Hello Mario readers!

This story is a more lighthearted tale, just an excuse to play around with a sometimes recurring idea of giving Bowser a beard. It seemed like a fun idea that others have had, so I just wrote this up quick and went with it. (And yes, this has Bowsario, because it's me, and so it's gay Bowser/Mario that gets included as standard.)

And since this is for Bowser Day (which is a fandom holiday that's based on World 8-4), I figured why not?

Enjoy reading!

... ... ...


One fine morning, Mario and Luigi made their way up Peach's castle path to visit their favorite princess. Mario had a slight spring in his step, excited about visiting his friend, while Luigi trailed a bit behind him, enjoying the bright blue of the sky today. They turned to the red and white castle, and waved to the Toad guards as they opened the door. However, upon opening it, they were met not by joy, but horror.

"It's happened again!" The Toad's shouts filled the halls immediately.

"Princess Peach! Kidnapped!"

"This is horrible!"

"Not again…"

"Why must our sweet princess suffer so?!"

Mario and Luigi gasped as they glanced at one another, and quickly hurried for the throne room. Inside, Peach's subjects Toad and Toadette sat her throne, grieving at their lost princess, while a yellow Toad and a blue Toad did their best to comfort the retainers. Upon the Mario brothers arrival, however, both retainers immediately pulled themselves together, cheerful at the arrival of the Mushroom Kingdom's heroes. The yellow and blue Toad's expressions soured, having never gotten the same treatment.

"Mario! And, uh, Luigi!" Toad clapped his hands. "It's great to see you both!"

"She's been stolen away from us again," complained Toadette. "It's just terrible, but they stole our beloved Princess Peach." She slumped down and gripped at the throne. "We're sorry we've failed you, Princess!"

"No need to worry," assured Mario. "We'll head out to help bring her back!"

"It is a nice day, so perhaps we should have seen a kidnapping coming," noted Luigi. Everyone stared quietly at him. "Uh, but that just means that Mario and I can rescue her back in record time!"

"That is true, it'll probably be quick for this one," determined the Yellow Toad. "There hasn't been a report about the fortresses being taken yet."

"Wait, so, no one took control of the other parts of the Mushroom Kingdom?"

"Not yet," specified the Blue Toad. He sighed and rubbed his temples. "If we blink, they might just have another Toad come running in to tell us about the swiped territories, almost as fast as Peach's disappearance." He blinked and grumbled, then looked to the door. No one rushed in, and he exhaled his held breath. "So far so good."

"Then let's not give Bowser any time!" Mario threw his fist up. "It's got to be him, and we can't let him get away with it!"

"Isn't Bowser not usually…subtle?" Luigi tilted his head. "You would know better than me, but he usually likes to make a scene, right?"

"Huh, true, good point." Mario lowered his fist and rubbed his chin. "It's not like Bowser to steal Peach away without letting anyone know. He loves to make a big scene about it." Mario shrugged. "Then again, he's not above sneakier tactics. He likes to change things up, just by a little bit, and that's enough to throw us off."

"Ah, that's a valid point too."

"Nothing to worry about, though!" Mario beat his chest and raised his fist again. "We'll take this fight right over to Bowser and get Peach back, safe and sound!"

"If you're going directly to Bowser's before he took over the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom, you'll probably need all of the help you can get," realized the Blue Toad. "I'll come with you guys, just to make sure that we can stop him."

"Me too, I'll join in!" Yellow Toad bounced up and waved his hands. "Bowser can't possibly take on all four of us!"

"Make it five of us!" Toadette bounced forth and spun around, posing with a grin. "I couldn't possibly sit around while my poor princess is out there! If we all work together, we'll be able to win the day and bring her back by afternoon teatime!"

"Great! Good luck to the five of you, then!" Toad clapped and smiled to them. "I hope you'll deliver Peach home safely."

"Wait, you're…not coming?" Luigi raised an eyebrow. "The other three Toads just agreed to join in."

"Yeah, that's plenty of us already," reasoned Toad. "It's for the best that at least one of us stays here."

