Heya! I was hoping to get this chapter out about a month after the previous, but I guess I lost track of time (what even is time this year?). It's a longer one, hope you enjoy!
The rest of the week passed without major event. Daisy decided to remain for longer than usual and everyone insisted that the Koopas stick around for a while.
So the group still met for most meals, enjoying various activities such as golf and tennis. Bowsette relaxed a bit and just allowed herself to be happy, even though there was still that nagging feeling in the back of her head – and she couldn't help but ponder what Daisy was referring to when she said about showing Peach her real self.
On that note, her and Peach were getting along well, much better than they ever had before – turns out, relationships grow better and healthier without a kidnaper/kidnap-ee power dynamic.
Bowsette was glad that the two were managing to at least be friends after everything they had gone through. Peach had even – enlisting the help of Daisy – managed to get the koopa woman to agree to letting her style her hair and give her help with makeup. Bowsette struggled to hide how much she had enjoyed that, though some of the makeup was a bit too much for her tastes – she preferred a more minimalistic approach for the day-to-day.
It hadn't all been rosy, of course. There were times when the guilt or confusing feelings would overwhelm her, and she needed a moment to sort through her thoughts.
Now was one of those times. Bowsette had been looking at pictures in the gallery, one of them was of Peach's castle damaged, evidently from one of her more... grandiose kidnapping attempts. It was clearly meant to be there as a symbol of the kingdom's recovery, but Bowsette couldn't focus on that.
Dark thoughts swirled in her mind and she rushed from the room, quickly ducking into one of the side rooms.
It was a small sitting room with cushioned seats surrounding an elegant coffee table; though Bowsette didn't care about any of that right now, all that mattered was that it was empty. She hid round the back of the loveseat, curling into a ball as thoughts of her past deeds, her strange feelings on her current situation and the uncertainty of her future assaulted her all at once.
She sat there for a while, trying to manage the weight as tears stung her eyes.
Apparently, her rushing had not gone unnoticed as a voice interrupted her turmoil.
"Bowsette? What's wrong?"
The koopa looked up, aghast at having been found. "P-Peach?! What are you doing here?"
The princess, who was stood a few steps away, moved to sit next to the troubled woman. "I was just passing when I saw you rush in here." She said softly. "You looked upset."
Bowsette sniffed, looking at her hands. "I'm okay."
Peach carefully grasped one of her hands, rubbing it softly. "No you're not."
"But I don't know why," Bowsette groaned, "I'm happier than I ever remember being." She vaguely gestured to her current situation, "most of the time, at least."
Peach scooted closer, pulling the taller woman to her chest, stoking her hair soothingly. "You must have some idea what's wrong?"
"I don't know... I guess I'm afraid that all of this will end soon and I'll go back to my old life. Alone."
"What do you mean? What will end?" Peach asked, with a peculiar emphasis that Bowsette couldn't decipher.
The koopa woman pulled back from the blonde's embrace, confused. "Well, this. Our friendship, getting along with everyone else and me being-" Bowsette cut herself off. "...me being happy."
Peach smiled knowingly and pulled Bowsette into a hug. "Well, I'll certainly still be your friend and I think everyone else likely will as well. As to your happiness," Peach pulled back, resting her hands on the koopa's shoulders and staring deeply into her eyes. "There's always time to figure out what truly makes you happy, to understand how you're happiest. Don't feel you have to rush it; no matter what, I'll still be here."
Bowsette sighed. "Maybe you're right, but why does it not feel that way?"
The princess moved down the koopa's arms, stopping at her hands. "Maybe you're just over-thinking it?" Bowsette hummed neutrally, clearly not convinced. "Well, the Toad Parade is in a few days. We can celebrate that and maybe that'll help take your mind off things?"
Bowsette met the princess's hopeful look, "Sounds fun." She said with a tentative smile.
After Peach had mentioned it, Bowesette started to notice the preparations that were going on around Toad Town and the castle. Stalls and decorations were being put up around the town and castle servants were making sure that every room was spotless.
Peach herself was also slightly busier in the lead up to the Toad Parade, meaning that Bowsette couldn't spend as much time with her. The koopa woman didn't mind too much, however, as she spent the extra time with her son and sometimes with Daisy, Mario or Luigi.
On the day of the parade itself, Bowsette wasn't quite sure what was in store for her. She remembered Daisy mentioning that Peach held a ball in the castle in the evening after the parade itself, but other than that she was purely at the mercy of Peach's guidance.
