"Daisy, I really don't know what to do." Peach was in her room, walking around with the phone. Daisy was the only person outside Peach's situations who knew all the details of the past events, and it helped to discuss these matters with another girl, however boyish Daisy was.
"Damn, Peach, you're in a tight spot. But what the hell did you expect? You've known that this would happen since you first started seeing Bowser."
"Yeah Daisy, that makes me feel sooooo much better," Peach replied sarcastically.
"Well, sor-RY! Don't get your panties in a twist! But the point is, you can't say that you didn't see this coming. Didn't you make any plans?"
"Well… no. I was just trying to be happy and not think about it. I thought that I could live like this, but I can't."
"Oh God, Peach. What am I supposed to say to that?"
"Tell me what to do!"
"I don't care how desperate you are; I can't just tell you how to handle your love life!"
"Couldn't you just give me some advice?"
"Ok, then! Now we're getting somewhere!"
Peach rolled her eyes.
"Right," Daisy said in a businesslike manner. "For now, just play it cool. Don't go far from the castle, and don't visit the Darklands. Most importantly, be nice to Mario without leading him on any further."
"Elaborate, please."
"Go on walks with him, chat, make jokes, etcetera. But don't kiss him. At all. Got it?"
"But I-"
Just then, Peach heard something fall against her window. When she went to investigate, she found Bowser hovering next to the balcony in his Clown Copter.
"I'll call you back, Daisy," Peach said into the phone, and snapped it shut. "What are you doing here?" she hissed at Bowser.
"I had to see you," he replied. "I know you said that you had to work things out, but when I heard about Toadsworth, I thought…" He paused. "How's he doing?"
"Better. The doctors say that things are looking up."
"Good, good," he muttered.
Silence.
"Do you want to come up?" Peach asked suddenly.
"Love to. Just let me… "
He put the Clown Copter in "park" and motioned for Peach to step back. With a less-than-graceful leap, he sailed from the vehicle to the balcony, landing flat on his face.
Peach tried not to laugh, but when you see someone as formidable as Bowser sprawled out on the floor… Well, it made for a comical scene.
She smothered her giggles and helped the red-faced koopa to his feet. Once Bowser had assured her that he was unscathed, she took his hand and led him inside. They walked over to a small couch in the corner and sat down. He wrapped his enormous, scaly arm around her, and she leaned her head against his shoulder, sighing in contentment. The heat that radiated off his body made her sleepy, and she started to nod off…
Toadsworth.
His name worked its way into Peach's thoughts without warning, and she was suddenly wide awake. Her mind flooded with guilt. How could she be sitting here with Bowser while Toadsworth was alone at the hospital? If she was half as kind as people thought she was, she would be there with him now. But what could she possibly say to him? He was probably furious with her. And if he had a heart attack when she admitted that she liked Bowser, how would Toadsworth react if he found out exactly how much she liked the Koopa King?
"What's on your mind, Peach?" Bowser inquired. It was obvious that he could tell that something was bothering her.
Ah, Bowser, Peach thought. Always so in tune with my feelings…
"I was just thinking about… stuff that happened today," she replied.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, affectionately playing with her hair.
Peach drew in a breath. If she told him, she would probably start crying again, and she had already cried too much today. But she needed to say it. She needed to tell him what she was scared of. Maybe if she could get it off her chest, she would feel more at ease. I will not cry, I will not cry, I will not cry, she chanted in her head.
"Well… Toadsworth's heart attack was sort of my fault."
"What are you talking about?"
"I was fighting with him, and I guess he got too worked up. At first, he was just upset because I wouldn't tell him where I'd been. But one thing led to another… and I think what really got him hopping was that I told him that I… you know… like you.
Bowser stiffened for a moment, and then hugged her tightly to his chest. "I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear. Peach thought she heard a shadow of regret in his voice, but perhaps it was just her imagination. Bowser never regretted anything.
"Don't be," she said, kissing him lightly. "You're not the one who was stupid enough to let him in on the secret."
He chuckled breathily. "I guess the renowned cat is out of the metaphorical bag, eh?"
"Yeah," Peach returned despondently.
Another moment of silence.
"There's more, isn't there?"
Peach sighed. "Yes. The worst part of the whole thing is that he doesn't know the half of it. If I ever told him the whole story… if he ever had another heart attack… it could kill him." She had to fight back the tears that were brimming in her eyes, and her voice was breaking. I will not cry, I will not cry, I will not cry, she chanted again.
"Listen," Bowser said, becoming very serious. "We knew from the beginning that people wouldn't accept us. But we decided that we wanted to be together more than we wanted to meet other people's expectations. When the time comes, we're just going to have to break it to him gently."
"Uh-huh," Peach quavered. Her vision was starting to blur and she sounded like she had tonsillitis. I will not cry, I will not cry, I will not cry. I. Will. Not… Oh, heck with it.
"Anybody who has a problem with us will get used to it," Bowser continued. "Because I'm not leaving you unless you send me away. I'm here for as long as you want me."
"I know," Peach said shakily; she gave up on trying to be strong and let the tears flow freely. "And I would never, ever send you away, Bowser."
"I'm glad to hear that," he said softly, and he gently brushed away her tears before pressing his lips to hers.
A/N: And we all drown in endless mush! Aaaaaaaaaaah! Anyway. Peach's "I will not cry" mantra is kinda my own thing. I always tell myself, "NO! You're too old to cry! Suck it up for God's sake!" And does it work? No. Maybe it postpones the waterworks for a few minutes, but… I'm not entirely pleased with this chapter. I feel like I could've done more and that maybe I'm veering slightly off track? Because I barely even mentioned Mario, except in Peach's convo with Daisy. Well, I guess I can
only expect Peach to worry about one thing at a time. Wouldn't want to over-exert the poor girl, would I? No, certainly not. And I also want to make it look like she has all this stuff weighing down on her, so this is another thing for her to worry about. Plus I wanted to stick more BowserxPeach in there. ;) I guess I'll put some more Mario-ish-ness into the next chapter to make up for it. Until then… back to work on Morning Surprises!