intertwined, sewn together

by pseudoluigi

Summary:

Kameks' simple requests: Act like a nanny. Feed them, bathe them, put them to bed and sing them to sleep. Simple enough, right?

Oh how absolutely 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜 he was.

Notes:

i randomly thought of this idea last night at around like 11pm and brainstormed everything in my notes on my phone and here we are. erm. enjoy :]

also dont try and make this make sense because it really just doesn't , just sit back and enjoy the riiideeeee

Chapter 1

Kamek wasn't sure what all the fuss was about until he arose from the chambers like a waking vampire, preparing to hiss from the streaming light into his tower, but he was met with pure darkness.

It must have been at the very least the middle of the night. It wasn't until Kamek decides to rub his eyes and fix his glasses onto his beak that he saw the real time. 2:42am.

What on earth had the castle guards muffling their confused yells like this at such a time? Were they under attack? What was happening?

Sighing, Kamek throws himself over the side of his much-too-tall bed and lands on the cold concrete, grasping hold of his wand perched on his bedside table and swishes it around himself for a moment before disappearing in a plume of purple smoke with a POP!

Kamek appears on the ground floor of the castle where most of the commotion was taking place. Koopa and Goomba guards running around like headless chickens until they catch Kamek’s eyes and come bombarding over all at once. The poor old Koopa had to steady his wand into the carpet to prevent himself from toppling right over.

“Kamek! Thank goodness you’re here!” A familiar Paratroopa, Zakaan, storms over while shouldering all the other blubbering guards out of his way. Kamek wouldn’t lie and say he wasn’t getting overwhelmed, because boy was he struggling not to just poof out of existence and leave it in the hands of his son. Speaking of, why wasn’t Bowser here if the castle was so manic?

“What on earth is going on? You best have a good reason for waking me up at such an unreasonable time.” The Magikoopa growls in the middle of fixing his glasses, feeling the way his patience tethers as the guards continue to babble over one another. “ENOUGH!” Kamek slams his wand down onto the carpet, purple smoke rippling from the ground and up the walls, stunning everybody into silence. 

Zakaan shuts his beak for a few moments and hesitantly glares at the guards around him, before regaining his composure and glancing at Kamek. “Come with me.”

Kamek frowns over at the Paratroopa who was beginning to walk over to the ajar castle doors ahead of them. “And why isn’t the King currently down here dealing with this?”

The Paratroopa stops and stands there staring blankly ahead of him for a moment, before turning to face the old Magikoopa. “Pardon my ignorance, sir Kamek but… I personally thought that… You would be the ideal person to see to this issue first, if that’s okay with you.”

Kamek usually wouldn’t let stuff like this slide. His son, King Bowser, was more than capable of handling anything that was thrown his way, he was the King after all and Kamek was simply just his advisor. But the way Zarkaan looks at him with such uncertainty in his eyes, he couldn’t help but shut his beak and simply nod at the request of his presence. 

The little advisor walks after the Paratroopa who clutched a spear tight in his left hand, walking an agonizing pace towards the ajar castle doors which puzzled him even more. Was there an intruder? Somebody requesting to see King Bowser? At such a time like this? 

Zakaan steps to the right and glances down at Kamek who approaches but keeps his glassed eyes on the doors. There was a roaring thunder outside with rain that pelts down on the ground outside loud enough for them to hear. Unwanted guests during such dangerous weather? This must be important.

Kamek may be little, but he certainly wasn’t weak. He uses his free hand to pull open the left door of the castle, his sight graced by the castle Hammer Bros surrounding something in a circle, spears drawn to whatever was being cornered. “Away.” Kamek dismisses with a wave of his hand.

The Hammer Bros slowly begin to move backwards while their spears remained drawn. Kamek was expecting to see a threatening sight of an intruder, not three toddler Koopalings clutching a rather large, soggy cardboard box between them, shaking in their little boots.

The advisor stands there and gawks for a moment. Three infant Koopa children stare at him uncertainly while hugging close to one another. The tallest of the toddlers was a Koopa with a pink head and a purple shell, holding the smallest of the bunch, who Kamek assumed was a little lady with her pink shell and little lashes. The one to her left had a green face and bushy blue eyebrows that matched his blue tufts of hair.

“Please don’t hurt us.” The pink-shell Koopaling whimpers quietly, barely a whisper as she looks around to the pointy spears poking dangerously close to her and the others while they clutch the box close to them.

“Lower your weapons at once, you heathens! These are children!” Kamek squawks furiously to the guards who gawk at the advisor for a moment before obeying orders and lowering their spears. Kamek gestures with both hands for them to all move back to which they comply, while the Magikoopa approaches. 

The little Koopalings back away as he approaches. The bigger of them tries his hardest to growl a warning but it comes out as a pathetic little whimper instead. “Now now.” Kamek starts gently, standing in front of the three who were just barely taller than him. “You children are soaked through and must be exhausted, yes?” The question was gentle, and the little Koopalings glance at one another hesitantly before nodding slowly. “Come, come.” 

“B-But Sir! What if its a trap? What if there’s a bob-omb in that box?!” One of the guarding Hammer Bros whisper-shouts as Kamek leads the dripping children into the castle.

“Do you expect me to turn away those sopping children like a monster, Dorak? I’m not stupid!” Kamek snarls with a bop to the Hammer Bros’ head with his wand, causing them to yelp and rub at their head. “If there was any real danger, I would know. These children seem to have wound up at the wrong doorstep looking for some refuge.” The Magikoopa walks until he comes to a forked path ahead of him. “I would like you to escort these children to the dining area and seat them appropriately at the table. Wake the castle cooks and demand they make them a suitable meal. Promise them I will double their pay when they do.” Kamek left no time for the Hammer Bro to protest or even get a word in when the Magikoopa suddenly disappears in a plume of purple smoke with a WOOSH!

—

Dorak stands there like a deer in headlights when the Magikoopa suddenly disappears and he’s left with the three strangers behind him. The Hammer Bro turns around quickly and the Koopalings flinch at him.

“Alright, you heard what the–.. Eh.. Advisor said. Come with us.” Dorak gestures with the blunt end of his spear for the Koopalings to walk ahead down the left fork, leading them away from the foyer of the castle and down a long hallway towards the dining room.

“What do you suppose is in the box?” A Goomba toddles up to Dorak’s side, glancing up at the Hammer Bro curiously while the children walk ahead. 

“No idea. Could be a bob-omb for all we care.” Dorak grumbles slightly but shakes his head of the worry. If there truly was any danger, he supposed that it would have put their lives in jeopardy by now. The harder he looked the more he realised that these might just simply be lost children looking for shelter.

Four guards including himself and the Goomba lead the three children into the communal dining room that was large enough to host a party of a hundred people. Dorak notices how the three children gawk with pure awe at the size of the room, like it was the largest thing they had seen in their lives.

“Sit here and be patient.” Dorak gestures to the benches in front of the very long dining table. “Kitchen staff will bring you a meal. It’s very early in the morning so it may take a little while to get the kitchen prepared.” 

The three Koopalings narrow their eyes at the Hammer Bro suspiciously before slowly taking a seat on the elongated benches, setting the mysterious box between the pink shell and the blue shelled children. The curious Hammer Bro wanted nothing more than to look in the box himself, but resisted the urge due to the risk of upsetting the Koopalings and possibly facing the wrath of the fierce Advisor, who was nowhere to be seen.

—

Kamek appears in front of the King’s chambers and mentally prepares himself to disrupt the Darkland King that loved his beauty sleep. It had just gone past three o’clock in the morning and the advisor was absolutely sure Bowser was going to set fire to his robe once he realised.

The Magikoopa timidly knocks at the door with the top of his wand, loud enough to hopefully stir the sleeping Koopa but not enough to come across as aggressive by any means. Kamek hears a protesting growl from the otherside and tries again once, twice and then three times until Bowser snarls in annoyance.

“What?! This better be important!” 

Good old Bowser.

“Apologies for waking you at such a time, your Troubledness.” Kamek gingerly reaches for the doorknob and pushes it open a crack to see Bowser buried underneath his blankets and pillows like a burrowing mole. “But the matter is rather… Dire.”

“What could possibly warrant an excuse to wake me up at…” Bowser moves his head slightly from the mountain of pillows surrounding what looked like a nest, squinting with tired eyes at a clock on his bedside table. “THREE O’CLOCK!!!?”

“A-Again! Apologies, Sire!” Kamek squeaks out quickly at his sudden outburst as pillows and blankets go flying. “But… But this demands your immediate attention. Please. In the communal dining area. Right now.” Kamek pushes open the door enough that the foyer lights hit Bowser in the face and the King snarls once more in annoyance. Truly, Kamek would never bother him at such a ridiculous time for something that wasn’t worth it at the very least. 

“Fine! Finefine finefine!” Bowser throws up more pillows and blankets with exaggerated arm movements before shifting his weight out of the nest, his unruly red mane of hair ruffled and sticking up on all ends. “Give me a minute to gather myself.” 

“Of course your Highness.” Kamek was quick to excuse himself back outside and shuts the door behind him, pacing back and forth the length of the hallway three times until Bowser finally emerges from out of the door. His hair was brushed the way he liked it, unruly, but not in a homeless kind of way. The King looked presentable enough but the tiredness was inevitably seen on his face.

“Right, lead the way.” Bowser dismisses the Advisor with a wave of his giant paw and yawns, bearing a huge maw of fanged teeth while rubbing at his eyes. Kamek eagerly picks up the pace and begins rushing ahead, down a swirl of stairs to the ground floor and along the foyer that took them to the communal dining room.

Bowser observes the way that all of his minions seemed to be wide awake and on guard when they reach the ground floor. They bow at his presence before going back to their posts while lightning cracks above their heads, muffled from the thick castle walls.

The King shrugs away the slight worry that hangs on his shoulders to see everybody currently awake at this time. Kamek was similar, he hated to be disturbed at such an ungodly time of the morning. It must be important if the guards managed to get the old fart up before him.

“In here.” Kamek stops in front of the communal dining room doors and steps aside for Bowser, who glances down at the Advisor with furrowed eyebrows of uncertainty before placing a giant paw to one of the doors and pushing it open.

He was greeted with the sight of four guards sitting scattered around the elongated dining table, eyes glued on a single subject in front of them. 

Bowser lowers his gaze to three unfamiliar Koopas sitting with their backs to him at the dining table with bowls bigger than their heads in front of them, spooning a familiar Koopa dish into their little maws eagerly. 

Kamek enters behind Bowser nervously as the King swishes his tail back and forth at the sight of three strangers dining in his castle, shooting a hard stare at the Advisor that lowers his gaze under his glare.

Bowser was prepared to cause a ruckus and demand they leave immediately as he steps forward and walks to the right side of the three Koopas slurping on large bowls of soup, rounding the table before his frowned gaze cracks slightly at the sight of them.

The pink-shelled Koopa was the first to notice Bowser as he approaches from her right side and squeaks in fear, dropping the spoon in the bowl and huddling close to the blue-shelled Koopa who took note of her fear and also glances up, his dark blue eyes widening at the sight of the adonis in front of them.

Each of the Koopas dropped their spoons and huddled against one another with worrying whimpers, shaking violently as Bowser stands at the opposite corner of the table they sat on, staring at them all with an unreadable expression on his face.

Bowser was observing the Koopas in front of him, taking in their appearances and analyzing what he could see. These Koopas were no ordinary intruders, these were children.

At the very least, these children were around five years old. They were short and could barely crane their necks to reach the bowls bigger than their heads on the table. Their adolescence was more obvious when Bowser notes that their spiked shells were stubby and rounded, along with their tiny little claws.

Slowly, the Koopa King pulls out a seat on the opposite side of the children and sits down cautiously in the chair, while the three Koopalings hold onto one another and shake like a leaf in the wind. Bowser meets his Advisor’s eyes and narrows them slightly, Kamek immediately knowing what he wanted.

‘Yes, sire?’ Kamek speaks through a telepathic connection between them both using his own magic.

‘What happened?’

‘I was disturbed by the castle guards shouting like banshees in the foyer and went down to check. I thought you may have been there due to all the ruckus. I was about to collect you to investigate but was told I needed to see them before you did.’ Bowser let out a small growl at that, frightening the Koopalings with a worrying cry. ‘I assume the guards thought you might frighten them. Anyway, I apologise for not confronting you about this before I made the decision to bring them in and give them something to eat. But the little younglings were soaking and scared. I hope you understand that I didn’t have the heart to turn them away.’

Bowser was still furious that Kamek hadn’t retrieved him to see the matter at hand before deciding to bring them inside. For all he cared, these kids could be spies or a trap. But looking at them so scared right now, it was becoming less and less obvious to why they were here and what they wanted.

“All of you, out.” Bowser barks suddenly after the two minute silence was broken in the room. The castle guards get up from their seats and immediately beeline for the doors. Kamek was hesitant on whether that command was also including him, but was quickly confirmed when Bowser gives him a hard stare and the Advisor sees himself out, shutting the doors behind him.

The Koopa children look back to the King seated in front of them with little cries of fear. They had never seen a Koopa so big in their life, and he looked very important. The spiked gauntlets around his wrists, bicep and neck were all too telling that this guy was definitely dangerous.

“Are you enjoying your soup?”

The kids flinch at his sudden rumbling voice. They huddle one another, glancing between their unfinished bowls of soup and the gigantic Koopa seaten in front of them.

“P…Please don’t hurt us.” The pink-shelled Koopa whimpers with a cracked voice. 

“If I wanted to do so, I would have done so already.” Bowser replies coldly but honestly, tapping his claws rhythmically on the wooden table in front of him. “Where did you three come from?”

“We don’t know.” The blue-shelled Koopa responds and it surprises Bowser slightly to hear just how mature he sounded for such a little Koopa. Maybe he had judged their ages wrong? 

“How did you find yourself on my doorstep?” Bowser asks, the urge to figure out of these children were spies or simply lost was strong. They didn’t look like spies, far too young to follow such orders, he assumes.

“Sonny.” The purple-shelled Koopa responds when the others remain silent.

“Who is Sonny?”

“S..She was… Our caretaker.” The pink-shelled Koopaling responds while timidly reaching for her bowl of unfinished soup, giving Bowser a little stare as if asking for his approval.

“If you’re starving, eat. I’m not going to take the bowls away from you.” Bowser huffs through his nose and observes the way the Koopalings all perk up at that, reaching for their bowls once more and shoving spoonful after spoonful into their mouths. They ate like strays who had only been surviving on scraps for the last few weeks, which piqued the King’s curiosity even more.

“Why did Sonny leave you here?”

It took the Koopalings a while to answer him while they were trying to scoff down the rest of their soup. Bowser wasn’t one for patience and usually demanded an answer after a few seconds of silence, but children? He wasn’t that cruel.

“Um…” The pink-shelled Koopaling wipes her mouth and pushes the bowl away from her, fiddling with her stubbly claws where she sits. “Our…Our orphanage was set on fire.” 

Bowser’s eyes widened at that. Who was cruel enough to set an orphanage ablaze?! Definitely not him! Absolutely not! The pink-shelled Koopaling was sniffing and rubbing at her teary eyes at the mention of the orphanage. So, these little tots were Orphans. 

“So, Sonny abandoned you here and… Fled?” Bowser questions slowly.

“I…I suppose so.” Pink-shell nods solemnly, keeping her eyes glued to her lap and refusing to look at the King. Bowser usually took the lack of eye contact as disrespect when being spoken to, but he could put that aside just for now.

“No parents?”

They shake their heads.

“No home?”

They shake their heads again.

Bowser was truly in a pickle now. These kids were just tired and wanting shelter. He debated taking them over to the Darklands’ own orphanage, but he also knew that there was barely any room left for children and the idea of separating the three, seeing how close they were, truly wouldn’t be right.

“Sonny…Mentioned, a King…” The purple-shelled Koopa speaks up. “Is…Is…Is that you?”

“That would be me.” Bowser responds gently, his tone significantly quieter than how he started. “Bowser O’Koopa. King of the Darklands.”

The three children all gasp in awe at the revelation of speaking to a King and Bowser resists the urge to smirk and gloat at their awe. There was a time and place to flaunt his title. “So… What about you three? Do you have names?”

The three Koopalings look at one another for a moment and the blue-shelled Koopaling nods slowly in approval. This one must be the eldest. 

“W-Wendy.” The pink-shelled Koopa murmurs.

“Roy.” The purple-shelled Koopa blurts out right after her.

“And I’m Ludwig.” The blue-shelled Koopa meets Bowser’s eye and pushes away his now empty bowl of soup. “Our caretaker brought us here because this was the closest Kingdom to our sanctuary that inhabited Koopas like us.” Ludwig goes on to explain and Bowser leans in slightly to listen. “We seek a home after ours was set ablaze, and I suppose Sonny thought that maybe you could give that to us.” 

Bowser cocks his head slightly at that. He didn’t have children of his own, nor a mate to give him that blessing of an heir. Bowser was always complimented on his way with children, often finding himself mingling with the orphans that would attent Darkland social events and major holidays. He wanted nothing more than to be a father, but since his ascent to the throne as a teenager Bowser was pestered by other Kingdoms who presented him suitable suitors to reign at his side.

He didn’t want any of them, though.

“...If you can’t.” Ludwig speaks up and breaks Bowser’s train of thought. “We’d like to leave. Thank you for the hospitality and especially the meal, we haven’t eaten in a few days.” Bowser winces, “But I refuse to waste any more of mine or my siblings’ time looking for a family that will simply turn us away in the end.”

“Like they always do...” Wendy murmurs under her breath but Bowser catches it immediately and sits up straight.

“We’ve been looking for a family since the day I was hatched.” Ludwig maintains his steady eye contact with Bowser, who shows him the same respect. “I am eight years old now. Eight years of being turned away or given back because they don’t know how to handle me. Handle us.” Ludwig grits his teeth and grasps hold of the spoon in his little paw tightly. “King or not, I cannot break my siblings’ hearts any longer to be turned away and left in the dirt like some animals. I refuse.”

There was so much fire in the Koopaling’s voice. Bowser would have been pissed off if it was one of his guards or those royal tossers he spent most of his meetings with, but he couldn’t help but admire the way this little Koopaling spoke so fiercely in front of him. This kid knew what he wanted, the fiery passion to protect his siblings from rejection of yet another family.

“You can stay.” Bowser blurts out in the middle of Ludwig’s rant on rejection. The three Koopalings freeze where they sit, staring up at Bowser with wide eyes.

“R…Really?” Wendy squeaks out with wide blue eyes, clutching Ludwig’s arm in her grasp. There was hope shimmering in her blue eyes that Bowser struggled to look away.

“Yes. You may stay under my supervision.” Bowser gets up from where he was sitting and couldn’t help hear the way Wendy’s stubby little tail was thumping against the back of her chair as it wagged wildly. “Please understand that while you are under my supervision I may not be able to act like a father to you. But you will be housed here, fed and given what you need and want. I hope that will be enough for you.”

The Koopalings look back and forth between one another and start whispering quietly as Bowser makes his way to the large doors of the communal dining area. Once they finished their whispering, Wendy and Roy jump down from their chairs and waddle over to the giant King, craning their necks up to look at him. 

“We…We would…Like to stay, please.” Roy sheepishly blurts out while his sister pleads up at Bowser with eager eyes.

The King quirks his eyebrow down at the little tots. “Well, of course, I did offer after all.” Bowser listened to the way the two squeak excitedly and hug one another with tails wagging and almost whipping Bowser in the shin. With a snap of his fingers, the old Advisor suddenly appears in the air, sitting on his wand.

“Yes, your Highness?”

“Repurpose one of the useless rooms in the East Wing, a room suitable enough for three Koopa children. Toys, beds, the lot. ASAP.” Bowser looks at the way Kamek gawks at the King with an expression he couldn’t exactly make up.

The Advisor was about to say something before Bowser snaps at him with his teeth, and the Magikoopa disappears with a yelp, quick to retreat and do what he was asked.

The two Koopalings beneath Bowser were eagerly looking up at him expectantly. On closer inspection the little Koopas were filthy with mud and other debris on their journey here. “I suppose you could do with a bath?”

The two nod eagerly.

“Very well.” Bowser clears his throat and opens the doors to the dining area. “Do you know how to bathe yourself?”

“I’ll bathe them.” Ludwig pipes up and walks over from where he had been sitting in his seat for a considerable amount of time that Bowser had almost forgotten he was there. “Just give the directions and I’ll go from there.”

Bowser liked how forward this little guy was. 

“Very well. Though it is a little far to give you directions.” Bowser cranes his head to the dining hall’s exit. “ZAKAAN!”

There was silence for a few moments before the sound of puffing and panting gradually got louder, the heavy steps of the Paratroopa running over to the dining hall. Grambi knows why this guy didn’t decide to fly here instead and save his little legs.

“Y-Yes! Your Highness!” Zakaan pants out and doubles over to catch his breath momentarily before standing up straight. 

“Lead these children to the communal hot springs. Keep an eye on them while they bathe, afterwards bring them to the East Wing on the top floor.” Bowser looks between his trusted guard and the three Koopalings. He notices that Ludwig was carrying a rather soggy cardboard box for whatever reason. Bowser assumes that it was probably their soggy belongings brought from the orphanage. “...Would you like me to take that for you?”

“No!” Ludwig shouts abruptly, startling all four of them who gawk in surprise. “I-I mean… No thank you. I’ll keep this with me if… If that’s okay.” 

Bowser lowered his eyebrows and took a deep breath. “Very well. Zakaan, off you go.” Bowser gestures his head and the Paratroopa beckons the children to follow, leading them away towards the direction of the communal hot springs while their room was busy getting ready.

Bowser stands there at the door of the dining room watching as the Koopalings follow behind the Paratroopa. It begins to dawn on the monarch the responsibility he had just put on his shoulders, the care of three children along with his duty to the throne left behind to him since he was a child. He seemed to be struggling enough as it was alone. But the weight of three children now depending on him? Was he stupid?

But Bowser didn’t have the heart to turn him away. He was cruel and unkind to those who knew him from afar. But he wasn’t a monster. Knowing that the little Koopalings would only face rejection, he couldn’t bare the thought knowing how skinny and filthy they appeared, remnants of soot and smoke caking their plastrons from the blaze that must have set their refuge on fire. 

The King takes in a very deep breath and relaxes his tense shoulders, walking the opposite way and finding himself going up winding stairs to the very top floor where his chambers lie along with the East Wing.

Bowser hears some ruckus coming from one of the rooms and approaches, standing in the doorway as he observes the way Kamek was flying around repurposing everything in the room, adding a splash of colour and furniture that looked oddly familiar.

When Kamek turns around he squawks at the sight of Bowser standing there watching him, almost falling off his broom but catching himself before it was too late. “How long have you been standing there?!”

“Long enough.” Bowser responds with a curl of his lip and ducks inside, looking around. “Where did you get the inspiration for this room?” He glances suspiciously at Kamek who nervously adjusts his glasses.

“I…I took inspiration from one of your moodboards for when you eventually wanted children. If… If that’s okay?” Kamek licks his beak anxiously.

Bowser continues to observe around the room, “Looks nice. Get it done ASAP.” Bowser dismisses with a little wave. “The children have gone to the hot springs to clean themselves up and will be here shortly. I would like it done before then.” 

“Y-Yes Sire absolutely it will be done before then!” Kamek goes back to waving his wand around quickly to finish adding the little bits and pieces, like toys scattered on the floor and posters on the wall, little fairylights around the beds and plenty of pillows and blankets. “Will this be temporary accommodation for them?”

Bowser flinches slightly at that, huffing out a plume of smoke from his nostrils before turning to walk away. “They’re staying.”

Kamek squeaks in surprise. “Staying?! What do you mean staying!!”

“It means they’re going to be living here for the foreseeable.” Bowser growls as he ducks underneath the doorframe. “I wouldn’t go through the effort of asking you to repurpose an entire room if it was temporary, you silly old bat.”

Kamek squawks even louder at the insult and flails in the air, rushing towards Bowser. “B-But your Highness!! You have an entire Kingdom to see to! You can’t possibly juggle looking after three Koopalings on top of this?!” Kamek cries in worry, following his oversized son out of the door and flailing his arms. “It-It can’t be done! Three at once?! Not to mention they’ll turn into teenagers! Rowdy, hormonal, spiteful teenagers!!”

Kamek knew all to well the teenager phase when he made the decision to take Bowser in after his father was slaughtered. It was the hardest period of his parenting career to date, even if this Bowser was almost too much to handle.

“My decision is final!” Bowser barks and Kamek snaps his beak shut, almost forgetting that while he was talking to his son he was also talking to the Monarch. “They stay. I’ll find a way. Now get back in there and finish the room before I pin your beak to a dart board!” The King snaps and Kamek rushes his way back inside the toddler room, waving his wand around some more. “See to it that the children are settled once they get here. And that they get some sleep! It’s almost five in the morning.” Bowser could feel the exhaustion catching up to him the closer he gets to his bedroom. But as he longingly looks to his chambers the more Bowser realises that he definitely wasn’t getting anymore sleep. He would have to be up in just a few more hours, and maybe he could use this time to catch up on some paperwork he was behind on.

Bowser ultimately decides to walk past his chambers and straight to his study room, shutting the doors after him and settling lazily in a plush chair in front of his desk scattered with important papers and stacked books. It wasn’t a pleasing sight but if he could lower the stack of paperwork he had to get through by the time the sun rose, it would give him a little less to do later.

So, Bowser sticks on his glasses that rest on the bridge of his snout and picks up a pen, sifting between what was more important and what could be done a little later. Meetings, meetings, kingdoms offering their heirs, meetings, the odd spam letter that always found their way in this damn pile.

It was going to be a long morning, but Bowser could take a nap later. Once all of this was done.

—

The Koopalings were instructed into the communal hot springs that was currently unoccupied due to the early hours of the morning. Zakaan stands outside the door on guard to keep his eye on them while the three kids look around the different rock pools scattered around them, seemingly different temperatures.

Ludwig takes the initiative to set the cardboard box down somewhere the floor wasn’t wet and takes Wendy and Roy by the hands, leading them over to a hot spring and testing the temperature. Perfect.

“Luddy?” Wendy looks up at her older brother who grunts at the nickname but acknowledges her with a little click of his tongue. “Are we really going to be staying here?”

“Well, I sure hope so. I’ll be pi–... Mad, if the King offered us to stay just to turn us away.” Ludwig plucks off Wendy and Roy’s shells and takes the two toddlers, lowering them into the bubbling water in the shallowest end. 

“You don’t think he’ll abandon us? Like… Like the others have?” Wendy’s expression falls and Ludwig sighs at his sister’s crestfallen face, sliding into the water after them and sitting down on the rocky ledge under the water.

“Only time will tell.” Ludwig responds honestly knowing that it wouldn’t be the answer his sister was looking for, but he didn’t have the heart to lie to her either. “He’d be a pretty poopy monarch if he turns away three orphans after promising them food and shelter.”

Roy giggles at the word poopy and splashes in the bubbling water, washing off the dirt and soot from his scales while Wendy and Ludwig did the same. The water was hot in a way that it was perfect, soothing the aches in Ludwig’s joints after running and walking for so long just to get here.

“I’ll miss Sonny.” Wendy whimpers and looks down into the water, fiddling with her claws on her lap while she sits on the rocky ledge with Ludwig.

“I know, sis. I’ll miss her too, we all will. But she wasn’t there to take us in, she was there to look after us until we found a home.” Ludwig ruffles some water into his hair to soak out the soot clinging to his head. “But this is a new beginning, so try not to dwell on it so hard, ‘kay?”

“Okay.” Wendy’s reply was meek but she didn’t bring Sonny up, instead washing around her plastron and her face that was stained with soot and ash.

The Koopalings bathed in comfortable silence, relishing in the warmth of the tub they were seated in until Ludwig caught the eye of the cardboard box a short distance away, staring at it anxiously. “I’m not sure how we’re going to tell him about them, though.”

Wendy follows Ludwig’s gaze and sets her eyes on the box. “Yeah… I thought he was going to eat you up when you yelled at him earlier! You’re so brave for that!” The pink Koopaling giggles at him and Ludwig rolls his eyes.

“It was an accident! I just didn’t want him to take them away and question us later. I’d rather do it on our terms, besides I don’t trust anyone but me to carry them yet.” The eldest of the three washes up his arms and dunks his head under water before emerging and rubbing his face. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it for now. We’ll tell him eventually.” 

“Do you think he’ll be mad at us for it?” Wendy’s mouth upturns into a sad frown and she pauses her bathing to look back up at Ludwig. 

“Well, if he gets mad at us we’ll leave. If he can’t look after all of us then he won’t look after none of us. We can take care of ourselves.” Ludwig frowns with determination and finishes his bathing before stepping out of the water and shaking off what he could. Wendy and Roy follow shortly after him and Ludwig towels them down roughly, making time to gently tickle them in the sides to lift his little siblings’ spirits. 

Ludwig had spent all of his life trying to make his siblings’ lives easier. Though they weren’t bound by blood but by love, something stronger than genetics ever had. All the Koopalings in the orphanage treat one another like they were one giant family of siblings, taking care of one another as such and learning to love the same way.

But losing everybody in that fire had torn Ludwig apart. The haunting screams that wouldn’t leave his head, the sight of fire collapsing the ceilings and engulfing the rooms he come to love and found home in. He tried… Ludwig tried so hard but– It wasn’t… None of it was enough! He couldn’t save them!...–They perished and Ludwig was here, bathing in a fancy hotspring in a castle ruled by a king! He didn’t deserve this!–

“Luddy?” Wendy’s sweet voice snaps Ludwig out of the cold stare he was giving the white tiles, navy eyes finding their way down to Wendy who was holding his leg worriedly. “It’s okay. Come on, I’m sure our room is ready now, yes?” Though Wendy was only four she surprised Ludwig with her intelligence to read a room and understand other’s feelings. She knew. She always knew.

“Yes, right. Come on.” Ludwig adjusts their shells back onto his siblings’ backs and leads them towards the door while he hoists up the cardboard box and shoulders open the door, meeting the sight of Zakaan who jumps out of his skin as they emerge soundlessly. “We’re ready to go.”

“Right, of course! Follow me.” Zakaan marches ahead, kind enough to consider that flying would make him faster than him and harder to keep up with. The three now-spotless Koopalings trail after the Paratroopa, admiring their surroundings so elegantly decorated with gold and different shades of crimson red.

Ludwig couldn’t help but feel like he didn’t deserve any of this. He strokes the soggy cardboard box subconsciously for comfort while the Paratroopa leads the way to an elevator and gestures for them to step inside. Roy hops in eagerly followed by the others, looking at the long list of elevator buttons and reaches up to touch them curiously.

“Ah!” Zakaan’s bark startles Roy who flinches back, clutching his paw. “Don’t touch. You don’t know what those buttons do.” 

The purple Koopaling nods timidly and shuffles back next to his sister and older brother who narrows his navy eyes at the Paratroopa for a moment, before relaxing his expression as the elevator takes them up many flights until they get to the very top. Wendy and Roy clutch one another anxiously as they rise above the floors, feeling their stomachs flip flop around before they inevitably stop with a bump and a ‘DING!’.

The double doors slide open and they’re met with the sight of a long corridor that leads to giant double doors at the very end. The plush red carpet was being vacuumed by a Koopa with earphones in, unknowing of their presence as they wander forward after Zakaan.

Wendy toddles a little faster and grabs hold of Ludwig’s wrist, careful not to tug while her big brother was carrying the box in his steady hands. Ludwig silently acknowledges his sister with a chirp while admiring the vintage art hung up on the walls all around them. Family portraits, by the looks of it. Though Ludwig didn’t look too hard when Zakaan stops in front of a door that was left ajar and gestures for them to go inside.

Ludwig stares at Zakaan for a moment or two before using his head to gesture to Wendy and Roy to go ahead. The two toddlers do as they were silently told, pushing open the door and let out the loudest gasp Ludwig had ever heard from them.

“WOWIE!” Wendy squeaks at the sight before them.

Wowie indeed.

Ludwig admires the attention to detail in their new room in front of him. The walls were painted a wispy blue, white silhouetted fish of all different sizes scattered along the walls. The wooden panel accent wall was simply painted a pure white which balanced nicely with the taupe flooring. There were three single canopy beds placed in the centre of each wall around the room, a little too far for Ludwig’s liking but he’ll fix that later.

Wendy immediately went running towards the toy pile. Ludwig had never seen so many toys in all his life in the Orphanage. Blooper plushies stacked on top of one another and Wendy couldn’t help but run straight for the pink one, hugging it to her plastron with an excited squeak. 

Ludwig walks into the room and admires the fairy lights tangled around the walls that give the room a cosy, warm feeling in his chest. He steps on a fluffy rounded carpet in the middle of the room and places down the box carefully, looking around.

Roy had gone straight to the action figures, already clutching two in his small paws and bashing them together with exaggerated mouth noises. Wendy had called dibs on the only pink bed in the room and clambered up, struggling for a moment before finding her balance and hoisting herself up and sitting down, bouncing a little on the bouncy mattress with the pink Blooper still in her grasp. “Luddy! This room is amazing! It’s so big!”

“It’s gigantic.” Ludwig responds calmly and finally relaxes his shoulders for the first time since they had left the orphanage. Looking around Ludwig couldn’t help feel the guilt that send sharp pains in his chest, enough for him to clutch it slightly as he stops in his tracks to the sight of the old Magikoopa walking through the open door.

“King Bowser would like that you all settle down and get some sleep. Do you like your room? Yes?”

“We love it!” Wendy throws her Blooper plushy into the air for emphasis and catches it once again, hugging it close and standing up on top of the mattress. “It’s the biggest room I ever seen!”

“That is pleasing to hear.” Kamek responds gently to the little one’s excitement and watches Roy playing in the corner for a moment before his round glasses find Ludwig. This child was confusing to the old mage. He was only eight years old and standing there, Kamek could swear he looked like a teenager with the way he held himself up, almost like he had no choice. “What about you, sir Ludwig? Do you like the room?”

Ludwig furrows his brows at the use of such an important title to his name, but brushes it off with a gentle shrug. “Yeah, it’s great. Can I request something, though?”

“But of course.”

“Can we have more pillows and throws? We, uh… We’re more familiar with sleeping in, uh… Nests rather than beds.” Ludwig rubs the side of his left arm sheepish, almost like it was too much to ask but the mage simply smiles.

“Ah, just like the Master.” Kamek raises his wand and swirls it around for a few seconds before a plethora of pillows and comfy throws fall from the ceiling and in a pile just in front of Ludwig. 

“Thanks.” Ludwig breaks his gaze from the advisor and walks to the pile to collect a few pillows while Wendy toddles over to do the same.

“Please heed my advice and get some sleep once you’ve finished making yourselves at home. It’s still quite early and I’m sure you’re exhausted. Farewell!” Kamek disappears in a cloud of pink smoke and leaves the three Koopalings alone. 

Ludwig immediately gets to work and starts to shift his bed along the wooden floor, tilting it slightly and bringing it against the side of Roy’s then moving over to Wendy’s bed and moving it to the other side to create one giant bed. 

Wendy helps Ludwig throw over some of the provided blankets along the mattress and throws the pillows around the edges to create a makeshift nest. Roy joins in after his little game with the action figures, helping manouver the blankets and pillows until they were all satisfied with their nest and climb in together to claim their spots. 

Ludwig hauls the now-dry cardboard box into the nest and timidly sets it between the three of them, hesitantly pulling open the cardboard flaps and peeking inside to see five eggs nestled together in a pile of blankets.

“Hi guys.” Ludwig mumbles quietly and reaches down to gently pet the shell of the biggest eggs. He checks over their condition and thankfully none of them were cracked or damaged in the fire or on their way here. 

“Hello my little siblings.” Wendy pokes her head over the box and smiles down at them all. “We’re all safe now inside a giant King’s castle and we have such a huge bedroom! You’re all going to love it once you hatch and then we can have so many sleepovers.” Wendy babbles on while Ludwig watches with a smallest smile on his face, the first one he’s cracked since before the blaze that claimed so many of his adopted siblings’ lives.

The smile instantly drops and Ludwig finds himself thinking of the accident once again. The shrill screams and roar of fire overwhelm him whenever he was left alone with his thoughts. The sight of his siblings being crushed under burning pillars, sobbing for their lives and crying out Ludwig’s name while he tried so, so hard to dig them out of the ash. Ludwig wasn’t the eldest in the Orphanage but he acted like it, taking everyone under his wing like a big brother would and he felt like his childhood had flashed before his eyes.

Sonny’s haunting words refused to leave him be when he shut his eyes and his mind went quiet. Her screams to leave the dying children underneath the rubble and to save himself. He couldn’t do it. Ludwig refused to leave them behind be damned! It wasn’t until Sonny had to yank him away herself that he sobbed and screamed to be let go, to perish with those he had lost in the fire. He couldn’t go on without them.

“Luddy.” Wendy’s sweet voice breaks Ludwig’s daydream again instantly, his widened eyes still stuck for a moment until he turns down to look at her at his side. “It wasn’t your fault.”

The tears pricked at his eyes now. She always knew. It was starting to annoy him how well she read him. He didn’t want to burden her with these thoughts, she was four years old for Grambi’s sake!

“It’s fine, I’m alright.” Ludwig briefly rubs over his damp eyes and sets the cardboard box down on the ground besides the bed, climbing back towards his brother and sister. Roy was already conked out, snuggled up in the dry, warm blankets now that they were safe and no longer running. “Come on, snuggle up.” 

Wendy buries herself in the blankets next to Roy and adjusts herself around him, snuggling under with him and waiting for Ludwig while he tries his hardest to snuggle next to her. The eldest of the three makes do. It wasn’t like their nest they had built back in the orphanage that fit them all together in a sleep pile, it felt so empty without the still bodies of everybody surrounding him. 

“Sleep.” Ludwig murmurs as he drapes an arm over his surviving siblings that snuggle instinctively into him, eyes shutting while the room goes quiet.

The youngest ones fall asleep much faster than him. Ludwig couldn’t help but lay awake for at least an hour staring at the ceiling while he daydreamed. They should all be here sharing the nest, safe and warm from the fire that took their home. Now there was just eight of them, and five of them hadn’t even hatched yet. 

Ludwig shakes his head and buries his face against his little sisters’, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath before succumbing to sleep, the exhaustion too much to keep him awake any longer. 

—

Bowser’s eyes raise up from the paper he was writing on to the clock ticking on the wall. It had just gone past eight o’clock and the sun was starting to beam through the long, narrow windows. The pile of paperwork had gone down significantly since he started early this morning and his eyes were growing tired by the minute.

Bowser had almost forgotten that there were three sleeping Koopalings in the castle until Kamek suddenly appears in front of him with a ‘POP’, scaring the monarch enough that he drops his pen with a growl.

“I keep telling you to knock.” Bowser bites with a nasty curl of his lip, leaning over the side of his chair to reach the pen rolling on the floorboards.

“Apologies, your Surliness but… I still have questions about the children.” The old advisor crinkles his beak to lift the glasses falling haphazardly down his snout.

“Not this again…” Bowser mumbles under his breath, retrieving the pen between his pinched claws and sitting back up again. “I already told you, they’re staying.”

“And I don’t doubt you on that, but… What do you plan on doing with them?” 

Bowser glares over at Kamek like he had just asked something entirely stupid. Which he did. “What the hell does that mean?”

“Well, I-I mean… Can you really balance parenthood on top of all your duties to the throne? Without a mate, might I add?” Kamek was brave. If this was coming from anybody other than his advisor, Bowser would have set them alight by now for questioning his decision to do anything.

“I already told them,” Bowser starts, looking back down at his paper and continuing to write, “That I cannot provide them with the, I suppose… Attention, a father would give them. That they can simply exist under my supervision within the castle.” Bowser crinkles his nose similar to Kamek, raising the lopsided glasses from his snout. 

“You couldn’t simply give them to the Kingdom’s Orphanage to raise?” Kamek watches Bowser write while he sits there on his levitating broom.

“I was informed a few weeks ago that the Orphanage was running out of space, which makes it likely the children will have to be separated in order to fit. I’m cruel, but I’m not that cruel.” Bowser scoffs as he flips through the papers in front of him with a heavy sigh and leans back in his chair, refusing to meet his advisor’s eyes. “I haven’t got a plan. It was an impulsive decision to take them in because I didn’t have the heart to turn them away.” 

Kamek licks his beak anxiously as he listens. Kamek had known this broody King since he was a hatchling and raised him since he was a little tot. Bowser was cold and he was cruel to those around him, he started wars and he kidnapped certain Princesses… But when it came to the likes of children, he went as soft as one could possibly go. Kamek had expected Bowser to be mated, hell, married at his age with his own biological heirs running around. But… That time never seems to come the longer the days go by. It worries him, not as an advisor but… As his father.

“You are soft.” Kamek responds simply.

“I am not soft.” Bowser growls at the advisor who simply shakes his head.

“I never said it was a bad thing, either.” He floats closer to observe his desk of scattered papers. “Then perhaps let them be part of the Kingdom. Give them something to do, let them be part of this somehow.”

Bowser flicks the pen between his claws in thought, vermillion eyes staring hard at his desk while he thinks. It takes a minute or two before he snaps out of it with a funny expression on his face, almost like hope. “What if they became my minions?”

Kamek splutters slightly. “Minions? As in, joining you when you decide to kidnap a Princess or fight one of them Mario Brothers?”

“Yes, exactly!” Bowser sounded like a giddy child, the cogs in his brain churning the longer he talks. “They’ll be trained, told what to do. They’re all still young so they should pick up pretty quickly. That stupid red plumber won’t know what hit him when I show up with three savage Koopalings!”

Kamek blinks wordlessly while Bowser continues to babble on about training these three Koopalings to become his minions, part of an army. Three orphans who had just come from their home set on fire, traumatized and probably wanting nothing more than to just relax!

Kamek knew he was going to be set on fire if he decided to go against his words, instead giving a shaky smile. “That…That sounds like a brilliant idea, Sire! But… But three Koopalings doesn’t sound like a very big advantage, am I wrong?”

“Then I’ll simply wait to see if anymore orphans decide to find their way to my front door.” Bowser snickers while he finishes up writing and stretches his clawed talons, bones clicking gruesomly enough that Kamek has to flinch. “Come on, it’s a brilliant idea. I can’t be there father but I can certainly be their boss! It gives them something to do, no?”

“You are… Absolutely right, Sire. Just brilliant!” Kamek claps and Bowser couldn’t help but gloat at the praise, a beaming smirk on his face as he places his hands behind his head, leaning back in his chair. ,

“Alright, scram. Now I gotta make a plan on how I go about doing this.” Bowser dismisses Kamek with a wave of his hand and the advisor hesitates for a moment before disappearing and reappearing in his tower with a grunt. The old advisor sets his broom on he ground and walks up winding stairs attached to the walls of his room until he gets to a trap door, throwing it open to the sound of loud snoring nearby. 

“Get up, you old witch!” Kamek squawks as he approaches the low bed and prods at the blankets. The sight of another elderly Magikoopa startled from the blankets grumbles, curly silver hair frazzled all over the place. “I’ve been up since midnight dealing with a fresh new problem our dear old son decided to burden himself with. Get up, Kammy!”

The Magikoopa throws off the blankets in a huff and squints her eyes over to Kamek who was already walking back towards the trapdoor leading him to her room. “What could possibly warrant you to wake me up so aggressively? I’ll wake myself up, thank you very much!” She snarls sleepily, rubbing at her squinting eyes before retrieving her brown glasses from the side table.

“Bowser has decided to take three orphaned Koopalings under his wing!” Kamek begins pacing back and forth the room, “I was expecting him to shelter them temporarily, but to actually adopt them on top of his duty to the throne? Mateless at that? It’s absurd! He’s gone mad!”

Kammy rubs at her eyes under her glasses while she listens to her brother’s ranting while he continues to pace around the room. “I’m sorry?”

“Not only that, but he’s decided to turn them into his minions! Orphans! It will take years to train them and the red plumber may already kick the bucket from his own reckless stupidity before then!”

Kammy listens to his spouting gibberish while she tries to wake herself up, sliding off the side of her bed and grabbing her broom. “Let’s not jump to conclusions, dear brother. You never know, they may prove useful to his Highness if this is what he’s decided to do.” 

“Don’t patronise me!” Kamek squawks with a wave of his hand in her face. “I don’t think he understands the responsibility brought on his shoulders. They may be future minions in his eyes but they’re children before anything. They need to be taught! And that responsibility will be thrown on who’s shoulders?! Ours!” 

Kammy whacks Kamek on the head with her broom and he shrieks in surprise, rubbing atop his hat where he was hit. He was about to open his beak to say something when Kammy threatens to hit him again. “Stop your yapping, you old fart! I’ve only just woken up!” She snaps at him, shaking her head. “But, I get what you’re saying. He’s impulsive before he decides to actually sit down and think something true. Stars know how he’s gotten this far in his reign, but I can’t say I’m not proud of him for taking them under his wing. His Highness has been mateless all his life and the possibility of an heir is becoming less and less.” 

Kamek watches as his sister takes his place in pacing around the room. “Well, if this is what he’s decided to do then we have no choice but to follow. It’s only three Koopalings at the end of the day, it’s one each for us to deal with which shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Looking after Bowser felt like we were looking after ten of him.” Kamek mumbles under his breath while he continues to rub at his sore head.

“No Koopa child will ever come close to being as difficult as he was as a baby.” Kammy’s witchy laugh fills the air, waving her wand around. “Alright, I suppose I should go and talk to his Highness before making myself aquaintanced with the children?” 

“I think they’re still sleeping right now, anyway. Didn’t finish getting their room ready until past five o’clock.” Kamek follows Kammy down the winding stairs to his own room below. “Be warned, Bowser has also been up since past three o’clock so he’s a little cranky, and hasn’t had any breakfast.”

“Well, that simply won’t do.” Kammy tuts softly and waves the wand around herself. “I can only imagine the look on your silly face waking him up at such an atrocious time.” She lets out a witchy cackle at the mere thought in her head, before disappearing as Kamek was about to bark back an insult.

Chapter 2

A small cottage sits on the outskirts of the Mushroom Kingdom, just outside a winding lake that twirls through the tall grass fields and forks off into the far distance.

The sun in all its beaming glory peaks just above the horizon, beams of light filtering between waving tree leaves in the young summer breeze.

There was a gentle pitter pattering along the stone path that winds its way towards the dark arched wooden door. A dog, by the looks of it, bounds its way up cobbled steps and noses at the door for a moment before jumping straight through it. Their translucent body skips along the hallway and down the left to another extended corridor that takes them to a closed bedroom.

Wagging its tail with delight, the dog leaps through the door and makes it to the other side where gentle snoring could be heard. The dog pads its way over, tongue lolling out of their mouth with something lodged between its teeth. 

A pitiful whine escapes, muffled from the object they insist on holding in their mouth, while a left paw gently scratches the wooden bedframe to gain some attention from the sleeping figure laying sprawled on top of the duvet.

“Not now…” A sleep-heavy voice rumbles into the pillow and shifts about, unruly brown hair messy over the pillowcase. 

The pup furrows its expression at the dismissal, jumping up onto the bed and trotting their way over to sit down in the space between the voice’s arms and legs. The dog observes a man shuffling slightly as the bed dipped under the weight, blinking blue eyes heavy with sleep up at the dog. 

“Whatchuwant? What time is it?” The man rubs at his eyes and tilts his head back to the window just above his bedframe, observing a few small streaks of morning light beginning to pour its way through the cracked curtains. “Can’t be no more than six, surely.” He groans and goes back to rubbing at his eyes, “Why have you got me up so early, Polterpup?”

Polterpup muffles a bark and drops what was in their mouth previously, their translucent snout nosing it closer to the man who glances down and blinks his eyes open wider. He observes a long, yellow fruit that almost looks like an aubergine, but wasn’t. He props himself up on his elbow and leans closer, before widening his eyes. “Are my summer squash ready to pick?”

Polterpup barks with a happy wag of his tail, whipping back and forth as he jumps from the bed eagerly. The still-sleepy man picks up the yellow zucchini and throws himself out of bed, slipping on a pair of green slippers and rushing out with the dog who phases through the door once more. 

He was conscious of another sleeping body just snoring beyond the door just opposite his, tiptoeing his way down the narrow corridor and towards the front door that he pulls open just as quietly, rushing as fast as he can down the cobbled path after the bounding dog. He’s led towards a fenced garden surrounded by garden beds filled with blooming pink roses and dahlias, gently pushing his way through the overgrown shrubs and bushes to the gate and clipping it open. A hanging sign on the arch just above the gate read ‘LUIGI’S GARDEN’.

“Shh! Polterpup! Mario’s still sleeping, be quiet!” He tries his hardest to silence the yapping Pup ahead but he seems to be just as excited as him. Polterpup jumps up and down in front of a large patch of soil where the sight of plump summer squash greets their vision.

“Oh my gosh, they’re huge!” 

Growing from long, hanging stems were green zucchini and yellow crookneck squash, plump and weighing down the stems that held them up. Luigi wasted no time in rushing over and kneeling down onto the damp soil, admiring the giant squash before him. Polterpup excitedly sits by his side, tail thrashing back and forth while he pants. “It’s amazing how fast things grow in this world.” Luigi comments softly as he reaches a hand out and plucks at one of the zephyr squash, feeling over the rigid yellow skin and smiling. “Looks like we have something to make for lunch later.”

Polterpup barks in agreement, nosing at the rest of the squash with interest but Luigi shakes his head gently. “I’ll pick the rest once I’ve actually gotten dressed and have my basket with me.” He chuckles quietly and the dog simply obeys, bounding around in circles for a moment and leaving the plants under his feet undisturbed.

That was one major perk of your canine companion being a ghost. Polterpup decided when he wanted and didn’t want to be a solid entity that could cuddle Luigi in bed while also being able to jump through walls. Luigi was thankful that Polterpup decided to protect his garden he’d spent the last few years growing into the beautiful landscape that it was today. 

“Hi, Luigi!”

A high-pitched voice catches the man’s attention who turns around and stands up on his feet, squash in hand as he peers over the overgrown brush along the garden fence. “Oh, good morning, Toadella.”

“Have your squash finally grown?” The little purple toad toddles her way along the gravel path just outside the cottage towards the mailbox, slinging her satchel to her stomach while she keeps her eyes over at Luigi.

“Yes! Finally! Polterpup woke me up just a few minutes ago to show me.” Luigi gestures to the spectre still at his feet, who bounds through the bushes towards Toadella sticking a few letters into the box. 

“Hi, puppy!” Toadella gets off her tippytoes and pets along the dog’s back, granting her a happy wag of his tail back. “Sorry, Weeg, most of the mail is for Mario. But there’s a letter in there for you, it looks like the Princess’ handwriting.”

Luigi walks over and lays his forearms over the garden fence, peering over to Toadella who was still making a fuss of the pup at her feet. “Peach?”

“Who else?” Toadella jokes with a little giggle, shutting the mailbox and giving Polterpup a few more scratches behind his floppy ears. “Must be important.”

“I’ll read it over breakfast. Thanks, Toadella.” Luigi smiles over to the little toad who beams back at him with a wave, before she skips off down the gravel path to deliver more mail cluttering in her satchel strung around her shoulders.

Once she was out of sight, disappearing into the thick forest, Luigi hops over the white fence and walks towards the mailbox, fishing out a clump of letters and looking through them nosily. Yep, all for Mario except the one. It was definitely Peach’s handwriting the harder he looked. Wonder what she wanted?

Polterpup had already started hopping down the stone path back to the front door. Following behind, Luigi continues flicking through the mail in his hands before shouldering open the door and placing them on the kitchen counter 

The skylight overhead fills the room with the wispy blue glow of the morning sky, highlighting the wooden countertops where Luigi had chucked the letters momentarily. 

“Your breakfast first, of course.” Luigi ducks down into the fridge under the countertop, pulling out a slab of raw meat and tossing it a cutting board. Polterpup sits patiently at his side, nosing at the pajama pants that were caked in soil at the knees but Luigi didn’t mind. 

Luigi cuts up the meat into square chunks into a silver dish and placing it down onto a mat situated at the side of the countertop. Polterpup eagerly starts to eat with a wag of his tail while Luigi washes his hands thoroughly and cleans the countertop with a rag.

Once the countertop was clean to his liking, Luigi reaches to the open shelves above his head and grabs a cup, swilling it in the water and placing it on the counter. He reaches for a sachet of green tea and dips it into the cup now full of boiling water.

“G’mornin’.” A groggy voice disrupts Luigi, who turns around to see Mario dragging himself around the corner of the wall, rubbing his eyes. “I heard Polterpup barking earlier.”

“Good morning. Ah, yeah, sorry. My zucchini and squash have sprouted and he was just as excited as me.” Luigi smiles as he glances down to Polterpup who had finished eating, now sitting in a beam of sunlight coming through the window above the farmhouse sink.

“That’s great! Knowing you, you’ll be using them for lunch?” Mario smirks at Luigi’s confident nod, sliding to sit on the round table seated against the wall behind Luigi. The younger brother walks over with his cup of green tea and black coffee in his other, sliding to sit opposite Mario and sliding over the cup. 

Luigi grabs for the letters sitting under his armpit and slides the handful of letters to Mario while he glances at his. “Anything important?” Luigi asks, watching as Mario was opening a few at a time and skimming through.