"Can't we just leave it to Toadsworth like usual?" Toadette blinked and brushed her braids. "Come to think of it, Toad, why don't you tag along? You've gone out to help save the Mushroom Kingdom before, haven't you?"

"Yes, but that is specifically by Princess Peach's side," pointed out Toad. "I simply can't just abandon the throne, and I can't go out marching heroics without Peach."

"Why not?" Toadette folded her arms. "I've done it before. I'm sure that you could too."

"And yet, I can't."

"But why?"

"Because Peach isn't with me."

"So, what, you need her?"

"Naturally."

"That makes no sense."

"Look, I don't make the rules, that's just how it works," insisted Toad. "Bring her back, and I promise that I'll join in when she's safe to work beside us again."

"Toad, that defeats the whole purpose of…oh, forget it." Toadette sighed and shook her head. "We're wasting valuable rescue time." She smiled and darted off, waving the boys on after her. "Come on, Mario Bros.! And fellow Toads too! Let's save Peach and get back home quick!"

With an exchange of determined expressions, the four other heroes nodded and jumped up in joy, charging off to rescue their beloved Princess Peach. Zooming out of the castle and on the way out, they marched forth!

And as they left, a back door opened to the throne room, in which the steward Toadsworth did appear. He carried two books, passing one to Toad, and watched the doors for a moment, waving at the guards to close them.

"They are gone, yes?"

"Yep, they're off to save Peach."

"Wonderful! Up to this throne, dear boy."

Toadsworth hopped up and patted on the throne, in which Toad climbed up beside him. They rested against one another and opened their books.

"There's never such a great time to get reading done as there is when Peach is out," quipped Toad, opening his book. "It's easier without everyone around."

"And the throne is never comfortable unless you've got a good fellow to enjoy it with," joked Toadsworth, as he and Toad beamed to one another. They wiggled in closer together, and contentedly sighed, relaxing in further on the princess's throne.

Outside and en route to Bowser's dark castle, Mario and his friends rushed onward, leaping through the oddly morphed lands of the Mushroom Kingdom. They raced up a hill and jumped up ledges that stuck out of its sides. Sliding down, they vaulted from weirdly placed boxes and smashed the bricks as they went.

Upon coming to an open abyss, Mario hopped across a bouncy mushroom over a ravine, making his way to the other side with a few good bounces. Luigi followed, leaping and running across a tree's swinging ledge, which was strange to have built there, but helpful nonetheless. Toadette twirled and swung across dangling vines, while Yellow Toad jumped onto a gyser that fired up from the abyss below, riding it over to meet the others.

Everyone cheered after having made it across, and moved ahead to carry on with the journey. They yelped upon spotting a figure before them, only relaxing once they realized it was Blue Toad. He wandered on ahead, while the other four exchanged panicked expressions, and hurried behind the calmer Toad.

"How did you get across so quickly," questioned Toadette, "and how are you not out of breath?"

"Because I took the bridge."

Blue Toad pointed behind her and the others, as they followed the direction back to the wooden bridge that was fastened between the two platforms. Blinking at the bridge, then at one another, and finally turning back, the group stared at Blue Toad, who tilted his head and placed his fists on his hips.

"Oh, what? So I took the safe way over." He shrugged. "Same results, no need to fuss."

"Why didn't you just tell us about it?" Yellow Toad folded his arms while Blue Toad paused and held a finger over his mouth.

"Honestly, I just assumed that you all wanted to leap into action," admitted Blue Toad.

"Mario and Toadette, maybe," offered Luigi. "The rest of us? Simplicity is fine."

"My bad."

Carrying on once again, the Mario brothers and the Toads approached darker lands ahead, with black dirt and smoggy skies shaping the stage for the wastelands that Bowser and his minions called home. Mario charged on ahead, while Luigi hurried after him, and the three Toads chased the group on.

"We really shouldn't be charging in like this," cautioned Luigi. "Bowser could be expecting us!"

"Given that he hasn't been ready so far, Mario might have the right idea on this," reasoned Yellow Toad. "Maybe Bowser's so thrown off that he never had time to properly prepare!"

