Living at the Kong's house was absolutely chaotic, and Daisy loved every second of it.

Considering its only inhabitants, apart from Cranky who had yet to make an appearance, were nine young people ranging from ages nine to twenty, it was, needless to say, very very loud at all times. Yoshi had proven himself to be quite the ball of energy, and Daisy had taken it upon herself to be his playmate when she could. His big, pleading eyes were pretty hard to say no to. Diddy was by no means a quiet person, and would frequently join them in these games, or could otherwise be heard talking loudly and enthusiastically, to whomever happened to be nearby at that moment. He and Dixie had no qualms about yelling for each other from opposite ends of the house, even if it was about utterly mundane things such as the location of her hairbrush. On top of this, you can't place nine kids in such proximity for days on end, and not expect spontaneous, frequent bickering.

Particularly when two of these people are named Peach and Mario.

They had all quickly come to realise, whilst getting to know one another, that Mario and Peach were, unfortunately, both the same level of stubborn; that is, incredibly. And as such, it did not take very much at all for them to dissolve into an argument, especially when Luigi or Rosalina were not around to play mediator. The saying 'Unstoppable force meets immovable object' is one that comes to her mind – it didn't matter WHAT the argument was, they would find a way to have it.

In the five days they'd been at the Kong's house, and so the week they had known the brothers, Daisy had already gotten very good at learning to tune the disagreements out. It was a skill that had been necessary to survive, staying in a college dorm in Freshman year. But the thing Daisy couldn't work out was WHY Mario had it out for Peach in the first place. Herself and Rosalina had been mostly treated indifferently, not spoken to all that much, but more or less civil on the occasions it happened. And she couldn't figure out what was different about them and Peach, but whatever it was, he would have to get over it, and soon. For the sake of all their sanity.


"Donkey called earlier, by the way."

Rosalina looked up from her slice of veggie pizza upon hearing Dixie's statement. The girl was clutching her own slice of pepperoni, chewing it casually. Her tone had been totally conversational, but Mario still put his Hawaiian slice down in the box and looked at her fully. She continued.

"He says he'll be back tomorrow afternoon," She went on, "And he knows you're here, and says to tell you he'll see what intel he can get together for you."

Mario nodded, looking pleased.

"Thanks, Dixie," He replied. Peach hummed in thought.

"So we'll finally get to meet this Donkey, huh? Not quite sure what to expect," She admitted, and Rosalina couldn't help but agree.

They'd heard snippets about what the man was like, and she'd spotted his face in a few of the photos around the house in the five days they'd been camped out here, but they didn't really know all that much about him. Any time they would ask, Dixie would just shrug and say, "He's Donkey, I really can't explain 'til you see him."

She was a little nervous about this, but she just had to trust that Mario and co. wouldn't steer them wrong.

Luigi had finally started to relax around them somewhat, able to hold a conversation with them with minimal stammering, for the most part. He had suddenly begun to get along with Daisy their second day at the Kong's, seemingly without any explanation, and Daisy had not offered any reason as to why she was suddenly warmer to the younger of the brothers. Whatever the reason, the two of them seemed to be on fairly friendly terms, and if he was not with his brother or Yoshi, odds are he could be found chatting to Daisy. Toad, not so much; the younger teen was still somewhat taken with Peach and had taken to following her around, offering his help with any task she may need to do. The blonde seemed to find it more amusing than anything else, taking it all in stride. But, when he wasn't stalking Peach, Rosalina found that, despite being a good four or so years younger than her, Toad was actually a good friend to talk to. He was fiercely loyal and caring, wishing only to help others as much as possible, something Rosalina could relate to.

She also, unlike the other two girls, attempted to pry some conversation out of Mario. She would have felt bad if she did not at least try; and although she was not fond of the way he and Peach were acting around each other, he had never shown any real animosity to her. Her attempts at conversation had gotten a somewhat lukewarm response from the boy, but it was a start.

