in this business until the day he died anyway, so what did it matter how old he was? Regardless, now that he was up here he could properly judge the progress made in his absence. And to his surprise, the meters showed that they had gathered just enough energy and resources for the next phase of Lord Bowser’s plan to work. So maybe the minions weren’t so incompetent after all.

Speaking of surprisingly competent, Kamek looked through the window and saw Mario and his construct-guard still locked in battle. Mario was very handily losing; it was almost as if it was toying with him at this point. The sight would normally fill Kamek with glee, but for some reason those feelings weren’t manifesting themselves. On one hand, Mario losing was ideal, because at best they could stamp him out for good and at worst they could delay him for long enough to get some extra power from this river before they were forced to abandon it. But on the other hand...

Kamek looked back out the window, towards the fight. He thought about his journey to get here, back to the base. He sighed. He jumped behind the console, and with a flick of his wrist he floated down to the ground.

Though its helmet was misshapen and its stone armor chipped, exposing its metallic skeleton, Kamek’s magical construct-guard still loomed over a collapsed Mario, assured in its victory. With gritted teeth, Mario searched for an opening he could take advantage of, before he was finished off for good. But his opponent wasn't presenting an opening like Mario needed it to, even as it raised a hand for a final blow.

So the universe deigned to give him one itself, by way of loud cracking of stone from farther away. Over the guard’s shoulder, the dam keeping most of the river at bay bloomed with cracks and fissures, water seeping out and growing them larger to the tune of increasingly loud rumbling.

Mario’s eyes widened in alarm. He hurried to his feet to run. The construct-guard lunged after him, intent on seeing this fight to its end. It swung its arm up and clipped Mario’s shoulder blade, knocking him to the ground at practically the same time the dam crumpled and gave way.

The other minions’d had enough sense, speed, and distance to avoid the bulk of the water flow, but Mario and the construct-guard lacked most of those things. So down the river they were swept, the torrents of water sending them tumbling all the way back to that little bridge, where Mario managed to pull himself onto dry land. He crawled far enough from the shore that the water couldn't drag him back into its grasp, and then he sat there and coughed for a while. As he regained his breath, he wondered what happened to —

The construct-guard burst forth from the river in a shower of droplets that Mario scrambled back to avoid. If it could gasp for breath it probably would be doing so, hunched over as it was; it raised its head to glare at Mario, its glowing eye pinning him in the middle of resuming a fighting stance.

“You...!” it growled. Its voice sounded waterlogged. “I have to admit, that was a clever trick you pulled! But you will not” — it stood up straight, creaking the whole way — “get the best of me that easily...!”

The construct-guard raised its hand for another blow. Mario braced himself for the hit. But as its hand came down, its arm stuttered, catching on something unseen. And with a metallic groan, its arm stopped.

“Wha —?” It turned its head in confusion. Its neck got stuck halfway. It lifted its other arm to fix it, and the shoulder twitched and jerked with a shrieking screech that had Mario wincing. “What is — h-happening —?”

Mario didn't give it any time to sort itself out; as it was still trying to stop from seizing up completely, he rushed forward, pulling his hammer out of his pocket. He reared back and swung, knocking the still-malfunctioning construct-guard back into the rapidly rushing river behind it. Its voice warbled on a scream as it was carried away; the sound of it cut off long before it became too far away to hear. With any luck, the townspeople at the end of the river will have the sense to fish the metal out of the river before it rusted over.

Inhale, exhale. Mario put his hammer away. Now that the fight was over, Mario could go and find Kamek, who’d fallen out of his pocket during the fight and bounced off somewhere. And...had probably gotten caught up in the dam’s collapse. And with him being so small...!

Mario’s first harried sweep of the immediate area came up fruitless. As did the next, and the next. Should he go back to the start of the river, and retrace steps from there? Or should he start from the end of the river and try to work backwards? Mario wasted precious seconds trying to decide which to do and then realized he probably didn't have that time to waste.

He was considering diving back into the river to see if Kamek was trapped somewhere beneath the surface when he heard coughing and hacking and sputtering from the other side of the bridge. Mario ran towards the sound and it was Kamek, soaking wet and somehow fully-sized!

Mario’s sigh of relief was audible, and it caught Kamek’s attention. With one last cough, Kamek straightened up in a partially-successful attempt to look less like a drowned rat. Kamek frowned upon seeing Mario, and that frown deepened to a scowl as he looked past Mario upriver; though the damage the dam bursting had caused was barely visible from here, it was still easy to imagine all the wreckage it left behind.

“But I hope you don't think this little victory matters,” Kamek said, head held high. “We’ve already gotten all we needed from this backwater place. Something you’ll come to regret when the rest of Lord Bowser’s plan gets off the ground!”

Mario looked less sufficiently-wary than usual at Kamek’s proclamation, the little pleased smile still sitting on his face messing with the usual dynamic. Kamek’s stance faltered at the deviation from the norm.

“I-in any case.” Kamek took out his broom. The wood was soaked dark. “I’d say see you later, but I’d rather you save us both the trouble. But I suppose I’ll have to make you, next time.” He mock-sighed. “It should be fun crushing you into paste, at least!”

At this, Mario finally frowned. Cackling, Kamek got on his broom and flew away; his flight path was unsteady, and he stuttered and jolted his way to being a tiny speck in the blue sky. Mario watched him until he disappeared behind a passing cloud, and then he jumped off to go check on the town at the end of the river and see if he could help solve any problems the recent flash flooding had probably caused.

#idk i dont really have commentary for this one #just that kamek's got a heart and he hates it lmao #smb #mario #kamek #mlv.fic

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

Tiny Adventure

Chapter 1 (of 2)

Rating: General Audiences Relationship: Mario & Kamek Tags: Humor, Shrunken Character, Nonverbal Mario

Summary: “Either that spell I’d cast was more powerful than I’d realized,” Kamek slowly said, “Or I somehow managed to shrink myself, instead.” “…” “I’d shrunken myself, didn't I.” Word Count: 2,269 words

[AO3 Link]

~~~

This particular afternoon found Kamek trapped in a tree hollow in the middle of a forest.

Now, a forest wasn't the first place Kamek would have chosen to find himself in, given the copious amount of pollen usually found in such biomes that would wreak havoc on his sinuses. Unfortunately, Lord Bowser’s latest scheme had necessitated his presence in this area; in these first few stages of said scheme, Kamek’s magic proved to be critical in making sure everything went smoothly. Which stoked Kamek’s ego something fierce — though that warmth was little compared to the cold reality of the crushing amount of overwork he was enduring. More so than usual, too, which was quite the feat considering his usual amount of work. But it had been a while since the overwork was of the magical variety, and Kamek couldn't help but appreciate the challenge.

However, casting spells day in and day out in the name of Lord Bowser still cast him dangerously close to magical exhaustion, and as a result he hardly had the reserves to cast much else. For instance, he couldn't cast anything to scare off this bird that had been trying to eat him for a while now.

And, well, normally that wouldn't be a problem, because it was a bird. But sometime this morning he received a report that Mario had been spotted skulking about in the forest, no doubt drawn in by rumors of their presence. That had been...unfortunate. All those delays caused by inexperienced minions had finally added up. So, since he could hardly trust anyone else to do it properly, Kamek had gone to stall him for long enough so they could finish harvesting the resources they needed. And the chosen method of stalling him? It was hardly original, but...he had been rather fond of those size-changing spells he’d gotten to use ages ago. Although, with how tired he’d been lately, he couldn't exert as fine control over them he would have liked.

Hence him hiding in a giant tree, being pecked at by a giant bird.

How embarrassing.

The bird lunged for Kamek again. Kamek pressed his back against the mossy wood behind him — he was very much running out of room, here. The next try brought it closer; with a curse, Kamek swiped at it with his broom — the broom that had barely stayed airborne during his flight to escape the bird in the first place, crashed him into this tree hollow, and refused to start flying again no matter how much magic Kamek tried to pour into it. The broom that was then grabbed by the bird, and that Kamek had to fight to keep, because that was his broom, damn it, and sure it wasn't working right now but he’d spent a whole month enchanting it in the first place and he was not losing it now!

Just as Kamek was starting to lose his grip, the bird let go with a squawk. Falling backwards from the sudden lack of force, Kamek watched the bird flap its wings and fly away from the hollow’s opening in a hurry. Kamek crawled out at a much more sedate pace, brushing dirt off his robes as he stood. Now with that inconvenience dealt with, he could finally get back to work. He needed to figure out where exactly he was, how to get out of this forest and back to the base, what progress the other minions had made while he was gone, all the incompetencies and mistakes he’d have to clean up, and on top of that he still had to deal with Mario —

Mario waved.

— running around causing trouble and threatening to ruin their hard work, and he still needed to figure out how to tell Bowser about Mario’s presence, or whether he should in the first place considering Bowser’s likely reaction to that news, and he hadn't eaten since breakfast despite it now being past noon, and he’d been meaning to go back to that backwater town at the end of the river and steal all the allergy medicine he could get his hands on, and —

Kamek shrieked, almost falling back into the hole he’d just crawled out of. “Wh-when did you get here?”

Mario shrugged. It was a larger gesture than usual, as was the rest of him. Was larger than usual, that is. Kamek blinked at Mario’s way-too-big mustache, and his eyes narrowed. When he’d fired that last spell, Mario had been nowhere near in range of it.

“Either that spell I’d cast was more powerful than I realized,” Kamek slowly said, “Or I somehow managed to shrink myself, instead.”

“...”

“I’d shrunken myself, didn't I.”

Mario’s mustache curled up in amusement. Kamek ground his teeth and fumed. Of all the stupid mistakes to make...!

Despite his magic reserves being low, Kamek reached into his sleeve for his wand; whether to put himself back to normal or knock the amusement off Mario’s face, he couldn't say. Either way, his hand came out empty. As it did the second time Kamek rummaged for it, and the third, and the fourth, and the —

Absolutely not panicking, Kamek dove back into the tree hollow to overturn every dead leaf and stick pile and moss clump in search of his wand. He didn't find it, of course, and he spared a moment or two to stand there, head in hands. With how today was going, he’d probably dropped it somewhere after miscasting his spell. On the very dim bright side, though, at least he knew why his broom wasn't working; those enchantments weren't designed to play nice with these sort of shrinking spells. Kamek sighed. Curse Lord Bowser and his incessant, near-impossible demands...

Kamek lifted his head to find Mario peering through the opening of the tree hollow, considering Kamek’s misfortune with a furrowed brow. He backed up to allow Kamek to leave, and once Kamek stood upright, he extended a hand to him.

“I don't need your help,” Kamek snapped. Ignoring Mario’s hand, he turned on his heel, marched a few steps, tripped over a protruding bit of exposed bark, and lost his balance. His next step was on empty air, at a height borderline unsurvivable, with little but a nonfunctional broom to break his fall.

So he fell. And he hit the ground. Sooner than he’d expected, considering. Kamek unscrewed his eyes and found the surface he’d landed on was whiter than he’d expected, as well. And then it moved, and Kamek lost the little balance he’d been barely holding on to. Mario’s worried face filled Kamek’s vision, and he realized he wasn't dead because Mario had caught him.

“...I suppose I should thank you,” Kamek eventually said, with no intention of thanking Mario. Mario huffed, but still watched him, lips pursed in thought. He was being quieter than usual, and that combined with the sudden awareness of just how vulnerable he was — many fractions his size, unable to cast any spells, and sitting in his archenemy’s palms — had Kamek swallowing nervously.

“You can put me down now,” Kamek hesitantly said, because Mario was a good guy, and he would do as he asked. For sure. Hopefully.

Except Mario didn't. Instead, he transferred Kamek to one hand, opened the front pocket of his overalls with the other, and dumped Kamek in there as if he was some common —

Kamek struggled to right himself in the small, mostly enclosed space. “Wh — You —!” he sputtered. “How dare you — !”

Mario chuckled at Kamek’s indignation. The vibrations of it rumbled through Kamek’s body, and the whole ‘you’re very tiny and powerless and more-or-less at your archenemy’s mercies right now’ dilemma screeched back to the forefront of Kamek’s mind. So he shut his mouth with a clack, thinking better of poking his head out of the pocket to give Mario a piece of his mind. Through the meager opening above him he saw Mario give him one last look before starting to move; the way the world shifted probably meant he was at a brisk walk, down the forest path to who-knew-where.

Kamek sighed, making himself comfortable the best he could given the circumstances. Well... at least Mario wasn't likely to let Kamek get accosted by wildlife again. And besides, all Kamek had to do was wait until he could scrounge up enough magic to cast spells again; though he was still without his wand, he’d be free to ditch Mario and make his own way back to the base for his spare wand and broom. And then he could come back and make Mario pay for this indignity ten-fold.

---

Kamek blinked, roused from a nap he hadn't realized he’d taken by a shift in movement different from the steady sway of Mario walking around. He reached for the top of the pocket and pulled himself up. They were in a clearing lit by the waning light of the sun, and Mario was leaning over a burgeoning campfire.

Mario grinned down at Kamek when he noticed he was awake. Kamek scowled back at him, because he’d been hoping the earlier events of the afternoon had been a terrible dream. In the face of the contrary, and with the dregs of near-magical exhaustion and the nap he just took still clinging to him, the colorful commentary floating through his head didn't make it to the twilit air.

Meanwhile, Mario finished arranging the wood he’d gathered. He raised a hand to Kamek.

“I can get down on my own,” Kamek said, surly, and then he pulled himself out, misjudged the force necessary to do so, and tumbled end-over-end into Mario’s still-raised hand.

Mario had the grace to refrain from laughing this time, setting him down on a nearby log and lighting the campfire with an errant fireball. He sat down on the ground next to him with a sigh, shoulders slumped in clear exhaustion. Sensing Kamek was watching him, though, he straightened, rummaging through his pockets and pulling out a lunchbox. He opened it, and the smell reminded Kamek that he hadn't eaten since that brief pastry at sunrise. He supposed a blessing of being this small was that the grumbling of his stomach was harder to hear.

Busy regretting skipping lunch, the tray placed next to him completely startled him. That tray was actually the lid to the lunchbox, with some of Mario’s food placed upon it. A look to Mario had Mario pointing to his food and shaping his fingers into an ‘L’ shape with an easy smile. Ah. Well, at least Kamek could be sure the food was edible.

The two of them ate their dinners in relative silence. As they polished off some roasted mushrooms to end their meal, Mario’s focus was on a letter clutched in his other hand. Kamek read it over Mario’s shoulder. It appeared to be a letter from the Princess.

Mario saw him looking and tilted the letter towards him, pointing at a passage that spoke of the troubles the nearby town had been going through recently.

“I don't know anything about that,” Kamek lied. At Mario’s unimpressed look, Kamek rolled his eyes. “So what if they’re having water problems? If they're not going to use their river to its full potential, then they can't start complaining when someone else swoops in and does so.”

Mario’s face turned contemplative. He flipped to the second page of Peach’s letter, and as he glanced between it and Kamek, Kamek realized he might have said a little too much. Whoops. He’ll blame it on how tired he was. Even still, no matter how Mario needled him further, he didn't say anything else on the subject. Absolutely nothing. Besides, if the minions were being even halfway competent in his absence, then it didn't matter at this point how quickly Mario cottoned on to what they were doing.

Mario raised an eyebrow in challenge, and Kamek really needed to stop talking now, didn't he?

The hour grew late, and soon both Mario and Kamek were stifling yawns. Mario was surely used to laying down on the wilderness’ floor for a rest, but where was Kamek supposed to sleep?

Mario thought about it, looking around for a suitable surface. He couldn't find one, and Kamek was all set to resign himself to an aching back tomorrow morning until Mario’s eyes lit up with an idea. He took his hat off his head. He held it out to Kamek.

“Wh —? In that?” Kamek hissed. Mario shrugged. Was there anything better?

Kamek grumbled. Mario put the hat on the ground below him, near the cooling fire, leaning back against the log as Kamek slid off his seat to land in it. It was soft. Not quite soft enough, though. Luckily, there was plenty of moss nearby, and Kamek unrepentantly padded his new temporary bed with it. Mario looked pained. Served him right.

Mario forced himself to ignore the nearby travesty as best he could; he shimmied into a more comfortable position, ending with an aborted motion to pull his hat over his eyes. He rested that hand on his stomach instead, the other behind his head. One leg crossed over the other, Mario cast his gaze to the stars peeking between the leaves and branches above them, the picture of evening relaxation.

Kamek pulled a relatively clean leaf he’d found amongst the moss earlier over himself. Though he still hoped he'd wake up tomorrow morning to find this had all been a terrible nightmare, he knew he’d probably end up disappointed. But that was a problem for his future self to deal with.

#i think this was the oldest wip in my wip folder #jan 2021 #well its finally not a wip anymore! #(mostly. i still have to edit chapter 2 lol) #mlv.fic #smb #mario #kamek

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

a brother by any other nickname would care just as much

Rating: General Audiences Characters: Mario, Luigi Relationships: Mario & Luigi Tags: Sickfic, Brotherly Love, Fluff, Nonverbal Mario, Sick Mario, Sicktember 2023

Summary: With Mario sicker than he’s been in ages, what else can Luigi do but stay by his side? Prompts: 22. Terms of Endearment/Nicknames, Alt 1. “I Could Really Use a Hug Right About Now” Word Count: 1,133 words

[AO3 Link]

