Peach & Mario

Peach was walking along in her garden, staring at all of the flowers. No matter how many times she saw them, they always looked different. Why was that so? Maybe it was because new colors of flowers grew in there every day. Pink ones, purple ones, green ones…"Wait, GREEN flowers?!" she cried.

Suddenly, the plant started to move. It slowly rose from the ground, showing one of Bowser's minions. "Sorry, princess, but you're going to have to come with me!" it cried, grabbing Peach's head and placing a cloth over her mouth before she could cry out.

Franticly, Peach squirmed in the Koopa's arms, trying to free herself, but the turtle held on tight.

"Nice try, princess, but your little Mario can save you now!" the thing snarled, "We've got him tied up too!"

Peach's eyes opened wider. Mario…captured?! She thought. But how? Mario was always there to save her, always on guard. How could he get captured?

Her vision started to get blurry. Oh no…Mario…someone…help! Were her last thoughts before passing out.

(A few hours later...)

Peach slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was dark still, and she couldn't see. Not like she wanted to. The last thing she wanted to see was Bowser again, or Mario tied up.

Her senses slowly faded in. She could hear someone calling her name, and could hear…something under her head? That wasn't like Bowser. He would just throw her in a cage and gawk at her the whole day without paying attention to her needs.

She started coming into focus right then, expecting to hear Bowser laughing and a cage ceiling above her. Instead she saw the sky. How odd… She thought before turning a little bit to her left. There, kneeling next to her- or better yet, holding her head up, was Mario himself.

"Princess! You're-a awake!" he cried, a smile crossing his face.

"Whaaaat? But how- I thought-That koopa-?" Peach stammered, sitting up.

"You mean that-a Koopa over there?" Mario asked, pointing to a smashed shell a few feet away from the two. "Don't-a worry about him. He won't-a be a problem anymore."

Peach blinked a couple of times. "But it said that you were…" she trailed off, looking Mario over. She could see rope burns on his arms, and his sleeves were torn. Also, his signature hat was missing. "Mario! Are you alright? You look so beat up and-"

Mario laughed. "Don't-a worry about me, I'm fine. The question is, are-a you alright, princess?"

Again, Peach blinked. She looked over herself. Did she look beat up some way? She couldn't see a scratch on her.

"You-a have a scratch on your cheek," he explained, wiping his finger over her face and rubbing it on his rough-looking overalls.

"You're worrying about ME when you look like you were in a bad kart accident?!" Peach exclaimed. How could he be so calm about so many scratches on him? How could he worry about ONE scratch on her? He seemed to calm, so happy…

"Mario, how could I repay you for rescuing me?" she asked, a gentle smile forming over her face. She already knew what he would say, though.

"Hmmm…let-a me think this over…" Mario asked, placing a gloved hand on his chin. He snapped his fingers. "How about a kiss?"

Peach smiled, but wanted one question answered. "Tell me, Mario, how come every time I ask you what reward you want, you pick a kiss? I could give you so much more, like coins or land or…SOMETHING." It was true. Mario had never asked for more than a kiss in return.

Mario once again placed a gloved hand to his chin, only this time as if actually pondering what to say instead of a joke. "Well…to-a tell you the truth…ah…princess…I…" he stammered, lowering his face as if to hide his expression.

Peach leaned in, trying to hear what he was going to say. "Yes…?"

Mario raised his head, showing Peach a light blush on his cheeks. "I…I-a…love you." He finally stated.

Peach smiled. She had known that was what he was going to say. "All right then, then I'll give your reward," she asked leaning in closer to give him a kiss. This time it was different though. Instead of a kiss on the cheek, she kissed his fully on the lips.

The garden was going to look SO different tomorrow. Peach could tell.