Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Mario or its franchise; it belongs to

Nintendo and their affiliates. I just am really grateful to its creators for giving

me such a wonderful game and media series to write about!

I also don't own anything related to Harry Potter, all that belongs to J.K. Rowling,

but thanks go to her as well because, using her wonderful work, I can expand this

story to make it more interesting.

I also don't own anything related to Naruto if you see me throw a little of that, too.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Wow-wee, she is lovely, isn't she?"

Pastrami on ham on roast beef on rye, with a dozen cheeses and spreads in between. There were pickles, even mushrooms, but not a leaf or vegetable in sight.

I can't believe he's marveling over a sandwich, Peach thought, shaking her head but unable to stop her smile.

She stood in the kitchen with her shoulder propped against the doorway and her arms folded. Mario had dragged from her work-out to come and see his handiwork; a sandwich that was much too tall and stuffed with meats and sauces to be healthy. She tilted her head when he asked her opinion of it and let her wary expression be his answer.

Mario huffed and said, "Don't look at me like that, I deserve this! I've been working my fingers down to the nubs trying to meet all these deadlines. Besides, I made one for you, too, see?"

He pointed to where another, smaller version of the sandwich rested on a plate next to the first and Peach shook her head again. Mario dusted his hands on the white apron he donned over his regal red and blue uniform. He went over to the sink and washed his hands.

"Ah, I can't wait to sink my chompers into this!" He grinned. "My mouth's already starting to water and everything."

"Mario," Peach made a face at the visual that gave her but Mario couldn't hear her over the running water.

She glanced down at her wrist at the gold watch there and thought, I can still finish my work-out if I leave now…but I don't want to hurt his feelings by not eating the sandwich.

Honestly, though, Peach had no doubt in her mind about how quickly he'd get over that, especially with an extra sandwich to console him. She brushed her hands over her pink and red shorts and pulled the hem of her matching shirt down. The tennis shoes, white and clean, were a gift from her husband, from his world. She adored them. It was part of the reason she started exercising again.

"Come on, Peach, dig in!" Mario smiled brightly, drying his hands on his apron and pulling it off.

"Actually, I-" She started, but was interrupted by a royal guard.

"There's someone at the doors, Majesties." The guard informed them.

Peach and Mario shared a look and Mario glanced forlornly at his masterpiece.

Until I return, gorgeous, he silently bade it with a lingering look.

He then joined his wife in heading for the palace entrance where, just as the guard said, there was someone waiting for them. It was a member of the Kingdom's Safety Brigade, a blue-spotted Toad who shook in his badge and sash.

"What is it?" Mario asked, crouching down to match the Toad's height.

The brigade member said, "T-trouble! Trouble down at the b-b-bank! There was an explosion! You've gotta' come quick, Prince Mario!"

Mario's features hardened and he felt his old heroic urges surge to life once more. Rising, he looked at Peach and she gave him an understanding look.

"This sounds bad." Mario told her, preparing to leave.

"I know." Peach nodded. "That's why I'm coming with you."

"What? No. Honey this might be dangerous."

"Which is why it'd be best if we both went." Peach pointed out softly.

Mario never heard her speak so firmly so he knew this was important to her. He could only vow to protect her because it didn't look like she would be changing her mind anytime soon.

He sighed and asked, "Well could you at least bring your vibra-er, your uh…"

"My vibe scepter?" Peach supplied, looking amused.

She still didn't know why Mario always turned beet red at the mention of the thing. It was just a weapon to her. She told him to wait for her while she went to get it from their bedroom and when she had it, they set out towards the stables. A dark-haired young man was there to greet them.

"No time to talk Danny," Mario said, "We need to saddle up ASAP."

The young man nodded and freed a chestnut colored horse that both royals mounted and then they made their way towards the bank. They saw the black plumes of smoke long before they reached it and Mario picked up the pace. Peach covered her mouth with one hand and with the other held onto her husband.

"This cannot be good!" He yelled into the wind as they rode.

They both dismounted after reaching the fiery location and they stared at the wreckage. The bank was a mess. The front part of it was completely blown off and the tellers and customers ran around in a frenzy inside. There were chunks of debris everywhere, some pieces were still on fire and burning up the grass. There were authorities present, putting out the fires and trying to calm the people. Mario and Peach went over to one of them for information.

"What happened here?" Mario asked fanning the air around him. "I mean besides the explosion. Do you know who's responsible for this?"

The Toad said, "Yes, Your Majesty. We've apprehended the culprits. They're right over there."

Mario saw where he was pointing and led Peach over there. They stepped over pieces of broken glass and approached the two individuals behind the horrid act. When he recognized them, Mario huffed.

"You two? Why am I not surprised?"

Though it's been a while since I've heard from them...and for good reason, Mario thought.

