Hi, this is my latest story! This one's only going to have two chapters. It takes place after the Super Mario Odyssey ending, so... SPOILERS! Also if you're a hardcore Peach fan you'll probably like the next chapter more than this one, but please give it a chance either way. To be honest, although usually I prefer the Princess, I was more on Mario's side than Peach's on this one (though he was a bit of a jerk as well), and my very first reaction was that he should settle for Pauline, though now I've changed my mind. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All characters are owned by Nintendo. Without them, this fanfic wouldn't have been possible.

The heartbroken Mario sat on his armchair at home, his eyes closed with misery. Pauline was visiting him in the Mushroom Kingdom, but to tell the truth, he didn't feel emotionally able to spend time with his friend. She was due any moment now, and he was actually a little apprehensive about it.

The door knocked, too soon for his liking. That must be her. He got up slowly and answered it.

"Hi Mario!" said Pauline brightly, giving him a quick hug.

"Hey Pauline," he greeted in a flat tone.

Yep, that was her alright. Friendly, bubbly, never a dull moment with her around. But... she'd never really compare to his Peach. Well, he wasn't fully sure of her feelings for him, even though they were supposedly boyfriend and girlfriend. But she did like him... didn't she? After all, she didn't have to accept his proposal of marriage. He'd gone about it the wrong way: who shoved flowers in their lover's face? Who asked a girl for their hand in marriage just after saving her from a forced one?

Yes, clearly he had been in the wrong. Peach had been right to treat him the way she had.

"Mario?"

"Oh... heh heh..." He'd been so caught up in his daydreams he'd forgotten that Pauline was still at the door. Embarrassed, he led her inside. He slumped on one of the armchairs, followed by his brown haired ex. He'd met her in New Donk City on his latest adventure, and since then she'd suggested they meet up sometime in the Mushroom Kingdom; she hadn't been there in ages, and there was so much she wanted to catch up on!

Well, she was here.

She broke the silence. "So, how are things going around here?"

"Eh... good, I guess."

Pauline eyed him. "Hmmm, really? You don't look so good."

Was it that obvious? He wasn't aware of it, but everyone else was; it was clear that he was upset with his rejection when one saw his hair, dishevelled from running his fingers through it in despair, and his tired, sad eyes. Normally, he liked to make out he was an optimistic hero, nothing could get to him, et cetera et cetera.

But Pauline's question... Suddenly, he wanted to tell her everything. He wanted to tell her how hurt he was, how much he was suffering, how his hopes were shattered, his fears that Peach didn't love him as much as he had thought.

But still, he shook his head. "No, no. Everything's fine. I'm just tired."

"Oh. Okay..." she said suspiciously. "Well, if you ever need my help, I'm here."

"Hmm."

Mario was starting to think that her visit wasn't going to be very enjoyable for either of them. Unlike their previous encounters, this one was awkward, even more awkward than the time she'd broken up with him. He didn't know why and he didn't know how to make it less unpleasant. Maybe it was the way Pauline was looking at him, or maybe she was bringing back bad memories of when she'd broken up with him, something he couldn't handle all that well.

Well, if you ever need my help, I'm here.

Maybe it wouldn't do any harm to talk about it... but he wasn't sure he wanted to.

"It's Princess Peach, isn't it?" she asked suddenly. Was he imagining things, or was there a little sadness in Pauline's blue-grey eyes? One thing was for sure, despite her cautious approach to the situation, she wanted answers.

"H-how do you know?"

She fiddled with her fingers as she spoke. "Oh, you know, people talk and rumours go around, and... I just heard these things. So? It's her, isn't it?"

So the whole town was talking about it. Great. Well, there was no escaping it now.

"Um... as a matter of fact... yes."

"Tell me about it."

He didn't really feel like it, but she seemed genuinely concerned, so...

"I proposed to her, and... she rejected me."

Pauline nodded, prompting him to continue.

"So basically what happened was, as you know I crashed Bowser and Peach's wedding, and yeah, I saved her. She... I proposed to her, but Bowser, he pushed me out of the way, and I pushed him back, and... I did something I'm... not proud of."

"... What did you do?"

"I... I shoved a flower in her face, and so did Bowser, and I can't blame her for what she did next, she... she... rejected me. She rejected both of us. She walked away on to my ship and she left. She waved at me and told us she was going home, and I ran and got on the ship. I dunno what happened to Bowser... I jumped on him to get on the ship, and... anyway, I went back here, but some Toads told me she disappeared... I found out she went on holidays with Tiara. I followed her around the world, and she was pretty nice, considering what I'd done, and..."

"Wait. So I'm gonna assume she thanked you after rescuing her."

Mario thought about it. "No, but you see..."

"Right. And you say she left with your ship, yeah?"

"Yeah, but..."

"And you had to jump on Bowser to get on it? So if Bowser wasn't there you were screwed?"

"Well I'd have found my own way back I guess, I mean that's what Bowser did..."

"Not the point. Think about it, Mario. She almost left you on the moon with your worst enemy, who by the way can breathe fire and crush you. She didn't thank you at all, after you saving her every week for years. She stole your ship, and used it for her own benefit. And you're okay with that?"

"But I love her!"

Pauline flinched and raised her voice. "But... that's not the point. So just because you shoved a flower at her, she'd gonna disregard everything you've done for her and abandon you? I mean, how ungrateful is that Mario? I know she's a princess, but you deserve better than her if you ask me!"

"But I love her..."

"No Mario, you're obsessed with her. I'm not saying she had to marry you there and then..."

The ex-plumber rushed to her defence. "Of course not! I was impulsive and immature and selfish, and..."

"But! You do deserve a bit of gratitude. She's using you, my boy. She's using you for herself. She likes the attention and I knew it when I saw her."

"But why didn't you tell me that, so?"