~~~

With half an eye on the pot of soup he was stirring, Luigi cast another glance down the hall towards his brother’s room, half-expecting him to wander in at any moment, pulled in by the smells of an early dinner.

But that wasn't going to happen, because when Luigi had returned from the Beanbean Kingdom a few days ago he’d brought something back with him; while it had only affected Luigi minimally, just a few coughs and sniffles, it had hit Mario like a truck. It had been kind of scary, to be honest, to turn the corner and find Mario slumped heavily against the wall that otherwise inconspicuous morning, trying valiantly to stay standing even as his face was pale as porcelain and his eyes were glassy enough to reflect Luigi’s alarm right back at him.

With that memory came yet another urge to abandon his soup to go check on Mario. But Luigi had already been taking care of Mario the best he could, and was at least doing a good enough job that Mario had fallen asleep. He certainly didn't need Luigi hovering over him in concern as he did so.

As Luigi finished cooking the soup and turned down the heat, the urge to check on Mario grew exponentially larger. Before he knew it, he was turning off the stove entirely and treading deeper into the house. Surely one quick peek couldn't hurt, right? Mario probably wouldn't mind just a tiny bit of hovering.

Luigi poked his head into Mario’s room. Mario was still asleep, but he’d moved, laying with his back facing the door. Luigi crept in to peer at his face, which was scrunched up in discomfort. His breathing, forced to come from his mouth due to his stuffed nose, sounded terrible. Seeing Mario laid low like this had Luigi swallowing thickly, anxiety renewed, but he pushed through it to replace the damp washcloth on Mario’s forehead. He eyed the bottle of medicine on the dresser, and then the clock. It seemed like it was time for Mario to have another dose of that awful stuff, anyway.

But when Luigi left Mario’s side to go get it, Mario stirred. He curled in on himself, and at the hitch of his breath Luigi froze. Mario turned over, knocking the washcloth off again and putting his discomfited face on full display for a moment before half of it was buried in his pillow. Eyes squeezed shut, he was moving his mouth in a way that made Luigi wonder if he was saying anything. Luigi leaned closer to try and find out, but he hardly needed to because it was then that Mario’s voice rose slightly, and amongst the near-unintelligible muttering Luigi very clearly heard a “Weeg” in a whispering, breathy tone and —

Luigi’s brain shorted out.

Not because his name was said — that was a rarity he was used to and thus treasured when it happened. But...Mario hadn't used that nickname since they were small. Nowadays, whenever Mario said Luigi’s name, it was the full thing. Or maybe he’d shorten it to “Lu”, sitting outside at two o’clock in the morning with him nursing hot cocoa after nightmares. Not...

Mario mouthed something else; it might have been that nickname again. Whatever it was, there was an edge of distress creeping onto his face along with it. Luigi cautiously reached out his own hand to squeeze his brother’s where it was tangled in the bedsheets. “Bro, what’s wrong?” Luigi asked, getting worried. He didn't get a response aside from a low groan and Mario curling up even further. This had Luigi admittedly start to panic. Was Mario getting worse? Should he call the clinic? Was he dying? Oh no he had no idea what to do if Mario was dying he hadn't gotten to have any of the cookies Luigi was planning on baking him later oh Peach was gonna be so sad -

Mario groaned again. Luigi stopped his frantic patting of Mario’s face, the sound granting Luigi a little bit of focus. The medicine. Right. Okay.

With shaking hands, pouring the medicine took longer than it should have; when Luigi turned back around Mario was now awake, trying to sit up and get out of bed. Luigi almost spilled the medicine rushing over to stop him from standing. Yet Luigi’s panic ebbed a bit, because Mario trying to get out of bed when he really should be resting was such remarkably normal behavior from him that if he was well enough to make the attempt then that was probably a good sign, right?

Luigi sat next to Mario on the bed. Mario slumped against Luigi, who ran a hand through Mario’s matted hair. His palm passed over Mario’s forehead, which was still warmer than it ought to have been. Luigi took the discarded washcloth and used it to wipe the sweat from Mario’s face and neck, then held out the medicine to Mario, who ignored it in favor of squinting at his brother’s face. Luigi moved the little cup into Mario’s field of view. Mario finally blinked at it.

When Mario was done taking the medicine, Luigi put both the empty cup and the half-empty bottle of water he’d given Mario to chase down the taste of it with on the side table. The two of them remained sitting there for a while, Mario still leaning against Luigi. He should probably go back to the kitchen for the soup, Luigi thought, to plate it so Mario could eat something before he went back to sleep. But he didn't really want to extract himself from his brother’s side, from the closest thing he could get to a hug right now with Mario so out of it. And with all the worry for Mario rattling about his brain for the past day or so, he could really go for a hug right now. Luigi sighed.

Right then, Mario lifted his head. He peered up at his brother, a look of exhausted concentration overtaking his features. He didn't hold that stare for long, dropping his head back onto Luigi’s shoulder, moreso on his collarbone than where it met his arm; with clumsy, tired movements, he lifted an arm and crossed it across his body to grope for Luigi’s other shoulder and — oh.

Oh, that wasn't fair...

Luigi pulled Mario the rest of the way into the attempted hug. He was the one supposed to be taking care of Mario, not the other way around...

It wasn't long after that Mario fell back asleep. Luigi gently, reluctantly, extracted himself from Mario’s side, laying him back down under the covers and snugly tucking him in, and left to let him rest some more in the minutes before Luigi brought dinner to him.

#yay i'm done with sicktember!!! #now i can catch up on commenting on stuff OTL #mlv.fic #smb #super mario #sicktember 2023

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

How to Become Patient Zero in One or Two Easy Steps

Rating: General Audiences Characters: Bowser, Bowser Junior, Kamek, Mario, Luigi, Peach Relationships: Bowser & Bowser Junior, Bowser & Peach, Bowser & Luigi, Bowser & Kamek Tags: Sickfic, Humor, Fluff, Kamek is Bowser’s Dad, Sicktember 2023

Summary: Bowser’s having a good feeling about this kidnapping attempt, so when he discovers he’s sick he tries to push through and hide it to see his latest scheme through to the end. This doesn't work out, obviously. Prompts: 4. Hiding an Illness, 6. Sick and Injured, 14. "I shouldn’t be worried about you, but for some reason I am", 21. "But if you stay, you'll get sick too", 30. Patient Zero Word Count: 1,352 words

[AO3 Link]

~~~

In Bowser’s opinion, this latest kidnapping scheme was going pretty smoothly so far.

Princess Peach was captured and secured, despite a small scuffle — it was equal parts fun and frustrating when someone accidentally left a weapon lying too close to her — and the Mario Bros were — well, they weren't being stopped, but they were only midway through World 2! The later surprises he had in store for them would get them for sure!

Everyone was working like a well-oiled machine, at top form, and Bowser was just going to join them. Just as soon as he finished enduring this wave of whatever crud he’d woken up with today.

Well — actually he’d woken up with it days ago, hoping to push through it as his plans fell into place. But it proved hard to ignore, with his throat so raw and his sinuses so stuffed and his very bones aching something fierce. Usually it’d be something to just sleep off and let pass, but with all these preparations to do he’d hardly had more than a few minutes to sit down, let alone take a nap. This was the longest break he’d had in a while, to be honest, hidden in some forgotten hallway taking a breather.

It wasn't like he could call all this off either; everything was way too far along for that and besides, Bowser had a good feeling about this attempt! Though, he knew if Kamek got even a whiff of the idea that Bowser was under the weather then he’d force him to cancel everything anyway. Luckily, Bowser had coincidentally sent him off earlier to supervise the World 7 and 8 work, sparing him from those scrutinizing eyes.

As for the other pair of scrutinizing eyes, though...Bowser turned to face Junior, who had been watching him suspiciously. Those were a bit more difficult to avoid.

“Hey, Junior!” Bowser’s voice cracked a little as the words left his mouth. He hid a wince.

Junior’s gaze narrowed. “...Dad, are you sick?” he asked Bowser outright.

“What? Nah,” Bowser replied a little too quickly. He realized he was leaning a hand against the wall for support and straightened abruptly, almost falling over the other way as he got dizzy for a second. “I just...uh...didn't get that much sleep last night! Working hard, you know how it is!”

Junior didn’t look convinced.

“You don't have to worry!” Bowser stifled a cough. “I’m fine! Just taking a break!”

“But what if I'm worried anyway?” Junior said, frowning up at Bowser. “Even though I'm not supposed’ta be?”

Bowser made to ruffle Junior’s hair, remembered his elevated body temperature, and then didn’t. “Well then...” he said, pasting a smirk onto his face, “I’ll show ya you don't have to be worried, by squashing those Loser Bros. flat when they get here!”

“Not if I beat them with my mech first!” Junior grinned, suspicions visibly fading at the implied challenge.

“Heh, we’ll see about that!” Ah, what else could distract him...? “Speaking of your mech, you figure out how to fit in those rocket launchers yet?”

“Almost!” Junior began rambling about his design process, successfully distracted. Bowser breathed a tiny sigh of relief, managing to cajole Junior into running off to put some finishing touches onto his contraption. 

In his son’s absence, Bowser muffled a sneeze into his arm, his nose burning at the effort to keep it locked behind his teeth. Yikes, that was close. He wasn't sure how long he could keep this up. Pretending he was fine was exhausting, almost more so than being sick itself. But Bowser refused to let some minor illness get the better of him so easily. He stepped out from the hallway to rejoin his army. Yeah, he’d have those pesky germs knocked out flat in no time!

---

Bowser woke up slowly, blinking up at the rich purple canopy of his bed. Why was he in bed? He wracked his brain trying to remember. The cotton his head felt stuffed with made it impossible. The last thing he did was...was...what was it?

Bowser heard a shuffling noise next to him. It was Greenie, staring at him wide-eyed.

“...What’re you lookin’ at?” Bowser glared at him. 

In lieu of answering, Greenie burst into tears.

“Wh —?” Bowser tried to sit up; it was a bit difficult with his arms and half his torso in bandages and his entire body feeling shaky and weak, but he somehow managed. Whatever was sitting on his head fell off — an ice pack, whose absence was almost immediately felt based on the throbbing in his skull. “Shut up,” Bowser snapped at Greenie, trying to sound intimidating. The words came out as if he’d eaten gravel, and upon hearing them Greenie somehow began crying harder, so obviously that didn't work.

As if summoned, Mario skidded into the room, Kamek not far behind with a large mug of tea gripped in his claws. “Oh, you're awake,” Kamek said. He sounded cross, and Bowser couldn't help but feel nervous. “I was wondering why you insisted on keeping me out in the field,” he continued, and uh-oh. 

“You said I didn't have to be worried!” was the first thing Junior shouted as soon as he ran into the room next and aw jeez. What even happened?

Peach, a blanket over her shoulders and the last one to crowd his bedside, filled him in. Apparently his and the Marios’ final battle had started off as usual, but partway through the fight Mario had noticed Bowser acting off. The lack of banter and boasting, the faltering reflexes, the whiffed attacks...the amount of evidence pointing to something being wrong had grown ever larger. Until Greenie had thrown his hammer at Bowser’s head, a predictable, highly telegraphed maneuver that Bowser normally would have dodged with ease. Instead, it had hit Bowser full force, and he’d dropped like a stone and stopped moving. Greenie had been honestly scared he’d killed Bowser right then and there, hence the waterworks now.

“As if you could kill me.” Bowser scowled at Greenie. Greenie hiccuped, still teary.

Anyway, Mario had swiftly run off to find Kamek, and Peach had passed along the suspicions Junior had shared with her a while ago plus a few suspicions of her own — for example, Bowser had visited her a lot less than usual this time around. And then they all stayed to help take care of Bowser. “This is the first time you’d woken up this coherent, you know,” Peach told him, cocking a grin.

The first time? Bowser frowned. “Well, now I’m awake for real. So get out of here before you get sick with whatever this is, too.”

Peach shook her head. “That ship has already sailed —”

As if on cue, Mario sneezed. Bowser looked over to where he was patting Greenie on the shoulder. Mario met his gaze and shrugged. 

“It’s been a few days, and you were really bad off,” Peach explained. “So we’re going to keep helping you until you’re better, and then you’ll have to mind us, as we won't be fit to travel for a while.” She raised her chin. “Think of it as payback, for scaring us all half to death.”

Bowser grumbled, sinking further into the bed. He didn't want the Mario Bros hanging around his castle. Blegh.

Kamek knocked back the rest of his tea, slamming the mug down on the end table with a little more force than necessary. “If you're finished with your explanations,” Kamek said mildly, gesturing at Mario and Greenie and Peach even as he kept his eyes on Bowser. “I’d like to have a moment with Patient Zero here, if you wouldn't mind.”

Mario helped Greenie to his feet. Peach gave Junior her blanket before she followed them out of the room, and he clambered onto the bed next to Bowser, wrapping himself in it. As the door swung closed, Bowser realized he’d prefer the Mario Bros running around his home, actually, to the look on Kamek’s face as he opened his mouth to give Bowser the scolding of a lifetime.

#wahoo my sicktember's starting on day 4 lmao #mlv.fic #smb #super mario #bowser #bowser jr #kamek #princess peach #luigi #mario #sicktember 2023 #sorry for just smashing a bunch of prompts together in one fill it will happen again

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

Honeymoon Suite

Rating: General Audiences Relationship: Mario & Peach Tags: Friendship, Nonverbal Mario, Aromantic Mario

Summary: After a pretty standard rescue mission, Mario and Peach need to stop at a hotel for the night before finishing the trip home. There’s only one room left that’s available for them, though. Word Count: 2,320 words

[AO3 Link]

