Oh my god.

It was so hard to breathe. The boot was digging into his side. The pressure around his waist was almost unbearable.

"Mario you're gonna kill me!"

"Geez, what are you? Five? Stop whining!"

Luigi's hope that the conversation from the night before had only been a bad dream was immediately dashed when Mario came into his room around five in the morning the next day. Arms overflowing with various articles of Peach's clothing, he hadn't managed to get very far before tripping over the dress that had been dragging out in front of his feet. A fit of noise and swears later, Mario had left Luigi alone with the princess' clothing to try on.

After doing his best to squeeze into what he could, he called his brother back in. One look was enough to make Mario skeptical, and he had left to go get something else.

And now here they were, both holed away in Luigi's walk-in closet, discovering the joys of putting on a corset.

Feeling like his guts were being forced into his chest, Luigi could barely gasp out, "This is crazy! I'll never get this on!"

Mario pulled tighter.

"Yes."

More tugging.

"You."

I'm going to die.

"WILL."

Knees shaking and completely out of breath, Luigi's hands shot out at his sides to keep him from falling over. After taking the deepest breath he could manage, he opened his eyes. The closet mirror's reflection of him was… Well…

"Wow. This is… so weird. It looks like there's huge chunks of me missing." He reached down at his sides and flapped through the air where his stomach should have been.

"Yeah, yeah, you look slim and beautiful. Call me back when you're ready. We're starting to run low on time."

Mario closed the door behind himself and went out to wait in the bedroom. Luigi tried his best to push the nausea that was rising in his throat. The corset felt like it was flipping his insides out.

When he felt a little more stable, he pulled Peach's dress back on. It fit alright, still a little tight around the hips, but at least he was all the way in it this time. The shoes Mario had given him were a surprisingly bearable fit, but he would definitely have to get used to walking in the heels. The final touches were the wig and veil. After throwing his cap aside again and propping them both on his head, he took a good look at himself in the mirror.

It was almost scary how different it all made him look. Luigi was already pretty tall and skinny, but the corset really did crazy things to his usual figure. If he didn't know any better, he might as well have been looking right at Peach. The only thing that broke the illusion was his face, and that was well hidden as soon as the pink veil went down. Gently, he slid the fake crown's pins from the wig hairs and readjusted it so it was centered right on top of his head. Perfect.

"Ok, that's freaky."

"Right?"

Mario was looking at him incredulously, mouth slightly agape, as Luigi walked out into the room.

"Looks like Peach has some competition huh?" He mockingly said, his hands planted on his hips. Or what he was pretty sure were his hips. It was hard to feel anything past his chest.

"Eugh, gross Luigi. Come on. Hurry up."

Mario pushed himself out of his seat and quickly made his way towards the door, dragging a stumbling Luigi alongside him.

"Wait, already? We haven't ev-"

"This took way longer than I thought it would." Mario interrupted. "If we don't get you out of here quick, Peach will wake up or we might miss Bowser. You might be alright with explaining this to her if you get caught, but I'm not. Hurry. Remember, walk around the garden. If you see anything let us know."

He was trying to push Luigi out the door now, but the pseudo princess' heels were planted firmly into the carpet.

"What if someone sees me?"

"No one's awake right now. Don't worry about it."

And Mario shoved him out into the hall.

Luigi stood frozen in time for a little bit before snapping back to reality. The corset wasn't the only thing vise gripping him now. The deep fear of being caught by someone in the castle started coursing through him and powered his legs before his brain could even make a spark.

Outside, outside. Where's the door?

Clopping around in these shoes really didn't make him envy Peach. The heels were a real challenge to walk in. And they were so noisy on the floorboards. He tried to walk on the long red and gold carpet stretching out in the middle of the hall, but the shoes kept digging into it and falling off his feet. He had to stop every now and then to slip them back on. He wanted out of the castle asap, but he would have to settle for a fast-ish walk. There was no way he was making it anywhere in a hurry without wiping out.

