Mario went down the stairs of his house, sliding on the railing, and he landed softly on the first floor. He then ran to his house's yard immediately after, without slowing down. You could tell he was on a rush, especially when he went back from the yard, broom and vacuum cleaner in hand, wearing gray shorts and a white T-shirt slightly torn from the right shoulder, and with some barbecue sauce stains included on the stomach. With those cleaning tools at his disposal, he ran quickly to the second floor, again, and he went to an empty bedroom that consisted of a single bed and a wooden wardrobe near a big window with white curtains.

Once he entered, he started swiping the floor, and after leaving he passed his index finger one last time on the wardrobe, smiling with satisfaction at the sight that there wasn´t dust at all. He then continued cleaning his house, which he has been doing since he woke up a few hours ago. Once he finished cleaning all his house, he ran at his top speed to put his cleaning tool back where they belong, and when running back to his bedroom he gave a quick sight to the red clock that was hanging on the living room's wall. After noticing that the clock marked 10 o'clock in the morning, he smiled since this meant he was on time, so he went to his bedroom and took a deserved shower.

After a long shower, he put on a red T-shirt and blue jeans, he took his wet towel, and he went to the yard to hang his towel for it to dry. It was difficult and time consuming, but he had finally perfectly prepared the bedroom that his unexpected guest was going to use. Normally, he would have reluctantly accepted a late accommodation petition like this one, which was sent to him the previous night. But since it was made by a friend with which he doesn´t have contact as usually as he wanted, he put that behavior aside and he gladly accepted, even when that meant he had to convert his brother's old bedroom from an improvised storing room to a functional bedroom again. He even had to ran to the nearest supermarket to buy new bed sheets, and not just any type of bed sheets, he wanted ones that were soft and with good quality. He likes to do things the right way.

Once everything was set and done, he sat on a couch on his living room to watch a bit of TV to relax. He laid down on the couch, and after a few minutes he would have closed his eyes if someone hadn´t rung the bell, making him jump a bit. He stood up from the couch, turned off the TV and walked to the door while he was scratching his head, letting out a deep yawn. When he arrived at the door and opened it, he was received by a sudden attack to his head, feeling a soft and bulky object trying to find equilibrium over his hair, and that made him lose his equilibrium.

Once Mario recovered the equilibrium, he rolled his eyes up by instinct, as if that would help him figure out what was over his head. And as if life were answering his mental questions, he felt something touching the sides of his head, and the upper part of a Luma peeked over his forehead, showing off his little eyes. Mario smiled to the little one, who was the Luma that helped him during his adventures, and then he crossed his arms, waiting for the Luma to get off his head. Meanwhile, Rosalina was watching them carefully with an almost imperceptible smile.

The little Luma got off Mario's head, and he offered his hand to the Luma, which the little one took with his two little arms, and he started shaking it energetically, making Mario laugh. Once they saluted each other, the Luma floated towards his mother until he stopped at her side, leaning on her right shoulder. Mario smiled to Rosalina, and she let out a soft giggle, closing her eyes.

"I see you missed each other." The princess of the cosmos commented on a soft and slightly melancholic tone, implying that her words weren´t referring only to the Luma.

"Well, we went through a lot together after all. If it weren´t because of him, I would have ended floating on space." Mario answered on a more relaxed and kinder tone, and he slightly clapped afterwards, changing topic quickly. "Whatever, it's also a pleasure seeing you again, Rosy."

Rosalina, who was carrying a cyan handbag on her left shoulder and a wheeled suitcase on her other hand, freed her hands and walked closer to Mario, hugging him. He corresponded to his friend's embrace, giving her three little pats on her back, after which they parted. That was the signal that Mario has taught to her to distinguish between embraces as a way of saluting others and embraces to show affection: the ones used for saluting were shorts, as short as three simple pats.

"It's also a pleasure for me to see each other face to face again, Mario. At least on a more jovial and relaxed environment, without a so much hustle." Rosalina commented, maintaining her monotonous and serious tone, but with a soft bit of sweetness and happiness.

"I know it." Mario started, scratching his nape. "It looks like we can only see each other when someone's in danger or when there´s an important event. I suppose we are busy people hehehe." Mario let out a short laugh, which fade out slowly.

"We both have important duties to work on, and because of that I'm grateful for moments like this.

Mario looked at the floor and mumbled on a low tone, so low that neither Rosalina nor the Luma were able to hear him "Yeah … important."

