I think the inspiration for the setting of this story came from watching too many anime. XD

Enjoy!


Rosalina had never been to a festival before, so this was a new experience for her. The streets were lined with colorful booths that were lit up by the soft light of equally colorful lanterns. Some had vendors selling food or toys, and some had games for people to play and try to win prizes. The smells of all different kinds foods mixed together in the air, along with the sounds of people laughing and yelling cheerfully.

The princess had come down to the Mushroom Kingdom to visit her friends Princess Peach, Mario, and Luigi, having not seen them in a while. It was her fourth night there, and they had told her about the local summer festival in Toad Town so she decided to go check it out. And she was glad she did.

While she never felt truly alone up in space with all of her Luma "babies", she did long for companionship from human-like species from time to time. Here she could get plenty of that and maybe even make a few new friends.

Rosalina started walking down the street, wondering what she should do first. Should she play some games first, or maybe do a little shopping? As she merged with the crowd of people also walking around, her stomach growled hungrily, helping her to come to a decision. She would grab something to eat first.

She had already eaten dinner, but getting some dessert sounded like a good idea. After seeing what several booths had to offer, she settled on getting ice cream.

After paying for her treat, Rosalina went over to the tables that had been set up near the food booths so people could sit down and eat. The area was rather crowded, but she soon found an open seat next to a young man with sandy hair and a pile of food in front of him.

"Excuse me, may I sit here?" she asked politely.

The man looked up and gave a friendly smile. "Sure, fine by me," he said, speaking with a southern accent.

She sat down and started eating her ice cream while the man continued his meal. Rosalina had to admit that she was curious as to why he had so much food; it seemed like a lot for just one person. Or maybe she herself was just used to eating light meals so it only looked like a lot. After five minutes of wondering, the man struck up a conversation.

"If you don't mind getting a compliment from a complete stranger, I must say that your yukata looks very pretty on you."

Rosalina blushed slightly, looking down at said article of clothing. It was teal with a pattern of white flowers on it. It had been Princess Peach who gave her the suggestion of wearing it instead of her usual dress. It had turned out to be a good idea, because as warm as the night was, she might have been too hot in her dress.

"Thank you. A friend helped me pick it out."

"Well, your friend did a great job. That shade of blue is a good color on you."

Embarrassed by the praise, Rosalina changed the subject. "You must be quite hungry to have that much food."

"What, all this?" the man laughed. "This is nothing; I'm just getting started! I came here tonight intending to eat some of everything from every food vender and this is just my first course."

"That's an...interesting goal."

The man raised an eyebrow. "I take it you're one of those people who doesn't really approve of food challenges?"

"To be honest, I don't like the idea. I just don't see the appeal of eating so much you make yourself sick."

"Some people just get satisfaction out it," the man replied with a shrug. "But I'm only doing this because some of my buddies dared me to. I promise I don't always eat like this, if that'll keep you from thinking too poorly of me."

"Oh, I wasn't thinking poorly of you," Rosalina said, taking a bite of her ice cream. "I just don't like what you're doing. That's all."

"Fair enough. Ah, how rude of me; haven't even told you my name yet. I'm Trevor."

"I'm Rosalina."

"It's very nice to meet you, Rosalina."

The two continued eating, not having anything else to say. Before long Rosalina's ice cream was gone so she stood up to throw away the paper bowl and plastic spoon.

"I may not understand why you would want to do what you're doing," she said to Trevor, "but good luck."

Trevor grinned up at her. "Heh, thanks. And you be sure to have fun out there tonight, alright?"

"I will, thank you."

The princess threw out her trash and went to explore the festival grounds some more.


It was getting late, and Rosalina was starting to think about going back to the hotel she was staying at to get some sleep. She had walked around for over two hours stopping to look at every booth she passed by, interested in what all the different shops had to sell. She also played some games and even won a stuffed bear at one of them, which she was now lovingly hugging to her chest. Something about it made her feel safe and happy, as if she were a little girl again.

Feeling sure she had seen everything there was to see, she finally left the festival grounds.