~~~

The Sky Pop wasn't really designed to seat two people, small as it was.

Peach knew Mario had simply forgotten that fact, focused instead on how using it would be the fastest way to get to Bowser’s Castle to rescue her this time. It hadn’t been until Bowser was knocked out cold in his throne room and Mario had been escorting her across the drawbridge that he realized it himself, a sheepish look crossing his face that made Peach laugh.

He then tried to convince her to take the plane home while he journeyed back on foot and — sure the controls looked simple, and she knew the theoretical basics of flying a plane, but after the past few days of mostly terrible company she’d been rather looking forward to Mario’s, instead. And besides, what kind of friend would she be to leave him behind in an enemy kingdom after he’d fought so hard for her?

...Also if she crashed the plane, which she probably would, then Luigi would most definitely cry, she mused aloud, and Mario laughed, nodding in agreement.

With some maneuvering they managed to squeeze into the cockpit, the seat pushed back as far as it could go and Mario sitting between Peach’s knees. “It’s a good thing you’re so small,” Peach teased, resting her arms around Mario’s waist. She giggled at Mario’s mock-scowl at her for it.

With a switch flipped and a lever pulled, the plane took to the skies. It wasn't until the dark stones of Bowser’s Castle were far, far behind them that Peach finally relaxed. “Thank you,” she murmured into Mario’s hat. Mario took a hand off the controls to squeeze hers. When she raised her head his backwards glance was easy, because of course he would rescue her; what kind of friend would he be if he didn't? Fondness and gratitude curled in Peach’s chest, and she settled against him with a sigh. Her eyes slid closed, and the steady beating of the plane’s propeller lulled her into a doze.

---

Peach opened her eyes next to a darkening sky. The trees were shadows against the horizon, and the gusts of chilled air that ruffled her hair sent a shiver running through her. Almost in response, Mario breathed deep, and as he exhaled his body grew steadily warmer. And while Mario certainly didn't need to be splitting his attention between flying the plane and keeping her warm, Peach knew he wouldn't hear any of it if she said as much. So she bit her tongue, enjoying the warmth offered, even if it felt a little selfish to do so.

Peering over the edge of the plane, she spotted a cluster of lights glowing in the distance. She pointed at it. “Should we land there for the night?” she asked, because she wasn't sure that the Sky Pop was designed to fly in the dark, either. Mario banked the plane in that direction. The lights were a town, as Peach suspected, and lucky for them it seemed to have an unusually large hotel.

So after landing the plane just outside of town and securing it, the two of them went to see if they could get a room for the night.

“Sure, let me check if we’ve got anything open for ya,” the receptionist said. He turned to their computer, but then did a double take. “Wait, you’re...!?”

Mario waved. Peach curtsied.

The receptionist gaped at them. “R-right!” He shook himself out of his daze. “We...we can definitely get you a room, then; give me a moment...” He began typing on his computer. “One bed, right?”

“...No?”

The typing stopped. “Really? But you’re...” He gestured between Mario and Peach, confused.

“We’re not,” Peach said, the stiffness she could see pulling at Mario’s shoulders out of the corner of her eye clipping her words. “Two beds, please.”

The receptionist really looked at them then, beyond the hero worship — Peach, hands clenched by her sides; Mario, eyebrows pinched beneath his cap. He winced sympathetically. “Ah...trouble in paradise, I take it? Alright, let me see...”

As he turned his attention back to his monitor, Peach caught Mario frowning in that way where he was trying not to let something get to him but it had gotten to him anyway. Peach wanted to say something to him — what exactly, she didn't know — but then the receptionist clicked his tongue.

“You came by on a busy night; there are hardly any rooms available, let alone any doubles...we could get you two single rooms? Might not be close to each other, though.”

Mario shook his head vehemently, wanting to be out of sight of Peach almost as much as she wanted to be out of his.

“Hm...” He peered at his screen. “Ah! You know what, you’re in luck! We do have one room that’s definitely open right now, and it's the Honeymoon Suite! Sure, it's one bed, but there’s also a couch, if this one’s still in trouble.” He winked at Mario.

Mario’s lips thinned. Peach’s stare flattened.

“...we could also send up a rollaway bed, if you’d like?”

What Peach would like is for this guy to stop talking about her and Mario as if they were a couple. She would also like it if he'd proposed the extra bed idea a little earlier. She opened her mouth to say so, but before she could start on a tirade Mario pulled a card out of his pocket and placed it on the counter.

“You’ll take it, then?” Mario nodded, and the receptionist nodded in kind. “Alrighty! Truly sorry about the inconvenience!”

Mario waved off the apology. In short order, he and Peach had their room keys in hand, and as they entered the elevator Peach couldn't stop wondering how he could just acquiesce like that; she knew she hadn’t been imagining how uncomfortable that whole conversation had been for him. But then she saw the way he was subtly leaning against the railing of the elevator, and Peach felt like kicking herself.

“...sorry,” she sighed, because it wasn't like Mario had gotten to take a nap on their way here.

Mario waved off her apology, too. He nudged her with a grin, tilting his head outside and doing his best impression of the look on her face when the receptionist had brought up the honeymoon suite.

Peach blushed. “I didn't look that sour, did I?” Mario’s grin widened, and Peach buried her face in her hands with a groan. “I just —!” she sputtered. “I know how you feel about the kind of things he was assuming about us and I —” she huffed. “I wish...I wish you could know peace from these things.”

Mario shrugged, because he was long since used to it. Peach frowned, because he shouldn't have to be used to it. Was there a time when he wasn't, she wondered as the elevator doors opened, when he’d get upset about it like she was now? Or had he been resigned from the beginning, even before he knew what aromanticism even was, to endure these situations again and again and again, for as long as he lived?

A touch to the back of Peach’s hand brought her out of her thoughts. She blinked, and realized she’d stopped in the middle of the hallway. “I’m fine,” she said at Mario’s look of concern. She shook her head as if to clear it. “Let’s go. At least there’ll be a big bathtub, right?”

Mario hummed, eyes alight with something soft. She took his hand, and together they walked.

---

Mario and Peach stared into the entrance of their room for the night. It was very...

Mario ventured inward, toeing off his shoes and padding across the bright white rug colored with swirling loops of pink. He wandered to the heart-shaped couch and picked up a very red heart-shaped pillow.

...yeah.

Mario picked up a pink pillow next, and cheekily held it out to Peach. With an amused snort, she entered the rather large room. She looked around at the red-rose decals on the baseboards and the vase of pink flowers on the desk and the bedazzled heart-shaped knobs of the dresser drawers. What an unfortunate coincidence of colors. She idly wondered if she should part her bangs differently than usual tomorrow morning; she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to look at anything resembling a heart shape for a while after this.

She brainstormed different hairstyle options while soaking in the giant bathtub (heart-shaped, of course), letting the warm water wash away the physical and metaphorical grime that always came with getting kidnapped by Bowser. When she finally emerged from the bathroom, feeling like a new woman, Mario handed her a suitcase, one that had no doubt been foisted upon him by Toadsworth before he’d left to rescue her from Bowser in the first place. Inside was a spare change of clothes, and Peach muttered an unheard thanks to her guardian for thinking ahead like the worrywart he was.

Peach changed into the best approximation of pajamas that this extra set of day clothes would allow, wore her bathrobe on top because it was very soft and comfy, looked over the in-room dining menu for a late dinner, ordered said dinner for herself and Mario, and stared balefully at the queen-sized heart-shaped bed against the back wall.

That was how Mario — boxer-clad, towel draped over his bare shoulders, slippers on his bare feet — found her. His shower had lasted longer than usual, probably because of how exhausted he was. And maybe because he was still thinking about the events of downstairs. Regardless, Peach didn't notice him until he tugged at her sleeve to get her attention, and when he had it he meekly pointed to the bruising that had crept up his rib cage.

Peach inhaled sharply. “What else is there?” She pushed him into sitting on the bed. Mario hesitated to answer her question, of course, but between the nap and the bath Peach had plenty of energy to heal at least some of his hurts, so he needn't have worried so much about her on that front. (Though telling him not to worry about her was always doomed to be a fool's errand, anyway.)

So she twisted him this way and that, searching for other injuries with practiced ease and touching gentle hands to each to heal them. Thankfully Mario’s fight through Bowser’s Castle had evidently been on the easier side this time, judging by the few other injuries she found being minor, and none looking as dire as the one he’d initially showed her (and wasn't that something, Mario telling her about an injury outright of his instead of hiding it!).

She capped off her work with a kiss to the forehead, the last of her remaining magic easing as much of his headache as she could. Lingering tension left Mario’s face, and she met his grateful smile with a smile of her own. “What are friends for?” she winked, and Mario beamed.

It was then their dinner arrived, along with the promised rollaway bed from the front desk. Mario and Peach sat on the couch and ate, saying little on account of how hungry they were. Still, somehow, with how much larger Mario’s appetite was than Peach’s he was the one to finish eating first, and as Peach finished her food and brushed her teeth he finished setting up the extra bed. And by the time he’d finished brushing his teeth himself, Peach was sitting on it.

Mario blinked, glancing quizzically between her and the proper bed. Peach made a face and flopped down onto a pillow. Mario watched her for a few more moments, and then his face cleared in understanding. He turned off all the lights and sat down next to her.

Peach rolled over to stare at the ceiling. “I don't know why I’m still upset,” she muttered, because if anyone should still be mad about being assumed to be in a romantic relationship, it should be the aromantic person, not her.

Even in the dark, Peach could see the wry twist to Mario’s face as he gestured broadly to the rest of the room.

Peach huffed. “I suppose that’s fair.” Easy to stay upset when the reminder of the reason why surrounded you. “Is this room seriously supposed to be considered romantic, anyway?”

Mario raised an eyebrow. How was he supposed to know?

Peach snickered. “I almost feel as if I should apologize on their behalf,” she joked. Mario snorted.

As their mirth ran its course the last of their energy faded with it, and Mario and Peach settled in to sleep. The extra bed wasn't really designed to fit two people, small as it was, but neither of them minded much.

Face-to-face, Mario reached up and patted Peach’s arm sympathetically.

“You’re right,” Peach sighed. She knew Mario’s told her more than once in the past that he’d rather this than the alternative of would-be admirers realizing the famous hero of the Mushroom Kingdom was single. That reassurance was always little more than a cold comfort, though, but if Mario was satisfied with the arrangement it was difficult to justify changing it.

Case in point, Mario smiled sleepily at her. Face buried in the crook of her neck, he went lax and dropped off to sleep all at once. Peach pulled him tighter, partly because she saw how he’d laid down at the edge of the bed to give her more of the middle but mostly out of a lingering frustration that she hadn't been able to put her own feelings about the past few hours aside to mind Mario’s. She patted his arm as he’d patted hers, resolving to be a little better tomorrow and ask him how he was feeling directly. It was the least she could do, after all, as his friend.

