A/N: This is the first story I've written in AU. Here's a bit of background: Bowser and Peach have never met before, meaning no kidnappings, and thus no Mario Brothers. Thus, Peach doesn't have a lot of friends and is pretty lonely, not to mention she hasn't really developed as much of that emotional maturity that comes from enduring hardship.
"Princess Toadstool, you are looking very regal today."
Peach sighed, and took her seat, "Thanks Toadsworth."
"Oh, dear girl, what's the matter?"
"Is it true that Daisy is really going to be away on a ski vacation for three weeks?" Peach sighed heavily again, checking her hair for split ends.
Toadsworth looked at her sympathetically.
It's just…I wish we could have gone this time."
Toadsworth drew himself up and put his hand on Peach's back in a fatherly manner. "Oh I know how lonely it gets in this old castle, but she'll be back soon. Just think of all the stories you'll have to tell each other."
More like the stories she'll be able to tell me. What could possibly be noteworthy about sitting in the castle alone for three weeks? Peach said nothing but gave a sad look.
Toadsworth wrung his hands. "Well, in any case, you won't find yourself completely devoid of visitors in Princess Daisy's absence.
Peach raised her head in question.
"We are expecting a visit from the young monarch of the Darklands and his entourage."
Peach squinted here eyes and thought hard. "Darklands…where is that exactly?"
Using his finger, Toadsworth circled a sizeable portion of his world map.
"Oh, it's big then," Peach stated plainly, embarrassed to have forgotten.
"It's growing," Toadsworth said, a hint of warning in his voice.
"Why have we not made contact before now?"
Toadsworth cleared his throat, "We have made contact in the past, with the previous monarchs, but only when you were far too young to recall. The whole land was thrown into civil war with the death of the King and Queen. The whole kingdom went through a massive restructuring, mostly orchestrated by Kamek, the royal family's loyal adviser."
"Oh."
"But you mustn't underestimate them, love. The new ruler, Lord Bowser, has quite a reputation as a skilled leader and an empire expander."
"Okay, and what is the nature of this visit?"
"It is merely a formal meet-and-greet. We will probably spend tomorrow entertaining His Highness at the castle, the next day we will show the Darklandian ambassadors around the kingdom, and on the third day conduct negotiations for peaceful conduct, trade, etcetera. Nothing out of the ordinary, eh?"
Peach shrugged her shoulders. "Alright then. And if I may ask, of what kind is Lord Bowser himself?"
"Koopa. And if I may be so bold, he is right around your age as well."
Peach looked at a Koopa Troopa maid cleaning outside Toadsworth's office and smiled.
"I don't get it; why can't we just walk in the door, smash things up, and declare ourselves the new rulers of the Mushroom Kingdom?"
"My Liege," started Kamek, "Please have patience. We first need to see if the Mushroom Kingdom has any assets worth having. Furthermore, we must scout their military prowess to see if, for the time being, they might make better allies."
"And then we can double-cross them later?"
"Exactly, my lord."
"Excellent Kamek…then I will go meet these Mushroomies."
"Yes, we expect to arrive to meet the princess tomorrow afternoon."
Bowser jerked his head up indignantly, "The princess? Why the hell are we meeting with some airhead princess? Do they know who we are? They should be sending our their KING."
Kamek rushed to quiet His Pridefulness, "Sire, they mean us no disrespect, I assure you. For brevity's sake I will tell you that Princess Toadstool is the acting monarch of the Mushroom Kingdom. If you wish to know the more complicated details, I could have a report sent to you by…"
"No thanks," Bowser growled. "In a short time, it won't matter, because all of the Mushroom Kingdom will be under new leadership…my leadership."
At 2pm, Mushroom Kingdom Standard Time, the trumpets heralding King Bowser's arrival sounded loud and clear though the Mushroom courtyard.
As was traditional, Peach waited inside on her throne wearing her fullest dress and heaviest crown. Unlike her day-to-day attire, the dress was entirely covered in gold embroidery and shimmering gems and the crown was nearly twice the size of her normal crown and heavily encrusted with royal gems. Both weighed heavily on Peach's body while she valiantly struggled to look as regal as possible.
A little Toad came though the throne room door, clutching a scroll and a small bugle. He took a deep breath, "Announcing His Royal Majesty, Lord over all the Darklands, the Honorable, the Invincible, King Bowser Koopa!" And he sounded the bugle.