Passing the entrance to the kitchen and turning the corner, Luigi spotted the two yoshi statues standing on either side of a big set of oak and gold doors. The main exit to the castle grounds.

Finally.

He hoisted up his dress, picked up his pace the tiniest little bit and...

"Ah, Princess! How are you this fine morning?"

Damn it. Toadsworth.

"Princess?"

Terror gripping him, Luigi turned around. Toadsworth was, thank god, quite a ways down the hall. He summoned up his courage and gave the daintiest wave he could manage. This was it, the last test to see if he could really pull this off.

"Um, hello Toadsworth! I'm doing quite well. How are you?"

"Oh dear Princess, are you alright? Your voice is sounding quite coarse."

The elderly Toad had started approaching now, the concern in his voice unmistakable. Panic struck Luigi like a truck. He had to leave now.

"Shall I call the nurse?"

"Oh! No no! My throat's just... A little sore is all! Monday's speech must be catching up to me!" Luigi spoke with a wavering tone, rubbing his throat to accentuate his point.

"Um, if it isn't any trouble would you mind brewing me a cup of tea?!"

This stopped Toadsworth in his tracks.

"Oh of course! I'll get it right away. Lemon?"

"Yes that will do!"

As soon as Luigi heard Toadsworth's footsteps fade away in the direction of the kitchen, he quickly stumbled towards the exit and pushed open the huge oak doors. Quickly passing through the archway, he flattened his back against the castle's cold stone wall, and caught his breath. He had made it out.

That was way too close.

Looking out, the garden was as beautiful as ever. Well-groomed topiaries posed on top of their stone pillars, surrounded by marble and granite statues made to represent past events in the Mushroom Kingdom's history. A few had been erected in dedication to long gone monarchs or the building of the castle, but Luigi knew most of them were recent and had been carved in Mario's honour. Mario saving Peach, Mario defeating Bowser, Mario helping citizens. Mario, Mario, Mario.

Luigi had accepted a long time ago that his brother would most likely always outshine him. Besides, he really hated being the centre of attention and Mario's fame came with responsibilities he would rather not have to deal with. Luigi enjoyed his privacy.

As he wandered deeper into the garden, snaking in and out of the vine-covered arches and through the well-maintained hedges, his fear was making a slow and rising comeback. Before he left the castle, they hadn't had much of a chance to discuss what he was going to do if he spotted Bowser. And what if he spoke to him? He could try his best to imitate Peach. His falsetto was ok, but he had a hard time believing it would ever fool King Koopa. It had barely fooled Toadsworth.

After a good bit of walking around and not much action, Luigi decided to rest. He came up on one of the garden's peach trees. A marble bench had been placed at its base, a bronze plaque adorning the front, emblazoned names of past servants decorating it.

Sitting on the bench and looking out over the colourful gardens, Luigi was starting to understand why Peach liked taking these long morning strolls. It was peaceful and quiet. No one was around but him and the birds.

He was very rarely bothered with duties, but she was a princess. He knew she always had so much on her plate. Running a kingdom, settling and resolving political matters, ensuring the safety of her subjects. This was the perfect escape from all that, even if it was only for an hour or two. It was nice.

The peach tree's leaves shook in the wind.

Clouds rolled overhead, caressing the ground with soft shade.

The birds stopped singing.

The birds stopped singing?

Wait, there wasn't any wind. Or clouds. The sky was beautifully clear. A sinking feeling dropped in Luigi's chest. And this time it wasn't the corset. He slowly turned his head around.

A huge backlit shadow was approaching from behind him. Its heavy footsteps shaking the ground, the leaves, everything. It stopped right beside him. Looming. Powerful. The silhouette's gigantic shoulders and sharp horns were unmistakable.

"B-Bow… B-B-"

"Hello, Princess."

Surprising pain flared in the back of Luigi's head. The world went black before he even hit the ground.

Chapter 2 Notes

Another day, another chapter. What will happen to Luigi? Only time will tell. Hopefully he's allowed out of that corset soon though.

If there's anything you would've done differently, or if something feels off, lay it on me.