#this fic was supposed to be about mario but then peach ended up stealing the show lmao #its fine tho she deserves it #mlv.fic #smb

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

Inky Soup for the Soul

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Characters: Kamek, Kammy Relationships: Kamek & Kammy Tags: Sickfic, Bickering, Arguing, Frenemies, neither of these two end the fic having a good time tbh, Sicktember 2023

Summary: A few days after Kammy visits a sick Kamek, it’s Kamek’s turn to visit a sick Kammy. This visit goes even more poorly than the last one. Prompts: 3. "What happened to your phenomenal immune system, huh?", 7. “You’re a Jerk When You’re Sick”, 23. Coughing Fit Word Count: 1,444 words

Note: The events immediately preceding this fic are detailed here, and the events that immediately follow are detailed here.

[AO3 Link]

~~~

"What happened to your phenomenal immune system, hm?"

Propped up against the headboard of her bed, Kammy looked up from the book her eyes were too tired to read. “Don't put words in my mouth, you asshole,” she spat, voice hoarse.

Kamek swept into her quarters, a smug air about him. While he still was a bit pale from his own bout of sickness, he looked leagues better than Kammy did at the current moment, which to her, the objectively prettiest person in this castle, was both infuriating and humiliating in equal measures.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Am I not allowed to return the favor of your visit the other day?” Kamek’s voice oozed with false concern as he approached her bedside.

Ugh. Consequences.

“Oh, but where are my manners?” Kamek continued, waving his wand. “I didn't come here empty-handed, after all!”

A bowl floated in the air and settled in Kammy’s lap. It was warm. It was soup. Her nose was too stuffed to smell it, yet she could tell Kamek had at least bothered to get a flavor she didn't hate. As she examined the soup, Kamek watched her expectantly. Kammy sneered at him. “How do I know you didn't poison this?”

“Why I never!” Kamek put a hand to his chest in mock offense. “I’ve never poisoned anything in my life!”

“I seem to remember a rather important poisoning you did a few decades ago.”

“That was your poison,” Kamek sniffed, “that you made. I just delivered it.”

“Bah.” Kammy looked down at the soup. She should eat it. But the effort of lifting her leadened arms didn't seem worth expending right now.

Kamek smirked. “If you need assistance —”

On spite alone, Kammy mustered the energy to shove a spoonful of soup into her mouth. Kamek’s smirk didn't budge at the scowl she made around her spoon.

It only took a few more spoonfuls before Kamek opened his stupid mouth again. “I also bring news from Lord Bowser!” he said.

“Let me guess. The project is canceled.”

“The project is postponed!” Kamek corrected, smarmy grin on his face. “Until further notice!”

Great. Kammy took a cranky bite of her soup. And Kamek will probably be back at the helm of it, because he was the healthier one. Kammy huffed. It had been worth a shot, she supposed.

Kamek was still standing there watching her. “Why are you still here?” Kammy scowled. “Aren't you finished making my day the worst I've had in months?”

“But how can you say that” — Kamek reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper — “when the Young Master drew this especially for you!”

Kammy took it from him, squinting at the haphazard scribbles of color. ”What the fuck is this supposed to be?”

“I was told it was you, with your crystal ball.”

“Hmph.” Kammy glared at her likeness. She definitely wasn't that fat.

“It’s surely fridge-worthy, isn't it?”

“It’s certainly garbage worthy.”

“Oh? You're not going to add it to that locked box you have hidden under your bed?”

Kammy stilled. “...why do you know about that.”

“Same way you know about the hidden panels in my desk.” Kamek crossed his arms. “You really need to change those wards of yours; those outdated protections could be cracked by an infant!”

“Bold of you to say, hypocrite. Have you even noticed where those magazines of yours had gone off to?”

“...which magazines.”

“Oh you know.” Kammy regarded him lazily. “Those ones.”

Kamek regained his composure faster than Kammy would’ve liked. “W-well,” he said, fiddling with his glasses. “I found a chest in a panel in your dresser a while ago,” he blurted out, and as Kammy’s face flipped from smug to stormy Kamek barreled on, leaning in closer to her with a smirk. “Wooden, right? Pink with glitter and lace? Not really something that matches your usual style, I'll have to admit.”

“You...!” Kammy growled, low and dangerous.

“Me!” Kamek sang. “It's a shame you're in no shape to get up and check on it. I might have taken a few souvenirs; who knows!”

The drawing in Kammy’s hands crumpled in her grip. “You're bluffing.” He had to be. But in her sickened haze, she wasn't as sharp at reading his tells.

Kamek seemed to realize this too, and the glint in his glasses was almost gleeful. “There was a lot of paper in there. Quite the flammable little display,” he remarked, idly inspecting his claws, and no. No, he couldn't have actually —

“You fucking bastard!” Kammy swiped at him with her spoon; her swing went wide, and Kamek danced out of range, cackling. “You’re bluffing,” she hissed, hating the way it came out less like she was calling his bluff and more like she was trying to convince herself he was bluffing in the first place. “You didn't see shit! And if you put your filthy hands all over my clothes I’m going to rip them off and shove them up your —!”

Kammy’s voice caught in her throat. She tried to breathe past it, but the rest of her threats were lost to coughs and coughs and coughs. Coughs that very quickly had her head spinning, bent double over the bowl of soup that hadn't spilled a drop despite all her movement. The foresight required for casting the correct charms for such a thing compounded by the helplessness from the coughing fit and Kamek’s supposed invasion of her privacy had her clawing at her bedding in frustration.

When she could finally take in ragged gasps she could actually control, she unscrewed her eyes and saw Kamek watching her with something close enough to pity lurking behind his hideous-looking glasses that Kammy saw red. She bared her teeth at him and threw her spoon as hard as she could.

“Hey!” Kamek ducked, the spoon spinning through the space where his head just was and clattering against the far wall. “You know,” he groused, “you’re a real bitch when you’re sick.”

“Evidently not enough of one,” Kammy snapped, voice crackling and thinning, “considering you’re still here. Get out!”

Kamek hesitated.

“And give me back my damn spoon,” Kammy added, so he had something to do that wasn’t looking at her like that...!

As was his specialty, Kamek did as he was told. He absently wiped the spoon clean on his robes once it was in his hand, a without-a-second-thought motion that soured Kammy’s mood further. Did this fool know how to do anything but coddle?

“Well!” Kamek rolled his eyes. “I can tell when I'm not wanted —”

“Can you?”

“— so I suppose I’ll take my leave.” He ignored Kammy’s interruption, setting her spoon on the bed. “I’ve got much more important things to do than waste time with you, after all, like actually doing my job and enjoying the ability to breathe through both nostrils simultaneously.”

Kammy waited until he was almost at the door before she spoke again. “While you’re doing that,” she drawled, knowing this would be the last thing her throat would let her say for a good while, “tell me if the air under the King’s desk still smells the same, will you?”

Kamek’s head whipped around so fast it was a shame he didn't snap his own neck. Kammy stared back at him, chin high and bored expression settled on her face. His enraged sputtering was a balm to her soul; his wand arm even twitched as if he was briefly considering outright violence. But faced with Kammy’s unflinching gaze, all he could do was grind his teeth and storm out of her room, slamming the door behind him with a loud bang. The noise nudged at her budding headache, but it was worth it. Peace and quiet at last.

Basking in her success, Kammy turned her attention back to her soup. It was still warm; another charm on the bowl keeping it that way. Her earlier resentment rose up again, but it was swiftly quashed by the growling of her stomach. Absently, she reached for where Kamek had put her spoon. Less absently, she strained to grab it, claws failing by a mere hair’s breadth to brush the cool metal no matter how far she stretched. That rotten, good for nothing —!

Kammy screamed, a near soundless noise that ended in a few more coughs as she fell back onto her pillows. She stared up at the ceiling, blowing the bangs off her face with a huff. They fell right back where they were. She sank further into her bed, hands over her face. If only the Stars would put her out of her misery right now...!

#this fic is all sharp edges haha #i like to think i have range~ #mlv.fic #smb #super mario #kamek #kammy koopa #sicktember 2023 #i was gonna add the 'kamek is bowser's dad' tag for this #but that's only relevant to the last line of dialogue so... :)

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

Whole and Unfolded

Rating: General Audiences Relationships: Bowser & Kamek & Bowser Jr Tags: Family, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Post-Canon

Summary: The nights after Peach’s Origami Festival were a little bit rough for those of Bowser’s Castle.

[Link to AO3]

Bowser roamed the halls of his castle — his castle that had been newly repaired, had some important buttons relabelled, and was now mid-flight above the Great Sea.

Around him, minions milled about. In pairs and threes and groups, they huddled in corners and clustered in alcoves, filling the air with subdued chatter. Bowser would have scolded them all for slacking off if not for the fact that it was the middle of the night, and most of them weren't even supposed to be awake. He couldn't even ding them for distracting the night shift, either; not only was said night shift not really bothered by the extra people, joining and leaving groups at will as they did their rounds, but also it would have made him seem like a hypocrite, with the bags under everyone’s eyes matching his own. Many of them were too exhausted to greet Bowser with their usual enthusiasm, offering tired waves and clumsy bows and sleepy salutes as they noticed him.

Bowser couldn't blame them for the sleepless night; even the fun from Peach’s Origami Festival — the true one, not the one that was hijacked — was hardly enough to completely forget everything that purple origami freak had put them through, directly or otherwise. Things that Bowser had been unable to do anything about, because that freak and his lackeys had gotten the jump on him and folded him into a useless little square.

Bowser’s face soured at the memories of only being able to wiggle around as he was forced to watch his troops get captured and folded to serve the enemy, one by one by one. So caught up in those bad memories, he almost tripped over a group of Spikes and Hammer Bros walking in the opposite direction. One of them, braving their King’s bad mood, offered him a mug of tea they'd gotten from the kitchens. Despite not really being a tea person, Bowser nonetheless plucked it from their grasp with two fingers, the offering comically small in his large hand. He nodded silently in thanks and moved on, the group’s muted excitement about interacting personally with him fading away as he turned the corner.

With each wandering step that continued down the hall, Bowser watched the surface of his tea ripple and tilt. Those wandering steps brought him to a door; a familiar door, with a light on in the room beyond, that he opened without knocking as he’d done many times before. As he stepped inside, Kamek raised his head from behind his desk. His face, firmly attached to the rest of him — no thanks to Bowser, because of that damn clothespin — took on a look of surprise. “Lord Bowser!” Kamek greeted. “What are you doing awake at this hour?”

[Keep Reading]

#pmtok #paper mario origami king #origami king #paper mario #bowser #kamek #bowser jr #smb #mlv.fic #yay pmtok 3rd anniversary~ #hey remember when i wrote pmtok fanfic lmao

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

Quest for a Cure

Chapter 2 (of 3)

Fic Summary: One day, Junior woke up with a fever. That wasn’t concerning, at first. Until it turned out that said fever was actually a symptom of a curse, a curse that Mario and Luigi and Peach were about to discover had been cast on Luigi, as well. Now it’s a race against time for Mario and Bowser to get the last thing they needed to break it, before it was too late. Fic Tags: Sickfic, Angst with a Happy Ending, A Little Humor, Nonverbal Mario, Whump, Adventure, Fever, Magic, Curses, Bowser Needs a Hug (Nintendo), Mario Needs a Hug (Nintendo), Sick Luigi (Nintendo), Sick Bowser Jr, Sicktember 2023

Chapter Prompts: 2. Quest for a Cure, 17. Magical Remedy/Healing Potion, Alt 3. Pounding Headache Word Count: 2,986

[AO3 Link] [Link to beginning]

~~~

When everything stopped falling, the first thought Bowser had was that almost all of him really, really hurt. He touched a hand to the back of his head and felt the blood rather than saw it, buried beneath stone as he was.

There was just enough light that his eyes could make out the curled up form of Mario, whom he was crouched over. Mario, also gathering that the collapse was over, hesitantly looked around himself. His eyes flickered from the glint of Bowser’s wristband to his arm to his face, a thankful smile curling up under his mustache.

Bowser scoffed. What did Mario expect? He still probably needed Mario’s help, he hated to admit, a-and besides, Peach would kill him twice over if he’d let Mario be crushed to death on his watch...!

Mario huffed a laugh, sitting up. Bowser was grateful it was dark enough to hide how hot his cheeks were probably burning.

Together, Mario and Bowser worked to escape the pile of debris they’d found themselves under. The room they'd fallen into would have been large and spacious if not for all the rubble crowding it, lit up by old-looking torches along the walls and glowing lines of soft white light running between them. Bowser frowned at the sharp right angles crisscrossing each other over and over again. If his head weren't killing him right now, he might have been a bit intrigued at the strange duality of it.

A tap to his arm pulled Bowser’s attention from the wall. Mario was staring at one particular pile of rubble, and when Bowser looked at him he gestured to it with a wry smile. On a broken stone slab were engraved words, and Bowser read the surviving parts of a set of detailed instructions about how to take the Crystal off its pedestal to clean it without setting off the anti-theft measures and getting yourself killed or, worse, wasting castle resources. Was this...what Mario was trying to tell him about earlier?

Mario’s smile became fixed. Bowser resisted the urge to fidget. Oh.

...Maybe he should have taken a longer nap before they’d headed out.

Mario watched Bowser for a few more moments, just long enough to revel in making Bowser squirm, before his attention wandered to their surroundings. He, too, was momentarily transfixed by the designs on the walls, and then distracted by the giant hole in the ceiling above them, and then he cast his gaze elsewhere and the amusement and curiosity dropped from his face all at once. He hissed through his teeth, looking like he'd been punched in the gut. Bowser looked over too and —

And —

It took a moment for Bowser to recognize what was lying on the floor near them.

Shards.

Dozens of shards and streaks of dust, scattered across the floor, glittering and sparkling as if they hadn't completely ruined everything by being themselves and not the whole, intact Crystal they needed to be.

Actually, Bowser was the one who’d ruined everything, wasn't he?

And now...

And now...!

