Chapter Twenty-Two

It was about 3 p.m. when Peach finally woke up the next day. She looked around the room and stretched. Her hair was a silver mess and she felt her dress riding up in places that it shouldn't. Also, by the look of her smudged makeup, she needed a shower.

Within the next hour and a half, the princess felt like a completely different person. She detested the thought of putting on her dress again but it was the only outfit she had with her. This also wasn't a high-end hotel where shopping for another outfit was an option.

Another hour passed by as Peach waited for Bowser to knock on her door but he didn't show. She never did understand how he could sleep for more than twelve hours. Deciding she had let him sleep long enough, she went to the front desk to ask the old man what Bowser's room number was. After answering her and waving her off, the old Toad continued to grumble like he had earlier that day.

Within moments, the princess had found herself at Bowser's door. She knocked lightly the first time but no one came to the door. She knocked much harder the second time but still didn't receive an answer. Peach put her ear up to the door and listened. Nothing. A feeling of dread started to spread through her body.

Had Kamella done something?

Peach quickly pulled a hairpin from her hair and picked the lock. A princess technically shouldn't know how to pick locks, but Peach had watched Toadette do it in the Mushroom Castle when she would accidentally lock herself out of a room. In a moment, the door was unlocked and the princess opened the door. To her relief, Bowser was lying on his massive bed unharmed and unbothered by the noise she had been making.

He was also shell-less.

No shell. Completely bare chested with only a thin blanket covering his… lower body.

Peach gasped.

She had always been told that Koopas were deformed. Her anatomy lessons had taught her about every species but skipped over Koopas almost completely. Other than that, Peach had heard all sorts of different rumors. Some people said Koopas had sharp spikes under their shells or that they had slimy fatty skin that jiggled when they walked. But none of that was true.

In fact, Bowser's upper body was very human besides the yellow skin and some red hair on his stomach and chest. His muscles from front to back were well defined, solid, and nothing short of impressive. His skin looked smooth and soft thanks to the constant protection of his shell, and his back was completely straight. With his shell on, he almost seemed hunched over but there was no evidence that his posture had suffered.

The Princess's blush only grew deeper the longer she looked at him. Had Bowser always been… hot? She shook her head trying to clear her thoughts and decided she had been looking at him for long enough. It was rather rude of her to walk into his room without him being aware of it.

Taking a step backward, Peach stuck her hand out for the door handle, keeping her eyes on Bowser to make sure she didn't wake him… and tripped. The heel of her shoe had caught on the carpet and…

*thud!*

Bowser grunted and rolled himself onto his side with his eyes only half open. Peach sat as motionless as possible as his eyelids slowly closed again.

"Peach…" he mumbled as his mind began to drift back to sleep.

Wait a second. . . .

"Peach?" Bowser's eyes snapped open wide and, sure enough, he met her unmistakable blue eyes. He then scrambled to cover himself with his blankets as he quickly rolled out of bed and looked around frantically for his missing shell.

"I uhh… good morning?" he said with nervous confusion.

Peach pushed herself back up off the floor and slightly dusted herself off, "Good morning!... Sorry about walking in like this, I got worried when you didn't answer the door so…" Peach explained, flustered and red-faced.

"No! No… I'm sorry for not answering…" Bowser responded just as flustered as she was. "Could you wait here a minute while I… find my shell?"

"Yeah! Sure! I'll just wait here…" Peach said awkwardly.

Bowser shuffled into the bathroom and shut the door. Peach covered her face with her hands and let out a long breathe. "What has gotten into me?" she asked herself. After a few moments, she heard the door open and looked up to see Bowser wearing his shell as usual.

"I have a bottle of water in the fridge if you need some," Bowser offered, trying to lift the tension in the room. Peach nodded as she stood uneasily by the door. "I think they have some granola bars here too… They aren't really big enough for me so they are all yours," Bowser continued as he walked over to the fridge and grabbed them off the counter. As he walked, a magazine slipped from the back of his shell and landed on the floor. As quick as the magazine hit the floor, Bowser snatched it up and looked back at Peach with a nervous look on his face.

"What was that?" Peach asked walking towards him, completely forgetting about their awkward encounter. She stood on her tiptoes trying to get a look at the magazine in his claws. He shifted himself to keep it away from her curious gaze.

"Nothing! Just a magazine that they had in the restroom. It's not really worth reading. Super boring and stuff…" Bowser explained, trying to act casual as he moved to drop the magazine down the front of his shell. However, Peach wasn't going to let him get away that easily. She jumped up and took a hold of the magazine before he had fully put it away. Bowser tried to move away but her hand was firmly gripping the magazine.