"Actually, I wanted to see if he'd attack us and show off some cool acrobatics," admitted Mario. Everyone else glared at him. "What? I would've cheered you guys on too!"

"Maybe we didn't want to risk our livelihoods like that," bitingly suggested Luigi.

"Oh. Yeah, that's fair."

Shrugging to his eye-rolling brother, Mario darted ahead to Bowser's Castle. He raced across the bridge over the lava moat, and bashed open the castle door. Luigi and the Toads chased after him, as they stormed into the Koopa's domain. Waiting for a moment in the main hall, no one was alerted to their presence. They looked at one another before shrugging and walked onward into the castle.

"Definitely a trap," determined Blue Toad. "There's no way that it should be this easy."

"Actually, this is almost laughably unguarded," decided Yellow Toad. "Why wouldn't any of Bowser's Koopa guards be protecting the door?"

"Like we're ones to talk," countered Toadette. "How many times do Peach's guards fail? Heck, they failed today!"

"In their defense, this seemed like a sneakier kidnapping," reasoned Luigi.

"Regardless, we'll make it through quickly, in that case," insisted Mario. "Peach will be amazed at how quickly she's brought home. And I can't wait to see Bowser's face once we hurry in and head off!" He paused and rubbed his chin. "Hmm…if I'm not mistaken, I think the throne room is in that direction."

Following where he pointed, Toadette blinked down the northern corridor and turned back to Mario, tilting her head.

"How do you know which way to go?"

"Coming to Bowser's Castle repeatedly is helping me recognize his designs a bit better," admitted Mario. "Even when he changes the formats, there are some design giveaways that help tell which choices he's taken for the structure built."

"So you just…learned how to navigate Bowser's Castles?"

"Typically, he rushes designs and it's pretty straightforward, but, yeah!" Mario shrugged. "Pretty useful, no?"

"Honestly, pretty weird that you'd memorize it, but then again, you've come against him so frequently," debated Blue Toad. "Might as well know it that well."

"Exactly."

"As long as it's not obsessive," teased Yellow Toad, to which Mario raised an eyebrow. "…That was a joke."

"Ah."

"We should really get on with rescuing Peach," reminded Luigi. "Or else Bowser's forces will find us first, and then we'll have to actually fight."

"Yeah, I want to set a new rescue record!" Mario charged forward. "Come on, let's go get Peach!"

"Right!"

His friends racing behind him, Mario hurried through the halls and charged at the throne room door down the lengthy corridor. Kicking the giant red studded doors open, Mario flinched as two Koopa guards yelped from the other side, and crashed behind the doors. The Toads peeked around one, as a Koopa groaned and dropped to the floor. They covered their mouths and turned to Luigi, who shrugged, as Mario tugged his cap over his head.

"So much for a swift and painless mission," mocked Luigi.

"This is why I usually open doors slowly, I never should've done that…" Mario tugged his cap up. "Do you think they'll be ok?"

"Probably, they're Koopas," insisted Toadette. "Plus, they're both breathing, so, it'll be fine."

"True. Ok!" Mario pointed ahead. "Bowser! Your latest stint of tyranny ends…now…" He blinked at the empty throne and raised an eyebrow. "Uh…?"

"Oh, well, that's a fun mystery," determined Yellow Toad, folding his arms. "Neither Bowser nor Peach is in their throne room today. Maybe something happened to both of them? Or maybe Bowser didn't get back yet."

"Considering how sneaky Bowser seems to be with this attempt, it could be a very clever trap," suggested Blue Toad. "They could think that we're obviously going to come here, only to throw us off and not be here at all. It would explain the lack of guards."

"Besides the two my brother took out."

"Luigi!" Mario gripped his arm. "Too harsh, too soon…"

"Well, if Bowser's not in the throne room, where else would he be?" Toadette pulled on one of her braids, brushing it a bit. "I don't want to think of what he might be doing with Princess Peach."

"Wasting time keeping her in a cage and mocking her while attempting to declare his unrequited love for her, probably." Blue Toad blinked as Toadette lowered her eyes on him. "What?"

