Mario stepped out of the bathroom as he tucked his shower damp hair under his cap. "Do I look OK, Luigi?" he asked his younger brother.
"Yeah, you look fine, Bro... why? Aww, does someone have a little crush on the princess?" Mario felt his cheeks turn the color of his hat. He had been trying to hide the fact that he was in love with Peach from Luigi. "It's OK, Bro. I won't tell," he said, winking and gently nudging him in the side.
Mario cleared his throat. "Well, I better get going," he said. He backed away from his brother and walked briskly towards the door. He hopped down the steps and jumped into the warp pipe that would take him to his destination—the castle.
A few seconds later, he found himself at the entrance of the castle. He walked up to the door, grabbed a brass knocker and knocked twice. A moment later, a Toad answered. "Hey there, Mario! Go on up. I think the princess will be happy to see you." The Toad glanced around, and, seeing there was nobody around, motioned for Mario to come closer. He bent over, and Toad whispered in his ear, "I think Peach likes you." Mario felt his face burning for the second time in less than five minutes. The Peach he loved...loved him too? The thought tickled his wildest fantasies. He could only have hoped to get that lucky, and now... it was true.
"…Mario? Are you okay? You look so… ooh." An expression of understanding crossed the Toad's face. "I get it. You're in love with Peach and she's in love with you… err, uh, what am I saying? Go on up to the princess."
Mario sighed. That's two people who knew now. Was he that obvious? He supposed the next step was to tell Peach, but he wasn't sure if he was ready for that yet. He reached her door, sighed again, and knocked. Peach opened the door. "Hello, Mario," she said. "So nice to see you."
Mario was slightly confused. Something about her was… different, but he couldn't quite place it. He shrugged off the feeling and stepped inside. He stayed with her for several hours talking. But it wasn't the Peach he loved…
Back in the Clown Copter, Peach groggily opened her eyes. The last thing she remembered was sitting in her room, brushing her hair, and then hearing footsteps approaching her. Then everything had gone dark. Judging by her
grogginess, headache, and small bump on the back of her head, Peach guessed she had been hit on the head. That and the fact that there was a baseball bat lying on the floor of… wait! Where am I? she wondered. The princess peered over the edge. She was in the air! Suddenly frightened, she slowly turned around. When she was the pilot, Peach let out a small cry. Bowser turned around.
"Hey, Peach, how are you doing back there?"
"Fine, but… I have a… bit of a headache," Peach said slowly, still not fully conscious.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you, but there was no other way. Need some ice?" Bowser tossed her a small bag of ice.
"Bowser…you're being…nice…to me?" She was thoroughly confused; if she'd have been any more conscious, though, she would have understood.
"Yeah, I'll explain that later. First I need to land this thing." That woke Peach up. She then realized she was being kidnapped. Again. She sighed. She had let down Mario. Again. Toadsworth would be worried sick. Again. A thought
crossed her mind that made her smile. She knew Mario would come to her rescue. Usually whenever he rescued her, she got a chance to kiss him. The thought spread a warmth over her body. How she loved him… if only he loved her… She
decided that she'd have to tell Mario sooner or later.
The door to the Mario Bros. house opened. Luigi whirled around. Mario stepped inside. "Oh, hey Bro. So, how'd your time with the princess go?"
Mario frowned. "I don't know, Luigi. Something about her was… different, but I just couldn't place it."
Luigi thought for a moment. "Maybe she's worried about something. Maybe it's something with Bowser… Why don't you go see her tomorrow morning and ask her if anything's wrong?"
"You're right again, Luigi. I'll go check on her again."
By the time Mario had finished reading his fan mail and Luigi had finished watering his garden, it had gotten late. Luigi came back inside and yawned. "It's-a gettin' late, Bro. I'm going to bed."
Mario yawned too. "'Night, Luigi." It was a peaceful night in the Mushroom Kingdom, but a lone mustachioed man couldn't sleep.
He was too worried about Peach.
END CH. 2
