Peach was not really a morning person.
Sure, she was pretty used to rising early in order to make herself look presentable and make it to class on time. But that didn't mean she enjoyed it. Without nursing a significant cup of coffee, she would almost definitely fall back asleep into her breakfast. If it were up to her, she would never have any reason to rise before 10am. She was strongly of the belief that she needed her beauty sleep at all costs.
So, given the fact that they had been up and out the hostel just after 6am, combined with the fact they had been walking for nearly two hours, topped with the fact she was doing it in just socks…
Well, needless to say, she was not in a particularly good mood.
She threw her head back and released a long drawn out groan, dragging her aching feet. They had been wandering down streets and alleyways for what seemed like days, long enough that the sun had continued to rise as the morning fog that had hung over the city lifted. Currently, their strange ragtag group (they had certainly gotten some strange looks from anyone else walking about) was walking down a quiet suburban street that frankly seemed no different from any other street they had traversed in the past forty minutes or so since leaving the main city. Every house looked virtually identical, with perfectly arranged flowers and neatly trimmed lawns being tended to by automatic sprinklers that left every blade of grass glistening with dew in the weak morning light.
"How much longer?" She asked, fighting to keep her voice from turning into a whine. Yoshi was skipping alongside her, seeming unphased by the miles they had walked, unlike Toad who was a few steps behind them, yawning into his fist every few minutes. Rosalina and Daisy were ahead by a few feet, with Rosie pausing every so often to massage her one foot that was sans a shoe. Mario was at the head of the group, walking without even hesitating as if he knew exactly where to go and scarcely looking back at the others. Luigi was somewhere between his brother and Peach's friends, hands stuffed in his pockets in a lighthearted way and looking around with mild interest. It was him who looked back at the sound of Peach's voice, and shot her a somewhat apologetic smile.
"Not much longer, a few more blocks," He reassured. Mario spared a glance back and shot Peach a look through slightly narrowed eyes.
"I thought you could handle it, Princess," He challenged. Peach glowered at him, unconsciously picking up her pace to catch up with her friends.
"I can," She snapped, folding her arms as she heard Daisy snort.
"Uh oh. Now he's done it. Peachy loves to prove people wrong."
Which was true, she did, because everyone always assumed she was just some dumb, shallow blonde who only knew how to rely on her parent's money. She had spent her entire life trying to prove that she was more than that, and she wasn't going to take any crap from Mario, even if he had saved their lives.
…And even if he was crazy hot.
She hated herself for even thinking this, but really. She was eighteen, and she wasn't blind. He was good looking, in a rugged, stoic sort of way. It was just a shame she hated just about every other aspect of him so far. He was brave and pretty smart, of that much there was no room for doubt, but there was also little doubt that he hated her for some reason. Daisy and Rosalina had received little to no conversation from him, and certainly no challenges or digs. It was just her who had received such treatment, and frankly she couldn't figure out why. She had never done anything to him so far; he had no reason to be so crazy dismissive of her.
Luigi, ever the mediator, shot her another apologetic look. She waved him off, almost smiling back. Luigi, though, was a good guy from what she could tell. He didn't seem like much of a people person, but not in the way his brother wasn't one. He was just a more awkward person in general. She couldn't back this up, since she had only known the boy for a day, but she got the feeling that he probably wasn't the best at picking up social cues. She wouldn't do it, because he was not her type at all, but she had the impression that a girl could probably flirt with him right to his face and he wouldn't notice. He looked back at his brother, hesitated for a moment, before slowing his pace to fall into step with the girls.
"Hey, um, I really am sorry about Mario. He's not usually so…well, he's usually pretty gruff, I won't lie, but he's always in a worse mood when the Koopa's are involved," He said somewhat hesitantly, voice lower and eyes constantly flickering over to his brother's back. Daisy frowned.
"I get that, but it's still no reason to take it out on us. Especially Peach," She replied, and Luigi cringed, nodding guiltily.
"I know. I love my brother, and he's a really good guy, he just…he can take some warming up to, and he sometimes is kinda quick to judge people. I think he…I think he probably thinks you're just a stereotypical girl who doesn't want to work hard. N-not that you are!" He hastened to add, seeing Peach's offended look, "It's just what he thinks…I think. You just have to give him some time, he'll warm up to you."
"I don't care," She sniffed, knowing that she probably looked every inch the stuck up girl Mario thought she was but not caring, "I don't have to prove anything to him. If he wants to change his mind and apologise later, he can."
"He will," Luigi assured quickly, before swerving the subject completely, "We're just about there now, by the way."
"How do you know?" Daisy grumbled, "All these houses look exactly the freaking same."
Luigi and Toad exchanged vaguely amused glances, and Yoshi giggled as though he'd heard a particularly funny joke.
"What?" Rosalina asked, confusion written on her face. Yoshi continued to giggle.
