Start Note: I found it fitting to post the final chapter on the aniversary of the first. I can't believe it's been that long. That being said, this is the chapter I had the most in mind (being basically a re-work/recontextualized version of Winter's Night.) I hope you all enjoy it.
In one of the guest rooms on the lower floor, the three princesses would be sitting. One of the Pinopi butlers serves them tea before politely excusing himself. Daisy looks over Peach; she was wearing a summer outfit. A white blouse and white hat paired with a pink skirt and pink polka-dot ascot. A somewhat awkward silence fills the room until Rosalina speaks up, "So, Peach, how have you been?"
She gives a soft smile to Rosalina, "I've been well, thank you. I just got back from touring the world; my own little Odyssey."
'Well that explains why she wasn't at her castle,' Daisy thinks while sipping her tea.
"Thank you for the invite Daisy. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to attend, but I'm glad I made it," the pink princess smiles widely.
'Did I send her an invite? I didn't write one personally,' she takes another sip before realizing, 'Oh of course. When I had my staff send invites, they sent them to everyone on my list of friends: and Peach is at the top of it.' The flower princess shyly scratches her head, "H-heh. Well I'm glad you made it too. It's been a bit a while since we've talked." Peach grins before her expression shifts; she starts biting her lip nervously.
"I…think it's very sweet, what you're doing for Mario."
Daisy chokes on her drink, "O-oh?"
Peach can't help but giggle lightly, "I mean, you can't host a tennis tournament and a kart grand prix without news getting around~"
"Right…" she laughs awkwardly.
"But," Peach gives a sigh, "I also wanted to make sure things are alright, between the two of you."
"If things are alright?" Daisy raises an eyebrow.
"I mean, you know how Mario is. He's incredibly sweet and noble. But he's also a little headstrong, impulsive, and emotional."
"And being emotional is a bad thing?" the flower princess sets down her tea, putting her hands on her hips.
"No, not at all! But, I don't want you to rush into things," Peach puts her hands up in defense.
Daisy's temper rises; she scoffs, "Rushing?! You have no idea how long I've been waiting to get closer to him again!"
"Daisy, I don't want you to be just a rebound for him. You deserve better than that," Peach sighs.
"R-rebound?! Deserve better!?" Daisy's voice gets louder as she stands, glaring at her friend, "Deserving of what? Actual attention for once? And what did Mario do to deserve getting ghosted by you in the first place. huh?!"
"He proposed to me!"
Daisy's eyes widen as her heart stops; she feels the world break for a moment, "W-what?"
"On Honeylune Ridge, right after we escaped; after he cap-captured Bowser. When Mario popped free from Bower's body, we had a quiet moment. But that was quickly interrupted with Bowser proposing again," laments Peach.
Rosalina thinks to herself, 'So this is the part he left out when retelling the story to the Lumas.'
"And that's when Mario…." the toadstool princess tries to find the right words, "…I don't know if it was out of actual love, or his need to protect me, or just instinct, but he started competing with Bowser, presenting his own flower." Daisy sits down back on the guest bed, not saying a word. "And well, I had enough of weddings and proposals those past few days. I was sick of it. I shut them both down immediately and got on the Odyssey, waiting for Mario to take us back home."
The heartbroken flower princess shakes her head, "Why didn't you say yes? You…literally had everything I ever wanted."
Peach puts a hand on Daisy's shoulder, "Because it's not what I wanted. Daisy, believe it or not I actually…kinda envy some of your freedom."
This makes the brunette scoff, "Peach, you can have my freedom. You know how crippling lonely it is being here? I don't see you guys for weeks, even months at a time. It's just myself and my staff in these walls."
"And that's precisely it," the blonde smiles sadly, "I'm always the proper ruler of my kingdom. Or I'm Bowser's capture of the week again. Or I'm the hottest bachelorette with gossip about my 'special one.' I needed a break," she sighs, "I've been filling so many roles that I didn't know how I was anymore. Daisy, you know exactly who you are and what you want. You've had the time to reflect, even if it was too much. I had so much going on, I forgot how to be myself. Not her royal grace, nor Princess Toadstool, or even being someone's other half. I forgot what it was just being Peach." Daisy's glare softens into a sympathetic smile. She never thought about how exhausting it was being in her shoes.
She pulls her friend into a hug, "Peach I'm sorry, I never….knew."
Peach returns the hug, "It's ok. I understand your frustrations. And I admit, I…could've handled things with Mario better. But I do care about him, even if I'm…not sure if its that romantic way. There are things I need to figure out about myself before I'm ready to make that call." They both pull apart from the hug, "But for what it's worth, I think…you'd be the best partner for him. Just…be careful about it, please. I couldn't bare seeing both of you having a falling out for not being ready."