“Just some odd jobs, ‘s all.” Mario responds against the lip of his cup as he sips. “What about you?” He gestures his head to the white letter sitting unopened next to his green tea.

“Toadella says its from the Princess. The handwriting confirms.” Luigi muffles through a sip from his own cup and watches Mario’s expression perk up at the mention of Peach.

“Open it! Must be important!” Mario echos Toadella’s words, “Now that you’re the Mushroom Kingdom’s Ambassador ‘nd all.” He smirks, eyes encouraging Luigi who puts down his cup and thumbs open the letter, bringing out the pink folded paper and admiring the beautifully cursive black writing. It read simply:

Ambassador Luigi,

                            I hope this letter finds you well. I would like to request a meeting over tea, just the two of us, at twelve o'clock the day you recieve this letter. There is an important matter I would like to discuss with you. 

Cordially,

              Peach Toadstool

Luigi spent a minute simply staring at the letter until Mario gently pokes his shin under the table with his foot, grabbing his attention back. “So? What’s it say?”

“She wants to meet with me at noon to discuss something. Sounds quite important. She addressed it to me as ‘Ambassador Luigi’ instead of just… Luigi, like she usually does.” His eyebrow raise in slight concern, leg bobbing up and down nervously the more he thought about it.

“Hey.” Mario notices his brother’s jiggling leg, reaching a hand over to grasp his wrist. “It’ll be fine. It’s probably just something she wants you to do now that you’re the Ambassador, you gotta branch out to different Kingdoms and associate yourself with peach. Think about the cool adventure she might send you on!” Mario’s optimism couldn’t help but rub off on Luigi who smiles at his older twin, taking a deep breath and tucking the paper back into the envelope. 

“She’s been trying to sort a peace agreement between here and the Darklands for the last few weeks.” Luigi sighs out, leaning back against the chair while Polterpup lays his head in his lap, noticing the man’s silent distress. “It might have something to do with that.”

“I doubt she’d throw you in the deep end and chuck you in the Darklands.” Mario snorts in the mere thought, chugging down his now-lukewarm coffee. 

“She’s do anything for this kingdom, that includes chucking me in the Darklands as a sign of peace to try and bridge us together.” Luigi raised his eyebrows at Mario, who got up to wash out his cup. “It could be anything, really. I just hope it isn’t that.”

“I very much doubt it.” Mario puts away his clean cup and takes Luigi’s now-empty green tea to also wash it quickly. Luigi hums appreciatively and gets up, stretching his stiff arms above his head. “Any plans today?”

“Not much. Gonna try and harvest whatever’s sprouted in the garden and see if I can finish landscaping that pond.” Luigi had spent the last few weeks landscaping a pond in an empty patch of grass just inside his garden, simply because he wanted to. 

“Good idea. I’m going to finish painting the outside of the cottage. I lef it looking kinda sloppy yesterday.” Mario brushes off his hands and makes a retreat to his room while Luigi does the same. The younger twin rummages into his closet and pulls out an outfit for the day, slipping on a loose, long-sleeved button-up shirt with a simple green plaid pattern. Luigi chucks some brown corduroy overalls on his legs and slides them up, wide legged and baggy that fit him nicely. Luigi clips the straps to the fasteners, smoothing down the overalls while he sits on the end of the bed, slipping on a pair of flat, round toed boots and fastening them to his ankle. 

Polterpup bounds through the door and sticks his ghostly head into the closet, retrieving a sunhat in his maw and padding over to Luigi who takes it with a smile. “Thanks.” He fastens it on top of unruly curls, adjusting the way his hair sits underneath it.

Polterpup follows Luigi out the door to the front, carrying a wicker basket by the handle in his teeth. The pup goes on ahead to the garden while Luigi spins around to look up at Mario who was on a ladder perched against the cottage, painting what he had left the day before. 

Luigi couldn’t help but admire their small home. The steeply pitched roof had a dark wooden trim and a red brick chimney attached to the left, and a patterned stonework exterior that Mario was painting just above. The older twin had to haphazardly avoid the flower boxes brimming with pink blossoms just underneath the windows. 

“Looking great!” Luigi calls up and he could see Mario smiling as his answer back, turning on his heel to follow Polterpup already in the garden looking impatient. 

Luigi kneels down on the soil and takes the basket from Polterpup, placing it on the ground and fixing on a pair of black gloves. “Alright, see what you can find and bring ‘em back here to put in the basket. Please be careful with your teeth.” Luigi sternly raises his brows and Polterpup barks in response, phasing through the overgrowth ahead where Luigi couldn’t reach as the pup searches for hidden produce. 

Luigi gets busy gathering the rest of the squash into the basket and rummages around the giant green leaves, finding the odd radish, peas and a handful of spinach hiding out of his line of sight. 

By the time Polterpup had gone back and forth a handful of times, the basket was full of ripe vegetables with not so much as a bitemark from the pup. Luigi praises the canine with a series of pets and face-squishes, who whines happily at the attention and praise.

“Who’s the bestest boy? You are! You are!” Luigi ruffles Polterpup’s face roughly in his soil-covered gloves. The dog pays no mind and hangs his tongue out happily as he’s handled, before taking the basket back in his teeth and bounding to the pond just to their left. 

It looked complete at a quick glance, but there were a few things missing that only Luigi noticed like the odd stone or two needing to fill an empty space around the ring of water. Apart from that, he was happy with the progress made so far and follows Polterpup who puts the basket down on the edge, waiting for Luigi to catch up.

Luigi makes his way over to an outside tap that was stood next to the pond, attached to a pillar of wood that stood just up to his abdomen. Polterpup nudges the tap on until cold water sprays from the spout, and Luigi crouches down to begin washing off the soil from the produce they had collected.

While he did this, Polterpup snuck a few laps at the water when Luigi wasn’t paying attention, innocently licking his lips when his owner would turn to look with a suspicious raise of his eyebrow. 

“You’re not as sneaky as you think.” Luigi smirks to himself, shutting off the tap and ruffling Polterpup’s head. “Come on, if I want dinner to be ready on time I should start preparing now. You gonna be my lil’ helper again?” Luigi glances down at Polterpup at his side who barks erratically, bounding ahead of him to the door and shoving it open. 

“I wish somebody loved me the way Polterpup loves helping you cook.” Mario shouts from the ladder he was painting on, Luigi looking up and tilting his sunhat a little to meet his brother’s eyes.

“Someone already does.” Luigi shouts back with a knowing smirk hiding just under his mustache, watching as Mario splutters in disbelief at the very obvious implication. Luigi cackles, making his way back into the cottage and slipping off his gloves, placing the basket on the table and turning to face Polterpup, leaning a hand on the counter with a leg crossed over the other. “Hmm… I’m thinking we make some squash and spinach filo pie?”

Polterpup’s tail thumps happily on the ground at the idea, padding over to stand up on his hind legs and glance on the counter, more than ready to start helping. “Sounds like a yes to me.” Luigi rolls his sleeves at the cuff, washing his hands thoroughly under the water while Polterpup pretends to do the same, simply pawing at the water. 

Luigi was one you could consider a master at cooking and all things baking. He followed his mother that way, not like his father. He wasn’t into the rough and tough way of being brought up to like cars and plumbing like his trade. Though, Luigi did like cars and often found himself indulging into the hobby of mechanism when he had the time with carts. He just didn’t like the real world cars his father always boasted about.

Their mother was more than happy to teach him the ways around food and the love it took in the kitchen to make something great for the ones you loved. He excelled in all the skills of baking, roasting, grilling, frying, poaching… You name it, he can do it.

Luigi silently thanked his lucky stars that at least one of them could cook a decent meal between the others. That’s not to say that Mario couldn’t cook. He could whip up a mean spaghetti carbonara or parmigiana. But Mario didn’t seem comfortable cooking dishes outside of their family recipes, which is where he often failed to make something that wasn’t italian. 

So Luigi was the dedicated cook in the cottage while he was here, a silent way to keep his mother close and make her proud. 

Luigi was cooking on autopilot when he finally snapped out of his daydream and found himself standing in front of the oven with a very deliciously smelling pie in here. Polterpup was also looking eagerly into the glass and looks away when Luigi wanders into the living room and sit on the plush couch, the spectre joining just next to him.

“Sit.” Luigi commands with a gentle voice, and Polterpup tilts his head for a second before sitting down at the command. The italian smiles at his dog’s obedience before hitting him with the finger guns and pretending to fire. 

Polterpup lets out a dramatic whine and flops on his side on the couch, eyes shut and tongue lolling out as he plays dead. Luigi’s little snicker turns into a full belly laugh in the middle of leaning over to lay his head on top of the spectre, ruffling at his belly with a smile. “Can’t teach an old dog new tricks, they say.”

Polterpup growls at the implications of being called old, and Luigi laughs just a little more before booping his cold nose. “I’m kidding. I doubt you’re that old. Though, I don’t suppose you age now that you’re a ghost, right?”

Polterpup simply tilts his head at the question, not quite understanding those string of words put together and shakes himself off. Luigi takes that as a no, sitting up on the couch and grabbing the remote to flick on the television.

He skims through the channels, though there wasn’t much interesting enough to grab his attention. Luigi continues skimming through the channels and finds something broadcasting from the Darklands. His eyebrows furrow and he skips back a few until he comes across it and sets the remote on his stomach through Polterpup’s head resting on his abdomen.

‘King gone MAD! Bowser O’Koopa, King of the Darklands becomes adopted father of EIGHT orphaned Koopalings just a few weeks ago leaving the Kingdom to CRUMBLE! Abandoning the throne in the hands of two Magikoopa advisors who are on their wits end! Is this the falling of an empire before our very eyes?! STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT!’

The grating news-anchor voice grates through Luigi as he listens with a wince, but his intrigue grew the longer he listened. Bowser? Father of EIGHT? Surely not. Luigi had been wondering to himself the last few weeks why Bowser seemed to be completely MIA. He even missed the Kart tournament last week, which he never does. Bowser wouldn’t miss one of those for the world.

It seemed to be doing wonders for Mario and Peach, though. The two found themselves relaxing a little more than they usually did. Peach often bringing herself out in her beautiful sundresses to unwind now that the threat of Bowser seemed to be… Over? Temporarily or permanently, at least he was gone. For now.

As if right on cue, Mario walks through the door with his paint-covered hands and boots. Luigi snaps a loud ‘AH!’ before Mario could trudge any further into the house and points at his boots with a furrow his eyebrows. The older twin shoots him a sheepish smile before backing off the welcome mat and toeing them off his feet, now being let into the comfort of their cottage. 

“Something smells nice.” Mario comments with a loud sniff, glancing through the glass of the oven. “Oooh, a pie! Can’t wait.” Mario smiles over at Luigi who had his eyes glued on the television.

“Get a load of this.” Luigi gestures with his head to the screen and Mario straightens up, wandering over to sit by his side while there was a Koopa news-reporter stood there blabbing something about Bowser and the mention of him taking eight Koopalings under his wing. Mario almost chokes on his own spit, blue eyes wide. 

“I’m sorry?! Adopted eight kids a few weeks ago?!” Mario’s voice goes high in disbelief, glancing back at Luigi who looked as nonchalant as ever. “Is he mad?!!”

“I dunno, but the Darklands are losing their heads over it. Apparently he’s been MIA from the throne and not doing his ‘kingly’ duties like he usually does. Left it all to Kamek and Kammy, er, I think are their names, the Magikoopa advisors?” Luigi looks at Mario expectantly who confirms their names with a nod. “Yeah, kinda crazy. No wonder he hasn’t been bothering you two the last few weeks. He’s got his arms full by the looks of it.”

“But why? Why would he do that? He’s a monster! A cruel, cold hearted monster! I can’t imagine the horrors those poor kids are going through with him as a… A… A father!” Mario’s shrill shriek was enough to make Polterpup paw at his ears with a whine at the sensitive sound. Even Luigi winces. “He’s gone mad! Utterly mad! Can’t say I’m not glad now that his attention is elsewhere, it’s going to save Peach a lot of trouble now that he’s too busy to kidnap her!”

Luigi catches Mario’s scheming glint in his eyes and a little grin tugs at his lips. Now that they knew Bowser was too busy to interfere with their lives, Mario was definitely going to make the most of the time he’ll be spending with Peach without the Koopa King swooping in to steal her away.

“Yeah, yeah. Now you two can go on cute dates without the fear of him coming in and ruining everything, yeah?” Luigi playfully prods at Mario’s side and the older twin squeaks in surprise, whipping his head to Luigi and grabbing a pillow to lightly smack him with it.

“Yeah? What about you and Daisy, huh? When are you gonna make a move on her?” Mario quips back with a wiggle of his brow. Luigi grimaces at the mention of making a move on Daisy, of all people.

No one could deny they were close. The Sarasaland Princess was his best friend, everybody knew that. But everyone also seemed to take it the wrong way. Luigi had never disclosed to anyone about his preference for men, not even to Mario. And Daisy never disclosed her preference for women either. They confided in each other when they felt like no one was listening, and from there the two became almost inseparable. 

Luigi simply felt like it wasn’t important enough to bring up to anyone, ever, but the longer he spent time with Daisy the more he was egged on about asking her to be his girlfriend. Luigi almost debated asking Daisy for her hand in lavender marriage just to get everybody to shut up. They both laughed until their faces went red at the mere idea of eloping before Mario and Peach could.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Luigi uses his foot to push Mario’s face away who falls onto the carpet with a loud ‘OOF!’ while Luigi snickers with a grin. “I’m sure Peach is just as excited to spend more time with you.” 

Mario’s face goes red where he sits on the carpet now, a hopeful look in his eye while Luigi stands up to make his way to the oven, grabbing his mitts and sliding the scalding hot tray onto the counter.

“That smells divine!” Mario almost floats over at the delicious scent that fills the cottage. He looks around the taller brother who sets the pie next to the open window. “I’m glad Mama taught one of us to cook as good as her.”

“You’re a good cook.” Luigi comments, slipping the mitts from his hands and hanging them back over the oven’s handle. “You just don’t experiment enough outside of the family recipes.” 

“I’m more comfortable with what I know.” Mario says with a little shrug of his shoulders, rubbing his mustache in thought. Luigi lets the pie sit for around twenty minutes to cool before bringing it back to the counter and portion it out for the pair of them. Sadly, Luigi had run out of time in the morning to sit down and enjoy it with his brother. It was around 11:37am and Luigi wanted to get there just before so he knew he wasn’t late.

Luigi portions the rest into little glass containers to keep fresh and sets them on the counter, while Mario sits down to enjoy his. “I’m not sure what time I’ll be back, might wander around the market with Polterpup afterwards, so I’ll see you tonight?” Luigi pats down his corduroy overalls, looking casual but presentable. 

“Sure thing.” Mario says in between a mouthful, pulling a thumbs up. “This is amazing!”

“Glad you think so.” Luigi says through a smile, carrying his own container of pie for the Princess to try. She always boasts about how well he cooks, it would be rude not to let her try. “See you later!” 

Polterpup bounds out with Luigi down the stone path, heading past the gates of the garden to the gravel path that took them through the giant green forest. It was an intimidating sight at first, but he found comfort in the silence, the exception being the crunch of twigs and leaves under his boots. 

Luigi watches Polterpup wander around up ahead, just like any other dog he sniffs around the ground for the biggest stick he can find to carry in his mouth, dropping it on the way when he found something bigger and repeat, until they left the lip of the forest with a stick the size of shovel hanging between his maw. 

They were greeted with the sight of Toad town, bustling with other toads in the street window shopping and hanging around the open markets. Making his way through the crowd like a sore thumb, a few greeted him with small ‘Hi Luigi!’s or simply waving his way. A handful turn their noses at him for simply not being Mario but it didn’t get to the older twin as much anymore. He’d been here for a couple years now and knew there were a few bad eggs among the bunch, but enough people liked him and that’s all he cared about. 

Toadella was spotted mingling with Toadette and a few other women, shooting him a giddy wave of her hand and a beaming smile which he returned with the same playful enthusiasm, making them both laugh as he passes. Polterpup caught a few toads with his giant stick, knocking a few on the ground with yelps of confusion while the ghost dog continues through the crowd unbothered. 

Eventually, the pair make it to the castle gates and it took a minute for Luigi to convince Polterpup to leave the stick outside the door as it would be rude to dirty the Princess’ castle. Reluctantly the pup gives in and drops it just outside as they were let through. Luigi needed no directions, finding himself in Peach’s gardens that was empty for now. Looking at his watch, Luigi had a few minutes to spare and smiles at himself.

He sits down on a white garden chair, crossing a leg over the other and watching Polterpup running around the grass and through the flowers, thankfully being mindful to ‘ghostify’ his body so he didn’t crush anything on his way. 

Few minutes later, the glass doors to the garden open and Peach is seen emerging wearing a flowy cream sundress dotted with pale roses, the hem embroidered with beautiful frills that Luigi couldn’t help but stare. Her perfect blonde hair was being combed through with her fingers as she approaches with a smile on her face. “Luigi, my darling, it’s lovely to see you.” She approaches, grabbing his shoulders and placing a friendly peck on his cheek. “I’m glad you could make it. I see Polterpup is excited to be here.”

Luigi smiles at her then follows her gaze to the spectre rolling around in a patch of grass, itching a spot he couldn’t seem to reach. “I hope you don’t mind him coming, I can’t seem to leave him alone nowadays.” 

“Not a worry at all, at least somebody can appreciate my lovely grass.” Peach dismisses his worries with a wave of her hand, smoothing out her sundress as she sits just opposite. Moments later a toad comes out with a teatray and places it on the iron garden table between them, the two sharing smiles before they walk away. 

“I got your letter early this morning. I hope there’s nothing too concerning on your mind?” Luigi straightens up from his seat and stirs his second cup of green tea for the day. Peach was mimicking his actions, though she had a matcha tea instead of green. She enjoyed having the taller twin around. Mario didn’t like tea the way his brother did.

“I’m… I’m not too sure.” Peach answers honestly and Luigi stiffens a little. “I had a surprise visit yesterday, from Kamek.”

The name makes Luigi pause the tea against his lips, blue eyes staring over at the Princess who was also staring back at him. “What could he possibly want? He wasn’t trying to kidnap you, was he?”

“No, no, thankfully not.” Peach chuckles nervously, shaking her head. “I don’t usppose you’ve seen the news, lately? Specifically over in the Darklands?”

Luigi thinks back to the television from earlier and absentmindedly nods. “I did… Something about the Darklands falling apart? Bowser adopting kids?”

“Yes, that.” Peach nods. “Um… It was a little strange. I thought it was going to end badly when I saw Kamek show up. I thought perhaps he was doing Bowser’s dirty work to kidnap me while he was too busy. But instead I was met with a frantic advisor.” Peach recalls, sipping from her cup timidly. “It looked like the poor advisor hadn’t slept in days. His voice was hoarse. He was going against Bowser’s word to speak with me privately without his instruction.”

Luigi almost chokes at that. “Seriously? Why would he do that?”

“Well, apparently the duty of the throne was being neglected now that Bowser has got his paws full with the koopalings he adopted.” Peach starts, smoothing out her skirt. “Kamek and Kammy were left with the sole duty of trying to handle his kingly business while also being left with the children. They’re losing their heads, Luigi.” 

The taller twin listens with intrigue, shifting his legs under the table and leaning forward to listen. “Kamek was asking for help. A plea, if you will. I’ve never seen the Magikoopa look so distressed in his life.” The concern in Peach’s eyes was evident, the way they were swimming with so many thoughts intrigued Luigi to shuffle his seat closer. “I know the advisor would never go against Bowser’s word without good reason. The empire is falling apart. The Darklandians are starting to turn against them.”

“That’s… Awful.” Luigi murmurs softly. Despite the terror Bowser might have inflicted on the Princess, she was disgustingly passionate it could make you puke up rainbows. 

“This is where… You come in.” Peach starts, clearing her throat as she sits up, placing her interlocked fingers on the table ahead of her, looking very serious now. Luigi gulps. “Me and Kamek went back and forth, looking for a solution, any solution to help the situation over in the Darklands. I know Bowser has caused me much grief, as well as my Kingdom but…” Peach’s eyes become distant as she stares off to the side. “There must be some goodness in his heart to take in eight newborns. I’m willing to give him a chance to prove that.” 

“...Where do I come in?” Luigi asks, anxiously juggling his leg up and down. Peach notices this, often figuring out his anxious cues and leaning over to gently rub her hand comfortingly against his knee, shuffling her seat closer. 

“I volunteered you. Ambassador of the Mushroom Kingdom, to assist the royals with the duty of raising those eight Koopalings.” Peach starts, looking nervous when she saw Luigi’s face almost go as white as her dress. “Now listen, don’t look so stressed yet, I didn’t solidify this decision.” Peach grabs both his hands and brings them to her lap, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles. “I volunteered you because I’ve seen how well you handle children. You soothe the fussiest of toad children. You’re patient and you’re compassionate, you hardly ever lose your temper and when you do it’s for good reason.” Peach keeps her eyes locked on Luigi who couldn’t find himself to look away. “I’ve never seen somebody as gentle as you, Luigi Mario. Do you remember the time we all went to Isle Delfino and a clutch of baby Yoshi’s followed you around calling you Mama?” The memory made them burst into fits of little giggles, keeping their hands squeezed together. “I think this is something you can do. I know it is.” 

Luigi felt the anxiety creeping up his spine, eyes on his lap. “I thought as an Ambassador, you could spread the message of peace to the Darklands, to Bowser. Kamek… Kamek promised me that if I could find a way to help, he’d promise the idea of a peace treaty between both our kingdoms.”

That made Luigi gasp out loud. Peach had been trying to get Bowser to sign a peach treaty for the last few months but the stubborn King hadn’t budged. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. Obviously, he’ll have to get Bowser to sign it but… I’m hoping that if he sees you as a symbol of peace between us, he’ll soften enough to bring peace between all of us.” 

Luigi could feel the pressure weighing on his shoulders. As the Ambassador he had a duty to the Kingdom but especially Peach. If she volunteered him to the advisor as a possible candidate for help… 

“Don’t feel pressured into this. It would be great if you could, but if this is something you can’t do… You don’t have to. That’s why I didn’t solidify my decision with Kamek. I know you’re timid and anxious.” Peach continues her soothing squeeze of his hand, noticing the way Luigi was biting the inside of his cheek.

The Ambassador sat there deep in thought. The mere idea of spending time inside the Koopa’s deadly castle, handling with eight rowdy Koopalings, was absolutely terrifying. Luigi didn’t fear Bowser like he did all those years ago. The intimidation effect wore off and all he could do was roll his eyes when the mention of Peach being kidnapped was brought up. The guy was seriously dedicated.

But it would be rewarded in the end. The peace treaty between the two rival kingdoms was promised. It would be signed. It would be a moment in history. The few century old rivalry would end with just a signature on paper. 

Luigi couldn’t let his emotions get in the way of that. A moment of anxiety wasn’t worth throwing the promise of peace away, a fight that Peach and her ancestors had been fighting for since the Kingdoms rose. If the Darklands fell, there would be no peace. Bowser would crumble, and the Koopalings would suffer.

“I’ll do it.” Luigi blurts suddenly, making Peach jolt from her seat after his few moments of silence to think about it.

“Wait… Really?” The Princess stares in disbelief at the Ambassador who finally raises his gaze, blue eyes staring into hers. She couldn’t miss the obvious fear, the obvious doubt that clouded his vision, but there were sparks of determination she couldn’t help but smile about. 

“If there’s a promise of peace, if I can get the Darklands back on their feet and lighten their load. I’ll… I’ll do it. As the Ambassador but also, as your dear friend. I won’t let the opportunity for peace be thrown away because I’m just a little scared.” He let out a stifled chuckle, missing the way Peach’s eyes were tearing in the corners.

The Princess throws herself at Luigi, the man yelping in surprise and almost tipping over in his chair. Peach sobs happily into his shoulder, squeezing her arms around his neck tight. “Thank you. Thank you so much. You don’t know how much this will mean for us all. This is a moment in history being made!” 

Peach pulls back, holding his shoulders and shaking him excitedly. “Oh you beautiful, wonderful man! I’m so happy you agreed. I promise, as the Ambassador a hair on your head won’t be harmed in the territory of the Darklands.” She was almost shaking in excitement, fanning her face with a few deep breaths. “Sorry, sorry. I’m being a little unprofessional here, I apologise.”

Luigi simply laughs with a shake of his head, taking his almost cold tea in his hand and taking a sip. “I’m not scared of Bowser.” He answers, crossing his legs over once more. “His intimidation tactics have worn off. I’m not the coward I used to be, not anymore.”

Peach beams a proud smile at him. It only felt like yesterday when Luigi was shaking like a leaf at the sound of a voice, trembling and tripping over his own feet. Now he was swelling with confidence, though he never lost the kindness in his heart that only seemed to grow as the years went on. “I’m proud of you.” Peach murmurs, her voice going soft as she places her hand on his knee again. “This means so much to me. Truly, thank you.” 

“Of course, Princess.” Luigi smiles kindly over to her. “I suppose this will be an immediate thing?”

“Yes… Tomorrow morning, to be exact.” Peach leans back into her chair, posture relaxed now that she got the cat out of the bag. “Take a suitcase or two and pack the essentials. Clothes, toothbrush, hygiene, entertainment. You’re going to be there for a while. You understand that, right?”

Luigi nods timidly. The idea of being away from his home for an extended amount of time worries him. He loved his home and his garden and his bed. Oh gosh, what about Mario? Oh no… He had completely forgotten about that.

“What… What about Mario?” 

“I can make arrangements for him. He’s more than welcome to stay in the castle as a guest while you’re gone. I know Mario doesn’t like being alone.” Peach sweetly smiles at the mention of her knight, “If I’m correctly thinking, you’ll be gone for a few months. At least until Bowser and the Advisors can comfortably wrangle the children without you. Will that be okay with you, Luigi?”

Luigi thinks about this for a moment until his train of thought was gently interrupted. “Of course, between those few months you’re welcome to come back home for the weekend or such before going back. You won’t be confined there like a prisoner. Kamek assured me you’ll have free roam.” 

“Is Bowser happy about this arrangement?” Luigi asks slowly.

“Kamek assured me that Bowser is willing to get help but never specified to Kamek who it had to be, which is why I assume he came here.” Peach responds to his suspicion. “I feel like Bowser would rather be caught dead than come here and ask us for help himself.” She snickers at the thought. 

“I’m happy to do it. It won’t change my mind. I’m doing this for you and your Kingdom, but also the kindness of my own heart.” Luigi adds with a smug smirk that makes Peach laugh even louder, holding his hands tighter between them. 

“Excellent. I’ll let Kamek know right away that you’ll be picked up early in the morning. I’ll send you all the details in a letter before tonight so keep an eye on your mailbox.” Peach gives her Ambassador’s hands one last squeeze before they stand up. “Ooh, I’m so proud of you. You’ve come a long way since I first set my eyes on you.”

Luigi feels his cheeks go pink and looks away with a sheepish smile. “Stop, before I start crying.” 

Peach laughs, pulling him into a tight hug and they chat idly for the next few minutes until they part ways. Princess Peach had a giddy skip in her step as she leaves to send the letter to Kamek right away, humming a tune that disappears the further she goes. 

Luigi looks over to Polterpup who had fallen asleep in the grass, bathing in the rays of sunlight that shine above their heads. He smiles over to the canine and sits back in his chair to relax for a minute or two before stretching out his arms and legs. Checking his watch, it was already almost two o’clock! 

“Polterpup.” Luigi whistles. The spectre shoots up immediately with a happy bark now that his owner was no longer occupied. “C’mon. I need to get a few things from the market before we head back home, yeah?” Luigi pats his thighs, watching Polterpup rear onto his hindlegs to place his forepaws on his thighs with a wag of his tail. The pup relishes in the attention Luigi gives him by ruffling his head and scratching behind his ear, before they set off walking down the palace steps and back towards the busy town. 

Luigi felt like he could relax his shoulders now that the meeting had officially concluded. But there was still a creeping anxiety crawling up his spine, refusing to budge with the shake of his shoulders.

He still has to tell Mario.

Chapter 3

Two Weeks Earlier

Kamek felt like he was losing his hair. His non existent hair.

It’s been just over a week since the Koopalings found themselves on the doorstep of the King’s castle. The consequences of his own actions, you could say.

Wendy and Roy were settling in remarkably well. Almost too well. 

The halls were full of shrieks from the young toddlers running amuck around the corridors, chasing after guards with spears left unattended. Operation ‘train the Koopalings to become deadly minions’ wasn’t going swimmingly thus far. But the real problem began with that cardboard box.

 

Kamek wanders down the halls, preparing to settle the toddlers to bed for the night. Bowser insisted he was too busy and shooed off his advisor to go and do so. 

The muffled noises of two toddlers talking through the walls disrupts Kamek as he approaches the door, pausing with a crinkle of his beak and silently opening the door ajar to peek inside.

Wendy sits in the middle of the nest with Roy and Ludwig huddled close. The cardboard box was sitting in between them, and looking closer Kamek notices that they were… Talking to whatever was inside?

The advisor narrows his eyes at the sight and swings the door open, startling the three who jolt from their slouched positions. “Who are you talking to?”

Wendy looks between her two brothers and swallows thickly. “Um.. Each other?”

“I’m not stupid, miss Wendy.” Kamek sighs, hobbling forwards with his wand along the carpet. “You children have been dodging the questions about that box for the last week. So, hand it over.”

Immediately the children start flailing for excuses to not give him the box. “It… It’s a secret! You can’t look! You can’t!” Wendy cries but the advisor wouldn’t break. 

“You either give me the box or I get it myself.” The advisor threatens gently, his eyes finding Ludwig who was glaring at him from the top of the bed. 

The eldest Koopaling anxiously fiddles with his claws and glances to the now-closed box just at his side. Taking a deep breath, he looks at the littlest ones. “Let him see. We’ve been hiding them for too long. He was bound to figure it out.” 

Kamek adjusts his glasses, “I’m sorry, them?”

“Just take a look.” Ludwig snaps at the advisor who scowls at his aggressive tone, but dismisses it for the time being. The advisor climbs up into the messy nest strewn with blankets and pillows while the three children shuffle backwards to allow him to get closer.

Kamek unfolds the flaps of the cardboard box and peers inside, his heart leaping out of his throat at the sight of four mature Koopa eggs wiggling around in the confindments of blankets wrapped around them. The advisor’s beak hangs open in silent shock, a timid hand reaching over in an attempt to touch them, but the loud growl of Ludwig makes him freeze.

“Don’t touch.” Ludwig murmurs through his bared teeth, narrowed eyes staring at Kamek before glancing down at the eggs. “They’re starting to hatch. See.” Ludwig points a claw to one of the middle eggs that wriggled around, a crack forming along it’s base. 

“And you thought not to tell us?!” Kamek hisses to the eldest who flinches back. “Four Koopa eggs have been hiding in this room and you thought it better to keep them hidden?! What would have happened if they’d hatched before I could find out?!” 

“We didnt know how to bring it up!” Ludwig shouts back, “they’ve been sworn under my protection and I didn’t want you to take them away from us!” 

“And why on earth would you think I’d do that?!” 

Loud stomps interrupted their little shouting match, silencing the two Koopas who turn to see Bowser ducking under the doorframe with narrowed eyes at the four of them sitting in the nest. The King snorts out a puff of smoke from his nose, eyes lingering on each child before looking to his advisor. “What’s the reason for all this shouting? You do realise what time it is?” The King growls softly.

Kamek’s beak opens and shuts in a pathetic attempt to try and string out words but nothing happened. Neither of the children spoke up either, shuffling back with their eyes down on the mattress below them. Bowser’s tail flicks back and forth irritably, his red eyes falling onto the advisor once more. “Speak up, I don’t have all night. They should be asleep by now.”

"Y-You’re Majesty.” Kamek starts, licking his beak anxiously. “I, um. I think it would be best if you saw for yourself.” The little advisor gestures his head to the cardboard box he had been thinking about all week. 

Hesitantly, the King meanders over to the messy nest looking between the guild-ridden children who wouldn’t meet his eye. Bowser huffs out his nose at the disrespect but brushes it off, glancing over their heads to the now-open box and peering inside. The sight of four healthy, mature Koopa eggs sit huddled together, wiggling around in the blankets.

Red eyebrows quirk up in shock. That was a sight Bowser wasn’t expecting to see. He was expecting a pet or something, not four Koopa eggs.

“Where did you get these?” Bowser begins, his voice scarily calm as his eyes trail down to the eldest. Ludwig couldn’t meet his gaze, blue eyes set on the eggs beside him. 

“The orphanage. They were the only eggs that made it out alive.” Ludwig murmurs in the middle of reaching a claw into the box and gently tracing it along the surface of the smallest egg. 

“And you thought to hide this from me?” Bowser’s disappointed stare lingers between the three. Wendy and Roy whimper softly, lowering their heads in shame.

“I didn’t want you to separate us. Any of us. That includes them.” Ludwig keeps his eyes on the unhatched eggs he was tracing over. 

“And who’s to say I won’t do that now?” Bowser queries, hypothetically. The King notices Ludwig bristle with a brave snarl directed right at him. 

“Then we’ll leave. All of us. We’ll go someplace else and find someone who can take care of all of us.” Ludwig growls through his grit teeth, stubby tail thrashing back and forth against the throws. “I won’t let you separate us, any of us. King or not. You don’t have that authority. Not over us.”

Bowser quirks up an eyebrow at the little Koopa’s bravery. No one would get away that easily talking to him like that. “I must say, I admire the protective spirit you have over these children.” The King’s gentle comment snaps Ludwig out of his bristled posture. “But it was a hypothetical question. I’m not going to throw those eggs out and let them fend for themselves.” 

The three children relaxed their tense shoulders, feeling the weight of the world lift at those words. “They’ll prove great use to me.”

“I’m sorry?” Ludwig raises an eyebrow at the King, who grins down at the blue-haired Koopaling. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means, that while you live in this castle you live under my rule. You don’t get to stay here and laze around like a bum. I have better use for you and your siblings that I think you’ll appreciate.” Bowser flicks his tail and begins pacing around the bed, breaking his stern eye-contact with the children. “You three–... Eight, will become my minions.”

Wendy and Roy look at one another with a puzzled look on their faces. 

“You will lend me in physical aid against those who try and stop me, like that stupid red plumber for example.” Bowser growls through grit teeth. “You’ll be trained appropriately, of course. By the best of the best, and yours truly. It will give me a significant vantage point over my enemies.” Bowser continues his loud boasting while Ludwig stares over at him with a scowl on his face.

“But they’re just toddlers. Newborns.” Ludwig gestures to the box. 

“All the better reason to start now.” Bowser quips with his signature smirk. “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. You start young.” The King stops at the end of the nest and leans a little closer to the eldest Koopaling who wore the scowl on his face. “If you agree to those terms, you’re more than welcome to keep living here. Plenty of food, a nest,” Bowser gestures to the comfortable throws below them, “Entertainment. You name it, I can provide it. So long as you can agree to my very simple demand.”

“And if we don’t?” Ludwig murmurs, unsure. The wicked smile on Bowser’s face was taunting him the longer he looks at him. 

“Then you’re more than welcome to find somewhere else to lay your heads.” Bowser stands up straight and begins his aggrivating pacing around the nest once more. “I can’t let you live in my castle without something small in return, can I?”

“And here I thought you were doing it out of the goodness of your heart.” Ludwig growls under his breath, sitting there in silence to ponder the matter. A lifetime promise of food and comfort for what? Assisting this egotistical King in fighting his foes? Throwing a punch every now and then to give him leverage?

But the idea of putting his siblings lives at risk made Ludwig all the more worry. Most of them weren’t even born yet and here Ludwig was deciding their fate right before their unopened eyes. 

Then Sonny comes back into view. Emerald eyes full of terror and uncertainty in the middle of grasping Ludwig by the shoulders and shaking him. “Promise me.” She cries in the distant memory, “Promise me you’ll look after those babies no matter what. Please, Luddy. Please.” 

“Why can’t you look after us?! Please, Sonny! We need you! I can’t do this without you!” Ludwig chokes in the middle of a sob, little claws grasping hold of Sonny by her forearms as the tears roll hot down his cheeks. 

“Luddy, don’t do this.” Sonny stifles her own sob and brings the Koopaling into her chest, rubbing over his shell. “I can’t give you all what you deserve. I can’t provide you the comfort of a home or the love of a family. It’s just me. And just me isn’t enough.”

“It’s more than enough!” Ludwig cries louder into her scaled shoulder, tiny claws digging into her shell to pull her closer. “You’re more than enough.”

“No, I’m not.” Sonny’s voice was barely a whisper against his unruly blue hair, rubbing her wet cheek into his head before pulling him away at arms length and leaning down to his level. “I love you, Luddy. I love all of you with all of my heart, but I can’t give you what you need. He can. I know he can.” Sonny gestures her head to the giant castle that was in view just beyond the forest they were standing in. “He may be a tyrannical ruler but I know there’s goodness in his heart. He can give you anything you could ever want. Please, Ludwig. Listen to what I’m telling you. If not for yourself but for them.” Sonny looks over to Wendy and Roy tearfully holding up a sopping cardboard box. The caretaker lets her firm grip on Ludwig go and kneels down to the toddlers, pulling them into her motherly hold and kissing the sides of their heads. “I love you, my little stars. All of you.” She glances in the box and strokes over the shells. 

Ludwig rubs at his eyes as the vision fades away. The fate of his siblings left in his paws from the moment they left that burning building all those days ago. 

“If there’s a promise that my siblings will live the rest of their lives on full stomachs, then I’ll do it.” Ludwig meets Bowser’s stern gaze with his own hardened blue eyes. “We’ll become your minions.”

“You have my word.” Bowser responds with a softness in his voice that Ludwig wasn’t expecting. The eldest was prepared to open his mouth and say some more, until the sound of a crack catches all of their attention.

Immediately the three siblings swarm the cardboard box and sees a chip of the middle egg had been poked away. Wendy gasps with a smile on her lips. “Look, Luddy! They’re hatching!” 

Ludwig holds his breath as more of the eggs wriggle around a lot more aggressively than before. Even Bowser leans over the toddlers to take a look, red eyes watching as a little arm starts to claw through the gap made in the middle egg to push away more of the shell.

“That one is Iggy!” Wendy whispers to her brothers.

“You’re naming them already?” Bowser raises a brow down at the little sister who beams a smile. 

“Yeah! That’s Iggy.” Wendy watches the middle egg who managed to get a foot out now and flopped around, kicking more of the shell wall away until it cracks open and the tiny newborn flops over onto the blankets.

Bowser takes in the sight of a lean Koopa with a deep green face, similar to Ludwig. There was a sprout of vibrant green hair on the top of their head and crazy blue eyes that were struggling to blink open. The King sniffs a little closer. “That one’s a male.”

Ludwig cracks a smile at the sight of his newborn brother curling into the blankets with a little meep. More of the eggs around the newly hatched newborn begin to crack, stubborn little paws and feet kicking through the hard shell and cracking them open. 

The biggest egg of the bunch was next. This Koopa was entirely different to the current four. It had a dusty brown colour with a lighter head and a beautiful star plastered over the left eye, strings of hair pointed upwards on their head. Bowser sniffs again. “Another male.” 

“Hi Morton!” Roy smiles down at the very chunky newborn that wiggles around in a tangle of blankets, snuggling close to the warm body of Iggy who was drifting to sleep. 

The third egg bursts dramatically, jostling the four Koopas peering over into the box. The sight of two newborns snuggled together in the same egg made Kamek’s beak drop. “Twins?!”

“Lemmy!” Wendy smiles at the smallest Koopa with a multi-colored mohawk that was limp from the residue inside the egg. “And Larry!” Roy points to the blue mohawked twin snuggled on the other side. 

“Another two boys.” Bowser comments quietly, engrossed in the sight of these newborns hatching from their eggs and snuggling together in a pile. 

“Seriously? Am I not going to have a sister?” Wendy scoffs with a fold of her arms, scowling to herself at the idea of being the only girl. Ludwig puts an arm around his sister and gives her a squeeze of reassurance. Their eyes fall on the last egg that continues to wiggle in place.

“C’mon lil’ guy.” Ludwig encourages with a gentle graze of his claw along the cracked shell. 

Bowser furrows his eyebrows down at the last egg and feels himself leaning a little closer to it. There was a familiar scent that came from the inside of the egg, drawing the King closer until his head rests just by the lip of the box, ignoring Ludwig’s warning growl. 

“This one is another male.” Bowser murmurs and Wendy sighs in defeat.

“He hasn’t even hatched yet. How would you know?” The little girl folds her arms again with a little frown on her face.

“I just… I just know.” Bowser comments absentmindedly, eyes glued on the last egg that wiggles around inside. Kamek observes his oversized son and the way his eyes were latched onto watching the final egg.

A little clawed hand pushes through the hardened shell, followed by another arm and a foot wiggling around helplessly. The tiny newborn struggles for two minutes to peel off the rest of their egg, and Bowser brings a single giant claw down to assist in peeling the top of the shell off their head.

Kamek quietly gasps at the sight of the newborn that pokes his head out of the shell. Familiar tufts of red hair unruly on their tiny head flatten from the moisture, a green face paired with beady red eyes struggling to open from the light.

“Hey, he looks just like you.” Wendy points out with a confused tilt of her head, staring over at Bowser who had frozen in place watching this little newborn emerge from the egg. Even Kamek leans closer, mouth open in awe at the sight. It was like watching Bowser hatch from his own egg all those years ago.

The small Koopa blinks up at the giant head of Bowser who had leaned a lot closer now and starts sniffing him. The newborn yawns as a giant nose ruffles his red hair and takes in his familiar scent.

“What if we call him Bowser Junior for fun?” Wendy suggests with a little amused giggle, watching the Kings' interesting intrigue with the little guy. “Or just Junior for short.” 

Ludwig keeps his eyes on Bowser, ensuring the King did nothing to harm the little Koopa while he smells him. It was a weird sight to see so much gentleness on the fierce face of the Darklands King. That was until he pulls away with an unsure look on his face. One that makes Ludwig narrow his eyes suspiciously.

“The hatchlings stay in my chambers.” Bowser breaks the silence, met with an aggressive growl from Ludwig. The King shoots him a warning stare at his defiance. “You are just a child yourself. So are your sister and your brother. I cannot entrust these newborns in your care.” 

Ludwig snarls at that, bristling immediately but he couldn’t find the words to fight back against him. “I gave you my word. They will be fed and taken care of.” 

“How can I trust that you know what you’re doing with them?” Ludwig grumbles in the middle of turning to face the hatchlings snuggled in a sleep pile. 

“Because I’m an adult.” Bowser answers with a flare of his nose, eyes following down to the box containing a mewling bunch of hatchlings. “It’s not like they will be confined to my chambers, just to sleep. They will be safe in the care of three adults rather than three children.”

Ludwig grunts and turns away, furrowing his eyebrows. “Fine. But they stay with us during the day.”

“Fine with me.” Bowser gives a single nod of his giant head and glances over to Kamek who had been silent for the last hour since Bowser had entered the room. The old advisor had a lot on his mind, the King could see that much. “Kamek, see to it that there’s a bassinet for the five hatchlings in my chambers. You three, get some sleep.” His gaze falls over to the three Koopalings who hesitantly nod their heads and begin crawling deeper into the nest. Ludwig was the last to join his siblings, watching as Bowser picks up the cardboard box in his gian hands.

“You promise they’ll be safe?” Ludwig’s big blue eyes plead up at the King who pauses his footsteps to the door, staring back at him.

“I gave you my word.” Bowser repeats quietly. “They’ll be fine with me.”

Ludwig gives a reluctant nod of his head and joins his siblings in the nest, hesitantly snuggling down next to them while Bowser leaves the room with his advisor and the box of mewling hatchlings.

 

As requested, a suitable bassinet was summoned at the side of Bowser’s giant bed-nest. Kamek follows inside hesitantly behind his son and watches giant paws lifting out the hatchlings one by one into the bassinet. 

They mewl at the loss of warmth initially, until they were rejoined once more in their new basket and huddles together into another sleep pile. Kamek observes them for a short few moments before finding his glassed eyes watching Bowser who had his gaze fixed on one of the hatchlings.

“You’ve kept your eye on that one for a while.” Kamek brings up quietly in the silent room. Bowser’s eyes flinch a little but didn’t break away.

“He looks just like me.” Bowser murmurs softly, letting a gentle claw twirl around the red tufts of hair. 

“Yes, I agree. It’s… Terrifying, to say the least.” Kamek responds back just as quietly. “It was like watching you hatch all those years ago. It felt like I went back in time.”

Bowser snickers a little at that, drawing away his claw and settling down in the nest next to the snuffling hatchlings. “That will be all, Kamek.”

The advisor nods his head and turns away, levitating on his wand in purple smoke but hesitates. “Are you sure this is something you can handle by yourself, your Highness?” Kamek asks quietly, turning to look back at Bowser who had settled comfortably in his makeshift nest.

“No. But all I can do is try.” The King responds honestly, red eyes illuminating the dark room. “If I need help, I have you and Kammy… Right?”

Kamek smiles gently over at the laying Koopa with a nod of his head. “Of course.” Was his simple reply to mask all the worry that bubbled beneath the surface. Bowser had suddenly taken a lot of responsibility on his shoulders in just over an hour. It was hard enough with the rowdy three Koopalings over the past week, but the edition of five hatchlings was going to complicate this situation. 

Kamek dismisses himself and retreats to his tower with a poof of purple smoke. It was finally quiet and the mage could relax his shoulders with a loud sigh. Surprisingly, Kammy could be heard humming a tune from the room up and Kamek decides to walk up the winding stairs and push open the trap door. 

“We have an even bigger problem.” Kamek begins, his head poking out from the door that Kammy was now glancing over at.

“It can’t be much worse than it already is.” She dismisses with another hum, sitting comfortably in a beanbag with a book at hand. 

“The children were hiding four unhatched eggs. One containing twins.” Kamek blurts out and Kammy chokes on her tea mid-sip, spluttering everywhere with loud coughing. “Five hatchlings.”

“I’m sorry?!” Kammy shrieks into the silence, throwing her book to the side. “You said five hatchlings?! Hidden right under our noses?! Those sneaky kids!” 

Kamek shuts the trapdoor behind him and paces around. “Five. That makes eight children that Bowser has taken under his wing impulsively. It’s been difficult enough with three but… An additional five is going to make this situation much, much harder.”

Kammy scratches helplessly, twirling a silver curl in her finger in thought. “He’s going to run himself into the ground with responsibility! I know he wants minions, but these are children before anything else! Newborns no less! They must be fed every few hours in the night! Bathed! Soothed!” Kammy pulls at her hair and follows Kamek’s anxious pacing. “Wait… Where are they now?”

“In his chambers.” Her brother responds calmly, but his sister shrieks suddenly in fear.

“KAMEK! Leaving an unmated male in the presence of unscented newborns is going to mess with his instincts!” She cries out in panic.

“And what the hell does that mean?!”

“It means that he’ll become aggressive!” Kammy starts, yanking at her hair in worry. “If they’re not scented within the next day he’ll try and eat them!”

“WHAT?!” Kamek squawks out in alarm, arms flailing as his sister panics along with him. “Wh– How… How do we fix this?!” 

“We just… We need him to scent them as soon as possible! As long as the hatchlings smell like him he won’t try and attack them!” Kammy runs over to grab her wand against the wall, almost tripping over her gown. “For all we know he could be ripping into them this very second!”

The two advisors shriek in alarm and disappear in clouds of smoke, reappearing seconds later in the dark chambers of Bowser who was awake and leaning over the bassinet. Kammy almost lets out a choked cry at the sight but looking closer the hatchlings were unharmed. 

“My King, your Highness.” Kammy starts with a tremble in her voice. “So very sorry to disturb you so shortly after you were left alone.” She approaches on her wand, watching as Bowser’s gaze flickers towards her. There was a weird look in his eyes that made her swallow hard. “Um… Lovely hatchlings you have there.”

“Mmh.” Bowser simply grunts and turns his gaze back towards the hatchlings with a hard stare. There was a sudden low growl rolling out his throat and Kammy scrambles quickly to his side, grasping hold of his beefy bicep to bring his attention elsewhere. “Sweetheart! I need you to do something for me, pretty please? Not as your advisor but as your dear, lovely Aunty.”

Bowser furrows his eyebrows over at Kammy who was nervously smiling at him. “It best be important if you’re interrupting me at this hour.” 

“Yes! It’s very important! Incredibly important!” Kammy rushes with an anxious laugh, glancing back down at the nestled pile of unscented hatchlings that make her beak wriggle. “We need you to scent those newborns, like, right now.” 

Bowser’s bushy eyebrows furrow a little more at that. Glancing back to the hatchlings he could feel himself growl again at the sight of them. Unscented. Strange. They weren’t his. Why were they here? 

The red glow in his eyes shon brighter with anger. Kammy frantically pulls at his bicep to redirect his attention. “Please! Just listen to me, your Highness. I know this is very unprofessional of me and you’re free to punish me in the morning but this is very important! It has to be done if you want to keep these hatchlings for that lovely army you plan on building, yes?”

The King grunts in response, but she was right. He had no idea why he wanted her to scent these little hatchlings, they weren’t even his. Their mothers were nowhere to be found. There was no smell of a dominant father on them, either. His instincts told him he needed to change that. “How do I scent them?”

Kammy sighs silently in relief. “Brilliant question, your Highness. It’s very simple. You nose each newborn around the neck and give them a few licks. Your scent should rub off on them, that’s where our dear scent glands are.” Kammy demonstrates, gently tilting one of the hatchlings, Iggy, to present his unscented neck. “Just here, you can do it.”

Bowser hesitantly leans his head down to the hatchling mewling in confusion. The King noses himself in between his fragile neck and takes in the stale scent of a mother with a soft growl. Kammy flinches, prepared to intervene if Bowser decided to lunge but the King fought against it. His thick tongue laps gently over the scent glands on the newborn’s neck, who’s body starts to vibrate with a loud purr. 

“Excellent, your Highess. You’re doing very well.” Kammy encourages with a gentle pat against the back of his neck, watching Bowser make his way through the pile of mewling hatchlings and leaving his scent on all of them. The pile erupted into loud purrs that sounded like a kart engine, making Kammy smile warmly at them.

Bowser found his way to the last newborn and noses at Junior’s face, encouraging the hatchling to let him under his jaw. Mewing, Junior complies and Bowser finds himself sniffing at the stronger scent there, to which he flinches back suddenly causing Kammy to jump in surprise.

“Your Highness? Is something wrong?” She whispers gently, concern in her uncovered eyes. 

“That hatchling.” Bowser sounded breathless, like he was struggling to breathe. “He’s mine. That newborn has my scent.” 

Kamek and Kammy gawk at their oversized King with a hang of their jaws. “I— What do you mean yours?”

“Smell him.” Bowser demands to his aunt and father who look at one another uncertain before leaning over to gently nose at his neck and hesitantly sniff. They both stumble back in surprise at the strong scent of Bowser that linger against his glands.

“Bowser…” Kamek starts slowly, “When did this happen? Where did this child come from?” His advisor looked utterly horrified at the discovery of Bowser’s biological heir hiding within the pile of orphans who came from miles away. There was no denying the strong scent of his own son, but the smell of a mother was very distant, almost impossible to make out. 

Bowser didn’t reply, whether he was refusing to or simply couldn’t was hard to tell. Kammy hesitantly puts a hand on his arm in silent support, rubbing along his scales as the King stares blankly at the wall in front of them. “Bowser… Do you know the mother of this child?” 

“No.” Bowser starts, shutting his gleaming red eyes in thought as he tries his hardest to think. “...I was never given a name. It was a fling. A few months ago. If… If I’m remembering right.” Kammy feels him tense under her grasp, “It was just one night. I never saw her again after that.” Bowser glances down to the already-scented newborn. “...I didn’t know she was gravid. She told me she couldn’t–” 

Kammy could feel the way he was falling apart from the distressed pheromones he was releasing. It triggers her motherly instinct to gently nuzzle at his head like she did when he was a child, purring comfortingly at her nephew. “I just don’t understand why she wouldn’t bring his egg to you.” Kammy starts quietly.

“It’s puzzling me, too.” Kamek finally speaks up after his minutes long shock. “If she knew she was gravid, carrying an heir to the throne no less… Surely she would have brought him here instead of dumping the child at a strange orphanage? One that wasn’t even the Darklands’ no less?” 

“What if she didn’t know?” Kammy queries over to Kamek who looks just as stumped. “We don’t know the situation that brought her to give up this hatchling. Her scent is very stale on him, which means she didn’t scent him when he was born.” Kammy pulls away now that Bowser seemed to have calmed down. Fiery red eyes simmering to a gentle stare as he leans back down to Junior and nuzzles under his neck.

“My boy..” Bowser purrs loudly against his face, licking along his scent glands to leave his fresher scent while Junior purrs in delight at the attention from his father. Kammy and Kamek smile at the sight of the King nuzzling into the hatchling, a spitting image of his giant father nosing at his face.

“Now that they’re all scented, we will leave you be.” Kammy whispers gently to Bowser who only grunts quietly in response. Kammy glances back to Kamek with a gesture for him to follow. Though the mage was hesitant at first. Finding out that he had a grandson came as a shock. Just a week ago they were mentioning that Bowser had no heir to the throne, unmated. He still was, there was no scent of a mate on the King which only puzzled him even more.