"You'll see," He chimed, voice as close to conspiratorial as a nine year old can be.
A moment later, they did in fact see. And suddenly their amusement made perfect sense.
Perched between two utterly ordinary homes was what could only be described as the most out of place building Peach could imagine. It was dark brown and tall, oddly shaped in a way that suggested extra rooms had been added on randomly with little thought for what the house would look like on the exterior. It seemed lopsided in a way, and the paint covering it was peeling in several places. Their lawn was less neat than the others around it, the grass uneven and a flagpole stabbed into the ground, a red flag with a yellow banana on it fluttering in the weak morning breeze. One of the windows near the top was haphazardly boarded up, and under closer examination she saw that the sides of the building had what seemed to be spray-painted graffiti on them, displaying names such as "Dixie" and "Diddy" with varying insults or compliments after them. As they ventured up the path, she saw that a crooked handmade wooden sign was nailed next to the worn, scratched door, emblazoned with "The Kongz" in a scrawled, messy font.
Mario approached this door, raised his fist, and knocked rapidly in a strange pattern that Peach wouldn't have been able to replicate if she tried. For a moment, all was quiet.
And then there came the vague sound of thudding footsteps, the door was flung open, and they were greeted by a widely grinning, bright eyed teenage boy.
"Mario! Luigi! Oh man, it's been way too long!" He cried, launching himself to wrap his long, gangly arms around both brothers in an enthusiastic greeting. He seemed to be a little younger than Peach was, but probably not by much. He was a tall and lanky boy, very skinny, with a very freckled tan face, and a red cap perched atop his long, straight brown hair which brushed his shoulders. He was dressed head to toe in red, t-shirt, shorts and shoes alike. His brown eyes remained jolly as he released the brothers and greeted Yoshi and Toad with similar cheerfulness, before his eyes caught the girls standing a few feet away, watching somewhat wearily.
His face lit up.
"Oh and woah, you brought girls! Cute girls! Way to go guys, here I was thinkin' you were gonna be hermits forever!" He cried enthusiastically, only to yelp as Mario reached over effortlessly to punch him in the arm.
"I'm telling Dixie you called other girls cute," He said flatly. Diddy's eyes went wide in panic.
"Wait, no, I didn't mean it like-"
"He's been what?" A voice asked sweetly, as a teenaged girl came wandering down the hallway and leaned against the doorframe, eyebrow raised. She was a darker skinned girl, with stunningly bright emerald green eyes and a long blonde ponytail flowing down her back. She wore a pink cropped top, showing off her slim stomach, and denim shorts. She crossed her toned arms as she shot the boy a slightly unamused look, before brightening as she looked over at the others.
"Oh, wow, hey you guys! Long time no see! I didn't know you were coming round!"
Mario rubbed the back of his neck, looking faintly sheepish now. It was the most emotion she had actually seen from him thus far.
"Yeah, sorry Dixie. Something came up, like you can see-" He gestured without looking at the girls behind him, "-and we were kind of too distracted to think to call ahead."
"It's all good," The girl reassured easily, hopping down the step to meet the girls. She shot them a stunning smile.
"Hi, I'm Dixie," She said, "Nice to meetcha. This goofball over here is my boyfriend, Diddy."
The tall boy waved at them but stayed quiet for the moment, presumably trying to avoid invoking his girlfriend's wrath.
The three of them introduced themselves, and Yoshi hugged Dixie brightly in greeting, with her also dragging Toad in for one, before the two of them stood aside and allowed them entry to the house. It was much cosier on the inside, with warm lighting and plenty of photos plastered on the wall, as well as a worn out welcome mat with a picture of a monkey on it.
"It'll be so good to have girls around for once," Dixie said as she closed the door behind them, "I love my guys, I really do, but seriously! I just need other sensible company once in a while!"
"I'm sensible!" Diddy protested, and Dixie rolled her eyes indulgently.
"Sure, you are," She agreed easily, shooting him a somewhat teasing wink before facing the group again.
"Well, most of you know this, but for you girls that don't, we're the Kong's. We're sort of like a gang, but it's really more just a gathering of a couple different families who've all banded together under the same name. We're not all actually related. That'd be weird." She wrinkled her nose at the thought. "But anyway, we're not a bad kinda gang, we're more like an anti-gang I guess you could call us. We fight back against gangs like the Koopa's as much as we can, to try and make a difference."
"And they're really nice and cool! You should see how big Donkey is! He's huuuuge!" Yoshi cried, bouncing on the spot and coming dangerously close to knocking a lamp over.
"Easy Yoshi," Cautioned Mario, reaching down to lightly grasp the little boy's shoulder and still him, "It's not our house, remember?"
His voice was notably softer when speaking to the younger boy. She supposed even a notorious grump like Mario couldn't resist the charms of the ray of sunshine that was Yoshi.