"Can I see it?" Peach asked with an impish smile as she tried to pull the magazine back out.

"Uh, as I said, it is super boring and kinda pointless," Bowser said, starting to panic as he tried to pull away from her hands.

"Really? What's it about?" Peach asked through gritted teeth as she put both of her hands on the magazine so that he couldn't pull free.

"Ummm… Animals with tails and scientific studies on the difference between fur and hair," Bowser lied.

"That sounds realllllly interesting to me! I think it would be neat to read about," she said, smiling wider. Bowser only shook his head as he continued to back away from her to break her grip, but his leg hit the foot of the bed.

He lost his balance.

As he fell backward onto the bed, the princess was launched forward onto his chest. Their eyes locked in shock. Bowser went still when he found her face so close to his. He almost cursed himself for putting his shell back on as her body pressed against his armor.

Peach's face grew a little pink when she saw a small smile grow on Bowser's face, but she quickly took advantage of this distraction and pulled the magazine out of his shell. Before he could grab her, she rolled off of him and crawled farther up the bed with the crumpled papers clutched tightly in her hand.

Bowser panicked, "No! Wait! Give it back! Peach, please, I know it looks bad but..."

Peach's eyes went wide as she looked at the magazine, "Bowser... are these...?"

"I know... Okay? It's weird and I try not to look at that stuff very often..." Bowser tried to explain.

"Kittens?" Peach asked. Bowser hung his head. "You hide magazines of kittens in your shell?"

"No! I wasn't hiding it! I just happened to come across it while I was coming to find you. Someone had thrown it on the ground so I picked it up and forgot to throw it away…?" he explained lamely.

"Soooo they were littering?" Peach she chuckled.

"... yes..." he frowned. The princess looked at him and giggled. Bowser slid off the end of the bed and sat on the floor in defeat.

Feeling a little bad for making fun of him, Peach got off the bed and walked over to him. Putting her hand on his shoulder to steady herself, she bent forward to look at his face. "You know, this can be a very endearing quality."

Bowser brought his head up and looked at her with a sad but hopeful look on his face. Peach blinked a little when his eyes met hers. "Really? You don't think it makes me less manly?" he grumbled.

"Well..." Peach said, looking away from his eyes awkwardly. "No. I don't think so. Some women find little characteristics like this attractive." Bowser nodded slowly as he thought about what she said and then he looked back up at her.

"And which woman are you?" Bowser asked curiously.

"What?" Peach began flipping through the magazine so she had an excuse not to look at him.

"Would you be one of those women who found something like this attractive?" Bowser watched her face. Peach was a master at being composed so he didn't expect much of a reaction.

But she blushed…?

"I… don't think it would hurt or help my opinion of someone," Peach answered simply. She could feel Bowser's eyes studying her face silently for a very long, awkward minute.

Bowser's stomach growled.

"Breakfast time!" he said excitedly as he pushed himself off the bedroom floor. Peach shook her head with a giggle.

"It's almost dinner time now. We might as well go out to eat and travel to the next hotel," Peach corrected him.

"I can have breakfast whenever I like," Bowser argued with pride.

"Then lead the way," Peach answered, carefully avoiding his gaze and the massive grin on his face.

Fresh air would do her good.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Neither one of them were tired when they got to the next hotel. They had only gotten two hours of traveling in before the sun went down and Peach was very unhappy with the topic Bowser had chosen.

"Peach, I'm sorry but I just really want an explanation for all the things Mario was talking about. I understood the 'League of Pests' and the part about Kamella being an ass, but what did he mean about an Oath? Why did you think he was dead? And why the hell didn't you tell me about any of it?" Bowser asked, getting frustrated as Peach dodged every question.

"Bowser, I already told you that I am not going to tell you anything. Everything has already been taken care of now that I know Mario is okay and everyone else is safe," Peach stated stubbornly. The Koopa King only gave an exasperated sigh as he gave Peach her room key and walked up the hotel stairs behind her.

"If it is really taken care of, then why can't you tell me?" Bowser continued to push.

"Because it isn't important and it's not your problem," Peach answered in frustration.

"So there is still a problem! Peach, I want to help but I can't if you don't tell me what's wrong. Kamella has always been a selfish whore, but it sounds like she needs an attitude adjustment..."