Unfortunately for her sore feet, the hotel was a good ten minutes away from the festival, and the only way to get there was to walk because the buses of Toad Town had stopped running for the night. After a few minutes she found herself walking by a lake with some benches scattered around it so people could sit and watch the water. She decided to rest on one for a little while before walking the rest of the way back.

Looking at the way the moon shined on the lake, Rosalina thought about Trevor, which, as much as she hated to admit it, she had been doing almost nonstop since she had said good bye to him. He seemed like a nice enough man, and she was a little sorry she hadn't stayed to get to know him better. Maybe they could have been friends, but it was too late now. They would probably never meet again.

She sighed, wondering why she felt so sad at the thought of never seeing Trevor again. She tried to cheer herself up by looking at the starry sky and thinking about home.

The stars were shining brightly that night, and Rosalina quickly started to feel better looking at them. But deep down inside of her, there was still a hint of that confusing sadness and an overwhelming desire to see Trevor and talk with him some more.

"What's wrong with me?" she sighed. "I've never felt this way before, especially not for someone I just met."

"Well, if it isn't Rosalina," said a familiar voice.

Rosalina felt her heart jump with joy when she turned to see Trevor walking towards her.

"Oh! H-hello, Trevor. You surprised me a little."

Trevor chuckled. "I'm sorry about that, I didn't mean to. You mind if I sit with you for a minute?"

"By all means, go ahead."

The man sat beside her and groaned a little. "I don't know if you really care, but I did it; I ate some of every food they were selling at the festival."

Rosalina didn't doubt him; she couldn't help but notice that his stomach, which had been flat when she met him, had gotten bigger from all of the food packed inside of it.

"I can tell. I guess I should congratulate you."

"Thanks." Trevor rested a hand on his bloated belly and sighed. "I didn't think I'd be able to actually do it, but I managed to pull through somehow."

Rosalina couldn't help but think that he looked kind of cute sitting there rubbing his belly and moaning softly from time to time. In fact, he almost looked–dare she think it?–handsome. With his now half closed green eyes, his messy, sandy-colored hair, and his friendly smile, he was a rather good-looking man.

Trevor noticed her staring at him and smiled teasingly. "What'cha thinking about?"

Startled, the princess blushed. "Oh, uh...I was just thinking about what a coincidence it is that we ran into each other again. It isn't very often two strangers meet more than once, let alone twice in one night."

"Yeah, you have a good point there. I was just on my way to the Moonbeam Hotel to try and sleep this stomach ache away, but I really needed to rest for a minute. Where are you headed?"

"Actually...I'm staying at the Moonbeam Hotel, too. I was just resting my feet a little before I continued walking there."

"Well if that isn't a coincidence to top them all!" Trevor laughed before wincing in pain and gently holding his belly. "Ugh, maybe I should get going. The soon I can lie down the better."

"I'll walk with you," Rosalina offered, standing up. "My feet aren't as tired now."

The two walked along the lakeside together, moving slowly because Trevor found it hard to walk very fast. As luck would have it, the hotel was just on the other side of the lake so they didn't have too far to go. When they got there, they were both surprised to find the other was going to use the same side door to go straight into a first floor hallway.

"Is your room down this hallway, too?" Trevor asked.

"No, it's on the second floor. But the stairs are near this entrance."

Trevor reached into his back pocket to get out his room key and unlock the entrance door, but frowned when he found nothing. He checked his other pockets, all of which where also empty.

"Aw man, what've I done?" he groaned, slapping his forehead.

"What's the matter?"

"I think I forgot to take my room key with me when I left earlier, and my two friends who I'm staying with are still at the festival so I have no way of getting into our room. I don't even have a cellphone to call them."

"Oh dear, that is a problem." Rosalina sighed. Suddenly, she had an idea. "I know it might be inappropriate of me to offer, but my room has two beds and I'm staying here alone. Maybe...you could stay in my room and rest for a while?"

"Are you sure about that? I wouldn't want to intrude on someone I barely know."