"It may as well be, considering how often you take it over for weeks on end," Diddy chimed in, grinning. His smile was wide and toothy, and like Yoshi's laughter was slightly contagious. It made Peach want to smile too.
''Heh...sorry, Dixie. Easiest home base around here, and we needed somewhere to crash, especially with the girls,'' Luigi said, gesturing to the three awkwardly huddled in the centre of the narrow hallway.
''Oh, no problem! We love your visits, right, Did?'' Dixie asked, reaching out and easily lacing her fingers with Diddy's. The boy reacted seemingly without thinking, squeezing her hand briefly, and Peach saw the quickest flash of fondness on Dixie's face as her eyes flickered to him out the corner of her eye before refocusing on their group.
Peach's heart ached faintly at seeing this, she would admit. She had been in plenty of relationships, sure. But none of them had ever come that easily, that naturally. None of them had really been in the relationship for more than her looks and her money. Seeing these two kids, who could only have been a year or so younger than her, in a relationship that just seemed to work from what brief thing's she had seen…it sent a sting of bitterness through her. She had slightly given up on the dating game, considering she was clearly a hopeless case who nobody would ever want for anything more than a trophy, but that didn't mean that she didn't…long for love, sometimes.
''Eh? Yeah, sure. Brings a bit a fun to life around here," Diddy agreed, his voice snapping Peach out of her short pity party.
Dixie looked them all over, openly curious, before a sudden look of realisation dawned on her face.
''Oh!'' She cried suddenly, ''Clothes!''
Diddy raised a lone eyebrow, sending his girlfriend an odd look.
''Clothes?'' He repeated blankly, ''What about 'em?''
Dixie sighed in exasperation.
"Diddy. Seriously. Look at them! They look like they've been dragged backwards through bushes! No offence," She added, looking somewhat sheepish and directing this part directly to the girls, "You're all gorgeous, but if I were you I'd want a wardrobe change by now."
''No bushes,'' Remarked Mario, steering the conversation back on track, ''Just the backstreets of Boston."
''Even worse! We need to get them washed up and changed!'' Protested Dixie, folding her arms with a firm look.
Diddy sighed, rolling his eyes.
"Since when do you care so much about how people look...? But yeah. Sure, you're right, Dix."
"Of course I am," She jokingly replied, nudging the boy with an easy smile. She turned back to the group.
"Well, we only have two showers here, so you're gonna have to wait and take turns, unless anyone feels like sharing."
She giggled at the looks on their faces, which varied from shock to disgust to sheer embarrassment.
"I'm kidding," She reassured, but her eyes remained sparkling with amusement and Diddy was still snickering beside her. She looked them over, brows crinkling thoughtfully.
"Well, you three should be able to wear some of my clothes, no problem," She decided at last, "You're similar enough in height to each other, and to me. We probably have some spare shoes lying around, too. Yoshi, we should still have some of Tiny's old stuff, so you're set, too."
The little boy beamed his agreement, but it suddenly faded as he tugged at the drawstring of his hoodie.
"…But I don't want to take it off," He said with a pout, hugging his small arms to himself as if to protect the outfit from getting taken away.
Mario and Luigi exchanged glances, the former rolling his eyes in exasperation.
"Not again..." He groaned.
"Yoshi, come on," Coaxed Luigi hopefully, "You've been wearing that for weeks on end. Don't you want a change?"
"No."
It was stated so straightforward, borderline flatly, that Peach couldn't help the small snort that escaped her throat. Toad closed his eyes in exasperation, looking ready to turn around and leave the house, as Mario stepped up to try again.
"Look, Yoshi, you have to change outfit at some point. You don't see the three of us wearing the same outfit for weeks on end, do you?" He pointed out, nodding to Luigi and Toad. Yoshi's bottom lip remained out in a firm pout.
"You wear your hats all the time," He grumbled.
"Hats, Yoshi, hats! Not whole outfits! Wearing the same clothes for weeks is gross!" He snapped, tone vexed. Dixie cleared her throat and sent them a look that clearly said 'I got this'.
She dropped Diddy's hand and crouched down to Yoshi's level.
"Come on, Yoshi, it's alright. We'll get it washed all clean for you, and you just have to wait till it's all dry, and you can come back and get it right away. I bet you'll love some of Tiny's other stuff." She assured the dinosaur-clad boy. He looked up at her hopefully.
"...You promise I'll get it back?" He asked hesitantly, peering at her with those wide blue eyes of his.
She winked.
"Totally promise. You trust me, right?"
It seemed he did, because he relaxed and finally nodded.
"Kay. I'll wear Tiny's stuff," He relented. Luigi mouthed a thank you to Dixie over his head.
"As for you, Toad, you and Diddy are about the same size if you need spare, I think. Close enough, I mean his arms and legs might be a little long, but it can't be helped. He's a freak of nature," She said, teasing glint in her eyes.