He quickly lifted his head again, looking directly at Rosalina. "Well, come in and allow me to guide you to your bedroom so you can leave your stuff there."

Mario took a step towards her and took the handle of her wheeled suitcase, taking it inside. However, Rosalina extended her hand towards him, putting it over his shoulder. "There's no necessity for you to do this, Mario. I can carry my stuff."

"I know it Rosy, but I want to help you. You are now in my house, and you are my guest, this is what a good host does." Rosalina let out of Mario's shoulder, and she took her handbag and hanged it on her left shoulder.

"Like a hotel?" She asked with curiosity.

"Well, in hotels the great majority does it because it's their job, it's a mutual benefit relationship. I do it because I want to be kind with you."

Mario, knowing that Rosalina was going to keep discussing with him, quickly entered, and Rosalina had no option other than following him, and once she was inside the house, he closed the door and went to the stairs. Rosalina and the Luma were floating behind him as they went up the stairs while he was explaining certain things to them. "You'll see, I use to have lunch around two o'clock, but if you want to eat before that, then don´t hesitate on telling me. The house has three bathrooms, two upstairs and one on the first floor. The two on the second floor are each connected to one of the bedrooms, and each one has a shower, although … maybe the shower will be small for you." Mario commented, looking nervously at Rosalina.

"Don't worry for that Mario, I'll sure come up with something with my magic." She answered while maintaining her calmed posture.

"Sure". Mario continued a bit more relaxed. "Well, going back to what I was saying, I'm not the type of people that wakes up early in the morning, so if you want to do it, I'll have to ask you to be quiet, please. You can go wherever you want in my house and my fridge is always open in case one day you want to eat something."

Finally, Mario entered the bedroom destined for Rosalina and left there the suitcase, after which she entered. When the Luma entered he let himself drop on the bed, sinking on the sheets while closing his eyes. Mario just smiled at the sight of this action, and Rosalina put her handbag besides the door, looking at Mario.

"You are very kind, Mario, and I promise that neither me nor the Luma will be a hassle for you." She commented as if she were apologizing for something.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong, I'm just helping a friend. You would've done the same thing for me if I had needed a place to stay in while my house is remodeled." Mario walked outside of the room, turning around before totally leaving, in case Rosalina had anything else to say before he leaves her alone.

She just nodded slightly and floated to her bed, sitting on the edge of it beside the Luma, and looking right at Mario. He stayed where he was for a couple of seconds, and once he realized the silence between them was getting uncomfortable, he decided to go away.

"If you need anything don't hesitate on calling me. I'll be on the living room while you get comfy." After that farewell, Mario turned around and left the place. After that Rosalina started carefully watching the room. Then she stood up and floated slowly towards her handbag, taking her wand out. She pointed at her suitcase and handbag with it, and all her stuff started floating surrounded by a white aura that shined as if it were a star and went to their respective places on the bedroom afterwards, including the bathroom. The Luma stood up and sit on the bed, clapping to her mom, who smiled at him with tenderness as she kept organizing the room. Finally, a photo of her with all her children floated out of her suitcase and landed softly on the nightstand beside her bed.

The Luma stared at the photo for a few seconds, after what he looked back at his mom "We will go visit my brothers, right mama?" The little one asked.

Rosalina slightly smiled at him. "Of course, but we will also stay here from time to time. Mario is letting us stay here, and it will be discourteous to let him alone all day and come back only to sleep or to eat."

"Mmmm, you are right, and we also have to take advantage of him having free time. It seems that he is always busy rescuing his beloved one … I'm worried that he doesn't rest enough."

Rosalina let out a melancholic sigh as an answer to her son's comment, and then muttered "I know." She quickly changed her attitude afterwards, making her momentary change of attitude imperceptible for the Luma, and once on her usual calmed and kind tone she answered with the intention of the Luma hearing her. "You aren't the only one worried about him, but I'm sure Mario has his well-deserved breaks."

The luma stood up from the bed and got closer to his mom, getting close to her face. "You are right, he looked as enthusiastic as always when he received us. Although, I still have a doubt. Why does he call you Rosy?" The little want put a special emphasis on the last word, highlighting it with confusion.

Rosalina let out a soft giggle, caressing the little one afterwards. "It's an affectionate nickname, son."

"Affectionate nickname? … I thought putting nicknames was bad."