It was Yoshi, though, who she knew she got along with the best. Daisy and Peach would no doubt say the same. The little boy was impossible to not love, and just invoked a deep fondness within her that only the likes of her little sister could usually invoke. Daisy could often be found playing tag or ball with him, Peach seemed perfectly content to have him nap sprawled over her lap during quieter moments, and Rosalina…well, she just felt a strong wish to look after him, really. She had what her friends referred to as a Mother Hen complex, and it was particularly strong for this little boy. Yoshi just had the ability to make friends with anyone.

As she would go on to discover, the three of them were not the only ones to think this way.

The next morning, she had awoken first, as she had every day so far. She had a couch last night, as did Mario, and therefore she could see Daisy half-sprawled over a blissfully ignorant Peach, both snoring quietly still, as well as Toad and Luigi sleeping top to toe on another mattress nearby, Toad loosely and obliviously hugging Luigi's legs in his sleep, Luigi's arm hanging over the edge while he used the other as a pillow. However, there was one key difference to this now vaguely familiar picture; Yoshi's mattress, which he had to himself as he was a very squirmy sleeper, was bare of the little boy.

This was slightly odd; as energetic as he was, Yoshi was a deep sleeper once you got him to sleep and tended not to wake until one of them woke him up purposefully. Amusingly, this had resulted in them once letting him sleep until noon after he had been particularly spirited the day before, in order to give themselves a break. However, with all the others still asleep, she couldn't help but wonder about the whereabouts of the child. She sat up slightly to look over at the other couch, confirming that Mario was still out of it, hat lowered across his eyes and his arm hanging off the side the same way Luigi's was.

Rubbing her eyes, she decided to wait a few more minutes to see if he would come back before she would go looking for him. It was fairly amusing seeing the others sleeping, anyway. She had picked up on all their habits; she had already known that Peach was a relatively peaceful sleeper, and that Daisy talked in her sleep from time to time. Toad seemed to always have to be curled up and clinging to something, whether that be his pillow or the legs of whichever brother he was sharing with. Luigi and Mario mirrored each other, which was funny to see when they happened to have to share a mattress, with the only difference being that Luigi always threw his hat haphazardly into the corner rather than keeping it on his person. She supposed maybe it was a little creepy to observe them well enough to know this, but, well, she didn't have a phone or anything else to do until someone else woke up, so it was really all she had for entertainment.

Being an early riser was a curse, sometimes.

When it became clear Yoshi was not about to return anytime soon, she stood as quietly as possible and padded across the room, carefully so as to not disturb the others. Luigi, who was usually the second to awaken after her, shifted slightly as she passed him, brows furrowing slightly, before he relaxed back into sleep as she paused her movement.

She made it out of the room without managing to cause any of the others to stir, and began up the stairs as softly as possible. It became apparent quickly that Yoshi was not in either of the bathrooms, as both the doors were still wide open, and Diddy and Dixie's rooms were both still closed and locked, so they had clearly yet to rise as well. She glanced into the open rooms to see if she could spot the unruly ginger curls, but there was still no sign of him.

She paused at the foot of the stairs up to the third floor. She had never been up here, yet. She had never had a reason to. According to Diddy, it housed Donkey Kong's room, and the evasive Cranky Kong, and apart from that was used solely for storage. She couldn't think of any reason Yoshi would have to be up there, either, but since there was no sign of the boy anywhere else…

She somewhat cautiously began to climb the stairs. It felt wrong somehow, like this was forbidden. It wasn't; nobody had ever told them not to come up there, they had just said with a slight shrug that Cranky just doesn't like to be disturbed. Despite being there for almost a week, none of them had seen hide nor hair of this elusive person. Diddy or Dixie would bring him food several times a day, and apparently there was a third small bathroom upstairs, so he had never ventured down to use the second-floor ones.