"Comforting isn't your forte, is it?"

"Nope."

"Clearly."

"My next guess would be that Bowser's up on the rooftops, if he's not here," determined Mario. "There should be stairs in the door over there, right of the throne. Hopefully he hasn't even had time to lock Peach away yet."

"…Why do you know how to reach the roofs from here?"

"Do I really have to explain it again?"

"Definitely not an obsession," joked Yellow Toad, while Mario rolled his eyes.

"Fine, maybe I am," caved Mario. "But, it's helping us today, so, points to me for that. Now, come on!"

Rushing for the door that Mario pointed out, the heroes set onward to ascend the spiral staircase that led to the top of the castle. Charging up the stone stairwell around and again, they reached the top, as Mario aimed for the wooden door. He paused, and stumbled up the last step, before lightly reaching out with his hand to turn the knob and push it open. Peeking past the door, he exhaled in relief and beckoned his friends to follow.

Once they walked through the doorway, however, the group blinked and checked around the hallway they entered. Mario scratched his head, as Luigi folded his arms, and they stepped further along.

"Ok, so…is it just me, or are we not at the very tip for the rooftops yet?" Luigi turned to Mario, who frowned to him.

"I don't understand." Mario tugged on his mustache. "This way always led to the roofs following this design." He sighed and placed his hand on his hip. "Maybe Bowser caught on that I caught on with his castle designs after all."

"That seems a little too clever, even for Bowser," contested Yellow Toad.

"He has his moments," insisted Mario.

"Few and far between, but I guess he does every so often," Luigi settled.

"If we keep going this way, though, where will that lead?" Toadette ventured a little further down the hall. "Have you ever been this way before, Mario?"

"To be honest with you, this hallway doesn't look familiar." Mario glanced around the corridor, counting the doors along it. "There are…a lot of doors, actually."

"Running water is coming from that far one on the left," pointed out Blue Toad.

"Huh. Maybe a new trap?"

"One way to find out."

"Shouldn't we avoid that?" Luigi placed his hands on his hips. "Why not check another door?"

"But that'll take too long," decided Mario. "Sometimes, we have to charge head-first into danger."

"Sounds like a good way to die," countered Luigi, as Mario lowered his eyes.

"Look, let's just figure out which is the best way to go about it after checking door number one," determined Toadette. "Peach needs us!" She twisted the doorknob. "So, let's get this over with!"

Pushing the door open, the heroes gathered around, as they peered inside.

It wasn't the odd white and blue tiling that threw them off, or not nearly so much as the large Koopa King that fumbled with a toothbrush and a razor before the mirror. Grabbing them before they could fall into the sink, Bowser sighed out and shook his head. Turning around, he growled at the heroes gawking in his bathroom doorway. Placing the items down, he tugged up on the towel that was wrapped around his waist and snorted smoke from his nose.

"To what in the wild world do I owe this stupid interruption?!" Bowser fumed, shuddering as he locked his attention onto Mario. "Just what are you even doing here, Mario?!"

Though Bowser waited a moment, Mario offered no response, blankly staring ahead at him. He blinked at the lightly blushing plumber and jerked back a bit, clutching his towel a bit closer to himself.

"Uh…Mario, you there?"

"…Beard…"

"Huh?"

"He's confused that you have a beard," pointed out Luigi.

Bowser rubbed his red hair around his snout and chin, trailing down just a bit. He glanced at himself in the mirror and shrugged, returning his attention to the group.

"Yeah, I was just about to shave." Bowser raised an eyebrow. "Why's that a big deal?"

"You can grow a beard…"

"…Yes…I have hair on my head," pointed out Bowser, blinking at flushed Mario. "Is that really so shocking?"

"None of that matters," snapped Toadette. "You're close shave is the least of your worries! Now, tell us: where is Princess Peach?!"

"Huh? Peach?" Bowser scratched his head. "Is she here? Did my troops come by and kidnap her for me?" He glanced down at the floor and murmured, "That kind of initiative and competence would be a first…"

"Did you send any after her?" Yellow Toad rubbed his arm. "We thought you usually did that yourself."