"Only when you want to hurt others. In this case, Mario trusts me and likes me as her friend, so he refers to me with that nickname to express his affection for me."

"Ohhh, so all your friends name you like that."

"Well, not all of them, in fact now that I think about it … he is the only one that does it."

Rosalina stayed a little thoughtful for a couple of seconds. Up until that point she had never put much thought on Mario referring to her with that affectionate nickname, she simply accepted it for finding it tender on his side.

"Well, maybe is because he was your first friend, and thus your friendship means more for him and for you." The little Luma replied.

"Ehh, sure." Rosalina commented quickly, appreciating the quick exit to the conversation. "You already know how he is; he surely also has a cute nickname for Peach."

"And do you think he has one for me?" The little one answered, with a little bit of illusion.

"I don't know, you don't have a proper name."

"Oh … that's right." The little luma used his small arm to scratch his head, lifting his hat a bit. "And … do you think we have to tell Mario that we finished unpacking?"

Rosalina looked at her surroundings, and then turn around to see the luma. "I guess, just let me change outfit, alright?"

"Sure."

Rosalina lifted her wand over her head and started spinning it, making little white sparkles come out of it, covering her whole body. Once they were gone, she was left with a black shirt and dark blue jeans. "Alright, let's go."

Both went out of the room and floated over the hallway, went down the stairs and arrived at the ground floor, where they heard Mario laughing while he watched TV. Mother and son looked at each other before going further, silently entering at the living room and staying behind Mario, watching the TV with him without him noticing them. Two koopas discussing between them were on screen, and they were on an office with cubicles. Both were wearing shirt and tie, and one of them had a cup of coffee. They seemed to be discussing about their job, and one of them looked annoyed with the other.

"This work environment is impossible to deal with!" The koopa without a cup of coffee complained. "No one takes anything seriously!"

"That's not true" A hammer bro that appeared from the top of one of the cubicles commented, leaning on the edge of the top with his two hands. "We are the most productive unit of the company, so much that the boss gave us a rise last week."

"Yep, think about that before grumbling." The koopa with the cup of coffee commented.

"Alright, alright, maybe I'm generalizing, but don't tell me that you endure everyone in here." The koopa that started all continued.

"You are right." The hammer bro commented. "No one likes you."

"Well, then I may move to another section. I don't care about the money; I just want a place where I can live peacefully and without worrying about what I say."

"You have your house for that." The koopa with the cup of coffee commented.

Mario chuckled, and the luma let out his opinion. "That was rude."

Mario turned around upon hearing the luma, and Rosalina took the luma and put him on her stomach, preventing him from talking anymore. "I'm sorry Mario, I regret interrupting your entertainment session." Rosalina commented, feeling sorry.

Mario took the remote control and turned off the TV, standing up from the couch really surprised. "Em … I thought that you … you'd be accommodating yo~your stuff and … did you change clothes?"

Rosalina let go off the luma and looked directly at Mario. "I decided to change clothes to adjust to your more casual outfit." Mario looked at himself instantly, but Rosalina continues talking, ignoring his reaction. "I used magic to accommodate my stuff quickly. And then I thought it'll be courteous to tell you that I finished, to spend time together."

Mario scratched his head, feeling a little bit confused, but he ended up accepting Rosalina's proposition. "Yeah … sure, it makes sense. I'm not hungry yet, so if you want, we can talk for a bit. We need to catch up on our lives."

"I know." Rosalina commented, looking at the luma afterwards. "My child, could you go play on the backyard? I'd like to talk with Mario, alone."

"Why?" The luma asked.

"Because we'll touch on boring adult topics, and I don't think you want to listen to us." His mother replied.

"I promise to play with you later." Mario added.

"Alright!" The luma said. "I'll see you later, Mario!" The luma went flying towards Mario's backyard, closing the door behind him.

"Well, come inside." Mario commented, walking to the kitchen with Rosalina. Once there, she used her wand to move two chairs, one for her and one for Mario, who looked at her and commented on a playful tone. "I'd like to see what you can do without your magic." With a challenging giggle afterwards.

Rosalina descended softly on her chair, and Mario softly pushed her closer to the table. She turned around to see him, playfully smiling at him. "You'll never know if you keep helping me."

"Well, I'll take the risk then."

