What's this? Another chapter so soon? Yup! Enjoy!
"Hold still, or I'm going to poke your eye out." Daisy cautioned, steadily trying to apply eyeliner to the nervous Koopa woman.
"Okay, okay, sorry." Bowsette tried her best to keep still. "Not that I don't appreciate the help, but I'm surprised you're not getting ready with Peach." She pointed out.
Daisy moved her head back to observe her handiwork from a distance. She nodded in self-approval, seemingly satisfied with her work. "I'm gonna go help her after I'm finished with your make-up; I wanted to make sure you look your best for tonight – Luigi can help you with anything else." She smiled at her boyfriend, who was helping Junior get ready alongside his mother. He was already dressed in his suit for the evening, he and his brother having gotten ready at home then arriving early to help out where they could.
Bowsette hmmed in approval, opting to stay silent as Daisy continued to work on her make-up.
After a while, though, she felt the need to speak up. "Thank you, both, for helping me."
"It's-a no problem!" Luigi cheered, trying to tame Junior's hair – 'good luck' Bowsette thought with amusement.
"It really isn't," Daisy said, patting Bowsette's shoulder reassuringly. "And stop acting so nervous, everything will be fine."
"But won't people wonder who I am?"
"They will," Daisy agreed, "but they're not going to be able to figure out that you're secretly the Koopa Monarch." She paused. "They likely will find out that it was you who rescued Toadsworth, though."
The koopa woman groaned. Before, she would always seek to be the centre of attention, but she always knew – on some level – that it was always an act.
Smirking at Bowsette's annoyance, Luigi interjected. "Don't-a worry about what other people think! Just-a have fun with Peach and us."
"Yeah! And me!" Junior cheered.
Bowsette smiled at their support, moving to give Junior's hand a loving squeeze.
"Okay, I think I can do that."
"I don't-a think I've ever seen you this nervous for a party, Peach."
The blonde princess blushed slightly at the comment, not averting her gaze from the mirror. "I'm just worried for Bowsette, is all. This is her first ball as a guest, I want her to enjoy it."
Mario quirked an eyebrow, not that Peach saw. "I'm-a sure she'll be fine. She's got us to-a look out for her. But there's something else bothering you."
"N-no... It's just..." Peach stammered, her blush intensifying.
Mario gave a somewhat bittersweet smile. "You really like her, don't-a you?"
The princess was fidgeting uncharacteristically, but she met her own eyes in the mirror, before turning to Mario. "I do. I really do."
"Then why are you worried?"
Peach sighed. "I'm just... I'm scared." Peach frowned, shaking her head. "This is all so new to me – so strange and unexpected. With our history and all this uncertainty... With me and you, it was easy; there was no doubt, but..."
Peach trailed off, so Mario spoke up. "I think, that's what makes this a-special. We came together easily, because it was-a expected; it was-a what people wanted for you, so you went with it."
Mario smiled at Peach as she met his eyes with a wide-eyed look. "But, a-Peach, you need to-a go with what you want. Even if it-a doesn't work out, even if some people aren't supporting. You-a need to do what makes you happy. We've been trying to get Bowsette to do-a the same thing, so take your own advice, yeah?"
Peach returned the smile, blinking rapidly so that she didn't start crying and pulled the plumber into a hug. "Thank you, Mario. I needed to hear that."
"It's-a alright, I just wasn't sure that you needed to hear it."
The princess pulled back from the hug, looking at the plumber. "We never were as open with each other as we should have been, were we?"
Mario nodded. "But, we can be now, as friends."
Peach smiled. "As friends."
They shared a moment of comfortable silence before a knock sounded on the door, Daisy popping her head through a crack in the door. "Heya, Peach, ready to do your make-up?"
"Oh! Yes, come on in."
Sensing the serious nature of their previous conversation, Daisy spoke up as she walked in. "Everything okay with you two?"
They both nodded, Mario – uncharacteristically – being the one to speak, "Yes, we were-a actually talking about Bowsette." Mario made a point of sending Peach a wink. "I will-a leave you two to it." He said, getting up to leave.
Daisy waved at Mario as he left, turning to Peach the second the door shut behind him.
The smirk that Daisy gave her was all the blonde needed to start blushing.
"Talking about Bowsette, huh?"
"Oh, shush." Peach chided.