The double doors leading to the throne room opened and Peach nearly dropped her scepter in shock. In strode Bowser, wearing a huge crown and his deepest cape. She had been expecting…well, a Koopa, like the small ones here in Mushroom Kingdom. Instead, she found herself face to face with an enormous horned king.
Remembering her manners, she quickly dipped her head forward, nearly losing her heavy crown. She kept it in place with a quick hand. A snort escaped Bowser's snout. Peach blushed hard and looked up at the source of the sound. Their eyes met.
Bowser felt his throat seize up on him and a sudden flighty feeling in the pit of his stomach. What in the—There was no denying it…the princess was a knockout. Peach stared back, dazzled by his sheer size and ferocity. Quickly, she began to utter her well-practiced welcome speech. Though she spoke clearly and with perfect diction, neither royal heard nor comprehended what she was saying. They merely stood, each transfixed by the other's eyes.
Later that night, when Peach had changed out of her ceremonial dress and into her (far more comfortable) dining gown, she sat at the head of the table in the banquet hall, with Bowser directly across for her all the way at the other end of the table. She tried to make polite conversation with the Darklandian ambassadors, but every time the Koopa King would lock eyes with her from across the table, she felt herself begin to sweat.
Similarly, Bowser was doing the best he could to get these fungi to shut up so he could stare at the princess. Every time he did, he felt like his stomach was dropping below his knees. He couldn't explain it, but he knew it was a hell of a lot more fun than listening to a talking Mushroom.
After dinner, the meetings adjourned and all guests retired to the guest chambers. Kamek entered Bowser's room, intending to have a late-night council with the King. What he found instead was less a king and more a Koopa, barely older than a teenaged Koopaling, sprawled out on his bed staring at the ceiling in amazement.
"My Lord?"
Bowser growled; His Dourness was back. "What do you want, Kamek?"
"My apologies, Highness. I wished only to see if you had any thoughts on tonight's visit."
Bowser remained silent; he had a lot of thoughts, but none he wanted to share with Kamek.
Kamek cleared his throat and suppressed a grin. Something was troubling the King and he bet he could guess what. "Well, My Lord, the report has come back from our spies and there is excellent news. It seems the entire Mushroom Kingdom army is a volunteer army of citizens."
Bowser gave Kamek a look that said, "So?"
Kamek giggled evilly, "They're all Mushrooms, every single one. Lord Bowser, you could single-handedly defeat the whole army personally. This of course means that there will be no need to keep this kingdom around as an ally…the only thing left is to see if it's even worth your time to take the kingdom over."
Bowser envisioned himself decimating the Mushroom Army, marching up to the castle, and crashing through the gate heroically. He imagined the Koopa flag flying over the turrets of the castle. Then, an unwelcome image drifted to his mind. He imagined the crying face of the princess, her pleas for mercy. Would he decapitate her like the rest? Those eyes looking sadly at him…those damn eyes.
Bowser set his jaw and reminded himself to be hard. He growled, "Yeah, we'll scout tomorrow…if there's anything even vaguely worth having, we'll kill them all."
The next day, a caravan of carriages was prepared bright and early. Peach and Toadsworth rode in one, Bowser and Kamek in another, and the rest of the diplomats were stuffed in a remaining carriage.
Bowser thought as they toured the Mushroom Kingdom. He wanted those windmills, he wanted those farms, he wanted the cafes, the train station, the commerce, the princess, the-Wait, what? Bowser grumbled and shifted in his seat.
He chastised himself. You know you thought it, you idiot.
What? How dare you? I'm the King; nobody talks to me like that…not even myself.
You know you like her. You want her near you, want to see her and talk to her. Your first kiss?
Shut up.
It won't be allowed, you know. She's not even your same species.
I'm the King of all Koopas…I'll have what I want. Who's going to stop me?
Nobody…nobody could stop him. He could take this kingdom over and she would be his. Nobody would have to know she was still alive; he could just keep her in his castle, a guilty secret. He imagined her face streaked with tears and huffed to himself. That…that wasn't exactly what he wanted though.
The carriages pulled to a stop at the Mushroom Kingdom's largest and most prestigious university. Inside, a quad had been sectioned off for a catered picnic lunch. Additionally, the university had set up a couple badminton nets for those who wished to play.