"Cos I didn't want to hurt your feelings! I mean, it's obvious! She can fight, she doesn't need you. She likes what you do for her, not who you are. She... she can go get another hero if she doesn't want to get her precious hands dirty."

"But I'm her hero!"

"You don't have to be."

They stared into each other's eyes for a few moments. Though he hated to admit it, Pauline was right. And Pauline... she only wanted her friend to be happy. She'd been the one to break it off with him for work reasons, but Mario would always have a special place in her heart. He hadn't been her first boyfriend, and neither had he been her last, but there was something about him that stuck with her.

Meanwhile, the man in red was a little confused. Looking at her attractive face and noticing how friendly she still was towards him, he was reminded of why he'd fallen for her in the first place. But why was he thinking about her this way? And why were they still staring at each other?

Just then, a familiar, high pitched scream reverberated through the house.

"Mariooooooooooooo!"

"Oh, gotta go!" exclaimed Mario, dashing off his chair.

Pauline stood up. "But Mario, don't you get it? She's using you!"

"I need to save her!"

He tried to unlock the door, but Pauline caught him by the shoulders, made him face her and shook him.

"Ah! Let me go!"

"Are you stupid? You don't have to rescue her, you don't have to listen to her pathetic cries! Cos she's only going to reward you with a kiss, maybe a cake if you're lucky! This is not a normal relationship! Our relationship was normal! She doesn't care about you, Mario." She stopped shaking him, but kept a firm grip. "She lets you go on dangerous life threatening adventures when she's able to defeat Bowser herself. Stop thinking she needs you. Trust me, she doesn't."

Mario looked into her eyes. "I gotta save her, Pauline."

She sighed in exasperation, but let him go. He opened the door to see King Koopa in his airship, with the Princess still screaming for him. Of course she needed help. How could he ignore her helplessness, her pleas?

As he ran he got closer and closer, catching up. The King was flying low, so with a bit of luck he'd be able to try and jump aboard. Just a few more sprints and...

He stopped.

Why? Why was he doing this? Pauline... how could he have doubted her words? She was right! All of his efforts... just for a peck on the cap or the nose and a piece of cake? And the last time, not even that? Was that worth it? Was that really worth it?

No.

He glanced up at the Koopa King, who was a little further away now. He sprinted some more, then stopped and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"I surrender!"

He hadn't heard him.

"You hear me, King Koopa? I surrender!"

This time, Bowser stopped the airship, turned around, and saw his rival. Had he just said what he thought he'd said?

"Yes, you heard me! I surrender!"

The beast lowered his ship, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"Take the Princess," Mario continued, "cos I'm not rescuing her this time. You won, Bowser Koopa. You won. Happy now?"

"B-but Mario, what... what are you saying?" faltered Peach.

He looked her right in the eyes, but this time it wasn't with love, oh no. It was with disgust.

"What am I saying? I'm saying that every time I rescue you, you barely thank me. And the last time: what was that all about? I made one mistake, one mistake, and I'm sorry I treated you that way, but did you really need to cold shoulder me like that? As if... as if there was nothing going on between us? But okay, I forgive you on that one since it was my fault. But you know what's unforgivable? You went on my ship, and decided, you know what, I'm going home without the man who saved me time after time after time. A thank you would have been nice, but no, you couldn't even do that. Heh, if it hadn't been for Bowser I'd have had to find my own way home. Ironic, huh? My worst enemy helping me more than my girlfriend!

"So, Princess, you can save yourself this time, and the next, and the next, cos knowing you you'll probably get kidnapped all the time for attention. If you can fight Bowser in Smash, you can fight him this time too. But I won't be fighting your battles for you anymore, Princess."

"S-so I get to... kidnap her? A-and you won't... defeat me anymore?" stammered Bowser.

"She's all yours."

"Bwahahahaha! This is the best day of my life! Finally, finally!"

"But Mario," said the white faced Princess. "You surely don't mean what you said, I mean, we're an item..."

By then Pauline, who had been watching the whole time from the house, was running over to them to see what all of the fuss was about.

Mario smiled at the brunette and put an arm around her waist, much to her surprise.

"I do," he said, smirking slightly at the blonde. "Now if you'll excuse me... I want to spend some time with my real girlfriend. Cos you know, Peach, a good relationship isn't supposed to be one-sided."

Bowser smiled gloatingly at Mario. "Are you done yet? I wanna organise a celebration party at my place."

Mario nodded, and as the King laughed and left with the silent Princess himself and Pauline headed back to his home.

"Well said, Mario," congratulated the brunette.

"Heh... you were right, Pauline. About everything. And... I just wanted to thank you for that. I guess I knew all along she didn't love me, I just wasn't able to face up to it. I was stupid. And I'm sorry if I ruined your visit."

"No, no, I enjoyed it very much!"

She seemed sincere, but how could that be true if all he'd been doing was moping around?

"I know what you're thinking," she said, interrupting his thoughts. "But trust me, my day is always brighter when you're there. I guess... you were always more... special than the others, you know what I'm saying?"

He knew, but was also baffled. Was she saying... was she saying that she still had feelings for him?

"So..." she teased. "Did you mean it when you said I was your girlfriend?"

Mario blushed a little and ran his fingers along his neck. "Heh heh... not exactly..."

She frowned, so he continued quickly.

"But... I guess we could... work on that happening? I-I mean, I'm not ready for a serious relationship of course, but... maybe we could start from the beginning and see what happens?"

Her smile returned. "Yeah, I'd like that." She put her arm around him in a non-affectionate way.

But he was fine with that... for the moment. He smiled. He wasn't ready to jump right into another woman's arms after his disastrous proposal... but in the future, he might take his chances with Pauline.

I hope this was realistic, let me know what you think. Epilogue coming soon!