Breakfast consisted of just her and Junior – as everyone else was busy or would meet them at the parade – with Toadsworth coming in afterwards to inform the two that the princess would meet them after they had gotten ready and they would walk into town together.
Returning to her room, Bowsette had intended to simply wear her normal outfit, but upon opening the door she was met with a package on the bed with a note and black-petaled flower on top. Picking up the note, it read:
"Bowsette,
I thought you might want to wear something different to the Toad Parade and I saw this lovely dress that I know would look absolutely stunning on you.
Yours,
Peach.
xxx"
The koopa woman smiled like an idiot as she read the note, carefully picked up the flower and – not before giving it a sniff – placed it to the side. When she uncovered the dress, her smile only got bigger. It was a dark green summer dress, with a muted floral design. Unlike her usual dress, this one had short sleeves with a V-neck and above the dress in a box, were a pair of black flats to replace her usual boots.
Bowsette got ready, putting on the dress and shoes that Peach got her, as well as some light makeup. She opted to forgo her signature spiked choker and armbands and also decided to wear her hair down, brushing it out so it flowed softly over her shoulders. To finish off the look, she tucked the flower into her hair, securing it with a bobby pin.
When she was ready and left her room to fetch Junior, she was met with a blonde princess on the other side of the door.
"Oh," Peach gasped, taken aback by what she saw. "Bowsette, you look amazing." Red blossomed on her cheeks. "You're beautiful."
The Koopa blushed as red as her eyes, struggling to properly meet Peach's eyes. "Thank you. You're pretty beautiful yourself." Peach had also opted for a similar look, though with a pink summer dress that had a more modest neckline. "Thank you for the dress and shoes, I love them." And she meant it; when she saw herself in the mirror, she felt so happy and content – something she never felt when she dressed up as Bowser.
"You're welcome," Peach said with a smile, giving Bowsette a proper look over. "I'm glad I was right; the dress really does suit you, and your hair looks lovely down." She offered her arm to the taller woman, who gladly looped her arm through hers.
They collected Junior – who didn't hesitate to point out how beautiful the two were; a confession that almost brought Bowsette to tears – then walked into town, merrily talking all the way.
Over the course of the walk, however, Bowsette couldn't shake the thought that it very much felt like the trio was a family. 'If only...'
"Hey," Peach nudged her, clearly sensing the taller woman's thoughts going to a sad place, "Don't think about it, just enjoy the day."
Bowsette gave her a smile and nodded and they continued on into town.
When in town, they quickly met up with Daisy, Luigi, Mario and Toadsworth.
Though the rest of the group were familiar with the parade, the two Koopas had never seen it before; it was an extravagant display of decorative floats and Toads wearing eye-catching outfits, while marching bands played up-beat songs – all to celebrate Toad history and culture.
Being a monarch, Bowsette knew about the culture of the Mushroom Kingdom, so there wasn't much she didn't understand, but Peach still tried to explain it to the Koopas – if only for Junior's sake.
The actual parade lasted for about an hour and a half, after which they went to the town square where there were stalls set up, selling all sorts of things and hosting various activities.
After walking around for a while, the group decided to splinter, with Peach, Bowsette and Junior going off together – much to both Koopas delights.
One of the games was shell throwing, which Bowsette was quick to point out she was great at and quickly won a prize for both Junior and Peach – a plush Princess Peach for Junior and a plush Toad for Peach.
"Mama, why do people keep looking at us?" Junior asked after a while.
Bowsette had pondered the question herself, but she wasn't sure if she had just been imagining things.
"Oh, sorry," Peach interjected, "I think that might be my fault." The princess gave them both a smile. "Usually at events like this, I'd be with Mario; I guess everyone is speculating why I'm not spending time with him now."
"Oh. Would you rather be with him?" Bowsette asked tentatively.
"Oh, no." Peach said too quickly, before catching herself and blushing. "I-I mean, I like spending time with Mario, but I very much like spending time with you two, as well."
There was a short moment of silence, but it was quickly interrupted.
"Hey you three!" Daisy called, approaching with Luigi. "How's it going?"
"Great!" Junior replied immediately. "Mama won us both something!" He held up his own plush and gestured towards Peach's.
"Did she now?" Daisy said with a smirk. "Actually, Junior, we were looking for you." Daisy changed the subject after she noticed the blush that Bowsette now had.