She stilled near the top, faintly registering the now-familiar chattering tone of Yoshi's voice coming from a room at the end of the corridor. She froze as she approached it, feeling uncertain, as she saw a plaque on the open door, rusty and dusty, but still clearly emblazoned with the name 'Cranky'. She recalled Dixie's words about him not wanting to be disturbed, but equally…she could see Yoshi, sat cross legged and still in his pyjamas, babbling away in the relentless way he was prone to doing. She couldn't see the person that he was talking to, but in the end it didn't matter, for Yoshi's eyes suddenly landed on her while he was gesturing wildly mid-story and he cried out brightly in greeting, "Hi, Rosie! Come meet Cranky!"

She hesitated, and nearly jumped out of her skin when the voice of an old man rang out from the room.

"Well, come in if you're going to."

He sounded impatient, and not entirely happy, although whether this was at her, at Yoshi, or in general she did not know.

With slight wariness, she pushed the door open further and stepped lightly in.

The lighting was still somewhat dim in the room, given the still-rising sun outside, but she could just make out the figure sat in an armchair in the corner of the room. He was clearly a very old man, if the wrinkled face and long white beard and hair were anything to go on, the weak light in the room gleaming on the bald top of his head. Small black glasses were perched crookedly on the end of his thick nose, narrow black eyes looking back at her with a hint of reproach. He was dressed in day clothes already, a tan sweatervest over a white shirt and matching pants, and an uneven, unstable looking walking stick was balanced against the arm of his chair.

Yoshi bounced to his feet, moving to her side and tugging her hand eagerly, pulling her deeper into the room.

"Cranky, this is Rosie! She's one of the people hangin' out with us, remember I said?" He asked brightly, moving himself up and down on the balls of his feet. Cranky snorted.

"You told me about ten minutes ago, boy. I may be old, but my memory's not going that bad yet."

She shot him a polite smile as his attention came back to her, eyes scanning up and down.

"So," He said, "You're one of the kidnapees, eh?"

She fought back the mild discomfort at this title, and nodded her head.

"Yes sir, it's nice to meet you. Your house is lovely," She replied, sending him a well-mannered smile. He snorted somewhat derisively.

"Oh, it's not my house, these days. Belongs to that grandson of mine now. Little brat barely lets me leave this place anymore," He grumbled, and Yoshi chimed into the conversation again.

"That's cuz you're real old, Cranky," He said in earnest, blinking up at the man innocently, "He wants to keep you safe!"

Rosalina had to fight back a laugh at the sheer indignancy on Cranky's face at Yoshi's somewhat tactless comment, but she quickly rejoined the conversation to prevent the little boy from being scolded.

"Your grandson?" She asked, keeping her tone steady and polite. Cranky looked back away from Yoshi once again. Mission accomplished.

"Yeah, my grandson. They Donkey…fancies himself an amazing leader, full of action. I tell him, you wait and see, me and your old man, we saw the action, you haven't seen anything yet," He replied, shaking his head with a dismissive scoff. Yoshi frowned slightly.

"But I once saw Mr Donkey throw two guys his size out the window," He argued, brows furrowing, "He's so cool."

"Being 'cool' doesn't mean you're a perfect leader. That grandson of mine has a lot to learn in that regard."

Rosalina blinked slightly, and saw Yoshi do the same out the corner of his eye. She hadn't expected to be hit with words of pseudo wisdom before 7am, particularly from this old man who lurked at the top of the house. He registered her look, and frowned at her, leaving her feeling slightly like a child who had done something wrong.

"Something you'll learn when you're pushing ninety like me, girl," He remarked, "Pushing 90 but still spry as ever and what does that boy have me doing?"

He snorted, turning his gaze out the window.

"Has me confined up here, convinced it's too 'dangerous'."

Another snort.

"Thinks he knows what's best for everyone without bothering to ask them."

Yoshi was still frowning slightly, maybe at these slights against Donkey Kong. The little boy seemed to think he was the coolest thing since sliced bread, after all, something most children probably would think about someone who apparently was strong enough to wrestle off two fully grown male attackers with ease.

"That's not true," He piped up in protest, "You just said, he does it coz he wants you to be safe!"