Without even looking her way, Diddy reached an arm across and pinched her exposed stomach hard. Dixie responded by stomping on his foot, which probably didn't hurt that much since they were both bare feet, but it was the thought that counted.
"I have some spare clothes with me, but thanks, I might need them," Toad said, smiling a small smile in her direction.
"And your emergency stash is as you left it, you two, so knock yourselves out."
This was directed toward the two brothers, who nodded in understanding. With all the clothing arrangements sorted easily enough, Dixie eyed them over thoughtfully.
"…I sure hope you guys bring some fun around, at least. It's been so boring around here lately – almost everyone is busy with other things, and Donkey is always out, so usually it's just me, Diddy and Kranky," She sighed, before brightening.
"But, life with you guys around is pretty rarely quiet, so I'm sure it will be. Besides, there's more of you now! This'll be fun!"
"Sure, Dixie," Mario agreed indulgently, "But those showers…?"
"Oh, right, duh. Here, I'll show you…"
—
Daisy swiped her forearm across the fogged up surface of the mirror, examining her reflection critically.
She had almost given herself a heart attack seeing her reflection before her shower. Dirty, sweaty, greasy haired and baggy-eyed. Geez. She wasn't someone who overly cared about her appearance, but even she would readily admit that she looked slightly like a walking corpse.
She looked much more human now, though. Her cheeks had a healthy redness to them from the warm water, and her hair hang in damp waves down her back, having been towel-dried as much as possible. She was now clad in a thick but flexible pair of jeggings that Dixie insisted she never wore, a green long sleeved t-shirt and a light orange jacket, thin but durable and comfortable. The jacket was necessary as the house was slightly breezy – apparently Diddy had messed up the central heating when he was throwing a ball around a couple weeks ago.
She gathered her dirty clothes and wet towel in her arms before exiting the bathroom. A few rooms away, she could still hear water running, so she assumed Mario was still in his shower. Peach and Yoshi had ended up with first dibs for the showers, and she shot Toad a small grin as the younger male passed her to go and take his turn to wash up. Dixie met her further down the hall and took the bundle from Daisy's arms.
"I'll drop these down at the laundry room for you – normally it's Cranky's job but he usually takes about a million years, if he even makes it at all."
Daisy handed them over without argument, sending a grateful smile her way, before proceeding down the corridor and descending the creaky, crooked staircase to reach the lounge area. She liked the Kong's house a lot. It was a little ragged, practically radiating chaotic energy, with messy rooms and chipped paint. But it was very homely. Everything was painted and decorated in bright, warm shades. It reminded Daisy a little of her little home back in Arizona – wild but cozy, always buzzing with energy even though it was just Daisy and her dad that lived there.
As it usually did, thinking about her dad made Daisy's heart twinge slightly. She always missed him when she was away ; try as she might to deny it, she was a daddy's girl, through and through. Her dad was all she had growing up. It was just the two of them in their little, worn down house. But he loved her, and he raised her well enough to make up for the absence of a mom. The two of them had always bonded over sports and other such hobbies (they had been an unbeatable combo at daddy-daughter sports days) and though he had to work long hours to make ends meet, they had always been very close. She hated living far away from her dad, but it was necessary. She would see him at winter break and over summer, anyway.
Of course, now she was further from him than she ever had been before. Her heart stuttered, as did her steps, as this thought occurred to her, before she forcefully put it aside. It was fine. She was fine.
Everything is fine.
She entered the lounge area, where the others were sat comfortably on the chairs within. Rosalina and Peach were both nursing a box of blister plasters, wincing as they applied them to their damaged feet. Luigi was perched on the edge of the sofa, Diddy sprawled a few feet away from him, watching Yoshi with a tiny, amused smile as the little boy raced himself around the coffee table, sans his trademark dinosaur jumper but now clad in a cozy-looking brown one. The kid looked up as Daisy entered, and offered an energetic, "Hi Daisy!" as greeting.
She waved in response, crossing the room and dodging the bullet-like child to drop herself onto an armchair. Her own smile grew despite herself as she watched Yoshi.
"He really isn't tired out from the walk this morning at all, huh?" She mused, mostly to herself. But Luigi and Diddy still looked over at her, nonetheless.
"Yeah, it, uh, takes more than a two hour walk to tire him out, I'm afraid," Luigi replied, smile somewhat lopsided. His attention was then caught by something by the door. This something turned out to be Mario, hair still dripping wet, walking into the room and dropping down next to his brother.
"Shower's yours," He offered Luigi, who nodded in understanding, pushing himself to his feet.
"Try not to let Yoshi break anything while I'm gone?" He requested. Mario's face split into a rare grin.
"Don't ask the impossible, bro."
Rolling his eyes, Luigi departed for the shower. Rosalina and Peach crossed the room to drop into chairs next to Daisy, massaging their feet.
"These blisters will take forever to go away," Rosalina noted, grimacing as she pulled on socks to cover up.