"Really? Why?" The Koopa tilted his head in question.
"There's a model building stand, we-a thought you might want to check it out!" Luigi cheered.
"Oh! Where!? That sounds like fun!" He followed Luigi in the direction of the stand. Bowsette and Peach made to follow, but were stopped by Daisy.
"Why don't you two come on down in a bit; I'm sure it will take a while for them to make the models." She winked at the pair, then spun around to follow the others, leaving the now-blushing duo behind.
Seizing the moment, Peach gave the koopa a sheepish smile. "You know, I think I saw a flower stand somewhere. Do you mind if we take a look?"
"Oh, of course! That sounds nice."
They walked, arms linked, to the flower stand and perused the buds. The selection was colourful and exotic, and Peach wanted to add some of them to her garden. The two exchanged thoughts on the nicest ones, which ones would suit the garden and, somewhere in the back of her mind, Bowsette was struck – not for the first time – by how odd this was. Here she was, with someone that she had thought hated her, helping her buy flowers – a topic she didn't realise that she had much to contribute to, until recently.
Bowsette dwelled on this as Peach arranged for the flowers that they had liked to be brought to the castle, where she dismissed the unusual thoughts as soon as the princess came back to her.
"You okay?" Peach asked at Bowestte's thoughtful look.
"Yeah, I just never thought that I'd be able to hold a conversation about flowers for so long."
"Oh! Sorry, did you want to do something else?" Peach asked with genuine concern.
"No, no!" Bowsette was quick to reassure her, "I'm having fun, it's just... Surprising, I suppose."
"A good surprising?"
Bowsette nodded with a warm smile for the blonde. "Yeah."
"Good." Peach gave her a beaming smile. "I like being able to talk to you about things we both enjoy. And, I'd hate for you to be bored."
"I could never be bored when I'm with you." Bowsette said without missing a beat and, more importantly, before her stupid brain could stop her!
Peach gave a nervous chuckle, while both of them averted their eyes, so they both missed the blushes that erupted on both of their faces.
"Well... I'm glad." Peach muttered. "Come on, let's go check out the craft stands." Peach quickly diverted the awkwardness in the conversation.
Bowsette mentally kicked herself for putting an awkward divide between them, but Peach quickly bridged it by grabbing the other woman's hand.
As they walked on, they both had a smile of their face.
The pair continued to wander around the stalls, enjoying each other's company. When they started to get hungry, they decided it was time to see how Junior was doing in the modelling competition.
The stand for it was rather large, with a few tables set up for people to make their models. Most were people around Junior's age, though a few were older. When Junior noticed the two approaching, he immediately stopped what he was doing to leap into their arms.
"Mama! Mama Peach!"
"Junior!" Bowsette gave the kid a squeeze, "How's the modelling going?"
"Oh! It's great! I'm building Mama Peach's castle!" Junior's tail wiggled enthusiastically behind him. "I'm almost finished, actually."
"Can we see it?" Peach chimed in.
Junior beamed up at her. "Come on!" He shouted, leaping out of their arms to run back to his table.
The pair followed him, albeit at a slower pace.
"See!?" Junior gestured.
"Oh, my! It's amazing!" Peach cheered.
And it was. Even if he hadn't told them, they certainly would have been able to guess what it was anyway, with its distinct spires and layout.
"That's great, kiddo! But what are these?" Bowsette gestured to the three figures stood in front of the castle.
"I haven't finished them yet, but – " he pointed to the one on the left, " – that's you, Mama, - " he moved on to the one in the middle, " – that's me, and – " he moved to the right one, that appeared to be mirroring the one on the left, holding what Bowsette suspected was Junior's hand, " – That's Mama Peach!"
Daisy and Luigi, who were just approaching the group from having stood back to watch Junior from afar, heard the what the koopa kid said and simply sent the – now blushing – duo a smile.
The four soon left Junior to finish his model – without letting him out of their sight, of course – and at the conclusion of the competition, Junior won first place.
To celebrate, the six – as Mario had appeared just as the winners were being announced – went to seek out lunch.
They all listened as Junior spoke animatedly through their meal, gushing about winning and talking about the other models that were in the competition that they liked.
Bellies full, the group then returned to the castle – bar Luigi and Mario, who went to their own home – to get ready for the evening's festivities.
Hope you liked it! Hopefully the next one will be sooner (it's very dialogue heavy, so I gotta make sure it flows right). I'd love to hear what you thought!