They both smiled at each other, and Mario walked towards the chair Rosalina moved for him to sit on, and once he sat on the chair, it moved itself until he was accommodated in front of the table. He looked at Rosalina, who laid her arms over the table, looking at his eyes with illusion, eager to state the conversation with who she considered her best friend, and someone she didn't hang out with as much as she'd like.

"See?" We help each other." She commented, referring to her action with the chair.

"I know, that's why I didn't say anything."

Rosalina let a soft sigh. "So, how have you been? I've heard you were on a hotel with your brother and Peach."

"Ah, that." Mario leaned on the chair, letting out a tired sigh. "A hotel for the whole family, with a kidnapping experience for free."

"That's what I supposed. Peach told me what she remembers, more or less, but you always talk with your brother, so tell me. How did everything happen?"

"Hasn't Luigi told you?" Mario commented, somewhat confused.

"I prefer for you to do it; I love your gestures when you tell stories." Rosalina answered on a tender tone, like a little girl begging for a bedtime story to one of her parents.

"Alright, alright, I must give the audience what they want, right?" Mario answered, sitting up straight on the chair. "You'll see, everything started when Luigi received this weird invitation on the mail."

Mario told Rosalina everything his brother told him about his adventure, standing up on the chair to imitate the characters. And he didn't just make gestures, he also imitated the voice of the persons involved. For example, he talked on a tired and old voice when he imitated E. Gadd, bending over and using a pair of false purple party glasses he had on the living room; for King Boo he asked Rosalina for her crown, and he had a really good imitation of the boo's laugh, even when he got his tongue out; and finally for Hellen Gravely he pretended he had a scarf on his neck and he bent his hips on a seductive way while he laid his right hand over his waist, making a pedantic and egocentric voice with high tones. Each one of his interpretations made Rosalina giggle softly, but his interpretation of Hellen Gravely made her burst of laughter, and while blushing she was covering her mouth, ashamed of how loud she was laughing. Once Mario finished the story, he sat down again, letting his laughter out to join Rosalina. After a few seconds, the blonde managed to calm down, breathing with difficulties.

"You know? I always loved your laughter." Mario commented, totally calmed down.

"Th~thank you." Rosalina answered, blushing due to the compliment.

"Now that I've told you this, it's your turn to tell me something about you."

"Mario, you know that my life isn't that interesting." Rosalina answered, once again on her usual serious and calmed tone.

"So, what? Tell me something, whatever. I want to know about you." Mario replied, leaning over the table while he looked at his friend with curiosity.

"Well, as you may know, my home suffered a small accident after I fell asleep when I shouldn't." Rosalina commented, ashamed of the last part. "I was too tired."

"It was not your fault. Taking care of so many lumas must be exhausting, no matter for how long you've been doing it." Mario added, wanting to take unnecessary guilt from his friend. He knew her too well.

"That's what Polari and my child told me, but there's always that 'I could've prevented it' thought, you know?"

"Better than anyone else Rosy, better than anyone else."

"And, changing the topic a bit … I never thought about this before, but why do you call me Rosy?"

The question surprised Mario, who scratched his head in confusion. "Well … I don't have a specific reason, I believe. I was just thinking about a short way of saying your name and that was the one that I thought of, and well, I liked it because it sounded tender and cute, but if it makes you feel uncomfortable, I can call you Rosa, like the rest."

"No, don't worry, it doesn't bother me, I was just curious about its origin and why you are the only one that calls me like that. And I do find it cute and tender, it's like … something special between us." Rosalina answered, giving the last phrase a sweet and shy tone.

Mario smiled upon hearing her, slightly blushing after hearing her say "something special between us" in the way she said it. "Yeah … something truly ours." Mario added, since his friendship with Rosalina meant a lot to him, and for her too. "And now that we are on the topic, tell me. Why do you choose to stay with me? I'm sure you would've been more comfortable with Peach, since she is, well … a girl."

Rosalina laid down on the chair, looking at Mario's eyes still. "I had that factor in mind, but Peach's attitude would've been difficult for me to put up with over time. She is usually more active, while I prefer to have a more calmed style of life. Then I considered Pauline, but I didn't want to be an extra person during the eventual visit of her … boyfriend?" Rosalina made a small pause in between the last two words, rising an eyebrow.

Mario giggled as an answer. "Pauli likes a lot to just live the moment, so she doesn't like to have long-term relationships, it's normal that you feel confused, but I understand what you are trying to say."