"Yeah, but I'd rather have a couple blisters to deal with than ever have to walk miles with no shoes on," Peach replied, curling herself comfortably on the chair.
"You say that like it's the first time. Remember after the Halloween party last semester?" Daisy asked, snickering. Peach's eyes lit up in recollection, and laughter burst from her throat too.
"Oh gosh, yes! What happened to our shoes again that night?"
"Daisy got dared to drink punch out of her shoe, and you insisted on walking home without your shoes as well as a show of solidarity," Rosalina recalled, lips twitching. Rosalina wasn't much for parties, and was not really a drinker even if she did go to one. This would be fine, but it did unfortunately mean that she was prone to remember every little embarrassing thing Daisy or Peach done whilst under the influence of alcohol.
"That's real friendship, right there," Daisy noted, nudging Peach's leg with her foot, "Walking a half hour without shoes just so your roommate won't look like an idiot alone."
"I put up with so much living with you," Peach lamented, but her eyes were warm as she swatted Daisy's foot away from herself. It was then that Dixie entered the room, arms empty of laundry. However, instead of making her way over to her boyfriend as Daisy expected, she locked onto the three of them and made a beeline over, perching herself on the arm of the sofa to face them.
"Hey! I don't think Toad will be much longer, so you'll get your turn soon! Sorry you ended up dead last," She said, directing this at Rosalina who waved her off.
"It's fine, I don't mind, really," She assured. She had volunteered to go last to avoid arguments, after all. Her and Luigi had bickered about it for a moment (if it can be called bickering when it's done with unbelievable levels of politeness and awkwardness), before Mario had interjected and said since Rosalina had volunteered first, she could go last if it would really make her happy.
They really are the only people who would have an argument trying to out-polite each other, of all things.
Toad returned a few minutes later, allowing Rosalina to depart at last for her shower. When both she and Luigi had returned, the room had settled, with the boys chatting in one corner having claimed the sofa while the girls were sprawled over chairs the opposite side of the room. Daisy discovered that Dixie was pretty fun to talk to. She was chatty and cheerful, brimming with positivity and energy, and threw herself at any conversation topic with enthusiasm.
"So tell me all about college," She gushed, propping her face atop her hands with interest, "It always sounds like a blast when I hear people talk about it."
"As much of a blast as waking up at 7am to face a half hour walk to class ever is," Daisy said dryly.
"Oh, come on! Apart from that! The living alone and the parties and the boys! It must be exciting!" Dixie protested. Peach laughed.
"Yeah, that part is fun. It's always great being able to just go out for lunch between classes."
"Or go home for a nap between classes," Rosalina added, smiling. Daisy scoffed.
"Yeah, just cause YOU can do that, Miss-I-Have-A-Four-Hour-Break-Between-Classes."
"Yeah, Rosie, you're the only person I know who goes home between classes and actually comes back for their later classes," Peach said.
"Couldn't be me. My willpower is simply not strong enough," Daisy said solemnly, shaking her said. Dixie giggled at their interaction.
"Okay, and you can't tell me college isn't full of cute guys! You guys are all super pretty! You gotta have boyfriends!" She said, leaning forward eagerly. The three older girls exchanged vaguely amused glances. None of them did have boyfriends currently, as it so happened.
"Afraid not. College boys are still at the surface of it…well, boys. Most of them are too immature for their own good," Peach said, sighing, "They're good for the odd date and stuff, but none of them are really dating material."
"I guess I kinda expected that aspect to change when they left high school," Dixie remarked, rolling her eyes as she looked over with barely-concealed fondness at Diddy, who was gesturing vibrantly as he told the boys a story.
"Yeah, it doesn't," Daisy said, "But what about you and Diddy? How long have you been dating for?"
Dixie leaned back to ponder this question, tapping her chin thoughtfully.
"…It must be coming up on a year now. But, to be honest, he and I have been friends our whole lives, so it's not really been that big of a change, y'know? We've always hung out together and basically lived together, so we're not like your average couple."
"That's cute," Peach replied, vaguely wistful look on her face, "Wish I had a convenient childhood friend to fall in love with me."
"It would sure make things easier," Rosalina said, laughing softly.
Out of the three of them, Rosalina was least involved in the dating scene. It surprised some people, as they expected Daisy, the tomboy, to want nothing to do with romance (or they stereotyped that her somewhat unfeminine nature meant that it wasn't boys she was interested in). And its true that she didn't exactly seek it, but she won't actively avoid it on the infrequent occasions she and someone share a mutual interest. Rosalina somewhat prefers to keep to herself, though. Boys have plenty of interest in her, sure – blue eyed blonde girl, the book could write itself – but she rarely ever returned it. So far as Daisy knew, she had only had one somewhat casual boyfriend in her life, and had been on the odd dates scattered across months without any action. Which was fine, she guessed. It was just how Rosie was. She was still a pro wingwoman, and she still liked to hear about other people's dating lives; she just didn't seem to have any interest in getting one herself.