"Duh, of course I do." Bowser lowered his arm from his head, but kept it raised as a fist. "Who better to kidnap Peach than yours truly?"

"…Then…why wouldn't you know about it?"

"No one was supposed to be kidnapping her today," revealed Bowser. "It's the Koopa Troop's day off." He gestured to the fur all over his face. "I have to catch up on cleaning this up, after all."

"Wait, then…she's not…here?" Toadette deflated as her arms dropped out.

"If you didn't find her, then no, probably not." Bowser shrugged. "I was still planning on spoiling myself a bit with some nice relaxation today."

"This doesn't make any sense." Blue Toad clutched his head. "If Bowser isn't responsible for kidnapping Peach, then where could she have gone? Was there anyone else that would've wanted to kidnap her?"

"Probably." Bowser readjusted his towel, twisting around to check it covering him in the mirror. "I'm not the only one that kidnaps her, just the most frequent one."

"Ugh, then what are we waiting for?!" Toadette spiraled around and rushed from the bathroom. "Come on, you guys! We have to find out where Peach could be!"

"With what leads?" Blue Toad hurried after Toadette. "We need to at least take a minute to plan this out! Hey! Toadette, come on!"

"Boy oh boy, I can't wait to go running again," deadpanned Yellow Toad, as he ambled off after the other Toads.

Bowser watched as the three disappeared from his bathroom, and then turned his attention back to the Mario Bros., as Luigi moved to follow the Toads, but stopped as Mario remained in place. Bowser inched back a bit, lifting his fist in front of his chest.

"Why are you still here?" Bowser flinched, but then forced up a snarl. "You still want to fight me, don't you?!"

"…Fight…?"

"Ok, what the heck is wrong with him?!" Bowser pointed accusingly at Mario. "He's acting really weird right now, and it's freaking me out more than you people invading my home and bursting into my bathroom on my day off!"

"Well, now that they're gone, I can explain that." Luigi pointed at Bowser's face. "Mario has something of a soft spot for beards."

"…Soft spot…?"

"It looks so good on you," murmured Mario, and Bowser bounced up.

"What?"

"He's into guys with beards, I don't know how else to make it clear," divulged Luigi. "It's like this odd weakness of his that he rarely has to deal with, since not a lot of folks in the Mushroom Kingdom have any, except maybe some older fellows with long white beards, I guess." Luigi shrugged. "I don't want to know if he likes those too, and I'm not asking him."

"Wait a minute, wait." Bowser shook his head and waved his free hand around. "Are you telling me that Mario has a secret weakness…for beards?"

"Uh…yeah, you could put it that way." Luigi rubbed behind his neck. "I don't really get it either, but, that's how it is."

"…So…" Bowser stroked his red mane and rubbed his chin, smirking a bit. "Mario, you think this looks good on me, huh?"

"Really super good," muttered Mario, with a deep heavy blush set over his face.

"Never seen a good looking Koopa with this kind of fur on him, have you?"

"No, and it really suits you so well," admitted Mario, still in a daze.

"Um." Luigi blinked and shot Bowser a puzzled look. "What are you doing?"

"Enjoying this weakness he's telegraphing to me, of course!" Bowser chuckled, blushing a bit. "How can I not exploit it while I've got a rare opportunity to do so?"

"…Huh?"

"Look, I have to listen to comments from citizens all across the Mushroom Kingdom about that curly mustache on Mario's face, day in and day out," complained Bowser, blushing a bit harder. "You have no idea how much I've listened to how many people would give whatever to have that fuzzy mustache graze their lips, and how lucky they would be if a handsome guy like Mario would give them the time of day."

"Ok, yeah, I've heard that too, but…uh…" Luigi winced and stepped back. "What does that have to do with right now?"

"Easy." Bowser grinned. "It's my turn to give Mario a taste of his own medicine, and now he has to be helpless while he's captivated by someone else's facial hair!"