"Alright. So, after that thought process, I ended up at the conclusion that staying with you was a good idea. You know the lumas, so I could bring one with me without causing trouble, and you are the one I trust the most among my friends, so I feel really comfy here."

"And that's great." Mario finished, standing up from his chair. "I think I'll go see what's the luma doing. I'm still not hungry after all. And you?"

"Me neither." Rosalina answered, standing up from her seat too. "I'll join you."

Mario nodded, and both started walking towards the backyard, where the little luma was floating all over the place, dropping on the grass from time to time to roll over it. Once the three where outside, Mario started playing with the luma while Rosalina watched them, making comments from time to time. They kept this dynamic until Mario went back into the kitchen to start making the lunch, leaving his two guests on the backyard. Rosalina teleported to where the observatory was to gather some star bits, greeting the rest of the lumas as well. Once she had a bunch of star bits, she came back to Mario's backyard carrying a small bag of cyan cloth full of star bits, keeping them away from the little luma.

"This is for lunch, and you won't eat a lot, just what you need." She firmly said.

"But …" The little luma tried to complain, but his mother interrupted him. "But nothing, you need to learn that eating is a necessity, not a pleasure. You can't devour everything in just one day."

"But there are more star bits in outer space." He kept insisting, to what her mother just sighted. "Sure, but I don't have them here, so they aren't at your disposal. Everything with moderation."

"Mmmm … fine. You would never want something bad for me." The luma said, doing a small spin on the air, going with his mother to the kitchen afterwards.

Rosalina offered help to Mario with preparing the lunch once she arrived at the kitchen, but he insisted that she was his guest so she shouldn't worry about anything. Once they finished eating, the luma fall flat over his back, on the table. He closed his eyes and just stayed laying over the table, making the two adults of the house smile. Mario leant on his chair, letting out a sigh as he grabbed his belly.

"I think I let the food to get out of hand." He commented, feeling full.

Rosalina copied his actions, leaning on her chair and letting her tummy out, ending with a heavy sigh. "I don't remember the last time I ate this much, not counting the times I ate star bits."

"And I didn't think you would eat that much." Mario commented with a bit of curiosity. However, his comment made Rosalina blush a bit, putting her left hand over her mouth, covering it. "I'm sorry." She answered, apologizing.

Mario leant over the table, answering worried. "It's n~not something bad, I just commented it with curiosity. In fact, I like that you don't force yourself to eat a little just so you can look pretty, besides, it's not like you need to."

Rosalina relaxed again, sketching out a small smile with her thin lips. "T~thanks … I guess." She looked at her stomach once more, touching it with her left hand's index finger. "Although I'm feeling chubbier than usual."

"Chubbier?" Mario asked with curiosity.

"Oh! The stuff I say." Rosalina replied while she laughed ashamed. "Mommy stuff. When I talk with my child, I usually say everything on a more playful tone, especially when I hug them or show them affection in general. When I'm with you I feel in confidence and I speak more naturally, so it slipped out of my mouth."

"Hehe, don't worry, I understand. I just found it curious sine I haven't heard you talk like that before. But since you scratched my curiosity, tell me. Do you make a fake voice when you talk with children or babies?"

"A fake voice?" Rosalina raised her visible eyebrow, confused by the question.

"Yeah, you know, when you put a high and sweet tone to your voice."

Rosalina blushed again, deviating her sight from Mario's face, crossing her arms. "Y~y~yes … I have one."

Mario leant on the table, putting his elbows over it and laying his head over his hands, looking carefully at Rosalina. "Show me." She was ashamed, so she just gave a simple answer with an almost inaudible murmur, but Mario was able to listen to her, nonetheless. "No."

"Aw, come on, my curiosity is itching. If you want, I can show you mine too."

Rosalina looked at Mario with curiosity. "Yours? … have you taken care of babies before?"

"Yep, I once got on an adventure with some baby yoshis, and I learnt how to calm them. Besides, I sometimes go to Yoshi's Island to help taking care of the babies, and there was a time a long time ago where I worked as a babysitter."

"Seriously?" Rosalina was intrigued, since even though she knew that Mario and Luigi had to work since their teenage years to pay their studies, she had never heard that they mentioned babysitting as one of those jobs.

"Yes, really seriously. That helped me a lot with my patience, trust me."