"That's true. He obviously cares about you, and Diddy and Dixie, a lot. By not letting you in on the action, it isn't some way of dismissing you or thinking you're not capable, he just wants you to stay safe."

Both males in the room turned to look at Rosie, who felt surprised at herself more than anything. She hadn't really planned on speaking up, but she felt a need to defend this man who was not here to defend himself. She had heard stories from the two younger Kongs, stories that had certainly convinced her of Donkey Kong's bravery and devotion to his family. It was hard to judge when she had never met him, of course, but she didn't get the feeling he deserved this attack from his grandfather.

Cranky shook his head.

"Diddy and Dixie…those two. They're too dang cheerful is what they are. Can hear them loud and clear all the way up here, even when they're on the ground floor. Just going to end up getting themselves in trouble," He grumbled. Rosalina blinked at the abrupt change of subject, but also at the clear hints of concern concealed in his voice. Cranky was obviously not the most cheerful of people, as his apt name showed, but it was definitely there. Thinly veiled worry over the two younger members of the Kongs.

It made sense, she supposed. Apparently, they spent a lot of time in this house with just the three of them – Diddy, Dixie, Cranky. Diddy and Dixie always escaped upstairs for at least a few minutes each day with trays of food, clearly for Cranky. Sometimes they were able to hear the laughter of one of them, usually Diddy, and sometimes they would end up lingering up there for closer to an hour. Clearly, there was a fondness in this family for each other, no matter how indifferent Cranky may try and act.

"Is being cheerful really a bad thing?" She asked, voice slightly quiet. Her eyes looked down to the small boy by her side, and she knew Cranky had followed her gaze, before he sighed heavily.

"No," The old man conceded, "I suppose not always."

Rosalina smiled as Yoshi looked between the two of them curiously, before the kid took the conversation into his own hands, clearly bored with the way the talk was going.

"Are you going to come and say hi to Mario and Weeg and the others sometime?" He asked curiously.

"Wasn't planning on it."

"Wh-y?" Yoshi whined, dragging out the word for several seconds, firm pout on his face, "They said it's weird they haven't seen you yet."

Cranky shrugged, grunting in exertion as he leaned forward to reach for his glass of water. Rosalina moved quicker, moving to the table and picking it up to hand it to him. He narrowed his eyes slightly, before looking away and grunting a quiet thanks, taking the water.

"Those two are more trouble than I can be bothered dealing with right now. Too much like their father, they are," He replied. Rosalina frowned.

"Their father?"

To her surprise, Yoshi was quick to interject.

"They don't try 'nd be trouble! Trouble just finds us!"

"And ends up on our doorstep, usually," Cranky said flatly.

"But that's okay, cause you love us!"

"I have never once said that, boy."

"You don't have to, I know it."

But as their conversation/bickering continued, with Cranky looking half-exasperated, a quarter annoyed and a quarter reluctantly fond of the lively child, Rosalina found herself still stuck on what Cranky had just said.

Too much like their father…Where did Mario and Luigi come from, anyway? It was something that had never been brought up in the week or so they'd known each other. The girls had talked about their families from time to time, if asked about them, but the brothers had never offered up any information about their own. Who were their parents? Where were they, if their two sons were out on the streets fighting hostile gangs?

…And how did Cranky know their dad, anyway?


"We have to talk."

Mario looked up at his brother upon hearing these words, brow quirking. Luigi fidgeted slightly in the doorway, unsure exactly how to phrase what he wanted to say to him.

"Okay," The older boy acknowledged, bemused, "What about?"

Luigi hesitated, floundering slightly and trying hard not to. He was never the best at serious conversations. Or small talk conversations. Or conversations in general. His brother tended to be one of few exceptions to this, but not when he had to give him into trouble for something. And no doubt, he did have to pull his brother up on this. It had gone on long enough.

"I…it's about the girls."

Mario's expression took on a mildly exasperated edge.