"Yes, it's fine. I hate the thought of you having to sit in the hallway until your friends return while you don't feel well."

"Well..." Trevor smiled. "If you insist. I guess it would be okay for a little while."

Rosalina opened the side door with her room key, which she had kept in a small purse she was carrying around, and led her new acquaintance to her room. When they got there she told him to make himself as comfortable as possible while she changed into her pajamas.

"Which bed is yours?" he asked while she took off her yukata.

"It doesn't matter; you can lay on which ever bed you want to."

When she left the bathroom, now wearing a white silk nightgown, she found Trevor laying on the bed closest to the window. She went over to it and parted the curtains.

"Just look at the stars tonight!" she gushed happily. "They look so beautiful. Can you see them from there, Trevor?"

He smiled. "Yeah, I see them. They're real pretty tonight, but not as pretty as you."

"Is it a habit of yours to always compliment women on their looks?" Rosalina asked, blushing yet again.

"Well, you see, the truth is..." This time Trevor blushed. "I liked you the moment we met this evening. Not because you're pretty–though you are beautiful–but because I could tell you're a really nice person. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since the moment we parted ways. I was really happy when we ran into each other by the lake because I wanted to get to know you better, but I chickened out and was too scared to really talk to you." He sat up slowly and rubbed the back of his neck, looking embarrassed. "I can't believe I just said all that. I'm sure you don't feel the same, anyway, since you know how much of a pig I am..."

Rosalina sat on the edge of the bed and said softly, "No, I do feel the same way about you. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you, either. I was happy to see you again, too, Trevor." She brushed his messy hair out of his eyes. "And you're not a pig. You said so yourself that you don't always eat like that, so don't think about yourself that way."

"Is that...really how you feel about me, Rosalina?"

"Yes, I promise. Every word is true."

They gazed into each other eyes for a while before Trevor started to chuckle.

"I know it's cheesy, but this must be what they call 'love at first sight'."

"I don't believe in love at first sight," Rosalina scoffed. "I don't think two people can truly be in love with one another the first time they meet. They have to get to know each other first."

Trevor smile gently. "Then why don't we get to know each other now and see what happens?"

She smiled back. "I'd like that."

For the next half hour they just talked. They talked about where they were from, what they liked to do, and others things so they could get to truly know each other. The whole time Rosalina soothingly rubbed Trevor's belly, doing what she could to help him feel better.

"Maybe it's about time I went to see if my friends are back yet," he finally said, although it was clear he didn't want to leave.

"Don't go," Rosalina pleaded. "I don't think you're well enough to walk around yet. You should stay and rest some more."

"Alright, alright. But if they are back they're probably worried about me. Could you at least go down and let them know where I am?"

The princess agreed, but catching a glimpse of the clock on the nightstand between the two beds and realizing how late it was, she decided she didn't risk waking his friends, so she wrote a note briefly explaining the situation and letting them know where to find Trevor when they woke up.

"What room are you staying in?" she asked.

"One-twenty."

"Okay. I'll be right back then."

She went downstairs and down the hall until she found room 120 and quietly slid the note under the door, hoping they would notice it in the morning. She then went back to her own room and found Trevor sitting up looking out the window. When she entered the room he turned around and grinned at her.

"You're just time. Quick, turn out the light."

Curious, she hit the light switch and joined him on the bed to see what he was looking at. And she was amazed to see a bunch of shooting stars fly across the night sky.

"A meteor shower," she whispered. "The sky looks so pretty..."

They sat together on the bedside watching the starry show, feeling completely at ease and peaceful. Then Trevor thought of something.

"Say, what happened to that bear I saw you holding back at the lake?" he asked, having not seen it since then.

"Oh. I must have left on the bench by mistake."

"That's a shame," he said sympathetically.

Although she was a little sad that she had lost her bear, Rosalina smiled.

"It's not a big deal," she said, putting her arms around Trevor. "I have an even better prize right here."


The next day a little girl found the bear and took it home. Just in case anyone was worried about it. XD

I hope you don't think I focused more on the budding romance than the belly stuff. ^^;

~Dawn