Bowser's headache roared, a backdrop to his own roaring of words he was hardly aware of as they left him. Whatever they were, they were probably threats; to the castle, unanswered by cold stone, to whoever had cursed Junior, long since retreated to whatever wretched hole they'd crawled out of. He even hurled insults alongside whatever he could grab up towards the ceiling, as if he could reach Star Haven and force the Star Spirits to come down and fix everything.

But Bowser had long since burnt the pieces of the broken Crystal to ash, and whatever grudge the Star Spirits still had against him for the Star Rod incident had them refusing to budge for even Peach's prayers. So he yelled until his voice gave out, and then beyond that, until all he had left were clenched fists and hitching breath. He screwed his eyes shut. He wanted to turn back time. He wanted everything to be okay.

He —

He wanted —

...

...His head hurt.

Hesitant footsteps pierced through Bowser’s worn-out haze. Bowser glared sidelong at Mario, who had an arm raised in an aborted motion of comfort. Mario, who was such a goody-two-shoes that he was trying to comfort someone like him after that display. Mario, who’d known he was springing a trap and had tried to stop him. Mario, who he’d yelled at and pushed away before proceeding to fuck everything up for the both of them —

Bowser stopped looking at Mario. He inhaled, deep. He held it. He exhaled, slow. Like the old man had once taught him, way back when.

(Like he'd been trying to teach —)

The next inhale was rougher, the next hold longer, the next exhale shakier. Bowser squeezed his eyes shut again. Even with how dire everything'd gotten, he refused to humiliate himself further by crying in front of his arch-nemesis.

When he opened his eyes, Mario was still there, a few steps away, looking everywhere but in his direction while rocking back and forth on his heels. Bowser scowled at the repetitive motion. “What’re you so chipper for?” he asked, voice hoarse.

Mario tilted his head, a flash of confusion passing over his face before he shook it away. He pointed beyond them to a path, lit up by torchlight and white accents.

"Yeah? And?"

Mario shrugged.

Bowser wanted to be angry about Mario being so vague, but he was. Tired. He rubbed at his face. Well, going down there was better than wallowing in here, probably. Anything to distract from the image of Junior’s pale face floating in his mind’s eye, taunting him. Bowser dug the heels of his hands into his eyes with another shaky breath. Ugh, this headache sucked.

Bowser removed his hand from his face and Mario was holding out a Mushroom to him. Their last one, actually, if his mental math was right. Bowser considered eating it. He pushed it back towards Mario, instead. “You eat it,” he said, “so you don't go dragging me down.”

Mario didn't, frowning at him, the drying blood on his face, the swell of his jaw, the way he was favoring his left side. He put the Mushroom back in his pocket. He took out a half-empty flask of Able Juice to give to Bowser instead, and Bowser took that, at least.

The path Mario had been pointing to was boring and dull. Just stone and torches and lines of white light and more torches and their echoing footsteps. They turned a corner and the path became decorated with archways, towering overhead one after another. It made Bowser feel like he was in some sort of game, the kind Junior would try to stay up late playing only to fall asleep anyway, prompting Bowser to pick him up off the couch and carry him to —

Mario had stopped to stare up at one of the archways, brows crinkled in thought, and it took a few steps of his own for Bowser to notice. “More words?” Bowser asked when Mario caught up.

Mario nodded.

“...Anythin' important?”

Mario nodded again, and took the lead. Bowser quietly followed him.

Soon enough, they came across a split in the hallway. One path stretched up a stairwell, the torches lighting up each step. The other sloped downwards, the white lines on the walls following it into semi-darkness. After a moment of consideration, Mario turned toward the darker path. Bowser furrowed his brows, but trailed behind him anyway. He’d have thought getting back to the surface was what they needed to do, but he’d — his logic was already messed up, clearly, so who was he to talk?

The white lights blended to a soft blue at the next split in the path, and then lavender the next. At the end of that path, the road ahead was blocked by rubble from the wall falling in, to both their dismay. Examining the blockage, Mario’s hand drifted to his pocket, where his hammer rested. But instead of bringing it out, he glanced towards Bowser, who was spaced out with a frown strengthening by the second.

Bowser started when Mario poked him, snapped out of his spiraling thoughts. “Whaddaya want?” He looked between Mario and the rubble, visibly processing the situation before him. “What, you want me to do something about that?” he asked, and scrunched his face up at Mario’s hopeful nod. Not only was everything hopeless regarding his son, but now he, a king, was being ordered around a plumber. Feh.

Some of Bowser’s internal grouching shone through on his face, and as Bowser figured out where to start Mario stepped aside with something close to muted amusement. This look on Bowser’s face suited him a lot better than the vacant one clouding it thus far.

Bowser lost himself in the repetitive manual labor. He crushed rocks in his hands and threw others bodily to the side, working out more of his lingering anguish. By the time he’d cleared an opening for the two of them, he was something close to settled. If Mario hadn’t gone and given up on saving his brother yet, even after their setback, then Bowser wouldn't give up on saving his son, either. He wasn't going to let Mario beat him in that regard.

Speaking of Mario, even though Bowser was finished clearing an opening for them, he still hadn't moved forward. He was staring at a point past the opening, a distant look on his face that had Bowser feeling uneasy. It was his turn to snap Mario out of a daze this time, and when he did so Mario blinked, focusing his attention on him instead. Focusing on his claws in particular, on the scales and scratches around them. Bowser examined them, too. He hadn’t really realized how bad they’d gotten; guess he’d gone a bit overboard. Oh well. It wasn't anything he couldn't deal with, which was why — Bowser scowled at Mario, who was reaching for his pocket — he didn't need a Mushroom.

Mario scowled back at him, holding the healing item out and shaking it.

Bowser narrowed his eyes in a glare.

Mario’s grip on the Mushroom tightened.

For a moment, it seemed like their stand-off would end with Mario attempting to stuff the Mushroom into Bowser’s mouth himself. But in that moment the reality of their situation set back in, and the fight left them both in an instant.

“...Are you gonna shut up about this if I take it?”

Mario shrugged. It wasn't like they had any more Mushrooms to fight over.

Bowser rolled his eyes, swiping the Mushroom out of Mario’s hand and tossing it into his mouth. It was just a Regular Mushroom, so it only healed him a little bit, but at least his headache ebbed enough for him to think straighter.

Satisfied, Mario turned back to the path. He squared his shoulders, took a deep breath, and marched through the opening. Odd behavior, Bowser thought. It wasn't like the path was any different from the other ones, aside from the lights in it being green.

The path’s twists and turns led them further downwards, away from the surface. Accordingly, the path became more and more dangerous, bringing them close to underground wells and tubes of lava. You could feel their heat by touching the walls, in some places. In others, the walls failed to contain the lava entirely, such as in this orange path, where it poured in from a hole high up near the ceiling to spread all across the floor. There was a mostly submerged Armored Guardian propped up near the lavafall that not only proved that the puddle said lavafall was making was more of a pool, but it also made Bowser realize they hadn't seen any of those bastards since falling down here. That frontal assault must have been all they had as far as defenses went. Amateurs.

The lava pool didn't look very deep, and it wasn't; when Bowser stepped into it, it barely met his waist. It wasn't even that scalding, either, especially considering how far underground they were. It was the kind of temperature that would have Junior bugging him to be allowed to jump in it, even though he’d be forced to wash up after and chasing him down for a bath would be —

Mario was standing at the edge of the lava pool, examining it warily. Bowser huffed. If they just stood here while Mario tried to figure out how to get across, they'd be here all day (all night?...What time was it?). So Bowser grabbed Mario by the waist with a hand and lifted him into the air. “I could drop you,” Bowser threatened when Mario started squirming.

At that, Mario stilled — Bowser had already started wading his way through the lava, after all. He gave Bowser a calculating look, and then he abruptly went limp. Caught off guard, Bowser’s hold went slack; Mario used his newfound freedom to clamber onto Bowser’s shoulders, dodging Bowser’s attempts to re-grab him the whole way.

Bowser growled, partly for the annoyance and partly because Mario had kicked a bruise on his way up, but nonetheless he kept trudging through the lava. He almost stumbled, though, when Mario’s hands found their way near his horns, namely the one with a crack running through it. He cursed, swatting up at Mario. “Hands off!”

Mario was quick to comply, peering down at him in concern. “Quit looking at me like that,” Bowser grumbled. “We don't have any more Mushrooms for you to force on me, anyway.” And it would take more than a Mushroom to heal that particular damage to begin with.

This hallway was unusually long, and so for lack of anything else to do Mario started fiddling with Bowser’s hair. He was picking out pebbles and brushing out dust and whatever flakes of dried blood were up there, and Bowser had to admit that once he got past the awkwardness, it felt kind of...nice.

...Well, actually he wouldn't admit that even under pain of death, but he didn't tell Mario to stop, either, which probably told Mario more about how he felt about it than otherwise.

Finally, Bowser stepped out of the other side of the lava pool onto dry land. Mario jumped off Bowser’s shoulders, and Bowser rolled them as soon as Mario had done so. “You're heavy,” Bowser complained. Mario stuck his tongue out at him.

They continued down the next few paths in silence, both lost in their own heads. Until Mario turned a corner and tripped on absolutely nothing. A startled laugh burst out of Bowser as Mario face-planted against the ground; Mario sat up, readjusting his hat with a pout. An upward twitch of his mustache betrayed his true feelings, however, though whether about the hit to his pride or Bowser’s outward amusement, one couldn't say.

From his new vantage point, Mario noticed a hole in the wall next to him. Through it was...something. Bowser had no idea. But Mario was poking his head through to see. And then his shoulders. And then half his torso. And then he just kind of wiggled around for a bit.

“...are you stuck?”

Mario kicked his feet against the wall, straining for leverage. Bowser couldn't help the smirk that inched up his face. “That's what you get for hogging Peaches’ cakes,” he said, and Mario’s answering muffled and unintelligible but no less pissed off yell made Bowser almost feel like his old self again, without the weight of his son’s fate hanging over him. Ah, but none of them had time for Mario to struggle enough to lose a few dozen pounds to get free, did they? Shame.

“Hold still!” Bowser grabbed Mario’s ankles. With a few strong tugs, Mario popped free, knocking them both to the floor. Mario pushed himself off Bowser with a groan, an embarrassed flush coloring his cheeks.

“You're welcome,” Bowser snarked, but Mario wasn't listening, gears almost visibly turning in his head. He blinked. He gasped, sitting up suddenly, and scrambled back towards the hole.

Quick as a flash, Bowser darted a claw out to grab the strap of Mario’s overalls before he got too far. “You literally just got unstuck!” he protested, pulling back against Mario’s forward momentum.

Mario pointed insistently at the hole.

“You —!” Of all the times to be so —! “If you think I’m pulling you out again...” Bowser warned.

Mario shook his head with a cheeky grin, making a pushing motion with his hands.

Bowser grumbled and rolled his eyes, but he let Mario go.

Mario climbed into the hole again. Predictably, he got stuck the same way as before, but this time Bowser sighed and shuffled forward to push him like he’d asked. “You happy now?” Bowser exasperatedly yelled through the wall when he was on the other side. His response was a series of crashing sounds and a yelp. Bowser bent down, peering through the hole to try and see what Mario was up to. His curiosity was rewarded by something getting thrown at his face.

“Ow — watch it!” Rubbing his nose with a scowl, Bowser searched the ground for what was thrown at him, so he could return it the same way it was given — see how Mario liked that! Finding it didn't take long, as it caught the reddish-pink light of the walls and reflected it all across the floor. The thing was faceted and rod-shaped, with a tiny point on one end.

...It looked like the Crystal. But smaller.

Mario’s hands passed through the hole and dumped another handful of the mini-Crystals beneath it. Bowser looked through the hole himself to find Mario grinning maniacally at him, arms full of miniature Crystals. Behind him were even more, gathered in piles taller than the both of them combined.

After a moment of disbelief, Bower matched Mario’s grin.

#i love this chapter because its got the lowest point of the story but its also where all the humor is for some reason #which will never not be funny to me. how did i do that. #anyway this is my favorite thing ive written ever im pretty sure #mlv.fic #smb #super mario #sicktember 2023

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

Lost and Found

Chapter 1 (of 2): Wherein Mario doesn't know where his brother is

Rating: General Audiences Characters: Mario, Peach, Luigi, Bowser Relationships: Mario & Peach, Mario & Luigi Tags: Minor Bowser/Luigi, Hurt/Comfort, Humor, Nonverbal Mario

Summary: Sunny skies and friends by his side...in Mario’s opinion, it was all the perfect setup for a perfect vacation! ...Too bad his brother up and disappeared partway through it. Word Count: 2,608 words A/N: This fic's Mario's POV of An Egg in a Trying Time! So it would be helpful to read that one first, but i can't tell you what to do so do whatever!