"Look, if you're going to tell me to stop arguing with blondie, you should- "

"I'm not," He hastily interrupted, "Or, well, it would be good if the two of you could quit it, but that's not…that's not what I meant."

"Okay," Mario repeated, leaning back in his chair, "What did you mean, then?"

Luigi opened his mouth, then closed it again. He hesitated for a few moments, relieved when his brother patiently waited for him to speak.

"I just…look. They're going to be with us for a while now, whether you like it or not, Mario. You have to start being nicer to them."

There. He'd said it. And Mario just looked faintly amused at the words.

"I'm not being rude to Daisy or Rosalina. I just don't talk to them much; I don't see what's wrong with that."

Daisy or Rosalina. Two out of three unfortunately. Two out of three very close-knit friends, who took any insult to just one of them to all three of their hearts. So in this case, two thirds wasn't quite good enough.

"I know, but…well, the only interaction you have with any of them is when you fight with Peach."

"So?"

"So, it can create a bit of a…negative opinion. I guess."

That was putting it lightly. He'd heard from Daisy's own mouth, a few nights ago, during the night neither of them had brought up again to maintain Daisy's dignity. She didn't like Mario. Rosalina was more polite, and he knew she would never say it outright, but he had noticed a slightly strained expression on her face every time Peach and Mario were close to each other. The two of them were a ticking time bomb, and everyone knew it.

But he couldn't exactly blame Peach for it. Mario was the one who started it, he hated to admit. He'd been slightly surprised by his brother's attitude with the blonde – normally, with new people, he was like how he was with the other two. Quiet, keeping to himself and observing from afar until he'd decided they were trustworthy. But with Peach, the attitude had begun almost straight away. He couldn't figure it out one bit.

"Look Mario…I like you."

Mario snorted.

"Thanks. Good to know my little brother of nineteen years likes me. I was starting to wonder."

"No, that's not what…I like you. Toad likes you. Yoshi likes you-"

"Yoshi likes everyone."

"Yeah okay, that's true, but would you let me make my point please?"

Mario spread his hands in mock surrender, nodding.

"We all like you. You're a likeable person. I know…I know you could be friends with the girls if you just tried. I like them, Toad likes them, Yoshi absolutely adores them. They're not going away. We said we'd look out for them, and we will."

Mario remained quiet.

"They didn't ask for this to happen, Mario," He said softly, "But it did."

Mario looked away.

"Yeah, well…Nobody ever asks to get kidnapped."

Luigi paused. Something about that comment…something about the strained way he had spoken those words…the way he had looked away from him.

All of a sudden, it clicked in his mind somehow. He didn't know, exactly, how he knew. Call it brother's intuition. Mario certainly hadn't given him any clues, but…

"This is about her, isn't it?"

Mario stiffened slightly.

"Don't know who you're talking about," He muttered. Luigi frowned, moving around to meet his brother head on.

"Yes you do. You know fine well. It makes a lot of sense, now I think about it."

"Luigi…"

"Why didn't you just tell me that Peach reminded you of Pauline?"

A ringing silence was his only response. Mario scowled slightly and looked away again.

Really, it did make sense. Peach and Pauline were very alike, now he thought about it. Both into fashion, both very typically pretty, both coming from rich backgrounds, both very confident in a lot of ways.

Both kidnap victims…

"Peach isn't Pauline," Mario finally said somewhat testily.

"I know that. But then why are you treating her so…"

He paused. Another wave of brotherly revelation washed over him, followed by a sting of sympathy. Mario pursed his lips, seeming dedicated to deciding not to speak for now.

Peach reminded Mario of Pauline. Mario did not want to chance getting close to Peach, only for what happened to Pauline to happen to her. Pauline was still alive, sure, but since she and Mario had broken up two years ago…well, they hadn't spoken much. Mario made it a point to not bring her up very often, despite the fact they had dated for seven months. He blamed himself, Luigi knew. He shouldn't, but he did. Mario might be a tough, unemotional guy on the surface, but he took things to heart more than he lets on. He was quick to blame himself for any failures in their life, shouldering the fault so that Luigi would not. He was a good brother, no doubt about that.