Reluctantly, the mage disappears after Kammy, leaving the hatchlings in the care of Bowser who was no longer a threat to the now-scented babies. His head was reeling enough to give him a headache, but Kammy insists that they sleep on it and talk more in the morning. He wanted to protest but his eldest sister wasn’t having it. Touche, they were both tired and he had been the one to interrupt her in the first place.

Kamek sits his wand against the wall and climbs into his bed, staring up at the ceiling with worries and thoughts that swim around in his head. Five hatchlings, one that was biologically related to Bowser, a heir to the throne.

Taking a deep breath, Kamek turns onto his side and curls in on himself, shutting aching eyelids as sleep overcomes him. There was so much he needed to talk about, but he heeds Kammy’s advice and leaves it to linger for the morning. 

—

The advisor was up at the crack of dawn the next morning. From the minute he opened his eyes the ache in his shoulders brought him back to the night from before and immediately a sense of dread overcame him.

With a deep sigh, Kamek gets up from the comfort of his nest and gets ready for the day ahead. It was a little earlier than usual, 6:37am to be exact. There was a string of light shining its way through the diamond-patterned window.

Whatever, it gave him some peace and quiet before the castle woke up. It was a nice change for once to walk through the quiet halls, passing the odd nightshift troopa who tipped their helmets at the old advisor as he passes.

Making his way to the kitchen, Kamek prepares a cup of black coffee and stirs it around while daydreaming through the window just above the counter. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of somebody pushing their way through the swing doors and pausing at the old advisor floating there on his wand.

“Ludwig.” Kamek greets quietly as he takes a sip. “You’re up remarkably early?”

Ludwig rubs at his tired eyes, hesitant to step a little closer but reluctantly sits down on the bar stool against the kitchen island. “I wake up at this time every morning, you just sleep in.” He mumbles back, voice thick with sleep.

“I see. What would you like to drink?” 

Ludwig pauses at the offer, thinking hard for a moment. “Do you have hot cocoa?”

“But of course.” Kamek retrieves another cup and pours in some hot milk and powder to make the dark brown blend. Ludwig receives the drink with a quiet thanks and takes small sips. It wasn’t as good as Sonnys’ hot chocolate, nothing would come close to that, but it was enough to make him feel like he was home. 

The two Koopas’ sit in comfortable silence, the old mage daydreaming out of the window as the light hits his face. Ludwig couldn’t help but stare in curiosity, thinking back to the previous night and clearing his throat.

“Junior.” Ludwig starts, catching the mage’s attention. “He’s Bowser’s son, right?”

“What made you come to that conclusion, sir Ludwig?” Kamek questions with a wrinkle of his beak, watching the young boy shuffle in his seat. 

“I could smell it. The scent of the King, it was strong. Not to mention Junior looks nothing like the others. He has stubs on his head like horns and red hair, he just looks… Entirely different.” Ludwig mumbles, tracing around the ring of his cup with the pad of his finger. 

“You’re very smart, Ludwig. It almost scares me.” Kamek lets out a light chuckle, turning his body to face the boy and takes a seat next to him, considerably shorter. “Yes… Junior.” He pauses at the name, unsure if the King would agree to the name or not. “Is his son. Bowser knows, so does Kammy, and so do you.”

Ludwig stares hard at the kitchen island they sat on, eyes tracing along the imprints of the polished wood to distract him from complicated feelings. “I feel like this is some sort of twisted fate. Like we were meant to be here.”

“Whatever do you mean?” Kamek questions, egging the child to continue who takes in a deep breath.

“Being here. I feel like this was all meant to happen, like some sort of plan none of us were aware of. Think about it. Junior being amongst those eggs, it couldn’t have been some weird coincidence that he was one of the five to survive. If the orphanage…If it never…” Ludwig pauses to catch his breath. “If it never set on fire, you never would have found out. Bowser was simply a name where we lived, no one knew him personally. No one would have known that Junior was different.” Ludwig anxiously taps his claws on the wood while Kamek keeps his beady eyes on him. “Bowser would live on unknowing that he had a heir. If we hadn’t have brought him here… Things would be a lot different.” 

Kamek sits on that thought, and couldn’t help but feel like he was right. It was fate that brought these orphans to their doorstep who also carried the heir to the throne right into the castle. The worries and the doubt of Bowser not finding happiness. It could be no more. 

“I think you’re right, Ludwig. It’s an excellent thought.” Kamek smiles to himself, “Maybe this is where you were meant to be this whole time.”

Ludwig tries to smile but he couldn’t bring himself to. “I just… I just wish this didn’t cost the lives of all my other siblings. I wish they could be here too. They deserved this so much more than me. Why did it have to be me?” Tears sting the corner of his eyes that squeezed shut, trying his hardest to suppress the urge to bawl like he did when he was with Sonny.

An unexpected hand gently rubs at his back, along the cracks of his damaged shell. “This guilt you feel will never go away. When I lost the King’s father I felt just like you. Why did it have to be him, and not me?” Kamek murmurs quietly, “But all you can do is live on in their memory. Don’t let there sacrifices be in vain, whether it was intentional or not, they live through you now. They always will.” Kamek pats Ludwig along his shell a few more times before taking their empty cups and levitating them with his wand to the sink. “Loss is a hard thing to grasp, especially at your age. You are just a child, as are Wendy and Roy. They will struggle to remember that day the older they get, but you… You’re very smart, Ludwig.” Kamek turns back to face the Koopaling staring at him. “Nothing I can say will take away the pain or make it better, grief is just love with nowhere to go. Use that grief, that love, and give it to the hatchlings. Let the memory of those you lost live through you, through all of you. I am sure that’s what Sonny would have wanted.” The old mage came closer to gently brush away a stray tear from the side of his cheek, before patting his shoulder and leaving the Koopaling to sit there in a daze.

It brought Ludwig comfort to know that he wasn’t alone with this grief that hangs heavy on his shoulders. He protects it from the littlest ones, but who protects him?

Shaking his head, Ludwig pushes his way through the swinging doors and consciously makes his way back to the room where Wendy and Roy sleep with loud, comfortable snores. Ludwig crawls through the bed and gently shakes the two awake, who grumble in protest at first. “Wakey wakey, lazy bones.” Ludwig whisper-shouts. Wendy was the first to blink her eyes open at Ludwig leaning over them, then taps at Roy who lifts his head with squinted eyes.

“Come on. Let’s go and officially meet our siblings.”

Notes:

i decided very last minute that larry and lemmy would share an egg so instead of five eggs there were four <3 i love to think of them as twins in my eyes and love it when fanfics do the same :]

Chapter 4

Notes:

thank you so much to the returning and new readers who leave lovely comments under my chapters (♡ˊ͈ ꒳ ˋ͈) I appreciate you more than you know!
So sorry if it feels like I'm dragging this out, but I really wanted you guys to have plenty of lore and backstory before we jump right into it. I promise, next chapter our lovely Weeg will make his departure from the Mushroom Kingdom ദ്ദി ◝ ⩊ ◜.ᐟ
Thank you all again for the love!

 

Day Before the Meeting

Bowser sits alone in his study room, flicking a pen up and down on the wooden desk. His eyes rest on the abundance of paperwork that began stacking up with his frequent absences.

Life with eight orphaned Koopalings proved difficult, to say the least. Especially when five of those were newborn hatchlings. The care and attention they requires wasn’t something he was prepared for. Bowser felt his focus shifting from the important work he had to file out, turning his giant head towards the window and rubbing at the eyebags that pull at his eyelids.

Bowser hadn’t shown his face to the public over the last two weeks since the discovery of the eggs hiding right under his snout. And it wasn’t going unnoticed. He couldn’t help but scoff at the exaggerated news anchors blabbering about the Darklands crumbling under their feet. ‘ Yeah, as if.’

The castle maids were gossips, everybody knew that. Just over a week into his disappearance from the throne, Darklandians from all over began speculating about the orphans their King had taken in and what it will mean for the Kingdom as a whole. Everybody knows he’s unmated. That much is obvious. But if they ever found out he had a biological son out of wedlock..

That thought alone makes Bowser rub his face into his palms, bouncing a leg anxiously under the table. The mere idea of his own people turning their backs to him for his own idiotic mistakes make his scales crawl, heart palpitating in his chest. There’s no doubt somebody would challenge his authority to the throne.

“Your Broodiness.”

Bowser snaps out of his cloud of thought, shifting his head towards the old advisor standing in the middle of the office looking up at him. With an agitated sigh, Bowser leans back in the high-backed leather chair and throws the pen on the desk, brushing a stray lock of red hair out of his eyes. “Knock. How many times do I have to tell you?”

“I did knock. Six times.” Kamek quips in response and waddles over, using his wand for leverage as he approaches the King by his side. “I thought you might be sleeping, but it seems you were deep in thought. Is there something on your mind?” 

“No.” Bowser lies through grit teeth, avoiding the mage’s eyes who narrows them behind his glasses. Ever since the King was a child, his face always betrayed his words. Bowser couldn’t mask anything to save his life, at least, not in front of his father. Kamek always knew.

“If this is about Junior…”

“It’s not about Junior!” Bowser impatiently slams his fists against the desk, sending all his important paraphernalia scattering across the floor and startling the advisor who jumps in place. The bookshelves quake around the walls, a few falling from their slots and scattering along the floor. The King lets out a steam of smoke through his teeth before relaxing his fingers, claws leaving indents on his palms. “It’s not about him. Not this time.”

“Then what is it? I am your advisor, I’m here to advise you. I cannot do that if you continue to wallow alone with these thoughts, your Troubledness.” Kamek bares a gentle but concerned frown on his face, beak crinkling a little to adjust the glasses that went lopsided after his jump. 

“It’s everything!” Bowser throws his hands up with a scoff, shifting his chair back with a loud screech and getting up to pace around the room. “Those exaggerated headlines about me ‘abandoning’ the throne, the speculation that I’m hidin’ something, which I’m not by the way. The maids gossip enough for everybody to know what’s goin’ on within these castle walls anyway.” He scoffs in the middle of smoothing a few talons through his unruly red hair, nostrils flared in silent fury. 

Kamek stands back to allow Bowser to pace around the room. Since a toddler this was how Bowser regulated complicated emotions as a kid, often pacing around his own room or along the corridors for hours on end. “So what would you like me to do about it, your Highness? Cage the news reporters above lava? Fire the maids? What will bring you peace of mind?”

“None of that.” Bowser grumbles, followed by a reluctant sigh, “It’s tempting, but no. I’ve got enough shit on my desk to deal with than torturing some gossipin’ citizens.” Kamek’s eyes follow the multitude of scattered papers being trampled on the floor, waving his wand around to gather them up in purple smoke and place them back neatly on the desk. “I feel like I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. I didn’t…” Bowser stops his relentless pacing and puffs his chest out with a deep breath. “I didn’t realise how hard it was going to be.”

Kamek furrows his brows with a sympathetic glance up at Bowser who continued to refuse eye-contact. Finally, the big brute admits that this wasn’t something he was prepared for! As much as the advisor would love to be smug about the revelation, to say ‘I told you so’... He couldn’t help but feel a thrum of pity in his chest. Bowser was alone, and as much as the old brute didn’t want to admit it… He was also lonely.

“Then why not appoint a Nanny?”

“A Nanny?” Bowser finally looks over at Kamek who was finishing smoothing the paperwork back on the desk, sitting on his wand and floating towards the King’s shoulder.  

“Well… Yes.” Kamek hums, “Think about it, there’s three of us and eight of them. A Nanny will do the cleaning, bathing, feeding. Of course, we can… Occasionally assist when need be. Don’t you think it will help you significantly?” 

Bowser sits on the idea for a minute, cogs turning in his head while he stares blankly out the window. Having a nanny around the castle would give him more time to focus on the ‘training’ part of their upbringing while the nanny takes care of the rest. He doesn’t want them to get soft, by any means, not at all. But as long as this ‘nanny’ could feed them whenever the brats were hungry and occasionally give them a bath, it would give him a lot more time to actually tend to his Kingdom again, to stop the exaggerated rumours surrounding his absence and the potential war it may bring. “That’s… Not a bad idea.”

Kamek couldn’t help but smile proudly. More often than not, the King would dismiss his suggestions and call them stupid. It was usually Bowsers’ way or the highway. He was just stubborn like that.

“Alright, fine. I will leave you to deal with that.” Bowser dismisses and walks back over to his desk, sitting down and rolling towards the now-neat stacks of paper. “Find somebody suitable that can take care of eight Koopas. I don’t want somebody who’s incompetent at the damn job, or sloppy by any means.”

“Of course, Sire. I’ll find the best of the best.” Kamek swishes his wand to prepare the next step of their plan when the door bursts open with a slam, jostling the bookshelf and toppling a few more books along the floor. The older Koopas jolt in surprise, swinging their heads over to see Wendy holding Junior at arms length with tears in her eyes. 

“HE WON’T STOP POOPING EVERYWHERE!” Wendy cries out while the infant in her hands lets out a wicked cackle at her distress, kicking his dangling legs. Bowser and Kamek share an unamused stare watching the infant squirming happily in her grasp, before the tiny tot lets out another dollop of feces right next to her feet. “EEWWWUHHH!!!! HELP ME!” The toddler screams, hopping from one foot to the other in distress while Junior screams louder in delight.

“My my, look at the time!” Kamek glances at his non-existent watch on his wrist and Bowser shoots him a stare. “Best be off to find the best Nanny in the world! Any preferences, Sire?” 

“Just get ANYONE! Anyone will do!” Bowser bellows in the middle of rushing out of his seat to the distressed toddler holding the infant at arms length, while the stench of baby poop fills the office. The advisor was quick to poof out of existence while Bowser takes Junior by the scruff of the neck in between his claws. “Don’t just stand there, go and fetch a maid!” Bowser snaps at Wendy who was quick to dart out of the door, yelling around the once peaceful hallways for assistance.

Bowser glares at the infant who beams a devious smile. Like father, like son. “You’re going to be wicked. I can already see it.” The King grunts and steps haphazardly over the pile of poop in his doorway. “You little brat. That was definitely on purpose.”

Junior lets out another sly giggle. The Monarch stomps his way down the winding corridors. Passing the Troopa guards who grimace at the smell of baby poop coming from the giggling infant dangling by the scruff. Zakaan in particular almost faints from the smell, sucking in his lips and keeping his composure as the Monarch passes by. Bowser shoulders open the swinging doors of the kitchen, marching around the island counter and plopping the infant in the sink. Junior looks up at Bowser with a curious glint in his eyes as the tap runs.

Junior sits in the cold water and starts shrieking, flapping his arms up and down at the uncomfortable coldness that surrounds his legs. 

“The hell are you screaming for?!” Bowser snatches the child up from the water, red eyes wide in alarm as the dripping residue from the child’s legs run down his plastron. “It’s just water!”

“It has to be warm water.” The sound of Ludwig’s voice spooks Bowser, jumping at the sight of the blue-haired Koopaling who seemed to materialize out of thin air by the swinging doors. “How would you feel being dumped in a bath of cold water?” The kid shakes his head with a disappointed huff and saunters over, using his foot to kick over a stepping stool in order to reach the tap and adjusts the temperature of the running water. “Are you seriously bathing him in the sink?” 

“It does the job, doesn’t it? I’m not going to fill an entire bath just to wash away some poop.” Bowser scoffs at him, watching Ludwig take the initiative over adjusting the water’s temperature until it was just right while the infant squirms in his grasp.

“Give him to me.” Ludwig insists, holding his paws out and taking Junior in his arms who purrs happily. Ludwig chirps back in response before plopping the little infant in the now-warm water and swishing it around with his claws. 

Junior sits there for a moment before splashing his hands around, flailing water everywhere, splashing the surrounding counters and the floor below. “You would usually groom hatchlings to clean them. At least the mothers do.” Ludwig informs while swishing his hands in the water to clean the happy infant off.

“I am not licking him clean. Not after that poonami he left in my damn office.” Bowser folds his beefy arms and turns his head away, stealing a few glances at Junior in the sink who had his attention elsewhere.

“Yeah, I figured. You don’t have the instincts to do those things.” Ludwig scorns and Bowser bristles a little at his demeaning tone. The big guy knew better than to stand there and argue with a child, though. 

The King stands back to allow Ludwig the job of cleaning off Junior before twisting the tap off and drying him down with a nearby towel, making a mental note to chuck it into a nearby laundry basket.

“So, is it true?” Ludwig speaks up in the middle of ruffling Junior’s red tufts, subtly smiling at the loud purring coming from the infant. “Is Junior your son?” 

“I have enough reason to believe so.” Bowser shrugs him off and turns away, making himself busy with the cup in front of him and tracing along the rim, his thoughts distant. “How do you know that?”

“It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out.” Ludwig responds back, now holding the infant on his hip and looking up towards the King who had turned to face him with a stern stare, red eyes gleaming dangerously.

“You breathe a word about this to anybody and there will be consequences.” Bowser adds with a growl. “Not the guards, not the maids. No one.” Ludwig couldn’t help stepping back a little at that with a frown.

“I may be a kid but I’m not dumb.” He scoffs back. “I haven’t even told Wendy and Roy. Those two are too young to keep a secret even if their lives depended on it.” The young Koopaling jiggles Junior happily clinging to his side, clean and dry and by the looks of it, ready for a nap. “You’ve got a lot more to worry about that me running my mouth to anyone outside this castle.” 

Ludwig leaves without another word while Bowser stands there bristled more than ever. The hell was that supposed to mean?! The kid’s smart wit replies were becoming increasingly infuriating. 

Bowser leans against the island and crosses his arms over his chest, letting his mind wander as he stares blankly at the sink in front of him. Ludwig was right. There was so much more he had to worry about right now. There was a part of him, deep down, that trusts Ludwig not to say a word to anybody about this. But all Bowser could think about was how long it will take for those around them to figure it out themselves? There’s no doubt the little tot was his spitting image, it was like looking in the mirror. And Bowser knew he couldn’t keep this secret hidden forever, somebody was bound to figure it out and the gossip would spread like wildfire.

Bowser stomps out of the kitchen and back to his now-pristine office, the familiar cinnamon fragrance gracing his nostrils once more. The King sits himself down harshly on the chair and rubs at his temples with his claws, feeling a headache coming on. There was finally some peace and quiet but it wasn’t going to last long, he knew that. It was only a matter of time before one of the kids burst in here with something to say about those little brats.

So, Bowser sets his head down to distract himself from the drowning worries that float around inside his head. It was like the words in front of him were swimming around the paper the longer he stares. Whatever, he could take a nap later.

—

Elsewhere, hours later, in the familiar Kingdom full of Mushroom people, a soft orange glow graces the beautiful white and red palace that sits snugly on top of a hill. Voices of guards were distant, swapping shifts with those in the daytime while everybody in town settles down for the night, all but Princess Peach, who sits slumped over her desk, cheek flush with the cold writing desk while she stares at the vase of pink roses with a distant look in her eyes.

The room was illuminated by a single candle light on her desk that basks the scattered papers with a warm, yellow glow. The sun setting just beyond the window behind her that illuminates the sickeningly pink bookcases that frame the whole office.

She had spent the whole day cooped up finishing off her stacks of paperwork in a timely manner. She was often great at making sure the pile never got too big, but with her newfound free time now that Bowser seemed to be preoccupied, the Princess often found herself somewhere other than her office.

The Princess found herself fitting into her beautiful selection of sundresses more often and mingling with her people without the threat of Bowser looming over her shoulders. She spent significant time with her hero Mario in the fields having picnics, or playing lengthy games of tennis for hours on end in the beaming sun, laughing from sunup to sundown. It was remarkable. Peach hadn’t had so much free time in all her life since she sat on the throne for the first time.

The pile of paperwork was merely the height of a bottle of perfume when she decides she was done for the night. Her bright blue eyes were growing tired at the sight of wiggly words on paper, but she couldn’t help but simply sit there and daydream into the floral detailed vase in front of her. Part of her told her to get up and go to bed, to rest her heavy eyes, but something kept her in the plush pink seat.

A thought overcomes Peach’s mind and she sits up, suddenly sifting through the letters and crinkled papers around her desk and furrows her eyebrows a little in confusion. “I’ve sent three letters over the last two weeks asking to discuss the possibility of peace and none of them have been answered.” The Princess mumbles to herself, eyes scanning for the signature insignia of Bowser’s giant stamped head or the rough letters of his name but there was nothing. Not even a corny love letter that he’d write to her once a week for the last six years. Talk about dedication. 

There was definitely something wrong. Sure, she was overjoyed that Bowser’s attention seems to have been directed elsewhere but… It was also odd. It was like the Darklands King had suddenly fallen off the face of the world. Disappeared without a trace. He hadn’t been heard from these last few weeks, no troops spotted spying in the trees or during the Kart race they had last week. Bowser hadn’t even shown up for that! Bowser hasn’t missed one of those in the last six years since the Mario brothers fell through those pipes. There was no airship coming to claim the Princess for another one of their weekly kidnapping schemes. Not even his minions were sent to do his dirty work for him.

Nothing.

Princess Peach couldn’t help but feel a pang of worry at the radio silence. She was in frequent contact with her allies and different Kingdoms all over the world, and that included the Darklands, feud or not. Sure, the big guy had caused her much grief for herself and her Kingdom over the last few years but he didn’t harm a single hair on her head in his possession. Just made a few pathetic attempts to convince her to marry him and then he’d consider the possibility of peace. Not even a guarantee!

Not on her watch. Marriage was important to her, and she wasn’t going to throw that away just to build a few bridges between their Kingdoms that wouldn’t even be sincere. It was definitely a sacrifice that would save them all, but it wasn’t a sacrifice she was willing to make. Not unless the King himself threatens her people. After all, she had somebody else on her mind.

“Princess…” The trembling voice of Toadsworth snaps Peach out of her train of thought. Her blue eyes follow the muffled voice of her advisor standing right outside her door, and she quietly beckons him in. The old Toad was trembling slightly as he stood there in the last beam of sunlight.

“Toadsworth? Is everything okay?” Peach immediately pushes herself out of the chair and rounds her desk to approach him. The old advisor always held himself up with confidence. It was a rare sight to see him trembling before her.

“You have…A-A visitor.” 

“Visitor? I haven’t scheduled any meetings with a visitor.” Peach furrows her brows in thought, wondering if she had somehow missed something.

“I thought as much, I-I tried to tell them that but… But they wouldn’t leave unless they got to speak with you.” Toadsworth anxiously pinches the corner of his white mustache, twirling it in his fingers and watching as the Princess sighs quietly, stepping back towards her desk.

“Very well. Let them in.” 

Toadsworth steps back into the hallway and for a moment nobody appears after him. Peach stands up to open the door herself until the familiar sight of an old Koopa advisor toddles into the office. The Princess jumps back against her desk, bumping the vase and almost toppling it over before she could catch hold of it by the rim. “K-Kamek?”

“Princess Peach.” The mage greets with a tip of his head, surveying around the room with a wrinkle of his beak as he observes the overwhelming sight of pink. “I hope I’m not bothering you at this hour. I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”

“Um, not at all.” Peach answers with a wary squint in her eyes. W as this some sort of trap? “Is the matter so dire that you thought not to schedule a meeting?”

“This requires urgent attention. I was hoping that you might want to sit down with me and chat about the matter.” Kamek’s beady glassed eyes look up at the Princess who wore a mask of doubt over her face. Clearly, she was skeptical. But this was no trap.

“Very…Very well.” Princess Peach clears her throat and smooths down her dress, striding over to the door. “Perhaps we should take this outside into the gardens. I’ve been cooped up in this office all day, I’m sure you’d appreciate it?”

Kamek’s reply was simply a nod. The old advisor follows her out the door and doesn’t bother using his wand as a broom to fly, instead hobbling at her side to meet her pace. As much as his old legs would let him, at least. 

Together, in silence, they walk down the winding stairs and through the endless maze of corridors until they walk into the garden, washed with rays of orange and yellow from the setting sun in the distance. The Princess takes her place on a white garden chair and Kamek without a word takes up the seat opposite her, adjusting the height of it with his wand to meet the Princess’ line of sight.

Not even a minute later a blue toad wanders into the gardens with a teatray clattering in his hands, placing it on the garden table between them and dismissing himself with a bow to the Princess. 

“I’m glad somebody appreciates a good mug of tea.” Kamek speaks up after the moments of silence, pouring himself a cup of the herbal tea and stirring it around with a gold teaspoon. “His Highness won’t touch it if his life depended on it.”

That cracks a timid smile on Peach’s face against the lip of her own cup, taking a sip and keeping the mug in her hands… Just to be safe. “Is this what you’d like to talk to me about? Something to do with Bowser?”

“Not directly, but he definitely has something to do with it.” Kamek had an absent look on his face as he stares into the cup he was stirring. Peach frowns a little at the sight of the old mage with eyebags dragging down his eyelids. He looked a lot frailer than she had seen him last. “I’m sure his absence hasn’t gone unnoticed.”

“Not at all.” Peach couldn’t help but answer, fiddling with her free hand on her lap. “I couldn’t help but notice the headlines going around lately… Is everything okay in the Darklands?”

Kamek was surprised to hear the genuine concern in her tone. He looks up at her, the tiredness on his face evident when the Princess meets his eye. “The King has taken on the responsibility of eight orphaned Koopalings.”

Peach splutters mid-sip of her tea, covering her mouth before she could spray the poor advisor with a shower of herbal tea. The Princess recovers with a few chesty coughs, patting at her chest with wide eyes. “I’m sorry?”

“You heard me. Adopted eight Koopalings, on top of the throne he sits on.” Kamek finally starts sipping at his own tea, leaning back in the chair. “If you couldn’t tell by the eyebags on my face, it has been… Rough.” 

“But, why would he do that?” Peach questions quietly in thought, even if the question was directed to herself the advisor answers anyway.

“Because he is impulsive and doesn’t see the point in sitting on a thought.” Kamek huffs, not as an advisor but as a father. “At first it was just the three. Fine. Manageable, but barely. But those little brats were hiding four eggs under our noses in a soggy cardboard box they refused to open all week.” He answers with a frustrated huff, “One of those eggs contained twins.” 

Peach was leaning over now, blue eyes staring with intrigue at the advisor who wouldn’t meet her gaze. She anxiously threads a few fingers through her hair sitting on her shoulders,  “Still, he refused to give them up. Insisted that they will help him build a team of minions to defeat Mario, or whatever.”

Peach frowns at that.

“But his Highness seems to forget that before anything else, they are children. They have to be bathed, fed, potty trained, sleep trained, they require an abundance of enrichment. Bowser seems to have forgotten that part and thinks they’ll grow overnight.” Kamek huffs once more, stirring his tea with a level of relatable frustration before putting the spoon down and taking the cup in his hands.

“Sounds like him, alright.” Peach mumbles to herself, tracing the half-heart shaped handle of her cup while she continues to intently listen. “So, they’re just part of some elaborate plan to take down Mario easier?”

“I suppose so.” Kamek shrugs with a worrying amount of nonchalance. “Though the plumber won’t have to worry about that for the next few years, they’re infants. Hatched just over two weeks ago.” 

Peach crosses one leg over the other and stares at the garden table in thought. In all her times of being kidnapped, Bowser hadn’t really expressed the desire to have children. They never touched on the topic, at least. “So, if you don’t mind me asking so unprofessionally, what do I have to do with it? If it’s what I think it is, I’m not cut out to be a mother.” Peach answers with a stern frown and Kamek laughs, dismissing her worries with a wave of a hand.

“Not at all, though now that you mention it I am surprised his Majesty hasn’t insisted I bring you back with me.” Kamek shakes his head, “I’ve spent the last afternoon visiting every Kingdom I could reach asking for help. Everyone turns me away without even hearing what I have to say! Rather rude, if you ask me.”

“I wonder why.” Peach mutters under her breath, going unnoticed by the advisor.

“Which is why I am here. I figured you would be my last resort, as I’m sure the King wouldn’t be too pleased asking for help from this Kingdom in particular.” Kamek scrunches his beak and pats down his blue gown, sitting up on his chair while he places his cup back on the teaplate. “I request that you nominate a volunteer capable enough to assist the upbringing of the eight orphans in our care.” 

Peach raises her brows at him in surprise, “Somebody capable enough to… Soften their upbringing. Give them routine, carry out the necessary tasks of bringing up a child. Currently? They run wild in the castle day and night. Me and my dear sister Kammy are too old to be running after them and Bowser isn’t capable alone of setting his foot down with routines. Not that he bothers in the first place. As long as they aren’t bothering him, he doesn’t bat an eye.” Kamek sounds exhausted, letting out a deep sigh and relaxing his shoulders. “And it’s costing me sleep!”

“Is there nobody capable in the Darklands to handle this? Surely a fellow Koopa would be more than happy to help raise them?” Peach questions with a level of suspicion that doesn’t go unnoticed. She sets her hands in her lap, anxiously fiddling with her thumbs

“We have a situation at hand where appointing somebody from within our own Kingdom would be dangerous. I cannot discuss the matter with you, nor anybody that isn’t his Highness. I hope you understand.” Kamek adjusts the glasses sliding off his beak. “It is the reason why I have been visiting distant Kingdoms asking for help, it would be much safer. And the reason why I chose to visit you last.” 

Peach sits there with her mind reeling. This was a lot to ask all at once. Peach had never had such a civil conversation with the advisor in all her years of ruling on the throne. Even being captured in the castle, the advisor kept his distance. But now he was asking for help.

“And Bowser is happy that I’m the one you’re speaking to?”

“His Highness never specified who it had to be. Just that they were competent enough to handle the job.” Kamek raises a brow over at the Princess. “I understand this is a lot to take in at once. Our Kingdoms have been at war the last century or so, and I understand your skepticism of the matter. But if I can promise you something in return, will you at least consider it?”

Peach narrows her eyes. “What exactly will you promise?”

“Peace.” Kamek replies simply. Peach fights the urge to choke on air this time. “If you appoint somebody capable enough to handle eight Koopa children to allow his Highness enough time to care for the Kingdom on top of them, I can promise Bowser will sign that treaty. I'll give you my word.”

Princess Peach felt her heart palpitating underneath her dress, growing hotter by the minute. A peace treaty between the two rivalling Kingdoms, one that she’s been fighting for ever since she took the throne, the one that her parents and grandparents had been fighting for until the end of their days, would finally be promised. And she wouldn’t have to sacrifice her hand in marriage, either. “You could truly promise that to me? This isn’t some kind of sick joke?”

“I would not come here and share such confidentiality just to go back on my word in the end.” Kamek raises his brows, “What I’m asking of you here is something that will last a long time. We will need the volunteer at the castle twenty-four-seven for the next few months, maybe a year, maybe more, until the children are grown enough to take care of themselves.”

Peach has to sit herself against the back of the chair and brush a hand along her sweating bangs, sitting in silence for at least two minutes while Kamek sits patiently awaiting her response. “No trickery.” The mage speaks up quietly, “No deception.”

The century-long war between two Kingdoms would be over, just like that. There would finally be a reason for peace, a way to bridge their Kingdoms together without war. She could start settling down and actually… Enjoy being a Princess. Since Bowser’s absence over the last few weeks Peach had thoroughly enjoyed her time mingling with her people and spending quality time within the town. If there was a promise of peace, that the threat of the Koopa King would be no more… That could be her forever.

“I have somebody in mind.” Peach speaks up quietly, adjusting herself in the seat as Kamek perks up with interest. “But I cannot guarantee Bowser will be happy about it.”

“Well, are they great with children?”

“Mhm.”

“Then that’s all we need. Hit me, I am sure it’s not that bad.” Kamek relaxes against the chair, staring over to the sky now that the sun had finally set over the distant mountain, admiring the landscape pooling over with a dark blue tinge. 

“It’s Luigi.” Peach responds against the lip of her cup and after a few seconds, she was surprised at the advisor’s lack of reaction.

“Who?”

“Luigi.” She repeats.

“Am I supposed to know who that is?” Kamek furrows his brows in thought, trying to think back even though the name didn’t ring a bell.

Peach lets out a frustrated huff. “It’s Mario’s brother, Luigi.”

“WHAT?! A Mario brother?! And I thought his name was Linguine!” Kamek hisses the last part to himself and Peach stifles the urge to snort. “Are you seriously suggesting I let a Mario brother, no less, roam the halls and interact with the children?! He could pass important information to that red plumber! He could deceive us!”

“You said Bowser asked for anybody and that’s who I volunteer.” Peach sharply interrupts the old mage’s babbling and folds her arms over her chest. “Please, Luigi hasn’t got a mean bone in his body unless you put him in the same room with King Boo.”

The advisor couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The green one?! Of all people she could suggest? Now that he thought about it, the Green one was the coward among the two. All those years ago when the rivalry between Mario and Bowser sparked, the little twig spent almost every second of the day shaking like a leaf! Is there not a single competent Toad in this Kingdom who could Nanny the hatchlings?

“Give me good reason to even consider it.” Kamek demands with a childish huff. The Princess delicately rolls her eyes and sits up, meeting his scowl.

“Like I said, Luigi hasn’t got a mean bone in his body, especially when it comes to children. He’s the most patient man I know. He helped an elderly Toad carry his shopping back home even though the journey took over an hour because he couldn’t walk properly.” Peach starts listing things on her fingers, “Whenever there’s a fussy child they immediately ask for him. Nobody can soothe a Toad child the way he does. He’s compassionate and loving, but stern when he needs to be.”

Kamek listens to the Princess as she endlessly babbles on about this green Mario brother, taking in the overwhelming information into his little brain. “Not to mention, Luigi is a great teacher. He taught a group of Toad children this Italian rhyme, I think it’s called ‘Stella Stellina’. It only took him a week before they mastered it.” Peach pauses to catch her breath, almost going red in the face. “Trust me, Kamek, I could go on for another hour talking about how great he is with children and why I think he’d be perfect for the job.” 

The old mage was… Frankly impressed with her passion to appoint a Mario brother of all people to live within the castle for the next few months or so. She could have appointed any old Toad and let them get on with it. “If this Luigi is as great as you say he is with children, then I will consider it. Is this something he will willingly partake in? I don’t particularly want to be facing the wrath of his meddling brother, on top of the children I have to deal with when I inevitably return.”

“I…I’ll have to discuss it with him.” Peach replies, almost sounding unsure now. Kamek gets up from the garden chair and looks up at the sitting Princess.

“Very well. I must have an answer by tomorrow night, no later. I cannot waste anymore time looking for a suitable candidate just to be disappointed in the end.” Kamek starts hobbling off, followed by the Princess who gets up from her seat to rush after him. “If this Luigi is more than happy to take up the responsibility, then he will be required to leave immediately the next morning, seven o’clock sharp.”

“I see.” Peach murmurs to herself, blue eyes following the marbled floor of the castle they were walking through now, towards the giant entrance. “I will give you a response within the next twenty-four-hours. If he says yes, I will send you the details on where to meet him the next morning.”

“Excellent.” Kamek hums as he approaches the front doors, turning back to the Princess who stares down at him. “I appreciate your hospitality, Princess Peach. Thank you for your time and willingness to listen. I look forward to seeing your response in the mail tomorrow.” The old mage leaves without another word, adjusting his wand to sit on and takes off towards a parked Darkland airship poking just out of the trees in the far distance.

Peach let her blue eyes linger on the mage who disappears into a little dot in the distance, before her thoughts were interrupted by the soft clearing of a throat. 

She turns to meet Toadsworth standing behind her, pinching his white mustache between his fingers and gesturing for her to follow.

The Princess waits a few moments to watch the Darklands airship take off into the sky and head back home without casualty, turning her body to Toadsworth and following him back through the castle and up the winding stairs to the office room once more. 

“If you don’t mind me being so nosy, your Highness, what did the Darklands’ advisor want with you?” Toadsworth begins as he holds the door open for the Princess who walks back inside towards her desk, slumping in her plush pink chair. “I thought that perhaps it was a trap. I had every guard on alert. I was sure this ‘meeting’ was going to end in another kidnapping.”

“I thought so too.” Peach responds in the middle of rubbing the bridge of her nose and sighing. “It was a lot to take in at once, so I think you should take a seat with me.” Peach glances over to the beanbag perched just in front of the bookcase shelf to her right. Toadsworth toddles over and jumps into the seat, settling down while Peach rolls her chair closer to her advisor. “The Darklands are asking for help. More specifically, Bowser.”

“Bowser? That old brute is asking for our help? After everything he’s done to us, to you?” Toadsworth scoffs quietly.

“I know. I know, it’s bad.” Peach rests the side of her head against her knuckles, eyes shut as she thinks back on the conversation a few moments ago. “Bowser decided to take in eight orphans in his care. Solely. We already know he hasn’t got a mate, so I’m not sure what he was thinking when he made that decision.”

Toadsworth gawks at the Princess, unable to let out a string of coherent words. 

“Kamek was asking for me personally to volunteer somebody to become their ‘Nanny’, essentially. Not me. Just somebody competent enough to raise eight Koopalings.”

“There’s not a single Toad in this Kingdom brave enough to take care of eight rowdy Koopa children! They’ll be eaten once they’re big enough!” Toadsworth exclaims while anxiously pulling at his mustache. 

“I know that. That’s why I volunteered Luigi.” 

“Luigi?!”

“Yes, Luigi.” Peach nods slowly, “I think he would be a great candidate, don’t you think? Much harder to eat, at least.” She amuses herself with a soft giggle.

“And is Luigi happy about this arrangement? You have spoken to him, right?” Toadsworth anxiously looks over at the Princess who looks elsewhere. 

“I did not solidify my decision with the advisor, because I wanted to discuss it with him first, of course. I wasn’t going to throw Luigi in the deep end like that, not without a proper discussion. As the Ambassador, maybe the Darklands will see him as a symbol of peace between us.” 

Toadsworth sits on the thought for a minute, continuing with the obsessive curling of his facial hair. “And what do we get out of this, Princess Peach? Surely Bowser cannot ask for something like that and expect we get nothing in return?”

“Kamek promised me that Bowser will sign the peace treaty if Luigi does this.” Peach watches the old advisor’s face grow pale, beady eyes widened as far as they can go. 

“The peace treaty? The one you’ve been trying to get him to sign over the last few years? The one your parents have been trying to get his father to sign, and their parents before them?” Toadsworths voice had grown soft, barely audible. 

“Yes. An official declaration of peace. He promised me that if Luigi stays in the castle for the next year or so and assists their upbringing, Bowser will sign a peace agreement between us.”

“And how can we trust he will do just that? What if this is a trick? What if he doesn’t end up signing it?”

“I know, it sounds suspicious and I’m probably stupid for thinking that this might not be a trap, but Kamek shared some information with me that I know he’d never share if they weren’t in dire need of assistance.” Peach rubs at her temple before reaching over her desk for a plain piece of pink paper, grabbing her quill pen from the pot of ink. “I’ll write him a letter to be sent by the morning. We can discuss it then.” 

“Very well, Princess.” Toadsworth nods his head slowly and jumps out of the beanbag, holding his cane close to his left side. “I suppose, as the Ambassador for this Kingdom he has a duty to spread the peace between all our allied and rivalling Kingdoms, including the Darklands. I just hope Kamek keeps his word.” 

“I hope so, too.” Peach replies through a quiet sigh and presses the pen on paper, holding it there for a moment while she thinks. “Get some rest, Toadsworth. It’s quite late.”

“I understand. Don’t stay up too long.” The old advisor murmurs softly to the Princess who smiles at him in return, watching as he leaves. The cool rays of moonlight now shine through the curtains just behind her, while the warm light of a dimming candle illuminates the piece of paper she holds in front of her. 

Peach felt so unsure of herself now. Luigi, sweet timid Luigi. Would he even agree to do this? Princess Peach couldn’t help but think she had just thrown the poor man in the deep end. But if he truly didn’t want to do it… Then she couldn’t make him. Luigi may be timid but he knew when to put his foot down, and she was afraid that this might be one of those times.

“Can’t hurt to try.” Peach murmurs to herself and begins scribbling with the dark ink on the paper, as the silence overcomes the office and the candle light fades.

 

—

 

Kamek returns back to his beloved home just as the giant moon peaks over the top of the giant castle. The airship docks, and the advisor uses his wand to disappear in a cloud of smoke and reappear in the familiar sight of the King’s office.

To his surprise, though, he wasn’t there. Bowser had been there most of the day trying to catch up on the evercrowding papers stacking up on his desk. But it was pretty late, and Kamek wasn’t expecting Bowser to stay up so late staring at the papers hoping they would magically file themselves.

Kamek saunters over and observes that most of the paperwork had gone down. There was a pleased smile on his face at the sight. He hadn’t seen the pile so small since the hatchlings came into the picture.

Speaking of. Kamek turns his head to the sound of muffled screaming coming from somewhere distant in the castle. Using his wand as a broom, Kamek flies out of the door and floats through the halls as the screams get louder.

The light of Bowser’s chambers spill through the door left ajar onto the wine red carpet. The familiar figure of Ludwig’s pouffy blue hair could be seen peeking inside, tail thrashing back and forth irritably. 

“Ludwig?” Kamek murmurs as he approaches the child, who jumps at the sound of his voice. “It’s very late, why are you still up?”

“Should I go and help him?” Ludwig ignores his question and glances back through the gap of the door. Kamek furrows his brows in confusion and levitates just above his head to take a peek himself.

Inside was Bowser, hair flattened against his head with a few stray strands sitting above his closed eyes. The monarch was pacing around the room back and forth juggling what looked like Iggy, judging by the green sprout on his head, wailing and screaming against the King’s shoulder. Bowser had the infant cupped against him, palm under his feet and attempting to juggle the infant to sleep but it didn’t seem to be working. 

His eyes were closed, like he was trying to hold it together while simultaneously trying not to set the room on fire in pure frustration. 

“Iggy won’t stop crying.” Ludwig mumbles with a trembled voice. “I don’t like hearing them cry.”

“I understand, little one.” Kamek pulls back to meet the young… Prince? No. Not a Prince. Bowser was determined to make them his minions, not his children. “You head back to sleep. I will go and assist him in soothing the infants.”

“But… Are you sure? I can–”

“Ludwig.” Kamek meets his concerned face with a stern frown. “I can handle it. Please, it’s very late. I would like you to get some rest. That is an order.”

Ludwig was about to fight back with a puff of his chest, but after a few seconds the advisor observes the way he deflates with a defeated nod of his head. The blue Koopaling begins walking away and around the corner of the hall to his own room for the night.

Kamek turns his attention back to Bowser who was still pacing around with the still screaming infant against his shoulder.

The old mage pushes the door open quietly and wanders inside, wincing at the sound of a crying infant and the grizzling of the other four in the bassinet, disrupted by the sound of their brother’s wailing.

Kamek hadn’t expected to see Bowser being the one to try and comfort the infant. He would usually shout for Kammy or Kamek to settle them if they were grizzly or whining. More often than not it was them crying out for food.

“Are they hungry?” Kamek speaks up, frightening Bowser’s eyes open as his tired stare meets the advisors.

“No. Kammy fed them just before she put them to sleep.” His gruff voice mumbles out, continuing the jiggling of his paw underneath the hatchling who squirmed and wriggled in his grasp. “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong! The little brat won’t stop crying. He’s been like this for the last twenty minutes.” 

Kamek lets a sympathetic smile pull at his beak before walking over and climbing onto the giant nest, patting the empty side next to him. Hesitantly, Bowser stops his relentless pacing and takes a seat next to Kamek, the nest dipping significantly underneath him.

“You are holding the hatchling a little awkwardly. His head is lopsided on your shoulder, it needs support.” Kamek uses his magic to levitate to Bowser’s eye-level and begin gently positioning the King’s giant paws around the fragile infant. “Hold their head against your shoulder. You did well with supporting his bottom with your other hand.” 

Bowser watches Kamek puppeteer his arms until the right was folded just over his chest to hold Iggy’s head against his shoulder, while the other continues to bounce the hatchling gently by his bottom. “Hatchlings need support when they’re as small as this. This one seems to be more on the leaner side, he’s a lot longer than his siblings so he needs that little bit more support while being snuggled.”

“I’m not snuggling him.” Bowser replies with a quiet huff.

“This tells me otherwise.” Kamek gestures to the hatchling whose cries string out into soft grizzles and eventually into loud purrs that vibrate the monarch’s scales. The King rolls his eyes a little and turns his head to look at the bassinet of sleeping infants who had settled now that their brother’s cries had ceased.

“Now that they’ve been scented by you, they’ll crave your warmth. If it was me bouncing and soothing the child, they would continue to cry until you came along.” Kamek continues his gentle faffing of the hatchling, smoothing out the sprout of green hair while they lay fast asleep with the giant paw cupping their body like a blanket. “I hope you don’t mind me saying this, Sire, but fatherhood suits you.”

Bowser turns his distracted gaze back to Kamek who gives him a timid smile. Psch, these kids were turning his advisor soft! The old fart would never say something like that to him if they weren’t here.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” The King dismisses with a curl of his lip, pausing for a few long moments before mumbling a very quiet. “...Thanks.”

“You are most welcome, your Flusteredness.” Kamek backs himself away from Bowser who stands up from the edge of the nest and towards the bassinet of snoring hatchlings. Gently, the King lowers Iggy from the palm of his paw and into the sleep pile, who welcome their baby brother back with quiet mewls and sniffs as they snuggle in the fresh scent of Bowser. “You are doing very well. Your mother and father would be proud to see you now.”

Bowser feels the ache in his chest at the mention of his parents, letting his hands lean against the edge of the bassinet with his eyes closed, red hair falling into his eyes again. Bowser didn’t talk about his birth parents much, because he had nothing to talk about. He had never met them, they died before he hatched. The crown was put on his head the moment he left the safety of the egg and from there on, he hasn’t had it easy. 

The King silently thanked his lucky stars that Kamek and Kammy were there to lighten his load. That they never left his side through his unbearable tantrums and the carpets he set on fire in a blind rage.

“That will be all, Kamek.” Bowser mumbles through parted lips, half-lidded eyes observing the sleeping pile just below him before he turns to settle back in his own nest. 

The advisor leaves without a word, simply nodding at his request to be left alone and makes his way out of the door, not before flicking the light off after him and quietly shutting it behind him. His hand lingers on the doorknob for a moment or two before he eventually lets go, and begins the long trek along the wine-coloured carpets to his own tower for the night.

Notes:

AAaaa I'm so self concious about their characterization, I don't want them to come off as too detached to their characters or for you guys to be disappointed with how I'm portraying them. I'm praying that it's not coming off like that, but if it is, please tell me (◞‸◟)

Chapter 5

Preset Day

 

The sun was starting to set on the grassy horizon up ahead. There was a warmth that embraced Luigi on his way down the gravel path towards the forest, swinging a paper bag of his goodies from the market he spent the last few hours in.

He pulls down his sunhat a smidge to stop the glare of sunlight in his face as they wander down the hill. Luigi watches Polterpup trotting farther ahead with the giant stick still in his slobbering maw, catching on the long grass along the side of the gravel and flattening it on the way.

Luigi was feeling… A mix of emotions. The conversation he had with Princess Peach wouldn’t leave his mind and he pensively twirls his mustache between the pinch of his fingers. It was a pretty easy decision on his behalf. Luigi wouldn’t lie and say he was terrible with children, because he wasn’t. He loved them. Took any and every opportunity he could to be around them. 

He often found himself fussing with all the Sarasaland children whenever he visited Daisy or had to be there politically by Peach’s side. They were an odd case where they looked human, like him and Daisy, but also weren’t. It was a puzzling thing to think about, but he tried not to.

Luigi pushes his way through the arch of a thick brush, nudging the twigs that stick out so he could walk into the coolness of the forest. The setting sunlight wasn’t strong enough to break through the cluster of thick, green leaves that overcrowd his head, though thin rays beam the ground and highlight his path in dappled light.

“Polterpup.” Luigi calls, and the canine whips his head around to look at the human with a puzzled stare. “Do you think I’ve thrown myself in the deep end with the decision to say yeah? I want to do it for Peach because of the peace promised between us but… I’m also kind of worried about being in the same castle as Bowser.” 

Polterpup simply tilts his head. Too many words he didn’t know strung in a sentence. “Right, I forget you can’t understand me half the time.” Luigi mutters while kicking a stone into the grass beside him as they continue walking. Polterpup understood certain words strung together, like ‘do you want to walk’ or ‘are you hungry’ or ‘go sleep’. Those were easy. Not, whatever the human was blabbering on about this time.

The anxiety about the decision only grew as the cottage came into view. Beautifully painted and finished by his brother, which brings a smile on the taller one’s face as they get closer. Polterpup phases through the gate while Luigi unclips it to walk through, making his way up the stone path to the ajar door and shouldering it open.

“I’m hooome.” Luigi calls into the house while he sets down the paper bag on the counter. There was some loud shuffling coming from the hallway where their rooms lay until the sound of a door opens and shuts.

“Wow, you were gone forever!” Mario ruffles his wet hair with a towel. Must have just come out of the shower.

“Thought I’d spend the rest of the day outside.” Luigi shrugs while he pulls some of the groceries out of the bag and onto the counter. Polterpup eagerly gets onto his hind legs with a tongue lopsided out of his mouth, observing the food and other miscellaneous bits being put into their respective places. “Have you done much since I’ve been gone?” Luigi says in his crouched position at the fridge.

“Nah, mostly just chilling out.” Mario shrugs, wrapping the towel around his neck and walking into the open kitchen. “Spent most of the day doing the painting, how does it look? Do you like it?”

“I love it! It looks amazing.” Luigi beams when he gets back up, “You outdid yourself there. Maybe you should become a painter and not a plumber.” He uses his elbow to playfully jab his older brother’s ribs who grunts in response.

“What, you sayin’ my pipes aren’t as good as my paintin’?” Mario smirks and jabs Luigi right back in the side.

“Of course not! I’m just saying there’s more to life than pipes. You’d make a great side hobby out of it, anyway. I’m sure the Toads would appreciate their homes being touched up with a fresh lick of paint. A lot of them need it.” Luigi swats his brother’s hand away with a tea towel while he fishes for one of the glass containers holding a portion of the pie he had made that morning. 

“Oh yeah? If you had the choice, what would you be doin’ instead?” Mario leans his forearms over the counter as he watches Luigi prepping to heat the pie up. 

“I’m not sure. I’m not too good at anything else.” Luigi shrugs.

“You kidding?” Mario frowns a little, “Bro, you’re good at almost everything. You make food that tastes just as good as Ma’s and everyone loves it, even the Princess!” He notices Luigi trying to hide his face with the oncoming blush tainting his cheeks. “Not to mention you can play the guitar and the cello. I think you’d be great in a band.”

Luigi lets out a playful scoff, rubbing at his hot cheeks. “Please, I can barely walk in a straight line when I approach a crowd of people, let alone perform in front of one! I’m not that good, either. They’re just side hobbies I picked up in school because I was bored of having nothing to do while you went and did soccer as an extra-curricular.” 

“Yeah.” Mario lets out a dreamy sigh as he thinks back to their high school days, using a hand to hold up his chin while Luigi grabs a fork from the drawer beside him. “Was a useless curriculum to take up, too. I’m not interested in soccer. I just… I just wanted Dad to be proud of me, ‘s all.” 

Luigi relaxes his face at his brother who looked almost crestfallen now. Luigi knew how much his brother beat himself up when it came to impressing their father, wanting to be the best of the best to show he had such a great son who followed in his footsteps. Luigi? Not so much. He wasn’t born this way. He was often shoved to his mother and told to make due while Mario did all the ‘boy’ things he never got the joy of joining in on. Like getting his knees dirty and his hands covered in oil from helping him in the garage.

It’s where his love for cooking came from. Whenever Mario was told to help him with a car or something else that required ‘a strong boy’, Luigi was forced to stay behind and figure it out by himself. That’s when Ma decided he could join her in the kitchen to give him something to do. At first it wasn’t fun. Luigi felt like she was doing it out of obligation because he felt left out, but eventually he found that making pasta and pizza by scratch was a lot more fun than he let on.

And that simply became routine. Even if Luigi felt out of place, he knew he could turn to his Ma and she would give him something to do. Even encouraging him to join Mario when he went to play soccer after school. It’s not that he didn’t want to, but he was lean. He was taller than most in his class and his legs were long. More often than not, Luigi would trip over his own feet given the chance. He wasn’t about to embarrass himself in front of the boys, much less his own brother.

“You know he’s proud of you.” Luigi breaks the silence between them as he slides into a chair in front of the round table, putting down his plate. “You started your own plumbing business, didn’t you? Is that not enough to prove that you’re more than capable? That he raised a great son with great potential?”

“But it’s not enough. Nothing is ever enough for him and I don’t know why.” Mario huffs a frustrated sigh and plops himself down aggressively in the seat opposite his brother. “He’s a nitpick and it drives me crazy! It makes me somewhat glad we live here instead of back there. I think I’d have grey hairs by now.” 

Luigi glances up at his brother mid-bite with an amused stare, simply shaking his head. There was another period of silence that washes over their conversation while Luigi was busy eating, while Mario taps a finger on his lip, chin resting on his palm. “Do you ever… Miss him? Dad, I mean?”

“Not…Not really.” Luigi gently shrugs his shoulders, “I mean, he never really bothered with me as a kid or a teenager. Why would he now? It’s not like he gave me much to miss.” There was a coldness in Luigi’s tone that Mario couldn’t help but notice, the older brother reaching over the table to cup his hand. 