Peach stopped in front of her door and fumbled with her key, avoiding his eyes, "Kamella just tricked me to get under my skin. The rest is history. Besides, you can't fix everything for me, Bowser."

"I am the King. I can do whatever the hell I want whenever the hell I want. I have no restrictions," Bowser stated stubbornly. "Especially when it comes to protecting you. You know I… care about you, Peach."

Peach made the mistake of looking at him. His gaze was filled with genuine concern and something else she didn't want to think about.

"I know, Bowser," she answered, breaking eye contact with him. The words felt hollow. Some part of her felt a little bad for always having to deflect his feelings like this. He had professed his care for her many times. Shouldn't he have learned by now? Peach had certainly never encouraged him. Besides, what else could she possibly say to such blind dedication when it wasn't… reciprocated?

Bowser frowned. Her answer was expected, but it wasn't enough. Peach didn't get it. His very existence was at her mercy. Every part of his soul burned for her. It burned almost to the point of making him sick every time she even looked at him. His heart yearned for her to realize how much she meant to him.

"You really don't understand, do you?" Bowser asked, his voice low. The princess glanced at him for a moment, but she had no answer for him.

Something about the look on his face made her feel uncomfortable. His usual disappointment was there, but something else in his eyes made her quiver. Looking away, Peach's hands shook slightly as she held the leftover food from dinner in one hand and turned the key to her room with the other.

"Goodnight, Bowser," she said, a small tremor in her voice. The moment she opened the door, she slipped through as quickly as possible and swung it shut behind her.

*Thud*

The door bounced off of something and creaked open again. Looking back, Peach saw Bowser's yellow claw blocking the door from latching.

"Bowser… I'm not going to go over this again," she stated, but her voice caught in her throat as he opened the door and stepped forward, staring at her with his blistering red eyes. Peach backed away but Bowser stuck out his arm and pinned her to the wall. She closed her eyes and cringed, waiting for him to chew her out. She thought he would yell at her for sure, but instead, she felt his mouth nuzzle her neck gently, almost timidly. She flinched at the touch of his skin but didn't move as he smelled and felt her warmth.

"Peach, I care about you," Bowser whispered. Her head began to spin at the smell of his breath. Seeing that Peach hadn't pulled away yet, he kissed her neck softly and slowly made his way up her neck to her jaw. From her jaw, he moved to lightly kiss her ear, testing the waters. A shiver ran up her spine every time he kissed her.

"Peach," he whispered. He pulled his face away from her ear and cautiously kissed her chin, just slightly brushing her lower lip.

Peach's heart was beating so loudly in her ears that she couldn't hear her thoughts. She couldn't bring herself to use logic as he brushed his lips over hers shyly. She could feel him holding his breath as he carefully laid his lips on hers only for a fraction of a second. Peach opened her eyes just enough to see the features of his face. He was completely focused.

Leaning in again, Bowser continued to hold his breath as he gave her another light kiss but this one lingered. His heart pounded as he pressed his lips against hers a little harder, deepening the kiss. Slowly, he brought his claws to her waste one at a time and allowed himself a small breath as he began to move his lips on her face. Without thinking, Peach momentarily pressed against Bowser. His heart flipped when he felt her lean into him ever so slightly.

But she had made a mistake.

Peach's eyes opened as she felt a spot on her back start to tingle and heat up. She had acted with romantic intent and, though it was an accidental action, fear pricked her heart as she thought of the Contract she had made.

Bowser felt her stiffen under his grasp and pulled himself out of the kiss. Peach's eyes were open, her face was red, and she looked really flustered. As she looked at him, however, she was surprised to see a look of fear and uncertainty wash over his features. Her heart cracked as she realized he was waiting for her to tear him to pieces for what he had done.

"Peach…?" Bowser asked with a trace of dread in his voice.

"…I need to put my leftover food in the fridge." Peach said nervously, turning her head to avoid his eyes as the heat of his hands on her waist made her face grow darker shades of red.

"Yeah… makes sense… I should probably put mine away too," Bowser stammered, quickly pulling away from her, bringing his hands to his side, and walking out the door to pick up his own plastic box off the hallway floor. He looked back up at her and lifted the box for her to see.

"I guess I should put it in my own room, huh?" Bowser said as he shuffled his feet anxiously.

"Yeah! That's probably a good idea... I'll see you in the morning," Peach said and quickly closed the door.

"Goodnight, Peach..." Bowser whispered.

Peach took a breath as she sat down with her back against the door. Bowser stood on the other side just staring at the room number absentmindedly.

Neither of them moved for a long time.