Bowser caught the princess out of the corner of his eye and found himself unsure how to approach her. All of his "friends" in the Darklands had to respect and fear him, as he was their king. But this princess…well, they were equals. Almost equals.
"Your Highness, would you care for a game of badminton while our lunch is being prepared?" Bowser jumped at the high voice so close to him. How had she gotten over there so fast? Peach made her very best effort to smile politely, though she was a bit dizzy from even being so near to the terrifying king.
"Uh…yeah, badminton. Let's rock."
She thinks she can challenge me to a game and win? Ha, I don't think so. Time to show these little Mushroomies what I'm made of!
Peach carefully and politely served the birdie to Bowser, which was summarily returned with a vicious spike. Peach was taken aback as the birdie struck the ground.
Woo, yeah! First point goes to Bowser, the unstoppable Koopa King!
Several more rounds passed the same way, Peach politely knocking the birdie over the net, and Bowser returning the serve with twenty times the power. Eventually, lunch was served.
"Oh, it looks like or lunch is ready…"
Ha ha! That's right, she forfeits; I win!
"It looks like you've won. Good game," she said casually, before turning her back and heading toward the picnic table.
Bowser looked deflated. What? …But I won. Why isn't she more impressed that I won? Didn't anybody see me win? He heard Peach's clear laugh ring out across the quad. She doesn't even care that she lost.
Late that night, Bowser couldn't sleep. He could hear Kamek's snoring through the walls. He could have gone to make trouble, but instead he decided to slip out of the guest chambers and into the courtyard.
Once outside, he was surprised to find none other than Princess Peach sitting in the starlight, ostensibly alone. He felt his internal temperature rise in excitement and panic. He thought for a moment about going back inside without speaking to her. Instead, he cleared his throat loudly.
Peach whipped around with a start and immediately jumped up off the ground, brushing the dirt off her dress and responding with a quick curtsey. "King Koopa, forgive me, I was startled. I didn't expect anyone to be out here so late."
Bowser grunted, "You can call me Bowser, and I didn't expect anyone to be out here either."
"Oh," she replied, "is something the matter?"
Bowser thought for a second, before allowing his eyes to drift to hers. "I can't sleep…too many things to think about."
Peach looked confused.
"King things," he clarified.
"Oh," she replied, politely dropping the subject. An awkward silence washed around them. Bowser sat down next to where Peach had previously been sitting. Peach sat down as well, leaving a respectful distance between them.
"Peach?" he asked.
She snapped to attention at hearing him use her first name, but she decided it was only fair if she was to call him Bowser. "Yes?"
"Would…your kingdom like to be allies with my kingdom?"
Peach smiled, hastily replying, "Oh yes, the Mushroom Kingdom is always looking for lasting peace agreements with…"
"No," he growled, turning toward her, his eyes burning intensely into hers. Peach shrunk back, but was deeply mesmerized by the fiery gleam of his stare. "I mean more than just peaceful. Strong allies…deep allies." He took a breath, but couldn't seem to breathe. "I…really like your kingdom," he stared at her with all the intensity he could muster, "it's beautiful. Since I have been in your kingdom I've felt…different than I have in any other kingdom, including my own." He paused. "I think…I think it must be special somehow."
Peach's eyes widened and her heart raced. She couldn't look away from those gleaming amber eyes, so close to her own. Breathlessly, she replied, "I'm…so honored…you…"
The rest of her sentence was cut off by a gentle kiss, which she returned with passionate gusto. Every synapse in her brain was firing simultaneously, opening the floodgates of adrenaline. Her mind screamed with thrill and fear, excitement and horror. An equal mix of "you shouldn't be doing this" and "I'm glad I am".
When they finally pulled away from one another, Peach trembled and bit her lower lip. She looked over her shoulder in sudden paranoia. She stood up, "I…I must go."
Bowser opened his mouth and reached toward her but said nothing.
She reached into her dress and pulled out a soft pink handkerchief. "Here, take this. Goodnight Bowser."
"Goodnight Peach," he whispered as she rushed back inside. Once she was gone, he put the kerchief to his tingling lips. It smelled just like her perfume. He sighed and slowly got up and went back to the guest chambers.
Inside, Kamek was standing near the doorway. He noticed the pink cloth in Bowser's hand and smiled with an amused expression.
Bowser quickly hid the cloth from view and snarled, "What are you smiling about?" before slamming the door behind him.