"Yes please…"

"Heehee, you really want to give in for that kind of attention, don't you?" Bowser chuckled, sauntering a bit closer toward Mario. "Why not tell me more about how amazing you think I look right now?"

"Stars above, you really are flirting him!"

"Duh."

"Mario, it's Bowser!"

"I know…but that handsome beard…"

"Oh, I can't deal with this!" Luigi spun around and dashed from the bathroom. "Mario, I'm going to catch up with the Toads. Hurry up whenever you're done or whatever."

"Sure, thank you, bro…"

Mario mindlessly waved as Luigi disappeared, not even watching him go. Instead, he watched as Bowser ambled up to him, still grinning past his burning cheeks.

"You know, uh…even I have to admit, um, that mustache is pretty cute," confessed Bowser. "Not that I, uh, you know. Everyone else has dreamed about it, but not me!"

"Can I touch your beard?"

"Yes! Oh, Stars, please do."

As Mario reached up and ran his fingers through Bowser's beard, Bowser leaned a little lower, lightly scratching Mario's mustache, with his tail excitedly wagging behind him. Both flushed a deeper red as they grinned to one another, arms bumping as they leaned even closer during their mutual…examination. Lowering his eyes and smirking, Bowser inched closer and closer to Mario's face, as Mario's hands came up to Bowser's cheeks. They smiled at one another as their lips softly touched.

"Oho, that does feel so soft," mumbled Bowser. "Come here, please. I have to feel more."

"Only if I get to feel more of that beard…!"

"Deal!"

Leaning forward, they both eased into another kiss, scooping each other's faces into their hands, feeling the facial hair between one another. Bowser pulled back and rubbed at Mario's cheek.

"You know, I have the whole upstairs to myself today," he offered. "Why don't I show you around?"

"Okie dokie!" Mario beamed. "I'm always up to see more of this place!"

Laughing, Bowser took Mario's hand and guided him from the bathroom, as they explored the upper levels of Bowser's Castle.

Meanwhile, back at Peach's Castle, the throne room doors opened, as four women strolled in from the main hall. Toads struggled with bags behind the ladies, heaving them up and wandering off to set them aside.

"That was such a wonderful impromptu shopping trip!" Peach clasped her hands together, spinning around and smiling to her friends. "Thank you all so much! I haven't treated myself to such nice clothes and jewelry in almost a week, and I certainly needed it!"

"Brunch was a really great idea too, wasn't it?" Daisy grinned. "That part was my idea!"

"If we didn't follow through on it, I'm afraid of what the store workers would have thought about all of that stomach growing," lightly teased Rosalina, softly giggling as Daisy blushed. "I do admit, it was cute to see you devour plate after plate."

"Don't put it like that," complained Daisy, folding her arms in a huff. "I was in a rush to get ready, and I normally eat at least something before running out."

"Wait, what?" Peach lowered her hands and tilted her head. "Daisy, you constantly forget to eat breakfast. You complain to me all too often when we go out that you were in such a rush that you ran off without eating."

"…Thanks for letting everyone know, Peach…" Daisy sulked as Rosalina giggled.

"Honestly, I've done the same far too many times," admitted Pauline, placing a hand on her hip. "It happens when you're busy…or excited." She smirked. "I'm glad you ladies could join in on this last minute outing."

"Of course!" Peach slightly clapped her hands. "We simply must do this again when we get another chance!" She grinned. "I was so eager to hurry off, and I don't think I even told anyone about going out. It was such a thrill!"

"Peach, you really need to get out more on your accord," determined Pauline, brushing her hair back. She blinked and pointed at Peach's throne. "Or, uh, maybe not? What are those two doing up there?"

The women turned around to find Toad and Toadsworth snoring and snoozing in Peach's throne. They snuggled into one another as their books slipped further away from them. Giggling at the sight, Peach spun back around.

"Oh, I've caught them up there a good few number of times." She waved her hand. "It's so adorable, and it gives me such a laugh that I pretend not to know about them doing it every so often." Glancing back at the throne, Peach shrugged. "It's a bit big, but this new one is pretty comfortable, I do admit that."