…But still.

"Pauline wasn't your fault, Mario," He said, voice solemn. Mario spared a glance his way.

"You know that's not true."

"She got taken by them, it's their-"

"She got taken by them because she was dating me," Mario snapped, eyes holding a new fire as he finally locked eyes with Luigi.

"That doesn't make it your fault for dating her! And even if it did, this is a different situation entirely. Peach and the others, they're already on their radar. Nothing you do could make it worse for her. So you may as well just be friends with them."

Mario didn't look entirely convinced, but he knew that he wouldn't. Luigi had spent his entire life trying to curb his brother's self-deprecating, self-sacrificial habits. They weren't about to disappear overnight.

"Besides, you were dating Pauline and had been for like six months. You don't date and don't want to date Peach…do you?"

He had added on the last part out of sheer curiosity, and it was almost worth the thoroughly unamused look he got from his older sibling.

"No," He said flatly, "I do not want to date blondie. Literally what part of our interactions makes you think that is even a possibility."

"Well," He replied cheerfully, "It is said that boys will pick on and argue with girls they have a crush on…"

"Yeah, pre-school boys."

"And Peach is really pretty, and so similar to Pauline, so she could be just your type…"

"Really pretty, huh? You sure it isn't you who wants to date her?"

"Positive," Luigi replied, laughing, "I definitely don't have any interest in her that way."

"Well, neither do I. You said it yourself, all we do is argue."

"To be fair, you're the one that started that. And a lot of the arguments are usually your fault."

"They are n-" Mario stopped at his brother's unimpressed look, "Okay, fine, maybe they are."

Luigi grinned.

"So, will you try and get along with the girls a little better?"

"Alright, alright, but if Blondie picks a fight, I'm not taking it lying down."

Luigi grimaced mentally, having witnessed first-hand how argumentative Peach could be when Mario was in the picture, but nodded, nonetheless. Mario nudged him with a slight snort.

"You know, you're the bane of my freaking life."

Luigi laughed slightly, allowing his brother to knock the side of his head fondly, reaching up to fix his hat when it became unsettled by this action.

"Yeah, I know. Bet you wish mom and dad had stopped at just one."

"I do, actually. Just think, I could be living that blissful life as an only child."

They both laughed at this, and Luigi relished the brief moment of contented peace he felt, before everything would no doubt decent into chaos later that day.

He was right.

It started with a loud shriek from Dixie.

"DONKEY!"

This was followed by her hurtling herself down the stairs at rapid speed and into the muscular arms of the head of the Kong gang, who had just barely got through the front door.

Luigi's lip twitched faintly as he saw Daisy and Peach's jaw drop as they saw Donkey, and he couldn't blame them. Donkey Kong was one big guy. Topping in at probably closer to 7" tall than 6, with easily one of the beefiest physiques Luigi has ever seen, complete with several scars littering his bare arms and, currently, a black eye. His dark brown hair was trimmed close to the skull, as it usually was, and his dark brown eyes were just like Luigi always remembered. But any intimidation he may give off was somewhat reduced when the pink clad teenage girl flung her arms around him, and he lifted her up in response.

"We missed you!" Dixie cried, Donkey's largeness utterly dwarfing the girl. Donkey chuckled and gave her one more welcoming squeeze before he released her.

"Missed you too, Dix. Where's that pesky nephew of mine?"

"Uncle D! You're back!"

Diddy was another blur as he ran to his uncle, but rather than tackle him in a hug he eagerly held out a fist for Donkey to bump. The older man obliged, and the two quickly carried out a complex looking handshake, by the end of which both were laughing.

"How was New Jersey? Did ya crush the Kremlins?" Diddy asked eagerly, and Donkey knocked his skull affectionately.

