(Author's note: This is a dark reimagining of Super Paper Mario. Many of the elements may have changed, some may have stayed the same. You don't need to have played the game to understand the story or know the characters, simply know the world of Super Mario.)
"C'mon, Luigi! Don't be such a stick in the sand!" Daisy tugged on his arm somewhat sharply. It was so rare they ever took a vacation, and this time, their chosen vacation spot was the beach on Delfino Isle. It was a beautiful summer afternoon. The weather was clear and warm, perfect for swimming. She'd donned her cutest swimsuit covered in daisies along with a pair of sandals. She wanted to swim but she didn't want to swim alone. She wanted Luigi to come with her. "You're not afraid of the water, are you?" she added teasingly.
"Oh don't be so hard on him!" Peach giggled, wrapping her arm around Daisy's. Peach had chosen a simple pink swimsuit with a dark pink wrap around her waist.
"Well I was going to stay and start up dinner," Luigi admitted sheepishly, rubbing the side of his head. They'd managed to get him in a pair of blue swim trunks but he still refused to take off his green t-shirt and go swimming. It wasn't swimming or the water that frightened him. It was the things in it. Cheep cheeps and other things with sharp teeth that weren't particularly fond of swimmers. Despite this being a cheep cheep free beach, he still was stricken with worry over it.
Mario looked up at his younger brother, concerned. He knew that Luigi was afraid of many things. It was easier to count the things he wasn't afraid of. He also knew that Luigi enjoyed cooking. "Are you sure?"
Luigi thought about it for a moment before nodding. He waved the three off as they bound down the sand towards the water. He wasn't being completely honest. He did want to join them, and he probably could overcome his fears, but it was just simpler to stay behind and not drag the fun down. And besides, he was good at cooking. He could do that instead.
He opened the basket that they'd set on the picnic table earlier. Inside were hot dogs and hamburgers packed with ice blocks. Not their normal food, but it was a vacation. They could eat what they wanted, after all.
"I'll help, Luigi!" the ninji hopped onto the bench seat. Ninjetta was Daisy's self-proclaimed retainer, a large ninji who always carried a satchel and wore a bow on her ear. She rarely left her liege's side, even during vacation. She often kept Daisy company in Sarasaland. Ninji had become a common sight in the kingdom after a mass migration of ninji and pidgit in recent years from far off lands. Daisy welcomed them into her kingdom with open arms, and many took up residence in the Chai Kingdom where Daisy herself lived.
"You sure you don't want to join them?" Luigi protested.
Ninjetta nodded. "The princess will be fine, so I'm going to keep you company."
Luigi smiled. He couldn't deny that company would be nice and certainly having an extra hand to help with dinner wouldn't hurt either.
"See? I told you everything'd be fine!" Daisy pointed at the beach. The three had gone into the water far enough to wade but she still could barely see Luigi and Ninjetta firing up the grill.
Peach smiled. "You like him, don't you?"
Daisy stared at her, wide-eyed. "Of course I like him. We all do." She folded her arms, digging her toes into the wet sand. There was a shell down there. She could feel it with her toes and she attempted to pick it up with them. She had flexible toes. Surely she could snag the shell with them. Maybe Luigi would like a shell.
"I mean like-like." Peach leaned against her friend with a devilish grin.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Daisy protested, tensing up. She wasn't wrong, though. Daisy did have a thing for Luigi, but she just couldn't bring herself to say anything. What if he didn't return the feelings? What if it ruined their friendship? Or it could be the best thing in the world. She just wasn't ready to say anything yet, but of course her best friend picked up on it.
"You give him such a hard time. Why not just talk to him?" Peach nudged her playfully. She wanted to encourage her friend to find love in her life, but Daisy was always so hesitant. She always wanted to appear tough and strong, and surely she could be tough, strong, and compassionate. They didn't have to be mutually exclusive.
Daisy frowned, digging her toes in the sand again. She'd lost track of the shell, jarred from her thoughts. It was down there somewhere, and she wanted to find it. "Not yet. Not yet."
"And why not?" she nudged her friend again.
Daisy searched for an excuse as her toes located the shell buried in the sand once again. She idly wondered what sort of shell it was, if it had stripes or was one solid color. "I need to find this shell first."
Peach sighed. Always full of excuses. Someday she'll come around and tell Luigi how she truly felt. Daisy certainly deserved to be happy. After Taranga had invaded Sarasaland and turned it upside down, she turned all four kingdoms of Sarasaland into something worth visiting. People of all sorts returned to the lands, making it into a thriving place to live and visit. The land had no known enemies and rarely seemed to be attacked. She'd even hosted a racing track for their last karting venture in the deserts of the Birabuto kingdom. She really deserved to be happy.
...
The sun began to fall further down in the sky as the smell of barbecue wafted down the beach. Daisy had finally fished the shell out of the sand, disappointed that the shell was occupied. It was a beautiful shell, large and ridged with brown and white stripes, but something else had claimed it, a very angry little crab. So she returned it to the bottom of the water, disappointed she couldn't take it to Luigi. She'd fished for more shells as Peach and Mario splashed each other playfully then returned to the shore to sunbathe. Yet Daisy stayed in the water, mindlessly attempting to find an unoccupied shell in the sand. She dove underneath the waves a few times, fishing out more shells only to be disappointed they were already occupied. The one occupied by a crab had angrily pinched at her before she released it into the watery depths below.
She trudged out of the water, shell-less. Luigi sure knew how to make the best-smelling food, more than enough motivation to abandon her shell search. The sand stuck to her wet legs, giving her sand boots as she nearly scampered past Peach and Mario and glued herself to the bench near where Luigi was grilling. "Oh man, that smells good, Luigi!"