[AO3 Link]

~~~

Mario woke up an hour or so after sunrise.

He shuffled about his and Luigi’s hotel room as quietly as he could as he got ready for the day. Luigi was usually a pretty heavy sleeper, but nonetheless Mario had accidentally woken him up yesterday morning and he still felt a bit bad about it. And Luigi had stayed up late last night, so he really needed the extra sleep this morning.

Tiptoeing out of the room, Mario closed the door with a near-inaudible click and headed out of the hotel down to the nearest beach. He took off his shoes and dug his toes into the sand, watching the sun climb higher and higher into the sky with the seagulls’ cries and the salty breeze and the sound of the ocean waves keeping him company.

A tap on his shoulder brought him out of his tranquil state; it was Peach, arms laden with beach-going supplies and smiling at him. As Mario hurried to relieve her of her bag she passed him another, smaller paper bag in which Mario could smell something from the nearby bakery. He smiled thankfully at her. His smile turned sheepish when she reached into her bag he was holding and took out a bottle of sunscreen to wave in his face with a raised eyebrow.

The two sunscreen-laden friends ate breakfast and watched the sunlight reflect on the ocean’s surface until more people trickled onto the beach, at which point they went to claim a good spot to spend the rest of the morning. Neither of them were at that spot now, with Peach kicking a ball around farther down the beach with some friends and Mario sitting on the edge of a dock a ways away from her, feet kicking absently in the chilled water and humming quietly to himself while watching them.

He could join them. In fact, he was planning to, soon. But the water felt nice, and — he cast a glance at the sky, shielding his eyes with a hand — Luigi was probably due to wake up soon, if he hadn't already. Peach had sent him a text earlier telling him they were at the beach, and Mario kind of wanted to sit in a highly-visible-from-the-sidewalk place to catch him as he arrived.

Mario remained there until a little after noon, when he couldn't quite ignore how hungry he was anymore. There was a hot dog stand within sight, and Mario weighed his desire to fill his empty stomach against his desire to not miss Luigi’s arrival. The hunger won. Surely Luigi would understand.

But as he ventured to the stand, something felt...off. Beyond how hungry he was. Mario stood halfway between the ocean and his pending lunch, trying to parse the uniquely foreboding feeling he was suddenly flooded with. It felt like...he frowned. He changed course entirely, to the road that would take him back into town. It felt like where he should be going right now.

The universe had other plans, however, as at the exact moment Mario took one step off the sand onto the concrete the ground shook with the rumblings of an explosion from somewhere behind him. Mario spun to find the source and locked eyes with Peach as she stood amidst beachgoers who were beginning to react in alarm. “Over there!” she called to him, pointing further up the beach and darting in that direction. Mario scrambled to follow her. By the time he and Peach pushed through the crowd to truly behold the chaos at the root of it all, Mario’s earlier foreboding feeling had faded to nothing. By the time they finished dealing with the consequences of said chaos, Mario had forgotten about the feeling entirely.

---

At dinnertime, Peach returned from the overflowing buffet table to find Mario fiddling with his phone, looking downcast. He'd been slowly deflating all day, for all he tried to hide it. Case in point, he tried to smile at her as she approached, despite hardly touching his food since they’d arrived in the restaurant.

It took a bit of needling, but Peach finally got an answer as to what was bothering Mario in the form of him handing her his phone. It was open to its messaging app, to Mario and Luigi’s messages specifically, where there was nothing sent all day aside from the periodic picture from Mario.

“That’s odd...” Peach frowned and checked her own phone. “He hasn't responded to any of my messages either.” She messaged him again right then and there; with each minute of no response Mario drummed his fingers on the table a little bit faster, a little bit harder. It wasn't necessarily bad, he told himself, that Luigi wasn't using his phone. He was hardly beholden to checking in with his brother every once in a while.

But...the entire day?

Mario shook his head. He didn't want to jump to any conclusions just yet. No, Luigi was probably out having fun somewhere else. So much fun that he didn't have time to text his brother. Or the Princess. Which was fine! Totally fine. Mario wasn't worried about it. Not one bit.

Peach reached across the table to put her hands on Mario’s, finally stilling it. “We’ll go look for him after dinner,” she said, and Mario slumped in both embarrassment and relief.

So after finishing dinner, Mario and Peach ventured around the central hub of the island. They searched the beach and didn't find Luigi. They ran into Yoshi at about the same time Mario remembered Luigi had been walking the nature trails recently, and Yoshi volunteered itself and its friends to scour them for any sign of him. They asked the Toads working the amusement park gates, and they told them they haven't seen a “Loogey” around anywhere. They searched the beach again and didn't find him. The sun finished setting, and the two of them took the hotel stairs down to the casino, where the owner told them he didn't see “that green-hatted upstart” that’d been on track to bankrupt the entire establishment last night. Peach dragged Mario out by the arm before he could do anything about how his brother was just spoken about. Peach made a mental note to lodge a complaint to someone higher up before she went to bed.

Trekking disappointedly back up the stairs, they almost collided with Rosalina. “We’re looking for Luigi,” Peach told her when she asked them what had them so down. “We haven't seen him at all, today. Have you?”

Rosalina tilted her head in thought. “I did see him earlier today,” she said, to Mario and Peach’s delight. “Yes, in the part of town with all the restaurants, having lunch in the one with the large windows. He had an object underneath his shirt. But I don't know where he went afterwards.”

Outdated info, but they at least had a lead now. Mario practically bounced in place, eager to chase it. Noticing this, Peach hurried to say a farewell to Rosalina before he ran off. “And thank you so much!” she added.

Rosalina barely had time to wave after them before they were gone, up the stairs and out of the hotel, beelining towards the restaurant in question. A darkened interior and a locked door greeted Mario as he ran up first, despite the buildings on either side bustling with activity. When Peach approached, her attention was caught by the paper sign taped to the inside of one of the windows; though it was a bit hard to read, scrawled hastily as it was, she could at least tell it was an apology that the restaurant was closed, and a promise to be open at the usual hour tomorrow. Mario wilted as she read it aloud.

“Well,” Peach sighed. “At least we tried...Hopefully Luigi will come back to the hotel tonight so we won't have to come back here tomorrow and ask about him?”

Hopefully. The frown didn't leave Mario’s face as they trudged back to the hotel. While Peach retired to her room, Mario parked himself on one of the plush chairs in the hotel lobby, with a full view of the entrance doors. He sat there for an hour or two, fiddling with his phone and his hat and the hem of his shirt, until the receptionist began to side-eye him. Mario decided to wait for Luigi in his hotel room instead, half-hoping he'd snuck by him somehow and was already waiting for him there.

Mario opened the door to his and Luigi’s hotel room. It was empty, and the silence was deafening as Mario quietly clicked the door shut. Mechanically, he got ready for bed; but instead of getting under the covers, he sat with his back to his headboard and waited and waited and waited. His usual bedtime came and went, and every time he snapped himself back awake from dozing off he sent yet another text message to Luigi that had no answer.

A knock sounded at the door. The thought didn't occur to Mario that if it was Luigi then he would have heard the beep of a keycard instead — he was the one out of the two of them who never forgot it — until he threw the door open and was face to face with Peach.

“Luigi hasn't shown up yet, huh?” Peach asked, seeing Mario’s face fall.

Mario shook his head, feeling silly.

“In that case” — Peach pushed her way into the room, wearing one of the hotel-provided bathrobes — “you don't mind if I wait with you, do you?”

Even if she hadn't already entered the room, Mario would have gladly invited her in. She perched herself on the other bed and turned on the TV as Mario sat back on his. Though she spent a non-zero amount of time tuning the TV to a channel serviceable for late-night background noise, she wasn't really watching it, too busy shooting Mario worried glances he didn't catch because he was too focused on watching the door. In the end, despite Mario’s best efforts, he couldn't ignore how tired he was any longer, and as time continued to pass his eyes unwittingly slid shut.

---

When Mario next opened his eyes, it was dark. He turned his head to the side and there was a shape resting on Luigi’s bed. He woke up the rest of the way with a jolt. Was that...?

...No, it wasn't. The shape was too still, too quiet.

Mario’s heart sank as he got out of bed. That shape was actually Peach, who had evidently elected to not return to her room for the night. A seemingly impromptu decision, considering she wasn't under the covers. Mario pulled the comforter off his own bed and carefully draped it over her.

Mario drifted to the window, peering through it up at the moon high in the sky. Luigi was still nowhere to be found. This was late, even for him. And in this continued absence Mario was forced to truly entertain the possibility that maybe there really was something wrong. Was Luigi in trouble? Unable to contact him somehow, even if he wanted to? The thought of it had Mario pacing, pinpricks of anxiety buzzing underneath his skin. He needed to do something about this.

Mario shuffled about the room as quietly as he could, as if he was getting ready for the day. He and Peach had already checked all the likely places Luigi could be, but it wouldn't hurt for Mario to check again. Just to make sure. Even if it was the middle of the night. He reached for the door and —

“Mario?”

Mario froze.

Peach raised her head, blinking sleep out of her eyes. She squinted at the scene before her. “...where’re you going?”

...out?

Peach frowned. She kept frowning until Mario’s hand guiltily inched away from the doorknob, to which she sighed, getting out of bed. Mario’s comforter sat on her shoulders, and as she rubbed at her eyes and yawned Mario felt worse for waking her while trying to sneak out than for the sneaking out itself. He couldn't muster up an explanation for doing so as she waited for one, either — or at least, he couldn't come up with one that wouldn't put all his anxieties on full display.

Still, Peach’s face softened in sympathy, because why else would Mario be awake? “I know you’re worried,” she said, putting her hands on Mario’s shoulders. But it’s late, she didn't say, though it was clear in the undercurrent of her words.

Mario shrank in on himself, chewing the inside of his cheek. There were so many things that could have happened to Luigi — bad things — that Mario had no way of knowing about. He could have gotten lost, he could have gotten hurt somewhere...heck, what if Bowser had done something?

“If he did, we can hardly confront him about it this late at night,“ was Peach’s response to that last part, and Mario was forced to admit she had a point. Especially when they hardly had any information to work with regarding whether Bowser was even involved in the first place. “Luigi will be fine, regardless of what happened,” Peach continued, voice filled with confidence. “He’s capable in his own right, and he’ll keep the egg safe, too!”

Mario knew that already. But nonetheless it was so, so difficult to shake off all the worst-case scenarios. If Luigi was upset somewhere and Mario wasn't there to help him...but Peach was right, Luigi could take care of himself. But what if this was the one time...no, even if it was, Luigi could definitely handle it. Although, he could've...no, he’ll be...well, maybe...

Around and around Mario’s brain spun, caught in its fretful loop. Until something suddenly bumped against his forehead and surprised it into stopping. He stared cross-eyed at the hesitant look on Peach’s face.

“Um. I know you and Luigi do this to calm each other down.” She smiled unsurely. “Is...it helping?”

It — Mario blinked. Well, he thought to himself. The faint smell of her shampoo wafted about them, floral where he might have expected fruit when he closed his eyes. There was the lack of mustache hair, and the absence of a nose pushing into his. Also the angle was wrong because she was over a half-a-head taller than Luigi was. And she’d come in too fast to begin with, as the smart of the red mark that surely existed on his forehead from the impact could attest to.

...But.

Curtained by blonde hair and bracketed by the comforter, Mario breathed in, then out, near-sagging against her. It — did help, in its own way. Enough that Mario’s mind quieted, enough that he started to doze off.

As he slumped further, Peach huffed, straightening and shaking him a little bit. “Back to bed with you, mister,” she declared, to which Mario blinked owlishly.

With a bit of nudging, Mario dutifully returned to his bed; Peach was close behind, and she lay down next to him when he settled. “So you don't try leaving again,” she said by way of explanation, and Mario was just barely too tired to be sheepish about it.

Of the two of them, it was Peach who fell back asleep first. Mario watched her face go slack, watched her burrow into her pillow. Too still, too quiet. But not quite as discomfiting anymore. So he watched her, and it was only as the sun started to dream of rising did he, too, finally drift off into dreams of his own.

#hurrah i've finally finished this one! #one a half more fics in this 'verse to go! ^.^ #mlv.fic #smb #bowuigi egg fic project #<- bringing this tag back to keep all these girlies together haha

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

She’s your 1-UP Girl

[AO3 Link]

Bowser’s latest scheme had dragged Peach and thus pulled Mario and Luigi rather close to New Donk City, closer than they'd been since Bowser had stolen Peach away for a wedding what felt like a lifetime ago. Apparently, the city’s exorbitant Power Moon energy stores were too tempting to resist.

And this time, Mayor Pauline hadn’t wanted to sit back and let her city suffer, so in the Mario bros’ final confrontation with Bowser in his pop-up fortress she was there too, still in her mayoral attire and a golf club tightly grasped in her hand as she helped Peach out of the rope she’d been tied up in. A golf club that was stronger than it looked, seeing as it was able to deflect a stray fireball that had escaped the veritable dust cloud the Marios' thrashing of Bowser had generated.

“Are you alright, Princess?” Pauline asked, out of breath from the surprise.

“I-I’m fine, thank you,” Peach replied absently, slightly more focused on the flyaway hairs that had escaped from under Pauline’s hat during that snap act of protection.

“You sure? You’re looking a little...” Pauline fanned her face. “This guy really knows how to bring on the heat, doesn't he?” She grinned wryly at Peach, easygoing despite the circumstances, and it certainly didn't help the blush on her cheeks glow any dimmer.

“It’s never anything Mario and Luigi can’t handle,” Peach managed to say.

Pauline’s response was drowned out by an angry roar that shook the whole fortress. “Whoops!” Pauline barely managed to stay on her feet as the floor shifted beneath them, reaching out to stop Peach from falling to the ground, too. “Speaking of Mario...” She eyed the fight unfolding before them. “I’ll admit, I’m not too sure what to do next,” she said nervously. “This is all more your wheelhouse than mine. Got any ideas? Ah, if you’re feeling alright, of course.”

“I’m fine!” Peach regained her footing, the loss of Pauline’s supporting arm around her waist keenly felt as she stepped away. Well, the Mario and Luigi had defeating Bowser well in hand (not that Peach could do much as the flustered mess she was, and Pauline probably didn't have enough experience to help out either), so...“We — we need to go this way!”

“Lead on, Princess!”

---

Hours later, Peach and Pauline were discussing how to clean up the damage Bowser had done to the outskirts of the city. Pauline had tried to insist that Peach didn't need to help, but Peach insisted that she do something in exchange for the trouble brought to her doorstep and the assistance in driving it off. Pauline had acquiesced with a laugh, and Peach was almost too distracted by the sound to hear what Pauline said next.

“In that case,” she was saying, “could I borrow your heroes for a bit? With how much power that monster stole, I’d like to make sure the Power Plant is doing alright, and that there aren't any of his cronies still lingering down there, either.”

“Of course!” Peach nodded. “We’ll have to ask, but I’m sure they’ll be happy to help.” She looked around. “We just need to find them first...”

It hadn't been long after sending Bowser packing that the boys had wandered off, intent on seeing for themselves if there was anyone they could help in the wake of Bowser’s retreat and the fortress’ collapse. Asking around pointed them back towards the ruined fortress, and circling around the side of it they found them.