“Hey, don’t think about that. I’m sorry for asking, I know you and Dad don’t get along… I just wish he did more to fix that.” Mario sighs heavily, feeling Luigi grasp his hand back tightly. “I’m just glad you had Ma.”

“Yeah. Not sure what I would have done without her.” Luigi was quiet now and Mario couldn’t help but notice with a frown to himself. Why did I have to bring up Dad of all people? Stupid, stupid. How do I change the subject?

“So you’ve spent all day just relaxing? Doesn’t sound like you.” Luigi begins, almost like he could read his twin’s mind. “You usually try and find odd jobs to keep you busy. Or stay with the Princess.”

“Yeahh, originally we planned to spend the day together in town but she had a buttload of paperwork to sort through. Said she’d been neglecting it a little more than usual now that Bowser is busy.” Mario scratches his stubble. “Hey! Speaking of the Princess! Tell me about that meeting!” Mario shuffles his chair closer to the table, blue eyes wide and eager to listen. “Unless it's super top secret that only the Princess and Ambassador can know.” He says through a smirk and a playful wink, but Luigi wasn’t smiling now. 

The anxiety trickles back up the taller brother’s spine as he reflects on what they had talked about. Luigi was going to be leaving in the morning and it was already eight o’clock. He already knew this conversation wasn’t going to be easy, but it would only get worse if he decided to tell him later rather than sooner.

“Right, yeah, the meeting.” Luigi clears his throat and anxiously pushes away the half-eaten pie on his plate, folding his arms on top of the table and avoiding as much eye contact as naturally possible.

“Let me guess, is it about Bowser?” Mario keeps his eyes on Luigi who wouldn’t look back at him. “Is he planning something? Have the Toads spotted his minions spying on us?”

“No, no. Nothing like that.” Luigi anxiously clears his throat again and sits up, rubbing his sweating palms against his brown overalls. “She, um. Kamek met with her yesterday evening, unplanned. She thought it was another attack but the old mage just wanted to talk.” 

Mario visibly bristles at the mention of the Darklands advisor’s presence in the Kingdom without him being there. He remains quiet as Luigi goes on. “He was asking for help. Wanted a ‘babysitter’ essentially to help Bowser and the advisors raise the eight kids he decided to adopt. ‘Cus of some speculation around his absence in the last few weeks, apparently a group of Darklandians have already turned against him or somethin’. Thinks Bowser’s incompetent, or whatever.”

“Yeah, sounds about right.” Mario says through a quiet scoff. “Keep goin’.”

“Yeah, so. Um.” Luigi fiddles with his thumb. “Peach… She volunteered somebody last night in the meeting, to help raise the kids. Said it would be a few month trip, maybe even a year. We aren’t too sure yet.”

“I feel sorry for the poor Toad left to deal with those rascals! Can you imagine the chaos?!” Mario lets out a hearty laugh at the mere thought while Luigi nervously chuckles after him, rubbing at the back of his neck that prickles with sweat. “Go on, humour me, what poor soul was elected to deal with them? Was it Tony?” He snickers to himself, wiping an amused tear from the corner of his eye.

“Mario.” Luigi starts with a swallow, waiting for Mario to finish his chuckling before the brother turns to meet his gaze. “It was me. She elected me.” 

Mario sits up from his relaxed position, visibly stiffening. His brows furrow tightly in confusion, as if he wasn’t understanding what was being said. “Are you messin’ with me? Is this a joke?”

“No, Mario. She volunteered me. As the Ambassador.”

“You’re kidding. You aren’t serious, right?”

“Yes, I’m serious–”

“What?! Is she mad?!” Mario’s voice grew erratic and so did his movements, sliding from out the chair and pacing around the kitchen with loud stomps of his slippers.

“Mario–”

“How could she?! She knows how timid you are! Everybody knows how timid you are! How could she possibly think of throwing you into the Darklands like that just for a favor?! How do we know this isn’t a trick?!”

“Mario–”

“And for Bowser, by the way! That brute doesn’t deserve any favors for the torture she’s put us all through! How dare he think he can send his advisor unannounced and ask for something like that! When I get my hands on him I’ll–”

“Mario!” 

Luigi slams his hands against the table and a shockwave of lightning erupts through the cottage, sending a flash of light to the ceiling before dissipating through the cracks of the floorboards. The older twin widens his eyes as the table below Luigi almost snaps from the pressure, his hands shaking as the excess energy shows the bones of his hand through his skin.

Mario had stopped dead in his tracks, hands cupping his ears at the loud bang of a lightning strike at the contact with the table. Both brothers possessed a power-up ability, naturally. Mario wields fire while Luigi wields lightning, or electricity. The older brother was so in tune with his Firebrand, able to use it at his will whenever he wanted. It gave him a great advantage against Bowser.

While Luigi felt like he was holding his power on a pulling leash. It was unpredictable, and he couldn’t control it like his brother did. Only when Luigi was overwhelmed with emotion, particularly in distress, did the power decide to go haywire and Luigi had no control over it. No matter how hard he tried. No amount of holding back helped when Luigi’s emotions reached their peak. He was seen as unreliable on the battlefield. It’s why most Toad’s turn their lack-of-noses up at him, because he’s messed up Mario’s chance to be a hero on more than one occasion because of it.

Luigi watches his hands crackle in front of him, before the energy dissipates and his hands no longer glow. Mario still hadn’t moved or said a word until his blue eyes trail to the sight of his younger brother’s stretched out arms. “Weegie– Your hands–”

Mario rushes over from where he had frozen behind the living room couch, coming to his brother’s side and rolling up the sleeves of his plaid shirt. Trailing from his fingertips and up to his elbow, Luigi's veins were glowing an electric white, like there was energy coursing through his arms. It was a mighty contrast to his olive skin. Mario tenderly thumbs over the scars that had spread further since the last time he had seen them. “Luigi, bro. They’re getting bigger the more you use your power–” Mario’s concerned blue stare falls on Luigi who refuses to look at him, voice trembling. “Look, maybe we should see a doctor tomorrow and ask about this–”

“No!” Luigi says with a harsh snap, cutting Mario off who seals his lips in surprise. Luigi shrugs off his older brother’s hands and pulls down the sleeves again, holding his forearm with a shamed look on his face. “I'm sorry. No… Please, I can’t.”

“Come on, Weeg… You said it yourself, this hurts you. How much longer can you go on like this? I’m sorry for stressing you out and leading you to this.” Mario slowly sits back in the seat opposite his brother who keeps his gaze on the wall. “I’ll come with you. I’ll even speak for you, but we really should get to the bottom of this—”

“I can’t go because I’m leaving in the morning.” Luigi rambles quickly and squeezes his eyes shut, his fingernails digging into his forearm through the shirt. 

“What? Luigi?” Mario leans in closer, confused. Until it hits him. “No. Luigi, no. Don’t tell me you actually agreed to it. Tell me you didn’t.”

“I did. I did it for the good of the Kingdom.” Luigi’s voice trembles while tears burn his eyes, threatening to spill into his lap. “I have a duty as the Ambassador to Peach and the Kingdom itself. If I do this…”

“What do you get out of this, Luigi?! Torture? Suffering? You’ll be stuck in the same castle as that tyrannical overgrown turtle and for what?!”

“For peace!” Luigi yells again, his voice distorting at the overwhelm of emotion and Mario jumps back in surprise. “Kamek promised that if I did this Bowser would sign that treaty and end the century long war. All of it, gone. No more kidnapping. No more wars. I can finally bridge us together and do my job.” 

Mario lets his jaw slack, absently scratching at his stubble and the two brothers sit in silence for at least two minutes. The longest two minutes of Luigi’s life and he couldn’t bring himself to meet Mario’s stare.

It felt like Luigi was sitting in front of their father at the kitchen table. The cold blue stare he always gave him for simply existing in the same space as him. Luigi felt like curling in on himself and crying. 

“He’ll sign the peace treaty?” Mario finally whispers, breathless as his gaze finally tears away. “And end the war? Just for a few months of babysitting?”

“I have more of a duty to do than just babysitting. I have to be a symbol of peace. I have to represent the whole Kingdom while I’m there, to show them we aren’t as bad as Bowser makes us out to be.” Luigi sniffs and rubs at his dripping eyes, trying his hardest to suck up the emotion. “I have to change Bowser’s mind. I can’t say that I’m confident in my ability to do so, but I have to try. I have to show those kids that we aren’t as bad as they’ll grow up thinking we are.” 

Mario nibbles at his shortened thumbnail, leg jostling up and down and rattling the vase in the middle of the table, that had miraculously survived the electric shockwave. Mario didn’t respond this time for longer than two minutes and Luigi was prepared to get up and leave the conversation at that.

Until Mario reaches over with a shaky hand and holds Luigi’s arm, catching his brother’s attention. “... And this is something you want to do? You aren’t being forced into this?”

“No. No, I’m not being forced into this. Peach reassured me that if I said no, she’d take my word for it.” Luigi couldn’t help but place his own hand above Mario’s shaking one. “But I’m not the same coward I was all those years ago. For one, my frontal lobe has developed since then.”

That gains an amused chuckle from the two of them, while Luigi uses his free hand to rub at his dampened lashes. “But, Bowser’s scare tactics have lost their effect on me. It’s all fruitless intimidation. He doesn’t seem to want to hurt anybody that isn’t you.” 

Mario grunts with a frown at that.

“But I can’t let my emotions get in the way of Peach finally securing peace between the two Kingdoms. This has been something her parents have been fighting for ‘till their last breath, and their parents before them.” Luigi takes both of Mario’s trembling hands in his and gives them a squeeze, their electric blue gazes locked onto each other. “I want to do this. I have to do this. If I want to prove that I’m not just Mario’s cowardly little brother, that Peach is worth the opportunity to live without fear… I have to do it.”

Mario couldn’t fight the tears any longer. He breaks out into a loud sob that startles Luigi for a moment until he was barreled into the tightest hug of his life from across the table. Mario squeezes the taller brother around the neck while his tears damp the shoulder of his shirt. Damnit. Now Luigi wouldn’t stop crying!

It took a long time for Mario to eventually stop and pull back, rubbing at his running nose and teary eyes with a loud sniff. Luigi leans over to grab a box of tissues conveniently sitting on the counter to wipe at his face. “I’m…I’m so proud–” Mario hiccups another sob, “I’m so proud of you, Weegie.”

“Don’t. Or I’ll start crying again.” Luigi lets out a broken chuckle, stifling his own hiccup. 

“You’re the bravest guy I ever knew.” Mario sets the palms of his calloused hands on either side of the taller brother’s sharp jaw, using his thumb to stroke at the stubble. Luigi leans into the comfort of his brother’s hold with a small, almost missable smile. “If…If this is something you really want to do then… I can’t stop you. I just… Just, please, please be careful.”

“I’m more than capable.” Luigi murmurs with a bigger smile this time. “No one’s gonna mess with the Green Thunder.”

“You’re damn right.” Mario smirks with a playful punch to his brother’s wet shoulder. “Gah! Now my face hurts.” 

Luigi laughs audibly at that, rubbing at his face with his forearm and taking a deep, calming breath. The anxiety trickles away now that the elephant has left the room. “I know it’s so soon but… I have to leave in the morning, super early.”

“Well then, let’s get packing.” Mario slips Luigi’s hand into his own and tugs the taller brother through the lamp-lit living room into the hallway. Luigi lets himself beam with a confident smile and a puff of his chest. He was going to do this. 

And there was no stopping him now.

 

For the next two hours, the twins knelt in the middle of Luigi’s room packing a giant suitcase of all his essentials. Luigi decided to pack all of his clothes, considering this was going to be a long few months and he couldn’t part without his fashionable wardrobe. 

Luigi folds all of his clothing into neat squares and organises them in his giant suitcase, while Mario rummages through his drawers for any essentials he might need, like his books.

“I swear you’ve been reading this book forever.” Mario dangles a copy of ‘Lord of the Flies’ that Luigi brought with him after one of their visits back to earth a few weeks ago. “You takin’ it?”

“Duh.” Luigi mocks with a little grin, folding some of his socks into the suitcase he kneels beside. “Good books take time! Besides, since being the Ambassador I don’t have as much time as I used to.”

“Well, you’re about to.” Mario picks up a few different books around the room and places them neatly into the case. “Although I doubt you’ll get any peace and quiet trying to babysit those rascals.”

“Definitely not. Maybe at night.” Luigi shrugs in the middle of folding some of his nightwear. Luigi made the conscious effort to pack the warmer, cosier clothes at the bottom while the more flowy, lighter garments were folded on top. Luigi wasn’t sure how the seasons worked over there and whether or not they had snow.

“You won’t be away for the whole year, right?” Mario asks, almost like a whine. 

“Of course not. Peach said I can come back and forth as I please every other weekend. I’ll be sure to send you plenty of letters and phone calls.” Luigi shakes his head with a snicker, getting up from the bedroom floor to retrieve his toothbrush in the bathroom just next to his room, while freshening up for the rest of the night. 

Mario was kind enough to fold the rest of his clothes for him, although a little sloppy it was the thought that counts. The older twin looks around the room for anything else he could fit into the case and sets his eye on the picture frame of them together on Luigi’s bedside table. With a smile, Mario walks over and dusts it off with his fingers before nestling it in between some of his clothes to protect it.

“Alright, anything else you need?” Mario calls to Luigi who sounded like he was brushing his teeth.

“Nuffin’ elsh.” Luigi muffles loudly before swilling his mouth and washing his face. It was past ten o’clock and his eyes were growing tired knowing he had to be up early in the morning. “Oh! Mario, could you look out the window and see if there’s something in the mailbox?”

“Oh, sure.” Mario gets up from the floor and leans over the frame of Luigi’s bed to the window, hanging his head out into the darkness of the garden that was illuminated by a few garden lamps. There was, in fact, something in the mailbox with the red ‘L’ shape pointed upwards. “Oh, yeah! There is!” 

“Great!” Luigi walks back into the bedroom now and looks down at Polterpup who had been laying on the rug watching them as they packed. “Polterpup, would you mind going to fetch the letter for me?”

With a happy bark, Polterpup gets up from the comfort of the rug and jumps through Mario and out the window, trotting his way down the dimly lit stone path and to the letter box. The spectre noses it open and bites the edge of the pink letter with his teeth and runs back, hopping through the window and placing the letter into Luigi’s hands. 

The canine was happy to receive a loving fuss before going back to lazing on the round rug. Luigi opens the letter with Mario now on his tiptoes to look at the familiar cursive writing of Princess Peach.

 

Ambassador Luigi,

             As promised, here are the details for your expedition tomorrow. Please meet Kamek at the fishing dock two miles east of the Mushroom Castle. Please be in attendance before seven o’clock. I will be present to see you off.

 

Cordially,

               Peach Toadstool. 

 

Mario lets his eyes dart along the small paragraph as Luigi finishes reading himself. “Wow, that’s super early.”

Luigi folds the paper neatly back into the envelope and places it on his writing desk, on top of the other one she had sent early the same morning. “Yeah, suppose he wants me to settle in before the rest of the Kingdom wakes up.” Luigi hangs his clothes up ready for the morning on the door of his wardrobe and flops backwards onto his bed, Mario joining next to him with an even harsher flop.

“I’m gonna miss you.” Mario suddenly murmurs, catching Luigi’s gaze as he turns to face him. “This is going to be the longest we’ve ever been apart, right?”

“Yeah…” Luigi quietly trails off. “But it’s okay. Peach told me she’d love you to stay with her at the castle, if that’s what you want?”

“Really?” Mario perks up almost instantly and Luigi falls into a fit of laughter.

“Wow! You’re really gonna forget about me that quick?!” The younger twin snorts through another laugh and Mario tackles him on the duvet, the two of them rolling and jabbing at one another playfully until Luigi has to tap out from the stitch in his side.

“You idiot, I’ll never forget you.” Mario scoffs down at Luigi who was untangling himself from one of his throws. “...Can I stay in here with you tonight?”

“Yeah, ‘course.” Luigi turns his head to Mario and smiles. They hadn’t shared a room since they left their life behind in Brooklyn, but they hadn’t slept in the same bed since high school. Every now and then either of them would creep into the others’ bed when they had a nightmare or needed the comfort of having their twin close.

The twins spend the next few minutes settling down for the night. Mario was already snug under the sage green covers while Luigi shuts off the light and climbs in next to him. Polterpup hops onto the duvet and paws at the gap between Luigi’s legs and settles down, chin resting on the side of his glute.

The twins fall into quick sleep nestled together like they were ten again. Knowing that they’d part for the next few months, they hold each other a little tighter in their sleep while Polterpup softly snores into the silence of the night.

 

—

 

By the next morning, Luigi was up just before six, blinking his eyes open at the thin rays of sunlight that beam through the crack of the curtains.

Mario had star-fished next to him, tangled in the majority of the blankets. Luigi rolls his eyes and gently kicks off the edge of the blanket he had been clinging onto. He was gentle with his movements not to wake his sleeping brother while Polterpup had woken up the moment he had moved.

Luigi grabs a clean towel thrown over the back of his desk chair and creeps out into the hallway to the bathroom, leaning over the shower to turn the knob of warm water while sliding off his nightwear. 

Once the shower was at his preferred temperature, Luigi steps inside and smoothes the water over his tangled bed-head, muscles flexing while his fingers thread through the knots. Polterpup sits just outside the steamed shower door, waiting patiently for his owner but also his breakfast. 

The spectre didn’t have to eat, but found it was fun for their routine. It was like Polterpup was a living dog in the household and the canine enjoyed it just as much as Luigi.

The human leans his elbows against the white-tiled wall while his palms rest on either side of his face, eyes shut as the water drizzles from the tips of his eyelashes and nose. It was starting to hit him now that within the next day he’ll be waking up in the Darklands for the foreseeable future.

His anxiety rubs off on Polterpup who scratches at the steamed door with a whine that snaps Luigi from his thoughts. After thoroughly washing both his body and hair, he shuts off the water and steps out, ruffling through his curls and body with the towel before wrapping it around his waist. 

Luigi gets on with his morning routine just like any other morning he had spent here in the last six years. Brushing out his mustache, rubbing essential oil on the fading scars under his pecs, feeling through his stubble with an euphoric shiver. Luigi was told countless times to shave his stubble but it made him feel more like a ‘man’, and now that he was a few months away from turning thirty, Luigi felt it too weird to walk around baby-faced all the time.

The taller twin makes his way into the bedroom to retrieve the clothes he had hung up ready for the morning. He quickly sprays himself with deodorant, then shoulders on a beige button-up shirt, then slips a forest-green V-neck sweater vest on top. 

Mario started shuffling around at the sound of Luigi faffing with his clothes. Carefully, the taller twin sets his weight on the bed to slide on a pair of loose-fitting denim jeans, squeezing them up over his hips when he stands with a hop to hoist them up. Polterpup fetches a pair of his trail-style sneakers after fitting on his socks.

Luigi honestly loved the vintage style of clothing. He couldn’t appreciate it much back home, stuck in his ugly green overalls when he and Mario had to work their butts off day in day out just to help put food on the table. 

Now he didn’t have to worry about that. Luigi could be himself here and throw on what felt most comfortable. He couldn’t help admiring the look in the full-length mirror attached to the door of his wardrobe.

Polterpup whines impatiently at the door, grabbing his owner’s attention who smiles over at the canine. Luigi follows him out the door and prepares a quick breakfast. He had already packed most of his stuff away into a little suitcase. He wasn’t about to leave the pup here. 

Once his bowl was full Polterpup wolfs down his breakfast while Luigi fishes a cup for himself and makes a steaming mug of coffee, admiring his garden from out the window above the farmhouse sink.

Peach, the angel she was, had promised to take care of his garden while he was gone. The woman knew how to grow some mean tomatoes and cucumbers, so he trusted her to know what she was doing while he was gone. Though he’d miss doing it himself, Luigi quietly hopes that the Darklands have a garden of their own.

Luigi was finishing the last few sips of his coffee when Mario walks into the living room in his overalls, beaming a wide awake smile at Luigi who looks at him with a puzzled stare.

“What? Thought I was going to let you go without saying goodbye first?” Mario gives him a playful scoff and grabs his keys hanging up behind the door. “Come on, I’ll drive ya’, ‘s gonna take you too long to walk all the way to the fishin’ dock.”

Luigi shoots his brother a grateful smile and rushes into his room to grab the suitcases and takes one good look around his room with a deep inhale. This wasn’t a forever thing, he reminds himself. He’ll be back before he knows it!

Polterpup jumps up and down excitedly knowing he was coming on the adventure too. The ghostly canine follows the brothers out the door into the cold, crisp six o’clock air. It felt like leaving for the airport at two in the morning. 

Mario treks over to the shed where he kept their Karts for the tournaments. Luigi chucks the luggage on the back while he jumps in behind Mario and Polterpup bounds onto the seat next to Luigi. They take off down the gravel path that leads to a dirt road into the Mushroom Town. A few signs left and right through the sleeping town takes them around two miles through a forest until they meet the empty fishing dock on top of a stretch of ocean. 

Polterpup was the first to jump out and straight towards the ice-cold water, while Luigi hauls the heavy suitcases onto the gravelly ground and leaves them stationary next to the Kart while he stands close to Mario. It was exactly 6:43am, so Kamek shouldn't be much longer.

While the brothers chat idly together for the next few minutes, a flashy pink Kart emerges from the forest being driven by Princess Peach herself, and a tired Toadsworth sitting beside her.

“Mario! Luigi!” Peach excitedly hops out of the parked Kart and rushes over in her familiar pink gown, wrapping the two brothers in her embrace with a squeeze. 

“It’s good to see you, Principessa.” Mario stutters with a red tint in his cheeks, hands visibly clamming without his lack of gloves. Luigi simply smirks at his flusteredness and steps back when the Princess grabs hold of him by the shoulders, their level gaze meeting.

“Luigi, thank you so much for this. Truly. You don’t know how much this means to not only me, but the entire Kingdom.” Peach looked like she was prepared to cry and it took Luigi all his might not to. “Take this, I was supposed to give it to you a while ago, but it will be more fitting now than ever.”

Peach reaches into the hidden pockets of her dress and pulls out what looks like a badge with a safety pin behind it. It had the familiar Mushroom emblem of the Kingdom, wearing Peach’s crown on its head with the words ‘AMBASSADOR’ underneath in curved writing. She pins it to the left of his chest and smoothes it out with a proud smile. “Perfect.”

Mario beams the proudest smile Luigi had ever seen, stepping closer to the Princess who turns to look at him with a gentle, loving smile.

“You’ll do us proud.” Peach takes hold of Luigi’s gloved hands, smoothing a thumb over his knuckles. “If there is any trouble, don’t hesitate to contact me. While you’re present in the Mushroom Kingdom under my authorization, a harm cannot come to a hair on your head. It’s practically a declaration of war.” She looked so stern that Luigi almost took a step back. “Hold your chin up, prove to them that we’re worth fighting for peace. And take shit from no one.”

Both the brothers widen their eyes at her use of language while she stifles the urge to laugh, simply smiling with amusement at their slacked jaws. The Princess was about to open her mouth and say more when the thunderous noise of an airship parts the clouds above their heads.

The four of them squint up at the sight of a giant Darklands airship descending towards the ocean, finally meeting the ground and bobbing on top of the water while it takes a minute or two for the plank to be thrown down into the gravel. Luigi jumps back in surprise at the loud thud.

Mario furrows his eyebrows and takes a protective stance next to Luigi and the Princess, ensuring that if this was all some elaborate trick, he would be prepared. 

The sight of a tiny Magikoopa making his way down the plank was almost laughable to Mario. The red plumber did notice the exhausted look on his face and tilted his head, shoulders relaxing.

“Princess, Luigi.” Kamek lets his gaze fall to the red one with a little grunt, “...Mario.”

Mario throws his arms up in confusion. He hadn’t even done anything this time. “It is a pleasure to see you again. It’s nice to know the green Mario actually showed up–”

“It’s Luigi.” The taller twin interrupts with a stern look at the Magikoopa who looked taken aback. “Luigi Mario. Please address me as such.”

Kamek raises his brows and pushes up the glasses on his beak, clearing his throat. “Certainly, Luigi. My apologies for my ignorance.” The advisor licks his beak, “Are we ready? All packed? Because we must leave at once.”

“Yes, all ready. I’m ready.” Luigi nods over to the advisor who beckons him forwards and starts his ascent back up the plank. Luigi turns to retrieve his suitcases, but not before tugging Mario into the tightest hug he could muster, feeling the air leaving his lungs. 

“Promise me you’ll call every day.” Mario sternly pulls Luigi back by the shoulders with a frown.

“Of course I will.” Luigi smiles, bringing his older brother’s hands down to squeeze them. “I’ll tell you everything once I’ve settled down, ‘kay?”

“If there’s any trouble you know to tell me or Peach, right?”

“I know.” Luigi leans in to kiss the side of his brother’s face, “Remember, no one messes with a Mario brother and–”

“–Get’s away with it.” Mario finishes with a giant smile. The Princess approaches Mario’s side and gently holds onto the shorter brother’s arm, whose face starts to burn up once again.

“Stay safe, my brave Ambassador. We’ll see you soon.” Peach tenderly smiles at Luigi who grabs hold of the two suitcases and fights back the urge to cry and jump in their arms. This was the good of the Kingdom. He had to do this if they finally wanted peace.

Polterpup barks the entire way up the plank with Luigi following behind, jumping onto the foreign deck of the Darklands airship. Not even a moment later, a Koopa appears out of nowhere and starts wheeling his luggage away. He was about to protest until he saw them wheeling it into the storage for safety.

“I’m not sure where I mentioned dogs being allowed.” Kamek’s gruff voice appears from beside Luigi who jolts in surprise.

“A-Ah, Mi scuzo…” Luigi clears his throat. “Polterpup is not a canine you can control. He would have followed me either way. B-Besides, he’s a very good dog. I promise.”

“Hmph.” Kamek grunts again, eyeing the ghostly canine who was already tormenting one of the guarding Troopas on deck. “Well, I suppose we should become acquaintances now that you’re here. As you already know, I am Kamek, advisor of the Darklands. I oversee most political decisions made by Bowser and assist his Highness with his duties to the throne. I believe you’re already aware of your purpose here today?”

“Ah, sì… Yes. A Nanny, right?”

“Correct. Do you have much professional experience with handling children?” Kamek wanders along the deck and Luigi follows at the tiny Magikoopa’s side.

“Eh, not professionally? At least, I’ve never been professionally employed for the job. Um, back home, on Earth? I would babysit in high school just to make some extra money. If that counts?” Luigi tilts his head down at the advisor who kept his glassed stare ahead of them. “I had good reviews…”

“I see.” Kamek responds with some worrying nonchalance. It was hard to tell what he was thinking. “Well, if the Princess has hand-selected you herself then you must be fit for the job, yes?”

“S-Sì, yes. I can handle it.” Luigi frantically nods as they make it to the front of the ship. The taller twin makes a mental note not to look over the edge and look down. He didn’t feel like vomiting over his clothes today.

“A small run-down of your duties include being responsible for their routines, such as feeding, bathing, sleeping and playtime.” Kamek continues, taking a seat on a bench. “Currently the children have no routine. They do as they please when they see fit, and it’s frankly driving us up the wall. So a routine must be in place for them to get used to, enough time for enrichment, food, hygiene and some fresh air.”

“Okay, got it.” Damnit, why hadn’t he brought a notepad?!

“You have free reign around the castle…And the Kingdom, I suppose. Don’t make a habit of leaving by yourself, a guard will assist you while you roam the Kingdom for your own safety.” Kamek brushes along his blue robe. “As for your personal arrangements, you will be sleeping on the same floor as the royals. There is a guest room just opposite the childrens’. For the last few weeks the hatchlings have been sleeping in Bowser’s chamber but have since transitioned to the older children’s room. So there will be no trouble for you to settle them at night should they get hungry or simply want attention.”

Shit. He really should have brought a notepad.

“Don’t tread where you’re not supposed to. You have free roam of the castle but there are a few rooms off limits. There will be signs on the doors to make you aware of that, so be sure that you’re paying attention.”

“Right, got it.” Luigi simply nods his head, idly standing there with a scuffle of his sneaker against the wooden floorboard.

“That should be about everything.” Kamek hums to himself in thought, “What about you? Have you any questions about this so far?”

“Um, y-yes… Does… Does Bowser know that it’s me coming along? Did he expect Peach to elect some Toad to do the job?”

“Well, for starters, the King is oblivious to the fact that somebody from the Mushroom Kingdom has been elected as Nanny.” The advisor wrinkles his beak and Luigi feels his face go pale. “No, he does not know. I was rather adamant it was somebody other than you. No offense.” The mage adds and Luigi scowls slightly, “But the Princess was insistent on your capabilities, so I had no choice but to comply. You were my last resort, after all.”

“So be prepared for Bowser to throw a fit the minute you show your face.”

Oh boy.

 

—

 

The next two hours were spent in silence on the airship as they made their way over the everchanging landscape to the darkness of the Darklands. There was a sour volcanic smell that made Luigi’s eyes water and his nose sting as they entered the foggy atmosphere. Lava lakes run deep through the volcanic mountains far below the airship as it travels through the ashy clouds, towards the grand sight of the Darklands Palace.

Luigi suddenly felt like throwing himself overboard the closer they got.

“Stop your eternal worrying, bean-pole. I can smell your anxious pheromones from over here, and they’re stinging my nostrils.” The Magikoopa growls with a crinkle of his beak and Luigi self consciously tries to cover himself. They could smell that?!

The airship eventually docks on the water a distance away from the castle. Luigi thought about the long trek it would take to get over there and started making his way down the plank settled on the ashy gravel under his feet. There was a stark contrast between here and the Mushroom Kingdom, it felt deader than ever.

“I would rather the Kingdom not spot you just yet. I frankly cannot be bothered with their gossiping.” Kamek stops them just a few steps away from the lip of the plank. “Come here, and hold on tight.”

Luigi furrows his brows at Kamek who points to the edge of his wand he was sitting on like a broom. Hesitantly the human reaches over to grab it. “Why? Where are we goiIIIINGGGAAAAAAAHHH”

A purple smoke engulfs Luigi and the Magikoopa. It feels like the human had been pulled from the inside out as his mind spins for a few seconds until he lands on his back in a foreign room with a thud.

Luigi feels his head throbbing from the pain and his vision doubles for a few seconds until it comes back into focus. The sight of Polterpup’s giant face looking over at him with concern floods his vision.

“Apologies. Again.” Kamek adds with the stifle of a chuckle. “We are now in the comfort of your bedroom for the foreseeable.” 

Luigi uses his elbows to sit himself up and finds his focusing stare looking around the room. It was the size of their cottage back home! There was a grand four-poster canopy bed with elaborate gold carvings intricately traced along the pillars, draped in rich burgundy velvet curtains that match the bedding and upholstery, as well as the rest of the room. Looking around, Luigi notices the loveseat, vanity mirror and giant wardrobe were lavishly ornamented with gold accents that truly screamed royalty the longer he looked at them.

He admires the walls plastered with elegant, damask wallpaper in a beige and gold that wrap around the whole room. There were several classic paintings of royal Koopas framed with gold, and a massive crystal chandelier hangs from the ceiling, adding to the regal feel of the entire bedroom.

It almost felt too good to be his.

“It’s… Gorgeous. Truly. This room is remarkable.” Luigi was standing up now and hesitantly ran his fingers along the gold-framed loveseat sat against the giant window, that was draped with more burgundy curtains with valances and a gold trim. Remarkable.

“If you require any additional toiletries or anything similar, do let me know. You have a bathroom suite just to the right of your bed.” Kamek gestures with his hand to the door just in the corner. “I believe that’s all. Get yourself settled. The rest of the castle is currently asleep, so you have about an hour or two of free-time before the day begins.” Kamek hovers there for a moment or two waiting for Luigi to ask any questions, but the human simply smiles with a nod in his direction and goes back to admiring the room around him. 

Once the mage disappears into purple smoke Luigi gets right to unpacking. He unzips his heavy green suitcase and starts bringing out all his clothes to neatly hang up. The walk-in wardrobe was about the size of his kitchen back home. 

Luigi spends the next ten minutes hanging everything onto clothing hangers and organizing them by the type of weather they were suited for. Eventually the wardrobe was full of his beautifully vintage fashion and he puffs his chest out in pride. 

Polterpup was getting himself used to the room, lounging on the velvet loveseat with his limbs stretched out in front of him. It made Luigi think about how comfortable his bed would be tonight.

To give the room a more homey feel Luigi goes around placing some of his miscellaneous belongings around, like a few plant pots along the window sills and his books on the bedside table, along with the picture of him and Mario settled just behind them. 

Luigi was determined to make his brother and the Princess proud. This was all for them. Be damned if he felt a little homesick already!

The sound of loud whispering snaps Luigi out of his thoughts. His head whips around to his bedroom door and gulps quietly. Those sounded like the hushed sounds of Boos. Though if that was the case, Polterpup would be barking like mad, and yet the canine remains wide-legged over the loveseat, unbothered.

Tiptoeing, Luigi makes his way towards the door where the muffled sounds continue. The voices were high, too high to be a guard at the very least. Or Bowser.

Must be the children he was on duty to look after. So much for an hour or two of free time!

Luigi grabs the round doorknob and pulls it open towards him, blue eyes trailing down to the sight of three Koopa children jumping back with screams of surprise, beady wide eyes staring up at Luigi who had also jolted back in shock.

“AHHHHH!!! WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE THAT?!” The pink-shelled Koopa lets out a high pitched scream, hiding behind the beefier of the three who had a pink head. 

“Ew. It’s so fleshy!” They spit with a poke of their tongue, furrowing squinted eyes up at Luigi who’s heart palpitates underneath his vest. “Are you supposed to be our Nanny?”

“U-Um…” Luigi swallows down his voice-crack and attempts to clear his throat, patting at his chest. “Sì.”

“Sea? There’s no sea around here.” The pink-shelled Koopaling answers with a frown on her face.

“Ah, n-no. I mean yes. Yes, I’m going to be the nanny taking care of you.” Luigi opens the door a little more and adjusts his stiffened posture, his gaze falling on the blue-haired Koopaling to his left who was glaring daggers in his direction.

“What are you?” They ask, taking a brave step towards him and sniffing. “You smell like nothing I’ve ever seen before. You got no scales, you’re all fleshy and skinny. It’s creepy. You’re creepy.”

Well, this is going swimmingly so far.

“I’m um, I’m a human.” Luigi answers, his gaze following the pink-shelled Koopaling trying to peek into his room over the pink-headed Koopa. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen one of me before? Human's dont naturally inhabit this Kingdom. Too hot for us.” He lets out a nervous chuckle.

“Really? That’s wicked!” Wendy beams up at Luigi, then catches the harsh stare on the blue-haired Koopa's face and turns with a shrug. “I mean, cool I guess. Whatever.”

“I-I don’t suppose you’d like to come inside and we can properly introduce ourselves?” Luigi stands aside from the door leaving ample room for them to follow. The three of them look among one another for a few moments, as if sharing telepathic thoughts, before the blue-haired Koopa marches inside with his chin high, followed by the pink ones.

They make themselves at home instantly. The pink-shelled Koopaling was riding on top of the pink-headed one, admiring the velvety curtains surrounding his bed while the blue-haired Koopaling took a seat on one of the many chairs around the room, sitting by the vanity.

“Sit, human. We have a lot to talk about.”

Notes:

And we made it! Weeg has finally touched down on the Darklands and already has his hands full! ദ്ദി◝ ⩊ ◜.ᐟ

Chapter 6

Notes:

for anybody who might be curious, i have a certain vision in this story of how Bowser looks! If you want to check for yourself click here
It's such a beautiful way to envision him so I had to (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

The moment the airship took off into the sky, Mario broke down into choked sobs.

He held it together for as long as he could. Held onto Luigi for as long as he can. But the minute Luigi had turned into a dot in the clouds he couldn’t stop the tears.

“Oh, Mario.” Peach approaches closer to place a comforting hand on his shaking shoulders, until she pulls him into her embrace, leaning down to squeeze hold of him. “I know this is hard. I understand.” 

“I know he’s doing it for the good of the Kingdom. For you. But that doesn’t make it hurt any less.” Mario muffles into the shoulder of Princess Peach, still clinging to him. “Knowing he’s walking straight into that dragon’s den… And I can’t be there to protect him!”

“You want to protect him. I get that.” Peach starts softly, her sweet voice calming his erratic thoughts. The Princess pulls him at arms length and leans down so they were at eye-level. “But Luigi is capable of so much more than you think. Sometimes a baby bird needs to leave the nest, and I think these next few months will really show you just how incredible he is when he fights alone. Not that he’s going to have to fight anybody.” Peach adds quickly.

Mario rubs at his damn mustache and wet eyelashes, “I know… I know. He’s incredible. I’ve just spent so long protecting him it’s hard to imagine that he doesn’t need me anymore.” 

Peach smiles at him sympathetically, brushing a strand of brown hair from his face. “Luigi will always need you, Mario. No matter how old you may get. You’ll never have to worry about him not needing you.”

There was an ache in Mario’s chest that made him physically recoil. The rejection Luigi experienced from their father only made him more protective. He felt like he had to keep him safe, to wrap him in bubble wrap and stop others hurting him as much as their father did. 

Luigi held himself with confidence but deep down he was a mouse, hiding within the facade of power to protect his weakened heart. Years of neglect from the man he aspired to be, years of torments from his peers for who he was. Luigi’s heart was made of glass, it’s why he kept his distance and engrossed himself in the private hobbies of gardening and strumming his guitar on his bed where he could be alone.

Mario felt like he had to protect his glass heart. He had spent so much time piecing it back together through their childhood and their teenage years that Mario knew if it broke any more, there would be no more pieces to put back together.

“Stay with me.” Peach’s soft voice interrupts Mario’s disassociation, her fingers firm on his shoulders. “I know you Mario, and I know you don’t like being alone. I want you to stay in the castle with me. A demand from the Princess.” She looked stern, but there was a playful glint in her eye that Mario couldn’t help but smile.

“I…I’d love to.” Mario timidly nods his head with a weak smile, his cheeks flaming when Peach takes his hand in hers and pulls them back towards their karts. Poor Toadsworth was still fast asleep in the passenger seat.

Together, they drive their karts down the dirt trails and zig-zagging their way through the town to the familiar sight of the now-quiet cottage. Peach loved to visit their little home when she had the spare time. There was a part of her that wished she lived in something so small and cosy.

Mario bounds to his room to start packing immediately while Peach takes in the sight of the cosy living room and open kitchen to her right. She enjoyed the nights she would come over with the two brothers and spend talking on the comfort of their couch for hours on end until one of them fell asleep. 

Then her blue stare meets the lightning-like burns along the walls of the room that lead right up to the floorboards of the ceiling. It looked like the kitchen, particularly by the round table, had been struck by some sort of electric current. 

“Mario, what happened here?” Peach calls out while her fixed gaze remains on a round table with a large black burn mark. 

“Oh, that.” Mario peeks his head around the corner of the living room. “I might have overreacted a little bit when Lu told me the news of him going to the Darklands. I…I didn’t mean to stress him out…” Mario’s voice trails off, and Peach knew exactly what he was trying to say.

“That’s… Dangerous.” Peach mumbles to herself, letting her gloved fingers run over the burnt cracks along the walls. “Has this ever happened before when he gets upset?”

“No. We’re usually outside whenever he loses control of his power, and that usually ends up with an electric shockwave burning almost everything in his path. I’ve gotten a few nasty electric shocks from him myself.” Mario rubs at the back of his neck. There was a terrified look on Peach’s face that Mario came over to instantly try and soothe, holding her forearm gently. “Don’t worry, Principessa. It’s why he wears gloves all the time now. So he doesn’t electric shock anyone and everything he touches.”

There was a cold ice that ran through Peach’s veins. She had seen this before, or at least, in the books she had read as a child. Luigi’s case had started out simple where he’d accidentally given people electric shocks when they tried touching him while he was distressed. But this… The cracks in the wall, the burn marks on the table. It looked like it was barely holding on.

Peach had a feeling that this wasn’t going to end very well. And now there was nothing she could do to stop it.

 

—

 

Luigi anxiously soothes over his tight rubber gloves.

The children seemed to make themselves at home, at least. The pink-head Koopaling was rummaging through Luigi’s open suitcase, poking around curiously and flying a few fabrics along the floor. 

The pink-shelled toddler was bouncing up and down his bed, uncaring of the sharp glare the blue-haired Koopaling was giving her, before his piercing navy eyes met Luigi’s anxious stare.

“So, you’re the supposed ‘nanny’ that’s going to be taking care of us for the foreseeable?” 

“Yes, that would be correct.” Luigi answers with a nod of his head, swinging one leg over the other with a hand rubbing along his knee. “I take it you three are the eldest of the eight?”

“You could say that.” Blue-haired Koopaling grunts quietly.

“Is it okay if I ask for your names?” Luigi softens his tone but straightens up at the visible bristling of the child in front of him.

“No. I don’t trust you yet.” He growls with a cross of his arms, raising his chin high in the air in defiance until the shrieking voice of Kamek shouts down the halls.

“LUDWIG! WENDY! ROY!”

“Ugh. Of course the old fart had to go and do that.” The blue Koopaling snarls under his breath, slouched angrily with his arms folded over his chest still.

“Talk about comedic timing.” Wendy snorts over at her older brother who shoots her an icy stare. Luigi sits back to watch the interaction quietly before smirking and resting both hands on his knee now, leaning towards the sulking child. 

“Ludwig?” He notices the Koopaling instantly acknowledges his name, mortified that he had guessed who was who so quickly. “I see. Very sophisticated name. I like it.” 

“It’s not yours to like.” Ludwig snarls again, more aggressively to the stranger than his sister. 

Luigi observes Ludwig’s stiffened body language and decides to relax himself against the seat, leaning comfortably against the loveseat and unfolding his legs as a sign of submission. That he wasn’t there to fight, at least.

Ludwig notices this but doesn’t let his guard down, simply huffing and turning his head away. Luigi already knew that this child was going to be a hard egg to crack. Koopas weren’t soft and easily swayed like Toad or Sarasaland children were. They were tough, and Luigi knew he would have his work cut out for him here.

“You told me we had a lot to talk about?” Luigi starts slowly, “Could you enlighten me?”

“You do understand what it is you’re up against, right?” Ludwig grunts over at the nanny who tilts his head, egging him on. “You’re going to get hurt raising eight of us, human. You have no hard scales to protect yourself, and baby koopas have a mean bite.” There was a smug grin tugging at the eldest lips.

Luigi sits himself up a little straighter, leaning towards the child with an unbothered smile on his face. “Well, I’d like to see them try.”

The nonchalant reaction annoyed Ludwig. He was trying to scare this stupid bean-pole! Why was he acting like this was all some game?! He was supposed to be scared of them! Of him!

“Whatever.” Ludwig scoffs loudly and hops out of the seat he was just getting comfortable in. The eldest gestures for the other two preoccupied Koopalings to follow him, storming towards the door and preparing to fling it open.

“Would you like me to make you some breakfast?” Luigi speaks up in the middle of standing from the loveseat, eyes following Wendy and Roy who look at him suspiciously. “I would love to get to know the three of you a little more? And I’m sure you haven’t had breakfast yet so early?”

“The kitchen staff will make our breakfast.” Ludwig bites through grit teeth and swings open the door, already out in the hallway but Wendy had paused after her brothers with squinted eyes looking over at Luigi.

“What kinda breakfast are you thinkin’?” The lone girl asks.

“Pancakes? French toast? Waffles? Whatever you wish, Principessa.” Luigi takes a timid step towards her and watches the light in her eyes shine at the mention of all the delicious breakfast food she had missed out on since leaving the orphanage.

“Deal! Make all three and we’ll talk!” Wendy beams a childish smile at Luigi who can’t help but beam right back at her. It was important to him to mirror the joy of a child, it was one of the most precious sights in his eyes.

“Wendy! Ugh! Why did you have to go and do that?!” Ludwig’s irritated scowl was heard from outside while Wendy skips out into the hall followed by Luigi who shuts the door after him.

“What?! We’ve been eating that disgusting oatmeal and granola these last few weeks! Whenever I try to ask them for pancakes they look at me like I’m stupid!” Wendy exclaims with exaggerated arm movements that Luigi couldn’t help but find amusing. The three Koopalings walk ahead of him towards the kitchen while Ludwig has his narrowed stare on Luigi every now and then. 

When they eventually pushed their way through the swinging doors of the kitchen it was blissfully empty. Too early for the kitchen staff, in fairness. Luigi took in the sight of the grand kitchen and immediately felt overwhelmed, it wasn’t cosy and compact like his one back in the cottage, not to mention he’d have to get himself familiar all over again.

“Come on, bean-pole, get to it! We’re starving!” Wendy whines from the kitchen island she was sitting at in the middle of each of her brothers. Roy was squinting harshly in Luigi’s direction, though it wasn’t aggressive like Ludwig's. 

“Let me get familiar with the layout first.” Luigi gently chides the impatient sister who slumps against the island with a gentle scowl. While the three sit and chat amongst one another Luigi spent the next few minutes figuring out where everything was, fishing out the necessary ingredients he needed while doing so. 

The layout wasn’t as difficult as Luigi thought it would be. Only took him a few minutes longer until Wendy’s persistent whining interrupted him. 

“I could really use a volunteer to help me prepare this breakfast.” Luigi looks expectantly over at the three Koopalings. Ludwig didn’t look half bothered, while Wendy was almost jumping out of her seat.

“OOOH! Me! Me! Pick me! I want to help!” She cries out desperately, making Luigi laugh. 

“Come on then, cara.” Luigi beckons the sister who jumps out of her seat and toddles over. “Am I okay to pick you up?”

Wendy looks unsure for a moment. Though it only took her a few seconds to decide and held her arms up in a ‘uppies’ gesture. Luigi picks the child up under her armpits and sets her down on the counter, watching her butt-shuffle into a more comfortable position and glancing curiously at all the dry ingredients spread over the counter.

“We’re going to combine all these dry ingredients together.” Luigi begins, gesturing his hands in front of them. “Can I trust you to mix them while I prepare the french toast?”

“Duh. Can’t be that hard.” Wendy answers with a comical amount of nonchalance.

“Very good. Would you mind going over and washing your… Hands for me?” Luigi nods his head in the direction of the sink directly behind him. Wendy follows his gaze and nods her head, hopping off the counter and climbing onto the stool already there.

Luigi was hesitant to begin plucking off his gloves, hands trembling slightly as he pulled them off and put them down on the counter beside him. With a breath of relief, he notices that the beaming sunlight makes it hard to see the white veins on his skin. 

Once the pair had finished thoroughly washing their hands, they got straight to work. Luigi measures out and combines all the ingredients, and Wendy gets to go wild with the whisk while Luigi beats the eggs for the french toast.

Ludwig watches with a frown pinching at his brow, blue eyes burning a hole through Luigi’s face as he glares. Roy looked like he couldn’t care less, and it annoyed him!

“Why is she already so buddy-buddy with him? We’ve only known the guy for like, half an hour.” Ludwig growls under his breath to Roy who shrugs his beefy shoulders.

“Whatever, man. I’m just excited to have a real breakfast. Not that oatmeal slop.” Roy answers completely unbothered, which only annoys Ludwig more. “She looks like she’s having fun, anyway.”

“She’s not supposed to be having fun.” Ludwig mutters through grit teeth. “Pancake making was something we’d do with Sonny, not this new replacement!”

Roy lets out a sigh at the mention of their old caretaker, squinted eyes falling on the marbled island they sit at. “I know, Ludwig. I miss her too.” 

The blue Koopaling simply turns his gaze away with a scoff. Wendy looked overjoyed to be at Luigi’s side helping him cook. It infuriates Ludwig. The longer he stares at Luigi helping Wendy pour the pancake mix into the hot pan, the more the human blurred into the vision of Sonny being the one to help her. It was Sonny who was preparing their breakfast like she did every day since he was a hatchling.

This was supposed to be Sonny. 

Not some fleshy-human knockoff. He’d never be her.

 

Ludwig must have been daydreaming for a long time, because he snaps out of it when Wendy waves a hand in front of his face.

“Helloooo? Darklands to Ludwig?” Her voice rings in his ears and finally the eldest brother focuses. “Finally! You’ve been daydreaming forever. Come on, breakfast is finished! And it smells delicious!” 

Ludwig had no chance to answer when his little sister pulled him out of the chair and out the door leading to the private, royal dining room. The grand room where they had been eating their lackluster meals for the last few weeks was now overwhelmed by the smell of delicious, home-made pancakes and waffles. 

His navy gaze sets on the piled plates of waffles, pancakes and french toast. All left plain with pots of syrup and strawberries on the side. He wouldn’t lie and say his mouth wasn’t watering at both the sight and the smell.

“Dig in. You look hungry.” Luigi’s voice interrupts Ludwig, who scowls and stomps towards the food and sniffs cautiously. Mmm, not poisoned.

Wendy and Roy were already sitting in their seats with piled plates, digging straight in with their hands. They looked like starved, feral animals the way they ravaged their meal.

Ludwig was picky and simply put one of each breakfast food on a plate, rounding the table and taking the empty seat next to his sister. Her plate was almost empty already. 

The eldest couldn’t help but keep his eyes on Luigi who simply forks out two of the waffles onto his plate and sits at the opposite side of the table, conscious enough to keep his distance for now while they were in the presence of food.

“This is delicious!” Wendy muffles through a mouthful of food. Luigi smiles over at her joy and digs in himself. “Alright, you kept ya promise, so we’ll talk. What is it you want to know?”

It takes the human a few moments to sit there and think of what he wanted to ask. He had asked his most important question to Kamek who had confirmed his worst fear, but thinking back on the conversation there was definitely something itching to be answered. “Hm. Tell me about your routine.” Luigi starts, laying his forearms on the table in front of him. “What time do you sleep?”

“Um, whenever we want!” Wendy grins over at him, crumbs surrounding her snout. “Kamek  shouts at us to go to bed super early but we always tell him ‘No!’ and eventually he gives up.”

“I see.” Luigi squints in thought, keeping all of this in the back of his head for later. “What about playtime? What do you do then?”

“Ummm…” Wendy scratches at her head with the end of her fork. “I guess we torment the guards? It’s kinda funny hearing them scream like little girls! I love chasing them, so does Roy!” 

“Is that your playtime? Tormenting the troopas? Do you not have toys to play with?” Luigi queries with interest, tapping his covered hands against the table. 

“We have some toys.” Wendy shrugs, “But they aren’t as fun as playing with the guards.” 

“I see.” Luigi repeats and picks up his fork, the conversation drifting off while they continue digging into the delicious breakfast in front of them. Roy had gotten up for a second helping and Wendy was quick to follow after him, while Ludwig sat there with his half-eaten plate pushed away from him, distant eyes bored into the table. 

The worrying look on his face doesn’t go unnoticed. Luigi leans a little towards him in a hushed whisper. “Are you okay, Ludwig? Do you not like your food?”

This snaps the eldest out of his trance, who scowls at the sight of Luigi boring his blue eyes into his skull. The Koopaling turns away from him with a mutter that he couldn’t quite understand, “It’s not as good as Sonny’s.”

Luigi only caught the end of his sentence and tilted his head again. “Who’s Sonny?-”

Before Ludwig would bristle at his question Kamek bursts through the doors with a pant, even though he had been flying in on his broom. The advisor looked panicked and set a hand on his chest, clutching his invisible pearls. “You wretched little brats! I’ve been looking for you the last half hour!” The advisor shrieks, while the three Koopalings remain unbothered.

“We heard this guy settling into his room and he said he’d make us breakfast!” Wendy says in the middle of piling up her second plate and skipping back to her seat. “Try some, Kamek! It’s sooo delicious! Better than those sloppy kitchen staff you hire here!”

Kamek, the old advisor, grunts a little at that. His glassed stare looks down to the plates of home-made breakfast screaming his name. The smell was glorious but he resisted with a turn of his head. He doesn’t eat before Bowser.

“Nope. I resist. I refuse to eat before the King gets his lazy rump up.” Kamek floats a little closer to the children, missing the way Luigi’s body stiffens at the mention of the koopa King. “I see you two are enjoying it, though? Is the oatmeal really that bad?”

“Yeah! It’s terrible! I keep asking them to make stuff like this but they don’t listen!” Wendy says through another mouthful, spooning even more into her maw as she turns her head to Luigi. “You should be our cook instead of a nanny!”

Luigi lets out an amused chuckle at that, pushing away his own empty plate now. “I’m afraid I didn’t come here for that. I’m here to take care of you, though I don’t mind cooking for you every now and then if you wish.” The gentle smile from the human doesn’t go unnoticed, and Wendy smiles just as brightly back. Well, he’s won the heart of one of them, at least.

Kamek watched as the interaction between the two unfolded with a very subtle smile on his beak. He uses his wand to magic the now-empty dishes into the dishwasher and ushers the children out of their seats, insisting they go and play in the playroom.

Luigi gets up and prepares to spend the next however-long in his room relaxing, but Kamek stops him with a clearing of his throat. Luigi turns to look up at the mage hovering just at his side. 