"Don't I always?" He replied rhetorically, before his eyes landed on Luigi and his brother, "Good to see you boys again. Keeping out of trouble?" He asked, crossing the hall and clapping a hand on both their shoulders.

"Always trying to, DK," Mario replied, giving the man a rare grin, which seemed to surprise the three girls standing nearby if their quick shared glances were anything to go off. Luigi didn't blame them. He sometimes forgot his brother had the ability to smile, too.

Speaking of the girls, Donkey's eyes landed on them next, small frown forming on his face.

"So, you're the three that damn Bowser got his hands on, huh? Sorry about that. Always wish there was more we could do to bring them down a notch, but…" He shrugged, "We're pretty limited by numbers."

"It's okay," Rosalina replied, giving him a small, if still slightly uncertain, smile, "I'm Rosalina, yeah. And this is Daisy and Peach."

The other two greeted him with similar levels of apprehension. Luigi supposed he would probably feel the same if he were meeting Donkey for the first time. He couldn't remember how he had felt the first time they met – he had been too little. Donkey was thirty now, so would have been a preteen, maybe teen when they'd met. Had he been huge yet? Luigi couldn't recall. To be honest, he couldn't picture Donkey ever being a kid. His first memories of the man were from when Luigi was about five, so Donkey would have been nearly eighteen. He was certainly big by then. To be honest, Luigi would believe it if someone told him that Donkey Kong had come out of the womb muscled and swinging his fists. It was completely plausible.

They moved the conversation to the kitchen, parking themselves at the table although it was too soon to have dinner yet. It was only about 4pm.

"Sorry, just…about that name you said…Bowser. Who is that?" Daisy enquired somewhat warily. Luigi took it on himself to answer, knowing that she was probably more comfortable with him than with Donkey.

"Did we not mention? Sorry, I thought we…anyway, Bowser is the leader of the Koopas. Seriously scary guy, not someone you want to mess with."

"And so, naturally, you mess with him by busting three of his prisoners out," The redhead replied wryly, amusement flickering over her face as she propped her chin up on her hand. Luigi grinned back somewhat sheepishly. He liked all three of the girls, but Daisy was pretty easy to speak to somehow. Maybe because they'd had their bonding moment a few nights ago, or maybe because he just admired her hard-headed, undeniable loyalty to her friends. Either way, he didn't find it as difficult as he usually did to hold eye contact with her.

"Have you ever met him?" Peach asked curiously, tilting her head. Luigi hesitated, stomach suddenly sinking like a stone, and, out of habit, looked over at Mario. Mario was glaring at the table, but he seemed to sense Luigi's gaze and looked round to meet him, before he looked back at the table and answered for them.

"Twice," He muttered shortly, "But twice was more than enough."

Luigi hesitated, feeling the familiar but hated sensation of crawling anxiety in his chest as he tried his best not to remember those two occasions. He had nightmares about them for years; still did, from time to time. Every time he was reminded of him, of Bowser, he was transported back to his small frightened thirteen-year-old self, and all he could hear was screaming, crying and that god-forsaken deep, taunting laughter…

He jerked his head, clearing his throat and rapidly tried to change the subject.

"So, uh, Donkey. You said you had intel for us?" He asked. Dixie and Diddy were frowning softly at him, understanding shining in their eyes. He wished they would stop before Mario could see them and their pity. It would only frustrate him more. Donkey's face was serious for a moment, before he relaxed it and allowed the subject to change.

"Sure do. Not entirely good, I'm afraid. The Koopas know that you headed in this direction, and they've started patrolling all the nearby suburbs. Won't be long before they get to here. Which means…"

Mario cursed, then quickly grimaced and glanced at Yoshi to see if he had heard. When the little boy remained thoroughly occupied playing in the corner, he went on.

"We can't stay here," He said grimly. Peach stiffened, as did the other two girls, suddenly looking fearful.

"But…where else would we go?" Rosalina asked nervously. Mario looked over at her.

"Don't worry about it. We have plenty of safe houses all over the country. We just need to think up one nearby, where there isn't a huge Koopa presence."