She leaned forward on the table, digging her toes into the sand hoping to find more shells buried within. She knew why she was searching for shells. It was pretty obvious. She was trying to distract herself from her feelings, trying to use the shells as an excuse. Luigi would easily be her better half. His ability to cook was unparalleled. He was kind and compassionate. And he could even be incredibly brave. He wasn't harsh and rough like she was. Granted, those were her good qualities, but they weren't exactly the qualities expected of a princess. No, those were Peach's qualities, but perhaps that was why they got along so well. They were opposites.
He set before her a hamburger with freshly grilled mushrooms. "Ninjetta helped."
She forgot to add his humility to the list. "C'mon, take some credit," she urged him.
"She's right, you know," Mario nudged his brother with a grin. "You could make anything. All I can make is pasta."
He did have a point. Luigi may not be the legendary hero Mario was, but he did have talents elsewhere, mostly domestic things but he had a tendency to tinker with mechanical things. Which reminded him.
As everyone sat down, Luigi took off his hat and removed something from it into his hand, holding his hand out to Daisy. "I made something for you. It's nothing that big or fancy or anything."
Daisy paused her voracious devouring of the hamburger to look up at him. She wiped her mouth with her arm before holding her hands out, cupping them together. She didn't expect anything at all. Was it possible he liked her too?
He opened his hand, dropping a small toy into hers. Her eyes lit up as she saw it. The toy was a small goomba in a green shoe. It had wheels on the bottom and a winder on the side. Carefully, she wound the little key, and set the goomba shoe on the table, watching it sputter about and turn in circles. "This is amazing! Thank you so much!" She'd be sure to treasure it. "I'll find a special place for it. No, I'll keep it with me always!"
Luigi blinked, surprised, as he put his hat back on his head. Was she trying to humor him or did she really like it? No, she wouldn't pretend to like something. She was pretty vocal when she didn't like something. She actually liked the simple little thing.
The toy flopped over onto its side, the power from the winder spent on its small journey. Daisy picked it up and wound it again, setting it down before shoving more food into her mouth.
Mario patted his brother on the back. He knew both sides of the situation. They both liked each other, but he didn't want to push Luigi too hard else he'd end up clamming up and never admit to his true feelings. Too little and Luigi simply wouldn't make a move. Yet it seemed that Mario's suggestion to make something for Daisy turned out pretty well. Luigi looked pleased she liked it.
As the sun set, the group retreated down on the beach once again, bellies full and all worn out from playing most of the day. Daisy flopped down in the sand next to Luigi, still fiddling with the toy. She knew it wouldn't roll around in the sand and she didn't want to break the winder, but she loved the whirring sound it made when she wound it. He'd made something for her, just for her, with his own two hands. That meant a lot. She had to say something. Why was she so nervous about this? She had no trouble speaking her mind for other subjects.
Ninjetta shoved her liege, attempting to get them to sit closer to each other. Daisy swatted at the ninji, trying to bat her away. Daisy would do this on her own terms. She didn't need help from anyone. "So uh Luigi."
He glanced over at her, taking his gaze from the stars to her.
"I uh." she stammered, spitting out some words randomly. Why was this so hard?! "The stars are really nice tonight!" Stupid stupid stupid! Why did she say that? That wasn't what she was thinking.
"Sometimes I forget how many there really are," he admitted, staring up at them again. "Then I remember that time Rosalina took us on a tour of the galaxy. That was pretty fun, wasn't it?"
Daisy frowned sharply, pushing her lower lip out just a bit. "Yeah, Rosie's real swell, isn't she." Sure, Rosalina was their friend and a rather new addition to the group. She didn't visit often, usually busy with star stuff. Rosalina attempted to explain it to Daisy once but nothing really sank in. Yet even so, Daisy didn't want to talk about Rosalina right now.
Luigi paused before looking back at Daisy and her pouting lip. "Did I say something wrong?"
Daisy gasped and flailed at him. "No no no no, not at all!" she laughed nervously, digging her hands back into the sand. Why was this so hard?! "I just. I don't know what I'm trying to say. Yanno, I always think that I can always speak my mind, but some things just don't come out."
He placed his hand on hers. "We could just watch the stars together. I hear there's a meteor shower. We could make a wish on a shooting star."
"That's a great idea," she nodded nervously. He was touching her hand. He was touching it! Maybe she wouldn't need to say anything. Maybe he already knew.
Peach and Mario glanced over their shoulders slightly to look at Daisy and Luigi sitting behind them on the beach. Peach giggled lightly.
"I think they're getting closer," Mario nodded assuredly. "Finally."
"They're perfect for each other," Peach agreed before turning back to look at the sky. "Oh look, Mario! A shooting star! Let's make a wish!" She clasped her hands together, closing her eyes. Her wish was pretty simple. She always wished for the happiness of her people but this time, she added a second part to the wish. Perhaps it was a bit selfish of her, but she made a wish that Daisy and Luigi would be happy together.
But as she opened her eyes, pleased with the wish she made, screams flooded her ears instead of sounds of happiness. Mario got up first, scrambling up the beach. Peach followed quickly thereafter.
Peach knelt down, wrapping her arms around Daisy's shoulders. "What happened?"
"I-I-I don't know!" Daisy stammered. She could feel her body shaking. She had only closed her eyes for a moment, making a wish on the shooting star to have more confidence in matters of the heart. "I made a wish and opened my eyes and there was this weird shadow! That... that shadow thing! It took Luigi and disappeared! He's gone!"