A somewhat sly look shot across Dixie's face. She glanced back over to the boys, before looking back and leaning in closer to the girls.
"Well," She whispered conspiratorially, "There's always Mario and Luigi."
She burst out laughing at the looks on their faces. Peach looked incredulous, Rosalina a combination of amused and slightly nauseous, and Daisy could tell her own face had twisted into a seriously sceptical one.
Talking about guys of all things while they were hiding out in a safehouse on the run was easily the most surreal thing Daisy had experienced in her life. But still…
Luigi, at least, seemed like a nice enough guy, maybe one she could have learned to like under different circumstances. But, well, they were literally on the run from a hostile gang, and Mario and Luigi were their means of survival. She didn't get the feeling it was the sort of place where romance could blossom. Besides, he was crazy awkward and didn't seem to like being alone with any of the girls and speaking to them without someone else around. He really was sort of like a kicked puppy.
And Mario…well. The stoic, grumpy type was always more Peach's thing. She had little doubt again that if the circumstances were different, Peach would be seriously into Mario. But thankfully, she had a little thing called self-respect, and seemed to know not to give the time of day to him unless he could start treating her with said respect. It's not like she could ever picture Mario in a relationship, anyway – she could barely even picture the guy smiling, never mind expressing a romantic fondness for a person.
"I'm kidding," Dixie assured, still giggling and attempting to muffle it into her fist so that the boys wouldn't look over, "But still, it'll be good to have you guys around. Those two need to talk to more girls – especially Luigi. Their experiences in that area are seriously limited."
"Oh? Have neither of them dated before?" Peach inquired, propping her hands under her chin as she tilted her head slightly in curiosity. She sounded slightly surprised, not that Daisy could blame her. Luigi and Mario were a year or two older than them, respectively, with Luigi being nineteen and Mario twenty. It was pretty rare to meet two guys who had gotten to that stage and had no dating experience.
"Mm. Mario has. He dated this girl Pauline for like five, six months a couple years back. But poor Weeg – I don't think he's so much as kissed a girl."
"Really? I mean, he's not exactly my type, but he's a pretty cute guy, and he seems super sweet," Peach noted, blinking in surprise. Dixie hummed, thoughtful frown on her face as she looked back at the boys and ensured her voice stayed quiet.
"Well, you know that saying, nice guys finish last? That is…pretty applicable in poor Luigi's case. Any girl he meets also meets Mario at the same time, and I guess his whole stocky, broody thing does something for them that Luigi's taller, dorky thing doesn't. It's a shame really, I mean you're right about him being a total sweetheart. If I didn't have my goofball, I'd have at least thought about it."
So she was right, then. Luigi was not very good at talking to girls outside any urgent situation. He seemed to get flustered by them pretty easily, as their few attempts to chat to him on the walk this morning showed. If he had something to say, he could say it, but small talk didn't quite seem like his kind of area.
Hey, Daisy could respect that. It had taken her years to become good at talking to just about anyone – she preferred to express herself through action if at all possible.
Their conversation came to an abrupt halt when Mario clapped loudly to get their attention. They looked over, twisting in their seats to face them as the boys moved closer so they were all huddled together.
"So," Mario said, straight to business, "Where is DK, anyway, you guys?"
"Donkey? He's still out on a mission," Dixie replied, sending him a slightly apologetic smile, "He'll be gone another couple days, probably, he's out of state."
"Kremling gang are causing trouble down in New Jersey again," Diddy chimed in, shaking his head, "What d'you need him for, anyway? You can stay here for a bit no problem whether he's around or not."
"I know. But he's usually really good for gathering intel, and if we're gonna keep these girls safe, we're gonna need a lot of that," Mario replied. Daisy didn't know whether to feel mildly touched at these words or not, considering he hadn't seemed to want to help them in the first place last night.
But she was grateful that he was going out of his way to help them now. Who knows what they'd have done abandoned in Boston – gotten kidnapped straight away again, probably. But still, that didn't mean she had to like the boy.
"Yeah, we can't help you much there," Diddy admitted.
"Donkey still doesn't let us get too involved with field work kind of stuff," Dixie agreed, rolling her eyes, "He needs to quit being so overprotective of us."
"But hey, like we said, you guys can hang out here till he's back. As long as you want. It'll be good to have other people around; it's just us and Cranky right now, and, well, Cranky doesn't do much these days," Diddy confided, looking in the direction of the staircase.
Before Daisy could question who Cranky was, Luigi had kept the conversation going.
"So, how's the sleeping arrangement gonna work? I know we're normally just parked in here, but, uh, will we all fit with the girls here too?"
The lounge was a large room, with a lot of floor space. If the two sofas were used, it could easily fit four or five people in it. But there was seven of them. Dixie shrugged.
