A/N: I'm currently working on an Advent Challenge, but it will only be posted fully on AO3 - you can find me there under the same name if you wish to see it. I will, however, be posting a few of my favourite stories from the challenge on here. This is one of them.
Enjoy!
Never, ever again.
In retrospect, if she had simply bought her gifts online instead of embarking on this hair-raising trip to the supermarket, she wouldn't have needed to deal with any of the problems she was facing right now. But she had been resolute in her decision to get the full and proper Christmas experience - to the point of sneaking out of the castle all alone, leaving poor Toadsworth to worry.
It wouldn't be for long, Peach told herself. She just needed to buy something for Mario. Everyone else's gifts had been procured already, wrapped and carefully tucked away in her bedroom, but she'd been a tad indecisive with Mario's, putting it off until the last minute, and she had nearly panicked upon looking at the date this morning and realising she had mere days left to choose something.
A new hat? No, his old one is perfectly fine... A pasta recipe book? Considering how well he can cook spaghetti, that would just be an insult!
She squeaked when a tired-looking mother rounded the corner and almost knocked her down. The woman's cart was laden with a combination of Christmas dinner ingredients and two excitable children who were clearly enjoying the chaos far too much, judging by the way they kept laughing while hurling things out of the cart. Peach shuddered as she passed them and made up her mind to never have kids. On the spot.
Who would she have them with anyway? Mario?
...Oh. Well, that was one way to bring colour to her face.
Striving to distract herself from such... ridiculous thoughts, she continued to run up and down the aisles, combing her brain for ideas. Mario loved cake, but she baked him cakes on the regular; giving him one for Christmas would be almost like giving him nothing at all. So that was a firm no-go in her mind. Mario deserved something special.
What does he like?
It was with a mixture of panic and regret that she realised she knew very little about his interests - only the shallowest things, like what foods he enjoyed. She could hardly come up with a single thing that might serve as a suitable Christmas present for him. She could recall countless conversations, usually on the balcony of her castle over tea and strawberry cake, in which Mario had asked her about her interests and hobbies, his face always completely earnest, as if nothing brought him greater satisfaction that learning about her.
How often did she ask him questions in return? How often did she display a heartfelt interest in the person that he was? She had been lazy; assuming that he'd always be around, she had not been in any rush to learn more about him. There would always be time, her mind had said. Now it was less than a week until Christmas and she had no idea what to buy him.
She resolved to think differently after this: to reconsider her priorities and never again take for granted how much he meant to her. It would be her New Year's resolution... not that anyone ever stuck to those, but she was determined not to allow this to happen again.
With this in mind, Peach continued to browse.
And then a warm, gloved hand landed on her shoulder, making her jump in surprise.
'Aaaaagh!'
The tall man behind her leapt back, seeming just as startled as she was. 'Aah, I-I'm sorry! I just didn't expect to see you in here, Princess.'
She let out a calming breath. It was just Luigi, dressed in a warm green sweater and black scarf, with his usual cap pulled down as low as possible to help protect his ears. He smiled sheepishly and took a respectful step back.
'It's OK, Luigi,' she hastened to assure him. 'I just...' The required words stuck in her throat, thick with embarrassment. But somehow, the man before her understood.
'You're looking for a present for Mario, right?' he said, nodding as comprehension dawned on his face.
She wrung her hands together nervously. 'It's just so silly! I've been his friend for so long; I ought to know exactly what he would like, but I can't think of anything!'
'Pardon, Princess, but I think what you really mean is, you can't find anything good enough.'
She could not fathom how he caught on to her inner struggles, her turmoil, so effortlessly. But perhaps it shouldn't have surprised her; for all his social anxiety and self-proclaimed cowardice, Luigi was one of the most perceptive people she'd ever known.
'...Yes,' she admitted, voice soft.
He patted her on the shoulder and smiled faintly. 'Hey, don't fret over it. I promise, Mario will love whatever you get him - even if you bought him nothing he'd probably be fine with it!'
'But he deserves-'
'He just wants your company, really. My brother... isn't a very material person. He doesn't collect objects that he doesn't need, and the love and support of his friends is the biggest gift they can possibly give him. Just be there with him over Christmas, huh?'
It was not possible for just a few simple words to erase the worry and self-doubt in her mind, but Luigi's speech came surprisingly close. She managed a tremulous smile.
'Thank you, Luigi. I feel better for hearing that... But I would still like to get him something. Something little.'
'I'll come with you. I still need to buy a few Christmas presents myself.'
They spent the rest of the afternoon browsing together, and eventually Peach came to understand that the heart of a gift was worth much more than its value.