Sleeping, that is.

In the shadow of what was left of the fortress’ wall, Luigi snored away, back against the crumbled stone and his hat resting in his lap; Mario’s breath was even, cheek squished into his brother’s shoulder and his own hat askew on his head. It made for a frankly adorable image, and Peach couldn't quite help the noise that escaped her as she watched them sleep peacefully after all their hard work. Pauline seemed to think similarly, by the way she pulled out her phone and began taking pictures.

Though the flash was off and the camera shutter was quiet, Luigi’s face still scrunched up in his sleep as time passed. The grip on his hat tightened in what Peach was realizing was not a subconscious protest at being on film, but was most likely a result of a nightmare beginning to play out underneath his eyelids. Peach and Pauline shared a worried glance, but before they could step forward to maybe do something, Mario stirred. Eyes still closed, he rolled over, throwing an arm across his brother’s chest and burying his face in his neck. He settled there, and despite now having approximately half of his brother’s weight on top of him Luigi’s face instantly smoothed out, and he pressed his face into Mario’s hair,

The girls cooed, and the soft noise of it roused Mario a little bit more into wakefulness. Lifting his head, he blinked blearily at them.

“Sorry,” Peach whispered, as Pauline quickly hid her camera. “Everything’s fine; you can go back to sleep!”

Mario watched her for a moment more. Peach held her breath, afraid that he would decide to wake up fully. But Mario’s half-lidded eyes slipped closed, and he relaxed against his brother with a sigh. Thank goodness.

Next to her, Pauline was looking through the pictures she’d taken. She tilted her phone to show Peach when she noticed she had her attention. “Cute, aren't they? Almost hard to believe they were the ones to go toe-to-toe with that brute earlier!”

Peach hummed in agreement. She’d seen them do it many times, but it still amazed her even now. “I’m just glad they’re getting some rest. It’s been a long few days.”

“It’s been a long few days for you too, Princess.”

Peach shrugged. She’d just been sitting in a cell tied up the whole time, though. Mario and Luigi had been the ones to do all the fighting.

The look Pauline gave Peach was considering, and her eyes were very blue. “Tell you what,” she said. “It’s getting a bit late; let me take care of a few more things, and then I can take you to Punch Out!”

“Punch Out?”

“Pizzeria,” Pauline clarified. “It’ll be a good break. Doubt you've gotten many chances to eat pizza in the Mushroom Kingdom, eh?” She winked. Peach’s mouth went dry.

“Well — I — Mario’s made some for me a few times...?”

“Huh!” Pauline’s gaze drifted to the bros, still dead to the world. “They’re welcome to join us, of course,” she absently added. “I’m sure they’d appreciate the meal, as well.”

Right, of course. They deserved the break moreso than she. And they both loved to eat. So why in the world had she been hoping it would be just her and Pauline?

Unknowing of Peach’s train of thought, Pauline nodded. “Give me your number,” she said, and the train completely derailed. “I can text you when I’m free, and then you can wake the boys so we can meet there!”

The moment in which Peach stared dumbly at Pauline’s offered phone stretched out a bit too long. Pauline bemusedly waved said phone under Peach’s nose, and it was then Peach snapped out of her stupor. Willing a blush not to show on her face (and somehow mostly succeeding), Peach carefully entered her contact information and handed it back.

“Great!” Pauline grinned. “I can send you the pictures I just took, too! Um, are you sure you’re not tired?” she then asked, because while Peach was mostly successful in fighting down a blush, it was the effort to do so that was written all over her face, instead. “Maybe you should sit down.” Pauline steered Peach to one of the larger chunks of rubble nearby. Peach sat down on it heavily, and it was then, now that she wasn't standing anymore, did she realize just how exhausted she actually was.

From beyond them, someone called out for Mayor Pauline. “And that’s my cue,” Pauline said, somewhat exasperatedly. “Get some rest, Princess. And I’ll see you later!”

“See you later,” Peach echoed at her retreating back.

Pauline disappeared around the corner, and as soon as she did Peach dropped her rapidly-reddening face into her hands. Oh, what a disaster she’d been...!

Her phone buzzed. Peach stared at the text, from an unknown number. Mayor Pauline, here!, it read. There was a little microphone and some music notes after the end of the message. It was something that probably shouldn't have counted as cute, but nonetheless Peach’s heart did a somersault about it anyway.

...Should she text something back?

This is Princess Peach!, she wrote, and then deleted, and then rewrote, and then stared at, and then added a little peach to, and then sent, and then realized that Pauline already knew who was texting her because she’d put her number in her phone not even minutes before. She wondered if Professor Gadd still had that time machine available to use.

Perf! See you in an hour-ish!, was Pauline’s response. It was followed by what was probably the address of the pizzeria she’d mentioned, and a for later :).

Can't wait, Peach thought, and then realized she’d typed that thought, and then realized she’d sent that thought via text. She very deliberately locked her phone and put it back into her pocket. She put her head back into her hands. She screamed — on the inside, as to not wake her friends still fast asleep nearby, blissfully ignorant of her deafening embarrassment.

#dont mind me just clearing out some older WIPs ^_^ #super mario #peachline #smb #mlv.fic

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

Prison Escapes and Pianos

[AO3 Link]

The thing about being kidnapped by people other than Bowser was that a lot of the time, they didn't know what to do with her.

They didn't know to keep more than one guard outside her room at all times; they didn't know to not go into her cell when she sounded upset; they didn't know to not serve her food in a cast-iron skillet; they didn't know Daisy had taught her at least three different ways to knock someone out quietly when the need arose.

But honestly, it was their fault for trying to impress her with a seafood risotto when she pretended to cry about the state of the food here. I mean, really?

Regardless, the lack of guards in front of her cell seemed to be the rule, not the exception, so sneaking through the manor she’d been taken to was more or less trivial as long as she took care not to get too lost. But this place was hardly more labyrinthine than any other castle she’d been in, and before she knew it she was hiding in a storage room, eyeing the window on the far side of it. She could hide in here until nightfall, she was pretty sure, and jump out of there to escape. They didn't know she could float, after all.

But before she could poke her head out to judge the distance to the ground, she heard noises from outside. Quickly, she ducked behind a stack of boxes and watched. Interestingly, the noises were coming not from the door, but from the window she was just about to investigate. Before her eyes, a gloved hand grasped the bottom of the window frame, followed by another, followed by —

“Mario!”

Mario froze halfway through the window, clearly not expecting Peach to be anywhere except for the cell he’d expected her kidnappers to stuff her in. Or maybe he did, by the way a smirk grew on his face next. The knot of worry in Peach’s chest loosened; she knew he’d been working tirelessly as always to rescue her, and it eased her mind immensely to see that he was alright.

As Mario climbed the rest of the way inside, his own relief at Peach being alright was interrupted by a jolt of shock running through him, to which he turned around and scowled somewhere behind and beneath him. As Peach helped him into the room, the likely cause of that ire became clear as Luigi’s green hat poked up into view next, shadowing a face that looked vaguely annoyed. But his surprise at seeing Peach not only wiped that annoyance away but also loosened his grip on the windowsill, and Mario and Peach both dove forward to grab him before he fell. Once safely inside and on the floor, Luigi sighed in exaggerated relief. Mario snickered. Luigi shoved him, rolling his eyes skyward.

Peach couldn't help but giggle at the antics. “I’m glad you both are okay,” she said aloud, and Mario and Luigi smiled at her. She also reached out to squeeze Luigi’s hand, because he hadn't said a word yet and by the lines of stress by his eyes it was very likely that he couldn't, right now. Their journey to get here must have been difficult...

And as she grasped his hand, she made sure to check for any injuries with her magic, soothing any hurts that she could. When she finished, Luigi looked a little more settled, and she turned her attention to Mario. But Mario shook his head as if he didn't need any healing at all. Which, judging by the look on Luigi’s face, was a complete lie.

“It’s not like I don’t have the energy,” Peach scolded Mario, and with an apologetic huff he stepped forward, letting her place her hands on his cheeks to see what she could do. Almost immediately, her brow furrowed. Goodness, was Mario really going to walk around hiding all of this? She tried to keep the judgment off her face as she finished, but Mario’s face was an embarrassed pink, anyway. Though perhaps that was from the manner in which she healed him.

To distract from her own embarrassment at being so forward, Peach told Mario and Luigi everything she’d learned while being held captive, and everything she’d overheard the guards talking about as she’d been sneaking around. In return, the boys told her of their journey to get to her, and the larger plan the villain who’d captured her had in store, one that proved to be devastating for the Mushroom Kingdom if it was allowed to be completed. Part of the reason it had taken so long to get to her, it seemed, was because they were also taking out the villain’s allies and collecting what they needed to defeat him at the same time. Something that Peach definitely didn't begrudge them for — it was her kingdom’s safety at stake, after all.

The last item Mario and Luigi needed was somewhere in this manor. Peach hadn't seen it while she was escaping, but had seen an important-looking door along the way, a bright red wood that had contrasted the off-gray wallpaper enough to stick in her memory but not enough for her to be curious and open it. That red door was just what the bros were after, so, with a glance down the hall, she led them there. Along the way, she made a stop at her cell, where the Marios stood guard as she scurried in to retrieve a key ring that she’d left behind during her initial escape. She’d nicked it from a guard earlier in the day, and it had a large, sparkling red key on it that would probably prove to be useful. She returned to find the boys frowning at how bare-bones her accommodations were. “It wasn't so bad,” Peach tried to reassure them, despite how lonely it had been and how cold the room had gotten at night. At least Bowser’s cells were warm. Peach’s hands drifted to her arms at the memory of the chill. Still, Mario and Luigi were quick to return to her side, and whether inadvertently or by design, those phantom chills left quicker than they came. She smiled at them.

It was a few hallways after that when they found that red door, and it was only a few rooms deep after stepping through it when the presence of guards upped in frequency. Whenever they did, Peach, who’d thrown her skillet at a chandelier to distract a room of guards during her initial escape, was forced to hide as Mario and Luigi dispatched them, which made her feel quite useless. That is until the bros defeated one of the elite guards, whose sturdy-looking sword fell to the ground beside them when they were KO’d. It didn't look too different from the blades that Peach was used to, so she picked it up with a flourish that had Luigi applauding and Mario looking a bit awe-struck. Peach beamed at the implied praise, and in the very next room she put her new weapon to use, doing her best to not interrupt the brotherly-synchronization Mario and Luigi had going on by taking on one guard they weren't focused on all by herself. She won very handily, but Mario still fussed over her for quite a while afterward; honestly, he was acting almost as bad as Toadsworth! Luigi seemed to think so too, nudging his brother with an amused grin. Mario caught himself and sheepishly gave her some space. But to be fair, Peach wasn't sure if she’d ever really told her friends that she could fight with a sword at all. So she couldn't find it in herself to be cross at the way he showed his concern. So with the assurance that Peach could, in fact, hold her own in a fight, the trio continued through rooms, dispatching guards along the way to the heart of the manor.

Pretty soon, the number of guards thinned out, and Mario, Luigi, and Peach stepped into a room that appeared to be a dead end. The room was completely empty, save for a lone grand piano up on a modest raised platform in the corner, and some bookshelves lining the walls. Peach crept inwards, the Marios following close behind. She marveled at the designs on the hardwood floor, the lines and dots forming abstract patterns under their feet. When her eyes caught on the piano, she brightened. When she tried to go over to it, Mario stopped her.

“What is it?” Peach followed Mario’s suspicious glare to the piano. “Oh, that’s a piano, yeah. It looks well cared for!” At least from here, anyway.

Peach tried to tug her arm out of Mario’s grip, but it wasn't until he let go of her arm himself that she was freed. He walked ahead of her to the piano, approaching it warily; Luigi was close on his heels, with the same cautious air about him.

“Do...you think it's a trap?” Peach asked. Neither brother responded. Mario inched up and tentatively poked the body of the piano. Luigi waved his hands in the space above the piano bench. They circled around it, and Peach’s bemusement shifted into exasperation.

“You guys are acting like it's going to come alive or something!”

The almost haunted look Mario sent her said yes, it might do that. Peach was left wondering where in the world that sort of expectation could come from. She’d never heard of a piano coming to life before.

About to ask about it, a loud BANG interrupted her. Mario jumped, scuttling backward a few steps and almost falling off the platform. Hand to his chest, Luigi pressed himself against the wall. Wide-eyed, they both stared at the piano, its previously-open lid now closed.

Peach huffed. She went up to the piano and propped the lid open again. “You knocked the lid prop out,” she explained, stepping back. After a moment of nothing, the bros relaxed with twin sighs and sheepish laughs.

The two of them still looked like the piano was going to jump up and attack them, though, so Peach circled around to the front of it. She positioned her fingers on the keys and pressed down, and the chord that rang out snapped the both of them out of their stupor. “See? A normal piano,” she announced, and finally the tension left her friends’ faces. They crept up behind her to peer at the papers resting on the music desk. The song written there was easy enough to play, but the song seemed...incomplete. She played it anyway, and as the last notes faded away, nothing seemed to happen.

Or so she thought, as Luigi nudged her shoulder insistently. He pointed at the floor, the pattern on the tiles glowing right before their eyes. And these lines and dots weren’t just decorative, they were sheet music of their own! Peach couldn't see all of it from where she sat on the bench, so Mario and Luigi went down to copy the notes into Luigi’s notebook; when they were done, they brought the music back for Peach to play. Even so, nothing happened. Peach was beginning to think that this whole thing was a wasted excursion when Luigi sat on the bench next to her, shoulder-to-shoulder. He gestured for her to play the new song again, and as she did, he joined in with the old one, both playing at the same time. When they were done, Peach grinned at him. “I didn't know you could play!”

Luigi shrugged, but he was smiling.

Above them, the ceiling glowed with more notes. Again, they played, but seeing as there was no room left on the piano bench, Mario hummed the third melody instead. Luigi turned around to applaud him when the song was done. Peach joined in, if only for the shy look on Mario’s face. “You should sing more often!” Peach told him, and Mario’s blush darkened.

Just then, a series of clanks and clicks and whirrs shook the platform they were on. With a final thunk, the platform jerked harshly; it began spinning slowly, but then faster, descending too quickly for any of them to get off of it in time. So down they went, into the unknown. They could only hope that this would bring them closer to what they needed to stop that villain for good.

#i have no idea if Peach can actually play the piano or not and i've decided not to worry about it #in other news this fic ain't bad for the first one of the year i think! #smb #super mario #mlv.fic

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

Catch a bend, catch a break

Rating: General Audiences Characters: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toadsworth Relationship: Mario & Luigi & Peach Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Nonverbal Mario

Summary: This outing was supposed to have cheered Mario up. And it had been — until the wind blew strong, and the hot-air balloon basket rocked violently from the force, and Luigi looked up from where he’d stumbled to catch a flash of red disappearing over the wicker woven edge, Mario nowhere in sight. Word Count: 2,555 words

[AO3 Link]