"Alright, fair," Daisy chuckles softly. There's a knock on the door, breaking the moment.
"Uh, Princess? I hate to intrude but, we really do need you in the Dining Room," her Toad assistant speaks from the other side of the door.
"Oh, haha, sure Toadbias, give me a moment," she grins, looking at her two blonde friends; both of them nodding. They all get up and Daisy opens the door, revealing Mario standing next to the toad. The three princesses take a step back in shock and mild shame as the dapper adventurer enters the room. Daisy looks at the blue toad who only mouths a quiet, "Sorry…"
"M-Mario, how much did you h-" Rosalina tries to say before getting interrupted by the man in question.
"…Mia…..culpa…" his head hangs low. He takes a deep breath and stands straight again, refilling himself with some courage. He steps closer to Peach, "Peachy…I'm-a sorry. I never wanted to make you do something you never wanted to do. I just-a wanted to protect you, and I care about you. But that-a wasn't the right moment. You're a fantastic person, and you should-a never forget it." The blonde princess tries to respond but Mario already turns his attention toward Rosalina. "Rosa, you've-a been a great friend. I can't-a thank you enough for these past few days. Have a great night with Weegee, you two deserve-a the best for each other."
The cosmic guardian blushes and nods, whispering, "Thank you…Mario." The shorter man takes a deep breath again and looks at Daisy.
"Princi…erm, Daisy," he sighs, "I…never-a meant for you to be a rebound. You're, by-a far, one of the most special people in my life."
"Mario…" she grimaces, fearing what he's about to say next.
"This entire thing you've-a organized with my brother and Rosa here, ha toccato il mio cuore. (Has touched my heart) And it'll be one of my most precious-a memories. You deserve-a so much more than what I can-a give," he hands her the small gift he brought along, "I-a hope you have a wonderful party. I-a hope we're still close friends, even after this. Buona notte, Daisy."
She stammers and looks at the present, not sure what to say. Her mind is crossing a million thoughts, "Uh, Mario, I?" When returns to look at him, she sees him talking to Luigi before heading towards the main entrance, back to his kart. She defeatedly sits on the bed and holds the gift box close to her. "Uh, you guys go eat…I'm not….really hungry anymore."
Daisy lies in the guest room bed, staring at the ceiling. This was the polar opposite on how the night was supposed to go. She glances at the box a a few times, 'And this will probably be the last good memory of this week.'
There's a knock on the door followed by a gentle voice, "May I come in?"
Daisy lets out a groan, "Fine, Peach." The toadstool ruler shuts the door behind her and sits on the mattress, next to her friend. "Where's Rosa?"
"With Luigi, keeping him company for tonight. I think they're really hitting it off."
"Well, at least one of us is having a really good evening," she sighs, "I'm happy for them."
"Daisy…"
"Yes, Peach?" she huffs.
"I'm sorry if I ruined tonight. I didn't expect things to go this way. I just…really wanted to see my best friend."
The brunette nods, "It's…well, I'm not happy how things went. But I think things cleared up slightly for you and Mario. The bridge can now be rebuilt between you two."
"But your relationship with him h-"
"What relationship?" Daisy laughs painfully, "I really thought that tonight was the night. That we could finally at least make happen. Or at least try."
"You still can," Peach smiles.
Daisy sits up and looks at her, "Weren't you the one who didn't want me to rush into things?"
"I did yes. This means not marrying him or claiming you're his fated soulmate till our games be over; but it's obvious you two care deeply about each other." Silence fills the room for a few more moments, "Just…start it small and let it build. You two have a genuinely solid chance of making it work."
"Ya think so?"
Peach puts a hand on Daisy's knee reassuringly, "I honestly do~" Daisy looks at the present again. "Why don't you open it?"
"If tonight…doesn't work out, I wanna hold onto it. The symbolism of the box rather than what's inside it, y'know?"
"Daisy, you're the bravest, most sincere friend I have. You shouldn't let this be your biggest 'What If?' The gift inside is yours no matter what and it comes from his heart. Whether or not things pan out tonight, it's something you're going to look fondly of." With a deep breath, Daisy readies herself and opens the box. She pulls from it a wonderful ornate flower brooch similar to her own. The petals were crafted with opal, small gold embroidery drew the outlines and shapes, and at its center a brilliant shining teal sapphire ties it all together.
"Wow…" Daisy holds the brooch close to her heart then stands up, with her firey energy back. She runs out the door and through the party, heading for her royal gardens.
Peach could only smile, thinking to herself, 'Go get your happy ending.'