Rosalina deviated her sight once again. She still felt embarrassed about the idea of showing Mario how she talked to the lumas when they were alone; but the thought of hearing him talking as if he were talking with a baby, and the confidence she had on him where enough to encourage her.

"F~fine …" Mario used Rosalina's pause to lift a fist as a sign of his victory while he softly shouted, so that she quickly continued. "But with one condition."

Mario looked at her, being more calmed. "Sure, I listen to you."

"I want you to close your eyes."

"Um … sure." Mario accepted Rosalina's terms and closed his eyes, even putting his hands over them so she would be sure that he couldn't see her. "Come on, I'm ready."

Mario listened Rosalina taking a deep breath, and after a short pause of a few seconds he could hear her talking on a tender and playful manner really close to him. "It seems that we are a bit chubbier after that delicious lunch, aren't we? I can see that tummy hihihihihi."

"Yyyyes … cuddle me with love." The sleepy luma commented on his dreams, causing Mario to start giggling quietly, taking him out of his imagination in which he saw Rosalina looking at him with tenderness while she talked to him. She, on the other side, shut up immediately and blushed a bit. "D~done … now it's your turn."

Mario took his hands off his eyes, opening them while he smiled to his friend. "Come on, you shouldn't be embarrassed for talking like that to the lumas. And being honest, I think I'll ask you to talk to me like that another day." Mario ended his sentence with a sassy smile. Rosalina refused by moving her head from side to side while speaking on a louder tone than usual. "No! it's embarrassing if another adult hears me!"

"Wh~what's going on, where are adults!?" The sleepy luma shouted, waking up due to the loud voice of his mother. Rosalina calmed down immediately, looking at the luma.

"I~I'm sorry my little one. It wasn't my intention to wake you up, I think that I … got a bit altered." She commented, ashamed.

The luma sat on the table, stretching as if he were yawning, taking his hat afterwards and putting it over his head again. "You don't need to apologize mom; I think I'm not sleepy anymore hihihihihi." The little one ended his sentence with various high pitch sounds, which Mario interpreted as a laugh.

Mario then stood up from the table and picked up the dishes, taking them to the kitchen to wash them. Rosalina asked him if she could go to her home to visit the lumas, to what he answered that she was free to do what she wanted. The guardian thanked his hospitality once again and retired from the place, letting a thoughtful Mario in the kitchen. Once he finished washing the dishes used for the lunch, he dried and stored them, walking to the living room afterwards to sit in front of the television, looking at it even though it was turned on.

'Who would say that Rosalina, despite always talking on a serious and calmed tone, would've a sweet and adorable voice like that. If it weren't for the luma, I would've started talking to her, totally lost on her voice.' He thought, taking the TV remote while he let out a soft sigh. 'For now, I think I'll just … watch TV for a while.'

He then turned on the TV, keeping him entertained for a couple of hours until he started feeling sleepy. He started slowly closing his eyes, and he suddenly bobbed his head to the front so quickly that he almost goes headfirst into the floor. After reacting just in time and sitting correctly, he decided to turn off the TV and go to his bedroom to sleep. Once he was on his bedroom, he looked at the hour before laying down on his bed: it was 5 o´clock on the afternoon.

'I´ll just close my eyes for a bit.' He thought, taking off his shoes and laying down over his bedsheets. And just as he thought, Mario closed his eyes, although not for a bit. He slept deeply, so much that he only woke up after hearing someone was calling to his cellphone, doing a small hop after reacting. Still with his eyes half closed he reached out his phone, answering the call without looking who it was from.

"Hello?" Mario let out a yawn after his initial greeting, getting surprised after hearing Rosalina on the other side of the line. "Mario, it's me, Rosalina. Is everything okay?"

Mario sat on the edge of the bed, stretching to scratch his back while he let out another yawn. "Yeah, everything's fine, I just watched a little bit of TV after lunch, and I think I fell asleep for a few minutes after that hehe. Are you still with the lumas?"

"N~no, Mario. I'm outside of your house, and I was starting to worry because you didn't seem to be able to listen to me knocking on the door, and this is the fifth time I call to your cellphone after calling to your house phone."

Mario suddenly opened his eyes, looking at the clock that was on his night table: it was 7 o'clock PM. Worried, and feeling like an idiot, he hung up the call and got out of his bedroom tripping all over the place, almost rolling down the stairs. Once on the first floor, he slammed himself against the wall of the main hallway and continued running towards the door, finally opening it. On the other side, Rosalina was standing wearing a cyan coat that had a beige, fluffy inside, on top of a cyan scarf around her neck, and a clothed, cyan beany that covered her ears. Mario was panting on the entrance, and after calming down he scrubbed his eyes, straightening again.