“I think it would be best to introduce you to the hatchlings, now that the children are out of our hair.” Kamek leaves Luigi no time to answer and makes his way out of the door, followed by the human speed-walking just behind him.

Together they make it to the Koopalings room and Kamek nudges the door open with his hand into the silence of the space. Luigi admires the playfulness of the room, particularly admiring the giant nest-looking bed snug against the wall ahead of him.

Kamek had floated somewhere in the corner and Luigi followed, noticing the mage looking over into a large bassinet. 

“Here they are.” The advisor was whispering now and Luigi slows his breathing as he approaches. Big blue eyes open wide in wonder at the sight of five hatchlings all snuggled in a sleep pile, the precious sight almost making Luigi sob right on the spot.

“Ohh, they’re so precious.” Luigi mumbles quietly, resisting the powerful urge to scoop them up and cuddle them close. 

“Yes, until they wake up and start pooping and eating non stop.” Kamek lets out a grunt and Luigi couldn’t help stifling a laugh at the old mage’s humor. “But yes, these are the other five you have a duty to. They aren’t fresh newborns anymore so they don’t need round the clock feeding. Only when they start getting fussy, but if not, every four hours until bedtime.”

Luigi nods as the advisor continues talking. “These hatchlings are also struggling a little with routine, finding it difficult when and where they should be sleeping so it’s important you incorporate a routine for these ones too.”

“Bath, feed, bed.” Luigi mumbles to himself and the advisor raises his brows but says nothing.

“There’s not much else to inform you on. For the pooping part, just ensure you have some sanitary towels on standby for when they eventually decide they want to go.” 

Luigi pinches his brows together a little in thought. “Can these little guys not wear diapers?”

“Diapers?” Kamek inquired about the foreign word.

“Um, yeah. You put them on the baby's backsides to catch the… Bodily fluids coming out of them uncontrollably. You change them every so often, but I suppose it would be easier than walking on egg shells wondering if they were going to go and poop on the floor or not?” Luigi tilts his head curiously at the advisor who seemed to be the one deep in thought now.

“I see… Diapers…” Kamek makes a mental note. “I will have to research more on the subject. I thank you for your input.”

“Y-You’re welcome.” 

They were interrupted from their little moment when the sleeping mewls turned into waking yawns. Luigi looks down to see one of the hatchlings with fiery red tufts turn onto their back, rolling over to stretch their tiny limbs before beady eyes squint up at the sight of them.

“That one is little Junior.” Kamek clears his throat quietly, reaching down to scoop the draconic bundle into his arms. The hatchling was half the size of him! “The mischievous one of the bunch. Keep your eye on this one.” Without any hesitation the advisor thrusts the hatchling towards Luigi who steps back in surprise for a moment. 

He stretches out his now-gloved hands and takes hold of the small bundle dangling in his grasp with a mewl at the stranger. It was like holding a kitten. 

“Hey, little guy.” Luigi cups the small koopa in a cradle, looking down at the hatchling who tilts his head up at the strange looking human. “You’re a cutie, aren’t you?” He uses a finger to tickle at the hatchling’s bared stomach, who wriggles with a happy mew at the attention. 

Kamek watches Luigi closely for any reaction involving the little Prince’s appearance eerily similar to his Highness, but to his relief Luigi seems not to care and looks back over to the waking pile wondering where their littlest brother had gone.

“Worry not, I’ll give you all a little fuss.” Luigi coos over at the swarming pile of Koopalings and gives Junior a few more rocks before placing him back down and scooping up another hatchling to fuss. He does this for every single one of the babies while Kamek stands back to watch in fascination. 

Each hatchling was given the same amount of fuss and love. No favourites. It was remarkable hearing the small mewls of happiness at being tickled with the lean finger of the human. Kamek had tried that trick a few days ago and the little brats cried about it! Hmph!

“They are an adorable little bunch.” Luigi mumbles as he sets down the last of them, Iggy. Almost immediately the hatchlings cry out at the loss of warmth and Luigi has to resist the urge to scoop them all back up before Kamek stops him gently.

“I will handle them. I want you to get more acquaintance with your room and the rest of the castle while you’re at it. I don’t suppose the eldest of the bunch gave you much time to do that.”

Before Luigi could insist that he could help, the advisor shoos him out of the door and shuts it behind him. 

Luigi simply shrugs his shoulders gently and makes his way back to the room, pushing open the door and remembering the clothes strewn all over the place and shakes his head gently with an amused smile.

Polterpup had been hiding under the bed when the Koopalings had barged in, still laying there now when Luigi approached the spectre with a tilt of his head. “You can come out, silly. It’s safe.” 

Immediately the pup jumps up and around Luigi with a wag of his tail. The human busies himself with tidying the elegant room and setting his suitcase in the corner, wedged between the wall and the wardrobe out of the way. 

Now that he had some more free time, Luigi admired the vanity sitting opposite his canopy bed. The drawers were stocked full of makeup and all sorts of miscellaneous products that he couldn’t help gawk at. There was a part of him that wanted to experiment, but eventually decided against it. For all he knew, these belonged to somebody.

His fingers gently trace the gold trim of the mirror with a small smile before backing away and idly making his way around the room in circles. There wasn’t much more to notice until Luigi’s eyes fell on the door leading to the bathroom.

Excitedly, Luigi picks up his pace and throws open the door, wide-eyed and slack-jawed at the sight.

The bathroom had the most opulent, luxurious design. Rich red tones, similar to the ones in his bedroom, dominate the space almost enough to hurt his eyes. The walls are adorned in deep burgundy wallpaper with intricate patterns.

Luigi brings his gaze to a stunning gold-accented bathtub with a vintage-style faucet. The more he looks around, the more gold accents he notices intricately lined along the trims of the shower and the bathtub.

The floor was covered in light beige marble, with a beautifully detailed rug in more shades of red and gold. 

Luigi felt like dropping to his knees and crying! He had never seen a bathroom so elegant in his life that he felt like he’d walked right into Bowser’s personal suite. It was so meticulously arranged with the way the tub sits just next to the giant open shower, conveniently if he decided to have one over the other.

Not to mention, Luigi pulls at the drawers near the sink and notices all the toiletries organized. Shampoo, conditioner, wax, cotton buds, the lot! Polterpup seemed to be enjoying the bathroom with the way he rolls around on the rug below Luigi’s feet.

“You like it too, huh?” Luigi grins down at the spectre and rubs at his exposed belly. The pup relishes in the attention from him until the sound of a door slamming open makes them both jump up in surprise. 

It sounded like his door. Were the kids okay? Did they need his help?

Quickly, Luigi sprints from his half-crouched position and bursts through the ajar door of the bathroom, frantically looking for the sight of the Koopalings only to be met with something that makes the olive colour in his face drain to a pale white.

The unmissable koopa King stands there on all fours, smoke billowing from the gaps between his grit fangs. Red eyes were blazing as the fur around his shoulders bristles at the sight of him.

“What the fuck are you doing in my castle?” The distorted voice of the angered koopa King makes Luigi almost faint on the spot, legs trembling and hands clamming in the rubber of his gloves. 

He was left with no time to squeak out an answer when Bowser charges.

 

Right towards him.

Notes:

wooahhh double upload?! waow! (cus im impatient) (ㅅ´ ˘ `)
Bowser's currently prepared to fight Luigi and I'm over here already planning their wedding (˶ ˘ ³˘)ˆᵕ ˆ˶)
Hehe. Hope you enjoyed!

Chapter 7

Notes:

new chapter yippee ◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜ if anybody is interested a posted a oneshot last night with a sprinkle of bowuigi and angst ദ്ദി◝ ⩊ ◜.ᐟ

Moments Earlier

 

A giant paw rests over the sleeping King’s face, shielding tired eyes from the string of sunlight that peeks through the cracks of the curtains.

Bowser had only woken up twice that night to a fussy Lemmy and Morton. Lemmy simply wanted to be held for a few minutes and Morton was peckish, which wasn’t too much of a problem. Bowser would often shout for Kamek or Kammy to assist their needs in the middle of the night, but lately he found himself crawling out of bed to the sound of their cries.

He lazes around in the comfort of his nest, tail swishing rhythmically off the side of his bed while trying to wake himself up for the day. Red curls of Bowser’s fiery mane tangle around his horns while he lets out a mighty yawn.

Rolling over, Bowser squints his eyes at the bedside table and reads the time. 8:32am. He slept in over thirty minutes, damn. 

Whatever, it was only half an hour. The Koopalings will be up and doing whatever it is they do through the day while he spends it slaving away in the stale scent of books in his office. 

It was becoming a bore. Bowser could admit that much. He had been on the throne for thirty-six years and it was always the same. A part of him longed to be spending his time with a mate at his side, somebody to share this duty with but also somebody to spend those rare moments where Bowser didn’t have to do anything.

But alas. Bowser lays alone in his bed. It was a wonder how the fling with that stranger all those months ago went under everybody’s noses. Not like it was their business! He could do what he liked when he wanted.

Bowser just didn’t expect to be laying here whilst his newborn son lays in the room just down the hall.

Speaking of, the King finally hauls himself out of the comfort of his throws and blankets with another giant yawn and a scratch of his plastron. Blinking tired eyes open, he walks into the bathroom just in the corner to dunk his head under a tap of cold water to shock himself awake a little more.

It worked, because he stood back up straight with his eyes now wide open while rubbing at the excess water along his snout. Bowser let his gaze linger on the reflection in front of him and pulled at his tired eyes with a small grunt.

He could fix it later with a shower after checking on the hatchlings. Not because he cared, of course. 

Bowser makes his way through the chambers and out of the door, stomping his way down the hall to the Koopalings’ door that was left ajar. Weird, it was never left open.

Using a mighty palm to push it open, the smell of something foreign stings his nostrils and immediately his eyes fall into slits. The smell of Kamek lingered around the stench he couldn’t recognize, but it was faint. 

Bowser snaps his head in the direction of the bassinet and hurries over on all fours now, his mighty head looking over to see the hatchlings wide awake and looking up at him with happy clicks and purrs. Bowser resists the urge to sound back at them, instead leaning his head down to sniff against Larry’s neck. 

The foreign stench was stronger now. The harder he sniffs, the more his eyes burn with anger. 

It was one of those plumbers. Their stupid smells were hard to tell apart but Bowser knew it was them with a wrinkle of his snout and a small snarl that startled the hatchlings under his nose. There was no mistaking it. One of those plumbers had been messing with his hatchlings. 

Bowser noses frantically between them all and still the strong scent lingers that only burns his eyes more. One of those stupid humans had been messing with them! Right under his nose! On closer inspection neither looked hurt which was a silent relief. He could feel the burning bubbling under his scales to know they had been handled by one of those plumbers who was roaming the castle. 

Bowser spends the next few moments scenting himself back on top of the stench from the plumbers, quietly purring back when they click and nuzzle into him happily but there was no time to waste. Reluctantly, the King pulls back and bolts for the door with a loud snarl, body bristling and hackles rising. 

Now that he could focus, the scent was strong in the hallways. And it led him straight to the room opposite the children where the Nanny should be staying. What did the plumber want with the Nanny? Was he here to hurt them? No doubt it was the stupid red one.

Without a second thought Bowser barges his giant head against the door, swinging it open with a slam and looking around the empty room. The stench lingers everywhere, enough to burn his nose while frantically looking for the culprit. Bowser was blinded by the rage for touching the hatchlings and wandering around the castle walls without even a peep coming from one of his guards. How did no one know he was here?!

Then he saw him.

Bowser locks eyes with the Green one who had come running out of the bathroom with that pesky canine by his side. The scent got stronger.

“What the fuck are you doing in my castle?” The way the stupid plumber trembles silently only fuels the anger bubbling in his chest and without a second thought, Bowser lunges right for him.

—

 

Polterpup barks frantically at the charging Koopa, who uses his entire weight to throw himself towards the plumber with claws outstretched. 

Luigi was a deer in headlights. His legs wouldn’t move! Why weren’t they moving?!

It was Polterpup who barrels into the side of his stiffened owner and throws him to the ground, merely missing Bowser pouncing straight for him and slamming his mighty head straight through the bathroom door.

The whole room shakes at the collision. Luigi was splayed out against the floor after being harshly jumped on by the canine who was still snarling and barking at the koopa. Shaking his head out of his daze, Luigi scrambles from his compromising position on the ground, backing against the side of the bed as he watches the enraged koopa King try and free his enlarged head from the narrow doorway of the bathroom.

Luigi would be laughing if this was an entirely different situation. But listening and watching his animalistic behaviour was frankly terrifying. The koopa was clawing at the floorboards and snarling like a rabid animal blinded by their instincts.

It doesn’t go unnoticed the way Luigi could feel the heat in his gloves as his heart palpitations quicken, struggling to catch his breath. The electric flow in his arms circulates wildly around his fingers screaming ‘DANGER!’ but having nowhere to go. Luigi refused to pull them off. 

Bowser eventually frees his head with a powerful yank of his shoulders, taking most of the doorframe with him as it splinters to the ground around them. Luigi’s anxious pheromones made it easy for Bowser to snap his head in the direction of the plumber who made an attempt to bolt out of the room.

He wasn’t quick enough.

Bowser lunges forward and catches the human between one of his giant paws, pinning the plumber on his back against the floorboards between his talons. Claws dig into the wood at either side of Luigi’s shoulders, who stares up at the enraged blood-red eyes boring right into his.

Luigi made no sound. Not even a whimper. His chest heaves up and down in panic while the static of electricity threads wildly between his fingers under his gloved hands, fighting back against the rubber insulator that wouldn’t let them hurt Bowser. 

“I’m going to ask you again.” Bowser’s snarl had dropped significantly lower than before, baring a maw of sharp teeth and elongated tusks merely pinching the tip of Luigi’s nose. “What are you doing in my castle? And why is your filthy scent all over those hatchlings? Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t rip you to shreds. Right here. Right now.”  

Luigi takes it all back. This guy was terrifying.

He had never seen such an animalistic display of rage before. Bowser’s anger was almost human when he would fight Mario. The koopa would huff and puff when he lost while stomping away like a toddler. This time? Luigi was absolutely sure that if he didn’t give the koopa King a good enough answer, he was going to be torn into with those giant teeth.

The period of silence wasn’t missed when the claws besides Luigi suddenly dislodge from around his shoulders and he felt his chin jaw grasped harshly between two of his talons, forcing the plumber to look into those piercing red eyes. There was no fighting or trying to wriggle his head away. The King’s grasp was like a vice.

“I-I’m the Nanny!” Luigi muffles through the string of words and winces at Bowser’s mocking sound of a laugh and a snort.

“Bull shit.” Bowser lets his talons squeeze a little tighter against the puny human’s jaw, squishing his face together. He could squeeze Luigi’s head like a cherry if he so wished. The human’s anxious pheromones were stinging at Bowser’s nostrils enough to make him wince, burning his nose and angering him further. 

Bowser’s other clawed hand keeps him steady as his muscled frame hovers over the human trapped beneath his claws, tail thrashing wildly back and forth when the Mario brother didn’t bother trying to speak up and give another pathetic one of his excuses.

Luigi could swear he was looking right at a dragon. This was no koopa like he’d ever seen before, this didn’t even look like Bowser. The way he pins him on all fours, hackles raised and mane fluffed out in fury. It was like Bowser had transformed into something entirely new, entirely different. Something he hadn’t seen before.

Kamek bursts through the bedroom door with a slam that startles Luigi, but he didn’t dare attempt craning his head and pleading for the advisor’s help while he was in such a vulnerable position. If he understood correctly, the moment Luigi decided to show any sort of sign that his guard was down Bowser would strike without question, judging by the look in his eyes that refused to tear away from his own mortified stare. The claws clasping hold of his jaw only got tighter, but it seems not enough to actually crush his head which surprised him more than it should have.

“WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING?!” Kamek screeches from the door at the sight of Bowser having the plumber pinned to the ground with his head pinched between his fingers, splintered floorboards around them from the King’s mighty weight. 

“Tell me why he’s here! This little punk isn’t talking!” Bowser roars at the advisor who flinches back momentarily, almost falling from his broom.

“He’s the nanny! He–He’s looking after the children!” 

Bowser stiffens. 

So this little twerp wasn’t lying?

“What are yo u t a lki ng a bout?” Bowser finally rips his pointed stare from the shaking Mario brother to the advisor who attempts to cower near the door. Luigi had snapped his hands to grasp hold of Bowser’s thick wrist in a brave attempt to pull him away or at least release some of the pressure from his jaw. Bowser knew he was weak, that it was pointless, so he didn’t see the point in punishing him for it. As much as he wanted to.

“The nanny! The nanny we were talking about a few days ago!” Kamek squawks in fear to see Luigi helplessly attempting to struggle free. 

“I never authorised this!” Bowser had relaxed the paw that kept Luigi’s face trapped in the prison of giant claws, enough that his jaw was turning red from the pressure. “What makes you think I would consciously let one of these losers roam this castle? Let alone meddle with the hatchlings?!”

Luigi had finally managed to relax himself somewhat without the piercing red stare boring through his soul when Bowser snapped his head back in his direction, and almost immediately Luigi dropped himself back against the floorboards with a surprised squeak. 

“You asked for my help and I got it for you!” It was Kamek’s turn to shout now, which seemed to surprise them both. “You never specified who it should be! I travelled to every Kingdom in the vicinity pleading for help and not one would listen! The Mushroom Kingdom was my last resort and Princess Peach was more than happy to volunteer him as tribute.” Kamek was on the ground now and pointed his wand to the cowering Mario brother trapped beneath his son’s paw. “I took into consideration your feelings and asked for anybody else but she wouldn’t budge! She was adamant about this decision, and I thought having somebody hand-picked from the Princess herself would please you!”

Bowser was quiet for a very long time. It was long enough that he let his claws unlatch from Luigi’s jaw and moved his giant paw, allowing Luigi to shuffle backwards frantically until he was sitting against the bed, trying to calm his racing heart. Polterpup darts to his side, nosing at Luigi’s covered hands.

“My office. Now.” Was the only thing that left Bowser’s mouth in those few moments of silence. The brute had pulled himself onto two feet and snapped his head towards Luigi sitting flush against the bed, like he was trying to sink into the mattress. “I’ll be back for you.” 

The ominous stare left Luigi trembling as he watched Bowser barge past Kamek in the doorway with his mighty shoulders, and eventually left the room. His giant stomps don’t go unnoticed until they fade into his office down one of the halls.

There was almost a sad look on the advisor’s face when Luigi eventually met his eye, but had no time to say anything when he left to follow the outraged King who now paces around the office on all fours again.

Kamek takes in a shaky breath before wandering inside and observes the King’s relentless pacing around the study space. Smoke continues to billow from his nostrils in silent fury.

“I cannot believe you.” Bowser breathes almost scarily calm despite his demeanour that proved otherwise. “I cannot believe you!” The mighty King stops now to look at Kamek who was hesitant to approach him.

“Please enlighten me, your Highness, on what you cannot believe?” The mage adjusts his glasses while Bowser’s eyes squint in annoyance.

“You! To elect a Mario brother of all bastards to roam this castle and take care of those hatchlings?!” Bowser starts to pace again, claws clattering against the floorboards obnoxiously loud. “I have every reason to strip you of your position and throw you into a cage above lava right now. You do understand that, don’t you?”

Kamek remains as calm as he appears to be, using his stick for leverage to lean against. “But you won’t.”

“Excuse me?”

“But you will not.” Kamek repeats gently. “For one, I have not done anything against your word. You asked for anybody, might I remind you. You never specified who it had to be and who you didn’t want it to be.” Kamek pauses for a moment. “I understand your frustration, I really do. You have been at war with the Marios for the last six years, but do you truly have anything personal against the Green one? What has he done to you?”

Bowser snorts at that, his scales bristling along his shoulders. “He’s Mario’s brother. That reason alone is justified enough to throw him in the dungeons.” 

“I’m afraid not. While Luigi is here under the Princess’ authorization, as the Ambassador might I add.” Kamek licks his beak, “The moment you touch a hair on his head will be a declaration of war against her and the Kingdom.”

Bowser stares, slack jaw, at the old advisor who masks the smug look on his face. “Which is why you are extremely lucky I had found my way into that room on time. If your paternal instincts had gotten any more out of control, I would have found a shredded Mario brother on the ground and every single allied Kingdom with Peach going to war with us.” 

Bowser ultimately fights the urge to growl back at the mage and raises himself up onto his two legs, walking over to slump into the office chair with a dead stare at the table in front of him. “You’re on thin fucking ice, old man. Pull another one of these stunts behind my back and I will proceed with my promise to strip you of all you’re worth and throw you in the dungeon.” 

“I understand, my son.” Kamek gently nods his head as Bowser flinches. “I take full responsibility for not notifying you earlier of his arrival. I apologise for that.”

“Get out. Before I do something I regret.” The King snaps in the middle of rubbing the bridge of his snout, eyes squeezed shut while the familiar puff of smoke tells him Kamek had already disappeared.

Bowser sits there in eerie silence for a few minutes to let his fury subside. It bubbles beneath the surface of his scales while every bone in his body aches from the pain of holding it all together for so long. 

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud puff of smoke and he growled out of his nose, opening his eyes expecting to see Kamek, but to his surprise it was Kammy floating there with a puzzled look on her face.

“What on earth is going on around here? All this racket!” The witchy advisor makes her way over, bobbing some of her silver hair with her claws. “Were you and my brother having a row? I could hear the shouting from up in my tower, where it’s supposed to be peaceful and quiet!”

Bowser grunts at his secondary advisor, keeping his mighty head resting in the palm of his hand while his gaze rests elsewhere. “Did you know he appointed a Mario brother to be the nanny of the Koopalings?”

Kammy splutters in surprise. “I-I did not! I had no idea!” The elderly lady answers truthfully, “It… It’s not the red one, is it?”

“No–”

“Well… Then I suppose that’s okay?” She tilts her head in confusion at the look of visible fury on Bowser’s face.

“What do you mean okay? It’s a MARIO brother! Anything to do with that little punk is bad news!” Bowser bites harshly through grit teeth.

“Well… The Green one hasn’t given us much to worry about, has he not?” Kammy takes a seat next to Bowser who continues to avoid looking at her. “I suppose he’s been there to kick your butt a few times, but at the demand of his brother. Do you truly think Luigi would try and hurt you on his own accord?”

Bowser huffs in dismissal. True or not, he was still Mario’s whiny little cowardly brother.

“I get it.” Kammy rests a tiny hand on top of his giant paw. “You’re frustrated, and you have every right to be! But don’t take it out on the old man. You know Kamek cares about you and what you want, I’m sure this was something he wasn’t pleased about himself.” 

Bowser scoffs, but he doesn’t move his hand away. 

“But you need help, Bowser.” Kammy sighs, “It hurts to see the things being said about you in the headlines. That’s you’re an incompetent King. Because I know you aren’t. The quicker this Nanny can fit the children into a comfortable routine until they become independent, the better for you! For all of us!” Kammy beams her signature smile over to her nephew who didn’t budge from his cold, stern expression on the floor.

“For now, focus on your duty. Focus on proving to the Darklands that you’re still here. Reassure them, because they need it right now.” Her hand strokes a few times comfortingly over his giant talons before she gets up and pats down her dress. “We love you, Bowser. As your advisors but also as your family. If you ever need our help, my help, you know where to find me.” 

The elderly lady leaves without another word and almost immediately Bowser falls apart. His head falls into his giant hands while his shoulders shake with a quiet sob, the weight of the world is pushing him down and he feels like falling to the floor and melting through the floorboards. He was getting on as the years went by and yet he was still alone, left to rule the throne by himself for the last thirty-six years without so much as a partner. 

There was part of him that truly wanted to believe that Luigi was here without malice. That he was simply here to do a job and go back home without incident. 

But the bigger part of him believed he was here with an ulterior motive. To pass information on to Mario when they eventually meet up. To expose all of his weaknesses in the castle and his army.

His talons dig into the mane of fiery red hair. Bowser wanted to get up and corner the stupid plumber and interrogate him about his motive. To question why he was here and make him cough up every ounce of information he had.

But another part of him knew that Kamek was right. If this… Luigi was the Ambassador to the Mushroom Kingdom like he said, then harming a single hair on his head would mean war. Bowser anxiously thinks back to before when he had the smaller man pinned under his paw. Had he hurt him then? Was he too blind from his fury to notice at all? There wasn’t a stench of blood. Just fear. And it stung his nose like no other.

“Whatever.” Bowser snorts to himself and aggressively picks up a pen on his desk and begins sifting through the paperwork in front of him that began piling up once more. Stupid fucking paperwork. Why did he have to do it all the time?! It was infuriating.

It seemed to be the only way to distract him from the presence of the Mario brother roaming through his castle halls. Part of him was annoyed that the beautiful Princess would elect such a coward to raise eight rowdy, stubborn Koopalings! The guy was going to be torn to shreds when they figured out how to use their teeth and claws! 

The momentary thought humors Bowser with a light chuckle in the middle of scribbling through his endless writing.

Polterpup whines in the splintered doorway of the bathroom that Luigi was inside of. The man was slumped over the sink with his trembling hands running under the icy water, pouring over the static electrical currents that had shocked Luigi during his fit of distress with nowhere to go.

The tips of his fingers were blackened with burns from the constant shock, allowing excess energy to release through the running of the tap with his eyes squeezed closed from the pain. His jaw was aching terribly, like he had spent the last twelve hours chewing non-stop, it hurt to move.

Part of Luigi was grateful that he had these gloves in the first place. He could only imagine the destruction and outrage he would have caused if he’d lost control and hurt the King. 

While another part of him was angry for not having this power under control yet. The fact that it controlled him made him infuriated. Luigi had to step around his fears on egg shells to prevent the overwhelm of distress that would inevitably lead to him setting everything alight from the electric shockwaves. Now it was at the cost of his hands that shake uncontrollably under the water still while he lets the energy dissipate.

Kamek’s presence in the doorway goes unnoticed, who looked mortified at the sight of the plumber’s burning fingertips under the water.

“Are you… Hurt?” The advisor interrupts Luigi slumped over the sink, who jumps up at the sound of his voice.

“N-No.” He lies through his teeth, “I did this to myself. I–...It was my fault.” 

Kamek looks unconvinced as he hesitantly floats closer and observes the energy currents swirling around Luigi’s hands, before going down the drain with the running water. The advisor then turns to look at his reddened jaw with a look of horror beneath the glasses. “I, um… Hope you don’t mind me wasting the water like this. I-It’s the only thing that helps.”

“Not at all.” Kamek murmurs in response, fascination on his face while Luigi finally turns off the tap and dries his dampened hands. “I am… Truly sorry on his Highness’ behalf for his behaviour earlier.” The advisor sounded ashamed, refusing to meet the plumber's eye. “His instincts must have gotten the better of him when he could smell your stench on them.”

“I understand.” Luigi softens his voice at the elderly advisor. “I suppose it was wrong of me not to see Bowser myself before mingling with the children, I take the blame for that.” It was his turn to look ashamed now, turning back to the mirror in front of him with a quiet sigh as he pulled down his sleeves to cover the white veins running farther up his arms this time, just past his elbow. “Is he okay?”

“Who? Bowser?”

Luigi simply nods.

“Yes, he’s fine… Though it should be the other way around. I am surprised you’re so calm about all of this, that you haven’t changed your mind and run back home yet.” 

“It took me years to control my unshakable anxiety.” Luigi turns his body to lean against the front of the sink. “I won’t lie and say I’m not absolutely terrified of him. In all my years of fighting by Mario’s side… I haven’t seen Bowser so full of anger in my life.” 

The piercing red eyes of the King bore through Luigi every time he blinked, like they were burnt under his eyelids. “But I’m not here for him.” The human’s voice trails off softly, glassy blue eyes falling to the floor. “I’m here for those kids, because now it’s clear to me just how much help you need. I want to give them that chance.” 

There was a gentle smile on Kamek’s face to know this human wasn’t prepared to give up on them yet. “That pleases me to hear, Luigi.” 

The plumber smiles briefly before letting out a quiet sigh. “He really did a number on that doorframe, huh?” Luigi tries to lighten the mood with a soft snicker at the sight of the now-splintered doorway that Polterpup was still sitting inside of.

“Ah, yes. I apologise for that.” Kamek sheepishly waves his wand around and uses his magic to start repairing what the clumsy King had broken around the room in his fit of rage. It was all back to its usual, elegant self in a matter of a few seconds and Luigi felt like he could finally breathe with a drop of his shoulders. “Are you sure you aren’t hurt? Your jaw is looking rather red. He didn’t scratch you at all?” Kamek couldn’t help but think back to the red marks along his face.

“I’m sure. I promise, I’m fine.”

“Very well.” Kamek nods his head, knowing better than to pry. “Oh, while I was absent I found out about those diapers you told me about. Turns out the caretakers at the orphanage here use them for the little ones, and let us borrow a handful. I put them near the hatchlings’ bassinet for you.” Kamek makes his way back out of the bathroom followed by Luigi who gives Polterpup a comforting scratch on the head to ease the spectre’s worries. “Is there anything you might need while I’m here?”

“No, that’s all. Thank you, Kamek.” Luigi nods his dismissal with a small smile and watches the elderly advisor disappear in purple smoke. 

Now that the mage has gone, Polterpup starts to whine again and gently paws at Luigi’s leg for his attention. The human turns to meet his beady eyes and crouches down to cup the ghostly face in his palms. “I’m okay, Polterpup.”  

The dog didn’t look too convinced, judging by the gentle frown on his face. It was humorous enough for Luigi to shake his head with a small smile. “Follow me.” The human stands up straight and pulls open the door to his room, walking right across the hall to the Koopalings’ room and gently opening the door with a peek inside.

It currently wasn’t being occupied by the eldest ones, thankfully. 

The sound of wide awake mewls instantly grabs Luigi’s attention who looks over at the bassinet of crawling hatchlings ready to start their day. He walks over eager to meet the adorable faces who look up at him with curiosity in their eyes at the fleshy sight of the human smiling down at them.

“Ciao, Piccolinos.” Luigi murmurs down at the bundles who all start clicking a curious noise at him. Luigi tilts his head and reaches down for the biggest of the bunch, Morton if he remembers correctly, who looked a little sleepier than the others. “Aw, are you still waking from your nap?” He gently tickles underneath his neck and listens to the purring rumbling through his chest.

Almost instantly the other hatchlings began to wail at the lack of attention on them which made Luigi laugh. “Patience, little ones! I’ll get to you all, I promise! I have to fit a diaper on each of you.” 

Polterpup takes the opportunity to distract the disgruntled infants while Luigi walks around the room jiggling Morton to look for stray pillows, which he finds strewn along the ground and begins making a large circle in the middle of the room, and places Morton down inside on his tummy while he goes back and forth to retrieve the rest of the hatchlings. 

Luigi steps into the circle lined with pillows now that all the siblings are together and curiously looks around at the circle of pillows they were inside of. Lemmy, the smallest of the bunch, was watching Larry who was clicking and purring, like he was trying to speak. “Are you telling your siblings stories, little Larry?” Luigi coos over to one of the twins while he has Iggy on his back.

The lean hatchling was wriggling uncomfortably at the position of being on his back between the nanny’s legs. Luigi curiously looks at the diaper in his hands and turns it in strange positions until he understands what was back and what was front. 

“Gimme those little legs.” Luigi gently pinches Iggy’s ankles between his fingers and pulls the infant towards him slowly. Iggy was still adamant on wriggling around while Luigi fights with the fussing hatchling to slip the diaper up his legs until it sits nice and snug. “There we go. No more pooping on the floor!” 

Iggy was unsure at the weird feeling at first, but ultimately decides it was fine for now when he was allowed to roll onto his front and crawl around the enclosed circle they were trapped inside of. Luigi picked through the bunch of hatchlings to each fit them with their own diapers and thankfully there seemed to be no fuss amongst them, just a few uncomfortable growls at the foreign feeling. 

It was finally Junior’s turn, who was more than happy to be pulled towards the human with a gummy smile. Luigi notices this in the middle of unwrapping the diaper and smiles right back at the infant. “Happy today, aren’t we?” He pinches Junior’s little cheek in his fingers who babbles happily at the attention.

Luigi hadn’t even done anything when Junior started purring like a motor engine up at him. It shocks Luigi for a moment and he stares down at the infant with a puzzled look, while the hatchling was simply staring back and purring even louder. 

“He really likes you.” Wendy’s sweet voice startles Luigi. He turns to see the little girl bent over next to him and observing the hatchlings crawling around together in the little space. “Junior doesn’t purr for just anyone! He doesn’t even purr for me!” She sounded somewhat hurt by this and all Luigi could do was shake his head gently with a smile.

“I’m sure there’s no hard feelings, Principessa. Sometimes they do it to regulate themselves.” Luigi goes back to fitting Junior his own little diaper who wouldn’t let his beady red eyes go elsewhere, even when the two oldest brothers come into the room to watch.

“What the hell are you putting on them?” Ludwig bristles his shoulders with a curl of his lip, even more annoyed that Luigi continues to be unbothered by his threatening demeanor.

“Diapers.”

“But why?”

“So they don’t go excreting all their waste on the floor and leaving the poor maids to clean it up.” Luigi lifts Junior up into his arms now that the diaper was comfortably fit, tenderly thumbing over the tufts of red hair while the infant’s purring vibrates his entire body. “What have you three been up to since you left?”

“Nothing much, honestly. There isn’t a lot to do around here.” Wendy shrugs with a bored look on her face. “We just splashed around in the bath-house for a while and decided to come and see what our siblings were up to.”

“I was thinking of taking them to the gardens for an hour or two, if you’d like to come?” There was a hopeful look in his blue gaze at Wendy. “I don’t think I can carry all five of these little tots by myself.” 

“Oh, sure, I’ll come.” Wendy shrugs with a little smile, reaching down into the circle of hatchlings and carrying the twins in her arms. Strong girl, Luigi thinks to himself.

“Roy? Do you mind carrying Morton for me?” Luigi gently asks the squinting Koopaling who grunts softly but complies with a small shrug, wandering over to lift the heavier of the bunch and then Luigi’s eyes fall on Ludwig’s scowl. “Would you like to carry Junior or Iggy?”

“What makes you think I’m coming?” Ludwig bites, turning his body away with a huff.

“Well, it wouldn’t be very nice staying here all alone, would it, Principe?” Luigi was cradling the two other hatchlings to his chest who looked content enough to be snuggled into the warmth.

“Ugh. Whatever, fine. Give me Junior.” Ludwig stomps over and takes hold of the smaller hatchling and stomps his way out of the door. Luigi looks at Iggy in his arms, who seems to look back up at Luigi with a comical stare at his elder brother’s temper. 

Shaking it off, the four of them make their way around the castle. Luigi lets the kids lead him considering he had no idea where he was supposed to go.

Luigi felt like an ant the longer they wandered through the maze that was the castle. Long, endless carpets lead them down many corners and stairs. There were paintings on every wall and banners with the silhouette of Bowser’s face painted in rich cold against a maroon background. But Luigi was more intrigued by the frames along the wall, momentarily stopping every now and then to admire this particular painting that would show up around every corner. A beautiful dragon, though Luigi couldn’t make out most of the details.

There were eyes following Luigi’s every move down the winding stairs and long corridors. Zakaan, the guarding Paratroopa was flying silently above their heads with a spear at hand, narrowed eyes on the sight of the wretched Mario brother carrying one of the infants! 

It wasn’t until Wendy had turned around to grab his hand and rush him forward that he’d relaxed. So the kids were with him? What was going on?! Why wasn’t Bowser doing anything about this?

Zakaan had lost sight of them and grunted out a frustrated sigh. He was too tired to be dealing with this, and judging by the looks of other guards on the grounds whispering amongst themselves, the weird sight of the Mario brother wasn’t going unnoticed. It won’t be long until the entire Kingdom knows.

Wendy takes the lead through double glass doors that take them to the royal gardens and Luigi stops right in his tracks. He had never seen something so beautiful in his life.

It looked an awful lot like the european-style gardens back home, separated into geometric sections bordered by low, manicured boxwood hedges. Everything was stunningly symmetrical and houses plants and flowers Luigi hadn’t seen before. None of this grew back in the Mushroom Kingdom and it put his own garden to shame!

“This is beautiful.” Luigi finds himself saying outloud when Wendy gently tugs him down the pebbled path to the stone fountain right in the middle. Who knew Bowser had such great taste?

Luigi’s attitude suddenly sours when he remembers what happened back in his room.

“So, what do you have planned?” Wendy looks up at Luigi who cradles a curious Iggy looking around the garden and purring at the air that ruffles his sprout of hair. 

“Do you know the names of these plants?” Luigi asks Wendy who looks around them with a tilt of her head.

“Hm… No, but Ludwig would.” Wendy looks over at her eldest brother that pokes at Junior’s plastron, sitting on the edge of the fountain that drizzles behind him. “Luddy! Do you know the names of these plants?” She tilts her head over at him, catching his attention.

“Duh. Why?” Ludwig grumbles back in the middle of juggling Junior into the crook of his left arm and meeting his little sister’s gaze.

“Mr… Uh…” Wendy pauses to take a look up at the ‘nanny’. “What do we call you?”

“Just call me Luigi, Principessa.” He answers with a small smile under his mustache. 

“Luigi! Mr. Luigi wants to know.” Wendy toddles over to make a fuss of Junior squeaking happily at the attention from his older sister. Ludwig scowls over at Luigi who puts Iggy down on the grass to feel around with Morton, Larry and Lemmy around him. Their curious little paws feel at the grass and chirp at one another. 

“Why should I help him?” Ludwig grunts at Wendy who tears her gaze away from Junior now with a frown up at him. 

“Because you’re smart and he wants to know! You don’t have to be a poopy-head all the time, Ludwig.” 

“I’m not a poopy-head!” Ludwig growls down at her with a huff, “You’re the poopy-head.”

“Pea-brain.”

“Stinky!”

“Booger-face!”

“Hey!”  

The two squabbling Koopalings look over at the stern shout, meeting the frowning face of Luigi standing there looking over at them. “It’s not very nice to insult one another, bambini. No need to butt heads, if Ludwig doesn’t feel comfortable telling me, then he has the right to say no.” His tone drifts off gently and turns his attention back to the infants trying to crawl up his legs with happy clicks and purrs up at him, trying to gain the attention of the human who crouches down to fuss with them. “I’d love to know what these little ones are trying to tell me? What’s the meaning behind the clicking and cooing?” 

Wendy gives one last glare at Ludwig’s flared nostrils before stomping over the grass to Luigi and immediately calming down. He seemed to radiate this aura that meant she could relax her shoulders and not be mean, unlike the presence of her stubborn older brother. 

“It’s how we talk to one another. Look.” Wendy crouches down at Luigi’s side and starts to click with her tongue in a way that leaves Luigi staring at her in fascination. Almost immediately the hatchlings tear their gaze away from Luigi to their older sister and click back in unison, crawling over to her now. “Specific clicks mean certain things. I just told them to come to me and they listened immediately. They don’t understand talking like us just yet, they rely on clicking.” 

“That’s very fascinating, Wendy.” Luigi smiles and watches the hatchlings crawling over Wendy’s lap who now sat down in the grass. She pats the empty side next to her and without question Luigi sits himself down cross-legged at her side, observing closely. 

Lemmy and Larry instinctually gravitate towards one another in Wendy’s lap and end up curling together in a ball, purring in unison while Junior climbs all over Morton. The hatchling grunts and mewls in protest at their youngest brother’s curiosity, trying to shake him off.

Junior lets out a stubborn, weakened growl at Morton and paws at the starred-faced hatchling which initiates a small fight between them. Luigi goes to intervene but Wendy stops him with a shake of her head.

“Nu uh, let them fight it out. This is how they establish dominance, I think. That’s what Sonny would say anyway.” Wendy glances down at the fighting hatchlings. Junior was now pinned under Morton and let out a shrieking cry for mercy. The bigger hatchling immediately lets up and Junior growls stubbornly and crawls elsewhere, finding himself clambering over the human’s legs and into his lap. “Now Junior will know better than to try and fight him.”

“It’s a lot like the animals we have back home.” Luigi replies with his eyes down at Junior who settles down in the crook of his crossed-legs with a loud purr.

“We aren’t animals.” Wendy answers with a small frown.

“Ah! N-No! I’m sorry! I-I didn’t mean it like that!” Luigi stammers over his string of words which makes Wendy grin. “I just mean— There’s a lot about you koopas that I had no clue about. These instincts and behaviours are a lot like kittens and puppies we have back home. I wasn’t expecting this.” Luigi lets his hand smooth over the back of the shell-less Junior snuggled up contently and inhaling the sweet scent of the human. “It’s incredible.”

Wendy smiles over at Luigi, before their little moment was interrupted by Roy coming to sit himself down harshly in front of them with squinting eyes, looking over the hatchlings who found comfortable spots on the two. He didn’t say a word to either of them, until Luigi gently clears his throat and shuffles a little closer.

“Hello Roy.” Luigi starts with a small smile over at him, “You’ve been rather quiet since I met you. You okay?”

“Yea. I just don’t have much to say.” Roy shrugs his giant shoulders and scratches at his neck, squinted eyes following Junior sleeping in Luigi’s lap. “He looks comfortable.”

Luigi looks down to the infant with a gentle smile. “Ah, yes. Found his spot, it seems.” He lets out a little chuckle in the middle of looking back up at Roy. The pink Koopaling was still observing the relaxed hatchling who snores softly against the comfort of Luigi’s thigh.

“Junior doesn’t just get comfortable like that for anyone, yaknow” Roy gruffs quietly in the middle of folding his arms over his plastron. “The little brat won’t even snuggle with us. Unless it’s Bowser. That’s the only other person he would let snuggle like that.” 

Luigi cocks his head curiously at this. Junior was selective with his attention? That’s all the little guy showed him since coming here! The undeniable purring like a motor engine whenever Luigi moved or touched him was hard to miss, though when Kamek had held Junior a few hours ago he made not even a peep. 

“Yeah, that’s kinda weird.” Wendy peeks over Luigi’s relaxed arm to look at Junior sucking the end of his claw in the middle of napping. “You must be his favourite. No fair! You’ve only known him a day and you’re his number one already!” She pouts with a rough fold of her own arms over her chest, frowning.

“I’m sure he loves you all just as much, even more.” Luigi places a comforting hand on her shoulder and gives it a squeeze. “It might be because I’m human. I seem to have the same effect on other children back in the Mushroom Kingdom.” 

Roy and Wendy perk up at the mention of Luigi’s home and shuffle a little closer, beady eyes on him. “Mushroom Kingdom? Is that where you live? Sonny read us a few stories about that place.” Wendy starts.

“Oh, yes, Principessa. I live there with my brother, Mario.” Luigi nods, his hand subconsciously palming over the back of Junior while he sleeps.

“Are you friends with Princess Peach?” There was a sparkle in the little girl’s eyes that made Luigi laugh quietly at her.

“Oh yes, best buds. In fact, I’m the Ambassador for the Mushroom Kingdom.” He points to the badge pinned to the left of his chest and both the Koopalings lean in closer to look. “Which means I’m a diplomat sent by Peach as a representative in a foreign country, for example here.”

“That’s a lotta fancy words, man.” Roy raises a brow at him, “English?”

“Right, sorry. Basically, I’m here on behalf of the Princess as a symbol of peace from the Mushroom Kingdom. I’m here to represent both her and the Kingdom. Y’know, to make them like us?” Luigi tilts his head, hoping that explanation was a little simpler.

“I see. Trying to spread peace between the Mushroom Kingdom and the Darklands?” Roy answers as the information clicks in his head. “Why? Do you guys not like each other or somethin’?”

“Well…” Luigi shrugs carefully, trying to find the right words. “I suppose there’s just a strain. You see, Peach wants to secure peace between us but Bowser is a little stubborn. Very stubborn, in fact.” That makes the two Koopalings stifle a little chuckle. “However, she volunteered me as the Ambassador to come here and take care of you kids for the next few months or so, and once I do my job correctly and spread the peace between us, Bowser will sign the treaty that will build new bridges between us.”

“So I have a chance to meet the Princess?!” Wendy’s eyes sparkle up at Luigi who smiles down at her, squeezing at her shoulder again.

“Of course, Principessa.” 

“What does that word mean. Somethin-pesah?” Wendy tilts her head up at Luigi who stammers a little with a flush on his face.

“O-Oh, well… It means Princess.” Luigi looks down at Wendy who’s eyes widen up at the translation. 

“Really? You think I’m a Princess?”

“Well…” Luigi carefully picks at his words again, a strong wind breezing by them while Iggy and Lemmy chew at each other’s feet on her lap. “I suppose so. You are under the guidance of Bowser now, correct? That would make you a Princess and the rest of these little guys Princes?” 

Wendy looks down again, this time looking hurt and Luigi relaxes his face and internally panics, hoping he didn’t say the wrong thing. 

“Bowser said he doesn’t see us like his kids. Said he wanted an army of generals to fight this red guy or somethin’!” Wendy looks frustrated now. “Said he’s gonna start trainin’ us and all that malarkey. He agreed to keep feeding and housing us if we said yes, so.”

Luigi frowns the more she talks. That brute was using these children against Mario? Just to have an upper hand on him? And the only reason why they agreed is so that they didn’t starve?

A quiet fury bubbles under his gloved hands that smoothes a little harsher over Junior that doesn’t go unnoticed. The small infant could smell the change of pheromones and quietly woke from his nap to look up at the human who was staring hard at his sister. 

Junior chirps up at Luigi, trying his hardest to send comforting clicks at the human who looks down at him now, and immediately the stern look on his face relaxes at the sight of the tiny infant. Junior keeps clicking. 

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Wendy looks at Luigi after listening to Junior’s small callings up at him.

“I’m… I’m fine, Wendy. Why do you ask?”

“The way he’s clicking at you. Junior’s trying to soothe you. He can sense something’s wrong.” Roy answers this time and watches his littlest brother trying to climb up Luigi’s shirt with his tiny claws.

Reaching down, Luigi scoops the infant who nestles into the crook of his neck with a curl of his tail around his little feet. Immediately, the hatchling rubs his cheek into Luigi’s neck with his scent glands and purrs loud enough to vibrate his shoulder.

“He’s scenting you.” Wendy replies with a slack-jaw at the sight of Junior rubbing his scent glands harshly against the smooth skin of Luigi’s neck, who cranes it to allow the infant space. Junior settles down again, content now that the distressing scent has gone away and falls back into a nap. 

Luigi felt overwhelmed with the attachment this little hatchling had on him already. Scenting? Didn’t they usually do that to their family? 

“I’ve never seen anything like it.” Roy murmurs quietly and shares a glance with his littlest sister who gawks over at him. 

“Will…Um…” Luigi coughs quietly. “Will this get me in trouble with Bowser? He was… Pretty harsh when he could smell me on them earlier. After meeting them.”

“Bowser-Shmowser.” Wendy mocks in the middle of handing over Morton to Roy and picking up the twins with Iggy. “If Junior likes ya, take it as the biggest compliment ever! That little guy seems really selective with his attention while these ones seem to love everybody.”

Ludwig had walked over now with his arms crossed over his plastron and glaring over at Luigi with Junior snuggled as close as he could possibly get into his neck. 

“I-I see.” Luigi clears his throat and stands up, cupping Junior’s back to secure him on his shoulder. “I have another activity planned if you’re ready for it?” Roy and Wendy perk up immediately. Wendy hands Iggy off to Ludwig who grabs hold of the hatchling in surprise, but holds him close. “First, let’s get these guys settled down for a nap. Lemmy and Larry look exhausted.”

The twins were barely keeping their eyes open on the journey back up to the nursery. The three Koopalings chat idly together in front of him while Luigi lets his stare wander off when he thinks about Junior. This little infant had grown attached to him already, there was no question about it. Wendy and Roy noticed it too.

But would this anger Bowser further? No doubt the King would be furious like he was before for simply holding these babies. 

A shiver pools down Luigi’s spine and he feels his legs almost go jelly. Wendy had said Bowser doesn’t see them all as his children, but those piercing red eyes and uncontrollable instinct back in his room told Luigi otherwise. If Bowser didn’t see them as his children, he had no reason to act in such a way a Lioness would protect her cubs. It was such a raw display of paternal rage that Luigi could still hear the low growling in the back of his head, the way the koopa’s fingers pressed to his chest while he was trapped.

There were so many questions Luigi had, but he would rather tiptoe around the King and avoid them than face-off with the terrifying display of raw, paternal fury again.

Notes:

sadly im not a teenager anymore and a grown-up with a job so chapters will be posted whenever i have the time to write them 🥺🥀❤️‍🩹 employment final boss! i hope you enjoyed this chapter ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ

Chapter 8

It took longer than Luigi had originally planned to put the hatchlings to sleep.

The others went down just fine with a few soothing strokes along their backs and quiet shushing, but Junior was being stubborn and didn't want to leave the comfort of Luigi's neck. After dimming the bedroom and tiptoeing around to reduce noise, it took a significant amount of prying and soothing until Junior was happy enough to be put down and cuddle with the rest of the children.

Wendy and Roy whisper their quiet goodnights to the hatchlings. Luigi looks over expectantly at Ludwig who didn’t budge from the doorway of their bedroom.

Luigi finally hounds the eldest Koopalings out of the room and gestures with his head for them to follow him towards the stairs. Wendy and Roy do without question, bounding with a skip in their step after the human, eager to know their next activity. But looking back, Luigi notices Ludwig trailing the opposite way down the hall behind them.

“Ludwig?” Luigi stops dead in his tracks and calls out quietly. The eldest freezes, “Are you not joining us?”

“No.” His reply was fast, “I’m gonna do something else, I’ll catch you at dinner, or whatever.” With a shrug of his shoulders Ludwig continues on despite the protesting from his littlest sister who stomps her foot slightly with a huff of anger.

“Is he okay?” Luigi questions the two standing just in front of him looking at Ludwig, who disappears behind the corner of a wall much farther ahead. “Should we go after him?”

“Nah, he does this when he’s brooding.” Roy shrugs his broad shoulders and begins walking towards the stairs again. “If you follow him, it’ll only make him more angry. Just let ‘im be for a while.” 

Part of Luigi felt wrong for leaving the eldest to wander alone without their company. Ludwig was a complicated character, the type of child Luigi never had to deal with before. He was hurting, Luigi knew that much. He just wished he knew why.

 

Luigi takes the children back down to the gardens and together they potter around at the different plants that Luigi had taken an interest in earlier. The piranha plants were still humming their tune together, swaying their huge heads around and basking in the evening sun.

“I’d like you both to use these baskets and pick what you can see around you. Leaves, flowers, grass, twigs. Anything in this garden and put them in here.” Luigi hands them both a small wicker basket he was carrying in his arms.

Wendy looks down at hers with a puzzled tilt of her head. “Are we plant picking or something? Doesn’t sound very fun…” She mutters softly.

“Ah, no. We’ll be using these plants to make something afterwards, sì?” Luigi smiles down at Wendy who furrows her eyebrows to think about it for a minute. 

“Okay! Come on Roy, let’s go pick some plants.” She marches off with her older brother to start picking at the hedges and bushes surrounding them while Luigi takes the opportunity to admire the landscape.

This garden put his own to shame back home. Everything around him was blooming wonderfully and the piranha plants surrounding the edges of the gardens were singing together. Piranha plants were known to do that when they were taken care of properly. No doubt Bowser had a gardener to take care of this every day.

Wendy and Roy turned the task into a competition. Wendy was running as fast as her little legs could take her around the gardens plucking what she could into the almost-full basket. Roy huffs and puffs his way through the grass, merely missing knocking Luigi over who dodges out of the way with a squeak of surprise.

The human sits on the edge of the fountain and watches the siblings panting through the mazes of hedges, until their baskets were brimming with greenery. 

Luigi was honestly impressed to see how much the pair managed to pick in such a short amount of time. They squabbled over who picked the most for a few seconds before Luigi quietens them with a weak click of his mouth. Both of the Koopalings immediately freeze on instinct and look up at the human.

“How did you make that noise?” Wendy questions, eyes wide.

“I heard Ludwig make that sound at you before.” Luigi answers, “Whenever he did that, you would stop whatever it is you were doing. Like just now.” 

“O-Only koopas can make that noise! Not humans!” Wendy stammers with a frown over the fact Luigi had figured it out so quickly. “You’re almost as smart as Ludwig!”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Luigi smirks playfully down at Wendy who rolls her eyes. The trio make their way back into the castle and towards the bedroom when Luigi stops at the sight of a barren room just at the stairs of the top floor. 

Luigi wanders over to take a peek at the door left ajar and looks around. There were white drapes everywhere over abandoned furniture and the room had peeling wallpaper, left deserted by the looks of it, judging by the cobwebs and dust. The stench of stale air makes Luigi twitch his nose.

“What’re you lookin’ at?” Roy had walked back to take a look himself but found nothing that seemed to pique his interest, frowning slightly. “It’s just an empty room, man.”

“Do you kids have a play room?” Luigi steps away from the door and glances down at the pair who were peeking around to nose at the deserted interior. They both look up at the same time with a shake of their heads. 

“Um, no. We just play in the bedroom, whenever the hatchlings aren’t sleeping, otherwise we disturb them and then it takes forever for Kamek and Kammy to put them back to sleep.” Wendy replies with a grunt then looks back into the spacious room with a squint of her eyes. “You’re not thinking what I think you are, are you?” 