Mario looked up at the stars; he was lying on the roof of his humble home. The hero changed back into his usual trademark red outfit. 'Maybe I need a break. Step away from-a everyone. Find a new adventure,' he contemplates. Taking another look at the night sky and its constellations, he smiles bittersweetly, "It's-a beautiful tonight." Something breaks the tranquil scene; a low humming sound could be hard. It slowly gets louder; Mario turns his head trying to find out where it's coming from. A bright light begins to blind him; he covers his eyes as the humming becomes loud whirring.
"MARIO!" He hears a voice call out to him.
The red-capped man blinks, recognizing it, "Daisy?" His sight adjusts to the light and he sees the Sarasaland Princess piloting the Sky Pop; the plane he used to rescue her from Tatanga. She lands the plane in a soft patch of dirt just down the hill from his house. Mario quickly leaps off the roof to rush over to her. "Principessa, what are you doing here?! You still have the Sky Pop?! Mama mia, that's amazing! I thought it... Nevermind!" He composes himself, "You have a party you're hosting!"
Daisy jumps out of the cock pit, picking up the frills of her dress, dashing towards him. She cries out, smiling, "I don't care about the party right now! I wanna be here with you!"
"R-really?" Mario blushes and slows down his pace.
Daisy however, continues to run and practically tackles him with a hug, "Yes!" The shorter man turns redder; he doesn't know what to say at this moment. He doesn't return the hug, nervous about possibly ruining the moment.
"Daisy," he lifts his head slightly to look at her, "I…I'm-a sorry. I was thinking about what Peach said and, maybe she's right. Maybe I'm-a letting my heart take control too much. You…deserve-a someone with a better handle on things."
The princess pulls apart from the hug, but keeps holding onto his shoulders. "Again, someone goes on about what I deserve. Mario, I don't care about what I deserve. I just want you," she grins. Mario gulps; his hearts starts racing.
He looks into her deep cerulean eyes, "Even after my-a screw ups? You-a still want me?"
"Of course I do," she giggles and steps away, "I've…wanted this moment for a while. I wasn't sure if you felt the same way I did. Especially with, y'know, everyone considering you to be Peach's hero." He nods shamefully and looks at the ground. "But…this entire week you've shown me your love," she takes a step back towards him and places something in his hands. "You apologized and felt guilty when we played golf; you healed my arm during tennis. Heck, you even took a step away from me during Karting to make sure your feelings were genuine." He sees the ornate flower brooch he gifted her resting in his open palms. "Yes, you're passionate, short-tempered and emotional, but you're also kind, sweet, noble…" she holds his hands, cupping the jeweled flower between their fingers, "…and there's nothing about that I would change." The princess's heart beats faster now; her cheeks turn a shade of scarlet.
Mario inches his face closers to hers, "Principessa, Sei mozzafiato. (You're breathaking.) You..know me better than I do," he lets out a small chuckle, "I'm-a sorry about…making you wait for me."
"Don't worry, it was well worth it~" She places a hand on his cheek and kisses him. Mario immediately leans into it and deepens the kiss for a few more moments. They break apart but still hold each other's hands.
"So…you wanna go-a back to the party?" Mario grins, "I-a think they need their host~"
"Nah, my staff and our friends can handle it. Besides, I think something…smaller and quieter would be a nice way to end the night~" He nods and tries to think of something to do as her stomach starts to grumble. "H-heh, sorry, I kinda skipped dinner over this," she shyly admits.
Mario then gives a playful bow, "Then, my Principessa, how about I-a cook for you here. It's not as fancy as your-a dinner, but it's the very least I can do."
She gives him a quick kiss on the cheek, "I'd be honored~" With that, Mario leads her into his house. As he prepares the meal, Daisy takes off the flower on her chest and replaces it with the one he gifted her. He serves them both a healthy portion of spaghetti in red mushroom sauce with meatballs.
"Hope you don't-a mind pasta," he laughs nervously.
"It's a guilty pleasure," she teases before digging into her plate. Mario looks at her enjoying her meal. He smiles; this wasn't what he envisioned how this day, let alone this week to end. But there she was, Princess Daisy of Sarasaland, happily slurping noodles and beaming with an infectious positive energy. She hadn't seen her this happy, this at peace, for a while.
His puts his hand on-top of hers; she immediately squeezes it, grinning and giggling. 'She must have needed this as much as me,' he muses. While this wasn't nearly as extravagant or elegant as the party thrown for him, he wouldn't trade this moment for anything else in the world. Using his free hand, Mario finally digs into his meal.
End Note: Thank you so much to those who favorited, followed, kudo's, and bookmarked this story. I'm sorry that life happened and it dragged the updates in the second half, but I hope the wait was worth it. After this, I don't know what fics I'll exactly write, and it might be a while before I'm fully in the swing of things. Nonetheless I thank you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful night/day.