~~~

This was supposed to have cheered Mario up.

As the temperatures rose and sunny skies became more frequent, Peach had woken up one morning with the impromptu idea to dust off her hot-air balloon for a little flight. Not to go anywhere in particular, just to fly high among the clouds for a while. She’d invited Mario and Luigi along with her, as her friends and also because Mario had been having a rough week so far and what better way to free yourself from your problems for a bit was there than leaving them behind on the ground?

So there they were, high in the sky, with Toadsworth and a few others of Peach’s Toad attendants accompanying them. Luigi stood firmly near the center of the balloon basket despite Peach coaxing him to look at how tiny the trees were, thoroughly wary about their current altitude; in contrast, Mario left a conversation with one of the Toads about how the burner worked to lean over the side of the basket and stare off into the sky-blue horizon. He looked peaceful, just as Luigi and Peach were hoping he would.

And then the wind blew strong, and the basket rocked violently from the force, and Luigi looked up from where he’d stumbled to catch a flash of red disappearing over the wicker woven edge, Mario nowhere in sight.

Naturally, Luigi dove after him.

He hadn't realized he'd done so until the weightless feeling in his gut immediately made itself known, and he would have spent the next moments panicking about his impending doom if his eyes weren't locked to his brother’s tumbling form below him. Luigi’s call of Mario’s name was lost to the wind, but nonetheless Mario looked up at him, alarm shining in his eyes, and Luigi grit his teeth, willing himself to fall faster.

Finally, finally, Luigi got close enough to Mario to reach out a hand his brother could grab. Mario reached back, and they pulled each other close, Mario clutching Luigi tightly. Luigi had Mario, but what now? The wind still rushed by their ears, and there was absolutely nothing nearby that could stop their descent. The panic started to bubble up, and out of habit Luigi looked to Mario for what they should do to get out of this mess. But Mario’s eyes were squeezed shut, and his hands shook where they gripped Luigi’s shirt, and Luigi realized that Mario was scared. And yeah, free-falling from stupid high in the air was terrifying, but it was almost like — like — like there was no time to dwell on this right now. No matter what was truly behind Mario’s fear, if Mario was scared, then Luigi couldn't be, for Mario’s sake. That, he knew for sure.

...But the ground was still approaching fast, and unless either of them could grow wings without a power-up they were totally done for. Still, “I-It’ll be okay, Mario,” was the reassurance that Luigi nervously uttered, even as the lid he’d slammed down on his panic started to rattle and shake.

And just as it flew off completely —

“Mario! Luigi!”

Luigi looked up and Peach was falling after them, a pink and blonde streak closing in fast. She grabbed his outstretched hand with her own, and as soon as she had a firm grip she used the other to open her parasol. Luigi’s arm was nearly pulled out of its socket as it caught the air and their fall abruptly slowed.

Peach looked down at him with a twin grimace. “Are you okay?”

“I think — I think so.” Luigi sighed in relief. “Th-thanks for the save...!”

Mario didn't respond, his face buried in Luigi’s neck. Had he even registered Peach’s voice? Peach and Luigi shared a concerned look.

“Hang tight, Mario,” Luigi bade him, as if Mario wasn't already hanging tight enough that Luigi didn't need his arms to hold him. He used those arms to pull himself up, instead, with Peach helping him, so that he also had a hand on Peach’s parasol as it rocked gently side to side in the breeze.

“Is he —?”

“I don't know...” Luigi shrugged helplessly, settling an arm around Mario again. He felt the tremors rocking through his brother’s body and held him tighter.

The trio slowly but surely but especially slowly floated to the ground. As soon as their feet touched grass Peach and Luigi collapsed, adrenaline leaving them all at once. The way he fell, Luigi had Mario practically in his lap, and hearing Mario struggle to control his breathing made Luigi suddenly aware he was hovering on the edge of hyperventilating himself. He clumsily forced the rhythm of his breathing to slow, so his brother would have something to mirror and calm down in turn.

There were a few people nearby in the park they’d landed in, so Peach propped up her parasol, still large from catching air, to hide the brothers from view of most of them. Under its shadow, Mario finally caught his breath; with a final shuddering exhale, he extracted himself from Luigi’s side. He looked around himself, almost seeming lost. He looked at Luigi, who tried to look reassuring. He looked beyond Luigi at Peach, who had stepped away to a nearby food stall. He looked down at himself, his hands, his legs. His breath shuddered once more, and he ran a hand over his face, knocking his hat askew. He brought his other hand up to join the first, to bury his head in the both of them. He stilled.

“Mario?” No response. “Mario?” Luigi called again, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Mario removed his hands from his face. He tried to smile at Luigi, but it fell flat. Very flat.

“...it’s okay,” Luigi said. “I was scared, too.”

Mario tilted his head, as if he didn't believe that Luigi had been scared at all. Luigi flushed. “I was!” he insisted. “But...you were scared too, so I...I needed to help you, like you would’ve for me!”

Mario’s next attempt at a smile came out more rueful, if anything. It collapsed quickly, and with eyes fixed somewhere distant he settled back against Luigi. Luigi squeezed his hand, and Mario squeezed it back.

It was then that Peach returned, carrying drinks she'd bought from the food stall. She knelt beside Mario and carefully pressed one into his hands. Mario took it from her, gripping it tight enough that she briefly feared he would crush the container and spill it. She passed another drink to Luigi, who thanked her and sipped it. His eyebrows rose as the overpowering taste of Mushrooms hit his tongue, stronger than a normal Mushroom Shake would ordinarily have. His questioning glance to Peach was met with a shrug that had a bit of an extra shoulder roll to it. Luigi’s own shoulder throbbed angrily in response. Oh, right. If Mario found out they’d gotten hurt while saving him, it would make him more upset than he needed to be right now. Luigi hid a sigh in his cup as he felt the healing drink work its magic.

Mario completely missed the conversation that had happened over his head, busy staring into his drink and sipping it slowly. The bubble of silence around him was unusually impermeable. Luigi didn't know how to pop it, to ask what exactly had spooked Mario so bad.

The solution came inadvertently, when Peach raised her head and fixed her eyes on the pink dot in the sky that was her hot-air balloon. “Toadsworth is going to kill me,” she remarked brightly.

Luigi blanched. “Toadsworth’s gonna kill us,” he gulped, “if we didn't already kill him first...!”

Mario huffed a laugh at Luigi’s reaction. Luigi glared at him, though the glare was dulled with relief that Mario was feeling okay enough to rib him a little.

“Oh, of course he’ll just fuss over you,” Luigi scowled, nonetheless sour. “Mariooo, you’ll vouch for me, won't you?” he begged, and then pouted as Mario exaggeratedly thought it over. “Come on,” he whined, “And I helped save you and everything!”

And Mario looked grateful for it. He went to clasp a hand on Luigi’s shoulder — Luigi’s still-healing shoulder. Luigi intercepted that hand, holding it. Mario narrowed his eyes, puzzled. Luigi tried to keep his face neutral.

“Mario...” Peach scooted closer to him, a distraction from his brother’s mysterious behavior. “Are you truly alright?”

After a moment of thought, Mario met Peach’s worried gaze and nodded. He smiled again, and looked a bit more real. Just a bit, though. It might have convinced her a mere few months ago, when she didn't know him as well as she did now.

“You sure, bro? I...don't think I've seen you that scared before...” Nervous or wary, maybe, but...

Mario shrugged, tapping a finger against his cup. Peach and Luigi could practically see that bubble of silence form around him again, but before it could fully coalesce Peach reached out and touched a hand to his arm. “Is there anything we can do?” she asked, and Mario’s first response was to shake his head. But then he stopped mid-motion, seemingly thinking better of it. Shyly, he opened an arm out to Peach.

Peach hurried forward to hug him like he was asking. “You’re okay,” she murmured, squeezing him tight. Mario sighed shakily into her hair. Luigi wrapped an arm around them both, and they all sat there like that for a while.

Luigi broke the peaceful silence with a huff, drawing the others’ attention. He grinned down at Mario. “Maybe we should get you a harness,” he joked. “Ya know, like those child leashes Mama used to stuff you in all the time.”

Peach giggled at the mental image. Mario glared half-heartedly at Luigi for giving it to her. But the other half of that glare was tiredness, and he shook his head. There were quite a few people — foremost among them Bowser, whose name Mario traced in halting, blocky letters on Luigi’s outer arm — who would hardly give him a chance to secure a harness in the first place before they tried to get rid of him by tossing him away.

“Oh,” Peach said, abruptly understanding.

“Hm,” Luigi said a few seconds after, comprehension dawning on his face.

Though the looks they gave him weren’t pitying, Mario still shrunk under their weight, pulling his hat partially over his face.

Peach hummed, lips pursed in thought. “Maybe we could get you a power-up?” she wondered. “To carry just in case? I might have some Super Leaves in the castle storage...”

“What, so it can just float away?”

“...There’s a trick to it, you know.”

Luigi’s brow furrowed. He glanced at Mario, who peeked up under the bill of his cap to nod sagely. “Ah,” Luigi said, and Mario bumped a shoulder against him in commiseration.

“But wait,” Luigi continued, “I thought we used all the Leaves we had left last month with the —” he waved a hand vaguely at the sun.

“Oh, shoot.” Peach frowned. “You’re right. And finding more will be such a pain...”

“What about a different one, like those acorns?” Luigi asked, and then Peach responded with something about the Acorn Trees being out of season, and then the both of them were going down an invisible list of every flight power-up they knew of. So caught up in their brainstorming, they pretty much forgot the impetus of their discussion was sitting right between them. Mario huffed, letting their chatter wash over him as he finished his shake. As he stared at the droplets at the bottom of the cup, a small smile tugged at his face. It was nice his loved ones were going through all this trouble for him, even if their ideas weren't really going anywhere.

Luigi was in the middle of waving Peach’s parasol around to prove a point when a shout pierced the air. It was Toadsworth; while none of them were paying attention, the hot-air balloon had decided to land nearby.

“Master Mario!” Toadsworth hurried over. “Are you quite alright?” At Mario’s nod, he nodded in kind. “Thank goodness,” he said, and then turned to Peach. “Princess, what were you thinking?!” he cried, his previous distress back in full force.

“That I had to save Mario,” Peach answered, chin raised high. Beside her, Luigi nodded, just as serious.

Toadsworth sputtered, but the wind was thoroughly taken out of his sails. “Well,” he muttered. “I...suppose that’s certainly as good a reason as any, isn't it. But please don't scare me like that again...!”

Peach’s eyes softened. “No promises,” she told Toadsworth, even as she hugged him. “But I’ll try my best.”

“That’s all I can hope for,” Toadsworth sighed, surreptitiously wiping at his eyes. “In any case, shall we resume our flight? Or perhaps,” he corrected, catching the wariness on Mario’s face at the idea, “it’s time for a break. Can't handle the chill up there like I used to, ho ho! If my senses are right, then there should be an excellent place to have lunch nearby! It’s somewhere I used to go many a time years ago when...”

As Toadsworth chattered about old memories, Peach stood up and stretched, making periodic responsive noises as if she was listening. Luigi helped Mario stand as well, and waited patiently for Mario to compose himself. But then Mario started to look a bit too contrite for his liking, so he nudged him. “You don't have anything to be sorry for,” Luigi said.

Mario still looked like he wanted to apologize or something. So Luigi closed Peach’s parasol and bonked him over the head with it. Luigi smirked at Mario’s affronted look, though neither expression held for long — a grin was the first to crack Mario’s face as he tried to wrestle the parasol out of Luigi’s grip in retaliation.

“That belongs to the Princess! Treat it with respect!” Toadsworth snapped, even as Peach hid giggles behind her hand at the antics.

Mario had long learned to tune out most of Toadsworth’s scoldings, but Luigi hadn't quite gotten there yet; in Luigi’s hesitation, Mario pulled the parasol out of his grip at last and swatted him with it, knocking his hat off his head. With a flick of his wrist he caught the hat with the tip of the parasol before it hit the ground, and then held it high in the air so Luigi couldn't get it. Before Luigi could think to jump for it or tackle him or otherwise, Mario moved forward to give the parasol back to Peach, hat and all.

“Oh, why thank you!” Peach curtsied with a poorly-suppressed smirk. She removed the hat before opening her parasol; when she put it on her head, it sat lopsided on top of her crown. As such, Luigi was left with the option of badgering Peach to give his hat back, without getting another reprimand from Toadsworth, which...Luigi slumped in defeat, to the tune of Mario and Peach’s laughter. After a moment, Luigi laughed, too.

“If you all are quite finished,” Toadsworth huffed. “I, for one, am getting a bit hungry.”

Smothering snickers, the three fell into step behind him. Together, they followed Toadsworth to what was sounding like it was going to be a pretty good lunch.

#hooray Mario trauma lmao XD #fun fact: i outlined most of this mid-flight on an airplane #so i tried to preserve the outline as best i could for the novelty of having written a fic on a 10pm 2-hour flight #the turbulence did have me wonder if i was tempting fate a few times tho lol #smb #super mario #mlv.fic