Daisy smirked. "Hey, you used to tease me about Luigi."
The blonde covered her blush with her hands, muffling her voice. "I did not! And that's not the same!"
The other princess rolled her eyes, taking the seat next to Peach. "Oh, yeah? How's it not the same? Because both you and Bowsette are women?"
"No..." Peach sighed. "With Luigi, it was obvious that you two would be great together from the start, and you didn't have any... history." She paused, realising that she was raising a similar point with Daisy that she did with Mario, but she needed the extra reassurance. "We've been trying to work through that, I know, but what if things go wrong? What if Bowsette has simply made an idealised version of me in her head that I can't live up to?"
Daisy reached over, giving the blonde a reassuring squeeze on the arm. "Peach, no relationship is perfect, and they're not going to all end happily. But that's a risk that you have to take. Maybe you and Bowsette don't work out, and maybe she had a perfect version of you in her mind that you can't live up to, and maybe some other third thing, but you won't know until you try. And if you don't try, you'll never get the chance that maybe she sees you for who you are, and maybe you'll have a happy relationship – regardless of how it might end."
Peach's expression hardened as she frowned in thought. Daisy smiled. "Besides, I think you might be worried about nothing."
"What do you mean?"
"Well... Maybe I'm being optimistic, but you two have been getting on really well over the last week. You've been getting to know each other. Properly, with nothing between you. No lies, no plots, no kidnapping power dynamics."
Peach nodded. Taking what Daisy said in. "She seems on edge, though, I'm worried for her. She's still trying to figure herself out."
The other princess hmmed in agreement. "And she will; be careful with her and give her space when she needs it, but make sure she knows that you are there for her. She'll need our support."
"I will." Peach exchange a serious look with her reflection, then turned back to the other woman. "Right, let's get ready, then."
Despite Luigi's best efforts, he proved unable to tame the young koopa's wild hair. Bowsette had divulged that it was the main reason it was usually in a ponytail (that, and Junior liked it), but – after making sure her own appearance was up to scratch – she opted to help the overwhelmed plumber.
Wielding a comb, the koopa woman took over, fighting the fiery hair that was much like her own. "You know, you'd think that with all the pipes you have to unblock, you'd have seen worse hair than this, Luigi."
The tuxedo wearing plumber scratched the back of his neck. "I-a would've, too. But, that-a hair..." He simply shook his head. "Is-a yours that bad? Daisy didn't seem to have a problem with it."
Bowsette continued to dig into the mane, careful to not hurt Junior. "Well, it used to be, but it did get slightly better as I got older. And, it got much better since... y'know."
"Aah, yes, I suppose that makes sense."
A quiet settled between the three while Bowsette worked, and the koopa woman took it as an opportunity to address something that had been on her mind.
"Luigi, I've been meaning to ask you, why have you been so... supportive of me? When you found out who I was, you didn't accuse me like Mario and Daisy did, you just... trusted me."
Bowsette turned her head slightly, looking at the plumber while also continuing working on Junior's hair. "Why?"
Luigi smiled warmly. "Since we-a met you as Bowsette – when-a Toadsworth and Junior were-a kidnapped – I knew there was-a something up, I just-a couldn't place it. Peach felt the same way, I think. But, when-a Daisy... outed you... the way you acted before, the way you-a acted after... I just-a couldn't believe that you were lying; I could tell there was-a something going on beyond us."
Luigi looked slightly bashful now, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ah, and, well... I think I can sympathise with your position." He met Bowsette's raised eyebrow with something between a secretive smirk and a genuine smile. "Let's just say, that I have experience with... the kind of identity crisis you're going through."
Feeling exposed, the koopa woman turned to Luigi, defensive by instinct. "H-hey! I'm not-I'm not going through an identity crisis!" Her face burned red, betraying her words.
The plumber successfully buried his usual fear at being on the receiving end of the Koopa's ire. "Hey, well, whether you are or not, we're all-a here for you. Remember that, yeah?"
Bowsette's defensive stance softened, her legs almost giving way when Junior turned to give her a hug. Overwhelmed with feelings that her emotionally starved brain struggled to handle, she held back tears. "Thank you, Luigi..."
"You're-a welcome. That's what friends do." He said with a smile.
And just like that, Bowsette felt that little bit more welcome.
Hope you enjoyed! I'd love to hear what you thought!