"Aw, Mario, I'm sorry for making you come down that quickly. Are you alright?" Rosalina asked, feeling worried.

"Yes … I'm fine, oh Rosy, I regret falling asleep. You know I have a really heavy sleep, em. How long have you been waiting for me?" Mario was nervous about the answer she may give him.

"Well ... thirty minutes, more or less." Rosalina answered, holding her right arm with her left one. When she breathed, a little bit of mist came out of her fine lips, since on that season of the year the nights were colder than usual. Mario felt terrible for leaving his guest outside with the cold weather, even if she could warm herself up with her magic, or make warm clothes appear for her. "Rosy, come in, you're freezing out there!" Without putting much thought on it, Mario took her hand and put her inside the house. "Why didn't you come in with your magic?"

"Because I respect your privacy." With each sentence she said, Mario felt more and more guilty.

"Oh Rosy, I'm sorry, I'm such an idiot, I'll understand if you are furious with me and …"

Rosalina put her right hand over Mario's left shoulder, and she answered him with a soft, warm smile. "I'm not mad or indignant. In fact, I'm feeling relieved that nothing bad happened to you."

Mario felt the guilt and embarrassment going away, and due to that he started noticing the weather, feeling the cold ambient. He hugged himself due to that, trembling a bit. "Wow, I've forgotten how cold the ambient could get during this season. I'll go and put a fire on the chimney and…"

Rosalina lifted her wand, which emitted a soft red light that extended all over the house, warming up the ambient and leaving a cozy temperature. Then she shook the wand over her head, vanishing the scarf, the coat and the beany.

"Or you can use your magic, that'll also do the trick." Mario commented with a smile. "Hey, what happened to the luma?"

"He wanted to stay with his brother tonight. I believe he doesn't want to stay away from them for too much time."

Mario let out a soft chuckle. "I understand it, when Luigi and I were children, we never wanted to separate from each other." He looked around, snapping his tongue. "So, what do you want to do now?"

Rosalina put her arms behind her back and looked at the floor, feeling a bit embarrassed. She then stuttered on a timid and insecure way. "I~I wa~was thinking about looking at the stars for a while, and I~I was won~wondering if … if you'd like to jo~join me."

"Sure, I'd love to join you."

Rosalina lifted her face and smiled on a more notorious way than usual; you could easily tell she was enthusiastic. "Thanks for accepting. The advantage is that with my magic we can do it from here, taking advantage from the fact that inside your house is warmer than outside."

Mario raised an eyebrow, confused. "From here?"

"You'll se. For now, I just need a comfortable place where we could lie down to see the roof."

Mario, who still didn't fully visualize what his friend planned to do, agreed to her new petition. "I can go for our bed's mattresses and some bedcovers to put on the living room's floor."

"Perfect, let me help you with that."

"Hey, it won't be necess…" Rosalina went floating to the second floor before Mario could finish his sentence, and after a few seconds she went down with the two mattresses floating over her head, and the bedcovers nicely bent and floating at her sides.

"Wow, you are really excited, uh." Mario commented, smiling in disbelief. He then moved the armchairs of the living room in order to leave a decent space to fit the mattresses.

Rosalina left the mattresses on the floor, putting them side by side, and then she put the bedcovers over them. She kneeled in one of the mattresses and then turned her sight to Mario. He noticed a subtle sparkle on her uncovered eye, coupled with an innocent smile. "This is one of my favorite pastimes. I use to lay down on my observatory's garden, or on the gateway planet, only to look at the stars. Some of my sons come and snuggle with me from time to time, but …" She lightly blushes, making a small pause. "This will be the first time I share this with another human … with one of my friends."

Mario simply smiled to the blonde, he took off his shoes and he dropped over the mattress, sinking a bit over it. He laid down on his side to look at Rosalina's eyes, talking to her. "And I'm flattered that you want to share this with me. Let's look at the stars together, Rosy."

Rosalina laid down completely on the mattress, putting her head at the same height that Mario's. Due to her size, her shoeless feet were outside of the mattress, but she wasn't bothered by it. "You know, this mattress is really soft, I like it … although it isn't as soft as my bed."