"You're so sweet to your subject, Princess Peach," cooed Rosalina. "It reminds me of my little ones…" She blinked and clasped her hands over her mouth. "Oh my! I do think Polari has been left to watch over the other Lumas for a bit too long, by now. I should hurry back to the Comet Observatory."

"Hey, can I come?" Daisy rubbed behind her neck. "You know, for a bit. Sarasaland isn't doing anything big, so I might have another hour that I can spend away. Or two."

"If you'd like, I wouldn't mind the company." Rosalina smiled and took Daisy's hand. "Come, let's hurry. Thank you for the invitation, Mayor Pauline! Take care!"

"Bye girls!"

Daisy waved as Rosalina drifted ahead, pulling her off a bit. Pauline and Peach waved as well, chuckling as their friends departed. Peach checked the throne once more, and spun back to Pauline.

"Would you care for some tea?"

"That would be lovely!" Pauline flipped her hair aside. "New Donk City isn't doing anything too major today, so like Daisy, I have some time to spare."

"Perfect!"

"But, what about you?" Pauline rubbed her arm. "If you didn't tell the Toads, will they have worried? They seemed so elated upon our return, so—"

"Oh, I'm sure everything is fine," insisted Peach. "What's the worst that could've happened? They sent Mario and a search party off to Bowser's Castle?" She laughed. "I'm certain that things didn't get too out of hand at all."

"Well, I suppose I can take your word on it." She smirked. "Actually, do you want to hear a few funny stories about Mario?"

"Ooh, what have you got for me today?"

"Hmm…did you know that he has a soft spot for beards and redheads?"

"What? No way, tell me all about that!"

"Ok, ok, but let's get the tea too."

"Dear, of course!" Peach grinned. "Tea pairs just so nicely with gossip!"

Laughing as they linked their arms, Peach and Pauline strolled from the throne room, giggling as Pauline brought up old stories about the Mario Bros. from their early days. Peach delighted in listening to every detail that the mayor would share.

Neither could anticipate the shock from the Toads around every turn of the castle. Though Pauline did her best to apologize and explain, Peach merely waved it all off, and insisted that they had a grand time. Luigi and the other Toads would come back later, only to be in awe that Peach had simply returned with no issues at all, and utterly crushed that they had wasted their day. Toad and Toadsworth would wake later that night in one another's arms, and did their best to stealthily escape the throne room, certain that no one had any idea of their favorite reading and napping spot.

Mario wouldn't return from Bowser's Castle until the next day, excitedly rambling about Bowser coming by later to pick him up, while Luigi rolled his eyes as he tugged a good number of red hairs from his twin's clothing and mustache.


... ... ...

When you start dating your arch-nemesis because you love his facial hair...just Bowsario things, I guess.

Part of me was tempted to include the gay culture beard joke, where a man having a "beard" is a metaphor for a gay dude having a woman be his supposed partner to cover up for his interests. Maybe that's a missed opportunity, but oh well.

Anyway, Mario totally digs guys with beards, especially when they can look like a bearded dragon, and Bowser digs guys with mustaches, especially when they're super popular. Go figure! (Also, Mario may or may not totally dig Bowser's Castle, or at least he likes looking around and remembering where everything is.)

Hero selection was based on the New Super Mario Bros. franchise, because why not? Also, I enjoy including Toadette for the main cast whenever, because I'm always proud of her increased role prominence over the years. Blue Toad was smart, Yellow Toad was cheeky, and Luigi was just tired. Not having Toad join in was poking fun at Toad never being playable in the main series of games, except when Peach is also playable, which has happened for at least three adventures (Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario 3D World, and Super Mario Run). Peach and pals at the end was just because I could and so I did.

Did Mario and Bowser have to kiss and end up in a relationship? Nope, and yeah, it might have felt forced in. But, I had fun with it, and love won, so that's what really mattered in the end. Besides, this was a good excuse to add more Bowser and Bowsario content for the day.

Anyway, that's it for these shenanigans. Thank you for reading! Take care and best wishes.