A/N: I completely forgot to write this and don't have much time to finish it, so I won't make it tooooo long... Two more stories to go after this.

On a side note, I'd like to recommend the oneshot 'Piece of Cake' by maevestrom - it's what inspired this story!

Day 10

Prompt: The Chef

Characters: Peach and Mario

Summary: It's Christmas Day, and the Princess is hard at work making the best Christmas dinner she can. It's one of her favourite times of year, after all.

Christmas Day was, understandably, one of the busiest days of the year at Peach's castle. If it wasn't the Toad servants rushing back and forth to invite guests in, clean up messes, serve food and guard the castle (often without much success), then it was the Princess herself. Every year, she took it upon herself to cook a massive Christmas dinner for all of her friends and invites - a giant turkey that needed five hours in the oven, mountains of vegetables, platters of sausages and potatoes, not to mention boatloads of gravy. Of course, she didn't do everything alone - she always had a battalion of Toads in the kitchen to assist her, and the serving of drinks was left entirely up to them.

But preparing dinner? At that, she excelled. She would get up bright and early on December the 25th and spend most of the morning hard at work in the kitchen, often with the little radio in the corner blasting out nostalgic Christmas songs, humming along to them as she cut vegetables and prepared turkey. Some people would simply never understand why Peach, a Princess, chose to make dinner when she had an army of Toads to do the work for her. She could ask them - command them, more like - and they would never ask questions.

But she wanted to. Peach had never been one to place herself on a pedestal, viewing her subjects and servants as beneath her. She considered herself more their guardian than their ruler. She would not sit on gilded cushions, dictating the way the people lived. No, she was determined to understand them, because only then did she have any right to call herself their Princess.

Humming quietly to herself, she absently passed a bag of potatoes to the nearest Toad and asked him to cut them all in half, ready for roasting. The turkey was already in the oven. Not much to do now, except wait for everything to be done... I wonder if Mario is here yet? I've been so busy this morning, I haven't even been out to look...

Mind made up, she turned around, intending to leave the kitchen for a short break. The Toads could be trusted to keep everything running smoothly in her absence. However, before she could even take a step towards the door, someone else came through it. A very familiar, short man with a big nose, a fluffy mustache, and a pleasant smile.

'Oh!' she exclaimed, hand lifting to her mouth in an automatic gesture as she stepped back. Even though she'd wanted to see him, she was unprepared for his sudden appearance. Did he come here just to see me?

'Hello, Princess,' said Mario, almost shyly. He swiftly removed his cap and held it to his chest, the gesture almost seeming like a salute to her. She couldn't help but smile in response. His behaviour towards her was strange; almost reverent. What made it stranger was that she felt certain it wasn't because of her royal status. It was something much more... personal than that. 'Someone, ah, told me you'd be in the kitchen, so I came looking... if you needed any help?'

'Oh, Mario... I'm just glad you came to see me. I was actually just thinking of going to find you. Most of the early dinner preparation is done now, so I'm taking a little break.'

She ran her gaze over him as he stood before her, her smile warming. She wasn't sure why, but just being in his presence made her feel calm and happy... No, that was silly. She did know why.

'Of course. You deserve a break,' said Mario, slowly putting his cap back on and pressing it down over his head. 'I heard - from Toadsworth - that you always work so hard at Christmas. It's really amazing. You could just get the Toads to do everything for you, but... you don't.'

The reverence in his soft, accented voice was becoming more obvious. So were the butterflies in her stomach.

'W-well, I could never ask my subjects to do all this work... I mean, if I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself, then why shouldn't I? This kingdom doesn't need a leader who sits on their bottom all day and orders other people around. I want to be involved. My life would be meaningless if I couldn't do these little things that I love.'

Mario gazed at her throughout her small speech, his head tilted curiously to one side. She had a feeling that he wasn't quite paying attention to what she was saying, but simply listening to her talk. How did she know? Well, Luigi and Toadsworth had both made sly comments about the way Mario looked at her, and besides... she was desperate to believe that he might return her not-so-subtle feelings.

'...You're very... admirable, Princess Peach,' he said at last. 'You work so hard for your people, and you actually enjoy doing it. Not many leaders are like that.'

'I just don't want to feel alienated from them. I love this kingdom and all of its people. You know, sometimes I wish I wasn't their leader. Sometimes... I just want to walk among them like any other citizen... Like you do.'

Mario gazed at her for a moment longer, then unexpectedly held out his hand.

'Shall we go for a walk?' he asked, shy yet resolute. 'If you have time?'

She hesitated, then smiled and let herself reach out. Even though he was short, his gloved hand dwarfed hers. Familiar, warm, and comforting. She vaguely wondered why they were both so hesitant even after knowing each other for so many years. Maybe it was just the flutter of unspoken emotions in her chest that made her second guess every word and gesture... Maybe if she opened her heart to him at last, they'd be able to enjoy their closeness with none of the awkwardness.

'I'd love to,' she said softly.