A short fic I knocked up in honor of Thanksgiving, Happy Holiday's everyone
Friends and Family
The autumn wind was bitter cold as it blew down the streets of the Toad Town whipping up the scatter leaves into the many people who crowded the sidewalks in search of the last minute food stock for their Thanksgiving dinner
Among the countless last minute shoppers was Rosalina alone and lost within her own thoughts, her own bundled attire of a dull blue white coat and boots with a dark blue scarf wrapped around her face hid her quite well among the crowds who glided around her lost in their own worlds, unlike them she just wandered alone after being turned away by her friends
Mario and Peach had invited her a week ago to join them for Thanksgiving, an annual event in the Mushroom World where apparently people gathered with family to enjoy a nice dinner together to celebrate being alive, having never been to one she gladly accepted
Only a few hours ago she made her way down to the Mushroom Kingdom dressed in the outfit that Peach had sent her. She had made it all the way to the castle where her friends were supposed to be waiting only to be turned away, the both of them were apparently called away for some extremely important talks in the neighboring Bean Bean Kingdom a few days previous, the guards politely told her as they handed her the key to a room they had prepared for her and then made their way home towards their own families and their Thanksgivings
So here she was stuck in the middle of a city, alone on a night that was apparently about families
She stared at some of the passing people, mothers and fathers with their children and relatives smiling as the grabbed the final things they needed for their holidays. She could feel her heart droop as she remembered that she didn't have a family like that and some of the closest people that she had to that couldn't be there for her today
She prepared to round a corner and explore more of the city, there wasn't much else she could due since she instructed one of her old children Lubba to take control of her Observatory and leave her there for a few days
As she turned the corner she ran straight into someone else crashing nose first into them
"Ow" she yelped leaping back
"Hey watch where you're going"
Rosalina looked up to face the person "I'm sorry I…" she immediately recognized the brunette brown hair, emerald green eyes and the flower earrings
"Daisy?"
The Sarasaland Princess looked at her with a cheery surprised "Rose?" This is a nice surprise what are you doing here" she smiled forgetting about what happened earlier
"Nothing really just taking in the sights before I head back to my room piat the castle" she answered looking away from her friend a moment
"You're spending thanksgiving alone?" Daisy asked surprised
She nodded and the brunette looked at her unimpressed
"Spending Thanksgiving alone is no way to celebrate" Daisy threw her arm over her shoulder "come on you should celebrate with us"
Daisy took her back to her bike, in a few minutes they were speeding down the streets towards… somewhere
"Daisy where are we going?" she couldn't help but ask while clinging to the racing driver
"Home… you'll see in a few minutes" Daisy answered pulling the accelerator
They sped though the outskirts of the city and then though the surrounding forest and countryside for thirty minutes before arriving at the coast and at a strange mansion overlooking the ocean, they arrived at the gates with a familiar green L carved on it. Daisy punched in a code on the gate and drove them up into the mansion
They pulled into the front, parked and then disembarked, Daisy led her up the steps and into the mansion and the moment they enter she was bombarded with aromas and delicate scents
"Hey Weegee I'm back and I brought company!" Daisy shouted in the general direction of the kitchen as she stripped off her jacket "set us up for three!"
"Alright Daze! Who'd you bring?"
"Why don't you come out and see for yourself"
Rosalina could only wait as Daisy took her coat and hung them courteously on the racks by the door
Luigi stumbled out of the kitchen clad in a green apron, he smiled at her
"Rose? Well this is unexpected, come on make yourself at home dinner will be ready soon" he led her into the lounge and handed her a cup of warm tea "you'll love it I swear"
He walked back towards the kitchen with Daisy following him, leaving her alone
Setting her tea down she looked around for something to do and the TV in the corner of the room quickly caught her eye, someone had turned it on and left a tape in the VHS next to it the spine read Thanksgiving Memories she pushed the tape in and let it play
The tape was a mesh of videos taken during previous Thanksgivings Luigi Daisy Mario and Peach had shared together, cozy dinners, great laughs, family moments… togetherness Rosalina paused the video halfway though and went to check on Luigi and Daisy trying to distance herself from the inkling feeling that she didn't belong here
She found them both still the in kitchen… painfully enough for her, locked in a kiss. Daisy broke away and gave Luigi a playful punch, they both started laughing further solidifying the feeling that she didn't belong
Rosalina made her way to the front door, she shouldn't be here she wasn't part of this she couldn't intrude on something that wasn't hers to feel
She slipped on her coat and made her way outside shutting the door quietly behind her, she flicked out her wand and prepared to return to the Castle when someone grabbed her from behind, she turned to look
Daisy had her by the shoulder and Luigi was right behind her in the doorway
"Rose where are you going?" they both asked her
"I don't belong here"
"What of course you do"
"This day is for families and…"
"And what?" Luigi asked
"And I don't have a family…" she answered on the verge of tears
She closed her eyes and then looked away, a moment after she did to her surprise so 2 pairs of arms wrapped around her in a warm embrace, she reopened her eyes and both Luigi and Daisy had started hugging her
"We're your family Rose" Daisy whispered squeezing her
"If you want to stay there's a spot at the table set for you" Luigi added not letting go
The moment they said that Rosalina felt herself flush, the tide of emotions rushed at her leaving her at a loss for words
"Luigi… Daisy…" she whimpered as tears started flowing, they both pulled away but both of them kept a hand on her shoulders
"Come on lets have dinner" Daisy smiled
Luigi offered his hand to take her inside, she took it and followed the both of them inside to the wondrous dinner and her first Thanksgiving
And for the first time since she ascended to the stars Rosalina wasn't just a mother, she was part of a family