“Oh yes.” Luigi grins down at Wendy and pushes open the abandoned room. The air around the room was stale in its barren state, but Luigi already had so many ideas just by looking around. If it was sitting here abandoned for so long, why not turn it into something useful?  “How about we turn it into one? Give you a space for play that won’t disturb the others, huh?”

“I LOVE it!” Wendy jumps up in excitement while Roy simply holds a thumbs up in agreement. “It will be like our old playroom back in the orphanage! Just better!”

Luigi beams at her enthusiasm, but he knew he couldn’t do this by himself. Luigi hesitates to call out Kamek’s name but within a few seconds the advisor poofs in existence right next to him, adjusting wonky glasses.

“Yes, Luigi?” Kamek glances up at the human and wriggles his snout at the stale scent around them. Looking around, Kamek finds they were standing in the middle of one of Bowser’s many abandoned rooms in the castle. “Why on earth are we here?”

“Well, the kids don’t have a playroom…” Luigi looks over at the two, who look at Kamek with pleading eyes. “And I think this would be the perfect place to give the kids their own space. They can play without disturbing the hatchlings, but it’s also good to separate where they play from where they sleep.” Luigi looks down at Kamek who was looking around the room in thought with a quiet hum.

“I see.” The advisor answers, “Well… I don’t suppose that’s a terrible idea. This is one of many abandoned rooms in the castle that Bowser hasn’t touched for a few years. He probably won’t even notice.” Kamek starts to shoo the three of them away and back towards the door. “Alright! Out of my sight, I cannot work with you here. It will be done in five!” There was no time to answer when the door suddenly shuts and the muffling of furniture going flying fills the hall.

“Yippee! I knew he would do it!” Wendy jumps up and down, flapping her hands excitedly while Roy simply huffs in victory in the middle of his arm being tugged by his sister.

The three sit against the wall opposite to the shut door, chatting idly together. Wendy was wagging her tail against the side of Luigi who sits cross-legged, listening intently to her excitement about the new room.

“Are you sure Ludwig will be okay? I wouldn’t want him to miss this.” Luigi cranes his head to his other side at Roy who huffs quietly at him.

“Yeah, man, it’s fine. Ludwig would kick our butts if we went looking for him when he wanted to be alone.” Roy sounded somewhat unsure which only worries Luigi a little more. 

“Is Ludwig always like that?” He quietly asks, a softness in his blue gaze when Roy finally turns his head to look up at him.

“Suppose so.” Roy shrugs and pulls his knees closer to his plastron, scratching at his shin in thought. “The only other koopa who knew how to calm him down was Sonny.” 

Luigi furrows his brows. That name had been drifting around the three Koopalings every so often and yet he had no idea who Sonny was and what significance she had to these three children. Was she their mother? 

“Who is—”

Luigi was interrupted by the sound of a loud puff of smoke and Kamek finally appears in front of the door, dusting off his paws and his blue robe covered in dust.

“All done.” Kamek says, “Would you like to take a look?”

“YES YES YES!” Wendy shrieks in the middle of jumping up from where she sat with her tail whipping back and forth uncontrollably. She grabs both Luigi and Roy by the hands to pull them over to the front of the door with the advisor standing just off to the side. “Can we go in now?!”

“Yes you ma—”

Kamek didn’t finish his sentence in time when Wendy suddenly threw her entire body into the door and barrels it open. She lands on her plastron in the room that now smells of fresh paint, looking up with her mouth hanging wide open.

Luigi follows inside after Roy and Kamek, hand firm on the door and squinting at the now-bright room that was once dim and dusty. He stares in complete awe at the playroom around them. It was nothing like he had ever seen before.

There was the structure of an artificial tree that reached the roof, surrounded by rope ladders, swings and climbing nets. There was a platform that made it look like a treehouse with a slide that reached the floor for easy exit. The surrounding decor of the room was jungle themed judging by the lush green leaves and circular padded flooring just underneath the structure.

Kamek ushers Luigi inside faster. His eyes couldn’t tear away from the room that was once abandoned and purposeless, now full of life. In the far left corner was a reading and activity nook with plush curved seating against the patterned wall, accompanied by tree-like wall shelves with small alcoves for books, toys and stationary. 

Everything around the room was interactive. Kamek gestures over to the quiet zone with padded seats, cushions and faux vines hanging from the ceiling to give it a canopy effect. One thing Luigi noticed was the lack of a big light that accompanied almost every room. The only lighting in this playroom was the fairy lights in every one of the interactive corners, giving it the warmness that it needed for the children.

This would have been everything to Luigi as a child. It felt like walking into those public softplay areas full of rowdy children running around and getting everything greasy.

“This is exactly what they need.” Luigi finally breathes out after holding his breath. The old advisor leans on his wand used as a cane to look around himself. 

“You seem to have their best interest at heart. It’s only been a day and you’ve made it quite the impression, haven’t you?” Kamek glances up at Luigi who looks down to meet his eye.

“I used to work with children, back on earth.” Luigi starts quietly and tears his gaze to watch Roy and Wendy playing together in the tree. “Those with additional needs, mentally and physically. Such sweethearts.” A small smile on his face, until it drops. “They would love something as special as this. Makes me wish that magic could exist back home so I could give it to them.” 

Kamek rests a frail hand on Luigi’s forearm. “If the way you treat these children is a reflection of how you treated them.” Kamek looks over to watch Wendy going down the slide with a joyful shriek. “Then I’m sure you were more than enough.” 

Luigi chokes back the urge to sob, sucking in a shaky breath and rolling out his tense shoulders. “You’re too kind. I’m sure the hatchlings will love this room growing up.”

“I think so too.” The advisor smiles wistfully around the room. “Now, I must ask. What is with the greenery in those baskets?” Kamek glances over to the baskets full of twigs and leaves, which snaps Luigi back into his initial idea with a jump.

“Oh, right!” Luigi rushes over to retrieve the baskets by the handles and places them down on the round table in the activity corner, rummaging around the boxed drawers that were stocked with different artistic supplies. “Wendy, Roy!” Luigi shouts over his shoulder to the playing Koopalings. “I have an activity for you to do.” 

The brother-sister duo jog over to the activity table after sliding down the slide, and take a seat with the advisor who had decided to join them curiously. Luigi lays a plain piece of white paper in front of the two, who tilt their heads a little.

“Have you two heard the term scrapbooking?” Luigi asks in the middle of tipping their baskets out neatly on the table in front of them, separated into two circular piles.

“Nope.” Roy answers while Wendy shakes her head.

“Okay, so I’d like for you to both make a picture using what you picked today.” Luigi sets two sticks of glue next to the children who sniff at it. “It can be of whatever you like, but the only rule is that you have to use the greenery you picked to create it. Does that make sense?”

“So are we drawing? Just with some glue and leaves?” Wendy tilts her head up at Luigi who smiles and takes a seat just opposite them.

“Yes! Exactly! I think it would be nice to frame it somewhere in the room as the first activity we’ve done together.”

“That’s a wonderful idea.” Kamek purrs in approval and immediately Wendy pops open her stick of glue and winces at the sharp smell.

“I’m going to create the coolest picture EVER!” She grabs hold of the child-safety scissors in between tiny claws and starts to chop away at some of the leaves she had picked into intricate patterns. Meanwhile Roy was frantically gluing at the twigs and flowers in the pile and slapping them on the sheet of paper.

Luigi sits there with his chin on his palm watching them for a few minutes, before remembering again that Ludwig had gone off just over an hour ago. Curiosity and guilt swirls uncomfortably in his stomach at the fact he was missing out on the activity he planned for all three of them.

Maybe Ludwig did want to be alone, and maybe he would lash out at Luigi for trying to find him. But at the end of the day Ludwig was a child himself. He deserved to feel like somebody cared about him, that he didn’t have to go and hide when he felt something more than anger and irritation.

It was a reminder of the way he grew up as a child. Luigi felt the endless frustration from the neglect his father showed him, while showering Mario in all the love he could possibly give. He would hide away in the closet, his safe space, and then Mario would eventually find him curled up underneath their hanging clothes to comfort him, and suddenly everything was okay again.

Maybe Ludwig just needed to feel like there was somebody thinking about him. 

Luigi slowly got up from his seat and the two Koopalings took no notice, hunched over their pieces of paper, too engrossed in their task. Kamek was watching them curiously when he met Luigi’s gaze at the sound of quiet shifting from the seat.

I’m going to find Ludwig, keep them busy for me? Luigi mouths to the advisor who simply nods and turns his attention back to the messy crafts being made. Kamek had never heard the two children so quiet since they got here!

Luigi tiptoes along the carpeted floor and leaves the playroom, shutting the door after him and looking around. Ludwig had gone somewhere to his left, so he followed the wine-red carpet through the medieval castle interior. It was stunning when you had a good look at it, and unfortunately until now Luigi didn’t have that chance when he joined Mario on his expeditions to kick the koopa King’s butt.

The plumber approaches the T junction of the hallway and looks left and right. If he remembers correctly, Ludwig had gone to the right. 

Luigi continues on down the foreign part of the castle he hadn’t been to yet. Looking exactly like the rest of it, but there were framed paintings along the brick walls he hadn’t seen before, except for that dragon he kept seeing mingled amongst them. 

There was a familiarity in her eyes that made Luigi squint his own to look closer, but the painting was too far up. His gaze only tears away at the light playing of piano keys somewhere farther down the hall. 

The keys were soft, like they were barely being brushed. It draws Luigi in to rush a little faster along the carpet, the setting sunlight pools through the arched window at the end of the hall, highlighting a door cracked open just ahead. 

Luigi could feel the intense music picking up the closer he gets to the door and hesitates with his back to the wall. 

He was expecting to see an older koopa sitting there playing the piano, perhaps on a break, or perhaps it was just their job to do so. No doubt this piano had significance with the way it sits just underneath a domed glass window. Luigi wasn’t expecting to see Ludwig sitting on the piano stool, legs dangling over with his eyes shut in focus. Ludwig’s foot rests on a stick that rests on the pedal of the piano in order to reach it.

Luigi’s presence at the door goes unnoticed to the koopa child sitting there, claws drifting along the keys with such expert focus and precision you’d think he had decades of practice. The human marvels silently at the tune he was playing, it was gentle and melancholic, repeating arpeggios and flowing lines so beautiful it could bring anyone to tears. 

It makes Luigi wonder why there wasn’t a crowd. Why wasn’t anyone here to listen to this masterpiece? Ludwig was playing from the heart. Luigi knew nothing about playing the piano. He was more into the guitar and the cello, but even he knew that this was perfect.

He takes a few timid, testing steps into the room and yet he continues to go unnoticed, though he doesn’t approach Ludwig any further and risk the chance of spooking the Koopaling. Ludwig’s head was bent over, eyes shut in focus. His hands move with a delicate touch, right focusing on carrying the melody while his left focuses on the arpeggiated patterns that form the harmonic foundation of the piece he was playing.

Ludwig was already far into the tune he was playing, having sat there for the last hour or so playing it over and over again. It came natural to him after spending years since he was a toddler correcting it with Sonny, who now sits at his side.

“You’re playing beautifully, Ludwig.” Sonny coos at his side, admiring the precision of his hands along the keys. “I told you, years of practice would finally pay off.”

Ludwig doesn’t respond, because he knows she’s not real. Just the figment of imagination that popped up whenever he was in deep moments of stress and in need of comfort. But it felt so real at the same time, like he could reach to his left and she’d be sitting right there with him like she always would, playing at his side from a toddler to now and correcting the mistakes he made that became less and less as he got older.

She was still alive, but Ludwig felt like she had died with the others back in the orphanage. He felt like he lost her that day, and Ludwig felt like he had lost a part of himself too. 

Once full of life, happily playing his piano in the playroom full of his siblings who all sit around to listen to the song he made up for them. A smile on his face with little Wendy in his lap and little Roy sitting on the tabouret next to him.

Ludwig wasn’t smiling now. No amount of lavish luxury the King could give them would ever heal his broken heart. Ludwig lost everything that day.

He finishes the piece he was playing and a tear drips down on the key just under his chin. Ludwig made no mistakes. It was the first time ever he played this piece perfectly without so much as a hand slip or a misstep on the pedal. It was all without Sonny here to praise him for it. He was alone, left to sit as the final key faded into the silence.

“That was beautiful, Ludwig.”

He jumps up with a startled grunt, knee hitting the underneath of the keyboard with a snarl of pain. Ludwig snaps his head in the direction of the human standing a few steps ahead of the door. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” Ludwig scowls, shoulders bristled and hackles raised. It was supposed to be Sonny praising Ludwig, not him. It was never supposed to be him. 

“I’m sorry for interrupting you. I noticed you’ve been gone a while and wanted to make sure you were okay.” Luigi softens his tone at the harsh look on Ludwig’s face who turns away from him, back to the keyboard. “You play beautifully. I could have sworn there was a professional in here.” 

“Yeah, well, it’s the only thing I’m good at.” Ludwig bites through a curl of his lip, lazily pressing at the keys in no specific rhythm this time, trying to distract himself. “You can go away now. I’m fine.” 

Luigi furrows his eyebrows softly, taking a few daring steps up the platform where the grand piano sits. “I think we both know that’s a lie.” 

“Yeah, well, it’s none of your busines.” Ludwig bites again, hunching over the keys when Luigi gets a little closer, like he was trying to melt into the piano in front of him.

“I’m here to help you, Ludwig.” Luigi murmurs on approach, though keeping a comfortable distance away from the Koopaling who refuses to look at him. “I can’t do that if you keep it to yourself.”

“You’re here for the hatchlings, not me.” Ludwig pulls down the fallboard and smoothes his claws on top of it.

“I’m here for the children, which includes you and the others.” Luigi corrects gently which only seemed to irritate Ludwig more. “I understand. You’re trying to be strong for the others, but it only gets you so far until you crumble, and you’re just a child yourself, Ludwig.” Luigi rounds behind Ludwig and comes up to the piano stool, about to take a seat next to the Koopaling who stretches an arm out to his left to stop him.

“No! You can’t sit there!” Ludwig’s sudden shout startles Luigi who takes a step back. “You’re not allowed.” He adds with a soft growl.

“Very well, I’ll remember for next time.”

‘This guy is sickeningly kind.’ Ludwig growls in thought and relaxes his stretched arm coming back to his side again. Luigi keeps his burning blue gaze on the eldest Koopaling who stares blankly at the fallboard in front of him.

“So there’s truly nothing on your mind, Ludwig? Nothing you want to get off your chest at all?” Luigi knew better than to persist, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was truly something bothering the eldest child that wouldn’t crack. It hurt to see that he refused to acknowledge what he was feeling.

“I said NO!” Ludwig shouts, bringing his balled fists against the fallboard and slamming against it loudly. Luigi doesn’t flinch this time. He watches the eldest clutch against the fallboard with shoulders shaking in quiet rage. 

It broke the plumber’s heart to hear the tremble in his voice. Ludwig was hurting, it didn’t take a genius to figure that out. But how could Luigi help him if Ludwig only let him get so close?

“I understand—”

“NO! You don’t understand ANYTHING!” Ludwig snarls. His head snaps to the side where Luigi was standing just on the steps of the platform, blue gaze locked with his. “You have NO idea how I feel! Seeing your stupid face just reminds me of everything I lost before I came here! I hate seeing you and I hate having you around! It should be her! Not YOU!” 

Luigi takes in a sharp inhale and bites his tongue. He knew better. Even if Luigi had his own limits this child was hurting and if insulting him was a way to let it all out, then he would stand there and take it. 

“We don’t need a nanny. I don’t need a nanny! I can take care of myself!” Ludwig barks out and twists his body to face the keyboard again, tail thrashing side to side like an irritated feline. “I’m not a stupid baby like those hatchlings who need a dumb routine and a dumb nanny to take care of them. I’m grown.” Ludwig slumps over the piano as his voice trails off. “Now go. Away.”

Luigi doesn’t fight this time. It was clear to him that Ludwig wasn’t ready to talk about it, much less to him. It was also clear that Luigi seems to bring up unpleasant memories that he has no idea about. What was it about him that made Ludwig so aggressive? To make him detest his whole being just a day into being here?

Without another word Luigi turns and walks down the rest of the steps to the door, then stops in the middle of grabbing the handle to shut it after him. “Dinner will be done in the next ten minutes. Make sure you come down to grab something.” 

Ludwig doesn’t acknowledge him. Not even a twitch of his tail or his finger.

Luigi leaves the room quietly and says not a single word on his way though the halls, blue gaze stuck on the carpet under his feet. He could feel the tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. ‘How pathetic do I have to be to cry at the insults from a child? Am I really that sensitive?’ He growls in his head, scrunching his face angrily. ‘Maybe I really haven’t changed. Maybe I’m the same coward I was all those years ago.’

Luigi wasn’t sure how long he had been gone but by the time he made it back to the playroom the children had already left ready for dinner. He walks through the quiet playroom over to the messy activity corner that holds the artwork sitting on the table.

Wendy had created a picture of herself with her siblings out of twigs for the outlines of their bodies and leaves for their shells. She was creative in using small petals from flowers as color for their bodies. So very creative, it makes Luigi smile through the tears.

Roy’s was a lot harder to make out. He was rough with his work but when Luigi focused his eyes he could make out the abstract shape of himself sitting down. Roy used the same technique of using thin twigs to outline the body of Luigi who had a leafy-looking Junior in his lap like all those hours ago. The background was decorated with the leftover greenery he had.

Both beautiful masterpieces. They truly outdid themselves.

Luigi takes it upon himself to start cleaning up. He scoops handfuls of the excess greenery into one of the baskets and puts away the stationary back in their respective boxes on the wall. Roy’s glue stick was half destroyed and half bitten into. Yuck.

He finishes by tucking the chairs under the table and shutting off the fairylights. No doubt Luigi would have to start planning these activities in advance and fitting them into a suitable schedule and routine for the kids, that he had yet to come up with. 

He wasn’t peckish. Even if Luigi hadn’t eaten since this morning, the one-sided argument from a few moments ago made his stomach churn at the mere idea of food. Besides, he couldn’t sit there with a teary looking face and not expect somebody to ask about it. 

So instead of joining everybody downstairs in the dining room, he goes into his room where Polterpup had been sleeping all day by the looks of it, sprawled over the lavish loveseat with limbs spread everywhere. 

Luigi lets the pup rest and makes a beeline for his closet, ruffling through his nightwear and preparing to settle down for the night. The sun had set and the sky faded into a beautiful twilight that bathed his room in shades of pink, orange and blue. Tiptoeing past Polterpup, Luigi steps on the cold tiles of the bathroom to the shower and slides open the door, looking around at the lavish space.

He turns away the shower head to avoid the splash before twisting the knob to his usual preferred temperature. Luigi lets his hand linger at the water to feel the gradual warming, but jumps back with a hiss of surprise. It was boiling already!

“Suppose it makes sense… Being in the Darklands.” Luigi mumbles to himself while rubbing at his reddened hand and turns the knob to the coldest setting that was still warm, but just right. At least not enough to scorch his skin.

Luigi shrugs off his clothes to his feet and steps into the pouring shower, humming in content when the warm water splashes on his skin. 

It was Luigi’s favourite time of day to just stand under the water with his eyes shut and think. It was the only time where he was permitted to truly be alone. To think about the memories he made in the day and what he could have done to make it better.

Luigi smoothes his fingers through damp curls and looks around at the endless selections of soaps and shampoo lining the walls on little racks. He picks up a random bottle labelled simply as ‘shampoo’ and lathers it on his wet hands, rubbing the suds into his hair. It smells nice, at least.

Polterpup sits patiently outside the steamed shower door while Luigi finishes up after an agonizing thirty minutes of enjoying the hot water and the time to himself. 

The canine watches Luigi stand in front of the steamed mirror to do the last of his skincare for the night. There didn’t seem to be a blow dryer in the room, he’d have to chase Kamek about that. For now, letting his hair air dry was good enough.

Luigi pulls up a pair of plaid pajama sweats and a sleeveless black vest that was a little oversized. He finishes up ruffling through his damp hair and tosses the towel into the laundry basket next to the door. 

Luigi’s room was dark now, illuminated by the dim candlelight sitting on the writing desk just in front of the giant window. He pulls the velvet curtains together and shuts them tight while Polterpup starts getting comfortable on the bed.

“Luigi?” There was a muffled tap on the door just outside. It was Kamek. “The children are settling down for the night. Would you like to help me give the hatchlings their last feed before bed?” 

The plumber quickly rubs the sleep at his eyes and slides on a pair of his slippers, almost skipping to the door and pulling it open. Kamek looks at Luigi’s more relaxed appearance now with a small smile. “I’d love to” 

“Come along, then. You will officially be meeting my dear sister, Kammy. Though heed my warning, she can be a bit much.” The advisor walks to the room directly opposite and pushes it open with the head of his wand.

The only light illuminating the room was the nightlight at the bedside of the Koopalings’ nest. Inside said nest was Roy scratching at the throws and pillows to get himself comfortable while Wendy was in the middle of climbing inside, when she sees Luigi coming through the door. “Hey! Where the heck did you go? You missed dinner!” 

“I wasn’t too hungry, Principessa.” Luigi chuckles at her pout. “Go on and settle down, I’ll be there in a few minutes.” 

The sound of an elderly voice hushing somebody catches Luigi’s attention to the bassinet in the corner. It was Kammy rocking baby Morton in her tiny arms with a bottle flush to his beak though it didn’t look like he was taking it.

“When was the last time he was fed?” Kammy glances over at Kamek who approaches with Luigi.

“Just after lunch time when Luigi put them down for a nap.” Kamek looks at Morton stubbornly trying to move his head away from the teet of the bottle. “I tried to give him one earlier, but he wouldn’t drink that either. Morton’s always hungry. It’s unusual.”

“You’re telling me!” Kammy exclaims and gives up with a huff, holding Morton in the crook of her arm and adjusting the glasses on her snout to Luigi. “Oh, hello there my dear. It’s nice to finally meet you under friendlier circumstances!”

“A-Ah, si… It’s nice to meet you too.” Luigi gives her a friendly smile and looks down at Morton who was scrunching his face, like he was in pain. “Don’t suppose he’s gassy?”

Kammy stands there with a frown on her face and looks down at the bigger hatchling who continues with the contortion of his face. “Hmm…” She pokes and prods at his belly in an attempt to make him pass wind from either end. Though none of her attempts seem to work. 

“Let me try.” Luigi sits down cross-legged and reaches for Morton. Kammy was happy to hand him over and rubs at her aching arms from the sheer baby weight. Luigi sits the infant up straight on his knee and cups Morton’s chin between the gap of his thumb and index finger, patting harshly against his back while jiggling his leg. 

Kamek and Kammy lean over to watch, beady eyes observing the way Morton wriggles in the nanny’s grasp, his face scrunching a little more before letting out a few loud burps that startle the two advisors. 

“Ooh! It worked!” Kammy claps her hands together. “My! You’re a natural!” 

“I’ve burped plenty of babies in my lifetime.” Luigi adds quietly with a small laugh and adjusts Morton in his arms so the infant lays flat on his back, taking the bottle off the ground and rubbing it at his lips. Immediately the hatchling latches and starts to suck in desperation. “I suppose the gas was making it too uncomfortable for him to eat. Poor guy.”

“Are the others gassy?” Kammy frantically turns to the bassinet of wriggling hatchlings. “Don’t stand there, you lazy wizard! Come and help me!” 

Kamek huffs loudly at her impatience, joining at her side to check the rest of the hatchlings with the same method Luigi had used just previously. A few of the infants let out mighty burps at the patting on their backs, giggling and wriggling happily.

Both the advisors take the last four hatchlings in their arms, using magic to hold the bottles to their mouths while they sit in a small circle together. Luigi lets his eyes wander to the other hatchlings with eyes shut in content, getting sleepier by the minute.

All but Junior, who was fussing and pushing the bottle away with loud screams of protest. Kamek huffs down at the youngest of the bunch, making a few more attempts that are fruitless as the tiny infant paws away the bottle. “What’s wrong? Why aren’t you taking it?”

Kammy was in the middle of settling Lemmy and Larry back into the bassinet, stroking along their shell-less backs as they drift into sleep. The elderly advisor turns to see her brother struggling with Junior and huffs.

“Give him to me! Maybe he just doesn’t like you.” Kammy snickers, leaning over to take the fussing infant into her arms and grabbing the bottle. She tries bringing it to the Prince’s lips but the little one wasn’t having it, not even from Kammy. And she was his favourite out of the two! “Ugh! He’s being difficult for me, too! He’s been burped and changed, what on earth could he be fussing for?!”

Luigi was leaning into the bassinet, smoothing his palm over Morton fast asleep with the rest of his siblings now. All but Junior, who was being difficult in the arms of Kammy. Neither of the advisors could settle the now-screaming hatchling. Not even Wendy who had come over in an attempt to help.

“Give him to Luigi.” Roy’s voice breaks through the endless crying of his youngest brother. The advisors look at the child with a puzzled stare. 

“If Junior is acting like this with us, what will possibly change with him?” Kammy questions with an insulted huff.

“Just trust me! Give Junior to Luigi.” Roy looks up at the human who was watching the commotion, finishing settling the rest of the hatchlings. He looked down at Junior who was going red in the face from crying so much.

Reluctantly, Kammy hands the wriggling child over to Luigi who takes Junior in his hands. The infant lets out a confused cry at the change of position but the comforting smell of the human overwhelmed his senses. Almost immediately, Junior ceases his cries that fade into soft hiccups, and eventually loud motor-purrs that vibrate his entire body. 

Luigi chuckles at the infant. “You’re a bit of a player, aren’t you?” He teases the cooing hatchling. “Throwing a fit for the poor advisors.” Luigi tuts playfully and grabs the bottle off the ground while he sits. The advisors stand and watch Luigi’s magic with the hatchling warbling and cooing up at the human.

Luigi presses the teet to his mouth and immediately Junior welcomes it and starts to eat. Kammy almost faints! She was being played! By a newborn, no less! 

“What a brat!” Kammy huffs with a cross of her arms. “All that crying and screaming for nothing! Now he’s being an angel!” 

“Told you.” Roy huffs quietly while Wendy watches at his side, her tail swaying back and forth at the sight of Junior settled. “He has this weird attachment to Luigi. He was like this in the gardens earlier.”

“Interesting.” Kamek answers quietly, almost distant. He continues to observe the infant’s behaviour. The way Junior doesn’t let his gaze go from the human looking down at him, the obedience when he was finally placed in the human’s arms…

Junior’s hiccup interrupts Kamek’s spiralling thoughts. The bottle was gone in an instant and now he lays happy and content in the crook of Luigi’s arm, purring louder in the middle of drifting to sleep. 

“He’s never gone to sleep so fast in the weeks he’s been here!” Kammy whisper-shouts with frustration. 

Luigi still says nothing. There was no doubt this little infant had an attachment to him, but to what extent?

Once Junior had drifted off into a deep enough sleep, Luigi stood up and lowered the limp hatchling into the sleep pile. He was welcomed back with snuggles all around from the others and their quiet snores filled the room. 

“Right, the rest of you, bed!” Kammy shoos her hand at the two who had stuck around to watch. Roy walks back over to the nest and climbs in next to Ludwig who had his back to everybody and laid still, sleeping. 

Wendy climbs up after him and settles down in the comfort of the nest. It was starting to smell more and more like home. Kamek and Kammy said their goodnights and retreated for the night while Luigi hung around to tuck them both in.

“Luigi?” Wendy murmurs into the silence, voice thick with sleep. It was hard to see now that Luigi had shut off the nightlight but he could make out their silhouettes in the nest from the crack of moonlight pooling through the curtains.

“Yes, Wendy?” He whispers back just as quietly.

“You won’t leave us any time soon, will you?” It was more of a plea than a question. Luigi was quiet for a few heartbeats.

“No, Wendy. I’m going to be here for a long time.” 

“Good… I-I like having you as our nanny…” Wendy finishes with a small yawn and her voice drifts off. She was sleeping now. 

Luigi just smiles to himself and tiptoes out of the room after one last check on the hatchlings. They were still fast asleep in their cuddle pile. 

The hallways were ominously quiet now. The odd guard walks by every now and then, one currently staring over at Luigi who pays them no mind and walks back into the comfort of his own room for the night.

He can’t help but leave the door ajar, just in case they need him. 

Returning to his bedroom, Luigi could hear the sound of thunder and gentle rain hitting against the window from outside. Polterpup was still laying in the spot he was left just in the bed, and Luigi couldn’t wait to jump inside and get comfortable.

Before doing so, Luigi rummages on his bedside table for his copy of the ‘Lord of the Flies’ book he had yet to finish. His back was to the door when he finally picked it up, thumbing along the paper to find the bookmark hidden deep within the layers. The sound of Polterpup slowly growling makes him jump.

“What? What’s the matter?” Luigi glances to his side at the ghostly canine laying on the bed still, hackles on his neck raised over at something just behind him.Polterpup would usually react this way at other Boos being present which made Luigi worry just that little bit more.

Turning his body, Luigi felt his face grow pale at the sight of the koopa King making his way silently through the door he left open just moments ago. Not even a creak of a floorboard as the giant hunk of muscle stands there with red eyes boring right into his. The candlelight from the table barely illuminated the figure slowly coming into view.

Was he here for another fight? Was it because he touched the hatchlings again?

Immediately Luigi feels the hairs on his neck stand up. There were so many possibilities right now and he didn’t exactly want another fight knowing the children were trying to sleep just opposite his room.

Bowser didn’t lunge this time In fact, his posture was oddly relaxed though his face was tight, jaw clenched and eyebrows nosedived into a mean frown. He didn’t look happy, but there was nothing that told Luigi he was about to initiate a fight or pounce on him.

“Bowser.” Luigi swallows thickly in greeting when the King grasps the side of the door and shuts it just as quietly as he got in. The human clutches the book in his hands while Polterpup continues his loud growling at the presence of the King, but makes no attempt to lunge. 

“I’m not sure I saw a sign that said mutts were allowed in my castle.” Bowser grumbles back at the pup who stands up now at the challenge, ghostly body preparing to leap right off the bed he was protecting.

“I never saw a sign that said they weren’t.” Luigi bites back and Bowser flinches a little at the unexpected retort before curling his lip and growling louder, now approaching the human who was standing against the bedside table.

“You’ve grown a pair since I last saw you. If we aren’t counting this morning.” The mocking chuckle only makes Luigi frown harder at the King, resting his hand to his stomach when he feels the sparks. “I’m sure even Mario has enough respect not to answer me back in my own castle.”

“I’m not Mario.” 

“Clearly.”

“You haven’t earned my respect.” Luigi boldly continues as Bowser stalks closer, like a predator closing in with the way his claws obnoxiously clatter on the floor, the corners of his tightened lips sparking with growing fury. “You’ve shown me none since setting your eyes on me this morning. Why should I show you any in return?”

Bowser rounds the edge of the pillar of the canopy bed and stands there in front of Luigi, towering over the human who flinches under his mighty stare. “I don’t earn anything in my own castle. It's given to me when and where I ask for it.”

“Just because you say so?”

“Exactly.” Bowser breathes, holding the blue gaze in front of him. He could hear the way Luigi hitches a breath and resists the urge to grin. “You are fortunate enough that I haven’t made you get on your knees in my presence.” 

“That’s not how this works.” Luigi growls quietly back and immediately swallows when the King closes in a little more, pressing the human against the bedside table.

“Oh? And how does this work? Do enlighten me.” The purr in the King’s voice was unmistakable and it made Luigi nervous, his blue eyes flickering down in an attempt to break their gaze. Almost immediately after looking down those harsh talons grasp hold of Luigi’s sharp jaw and lifts his face by force, impelling his eyes to meet the burning red stare. 

With another trembling swallow, “You can’t make me do anything.” Luigi finally answers, tensing at the grip on his face while the King only smirks down at him. Strands of Bowser’s mane sit lazily just over his eyes from craning his neck down so far, almost brushing Luigi’s forehead.

“I just made you look at me.” Bowser purrs in satisfaction and Luigi scoffs, attempting to nudge his head away but the grip doesn’t falter. 

“Because that’s something you have physical control over.” Luigi lets his hands rest on the edge of the bedside table behind him, feeling his neck ache at the angle of being forced to look up. “You can’t force respect. You can manhandle me all you want but it wouldn’t change a thing.” 

Bowser glowers at the little human. Where was this confidence coming from, and why now? What happened? The koopa could briefly remember the way this puny little man would shake like a leaf at the sound of a twig snapping, stammering over every sentence and running from every fight, while Mario was the one left to finish him off.

Now Luigi stands here with a firm look in his eyes. No trembling, no quake in his voice. It was infuriating that Bowser wasn’t scaring him, not like this morning. He was the Darklands King who paved lava lakes and tamed chain-chomps. 

“Suppose that’s correct.” Bowser answers, reluctantly. “But I think I deserve at least a smidge of obedience while you live under my roof, don’t you? Not that I’m particularly happy about it.” He lets a claw ruffle at the stubble along the human’s cheek who huffs up at him. 

The King finds himself distracted when the grasp about Luigi’s jaw relaxes and the tips of those sharp, menacing claws scrape along the human’s soft neck, tracing purposefully over his jugular that only makes him more nervous.

Luigi watches how the King was merely focused on dragging those daggers along his exposed throat with ruby eyes full of genuine intrigue on his face that was otherwise unreadable most of the time. 

Bowser seems to suddenly catch himself in the moment of weakness when he meets the puzzled stare of the human with a loud snort, quickly going back to cupping the plumber’s jaw in his talons. When Luigi didn’t reply to the previous question, Bowser lets his eyes wander to their left at the sickeningly velvet room that almost burns his eyes, keeping hold of the human’s face. “You seem to be getting comfortable.”

“I’m going to be here for a few months, it’s the least I deserve.”

That answer alone makes a puff of smoke billow from those flared nostrils. “What is your ulterior motive, human?” Bowser lets his eyes burn back into those ocean blue. They were a lot bluer than Peaches, if he was remembering correctly. He hadn’t seen her for a while, but the human’s pathetic electrifying stare was hard to break. Bowser never had that trouble with Peach before.

“Motive?” Luigi scoffs quietly, mustache tickling at Bowser’s talons that manhandle his face. 

“I have reason to believe you’re here in relation to Mario. What is it that your pest-of-a-brother wants? Information on the Kingdom’s weaknesses? Information on me?” Bowser lets his voice drop at the sound of booming thunder in the far distance, tail swishing side to side. “I have plenty of reason to believe you aren’t here out of the goodness of your own heart.”

“I’m here for those children. Not you.” Luigi snarls back, which seems to rile Bowser. The koopa tightens his grip on the human’s face and leans down uncomfortably close, enough for Luigi to smell Bowser’s signature scent of burning wood. “As much as you wish it was, this isn’t about you. This was never about you.” 

Bowser finally lets go of his vice-like grip with a snarl of his own, stomping backwards and pacing the room as his tail thwacks everything around him. Luigi rubs at his aching jaw with a scowl at Bowser’s tantrum, letting his arms finally relax and fold against his chest to adjust the crinkled black vest he was wearing.

“Cowardly Luigi, who always ran from a fight and shook at the sound of thunder, stands here and snarls in MY face?” Bowser curls his lip, bearing long fangs over at the human with a dangerous stare. “What a turn of tables. Maybe these next few months will be interesting after all.”

The beguiling rhetorical question makes Luigi raise a brow at the implication but shakes it off his shoulders. “As the Mushroom Kingdom’s Ambassador,” Luigi starts, carefully pushing himself away from the bedside table and taking a few brave steps around the canopy bed where Bowser stands tall in the middle of his room, staring daggers over at the human. “I am here not just to babysit those children but to spread peace. Two Kingdoms who have been at war for centuries will finally have the chance to stop being blinded by the lies from either side, and settle their differences for the good of the people.”

“And you think YOU alone are enough to stop this war?” Another pillorying scoff . “The pointless blood spilt all these centuries? A mere human?” Bowser scorns through a growl when Luigi stands right up against him on his tiptoes, electrifying blue eyes boring right into his and Bowser didn’t have the strength to look away. 

“I’m more than enough.” 

The two hold each other’s glares, silently backing one another into a corner. There were a long few heartbeats of silence and Luigi showed no sign of turning away or even blinking. It was odd. All those years ago Luigi couldn’t hold eye contact to save his behind! A single glance in his direction and Luigi crumbled… And for the first time it was Bowser who cracks under the pressure first with a loud, aggravated snarl and turns away, throwing open the door and storming down the halls. 

Once the King had left the room Luigi felt himself turn to jelly, almost falling to the ground with a deep exhale to relieve the pressure in his shoulders and legs that kept him standing for so long on his tiptoes. 

Polterpup skitters to the human’s side with a worried whine but for the first time Luigi feels… Confidence. Bowser was the one who walked away in a tantrum. For once Luigi felt powerful. Like he had some sort of control over this situation.

He resists the urge to smile at himself and turns to look at Polterpup nosing his cheek. “I’m fine, it’s okay. Everything is fine now.” Luigi pets the spectre through the ears and walks back over to shut his door again, leaving it ajar like before.

Finally, he blows out the candlelight and jumps into the comfort of the mattress and feels himself sinking right into it like a cloud. The bed was huge! Twice as big as his one in the little cottage.

Luigi wastes no time getting under the covers and settling down with a smile on his face. He felt optimistic about this whole situation. He felt pride swelling his body that sparks his palms for a mere second. It was going to be tough but this was the beginning of a new life, a new start in the Darklands to show he wasn’t the same. He wasn’t the scaredy cat coward everybody painted him to be. Luigi had stood up to Bowser with not a single tremble in his voice, meeting that ruby red stare that had tormented him all those years ago.

And he was going to show them.

Luigi was going to show them all.

Notes:

me: i feel like im rushing this fic :‹
also me: 64k words in and they've spoken ✨twice✨

p.s: the closest thing to the piece Ludwig was playing would be 'Bellas Lullaby' composed by Carter Burwell from Twilight 💕

Chapter 9

The absence from Lord Bowser wasn’t going unnoticed.

Not by the locals or those far away in completely different Kingdoms. It became the hot topic of every idle conversation on the street and at the council table, speculating the meaning behind Bowser suddenly taking in orphaned koopas.

“Ossariet wouldn’t let this slide, yaknow.” Sitting on top of an overflowing dumpster was a ruggish-looking koopa, squinting his cloudy left eye down at the presence of a Dry Bones rummaging through a smaller trash can just beside the dumpster.

“Yeah… But she isn’t here anymore, and neither of us were born when she was.” The Dry Bones muffles inside of the trash can they were head deep inside of, throwing around bits of junk like banana peels and empty cans. “Why do you care so much about her anyway?”

“Dude, she FOUGHT the toads! She didn’t let them walk all over her like Bowser does.” The koopa swings his legs and looks up dreamily to the sky.

“Lord Bowser.” The Dry Bones corrects.

“Ugh, fine. She didn’t let them walk all over her like Lord Bowser does.” The koopa rolls his eyes and folds his arms across his plastron, “the guy has ten times the resources she ever had and yet won’t send as much as a paragoomba to kick their butts!” 

“Maybe he doesn’t want to fight anymore, Jic. We’ve been at war with those guys for, what? A few centuries now? It’s no wonder that everything is starting to simmer down.” The Dry Bones lifts his hollow skull from the trash can to stare beady yellow eyes up at the koopa who scoffs. “It’s a wonder why Lord Bowser hasn’t signed that peace treaty yet to officially end the war. I wonder what’s holding him back…”

“Why should he, Rex?! Those slimy little portobello pea-brains are the reason why she’s dead!” Jic slams a balled fist against the lid of the dumpster he was sitting on. “The Elders told me how much of a significant figure she was to our Kingdom, and how she had so many more years left on the throne to rule that we could’ve had the chance to meet her!” 

“Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if she was still on the throne.” Rex had found a half-eaten apple snack in the dumpster and nibbles on it.

“The Mushroom Kingdom would be in ashes and the land would be ours!” Jic slides off the dumpster lid and onto the filthy floor of the alley they were hiding in. The two teenagers stand idly together in the shadows while the loud bustling noise of the market muffles just up ahead. “Now Bowser just holds us back, absent to the throne because of some dumb orphans he decided to take in! Who even does that?!” Jic angrily kicks a rock near his foot while Rex continues munching on the apple.

“I mean, the guy’s been lonely all this time. It was bound to happen eventually, mate or not.” Rex gives a nonchalant shrug to his friend who only bristles at the dismissive reply.

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" Jic shouts with a shake of his arms at the Dry Bones. “The point is, Bowser’s distracting himself. We’ve seen him TWICE in the last ten weeks since the arrival of those stupid orphans! He’s not like he used to be.” Jic lets his voice trail off with a frustrated sigh, “Ever since he stopped pursuing that snooty pink Princess it’s like a switch has gone off. It’s only a matter of time before others start noticing this weakness and try to attack us!! And he’s not doing anything about it!!”

Jic rants until his face turns as red as a koopa could possibly go. Rex blinks a little in surprise over at his friend and wipes his mouth. “I’d have thought Ossariet would have been happy that Lord Bowser wasn’t chasing the Princess or bothering the Mushroom Kingdom. Isn’t what she did for all those years for peace?”

“Yeah, and look where that got her.” Jic slides against the bricked wall near the brightly lit entrance of the alley, watching the crowd of Darklandians make their way through the market. “She dies for him, and he burns almost every book that mentions her name.”

“Because he never met her.” Rex takes a seat next to the frustrated koopa who picks at his knee. “I suppose it’s a touchy subject.”

“That doesn’t excuse him essentially trying to erase her from history! She’s our hero! She’s my hero.” Jic furrows an angry frown, wiping the sweat from his brow. “Ossariet is the reason why we live here in the first place. She was so fierce that she fought every toad that came to chase her out and she built an empire out of spite! An empire that was supposed to be hers.”

Rex could see the way the teenager was working himself up and hesitantly placed a bony hand on his shoulder with a small shake.

“Look, man. You can’t keep dwelling on a past we were never part of. You gotta think about how fortunate we are right now under Lord Bowser’s reign! If we lived under hers, we would be at war almost every day. I’m not saying she was a bad ruler but times were tougher back then, even the Elders told us that, and our own parents.” Rex sighs quietly and sits back against the bricks, tucking bony knees to his plastron. “Now we can just… Chill? If someone comes to challenge Lord Bowser he’ll kick their butt! He always does!”

“Bowser gets his butt handed to him by Mario of all people!” Jic scoffs contemptuously at him, “He’s half-dragon for Grambi’s sake! That guy should be wiping the floor with that stupid red-hat Mario brother!”

“Yeah, you kinda got me there.” Rex scratches at his chin in deep thought. “Though I suppose their fights aren’t exactly serious. I’m sure if there was a time where Lord Bowser had to get serious, like somebody challenging the throne over this Kingdom he’ll go dragon mode. We have yet to see him do that.” 

“Maybe he’ll actually make her proud for once.” Jic grumbles under his breath and Rex bites back a response, simply huffing back and twiddling his fingers. “Whatever, talking about him is making my head hurt!” Jic suddenly jumps up from sitting against the wall and starts walking, followed by the Dry Bones who scrambles after him and into the beaming sunlight of the market that was packed with different Darklandians. “Where are we going?” Rex raises his voice over the sound of loud chattering coming from every direction, sticking close behind the koopa who shoves his way through the crowd.

“We’re going to the Elders! I have questions!” The teenager shouts back and Rex groans in defeat. 

“Again?! Dude, the Elders are gonna be sick of seeing your face!” Rex groans when Jic reaches behind him to grab hold of his hand and tug him along through the bustling crowd. “Not to mention your mother told you to leave them be!”

“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her. Now come on!” 

“Ugh. Fine.” Rex begrudgingly complies as the two make their way through the giant crowd of the market to the Elders tend, pushing their way into the darkness.

—

It had been a fast two months since arriving in the Darklands to uphold his duty as the Koopalings’ new nanny.

Luigi was recently becoming successful in the routine he had in place for the children over the last eight weeks of being here. It was rubbing off on the hatchlings who enjoyed their bath times right before their last feed and bedtime. Kamek and Kammy were very on board with this and even took it upon themselves to assist Luigi in giving them the last bottle in the night together. 

It was nice, Luigi could admit, to have the two advisors to talk to. They would sit in their familiar little circle together with two in each of the advisor’s arms and Junior in Luigi’s, quietly talking to one another about their day and other adult gossip that Wendy and Roy sadly never caught while trying to eavesdrop in the comfort of their nest.

The hatchlings themselves were getting bigger by the day and crawled around the castle like spitfires! The moment Luigi would turn his back to do something Junior had suddenly crawled his way to the top of the bookshelf with his signature giggle of mischief.

There was something about Junior that intrigued Luigi but he never opened his mouth about it. He couldn’t help but notice the striking appearance of the little infant who resembled a certain King almost like a mirror. Those fiery tufts of hair and horns were unmistakeable, not to mention the fact the other hatchlings including the eldest ones didn’t have horns.

Junior’s tail was a lot longer, too, with more prominent spikes than the others and claws much longer than his older siblings. Luigi noticed it all, yet said nothing. It wasn’t his business to know the relation between this young hatchling and the King, and it wasn’t like Bowser was going to tell him anything.

 

Luigi sits by himself in the comfort of the palace’ library, softly jiggling his leg under the wooden table he rests his elbows on to read the book just under his nose. 

The library was occupied just by him. No librarian, no stray castle guests nosing their way through the books like him. Just Luigi alone with stacks of ancient relics on both sides that needed some dusting before he opened them.

It was like no one had touched these in a good few years. Did no one truly like to take a book and just sit down to read? Impossible! It was Luigi’s favourite pastime back at home to sit in his garden in the sun and read all day, accidentally catching a tan or even worse, getting sunburnt! 

The library around him was dominated by dark, rich wood illuminated by the warm lighting of a chandelier and candles along the reading tables. Towering shelves line every wall in the room filled to the brim with leather-bound volumes and antique books covered in dust. They stretch all the way to the ceiling, accessible only by the tall ladders leaning against the woodwork that Luigi had yet to climb.

The library was so big it had a balcony-level gallery that encircles the upper floor, supported by ornate wooden columns. It was truly magnificent and much bigger than the library back in the Mushroom Kingdom! Everything seemed to be so much bigger here, like it was built for a giant. 

Luigi was nose-deep in a book with fading words and pages, hidden in the back of one of the bookshelves and looking like none of the other books around it. That alone intrigued Luigi but now that he opened it and started to read, he couldn’t stop.

Though it was hard to make out most sentences due to the fading of the words, there was one name that kept appearing over and over. Ossariet.  

For some reason however, this book didn’t go into much depth about this character. No mention of who she was, just what she did a few decades ago before Bowser’s reign, though very vague and hard to understand. 

No other book around him mentioned that name despite the endless flicking through paper and skimming the words. This Ossariet must have been a significant figure to the Darklands when he read over her achievements and yet it was like she fell off the face of the earth.

“Ossariet…” Luigi mumbles absentmindedly to himself in the middle of skimming another book that led him to another dead end. Frustrated, Luigi snaps it shut and starts to gather the books he had already read through into his arms and puts them back to their respective slots in the bookcase. 

Luigi lets his hand linger on the spines when he trails down the endless aisles of towering bookshelves, humming quietly to himself as his blue gaze continues to search through the endless amounts of books looking for that particular name.

Though for the next fifteen minutes his efforts were fruitless and he made it back to the square reading table with nothing but a sigh of frustration, sitting back down to continue trying to decipher the lone book in front of him that spoke about this figure he was trying hard to understand.

Luigi was interrupted when the door to the library creaks open and a familiar advisor walks inside looking around. The puzzled look disappears when Kamek makes eye contact with Luigi and makes his way over to the reading table, cane echoing against the stone floor on approach. “It’s getting very late, Luigi. What are you doing up so late?” 

“Just… Reading.” Luigi pauses with a small shrug and sits up against the uncomfortable seat, watching as Kamek comes to sit on the chair opposite him and squinting his glasses to the open book in front of the human. 

It only takes a few more seconds for Kamek to realise what the human was reading. The advisor’s heart pumps faster under his blue robe, hands sweating. “U-Um, where did you get that book?”

“On the shelf.” Luigi answers with a tilt of his head. “It’s… Interesting, to say the least.”

“Yes, yes…” Kamek answers distractedly and a purple outline surrounds the open book to snap it shut and move it back towards the shelves. “You weren’t supposed to find that.”

“Oh. I’m really sorry, I-I had no idea.” Luigi anxiously scratches at his jaw and watches as the book drifts away back into the bookshelf, hidden once more. “Can I ask you something?”

“If it’s anything to do with that book, I would rather you didn’t.” Kamek answers calmly and it makes Luigi more nervous, fiddling with his gloved hands under the table as a few heartbeats pass without so much as a word.

“Who’s Ossariet?”

Kamek grunts at the clear ignorance of his sentence… But couldn’t find himself getting too mad. It was his fault for the book being so accessible to a human who was more than just curious about everything around him.

The advisor shifts a few times uncomfortably in his seat while those beady blue eyes stare him down from the opposite side of the table. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer— I just… I’ve been reading that book for a while now and I’m just really curious about her. She seems to be a significant figure to this Kingdom and yet I haven’t heard a word about her.” 

Kamek inhales a shaky breath. “If it’s anything to do with… Her, unfortunately I am not of much help. I swore to Lord Bowser that I would not even utter her name while in this castle, so I’m already doing too much just by saying all of this.” Kamek adjusts his glasses on his snout and hops off the seat, clearly anxious and wanting to leave.

Luigi understands the advisor’s silent plea to leave the room and gets up after blowing out the candle on the table, smoothing down his pajama pants and following the Magikoopa out of the library and along the hauntingly quiet corridors illuminated by more candlelight. 

The human lets his blue gaze linger on the same portrait of the dragon along the walls that Luigi had seen maybe a hundred times since being here. He wanted to ask so many questions about it but didn’t know how to approach the subject.

Kamek clears his throat to break Luigi out of his daze who had been standing there with his neck craned to stare at the painting. Quickly, the human jogs back up to the Magikoopa who leads the way back up to the top floor.

As much as it would have been easier to just teleport them there, Kamek found himself enjoying the ten minute walks of simply chatting with the human before they inevitably parted ways for the night. Luigi had so much to say about everything, it was fascinating how much information he could store in that tiny head of his. 

Yet Kamek didn’t have the strength to answer his one question back in the library. For one, it would be committing treason against Lord Bowser for even uttering her name, but it brought back painful memories of all those decades ago which were now just a distant memory, one he had no authority to speak on anymore.

“I’m truly sorry I cannot help you with your question, Luigi.” Kamek speaks up when Luigi opens the door to his room, the human turning to look back at the little advisor. “If you want my advice. If you’re truly intrigued by… Her. I would suggest visiting the Elders in the city. They can answer any questions you might have that I cannot answer myself.”

Luigi stands there as the cogs turn in his head, visible on the man’s face who looks blankly at Kamek before blinking with a soft smile down at him. “Thank you Kamek… I’ll do just that.”

Kamek dismisses the human and himself with a nod of his head and continues down the hall, while Luigi continues to stand there in his doorway idly. In the two months of being here Luigi hadn’t gone to the city yet, too busy with implementing a routine with the children that he forgot that was a possibility. 

Now how would he go about this? It would take at least a few hours in the city considering how big this Kingdom was. Not to mention Luigi was unable to travel into the city without being accompanied by castle personnel.

“Kamek!” Luigi whisper-shouts to the mage who was about to disappear around the corner, turning back to look at the human who was tiptoing his way along the carpet towards him. “Would you and Kammy like to come with me? I don’t want to leave the children here, and I think it would be nice to take them into the city and mingle. Besides, I-I’ve never been there before..”

Kamek purses his beak in thought. It had been a very long time since he or his sister had left the castle that wasn’t going to kidnap the Princess. It was supposed to be nice weather tomorrow, and what better than to spend it in the city assuring everybody that Lord Bowser was fine and well?

“Very well, we leave in the morning in the company of myself and Kammy.” The advisor nods his head and Luigi fights back the giddy jump he wanted to do. 

“Will Bowser be fine with this?”

“Bowser can take care of himself. I am sure he’ll relish in peace and quiet.” Kamek snickers quietly. “We can talk more about this in the morning. There are a few procedures and rules I must go through with you before leaving, so be up by at least seven o’clock.”

“Okay.” Luigi nods his head and gives the advisor a timid wave. The Magikoopa disappears out of sight in a purple cloud and Luigi goes back to his door left open, creeping inside to the dark room. 

Polterpup lays sleeping peacefully on the cloud-like mattress of the bed. Luigi resists the urge to dive right in and fall asleep but quickly goes to brush his teeth and wash his face. Finally after all these weeks, Luigi has the confidence to take the children out of the vicinity of the palace! Another giddy jump on the spot before Luigi jumps into bed, momentarily disrupting Polterpup who grunts.

“Sorry, bud.” Luigi whispers and snuggles down under the velvet covers, forehead resting against the side of Polterpup’s sleeping face. “Domani mattina andrò in città per la prima volta. Vuoi unirti a noi?” (“Tomorrow morning I'm going into town for the first time. Want to join us?”)

Polterpup lets out a quiet yip in response which usually means a yes. There was a small smile that hides under Luigi’s mustache and snuggles closer to the ghostly canine that snores softly above the covers of the duvet.

