Mario and Peach had gotten married, and had just returned from their honeymoon. Everyone happily greeted them, especially Luigi and Daisy...but then Bowser showed up.
"Oh you have got to be kidding me..." Peach muttered.
However, instead of attacking or making a move to kidnap Peach, Bowser just looked at them sadly.
"Is...is it true?" He asked, sounding like he was going to cry. "Are you two married?"
"Yeah, we just got back from our honeymoon." Mario crossed his arms. "Why? You going to kill me to make Peach single again?"
"No, I'd never go that far." Bowser shook his head...before starting to cry. "I just-" He continued to cry.
Even Mario softened. Frankly he didn't even know Bowser could cry, usually he was just a big grouch.
"What's wrong Bowser?" Luigi asked.
Bowser calmed down, and sighed.
"I was married, years ago..." He said.
"Yeah, we kinda figured that's where Bowser Jr and the Koopalings came from." Mario nodded.
"No, technically just Bowser Jr. My wife and I couldn't have a biological child at first so we adopted the koopalings. But then Jr was finally born...and my wife died."
Everyone was shocked, and were starting to realize why Bowser kept kidnapping Peach.
"Jr still needed a mother, so I vowed to find someone like my wife. Someone kind, sweet, a good ruler..."
"Someone like Peach." Mario finished.
"Exactly."
"I remember...the first time we met you actually were a gentleman and simply proposed to me." Peach said. "But then I turned down your proposal..."
"And that's when I started to become desperate." Bowser confirmed. "Too desperate, I know that now."
"Bowser, you shouldn't try to replace your wife." Mario shook his head. "You should just try to find someone you can love enough to spend the rest of your life with as well as be a good mother for Jr."
"Maybe you could host a ball, that would be a good way to get to know everyone." Peach suggested. "Especially single women, maybe even the one for you."
"That sounds like a good idea...I could use some cheering up anyway." Bowser smiled. "Thank you, and I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused. And Jr caused as well. You're more than welcome to come to the ball if you want to, but I understand if you don't."
"Nah, it's okay. We'd like to get to know the real you and the real Jr anyway." Mario smiled before joking: "I'm just grateful that we got the invite after Peach and I came back from our honeymoon instead of before we left for it."
Everyone chuckled, and Bowser smiled.
Of course there was a secret reason why Mario accepted the invite: if they could befriend Bowser, he would become a powerful ally. And given there were still enemies out there for them to worry about, having Bowser for an ally would be a really good idea. Peach, Luigi, and Daisy also secretly had the same idea.
Speaking of good ideas, the ball turned out to be one. Even at the start of it Bowser was already having fun, and Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Daisy were glad to get to know the kingdom in a friendlier situation. Even Jr turned out not to be so bad, though he wasn't entirely happy about things.
"I'm kinda sorry you're not my mama." Jr admitted to Peach. "You are really nice."
"I know, but tell you what: you may call me Aunt Peach." Peach smiled. "Would you like that?"
"Sure!" Jr beamed. "Can I call you Uncle Mario too?"
"Sì, but only if you call Luigi 'Uncle' as well." Mario smiled.
"I have no problem with that." Jr smiled.
"Me either." Luigi agreed.
The Koopalings of course were still rascals, but they turned out not to be too bad either. After Bowser had mellowed they also started to give up their violent ways, possibly because they had only started to become violent because they wanted to prove themselves to be Bowser's sons and daughter despite having been adopted.
The ball ended up being a good thing for Bowser too, because he ended up meeting one woman...
"Wonderful party your highness." A female koopa smiled.
"Thank you, and please just call me Bowser." Bowser smiled back. "What's your name?"
"I'm Zinnia. I help out at the bakery."
Bowser and Zinnia continued talking, and soon became fast friends. Interestingly Zinnia turned out to be similar to Peach, at least when it came to being kind and sweet. However unlike Peach Zinnia was able to really stand up for herself and resolve conflicts.
Now I'm not saying that Peach is weak or anything, she just didn't like conflicts and preferred avoiding them. Zinnia on the other hand had gotten used to conflicts through unpleasant coworkers and impatient customers, and so had learned how to deal with them. This of course made her capable of handling the Koopalings, which was very important.
Of course months later Bowser and Zinnia started dating, and years later they got married. And Bowser was so happy and grateful that to Mario, Luigi, and their friends' joy he became their ally.