"Sure. If we just move the coffee table out the room, toss down the air mattresses and blankets, and boom, one big slumber party!"
She stood up and approached said table, kicking Diddy as she passed him, "C'mon, help me move this, babe. C'mon, get up! Okay, great. Okay, on three…one…two…"
—
"It really is like a slumber party," Rosalina noted, small smile playing about her lips. Peach flopped back onto the air mattress she would be sharing with her.
"Yeah, these days, my slumber parties involve a few more cocktails and a few less hyperactive nine year olds," She replied dryly, watching Toad attempt to wrestle a squirming Yoshi down onto his own air bed. Daisy snickered.
"Yeah, that is a surprise."
Night had fallen surprisingly quickly, with their ragtag group having passed the day setting the lounge up to sleep and getting to know Dixie and Diddy a little more. After several fierce rounds of rock paper scissors, Daisy and Toad had managed to bag the sofas, at least for tonight. She was definitely more comfortable than she had been in the slightly seedy hostel last night, and she had a significantly lower chance of getting bit by something. The couch was a cozy, slightly worn fabric and the blankets thick and woollen as she burrowed beneath them. Peach and Rosie did not seem phased about sharing a mattress – the three of them had slept in the same bed several times before, anyway. As they all settled down to rest, Dixie and Diddy having departed for their bedrooms several minutes earlier, she found herself quite looking forward to a long night's rest after one very, very long day. But as their gradual chatter quietened, and everyone in the room fell silent and down into a slumber, Daisy found herself staring sleeplessly at the ceiling, exhausted but unable to fall asleep, for what must have been nearly an hour.
Her mind was running a million miles an hour, as the thoughts she had tried to push away over the past two days came rushing to the forefront of her mind without anyone or anything else to distract her. This whole situation was still…a lot. The chaos of the day, and meeting some new friends, had given some levity to the situation, but she still felt an overwhelming sense of hopelessness. Her chest felt like there was something heavy sitting on it. She was supposed to have had a shift this morning, followed by afternoon classes. When she hadn't shown up to either, and neither had Rosie or Peach, would their absence have been noted? Would people have noticed by now that they were gone? If people knew they were missing, would they have called her dad? Was he sitting at home right now, staring down his phone, imploring her to call him? She usually text him every day – she could just picture her phone, abandoned somewhere back in that shady gang den, vibrating every so often with concerned texts and calls from him.
Her heart ached as she pictured his kind, worried blue eyes, gritting her teeth as her own eyes filled with tears. She blinked rapidly, sniffing as quietly as possible so as to alert nobody. She realised pretty quickly that this was one crying session she was not going to be able to hold back, so she pushed herself up onto her elbows and twisted to put her feet on the ground. She stood carefully and slowly, stepping delicately over Peach's sprawled limbs and Rosalina's curled body, as well as Luigi's still body, lying on his side, chest rising and falling steadily.
As she left the room, she failed to notice his sleepy blue eyes follow her, before he closed them again and let his head fall back to the mattress.
When she made it to the bathroom, it was like a tsunami was unleashed, all the emotions she had held back for several days to be strong for her friends suddenly too much to bear. She barely had time to close and lock the door behind her before she slid down to the floor, tears flooding down her cheeks, and by the time she had curled her legs up to her chest her body was quaking with sobs she tried to stifle.
This wasn't fair. This wasn't right. She wanted to go home. She wanted her dad. She wanted to go back to her life at college, with her only worries being maintaining her track record and GPA. She was eighteen, she shouldn't be running for her life and hiding in some strangers home with even more strangers for company, wondering when any sense of normality would return. She just…she just wanted her life back.
Several minutes passed with her on the cool bathroom floor, back against the door, the coldness of it helping to ground her slightly. She was thankfully pretty adept at controlling her breathing – she had to be, as into sports as she was – but she still could not stop the sobs wracking her frame. Maybe because she knew soon she would have to go back to being strong for Peach and Rosie, because it was what they expected. Or maybe she had just been holding in a lot of stress even before she had been literally kidnapped. Either way, this breakdown didn't seem set to stop anytime soon…
Or so she thought, until there came a tentative knock on the door.
It startled the living daylights out of her, enough that she choked on the sob she had been releasing at that exact moment, coughs spluttering out of her. The knock was then accompanied by a slightly timid voice.
"Um…Daisy? Are…you okay?"
It was Luigi, she realised after a moment, and she cursed herself for not having properly checked that everyone was asleep when she had left the lounge. She quickly swiped at her eyes, swallowing deeply to stop any more deep sobs from escaping her, but tears still trickled down her cheeks nonetheless. She took a moment to ensure her voice would be steady, before she replied.
"Y-yeah," She said, and she cringed internally as it came out audibly croaky and shaky, followed by a deep sniff.
"O-oh. Just cause…well, it just sounded a little like…it sounded like you were upset."