He was out like a light, and awake by the crack of dawn the next morning. It took a long minute of stretching and rolling before eventually throwing himself out of the bed to freshen up while Polterpup was waking up himself.

Once he stepped out of the shower and vigorously brushed his teeth, Luigi wandered back into the bedroom with a towel in his hair, jumping in surprise to see the old advisor standing in the middle of his room.

“ ACK! Kamek! How long have you been standing there?!” 

“Not too long. It’s nice to see I didn’t have to wake you up.” Kamek snickers quietly to himself and eyes the human up and down in a curious manner. “You humans are extremely fleshy.”

Luigi quickly covers his top half with the towel that was ruffling through his hair. “Can I help you with something?”

“I mentioned last night I would go through the procedures of entering the city centre.” Kamek walks closer to the human who lets the towel against his chest relax slightly, “That includes dressing you in something more… Appropriate.”

Luigi tilts his head. “Is there a dress code or something?”

“Not exactly, but the clothes you harbour in that wardrobe are too flashy. You’ll stick out like a sore thumb.” Kamek whirls around the wand in his hand, a whirlwind of purple smoke conjures up a mannequin from thin air that stands just beside the advisor. “This is a rogue look that will let you blend in. How do you feel about it?”

Luigi approaches the mannequin and gently sets his hands on the arms, feeling through the long fitted sleeves. It was perfect.

The mannequin had a long hooded cloak that reached the floor, with a fitted black-leather corset as the main body piece with multiple buckled straps wrapping around the waist and torso. The pants are slim and tailored, reinforced with belts and buckles with a strap and pouch that rests on the right thigh. 

It was definitely new and something Luigi wouldn’t consciously sport as everyday wear, but he couldn’t help but admire it and think it beautiful all the same. “It’s beautiful. I love it.”

“Great. The children will be wearing similar attire.” Kamek waves his wand around once more and suddenly Luigi is dressed into the outfit that wraps around his entire body, the hood falling over his eyes momentarily. “Hmm, it fits you perfectly. Give me a spin.”

Luigi does as he was told, spinning on laced knee-high boots as the cape swirls just behind him, adjusted by Kamek’s magic so it doesn't drag on the ground, just barely above. “Wonderful. You will fit right in.”

Luigi was beaming with confidence in this new look. It was like an entirely different person was staring back at him in the full-length mirror. Hardly anybody could recognise him as the Mario brother unless he pulled the hood down.

“Will the spectral canine be joining us?” Kamek looks over at Polterpup sitting eagerly at the human’s side.

“Yes, if that’s fine with you.” 

“Fine with me. Though I request that this Polterpup goes on the down-low. Most koopas are not too friendly with Boos.”

Luigi looks down at Polterpup who looks up at him, as if communicating telepathically. Suddenly the canine bolts to the left and squeezes through a tiny hole in the wall, disappearing for a few heartbeats and reappearing as a small wood mouse bounding along the floorboards towards Luigi who crouched down to the smaller creature.

“Good job Polterpup… Polter mouse?” The human giggles to himself and lets a hand rest on the floor to allow Poltermouse up his arm and in the crook of his neck, squeaking quietly near his ear and twitching his long nose.

“That is incredibly fascinating.” Kamek comments after a few beats of silence from himself, shaking from his thoughts and walking back to the door. “Come along, we should wake the children up and get them ready for the day.” 

 

Luigi enters the silence of the Koopalings’ room, illuminated by the small cracks of the sunrise through the closed curtains. While Kamek approaches the bassinet of infants, Luigi carefully steps over the toys strewn along the floors and approaches the side of the bed-nest where Wendy was snuggling into Ludwig, purring quietly.

“Wendy.” Luigi coos quietly down at the sleeping toddler, giving her a soft squeeze on her shoulder as he leans over the sleeping bundles. “Come on, you three, we’re going somewhere today.”

“Mmmmm, one more hour.” Wendy grunts sleepily into Ludwig’s shoulder and rolls away from Luigi’s voice.

“It’s almost eight o’clock, missy. You’ve slept plenty.” Luigi gently pats at the other two Koopalings who were waking up alongside their sister, groaning and grunting in protest as Luigi backs away from them to throw open the curtains.

Wendy hisses at the bright light and attempts to hide further into the covers. 

“Where we goin’?” Roy grumbles as he sits up to rub at his squinted eyes.

“We’re going into the city.”

“The City?” Wendy suddenly shot out of bed, now wide awake and alert as she jostled Ludwig who refused to get up just yet. “As in, the city? Neo Bowser City?”

“Yes, the city.” Luigi chuckles quietly in the middle of throwing a few of their stray toys into the basket.

“I’m not going.” Ludwig grumbles, still laying there in the nest with his head buried into the pillow.

“Um, yes you are.” Wendy grunts down at him and shakes at his shoulder. 

“I’m older than you. I can do what I want.”

“If you don’t come I’m going to hate you for ever and ever and ever, and I’ll never share my desserts with you ever again!” Wendy crosses her arms firmly over her plastron down at Ludwig who had cracked an eye open at his little sister.

“If you don’t come I’ll make you.” Roy chimes in now at his other side, “You may be older but guess who’s stronger? ME! I’ll just get Kamek to restrain you so I can carry you around. So yes, you are coming. End of story.” Roy jumps on top of Ludwig who lets out a loud ‘OOF!’ of surprise at the sudden weight of his younger brother, while Wendy jumps on top of him, essentially crushing Ludwig against the mattress.

“Okay okay fine! I’m coming!” Ludwig heaves into the pillow while the two chirp happily in response and nuzzle his head. The eldest of the bunch purrs quietly in response and reluctantly starts getting up, while the other two had already hopped off the bed towards Luigi who was leaning over the bassinet.

“Good morning, le mie piccole stelle. (my little stars.)” Luigi coos down at the bunch who were definitely getting too big for this bassinet now. Lemmy’s multicolored hair stood up like a proper mohawk now, the rest of them growing into their funky little hairdos that were a lot more vibrant in color.

They happily chirp and click up at the familiar presence of Luigi, clawing and scrambling amongst one another to fight for his attention first. “Easy, little ones. One at a time.”

The human makes a big fuss of each infant who relishes in the attention, snuggling against Luigi with loud motor-purrs and squeaks he couldn’t quite understand yet. They were handed off to both Kamek and Kammy, who joined just a few moments ago complaining about how early it was. 

The advisors hold two infants each and feed them with pre-prepared bottles while Luigi sits down with Junior in his arms. The little rascal had been refusing bottles of anybody that wasn’t him over the last two months, screaming and kicking up a fuss whenever somebody that wasn’t him attempted it. No one was entirely sure why. 

Junior lays there wagging his tail that had grown significantly over the last few weeks. His horns were tiny stubs on his head, and beady red eyes looked up at him like Luigi was the most precious thing in this world. He purrs louder than anybody around them, causing the two advisors to look over at the youngest of the bunch.

“You have him wrapped around your little finger, don’t you Junior?” Kammy coos over at her grandson who chirps with the bottle in his mouth.

“It’s hard not to, when he looks at me like that.” Luigi chuckles quietly in response, letting his thumb stroke against the infant’s scaly cheek who nuzzles into the touch. “A little angel. For me, at least.” 

“Must be nice.” Kammy responds with a huff and sets the infants down after burping them to allow them time to wander. Lemmy and Larry crawl together along the carpeted floor towards Wendy who clicks at her little siblings, purring together and nuzzling at their faces. “Alright, little ones, gather up. Since we’ll be going into the city you’ll need to learn the rules set in place, ‘kay?”

“Ugh, there’s rules in the outside world too?” Wendy groans, walking over to stand in line with her brothers and the infants sitting at their feet, gawking curiously up at the advisors. All but Junior, who kicked up a fuss the minute Luigi tried to put him down.

“Yes.” Kammy snaps quickly, “So pay attention! I’m sure Luigi’s outfit hasn’t gone unnoticed by you all.”

At that time all the Koopalings turned to look at Luigi who was bouncing Junior up and down in his arms. “All of you but the hatchlings will be wearing robes similar to him. It’s just a standard procedure that allows you to blend in and not stand out so much. If you stand out, you’ll be pestered non stop by pick-pocketers and scammers trying to sell you cheap crap.”  

The eldest three nodded their heads slowly and within seconds they were surrounded by fog and long capes to fit their heights were added to their figures. Wendy exclaims in surprise as her black hood falls over her eyes, pulling it up with a groan. “Black? Why can’t it be pink!”

“Because the entire purpose of the outfit is to make you blend in! You’ll stand out like a sore thumb in pink!” Kammy sighs over at the little girl. 

The two boys pick at their capes for a moment then turn their attention back to the advisors. Kamek speaks up with a clear throat, “The entire point of this mission is to allow Luigi time to speak with some important figures in the heart of the city. However we all think this will be a good learning curve for you all, to mingle and make yourselves familiar with the outside world and the Kingdom itself.” 

“Rule number ONE.” Kamek adjusts his glasses while looking at a scroll that magically appears in front of him, “Do NOT wander off under any circumstance. You stay within the group, the minute you wander off you could be snatched!” Kamek snaps his beak and Wendy jumps back in surprise. “Rule number TWO. Do not make unnecessary eye-contact with those in the crowd. Some koopas will take it as a threat, don’t ask me why. Lord Bowser found out the hard way when he was a teenager.” With an exasperated sigh and a few giggles from the children, including Luigi, the advisor continues. “Rule number THREE. You do as you're told by either me, Kammy or Luigi.” Kamek narrows his eyes specifically over the eldest three, meeting Ludwig’s glare. “No ifs, no buts. We are the adults in this situation and you’re entering an environment that’s going to push and shove at you. If we tell you to do something, you do it immediately. Is that clear?”

“Yes…”

“I said, is that clear?!”

“Yes, Kamek!” The three raise their voices and the advisor huffs in acknowledgement. 

“Very good.” Kammy clasps her hands together and begins walking to the door, “Time for breakfast! We’ll set off right after to try and avoid the mid-day traffic.”

The hatchlings crawl their way out the door with the guidance of Kammy up ahead, puffing with all their might to keep up as the eldest trail by their sides. Luigi hangs back with Kamek while Junior sits comfortably in Luigi’s arms still.

“Come on, little guy. I can’t hold you forever.” Luigi sighs softly and makes another attempt to put the child down on the ground to crawl with his siblings, but the young Prince wouldn’t have it. Tiny claws dig into his sleeves and Junior lets out a distressed call that immediately brings him back to Luigi’s chest at lightning speed, startling Kamek by his side.

“What on earth was that?” The advisor asks, “I’ve never seen you move so fast!”

“I’m… Not sure.” Luigi answers distantly, blue eyes lingering on the infant who snuggles into his chest with a purr, hand resting on his back. “It sounded like I hurt him.”

“Sounded? Junior didn’t make a sound.” Kamek raises a brow at Luigi who turns to look at the advisor with a stupid stare.  “Are you okay, Luigi?”

“I’m… I’m fine, yeah. I’m alright, sorry. Come on, we’re falling behind” Luigi shakes off the chill in his shoulders and quickens his pace after the bolting hatchlings to the dining room, while Kamek hangs back for a few seconds with narrowed eyes at the human speeding away. There had been a few odd encounters with Luigi and Prince Junior over the last few weeks, but more so in the last two weeks. Odd encounters that Kamek had no explanation for.

He would have to look into it. 

 

The Magikoopa reunites with everyone in the dining room. The eldest already sat and ate while the infants explored under the table. To Kamek’s surprise, Bowser was also sitting in the dining room at the head of the table, newspaper splayed out in front of him with reading glasses sitting on his snout.

“What’s with all the costumes, old man?” Bowser’s gruff voice starts in the middle of gesturing lazily at the eldest kids. “Playin’ dress up at this time?”

“No, your Bullheadedness.” Kamek fights back the urge to snicker, “We have decided to take a trip into the city for the day. It was only a matter of time.”

Bowser raises a bushy brow to the Magikoopa who takes a seat at the table, watching Luigi eating with Junior eagerly watching from his lap, opening his mouth whenever the spoon is brought from the bowl and closing it when Luigi feeds himself.

“The city?” Bowser echoes and sits up a little now. It was no secret that Neo Bowser City was a little… Rough in certain areas. He had a fair share of first-hand experience. “Are the hatchlings going?”

“Yes, Sire. We have it all planned.” Kamek shares a stare with the King. “Luigi would like to do some… Sight-seeing and thought it a brilliant idea to bring the children along. They haven’t left the confines of the castle in all the weeks of being here.”

Bowser looks over at Luigi who gives the King a side-look of silent acknowledgement before going back to spooning at his porridge, while Junior babbles from his lap. It hadn’t gone unnoticed by Bowser either how Junior was attached to the new nanny. Unless Junior was sleeping, the infant had to be in his arms or within his vicinity otherwise he would have a meltdown. 

But Junior… It would only take a matter of hours before they noticed Junior’s strikingly similar appearance to the King! What if they figured it out? What if they tried to… To… To hurt him?

With a loud snarl at his own thoughts that startle the whole table, Bowser notices something clawing at his shin and looks under the table to see Morton and Iggy trying to climb up his leg with happy clicks and purrs at the King. Bowser grunts down at them and looks away back to the advisors. 

“Fine, you may go into the city.” 

‘It wasn’t really a request.’ Luigi thinks to himself, biting his tongue.

“–But I’m coming with you.” 

Everyone at the table turns to look at Bowser now, who had a firm frown on his face in the middle of turning over his newspaper. Kamek and Kammy share a look between them. 

“R-Really, Sire? You’re going to come?” Kammy sounded more surprised than concerned. Bowser hadn’t set foot outside the castle for weeks! There was no doubt his sudden appearance would stir some gossip for the headlines!

“Yes, any problems with that?” The King grunts over at the advisors who hastily shake their heads. “Good. There’s a few things I need to get, anyway.” With a dismissive shrug Bowser goes back to finishing his coffee and had no idea the two infants were sitting in his lap now after successfully climbing his legs. “Hey! Wh— You little brats, get down!” 

Bowser tries and fails at grabbing the hatchlings to put them on the ground but they both cling to his giant paws like koalas, mischeviously giggling to one another at Bowser’s frustrated huffs and growls that were supposed to scare them. The King shakes at his hands to get them off but neither infant would budge. “Do you mind?” Bowser growls over at Kamek as a silent plea for help.

“I don’t know, your Obdurateness.” Kamek smirks subtly, “They seem to be enjoying their time with you. Besides, I have my hands full currently with the others!” Kamek had his lap full of Lemmy and Larry chirping together. 

The advisor gets up from his seat and quickly leaves the room with the two while the eldest follows suit after finishing their breakfast. Kammy quickly follows after them leaving the helpless monarch with the two rowdy infants crawling all over him! The audacity!” 

“You little wretches!” Bowser growls and picks at Morton by the scruff finally, holding the chunker of the brood in front of him between his claws. “That’s enough.” 

Nope. The kid wasn’t having it.

Morton swings forward and latches his arms and legs around Bowser’s snout, essentially hugging his face with a squeal of delight as Bowser yelps in surprise. Iggy wrapped his body along Bowser’s left hand rendering it useless leaving it almost impossible to pry Morton away with a single paw.

Bowser was about to give up when a harsh click came from nearby. Immediately the two hatchlings unlatch themselves from Bowser’s limbs and turn to look at Luigi standing there with Junior sitting on his hip, a sharp stare over at them at the head of the table. 

“Lord Bowser would like to be left alone.” Luigi’s assertive tone carries through the dining hall. Iggy and Morton chirp sadly in reply, crawling back down the King’s mighty legs towards the nanny with loud motor-purrs up at the human who clicks again, softer this time. Immediately the three of them climb up his legs and gather in his arms alongside Junior. 

The human was about to turn and walk away when Bowser stood up. “Did you make those clicking sounds?”

Luigi pauses in his steps, turning his head to look at the King on the opposite side of the table. “Yes. Why?”

“When did you learn to do that?” Bowser narrows beady red eyes over at Luigi who starts walking again, holding the three in his arms to the door. 

“You pick up a thing or two looking after them, I suppose.” Luigi dismissed with a simple shrug of his shoulders and left out of the door to follow the noisy Koopalings back in their room to prepare to leave. 

Bowser stood there both puzzled and angry. Puzzled, because humans shouldn’t know how to replicate such animalistic clicks and chirps, it wasn’t in their nature and neither did they have use for them. Angry, because Bowser had tried using his chirping and clicking at Princess Peach to let her know he was interested, but she always gave him a dumb face that told him she had no idea what it meant! So humans could understand, she just chose not to! Ugh!

With a roll of his shoulders and a soft growl, Bowser stomps back to his chambers and rummages through his wardrobe for one of those stupid hooded robes. Not that it would help him become invisible as his giant figure towers over the cityfolk, but at least he could be slightly less noticeable.

Besides, the others chose to wear them and he’d look dumb being the only one without one. 

Even now, Lemmy and Larry had pushed open the door to his chambers and crawled inside with little hooded capes themselves that flopped over their eyes. The twins crawl into his room giggling together while Bowser growls over at them, fitting his robe in the mirror.

Whatever, they were babies. Babies didn’t quite understand some rooms being off-limits, so he’d let it slide for now.

The twins crawl over to the monarch standing in the mirror and nuzzle their faces against his legs, purring loudly up at him. Bowser avoids their beady eyes and focuses in the mirror to fiddle with the cape over his shoulders but the purring only gets louder and more distracting.

“What do you little buggers want from me?” Bowser finally looks down to meet their beady stares, watching as their pupils dilate the minute he meets their eyes with a curl of his lip. “Go on, shoo. I’m busy.” 

The twins click and chirp up at Bowser whose scales fluff up a little at the calling. Very common sounds used to draw the attention of a guardian or parent nearby, essentially wanting attention. One Bowser used frequently with Kamek as a hatchling.

It took everything in Bowser not to answer back with a responding noise, dismissing it with a huff of smoke. No, they were not his kids. These were his minions, generals in the making! It wasn’t his fault Kammy made him scent the little wretches, otherwise he’d eat them and all his effort would be wasted.

Grouped voices could be heard getting nearer to his door, questioning where the twins have gone. Kamek peers in to see Bowser being hounded by the two and chuckles to himself, wandering over to retrieve the missing twins. “Come on, you little rascals.” The advisor plucks them from the floor and looks up at Bowser in his own cape. “Very nice, Sire.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Bowser grunts, hastily walking by him to the door. The eldest Koopalings were idly standing around with the infants now seated inside of a wagon, big enough to fit all four of them now that Kamek had put the twins inside to sit with the others. 

All but Junior. Bowser looks around for the little Prince and notices Luigi standing there with a baby carrier strapped to his chest on top of the outfit he was wearing. Little Junior sits inside, snuggled to his heartbeat and purring loud enough over the sound of idle chattering.

“That little guy won’t leave him alone! The minute Mr. Luigi tries to put him down, he starts screaming like a banshee!” Wendy exclaims over to Bowser now that was staring at his son. Junior was sleeping soundless in the comfort of Luigi’s presence with a hand resting on top of his own little robe. “No fair, I wish I could fit in a carrier so I don’t have to walk around.”

“Then you won’t be able to window shop all the pretty clothes.” Luigi looks down at Wendy who furrows her brows for a moment. “Besides, I don’t think my back could handle a fully grown toddler, sorry Wendy.”

The girl scoffs playfully at him and pulls at her cape. “Whatevs! Are we ready to go? Because I’m itching to see all the clothes and toys!” She jumps up and down excitedly while Roy and Ludwig each take hold of her hands at her request. The advisors used magic to pull at the handle of the wagon seating the infants inside, and Bowser followed just behind him.

Truly, the monarch did have some odd bits he needed in the city. It was just too daunting to go alone and he didn’t want to ask his advisor to come with like he was a teenager again. That was embarrassing.

But truly… He wanted to make sure Junior remained hidden. That no one would try and get a good look at him. Though it seems Luigi had that covered with the baby sling covering more than half of the infant’s body minus his legs and arms, and the top of his head being protected by the robe.

Still, Bowser didn’t trust this human. He truly believed Luigi was here with an ulterior motive and the mere possibility of him understanding koopa chirps only concerned him more.

He’ll see where this shopping trip in the city gets them.

Notes:

Junior is getting increasingly clingier 👀
I wonder why that is... 🤔💭

Chapter 10

Notes:

buckle in cause shit's about to hit the fan. *cracks knuckles*

The atmosphere of the city was thick with chatter and oncoming vehicles driving through the scattered crowd, parting ways for the chariots being pulled by Yoshis and vintage hearses .

It was still early, a few hours before noon where things would really begin to ramp up. Luigi was observing his surroundings besides the wagon. Everything had this touch of modernism to it with the techy billboards and street signs and yet everything also looked medieval in a sense, like a city from centuries ago frozen in time. It was all traditionally ancient, like this city had barely been touched under Bowser’s reign. 

There were Koopas, Goombas, Dry Bones and Lakitus all setting up their stall tents along the pavements ready for the dinner time rush. They had assortments of all different things Luigi hadn’t seen before in the Mushroom Kingdom where everything was mostly the same. The Toads sold all the same things that made shopping rather a bore after being there the last few years.

This place was vastly different from Toad Town. Everything there was sickeningly mushroom-themed and not a single ounce of diversity among the crowd Luigi couldn’t help but tower over.

Here though, there were creatures bigger than him. Sumo Bros, Charging Chucks, Ptooies, Sledge Bros. Even people from different regions. Kongs, Penguins, Cataquacks, Biddybuds. The lot. Most of them towered over Luigi for once and there was part of him that felt like he could finally… Fit in somewhere. Somewhere people wouldn’t gawk at him like an alien among a crowd. Like the Toads always did. 

Luigi was harshly nudged in the shin by Bowser’s swishing tail as the group walked ahead. The two hadn’t spoken much in the last few weeks unless it was to do with the hatchlings and their progress, as well as the eldest Koopalings’ training. 

Bowser’s question from earlier made Luigi think back to their conversation as he absentmindedly follows behind the bunch. Was he truly not supposed to understand the way the hatchlings speak to one another? Was he not allowed to answer back in the way other koopas would? Bowser looked somewhat irritated when he said yes. 

Junior wriggles in the sling attached to the human’s chest. Seeing Bowser walking ahead of them made the infant want Luigi to pick up the pace!

So he did just that. Luigi quickly catches up to the group and walks besides the eldest three who were gawking at the market stands being set up around them. Assortments of ancient relics and items lined their tables, with some fruits and vegetables from different regions being sold at ridiculously high prices.

Luigi naturally rests his hand back on top of Junior’s red tufts when attention was being drawn to them by passersby. It was only a matter of time when Bowser’s presence amongst them would be noticed as his hulking figure tower over the rest of the group.

Cityfolk were immediately rushing over exclaiming happily at the sight of their King, skipping down curbs and jumping over walls just to stand there and gawk at the surprised monarch. It was like the guy hadn’t been spoken to in over a year!

“Lord Bowser!” The clustered voices of Paragoombas flutter over clumsily, young voices giggling and squealing amongst one another as they get closer to the giant King. “Your Majesty! I–It’s been so long!”

Kamek and Kammy continue walking with the wagon wheeling between them, with the eldest kids following closely and looking through the shops to their left. Meanwhile Luigi decided to hang back a little to observe the small interaction with Bowser and the Paragoombas, listening while walking at an agonizingly slow pace.

“It’s been awfully quiet since you went M.I.A! Were you planning some secret attack on the Mushroom Kingdom?” Their excitement was that of children which become more and more obvious with the erratic stimming as they jump up and down. Bowser grins down at them and starts walking again, while the Paragoombas toddle at his sides. 

“It’s been a busy few weeks.” Bowser responds, letting his eyes fall over the growing crowd around him. “Rest assured everything is in order and there is nothing to worry about. I’m not sick.”

There were multiple sighs of relief among the Paragoombas and other cityfolk that had joined to follow the monarch at a respectable distance. 

“T-That’s very good to hear, Lord Bowser! Very good news!” A caped Dry Bones stutters over the chatter around them.

“Incredible news!”

“Lord Bowser is back!”

“His Majesty has returned!” 

The chatter didn’t stop, only getting louder and louder. Luigi found slight amusement in everyone’s infatuation with the monarch but couldn’t help feeling almost sorry for them. It was like a herd of ducklings had lost their mother with the way they surrounded him with happy noises of excitement. 

It was odd to see them with such joyful looks on their faces. Bowser’s army was just as diverse as the Cityfolk and to see the smiles on their faces instead of fierce frowns was a pleasant change. 

Bowser was their King. He was a significant figure to the Darklands and it was no surprise that the cityfolk came over in the presence of the monarch. They wanted clarity, some closure on his disappearance and what led to it in the first place.

“Are those the orphans you took in, Lord Bowser?” A Paragoomba was looking ahead of them to the eldest Koopalings standing in a window and looking inside, accompanied by the advisors and a wagon with infants, who were also looking over the edge. 

The rest of the crowd around Bowser look over now with quiet ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ at the sight of them. Vastly different to the Koopas that usually inhabit this region, those children were a lot more colorful than most. Though the robes helped shield Ludwig’s mane of blue hair and Roy’s giant pink head. 

“What about him?” One of the Lakitus points over to Luigi who had his back to everybody with Junior sitting in his sling. Luigi freezes at the voice directed right at him and hesitantly turns to look, hand placed intuitively on the infant’s head when a few of the Paragoombas toddle over at his peculiar appearance.

“What are you?” One of them tilts their head, which was also their body, up at the man holding an infant against his chest. Luigi was being circled by this little group.

“He’s pretty tall!”

“Why is he so skinny?”

“Look how long his legs are!” 

The increasing amount of questions was becoming harder to answer but also acknowledge, especially when a Paragoomba floats a little too close to Junior resting on his chest. By instinct Luigi suddenly growls at them, clutching Junior closer and the Paragoomba jolts back with a yelp of surprise, landing on the ground with an ‘oof!’ .

“Alright kiddos, scram! We got business to attend to.” Bowser shoos away the Paragoombas who whine a reluctant ‘okaaaaay’ and flutter off. The rest of the surrounding crowd respect the wishes of their monarch and drift away in scattered directions, though still observing from afar as Bowser begins to walk again.

Luigi stands there in a small daze at his previous actions but shakes it off, catching up to Bowser’s side but keeps distance between them.

“So…” Luigi clears his throat and Bowser silently acknowledges his attempt at conversation with a side-eye. “I see you’re, um, popular amongst the crowd?”

The monarch snorts at him, rolling out one of his shoulders. “Duh, I’m their King! They should be lucky I don’t make them gravel at my feet and kiss ‘em.” Bowser lets out an amused snicker with a sway of his long tail. 

“Why don’t you?” Luigi questions with a raise of his brow under the hood. Bowser had said something similar during their confrontation a few weeks ago. If he truly felt like that, then why didn’t he enforce such a ridiculous rule?

“ ‘Cause I’m not heartless, Greenie.” Bowser sneers and walks over to one of the shop windows to look in, while Luigi stands there by the pavement watching. “You can call me any name unda’ the sun, I could care less! But to call me heartless? Tch! ”

This only puzzled the human more, who starts gently bouncing Junior up and down who purrs at the sound of Bowser and Luigi’s voices talking so close together. “I mean… You’ve been kidnapping and pursuing the Princess for six years. You have no regard for her wants and needs despite her constant rejection. I would call that heartless.”  

Bowser whips his head around to the human with a sparking fire in his eyes. How dare he!

“It’s just an observation.” Luigi adds in the middle of bouncing Junior, which only seems to irritate the monarch more. With a stomp of his feet Bowser suddenly towers over the human who cranes his head up to look Bowser directly in the eye, blue eyes shimmering in the shadows of his hood. 

“There’s a reason for everything I do, short-stack.” Bowser rasps close to the human’s face who frowns up at him, though stays quiet. “I don’t expect you of all people to understand. You're Mario's brother.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Luigi hissed up at the King, burning red eyes staring down at him from the shadow of the awning above their heads. 

“It means you’re just as stubborn and hard-headed as him. Though the longer you spend here, I’m starting to think you are even worse.” Bowser jeers, a clawed talon poking at his shoulder as a smirk pulls at his lips to see Luigi visibly huff out of his nose to his chagrin.

“And you aren’t ?” Luigi scoffs quietly and tries to turn away and join the others. Bowser grasps hold of Luigi by the bicep of his sleeve to harshly tug him back into Bowser’s direction, forcing the human to look at him once more to his disdain. Better than manhandling his face, he supposed.

“If you’re going to keep sassing me then—” 

Bowser was cut off by the sound of Junior revving up another enormously loud motor-purr against Luigi’s chest. Both of them looked down at the little Prince who was wide awake and looking between the two with stars in his eyes, cooing and clicking happily at the sight of them standing together. 

Bowser feels himself shivering at the happy sounds coming from his son and almost gives in to the urge to answer back when Luigi suddenly does it for him.

Quiet, responsive clicks come from the human who answers the call from the infant. Though still a little rough, Luigi was getting the hang of clicking his tongue against his cheek to respond, but he knew he had a long way to go before perfecting them.

There was a silent conversation between the two with chirps and coos, while Junior looked up at Luigi like he was his whole world. Bowser could see this, the way his own son was looking at this stupid human like he was everything and more.

Once Junior was satisfied he snuggled into the warmth of the human once more, tiny hands clasping on his chest and shutting beady red eyes. It seems the argument from moments ago was forgotten when Luigi subtly looks up to the monarch staring at the infant on his chest, the quietest of purrs rumbling in his throat.

“Are you two gonna stand there gawkin’ at Junior all day?” Wendy’s voice shouts from somewhere behind them and the two turn around, seeing the little girl with her hands on her hips. “Come on! You’re falling too far behind! Kamek’s rules don’t just apply to us, you know!” 

Bowser raises a brow at her demanding attitude while the two adults pause for a moment and start walking down the steps that led up to the shop they were quarreling in front of. There had been quite the crowd watching the whole thing and that seems to embarrass Luigi further, who hides a blush under his dark hood.

The two shoot each other a frown at the same time before putting distance between them. Bowser wanders off to speak with the advisors while Luigi joins Wendy who coos up at the sight of Junior once again, fast asleep. “Aww, the little guy has been asleep almost all day!” 

“He’s quite the sleeper.” Luigi smiles timidly down at Wendy while rubbing soothing circles along Junior’s back against the fabric of the sling. “Have you found anything of interest yet, Wendy? What about your brothers?”

“Oooh! Yes! There’s a really pretty dress in one of the shops over here! Come see!” Wendy grabs Luigi by both hands and starts pulling him back towards the group. The two advisors were window shopping with the wagon between them, while Bowser stood with the eldest boys making quiet chatter with them.

Wendy drags Luigi into a boutique of sorts. It was huge when you got inside, despite the deceiving appearance of the tiny outside that was nestled between two bigger stores.

There were outfits and garments lining every wall in the store, vintage dresses hung by clothing hangers hug each corner and inch of the floor. It was of similar layout to the charity stores back on Earth where everything was cluttered, but looking around Luigi notices how organised everything was. 

Wendy was browsing through a collection of swing dresses, thumbing her little claws carefully through them all with stars in her eyes. She had never seen so many dresses in her life! She had a limited selection of them to dress in at the orphanage when they would play dress-up.

Now she stood among hundreds of different dresses, all in different styles and colors it made her heart burst. It was almost too overwhelming.

Luigi takes notice of the child-like wonder in her face with a soft smile, though up until this point the little girl hadn’t made any subtle hints that she was interested in wearing clothes. While it was usually uncommon amongst the koopas, there were a select handful that would wear them on a daily basis like humans did.

“I really love this one.” Wendy’s quiet voice urges Luigi to look over at her and stand in front of a particular dress on the rack. It was a floral sundress, similar to what Princess Peach liked to wear on a casual day. It had a light, airy fabric in white with a delicate pink floral print. The thin shoulder straps had small ruffle accents while the neckline had a horizontal band of white ruffles that truly added to the soft, girlish touch. 

It truly screamed Wendy in every way. The waist was cinched with a sash tied into a beautiful bow on the front, with a flowy skirt that fell just at knee-length.

“I think that’s a wonderful choice, Wendy. Why don’t you try it on?” Luigi encourages with a gentle hand to her shelled back. The little girl turns to look up at him with beady, hopeful eyes.

“Can I?”

“Of course you can.” He smiles again at her loud squeal as she searches through the rack for a smaller size. There was one right at the very back that she grabs onto and marches over to the changing rooms signed on the ceiling. 

While she was gone Luigi decides to browse himself, flicking his gloved hands through the handful of clothing. Everything here was tailored to all different species and body types, specific sections for different species and a range of sizes to choose from.

There was even a section for humans! Though smaller than the rest, Luigi dodges his way through the clutter of clothing to the corner where beautiful dresses and co-ords hang beautifully neat and creaseless, though looking a little dusty on closer inspection. 

Gorgeous floral prints, stripes, chevron, polka dot. There was a beautiful variety as Luigi thumbs his way along the many choices despite the section being on the smaller side. Mostly targeted towards women, which was fair enough. Humans didn’t seem to inhabit this region and most of the folk here must only hear about Princess Daisy and Peach, not people like Mario and Luigi. Not like they would tailor to them, anyway!

“Oooh! Customers!— ACK!” There was a clutter of clothing hangers flying on the floor that startled Luigi in the middle of observing the clothing. He looked over to see a purple-shelled koopa had tripped over a box of them and landed right on the ground next to him.

“Oh gosh, are you okay?” Luigi was quick to crouch down and help them up by the arms, lifting the koopa who looked up at him with wonky glasses on her nose. Luigi timidly adjusts them back on her beak, who smiles brightly.

“Thanks! Sorry ‘bout that, I got a little excited. No one’s come in here for weeks!” The koopa brushes down her knees and plastron, brushing blonde pigtails out of her face. 

“Really? Weeks?” Luigi raises his brows in surprise. The clothing here was stunning! Why was no one buying it?

“Aheh, yeah… No one really appreciates it ‘round here. Doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop doin’ it!” She puffs out her chest, oozing with optimism. “My name’s Saylor! Everythin’ you see ‘round you has been hand-crafted by myself!” Saylor puts her balled fists against her hips in a proud stance, chin up high. 

“Your work is amazing! The quality is incredible.” Luigi looks back to the clothes he was eyeing up on the shelf, letting his gaze linger. “How long have you been doing it?”

“Since I could use my hands!” Saylor unclenches her claws for emphasis, “My father taught me how to sew. He was a seamster as a side hobby and wanted to pass it down to me! It wasn't a dream he could pursue, so I wanted to do it for him!” Saylor wanders around the boutique smoothing out the hand-crafted garments with a proud smile.

Luigi slowly follows her around the store to eye at the rest of the clothing. Not just dresses but jumpsuits, dungarees, suits. The whole lot! 

“You’re incredibly skilled, Saylor.” Luigi mumbles to the seamstress who turns to look at him with a bashful gleam of her teeth. “Truly. I’ve been to every region and no one has had quite the garments like you do.” 

“Oh stop it, you’re just saying that.” Saylor hides a blush behind her hands. Luigi opens his mouth to say some more when the sound of a curtain being drawn startles them both.

Wendy comes toddling out of the fitting room in the beautiful sun-dress that fits her perfectly. The floral prints were a beautiful compliment to her pink shell.

“Oh, Wendy. You look beautiful!” Luigi gasps at the sight of the little girl giving them a twirl, the skirt flowing with every turn. The human claps, while Saylor stands there with her jaw slacked.

“I can’t believe it! You look gorgeous!” Saylor rushes over to admire her dress on the toddler who blushes up at the seamstress. “It fits you so perfectly, like it was made for you!” The koopa gently brushes out the creases of the skirt and adjusts the ruffled straps. “How do you feel?”

“I love it! I truly love it!” Wendy grins up at Saylor who clasps her hands together, resisting the urge to jump up and down. “It’s perfect!”

Luigi smiles over at the pair who were chatting some more about the fitting of the dress while Saylor ties the sash hanging limp at her sides to form another beautiful bow just on her stomach. 

The loud commotion from the two girls had Kamek coming inside to take a peek. The advisor struggles through the mountains of fabrics but finds Luigi’s head above it all and comes over to his side, observing Wendy standing there in a sun-dress. “My, Wendy, you look lovely!” 

“Thank you, Kamek! I do, don’t I?” She gives the advisor another twirl with the biggest of grins on her face. Saylor gawks at the royal advisor who had casually strolled into her store. She darts her eyes over Luigi, then to Wendy, then back to Kamek, mentally connecting the dots in her head. She must be one of the orphans Lord Bowser took in!

“I have the most perfect accessory for this dress! Be right back!” Saylor darts off to the stairs of the boutique, loudly rummaging from upstairs before running back down with another pink sash in her hands. “Turn around for me, Wendy.”

The little koopa complies and turns so her back was to the seamstress, who fits a pink and white polka-dot headband with a giant bow to her head. Saylor adjusts it slightly before standing back. “There! Perfect. You look wonderful.” 

“Oh, please can I have this dress? Pretty please! I love it so much!” The little girl looks up at Kamek with wide, round eyes. The advisor looks down at her, those puppy eyes looking all too familiar whenever young Bowser wanted something as a child. 

Eyes he could never deny.

“Very well, miss Wendy.” Kamek waves around his wand, and a few pouches full of coins land in Saylor’s hands who stood there utterly bewildered at how much she was holding. “I hope this is enough to cover the cost of the dress and bow?”

“I-Its more than enough! T-Thank you so much!” Saylor fights back the need to bawl her eyes out, clutching the coins in her claws with a sniff. Luigi lets his gloved hand rest on her shoulder.

“You’ve been a great help, Saylor. Thank you.” The human smiles down at her, “No doubt we’ll be back looking for some more dresses for Wendy, so get used to seeing our faces!”

“Oh I will! I absolutely will! It’s been a pleasure!” Saylor frantically waves goodbye to the three who left through the door. Wendy runs outside as her new sundress flows in the wind, running straight to her eldest brothers standing with Kammy and the infants. 

Kammy turns and gasps at the sight of the little girl in a sundress, a wrinkly smile plastered her face. “Miss Wendy! You look wonderful!” 

“Thank you Kammy!” Wendy jumps in front of her two older brothers who stare down at her with wide eyes of surprise.

“Wow, Wendy. That’s really pretty.” Roy tenderly touches at the airy fabric with his claws, while Ludwig finally cracks the smallest of smiles down at her.

“You look beautiful, Wendy.” The eldest purrs softly to his littlest sister who grins up at him. Seeing her standing there in the most beautiful dress tugged his heart-strings. It felt like yesterday watching her hatch from that egg and now she was all grown up. ‘Ugh, sap.’ Ludwig grunts to himself.

“Where did Lord Bowser go?” Kamek approaches the group and notices his oversized son was missing.

“He went to the kart shop not too far down.” Kammy gestures down the endless line of stores, “Been gone for a while, now. No doubt he’s being hounded by a crowd or the salesmen trying to give him stuff for free.” She snickers.

Luigi lets his gaze linger where Kammy had pointed, bouncing a sleeping Junior on his chest. There were plenty of kart stores back in Toad town, but sadly all tailored to Toads and not humans like him and Mario. All the karts were too small, so were the parts. Luigi loved to tinker and indulge in a bit of mechanism in his spare time. He wondered what the kart shops looked like around here?

“I’ll go look for him. I’m interested in seeing what they have there.” Luigi speaks up to the two advisors who glance in his direction. 

“Sure, we’ll walk down with you.” 

 

The group make their way down the cobbly road through the endless lines of stores on either side. The four hatchlings in the wagon were fast asleep in a pile together, snoring as loud as ever while the wagon was being pulled by the advisors’ magical pull.

They all gather near the kart store with a giant neon sign exclaiming ‘MK-AUTOPARTS’ in thick lettering, with wheels stacked up outside. The advisors took the Koopalings in the store just next to it, judging by the outside it looked to be an antique store of some sort. 

Luigi steps into the autoparts store and immediately his nose burns with the smell of oil and fresh scent of tyres. Junior wrinkles his nose against Luigi’s chest with a soft growl, only soothing when Luigi brushes his hands along his back in soft patting motions.

The store was giant. Wheels bigger than him frame the walls with kart bodies upright and leaning just underneath in the most bizarre colours and patterns he had ever seen. The patterns were just as diverse as the people.

Luigi pulls down his hood and walks around the endless aisles with multitudes of different engine parts like spark plugs, belts, filters, gaskets. The whole lot.

Every aisle had its own little sign. Parts for braking, suspension, steering, transmission. It was like the store was endless.

Luigi timidly feels around the different replacement parts. Some of these parts looked hard to find. Polished to perfection and as heavy as ever. No doubt this must be the place to come when you need something for your kart. 

“M-M-Mario?” 

The trembling voice makes Luigi turn around to see a Sledge Bro dressed in coveralls stained with oil slick. The Sledge Bro couldn’t help trembling as Luigi makes eye contact with the supposed mechanic judging by the clothing.

“A-Ah, no, I’m not Mario— I’m his brother—”

“His BROTHER?! Are you trying to attack us?! You shouldn’t be here! Lord Bowser will be furious!” The Sumo Bro stammers through angry shouts that were beginning to startle Junior with a muffled whimper at the loud sounds. Luigi purrs down at the child for a minute before his frightened blue eyes settle on the Sumo Bro who had pulled out a hammer from his pocket and threw it straight at him.

Luigi barely dodges the hammer that flies straight past him and smashes the window to the autoparts store. The smashing of glass makes Junior cry out loud and Luigi feels his body stiffen, every hair standing up at the infant’s shrill cry of terror. 

Gloved hands were sparking under the insulation, keeping back raw energy that Luigi wanted to throw straight at the Sumo Bro, who was scrambling for more things to throw at him while incoherently shouting for Luigi to leave.

What angered Luigi the most was that this brainless mechanic had thrown a hammer at him despite the presence of a child sitting against his chest. If that hammer had so much grazed Junior’s hair, Luigi would have ripped those gloves right off his hands and let hell break loose.

The Sumo Bro threw one of the oversized spark plugs to Luigi who snaps out of his frenzy a little too late. The spark plug would have hit Junior, if Bowser hadn’t caught it with a single paw right in front of the human, crushing it between talons as the metal splinters to the floor.

The electric surrounding Luigi’s blue iris momentarily flickers back to normal when he glances to see Bowser stood at his side with smoke billowing out of his nose, red eyes gleaming with pure-hot rage. 

“Are you mad?! Don’t you see there’s a child sitting on his chest?!” Bowser roars at the Sumo Bro who stumbles back, the tough facade draining along with the rest of his confidence. Junior purrs now despite the bellowing of Bowser just next to him, soothed by the sound of his father’s voice coming to his rescue. 

“L-Lord Bowser! Thank goodness you’re here! I-It’s Mario’s brother!” The mechanic stutters and stumbles over every word, cowering behind one of many Kart standees.

“I’m not STUPID.” Bowser snarls through elongated teeth at the mechanic. His red mane of hair stood on end, tips set alight. Luigi hadn’t seen Bowser look this mad since their first encounter at the castle. Pure hot rage. Paternal rage. “If you had harmed a single hair on that child’s head, you’d be dead already.”

“I-I’m so sorry, Lord Bowser. I-I wasn’t thinking! Please! P…Please forgive me!” The Sumo Bro cowers on his knees now between sobs that shake his entire body. Bowser curls his lip in a sadistic smirk at the sight of the mechanic’s loud pleads and cries for forgiveness. “I have a wife! And kids!”

“I’m feeling generous today.” Bowser purrs through the flames that spit through his maw, hot tongue licking the metal residue on his claws. “I wouldn’t have been so lenient if harm had come to that child, however. You’re very lucky I got here when I did. Get up, you blubbering baby, and make yourself useful.” 

The Sumo Bro wastes no time scrambling to his feet and escaping to the back of the store while Luigi was left to stand there and watch the aftermath of Bowser’s fury until it dissipates, and red hot eyes return to those burning vermillion.

“...Thank you.” Luigi hesitantly murmurs up at the reptile that glances down at the human, holding his blue stare for a little too long. 

“Whatever. Can’t go through with my plans of world domination if that twerp hurts the kid.” Bowser dismisses with a shrug and leans down closely to observe Junior wide awake and purring up at Bowser now that he comes into his line of sight. 

The little infant leans up to butt his head against Bowser’s red ruffles of facial hair, rubbing them together before settling against Luigi who coos quietly at the child, stroking along his back. 

“Can’t you just admit you like them? At least a smidge?” Luigi playfully comments now as they were leaving the autopart store. Quite the crowd had gathered outside at the loud commotion, but neither adult paid them no mind. Bowser was on all fours, tail swishing behind them as the two absentmindedly started to walk together. 

“As if.” Bowser scoffs, “Those lil’ guys are going to be the strongest generals a King ever had. I can’t have ‘em getting hurt.” The King curls a lip while the human simply smirks over at him, no longer bothering with his hood that lays flat against his back, curly brown hair ruffling at the wind that picks up. 

“You say that, but truly, I don’t think you’d have reacted as strongly if you didn’t care about them. About him.” Luigi gestures to the bundle laying against his chest, watching the world around them.

“You know nothin’ about me, Greenie.”

“I know enough.” 

The two share a lingering stare before Bowser looks away with sulk on his face, tail twitching irritably. They walk in silence, though not uncomfortable, through the city that was crowded now with creatures walking in all different directions. There was loud whispering amongst them at the sight of the King walking beside the robed Mario brother, holding a baby against his chest with a hand covering his hair.

“What's Mario 's brother doing here?”

“Is he here to attack us?”

“Why isn’t Bowser doing anything?!”

The panicked whispers got a little louder. Loud enough for Luigi to notice with a soft grunt and a furrow of his brows.

“No, silly. He’s the Ambassador of the Mushroom Kingdom, he’s here on official business!” A group of Spinies gathered together as they chatter on. “The Toadstool Princess elected him to babysit the orphans Bowser adopted!”

“Seriously?” Another spiny whispers poorly, “He couldn’t have gotten anyone else to do it? No one from his own Kingdom?”

“Guess not. But that’s a good thing, right? It means that Bowser might actually sign that peace treaty and the pointless war will end!” 

More obnoxiously loud whispers drown out at the sound of louder talking at the market stalls open and ready for business. Luigi pays the whispering no mind and continues on by the side of the monarch. The sun blazes down on the cityfolk who browse through the open stalls with their families, while Luigi picks at his attire that was growing increasingly hotter. 

Bowser noses his way through the stalls and acknowledges those who come to say hello and ask how he’d been. It was nice to see how Bowser recognises everyone who comes up to him no matter the size of the crowd, it was the raw sight of a monarch who truly loved his people.

It was a side to Bowser that Luigi hadn’t seen much of. If at all.

Every encounter with the King had been vicious. Over the years of reluctantly joining his brother’s side in battle just to free the poor Princess, Bowser had been rough. He was cruel, and ruthless. Every curl of his lip and bare of his teeth was a gesture of raw malice.

And yet, Bowser never harmed a hair on Peach’s head.

Now Bowser stands there talking with bellowing laughs from himself and the crowd of Darklandians surrounding him, genuinely questioning if the monarch was okay like an old friend of theirs. And Bowser would respond back like any other normie on the street. No bodyguards, no turning his nose up at them for being ‘commoners’. These were his people, and it was clear to Luigi that Bowser loved them. 

Half of Luigi couldn’t help feeling some anger at the sight of Bowser being so friendly with them. Because where was this love and attention for the Koopalings who reside in his castle? Why didn’t Bowser show them this?

Why were they subjected to the silent treatment ninety percent of the time? Where was the care? Were they truly just another part of his army he could care less about?

Was it because Bowser couldn’t… Or wouldn’t?

Luigi noticed that the others had caught up to them. The advisors stood there with the wagon full of infants who were wide awake now and chirping at their surroundings. Definitely a change in scenery than the same castle walls they were familiar with.

Ludwig stood there beside the wagon with Roy and Wendy, who talked together while waiting for Bowser to finish with the cityfolk. Ludwig lets his eyes linger around, taking in the crowd around them as anxiety prickles through his fluffed-up scales.

The eldest had never been around such a busy crowd before, much less one that had their eyes on him. Every passerby stares at him like a foreign entity, and no amount of hiding under his cloak stopped them. 

He taps his foot rhythmically on the ground to regulate his beating heart. Blue eyes linger around the crowd and land on a familiar figure standing still between the motions of cityfolk endlessly walking through the market.

Ludwig squints to focus, taking a step forward at the cloaked figure that was staring over at them on an elevated curb, face shadowed by the hood over their head.

It wasn’t until they raised it a little higher that Ludwig knew who he was looking at. 

His beating heart felt like it suddenly stopped. Every nerve in his body went numb to the touch, the pulsing of blood thrumming in his ears. 

“...Sonny?” Ludwig mumbles to himself in slight disbelief at the big green eyes staring from the distance. Was this trickery? Was Ludwig’s mind tricking him again?

But she looked so real. The flowing of her robe in the wind, the sparkling of her emerald eyes in the sunlight despite the distance between them. Her beautiful pale scales, as familiar as ever. She moved in a way that she didn’t when Ludwig was imagining her, or when she’d visit him in her dreams.

“Sonny!” Ludwig shouts now, which startles the rest of the Koopalings. Both Roy and Wendy look to their eldest brother who was staring over the crowd of moving Darklandians, unable to see due to their heights. 

“Ludwig? What’s the matter?” Roy glances anxiously at his older brother whose tail twitches behind him. Ludwig was stuttering forward and then stopping himself, like he was unsure about something.

Now that the koopa realised Ludwig had seen her, she backs away with a gloomy look in her eyes. Like it was a mistake that Ludwig had seen her, and she bolts.

“Wait… SONNY! NO!” Ludwig cries louder and sprints into the crowd of people coming from all directions. He ignores the panicked howls from Wendy and Roy as he shoves his way through the mass of bodies, the hood of his robe flying off his mane of blue hair. 

Ludwig’s heart beat pumps in his ears like a drum. The sight of Sonny running ahead of him was the only reason Ludwig kept fighting against the wave of people, crying out her name and begging her to stop. 

But she didn’t. Sonny didn’t stop. It was getting harder and harder to catch up with her. Ludwig was exhausted just pushing his way past everybody who grunts and yells at him for being so rude, but he didn’t care. Ludwig had to see her again. She was alive , and watching them.

Tears burn the corners of Ludwig’s eyes the farther he runs. 

Why was she running? Why wasn’t Sonny running toward him?

She had run away from them once. Ludwig couldn’t bear the idea of her running from him again. Not this time.

Ludwig felt his arms growing weak in an effort to push everyone out of his way until he finally made it through the sea of people and stumbled on his hands and knees on the cobbled floor. The eldest pants loudly to himself before craning his head up to see the tip of Sonny’s cape disappearing through the weaving buildings. Ludwig wasn’t about to give up that easily.

He gets up from the floor despite bleeding, grazed knees. Ludwig breaks into another sprint fuelled purely by his spite and adrenaline. His beautiful Sonny, the woman who had raised him from an egg to now, essentially the one he called Mother in his head.

The reason why Ludwig sabotaged any attempts of finding a family for.

“Sonny, please!” Ludwig cries out with a trembled shout, his vision going dizzy. Ludwig hadn’t run so much since the orphanage collapsed, his legs were jelly and every muscle aches from the strain.

He could feel himself slowing down. Ludwig fights against it as the robe disappears from his line of sight.

Sonny was gone.

 

From Ludwig’s left a sharp few tuts catch his attention. Tiredly, the eldest glances over to a towering figure of a giant Boo.

Despite his dizzied state, Ludwig takes a few stumbling steps back. This Boo was ginormous, bigger than anything he’d seen before. Round and frankly quite terrifying with that fangy grin on his face.

“Well well well. What do we have here?” The Boo starts to circle Ludwig standing alone on the outskirts of the city between scattered buildings he had chased Sonny to. The ghostly sound to the Boos’ voice makes Ludwig shiver, tail twitching anxiously.

The signature sound of giggling boos surround Ludwig as a few of them fade into view in all directions. Spherical boos similar to this giant one, and ghosts that resembled some more human-like appearances with hollowed out eyes and grimy fingers.

“Get away from me.” Ludwig curls his lip in a snarl and backs away, “You’ll be sorry if you touch me!”

“Is that how it is?” The biggest Boo raises a fat eyebrow down at the snarling koopa. “I wouldn’t get too cocky if I was you, Ludwig.”

Ludwig holds a breath and almost chokes on it. “Wh— How do you know my name?! Who are you?!” He only snarls louder and jumps towards the Boo, while a few of the surrounding ones snarl right back at him for jumping at their (very clearly) leader. 

“That’s not important right now!” A stubby arm harshly pats Ludwig’s mane of blue hair that flattens to his head. “I have a proposition for you.”

“Why should I listen to you?” Ludwig bites, though looking unsure as the ghosts and boos around him close in a little more. He was essentially surrounded and currently alone. Not even a single passerby as the child was cornered against a wall.

“I trust you and your siblings have gotten comfortable in the King’s castle, yes?” Boo starts, continuing with his aggravating circling around the child, who nods slowly. “Very good. Have you buttered up to Bowser at all, little one?”

“No. Why should I?” Ludwig grunts, crossing his arms. “We’re only there so he can grow his army. We aren’t his kids.”

This seems to intrigue the bigger Boo, who stares with hot-pink eyes boring right into his. “And I assume you don’t see him as a father, either?”