"Pennsylvania is pretty quiet right now, from what I've heard," Donkey said, "One of the most quiet in the east coast. You got one there?"

"We do!"

To general surprise, it was Toad who had declared that. He had leaned forward eagerly, eyes bright and smile wide, all of a sudden.

"We do have a place in Pennsylvania," He repeated, "My house!"

"You're from Pennsylvania?" Asked Peach, and Toad's face flushed slightly upon being addressed by her, but he nodded.

"Yeah, my dad and my sister still live there! Come on, we could totally go!" He implored, looking between Mario and Luigi hopefully. Mario heaved a sigh.

"I don't know, Toad…your place isn't a safe house exactly. It's just a house."

"Which makes it even more inconspicuous," The younger boy challenged, "Come on, please."

He was homesick, Luigi realised. He hadn't seen his family for months now, not since they had made an obligatory visit in winter so Toad could celebrate Hanukah with them. Sometimes he forgot what it was like, to miss your family and actually be able to…fix that. He knew Mario's thoughts were going in a similar direction, as he watched his eyes soften slightly, before exhaling sharply again.

"Okay Toad, you win. Pennsylvania it is."

The boy whooped in delight, scrambling away from the table and pulling his phone out, no doubt to go and let his sister know the news. Rosalina was smiling fondly at his excitement, but it was Daisy who proposed the next question.

"So, uh…how exactly do we get to Pennsylvania?"

Peach groaned loudly, "Please don't say more walking. Even with shoes, I don't think I can take much more of that."

"Of course not, that would take days," Luigi said with a slight laugh, "I guess we could get a bus, but it would take us a few days to get the money together for that…"

Donkey rolled his eyes, and threw something onto the table with a clatter. Mario reached for it and blinked as he picked it up.

"Your keys? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, go ahead and take the old seven-seater, we can use the van in the meantime. You wanna get out of here fast and be able to make a quick getaway if needed, right?"

"Right, but…are you sure? If we can't get back here for a few months-"

"We'll survive," Donkey assured, "Just at least try not to total it."

"We won't," Luigi assured quickly, "Right, Mario?"

Mario nodded somewhat distractedly, pocketing the keys.

"You can both drive? Really?" Daisy asked somewhat sceptically.

"Sure. We both have our licences."

"Legally?" Peach asked shrewdly. Luigi laughed somewhat uncomfortably.

"I never said that," He admitted, "But we've both been driving since we were sixteen. We're good, I promise."

Oddly enough, none of the three of them looked entirely reassured, but they seemed to have at last learned the most important rule of being on the run – you just have to roll with the hand that fate gives you, and make it work.

"So I guess this is our last supper," Dixie remarked, stretching her arms and looking slightly saddened, "We'll need to throw together something good to eat, then."

"Actually…" Peach said somewhat hesitantly, "Would it be okay if I…cooked tonight?"

All eyes in the room turned to her in surprise, and she quickly clarified.

"Your cooking is great, of course, don't get me wrong, I just…I feel like we should do something to thank you for all the help, y'know? The least I can do is make dinner for us."

"Aw, Peach, you don't have to. We're happy to help," Diddy offered, and Dixie nodded.

"It's what we're here for," She agreed. Peach nodded.

"I know, but still. I like cooking anyway. Please? I really don't mind."

The three Kong's exchanged a long look, before Dixie sat back with a small shrug.

"Alright, Peach," She conceded, smiling up at her, "Blow us away with your cooking ability, then."


And there's another chapter. Thanks so much for the reviews, favourites and follows so far, and sorry for the delay! Uni is pretty stressful right now, but I've sat and wrote up a plan for the entire story (fun fact - it's looking like it'll be around 30 chapters) to try and keep me on track.

I hope you enjoyed, and if not, stick around for the next chapter for the ROAD. TRIP. It'll be great. It'll be a bonding experience...I hope?

Anyway, keep the reviews and such coming, have a great week, and I'll see you next time!