Mario lightly laughed. "There's no bed like one's bed, I always say that."

"That's true." Rosalina took her wand and pointed it towards the roof, which started to disappear afterwards, causing Mario to stand up a bit while he looked at the roof in disbelief. The guardian noticed this change in attitude, so she slightly smiled and then she looked at him, calming him. "Don't be altered, I'm not disappearing your roof, it's just an illusion. You'll see."

Mario calmed a bit, and in a matter of seconds he watched how more and more stars started to appear on the night sky until the living room's roof was completely replaced by a gorgeous nightly landscape full of stars that dimly lightened the place. Mario opened his mouth in awe, causing Rosalina to feel proud of what she had done. "Right now, I can project any part of the universe over your roof."

"It's … marvelous, incredible and … beautiful." Mario was distracted looking at the stars, so much that he started laying down again, putting his hands behind his head. This was a sight he missed, since looking at the stars from the Earth wasn't the same as looking at them from the different galaxies he visited, or even from the observatory. He missed that peace that the starts transmitted with their dim light, being so close to him. Rosalina, on her side, laid down again on the mattress and she started looking at the "starry sky", admiring it beauty like Mario. She crossed her arms over her belly, holding her wand with both of her hands. "Looking at the stars gives me peace, it always has done it, it's a fascination that I've had since I was a little girl."

"And I think you spread it to me when I visited you for the first time. I also need some peace from time to time."

Rosalina slightly moved her wand to the right, making the image of the universe they were watching move in the same direction. "Tell me when you see something that catches your eye." She commented with a bit of pride.

Mario smiled in response to his friend's action, looking carefully at the roof. "Show me something interesting, something that can't be seen from the Earth."

"Alright. Look at this." Rosalina accelerated the speed of the moving image of the universe, stopping at a light red nebula that stood out from the black background of the universe. Rosalina lifted her hand and started pointing to different parts of the nebula. "I call this one the crab nebula. If you look carefully, you can see both pincers, the legs, and two little spots where the nebula's gas is dimmer than the rest, and you have the eyes."

Mario started focusing on the spots that Rosalina pointed at, and he was capable of perceive a small crab with a pincer over its head and the other 'in front' of it, which made him let out a soft giggle. "Yeah, it's a crab for sure. Do you have more of these nebulae?" Rosalina didn't answer, but she moved the image until another nebula appeared, this time it was dark blue mixed with a light orange. She didn't say anything, so Mario started deciphering on his own the shape of the nebula. He changed his angle of sight a bit, lifting his hands to cover certain parts of the nebula. "Mmmmm … it looks a bit like a luma, although the orange part is kind of an extra."

"I consider the orange part to be like a hat, don't you think?" Rosalina answered.

"Well, it could be. Did you already give it a name?"

"I just call it luma with a hat."

"That's a bit long, don't you think?"

Rosalina looked at Mario. "And how would you call it?"

Mario thought about it for a few seconds, snapping his fingers afterwards and turning around to see his friend while he smiled. "Luma chef."

"Excuse me?" Rosalina looked confused, so Mario lifted one of his hands towards the image and started showing her what he was looking at. "If you look closely the orange stain looks like one of those long chef hats."

"I think I see it." Rosalina commented, slightly smiling. "This is fun. Do you want to help me name more nebulae?"

"Of course, we will find really funny shapes for sure."

And just like that, they planned to spend the rest of the night virtually traveling across the universe while they searched and named diverse nebulae. The hours went flying for them, and with time they started to feel sleepy. In fact, they were looking for more nebulae when Mario noted that the image wasn't moving at all. "Rosy, the image stayed still. Don't tell me that we reached the edge of the universe because …" Mario looked at his friend, noticing that her wand had slid from her belly to the mattress, as well as the fact that her face was now looking at him, but her eyes were closed. Mario understood that his friend fell asleep, so he smiled and took her wand, leaving it on top of the mattresses to avoid that Rosalina hurts herself with it while moving asleep during the night. Without looking at the hour, Mario laid down besides her and stayed staring at the roof, slowly closing his eyes while he retained the image of that starry sky on his mind before falling asleep. Luckily for them, the temperature spell didn't disappear, and as soon as Mario closed his eyes the image of the universe started slowly vanishing, leaving Mario's house completely dark. Inside that darkness, Mario started to fall asleep as well.