There was that fumbling over his words when he spoke to a girl again. She heard him shift about uncomfortably outside, before he spoke again.
"Do, um, do you…want me to get Peach or Rosalina?"
"No!"
She probably surprised him even more than herself at that loud outburst, but she knew that she meant it with every inch of her being.
"No," She repeated, "Don't. They'll just worry. I'm fine."
"Oh. Okay. Um, do you…want me to go?"
She sighed out slowly, letting her head fall back against the door with a light thud.
"…I don't care. Stay if you want."
She didn't hear him move, but then she didn't really hear anything at all. She remained still, eyes closed wearily, before she heard a light impact of what was probably his back as he leaned back against the bathroom door.
"So, um…I know you don't like or know me very much, but, uh…What's wrong?"
She didn't offer a response for several moments. The silence of the late-night air was piercing, before she at last broke it again.
"…I never said I don't like you."
"Oh. I just, I thought, well…Mario."
He said his brother's name as if it explained everything, and frankly right then it did. She almost smiled. Almost.
"I'm not really his biggest fan, yeah, but you seem okay. Not a total freak, which is, y'know," She sniffed again, "Always a plus."
She heard him huff out a slight laugh.
"I might be a freak. Give it time, you barely know me."
She did smile now, to her slight surprise. It was equally surprising to hear him make a joke with her; she didn't think he would be comfortable enough to do that, especially without some kind of stammer. Maybe it was some way of trying to cheer her up.
"I guess we'll see. After all, we'll be around each other…a whole lot…I guess."
Her voice became slightly distant at these words, her chest constricting again as she remembered the cause of her upset in the first place. She squeezed her eyes closed again, pressing her head against her knees and breathing in slowly. He knocked again lightly, somewhat uncertainly.
"…Are you okay?"
She laughed humourlessly, hugging her knees tight enough to hurt.
"Not really."
"Oh."
She heard another small noise, and realised with a start that she recognised it, having just make it herself several minutes earlier; the sound of him sliding down the door until he was against it on the floor.
"Can I…do anything?" He ventured somewhat warily. She shook her head, despite knowing he couldn't see it.
"Not unless you can invent a time machine or something."
"Uh, yeah, afraid that I can't do."
It was sweet of him to offer to help, she realised retroactively. I mean, this boy barely knew her, and he was one of the most awkward people she had met in a long time, but here he was, on the floor of a hallway, trying to cheer up a virtual stranger who he was already doing so much to help. He really was a nice guy, just like Dixie had said.
She let her head fall back against the door again, and took a peculiar sense of comfort in picturing him in the exact same position on just the other side of the door. They were probably virtually back to back right now; the door was thin enough that she could faintly hear his steady breathing. It was all unusually comforting. Normally, she would be mortified that someone had seen her so vulnerable, but…there was just something trustworthy about Luigi. She knew, subconsciously, that he would never use this moment to mock her. He was far too earnest for that. He was really here because he just wanted her to be okay, and she finally accepted for the first time that she could really see herself being friends with this guy.
A tiny smile twitched onto her face again, and she wiped away the remnants of her tears, taking a steadying breath to make sure that was really the end of them. Luigi remained quiet on the other side of the door, and they stayed like that for several minutes, until she dared start speaking again.
"…Sorry. I'm okay now. You can go if you want."
"S'okay. Mario snores a lot anyway, I, uh, needed a break, y'know?"
A small laugh bubbled from her throat.
"I don't think this was a very relaxing break for you, somehow."
"Maybe not. But I...I don't mind. Really."
Somehow, for some reason, she believed him.
"I just…miss home. I know, it's dumb, right? I mean, we were there like, two days ago, right? But…I don't know. Still."
He shifted on the other side, maybe moving into a more comfortable position.
"No, I, uh, I get you. It makes sense. I mean, a lot's happened lately, and, y'know, you can't go back anytime soon." There was a beat of silence. "Sorry, I…I shouldn't have said that, should I?"
She laughed again, too exhausted to care.
"It's fine."
"…I know it doesn't really mean much, coming from me, but…I really do promise. We want to help you. R-really."
His voice was so earnest, so genuine. She placed her hands palm down on the ground, and allowed herself the briefest moment to entertain whether his hands would have been close to hers, were there not a door separating the two of them, before she firmly banished this line of thought.
And she allowed herself to whisper the words that she had spent all day doubting slightly, but now realised to be true.
"…I believe you."
—
Hey, I took forever to update so here's a chapter almost double the length of the others! Thanks for the reviews so far, and thank you to the person who pointed out the lack of line break in chapter 4 - there was meant to be one! It must just not have pasted over properly, I've edited it now :)
Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and I'll hopefully take less time to update next time, but online uni + a new job is proving to be a pretty lethal combination, time-wise hahaha.
Thanks again for reading! Favourite, follow and review to keep me motivated!