“As if.” Ludwig scoffs softly as the grin only grows on Boo's toothy mouth. 

“Excellent. This will make it a lot easier than I thought.” The Boo closes in on the child who presses himself against the bricked wall, wincing at his neon eyes that burn the longer he looks. “I need you, Ludwig Von Koopa. To steal something from the King for me.”

Ludwig furrows his eyebrows. “...Steal something? What, is this some petty drama between you and Bowser?”

“Hmm, no, far more than that. I need you to steal a crown.”

“A…A crown?”

“Yes, a crown.” The Boo huffs louder, “Though not just any crown, the crown that once belonged to his mother. I don’t suppose you know who that is, so I won’t bore you with the useless details. I just need that crown.”

“Why do you need it?” 

“That crown holds an unimaginable amount of power!” The Boo spits suddenly that makes Ludwig flinch against the bricked wall. He had never felt so cornered or powerless in his life, left to stand here and listen to this crazy Boo spewing nonsense. “And yet that brute won’t even put it on his head, not even during his coronation! Bowser isn’t fit for that throne. He’s holding himself back on purpose! And his recent absence to the throne in these last weeks only proves me right.” 

The Boo rambles on, spitting and hissing venom from that gaping mouth and all Ludwig could do was stand there and listen. “What’s in it for me, huh? What makes you think I’ll actually do it?” 

“This.” Boo waves his stubby arm around and the hologram of his beloved Sonny stands there on the tip of his stub. Ludwig stares in disbelief. “I don’t suppose you know that the Sonny you were chasing was a fake, conjured up by yours truly.” The Boo wastes no time in gloating with a huge smirk on his face as the others praise him from all around. “And you fell for it! It was the only way I could get you here alone. I knew you’d come after her.”

Ludwig felt the fury bubbling in his stomach. Every hair on his head fluffs up in pure-hot rage. This stupid, oversized marshmallow had TRICKED him! Lulled him into a false sense of security just to corner him! “You…You MONSTER!” Ludwig roars with a swipe of his claws at the giant Boo, which only phases through the spectral mass who bellows out a laugh at his effort to harm him.

“BWAHAHAH! You think you can harm me, youngling? Nice try, but you’ll have to do better than that.” The Boo swings a mighty arm that slams Ludwig against the bricked wall that crumbles at the force.

Ludwig cries out at the sound of his shell cracking against the wall, landing harshly on his already-grazed hands and knees with a quiet sob. The pathetic noise only makes the boos and ghosts around him cackle louder as they circle with taunting giggles and raspberries being blown at him. 

The giant Boo grasps a handful of Ludwig’s blue hair and yanks his head up. “Your precious Sonny is dead, and the only way to bring her back is if you get me that crown. Until then? She’ll remain a figment of your imagination. A ghost in the wind. One that will disappear before your very eyes until you forget she even existed. Unless I have that crown, unless you give it to me. She stays dead.” The spectral entity spits in the child’s face who fights back another sob that chokes him. Sonny was dead?

“I had all my minions hunt her down and tear her apart.” The Boo recalls in a hushed, cruel whisper. “I was generous enough to let you and your pathetic little siblings live, so unless you do what I say, they’ll meet the same cruel fate as your precious caretaker.” The Boo snickers close to Ludwig’s ear who squeezes his eyes shut with a loud wail. Sonny was dead, and this monster had killed her.

And unless Ludwig stole him that crown, his siblings would suffer the same fate.

As if it couldn’t get any worse, the giant Boo projects the shrill sounds of Wendy and Roy crying for his help, ghostly voices sobbing and begging to live. It sounded eerily close to their shrill screams of fear back when the orphanage had been set ablaze.

“So.” The giant Boo starts again, paying no mind to Ludwig’s cries that shake his whole body under the vice grip he had on his hair. “Do we have a deal, Ludwig Von Koopa? Get me that crown. The crown of Ossariet. And I’ll let you and your siblings live, and give you back Sonny. Until then? The lives of your siblings rest in your hands, and I won’t tell you when I’m going to strike.” The Boo traces a sharp, conjured up claw against Ludwig’s throat and presses down harshly, making him sob harder. “Sonny stays dead. Until you get me what I want.” 

Ludwig wished he had never left them. If only he had trusted his gut and stayed put. It was all a trick, all a sick and twisted lie.

But Ludwig couldn’t let his little siblings pay that price. 

“I-I’ll do it.” Ludwig chokes on another weep, “I’ll get you the c-crown. Just please, p-please don’t hurt them—”

“You aren’t in a position to give demands.” The Boo snarls down at Ludwig who whimpers, cowering his head and flinching his eyes closed. “I’ll give you nine months. Nine months to get that crown and bring it to me. I’m being generous with my time because I have things going on behind the scenes that are going to take a long… Long time to finish.” The giant boo snickers to himself, while the rest of his little minions do the same. “So until then, make the most of your time with your little siblings, dear Ludwig. It would be a shame if any harm came to them, now would it?” The Boo purrs a sickeningly cruel laugh near his ear. “I’ll be sure to send you reminders as we close in on those nine months. So get comfortable with seeing my face in your dreams.” 

The boos and ghosts around them laugh even louder and all Ludwig could do was sob harder. He felt humiliated, subjected to such torture of knowing his little siblings were relying on him alone to keep them alive if he didn’t go through with this sick and twisted request. 

 

The laughter around him was cut short by a crack of lightning dangerously close that startled the boos into gasps. The giant boo gripping Ludwig’s hair suddenly lets go by throwing the child to the ground, looking around at the storm clouds that suddenly gather above his head.

With a growl, the giant Boo lets his neon-pink eyes glare over at the fast approaching figure in the distance being followed by said clouds. Practically a ball of energy, being swarmed with endless electrical currents that swim over the cloaked figure and all the giant Boo could do was curl his giant lip, baring sharp fangs.

 

“ Luigi.”

Notes:

LORD!! This chapter was extremely ambitious of me with the addition of King Boo! That bastard is only going to cause pain and misery on this poor family.

another reminder that if you wan't to understand Bowser's appearance in this story, click here!. Some beautiful fanart that I'm absolutely obsessed with, he's so handsome.

I really hope you guy's don't mind that we're like 80k words in and these two are just about talking to one another LMFAOOO ദ്ദി ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ ) Trust things will ramp up and I have lots planned! Literally everything I'm writing is coming straight from my ass. I have a notes page full of bullet points, a monster can, no beta and a dream. HOPE U ENJOYED!!!

Chapter 11

Notes:

sorry for the radio silence the last couple days! i made the impulsive decision to rip off all the wallpaper from my walls to redecorate my room, so ive been busy with that ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧ but also work. work is kicking my butt. we got all chiristmas stuff in... ( ꩜ ᯅ ꩜;) 

i had this chapter mostly written out before that but i wasn't happy and needed to add a few LONGGG couple words so voila, here we are! ٩(^ᗜ^ )و ´-

“KING BOO!”

 

That voice was unmistakable.

King Boo floats there just above Ludwig who was curled on the cobbled ground, quaking with fear at those neon-pink eyes glued on the approaching figure of Luigi. He looked almost unrecognizable with the way electrical currents were swimming along his arms. Ludwig had no idea Luigi possessed some kind of magic, at least, the human never made it obvious.

“Well, if it isn’t Luigi! Good to see you again, my old friend.” King Boo purrs out through grinning teeth, his spectral tail swishing. “I was just talking to my lovely new friend here, Ludw—”

THWACK

King Boo had entirely misjudged just how fast Luigi was approaching. The spectral monarch was cut short by a thunderclap of lightning and a fist to the mouth, the force of the electrified punch solidified his ghostly form enough to send the boo flying backwards with a shriek of surprise.

Both ghosts and boos’ surrounding Ludwig at the time squeak in shock to see King Boo somersaulting through the air after the assault. While they were distractedly rushing towards him, Luigi darts over to Ludwig who didn’t move from the floor. The human was terrified that Boo had done something much worse than he thought.

Timidly, his pair of ungloved hands hover over the weeping child and sighs in relief to see him breathing. Too afraid to touch yet, Luigi wanted nothing more than to pull Ludwig to his chest out of harm's way.

Luigi’s fingers trace the air above the cracks in the koopa’s shell that had almost broken in half, and the electrified look in his eyes only sparked more.

“Did he do this to you?”

Ludwig didn’t reply for a few staggering heart beats, glancing up at the human from where he curls on the ground, navy eyes brimming with tears. “I-It’s fine—”

“Did he do this to you?” Luigi echos, harsher. The type of voice a parent would use when you smashed a vase or broke the coffee table.

Ludwig flinches.

“Y-Yes, but—”

Without another word Luigi had vanished from his side towards King Boo in the distance, who was trying to recover from the harsh deck to the jaw. His little minions surround the spectral boo trying to fuss over him, but are swatted away with a snarl.

Immediately, the human pounces onto the ghost that was distracted and tears into the ghostly mass. King Boo shrieks in surprise at the human crawling all over him like a feral cat, hissing and spitting while clawing at his eyes. 

“GET OFF ME!” King Boo swats his stubby arms in an attempt to grab the human who was too nimble. It was unfortunate that Luigi had figured out King Boo’s spectral mass worked similarly to oobleck. With enough force and pressure in his movements, Luigi could grip onto his being and rag him around, which also made it entirely impossible for King Boo to liquify his body enough to release him.

There was a moment of weakness in Luigi’s movements when he could feel a ball of lightning in his palms spiraling out of control. The human could hear his heartbeat drumming in his ears as the lightning sitting in his palm, suddenly retracts into his body and shoots up his arms, illuminating the white veins that sear with pain.

Luigi staggers back and grips his forearm with a shaky hand, letting go of the spectral monarch that wasted no time in taking advantage of this momentary weakness.

King Boo headbutts the human with a mighty bang, throwing Luigi back against the floor with a shout of surprise and a groan of pain as the cobbled ground cracks under the force.

“All of this!” King Boo pants in the middle of gathering himself up from the ground, wiping at his lip oozing with purple plasma. “For him?” He lightly gestures to the koopaling who was sitting up with widened eyes over at them, “Since when did you care about random runts on the street?”

The palms of Luigi’s hands spark against the cobble underneath him, veins glowing electrifyingly whiter than before. The pain in his arms was like a scorching burn from a hot stove, but he had to fight if he wanted to keep this monster away from Ludwig. Despite the way his body felt heavy, like the power running through his arms was weighing him down.

With a subtle glance of his eyes, Luigi finds that Ludwig was being approached by Wendy and Roy running to his side, incoherently sobbing something that Luigi couldn’t quite make out. Followed close behind was the two advisors and Bowser, looking more confused as ever though his eyes immediately slit at the sight of the ghostly monarch.

King Boo wastes no time pouncing on top of the human that was distracted, stubby paws conjuring up long, grimy claws that wrap around the human’s fragile neck and throw his head back onto the floor a few times in an attempt to daze him, cracking the cobble even more beneath those brown curls.

Luigi yelps out in surprise and grasps hold of his wrist in an attempt to pull it away, but those cold, damp fingers hold him down. King Boo squeezes his fingers around the human’s trachea to make him gasp and splutter, all the while perversely grinning down at Luigi which only angers him more.

“I’ve spent all these years trying to get you into this position.” King Boo bellows out a sickening laugh, his eyes glowing brighter. Luigi flinches his head back as far as it could go into the small crater under his head, when King Boo leans down dangerously close. “And all I had to do was hurt that little runt?” A deeper, more ominous chuckle rattles Luigi’s bones while that freakishly long tongue flops out of the spectre’s mouth, licking the trail of blood on the human’s lip who wriggles and squirms under the choking grip. “Six years! And I finally got a taste.” 

Luigi pushes his head back and spits in King Boo’s face with a grit of his teeth. He wanted to shout and swear, but the vice grip on his throat made it impossible to muffle out any sound that wasn’t a gasp or a choke.

King Boo’s proud gloating and momentary splutter from the assault was interrupted by a strike of orange fire in his face that burns those neon eyes. The poltergeist rears back with a shrill cry of surprise, grubby talons freeing the human’s neck to rub at his beady orbs burning like fire.

Luigi acts quickly, crawling back to rub at the finger marks etched deeply onto his olive skin, feeling the weight of those grimy claws even after they had gone. 

“Luigi!” Sweet Wendy’s voice calls out where she stands now with both of her brothers. Ludwig was sitting on the ground still with Roy’s arms over his shoulders in a protective manner, lip curled back over at King Boo flailing around in the air.

Kamek and Kammy were stood on guard in front of the children, the elderly woman ushering Luigi over with her hands as the human shakily pulls himself up onto his feet and rushes past the mighty stance of the King on all his fours, fire leaking like spouts of lava from the corners of bared teeth. 

“You know better than to start unsolicited fights on my grounds, King Boo.” Bowser barks at the spectre who finished rubbing at sore, pink eyes. Giant eyebrows furrow over at the koopa for a moment before smirking. “Much less against a child!” 

“Please, I barely touched him.” King Boo snorts with a dismissive wave of his now-stubby hand. Bowser’s paws burn holes in the cobbled ground he stands on, haunches bristled and tail waving back and forth dangerously like an aggravated feline. 

“If you ain’t leavin’ in the next five seconds, this is going to become more of a problem than it already is.” Bowser warns with a throaty growl that rattles King Boo’s little minions cowering around him. “Unless you want to fight me, instead.”

“As tempting as that may be, Lord Bowser.” King Boo adjusts the lopsided crown on his fat head. “I have better things to occupy my time. I had a lovely chat with that blue-haired runt, and my dear Luigi. That reminds me! Why is he here?”

Bowser snarls louder, a string of fire aiming right for the spectre who merely dodges to the side with a squeak. “Okay! Okay! Geez! I’m goin’!” King Boo huffs impatiently, “But this isn’t the last you’ll see of me. I can promise you that.” 

That ominous remark makes Bowser narrow his eyes at the poltergeist, preparing to charge up another string of fire when the boo disappears with his signature cackle that fades into the air, a chilling sound that never fails to make Bowser shiver.

Luigi had both Wendy and Roy in his arms, holding the two close against his shoulders while Ludwig was being cared for by the two advisors helping him from the ground. The cracked shell didn’t go unnoticed between either of them, who shared worried glances as the eldest stood up on shaking legs bleeding and torn.

“Goodness, Ludwig.” Kamek sighs softly to himself and twirls his wand in small circular motions to patch up the bleeding, but it doesn’t stop Ludwig from trembling. “What did I tell you about running away? As the eldest I thought you’d be one to enforce such behaviour! Not go against it!”

“Kamek…” Luigi starts from where he crouches in front of the two younger ones, cobalt eyes watching the way Ludwig’s expression crumples..

“Something terrible could have happened! You could have been kidnapped, killed! What on earth were you thinking?!” The more Kamek rambled the harder it was for Ludwig to hold back the tears burning his eyes once more, because he knew the old advisor was right. It was stupid. He should have trusted his gut.

“You’re lucky we found you when we did! Otherwise—”

“Kamek!” Luigi snaps, louder. It frightens the advisor enough to quiet him, beady eyes looking over at the human walking towards them. “I’m sure Ludwig feels worse about this than he already does. We should head home now, Ludwig and the other children look exhausted. I want his injuries checked over thoroughly.” 

The advisor looks back and forth between Luigi and the others, anxiously licking his beak and setting down his wand into a cane. “But what about—”

“I can come back another day.” Luigi quickly intercepts with a raise of his eyebrows at the advisor before he can say too much, who quickly shuts his beak with a timid nod. Looking at the hatchlings, their eyes were barely keeping open and Wendy had let out more than one yawn since finding Ludwig. “Let’s go home.”

 

—

 

Luigi insisted that Ludwig was taken to the infirmary at the castle to double check his injuries weren’t too severe. There was no telling what that spectral monarch could have done to him while they were looking for him.

The koopaling lays on the quilted bed in a small room with a blue curtain drawn around him for privacy. He hadn’t spoken a word since admitting to Luigi that King Boo had hurt him, not to the nurse who checks up on him every so often. 

She makes another futile attempt to speak with him but Ludwig doesn’t budge. He only curls in closer on the bed, hugging his arms as the breeze hits his foreign shell-less back, making him shiver uncomfortably. He felt vulnerable and exposed.

Luigi stands in the doorway, arms folded and foot tapping nervously as the nurse approaches with a soft sigh at another failed attempt.

“Is he okay?” Luigi quietly asks when she walks over to him, clipboard at hand.

“As okay as he appears to be. A bit of a temperature and a few cuts and bruises. Nothing a bit of bedrest and painkillers can’t cure.”

“Thank you.” 

“Of course. You’re free to go see him, but be warned, he hasn’t spoken to me at all since being here. I can’t get a word out of him.” 

Luigi nervously swallows with a twitch of his mustache, simply nodding as she brushes past down the hall. He lingers back for a moment, worried. Luigi didn’t want to feel like he was being too forward with the child, maybe Ludwig simply wanted his own space.

Cobalt eyes daydream on the ground, completely missing the hulking presence that now stood opposite him on the other side of the doorway. A soft clearing of his throat makes Luigi look up to see Bowser standing there leaning against the doorframe, arms folded over his plastron and glancing into the room, eyes unreadable. “What did she say?”

“Temperature, few cuts and bruises. He just needs rest.” Luigi mumbles and subtly mirrors the action of folding his arms against his own chest, looking in to see Ludwig as stiff as a rock in his bed. 

“Will he be alright?” Bowser murmurs gently, flicking his gaze over to the back of Ludwig’s head inside the room. He misses the frown Luigi gives him.

“Why do you care?”

Bowser almost chokes in surprise, wide red eyes looking down at the human who glares up at him with unmistakable anger. “Excuse me?”

“I said why do you care? You spent the last two months ignoring them and now you’re asking if he’s going to be okay?” Luigi scoffs in the middle of taking a step back, which Bowser only closes in with a step close, fists balled. 

“What? So I’m not allowed to ask if he’s gonna be fine? That illegal or somethin’?” Bowser spits back as quietly as he can while Ludwig lays just a few meters away inside the infirmary. 

“No. But don’t act like you care about him.” 

“I care! I care because he’s the future of my—”

“Your army, right?” Luigi cuts off with a few steps towards the King who stumbles back slightly, almost tripping over his tail. “You don’t care about him. You never did. You don’t care about them.” He backs Bowser into one of the marbled pillars, standing chest-to-chest with a burning fire in his eyes. “Because it’s always about you. It’s always you. Whether you like it or not, these children need influence, they need somebody to care about them.”

“Isn’t that why you are here?” Bowser bites back with a curl of his lip, leaning down a little so his snout brushes against the human’s nose who doesn’t back down. “I gave you the easy shit, Greenie. You’re here to feed them, bathe them and do whatever else a regular nanny would do while I take care of the rest.” One of his sharp claws pokes at Luigi’s chest which only angers the human further, lightning burning around his pupils. “You volunteered for this. You agreed to this, I didn’t.”

“And I’m still here, aren’t I?” Luigi snaps as the giant koopa bristles. “Whether you like it or not, those children have come from a background of tragedy. Orphans, who come here looking for sanctuary. And you turn them into war machines. Innocent, helpless children.”  

Kamek hides around one of the marbled pillars in the distance, watching the way his son stares with fire in his eyes.

“Whether you like it or not they need a father.”

Bowser flinches.

“I didn’t come here to stand and watch as you poison their minds with the thoughts of war and bloodshed.” Luigi pokes his much smaller finger against the King’s hard plastron, ignoring the way smoke huffs out of Bowser’s nostrils, eyes burning. “I saw a King back in the city. One with the ability to show kindness and compassion, who acknowledged every one of his citizens with a smile. There was a softness in your eyes that was unmistakable, one that made you almost unrecognisable from the tyrannical King you’re made out to be.” Luigi’s hardened stare softens slightly, watching as Bowser’s eyebrows tremble, like he was fighting to keep them furrowed together. “You love your people. I know that much. So why don’t you love them?”

Luigi turns and storms away, refusing to stand there and enable more spews of lies from the monarch’s maw. He disappears behind one of the walls, missing Kamek hiding behind the marbled pillar who watches Bowser stand there with his muscles tensed, jaw clenched.

The King hesitantly turned his gaze to the right where Ludwig was now sitting up looking in his direction, more than likely hearing the whole argument. There was a sombre look in those blue-eyes that made it hard to look at. Pure sadness. 

Ludwig sits there and clutches the blanket in his tiny hands, staring at Bowser who looks to the floor with a concerning amount of shame. 

That was until the anger bubbled under his scales and suddenly Bowser storms off, his tail thwacking everything around him in the hallways, knocking over armoured stands. Guards merely dodge the furious thrashing as Bowser makes his way to his room and pushes open the door that swings on its hinges. ‘Stupid Luigi. What the hell does he know? How dare he speak to me like that?! In my own castle?!’

Bowser stomps over to his nest and snatches up the bottle on the night stand. A typical reaction when he was overwhelmed with anger, was to drown it out with alcohol so he could forget the reason why he was angry in the first place. Enough to numb every thought and every feeling. He’ll pay the price in the morning. Like he always did.

Bowser had never been spoken to so intrepidly before. Much less from the once-cowerly Mario brother of all people. The more this human spent in his castle, the more Bowser seemed to have assumed everything wrong about him. It was different to have Luigi stand there and spew venom at him, it was always Mario doing the talking.

The mere thought of Luigi makes his blood boil with anger once more, and he aggressively lifts the bottle to his lips to prepare for when he inevitably drowns his feelings with a hangover and consequently makes an empty promise to never drink again.

Just as he was about to tilt the bottle there was a soft sound of snoring coming just behind him on the nest he sits at the edge of. Freezing, Bowser glances over his shoulder to see the familiar bundle of Junior laying between two of his many pillows, tiny body curled up with his tail tucked between his feet. Bowser slowly lowers the bottle to his lap and stares. How did Junior get in here? How long has he been here?

The infant snores quietly in the comfort of his fathers nest, surrounded by the scent of him that had put him asleep instantly. Junior clutches some of the blanket in his tiny paws, purring loudly as the fireplace crackles in the silence of the bedroom.

Bowser sits there and watches Junior sleep. His son. Maybe the last ever chance he’ll get at a biological heir to call his own.

Bowser had wanted children. Ever since he was a teenager, he dreamed of having a mate with plenty of hatchlings to call his own. A dream that was slipping right between his talons the older he got, the lonelier he became. 

He wasn’t sure what it was. There were plenty of beautiful koopas who were more than ready to sit at his side by the throne and bear his children. There was no mistaking it and yet Bowser threw out every letter requesting his presence to meet suitors from all over the kingdom and those far away.

That fling all those months ago was never meant to end this way. Bowser couldn’t even remember her, the mother to his son. If he had known, if she hadn’t lied, Bowser never would have gone through with it. He’d have gotten up and come back home. 

Yet… Junior lays there tucked into the smallest ball imaginable, hugging the blanket of his father and purring at the familiar scent that surrounds him. Junior was abandoned by his own mother who dropped him off at the orphanage and fled, never to be seen again. And now he lays in the comfort of his father’s bed. A bed he wouldn’t have found himself in, if it wasn’t for those three koopalings that night.

With a heavy sigh, Bowser slowly sits the bottle back on the night stand and ruffles a few talons through his unruly hair. Bowser shuffles his hulking body-weight further into the nest that dips with his presence, hesitating as his gaze lingers on the alcohol longingly for a moment.

He tears his gaze away to the sleeping infant.

The King gets somewhat comfortable while the tiny hatchling hogs the majority of his nest despite Junior’s little size, curling his giant head on the pillows just next to Junior and simply lays there, watching him with eyes that no longer burn with anger but interest.

Red tufts that were soft to the touch, golden scales with patches of emerald green along his shoulders and elbows, sleeping eyes that were red and full of wonder. Junior was his father’s son and there was no denying it, Kamek had said himself it was like going back in time to all those years ago when Bowser hatched out of his own egg.

For now, Bowser lets the anger subside, reaching a paw up to gently lay a talon against the infant’s face and turning Junior’s jaw towards him, tracing along the smooth features of the hatchling. Tiny nose, small eyes, soft scales. Truly the epitome of innocence if he ever saw it.

“I’m not strong enough to be your father.” Bowser mumbles quietly, using his middle phalanx to gently soothe over the infant’s face that cuddles closer to his head, purring and cooing at the sound of his voice. It was enough to crack the smallest of smiles that tug the corner of Bowser’s mouth, and for the first time he nestles a little closer to Junior who snuggles in the crook of his snout, tiny face pressed against the bridge of his nose.

The King lets out a deep breath and shuts his eyes, relaxing at the sounds of Junior’s quiet snoring as tiny paws curl into his little chest. For the last two months he spent pushing away his own son, afraid to get too attached.

“But I’ll be better.” Bowser murmurs despite knowing Junior didn’t understand, much less hear as the infant continues to dream. “I’ll do better..”

The monarch trails off and falls into slumber alongside his son, for the first time since he hatched, he embraced the infant’s presence. He didn’t push him away. Junior needed love.

‘Whether you like it or not they need a father.’

Maybe he was right.

 

—

 

Luigi sits alone on the balcony that overlooks the gardens just under his nose.

The sky was pitch black and littered with stars that shimmer brighter than they ever did back on earth. The beautiful swirls of galaxies far away paint the sky the same way the milky way did back home. 

Despite the heat of the Darklands there was a cold breeze that passed through his hair. It had been a few hours since he stormed away from Bowser, and he’d just finished another fruitless attempt of talking to Ludwig and yet the child still didn’t budge.

Kamek so kindly offered to watch the hatchlings and the two eldest ones while he took a small break just to think. He was frustrated with Bowser, enough to make his jaw clench at the thought of the sour conversation previously.

Yet he couldn’t help but feel guilty about the way he had gone about it.

With a sigh, Luigi sits back against the garden chair and stares into the sad cup of coffee in his hand that was definitely stone cold by now. He’d spent over an hour sitting here, contemplating on whether or not he should go back inside and apologise for his outburst. 

This was Bowser’s home. He had no right to yell like that. But was he truly wrong to feel the way he did?

Luigi was prepared to finish the rest of his ice-cold coffee when the sound of a creaking door catches his attention. Luigi cranes his head back to see none other than Bowser stood there, red eyes burning in the darkness. Oh gosh, was he here to finish what Luigi had started?

Luigi sits there and bites his tongue, shifting uncomfortably in the garden chair as Bowser squeezes through the doors in silence and approaches the balcony. With a subtle glance Luigi noticed that Bowser looked more relaxed than before, muscles and jaw no longer taut with anger, like Luigi’s outburst had never happened. 

It wasn’t until Bowser had taken the seat in front of him that Luigi noticed Junior laying in the crook of the King’s neck, tiny hands grasping his shoulder with soft breaths and purrs at the comfort of his father’s presence. Immediately Luigi perks up at the sight of the infant and starts purring himself.

“I didn’t know humans could purr.” Bowser starts, breaking the silence Luigi had been in since he got here. The koopa had a giant hand cupping Junior’s lower half so he didn’t slip down his giant chest, almost cradling him to his neck while being mindful of the spiked gauntlet around his throat.

Luigi catches himself with a clearing of his throat, sitting back against the seat with an embarrassed flush on his cheeks, nervously brushing fingers through his flat hair. “I-I didn’t either.”

Bowser raises a red brow over at the flustered plumber, adjusting his posture in the seat to appear more relaxed. His tail sits comfortably behind him, curling along the ground. “What? Humans aren’t supposed to purr or somethin’?”

“E-Eh… No, no, we’re not supposed to. It’s never something I’ve done before, at least.” Luigi rubs at his cheeks that were burning hot, to the point where he was almost sweating in the King’s surprised presence. “I’m not sure what’s changed, or how I’m even doing it.”

“You should ask Kamek, ‘guy knows everythin’.” Bowser huffs a quiet chuckle, despite the darkness the red tint to the plumber’s cheek was unmissable. 

The pair sit in a weird silence for a few heartbeats. Why didn’t Bowser rip him a new one? Why was he sitting here like nothing had happened all those hours ago?

“Why aren’t you mad at me?”

Bowser glances over to Luigi at the unsuspected question. Those blue eyes were set on the garden table in front of them, refusing to look up at the King who shuffled forwards a little bit, adjusting Junior laying on his shoulder as the breeze ruffled his mane. “Look, Greenie. I’m pissed, alright?”

Luigi gulps.

“But as much as I’d love to beat you to a pulp… You were right, kinda, I suppose...” Bowser grumbles the last few words that trail off into a whisper, with a mighty shrug of his shoulders. The giant koopa shifts uncomfortably when Luigi finally lifts his eyes from the table and stares right at him as the cold breeze passes by.

“Could you… Elaborate? On that?” Luigi quietly requests, hooking his fingers under the garden chair to shift a few inches closer with intrigue. Bowser was never one to admit he was wrong, it was always his way or the highway. 

“Ugh, what’s there to elaborate? You were right. It is all about me.” Bowser curls his lip in reluctance to keep talking, but those blue eyes wouldn’t let him live if he didn’t. Luigi was once a coward, a needle in a hay stack. Bowser had overlooked the taller Mario brother for the last six years since the two humans found their way into this world. Yet the longer this human spent in his own home, the more his assumptions about the man were proven wrong. “I dunno. I just don’t think I’m father material.” Bowser shrugs again in the middle of gently bouncing Junior against his shoulder.

Luigi cocks his head to the side, glancing at the peculiar gesture of affection from Bowser. He had always kept his distance with the hatchlings, especially Junior. Sitting there now, those two were scarily similar. It was like Bowser was holding a baby version of himself. “You say that, but… Junior seems to be enjoying himself?”

Bowser looks at the infant who was purring and snuggling into the warmth of his thick neck, avoiding the spiked collar that threatens to poke one of his beady eyes out. Junior nestles against the red ruffles of facial hair with a purr. “Yeah, whatever. This little brat was sleeping in my nest. Dunno how he even got there.”

“Seriously?” Luigi stifles a small laugh, a smile hiding under his mustache, “you scented them, right? Maybe he followed it there.”

“The guy’s two months old.” Bowser glances over at Luigi who had his eyes set on the sleeping infant, those interesting purrs kicking up again that rumble in his throat. There was a particular look in Luigi’s eyes when he watched Junior, despite the distance between them it was easy to see how his pupils dilated the longer he looked. 

“...Would you mind me asking a personal question?” Luigi mumbles over a gust of wind that ruffles Bowser’s mane, anxiously twiddling his fingers in his lap. 

“Depends on the question.” Bowser replies with a level of suspicion in his voice. There were a handful of questions Luigi could ask, each of them making him more nervous.

“Are you and Junior related?” 

Bowser stiffens with a sharp inhale. It definitely wasn’t the question he was preparing to hear. Was it truly that obvious?

Not only that, but his answer depended on whether or not he trusted Luigi to keep this information to himself. If the kingdom found out Junior was conceived out of wedlock, much less an accident, there would be uproar.

They weren’t the closest, that much was obvious. They were civil at best for the sake of him being the Ambassador to the Mushroom Kingdom. But was that enough to ensure Luigi didn’t inadvertently open his mouth to anyone? He could admit, Luigi had done a good job in the city holding his hand over Junior’s head to protect those familiar tufts of hair. Bowser was watching. 

He supposed that maybe this could be their very first trust exercise. Not like he was about to make a habit out of it. 

“If I tell you this, can I trust you’ll keep your mouth shut?”

“You can trust me, absolutely. I won’t say a word.” Luigi eagerly leans closer with eyes wide and full of interest, sealing his lips closed for emphasis. 

“Not even your stupid brother, or the Princesses, or even the other koopalings.” Bowser narrows his eyes at Luigi to see any sort of hesitation at those familiar names, yet the plumber didn’t flinch. “Not a soul.”

“I understand. Not a soul.” 

“Fine.” Bowser leans back against the garden chair that creaks under his weight. With a sigh, he gazes out to the city in the distance gleaming with warm light. “Junior is my son. Blood-born heir to the throne.” 

Luigi widens his eyes at the revelation. He honestly suspected something of the sort and yet he couldn’t believe it was being said at the same time. If Junior was his son, then..?

“He was born out of wedlock, obviously.” Bowser snorts softly which startles the sleeping bundle on his shoulder for a few seconds, who settles back down quickly. “Which is why I need you to keep ya mouth shut, understood? If the kingdom finds out there’ll be uproar. ” 

Luigi glances at Junior who was beginning to shuffle in his father’s grasp, letting out a long yawn while rubbing at sleepy eyes that blink open. Immediately, both Bowser and Luigi start to purr without thinking about it at the waking of the infant.

Junior listens to the familiar sounds that mingle together in the most beautiful melody and turns his head to see Luigi sitting there just a few feet ahead of him, clicking and cooing softly to the human who responds with his own gentle clicking. 

The noises between the two confuse Bowser’s instincts who sits there listening. Luigi gets up from the garden chair he was sitting in and approaches them, getting closer to Junior who leans towards the human’s presence with grabby hands.

Luigi looks at Bowser who locks eyes with him. He shouldn’t be able to, but Bowser could read the silent request for permission to take Junior off him and with a quiet click, reluctant to indulge Luigi’s ability to read koopa clicking, he lets the infant go.

The human scoops Junior in his grasp and nuzzles their faces together. Junior purrs louder and paws at the human’s nose with happy cooing as he’s snuggled into Luigi’s chest who sits back in the garden chair.

Watching how Junior reacts around Luigi was definitely confusing his instincts. Those clicks and coos were those of a child calling and speaking to their parent, the same ones Junior had been using with him. Why did Junior do this with Luigi? What was happening?

The koopa shakes the feeling off and sits back in his chair, keeping red eyes on Junior who nestles underneath the human’s loose blouse to sit against the warm flesh. He listens to Luigi’s heartbeat that had picked up the pace over the last minute or so, yet his purring never stops.

This was Mama's heartbeat.

And he loved it just as much as Papas.

 

Bowser observes the way Junior snuggles under the green blouse, tiny paws clutching at the human’s shoulderblades. The little guy had grown attached to the plumber, that much was obvious to him, but he had no idea just how close.

Their purring was synchronized. Bowser was struggling to differentiate the two as their throats rumbled in perfect harmony. The human wasn’t looking at him now, he sits back against the garden chair and stares out to the warm glow of the city in the far distance. One he had been attacked in all those hours ago.

It was meant to be a trip for Luigi to speak with the elders and get some answers on the Darklands’ history. But the children were more important than that, he couldn’t stay after what happened to Ludwig.  There was no telling to the extent of possible injuries inflicted by King Boo, the bastard.

Yet the child wouldn’t talk. Luigi had come and gone from his bed to try and coax the koopaling as gently as he could to ask what happened, but he didn’t speak. Not even a grumble or a grunt of irritation, just silence. There was a dead look in his eyes that haunts Luigi in the middle of his daydream into the dark sky.

There was gentle pressure touching the left of Luigi’s jaw that brought him out of the daze, glancing over to see Bowser had extended a talon to cup at his face and tilt it to the right slightly, observing. 

Following the monarch’s eyes, Luigi realized that he was looking at the red marks etched onto his throat after his encounter with King Boo.

“He got you pretty good.” Bowser mumbles quietly now that Junior has gone back to sleep. He keeps Luigi’s head tilted at an angle with his claw to observe the bruised claw-marks engraved on the once-olive neck of the plumber. His finger briefly brushes over the stubble there, itching at his scales.

“Y-Yeah.” Luigi gently clears his throat, tearing his gaze away the longer Bowser looks at the marks.

“He didn’t hurt you too bad, did he?” Bowser inquired with delicacy in that gruff voice that sounded almost outlandish. Bowser had always had this sharp edge to his voice, even when speaking with his advisors and guards.

“Why? You care about me or somethin’?” Luigi chuckles with a smirk that pulls just under his mustache when Bowser scowls that familiar frown pulling at those bushy eyebrows. 

“Psch! I’m just tryin’ to be nice!” Bowser glowers though his talon doesn’t move from where his claws had traced the air above those bruises. “But I’m serious, those things look nasty. If I was you I’d go speak with Kamek, see if he can do anythin’ about ‘em.” 

Luigi meets his gaze once more and that smirk drops into a timid smile. “Sure, in the morning. It's a bit too late now and I don’t wanna disturb the little guy.” Luigi looks down to his chest at Junior purring up a storm that rattles his front.

“You two are always this close?” Bowser lets his arm fall to the arm of the chair he was sitting in, drifting his eyes down to his sleeping infant laying on the human, head poking from the gap of the blouse. Luigi places a gloved hand on the shell-less back to soothe up and down.

“I suppose. The other hatchlings aren’t as clingy as this one. They love a fuss from me every now and then, but Junior kicks and screams the majority of the time I’m not there.” Luigi lets out a soft chuckle that shakes Junior for a moment, but the little infant doesn’t fuss. “I’m not sure what it is, but sometimes I feel… Empty, when Junior isn’t around, especially when I sleep.”

Bowser listens with genuine intrigue, mane ruffling at the harsh breeze that suddenly passes through them. “I suppose a child’s attachment as severe as his, will rub off on you too.” The monarch gently shrugs his huge shoulders and leans back once more in his chair, tail swishing. “Just don’t let the kid get too soft. Don’t need ‘em thinking they can walk all over me in my own castle!” 

Luigi shakes his head with a small smile, which drops instantly as a concerned frown pulls at his face. “Hey, um… I’m–I’m really sorry.” Luigi starts with a trembling voice, keeping blue eyes on Junior while circling his back with his fingers. “For… For earlier. I didn’t mean to blow up at you like that, I-I was just–...”

“Don’t sweat it, Greenie. I’m not gonna bite your head off.” Bowser scoffs with a roll of his eyes, though he snaps those sharp fangs together with a playful smirk that makes Luigi jump a little. “Doesn’t mean I’m not pissed at ‘ya for it, but whatever. I’ve heard worse. Guess it makes up for the way I cornered you a few weeks ago in your room.” 

Luigi raises a brow, shivering at the cold that had picked up since he first came to sit out here. “Now we’re even?” The human shifts his arm from where it was tucked underneath Junior to keep him secure, outstretching his hand towards the monarch and holding his pinky up.

Bowser turns his head to raise his own brow at the plumber who smiles up at the monarch with an innocence on his face. Then looking down to the outstretched hand with a tilt of his head. 

“What’re you asking me to do, Shortstack? Bite it off? ‘Cus I can do that.”

“AH! No!” Luigi snatches his pinky back in panic, “I-It’s just something me and Mario do, sort of like a pinky promise I guess. This is more of me asking if you… You wanna be friends?” 

Friends?

Bowser raises both his eyebrows at the Italian who sits with a hopeful look in those sapphire eyes that don’t look away. Mario’s little brother, sidekick to his six year enemy, was asking to be his friend? Bowser was maybe expecting some sort of acquaintancy with him, for the sake of the kids. But friends? Did Luigi really want to have the big, bad monarch of the Darklands as a friend?

“You don’t wanna be friends with me, Greenie.” Bowser grunts softly while turning his head away, missing how Luigi’s face drops ever so slightly. “For one, I’m your brother’s number one enemy and I’m sure he’d be pissed. Number two, I don’t exactly have much experience in the whole friendship-is-magic type shit.”

“Then why not start now?” Luigi cups the back of Junior’s head to sit up and shuffle his garden chair closer to Bowser, their knees almost touching. “Let me help you. Believe it or not, I-I don’t have many friends either. Peaches, Daisy and Peasley. Maybe a few toads like Toadella and Toad, and Polterpup. B-But a lot of the time I’m left alone. I spend most of my time tending my garden or sewing. Anything to occupy my time.” Luigi looks down now, the visible melancholy on his face painfully evident to the King who sits there with a stare.

“What about Mario? Does he think he’s too good for you or somethin’?”

“N-No! Of course not!” Luigi quickly shakes his head, “my brother is wonderful, and always spends time with me when he can. It’s just… Now that him and Peaches have more time since you’ve been… Occupied.” Luigi snickers softly at the visible disgruntled look on the King’s face. “But Mario also goes on a ton of adventures, being the hero to the Mushroom Kingdom ‘nd all. Sometimes he’s gone for weeks at a time, so…”

“I see.” Bowser murmurs in the middle of scratching the tufts on his chin, “What about you? You’re the Ambassador for the kingdom, right? Why aren’t you Mr. Popular with the people?” 

“I’m not one for the spotlight.” Luigi shrugs, looking down at Junior who was fussing and quietly shushes the infant back to quiet slumber, resting a gloved hand over the child’s head as they talk. “I accompany Peach on most of her trips, help her with a few political decisions, attend balls and celebrations she goes to and then I go home. I’m not really a ‘mingler’, I don’t do well with people.”

“You did a pretty good job in the city.” Bowser cocks up an eyebrow to the human who hides the flustered look on his face against the head of Junior. “So… You really are here out of the goodness of your heart? No funny business? Nothing to do with Mario?”

“Gods no. I wouldn’t dream of trying to swindle you in your own castle.” Luigi laughs out loud at the mere thought, “I’m here for the children.” Luigi purrs down at Junior who shuffles himself up to lay in the crook of his neck with a soft click of acknowledgement to the human, still fast asleep. “But… I’m also here with the promise of the peace treaty being signed.”

Bowser raises his eyebrow more at that. This was new.

“I see.” He replies with a distant look in his eyes that goes unnoticed by the human watching Junior. 

“I think it would be nice to have both the Darklands and Mushroom Kingdom come together as a cohesive unit. Think of the trades you could do, the land you could share, the opportunities we’re missing out on because of the pointless grudge between you both.” Luigi looks back up at Bowser who was staring down at him, glassy red eyes unreadable as always. “I think we could make a good team. I’m sure of it, if you just give it a chance.” 

In all six years, Peach had never been as persuasive as the human. Sure, she did a lot of begging to sign that treaty but Bowser wanted the political benefits of marriage first, one that she refused to give him. Which in turn, made him refuse to sign it.

Maybe that’s why he spent the last almost forty years alone. Because he’s been pursuing somebody not out of love, but out of the desire for more control. 

If he signed that treaty, he wouldn’t get much more out of it than the promise of no war and maybe a few trade deals, which seems pretty reluctant right now considering the Darklands’ history of violence.

Marrying Peach would mean uniting both the Kingdoms to the hip and hefty control over both Kingdoms… But was it truly something he so badly wanted? Had he spent all these years chasing her for nothing? Just because this silly human sitting in front of him made him think twice about it?

Bowser’s mother had spent all her life at war with the Mushroom Kingdom. She fought tooth and nail until her last dying breath, leaving Bowser behind with an impossible legacy to uphold. His mother had oozed with power. Giants quaked in her presence. And yet she left it all behind for a war she was never going to win.

She chose war over him.

 

Looking at Junior, Bowser’s hardened gaze softens at the sleeping infant curled so close to Luigi like the human was threatening to disappear. If only his mother had seen him the way Bowser saw Junior, if only she had the strength to back away knowing she had an unborn son waiting for her. A son she never got to meet.

The thought of staying at war with the Mushroom Kingdom after all these years, now that he had a son who would meet the same cruel fate of watching a parent fighting an endless battle.

Bowser refused to put Junior through the hell he experienced, being enthroned the minute he hatched into a cruel world he never understood. To grow up with coldness in his heart and a cruelness neither of the advisors corrected.

He was tired of living in a constant state of fight, not flight.

“Alright, Greenie. I’ll bite.” Bowser finally speaks up after the minutes long silence. Luigi had been watching the whole time, patiently. Though the human’s expression goes pale at the implications of ‘bite’ after his previous comment. “I’ll be your buddy. Just don’t expect me to give ya’ piggy-back rides or whatever, y’got it?” The monarch leans his elbow on the arm of the garden chair to lift his own pinky towards Luigi who perks up immediately with a smile.

“Got it.” Luigi snickers quietly and wastes no time attempting to wrap his much-smaller finger around the thickness of Bowser’s talon, scrunching his eyebrows a little in concentration but they made it work. A little awkward, but it worked.

“That’s enough sappy-talk for one day, I’m off to bed.” Bowser pulls away his arm and gets up from the uncomfortable garden chair that numbed his muscled legs. Followed closely by Luigi who stands with Junior in his arms being jiggled softly, now wide awake and staring up at the two who stood near one another.

Junior babbles quietly up at Bowser who looks down at the infant with a loud, rumbling purr. Junior smiles at this, kicking his feet with a happy wave of his arms as his father leans his head down to nuzzle his giant snout against the hatchling’s face. Luigi felt like he was intruding and wished he could detach his arms to give the father-son duo their little moment alone, feeling the weight of the monarch’s muzzle on his arms. 

Without another word Bowser straightens himself up with a roll of his shoulders and makes for the door, followed by Luigi who avoids stepping on his long tail swishing to and fro. 

“Did you want to take him, or..?” Luigi quietly inquires with a look at Junior. Bowser looks at the child then back to the plumber, noticing those baby blue eyes sparkling from candlelight perched on the walls.

“You can keep ‘im. I’d rather sleep by myself tonight after he kicked me in the face three times earlier.” He grunts, which only makes Luigi stifle a laugh at the mental image.

“Sure. I’m sure his siblings are missing him, anyway.” Luigi coos down at Junior wide awake and chewing on his left foot, tail wagging back and forth. The plumber rocks Junior a few more times who clicks happily at the attention, then turns to look at the softened gaze of Bowser staring at the infant. “Goodnight. I’m glad we had a chance to actually talk.”

“Night, Greenie.” Bowser murmurs quietly, tail twitching as he turns his back on the human to walk down the darkened hallway.

 

—

 

Luigi takes Junior back to the koopalings’ room, tiptoeing his way along the carpet to the giant nest that contained the two eldest koopas and their little siblings curled against them. Luigi had only recently approved the decision to let them sleep with the eldest ones considering the bassinet was getting a little too big for them.

Luigi leans over Wendy to place Junior in the sleeping pile of hatchlings that purr at the presence of their little brother, immediately swarming the Prince and bringing him into the cuddle pile. The human stands to watch them for a moment until Junior is settled, before glancing over the two eldest with a gentle hand resting on Wendy’s shoulder.

“Luigi?” Her sweet voice croaks in the darkness, startling him.

“Wendy? Non volevo svegliarti. I didn’t mean to wake you up.” He quietly whispers back and sits on the edge of the bed just beside her, letting his hand rest on her arm as she turns to face him, sitting up. 

“I-I’ve been awake the whole time.” Wendy murmurs to him, holding the gloved hand to her lap and letting her small hands hold it. “I can’t stop thinking about Ludwig…”

“Oh, tesoro mio…” Luigi crumples his face at her saddened look in the dark and shuffles a little bit closer, clasping her hand to his and thumbing over the scales. “The nurses are taking good care of him, I promise. Just a few cuts and bruises, nothing some rest can’t fix. He just needs some space right now, okay?” 

Wendy nods her head shakily and pulls the hand of the human to her face, nuzzling into it with a soft purr. “Can you sleep with us tonight, Luigi?”

“Of course I can, Principessa.” Luigi gives her cheek a few gentle strokes with his thumb before pulling away to pull off his shoes. “I just need to go back to my room and get changed out of my day clothes, alright? I won’t be too long.”

“Okay.” Wendy whispers quietly and reluctantly lets go of the gloved hand, settling besides Roy as Luigi tiptoes out of the bedroom to his own just opposite. He pushes open the door and is instantly met with the velvety interior darkened by the drawn curtains.

Luigi shoulders off his blouse, hanging it neatly on the back of the vanity chair and rummages through the giant walk-in closet for his nightwear. He picks out a simple shirt and plaid bottoms to throw on, leaning over the bed to a sleeping Polterpup and giving him a few strokes and pets along his back. 

There was a buzz coming from his nightstand, catching the attention of both him and Polterpup who was now awake and basking in the attention.

Luigi pulls open the drawer and sees his phone lighting up in the darkness. With a squint, Luigi picks it up and reads the familiar name of his brother with a smile. Though, why was Mario calling at this time of night? Was he okay?

Sitting back down on the bed, Luigi swipes across the screen as the picture of his brother appears on the video call. There was a familiar glow of blue from the television lighting up the room he was sitting in. “Luigi! Stai bene? Non hai mandato messaggi per tutto il giorno!” (“Are you okay? You haven't texted all day!”) 

“Ah, scusa. Sono stato occupato… I’ve been quite busy all day, I’m sorry Mario.” Luigi smiles down the phone at the sight of his brother that he missed more than anything. Luigi hadn’t arranged a trip to visit back home yet, he was so busy with the children he had completely forgotten about it.

“Are the kids running you rampant?” Mario teases through the phone with a smirk hidden under his mustache.

“Sort of.” Luigi chuckles awkwardly, “But I don’t mind it, honestly. They’re the sweetest bambini. Piccoli angeli.” 

“Seriously? I thought they’d be the devil spawns under the guide of Bowser. Though, I suppose since you’re there they’re following in your footsteps! Angels like my dear little brother.” Mario coos with an even wider smirk at Luigi’s audible grunt.

“By two minutes!” 

“I take those two minutes of being older with pride!” Mario triumphs with a tilt of his chin upwards, making the two of them laugh. “I know it’s late, I hope I didn’t wake you up. I just wanted to make sure everything was alright!” 

“I was already wide awake, don’t worry. I was settling the kids down to sleep.”

“I see. So what were you busy doing all day? I wanna be nosy.” 

Luigi furrows his brows in thought. He couldn’t exactly disclose the fact he had been attacked by King Boo in Bowser’s territory, otherwise Mario would be running over the minute he opened his mouth.

“Just a day-visit to Neo Bowser City. Not too exciting by itself but I had all the kids with me, so.” Luigi shrugs, anxiously glancing to his open door knowing that Wendy was waiting for him to come back. “Hey, Mario. I gotta go, I know this is a shorter call than usual but I made a promise to Wendy that I’d sleep with them tonight.”

“Oh! I see, nightmares?”

Luigi sucks in his lip. “Yeah, nightmares. I’ll tell you more when I come visit on the weekend, ‘kay?”

There was a sound of crashing, almost like the roof from above Mario had suddenly caved in on top of him. Both Luigi and Polterpup jump in surprise as the screen waves around wildly. “Mario?!”

“QUESTO FINE SETTIMANA? TIPO, TRA DUE GIORNI?” Mario was finally seen in the view of the video call, hair ruffled with a throw over his head like he’d fallen off the couch. (“THIS WEEKEND? LIKE, IN TWO DAYS?”)

“Yes, Mario. Questo fine settimana.” Luigi laughs at the panicked look in his big brother’s eyes. “Why? Have you trashed the house or something?”

“N-NO! No, of course not! I-I just wasn’t expecting you to say so soon! AGH! I have so much to prepare!!” Mario was getting up from the ground with a few heaves and grunts, camera wildly spinning in his hand. Luigi stands up to the candlelight to watch as Mario finally sets himself on two feet and looks into the screen towards Luigi, suddenly squinting eyes and bringing his head closer. “Hey! Che diavolo hai sul collo?! Sono lividi?!” (“What’s wrong with your neck?! Are those bruises?!”)

Luigi glances at his reflection in the video camera, observing the fact the candlelight was highlighting the bruised claw marks on his neck from previously. In panic, Luigi jumps away from the light. “No! No, everything is fine! I’m fine, I promise! I’ll tell you everything on the weekend! Bye, love you!!” Without another word Luigi ends the call and switches his phone off by the power, tossing it on his bed with a groan and a drag of hands down his face.

Polterpup tilts his head over to Luigi in visible distress. Luigi shakes himself off anxiously and begins thumbing off his gloves for the night but pauses himself halfway.

After what had happened with King Boo, the way his power had lost control and shot up his arm in searing pain… He couldn’t risk something happening to the children in the night. There was no telling what could happen if he took those gloves off.

With a sigh, Luigi pulls them back up on his wrist and smoothes them down. He leaves the comfort of his own room with Polterpup following behind him into the children’s room. Wendy was laying against her brother but it was clear she was still wide awake, thankfully.

“Sorry for taking so long.” Luigi quietly whispers besides the koopaling, watching as she turns to look at him with a smile in the darkness. Wendy settles back down in the nest and waits as Luigi climbs in next to her and lays down on his side, watching as she turns into him and buries her head against his chest. There was a dampness to her face, a clear indication that she had been weeping. “Don’t cry, Wendy. It will be okay, I promise.” 

“You promise? Luddy’s going to be okay?”

“He’ll be okay.” Luigi gently nods and rests his face on top of her head, arm draped over her and the others who were shuffling close to his embrace. Roy had turned to rest his forehead against his sister’s back with Luigi’s hand resting on his arm. 

The hatchlings individually began crawling over to lay on top of their siblings, purring and cooing softly at the new presence of their nanny who had come to join them. Junior was crawling to his favourite spot, squeezing himself in between Wendy and the plumber with his face nestled into Luigi’s neck. 

Iggy came to settle in Luigi’s ruffled hair, curling up on top of his head. While Morton cuddles on top of Roy, the twins find their spots just on the pillow above Wendy’s head. 

Luigi felt a dip in the bed and looked down to see Polterpup. The canine settles in the gap between Luigi’s legs and rests his ghostly muzzle on his knee. 

Junior lets the tiniest of smiles pull at his little snout, as the scents of all his favourite people mingle together minus two that were currently missing. The thrumming of Luigi’s heartbeat settles Junior once more, lulling the small infant into another deep sleep with only one little thought.

‘This was Mama’s heartbeat. And he loved it just as much as Papas.’

Notes:

king boo is a perv (¬_¬")