He stared at his cousins Waluigi and Wario. They hadn't changed a bit, neither in appearance nor habit if the nearby crime scene was anything to go by. Mario stood with his arms crossed and his legs apart, gazing sternly at where they sat in the grass with their hands cuffed behind them.

"Heh, lookin' good, cuz." Wario's grin was just as false as his compliment.

Waluigi nodded and asked, "You lost some weight or something?"

Looking good my foot, Mario thought, they're just trying to stall. They're even sweating bullets.

Mario narrowed blue eyes and said, "Spare me the niceties. What kind of hare-brained scheme did you cook up this time?"

"It wasn't a hare-brained scheme!" Wario grunted indignantly. "It was a foolproof plan. Thought it up myself."

"No you didn't, I did." Waluigi eyed him sideways.

"Oh yeah," Wario grimaced, his crooked mustache tipping downwards. "That's probably why it failed!"

"Don't blame me!" Waluigi griped. "You're the one who dropped the ba-bombs; this was your fault!"

"Hey!" Mario barked, getting their attention.

They looked up at him and saw there was no humor or amiability in his face or features. He wasn't kidding around. They both gulped.

"So why'd you do it?" Mario asked. "Why wreck the bank? What did these people ever do to you?"

"It wasn't the people we were after," Wario explained, then said greedily, "It was the money!"

"I just did it for the thrill." Waluigi admitted with a grin, and his brother shoved him in the side.

Hn. Well you sure could use the money, Mario thought, you could buy yourselves some new clothes.

The ones they had on were awful. Wario's rotund form was decked out in a tacky pair of plum overalls with a bright yellow shirt rolled up to the elbows so as to show off his favorite features, his beefy arms. Waluigi was all angles in his similar outfit, what with his knees and arms bent as they were. He looked even leaner than when Mario last saw him.

"Why don't you try and earn money the right way?" Mario said, exasperated. "You know, by getting a job and working for it?"

"Eh, that's too much work." Wario replied, then said, "But we wouldn't have to knock over banks if you loaned us some coins. What do ya' say? You still in the plumbing biz?"

Mario said, "No, and even if I was you wouldn't be getting a handout."

"Come on, cuz," Wario cajoled. "A guy's gotta' eat!"

"Trust me, you're fine." Mario remarked, eyeing his cousin's huge gut. "You don't look like you're missing any meals."

"But what about me?" Waluigi groused, jutting out his sharp chin and knitting his hairy brows. "It's hard out there. After the war most countries are low on food and any grub we get our hands on, Wario makes short work of-OW!"

Wario muttered under his breath after jabbing Waluigi again. The taller man's eyes narrowed and Mario could see how pronounced those dark circles were under his eyes. They both looked bad and he did feel a twinge of pity for them. They were his cousins and times were hard since the Great War; not every kingdom was thriving like the Mushroom one.

But still, that doesn't excuse what they've done, he reasoned.

Mario said, "You're incorrigible, both of you. I'm taking you to jail."

"Now wait a minute," Wario sputtered. "You wouldn't send your own family to the stony lonesome, would ya'?"

"Yeah, you couldn't be that cold!" Waluigi's eyes were bugging out.

"You may be my relatives, but you're criminals!" Mario stated. "I'm making sure you go right where you belong. Behind bars."

Now Peach stepped from behind Mario and cleared her throat delicately. She tapped her vibe scepter against her leg and waited for Mario to turn her way. When he did, so did his cousins and they seemed to appreciate the view of her slim body and long legs in her sportswear. Waluigi wolf-whistled.

"Watch it," Mario warned, "That's my wife you're makin' eyes at!"

"Sorry cuz," Waluigi grinned, "She's just so hot!" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively and Peach chuckled behind her hand.

Mario looked at her and said, "Aw, Peach, you shouldn't encourage him."

"You're right." She allowed, "But you shouldn't throw them in prison."

"Why not? They blew up the bank for Pete's sake." Mario countered. "I can't just let 'em get away with that."

"No, but jail is too harsh a sentence for your kin." Peach spoke in her usual dulcet tone.

Wario and Waluigi nodded vigorously in agreement with what she said, but she wasn't finished.

"Maybe they'd learn from destroying the bank once they saw for themselves how much hard work goes into rebuilding it." She suggested.

Mario smiled and said, "I like the way you think, woman. That sounds like a fitting punishment." He faced his cousins and said, "Wario, you're good with a hammer aren't you?"

"Aw, come on!"

"It's either that or prison." Mario declared.

The two groaned and muttered under their breath.

It was Waluigi who said, "We really busted that bank up good; it'll take forever to repair it! Where are we gonna' live?"

"How are we gonna' make money?" Wario despaired.

"You won't be seeing any money for a long time," Mario answered wryly.

Peach also said in a much gentler way, "I'm sure we can find room for you in the palace, somewhere safe and warm for you to stay until the project's finished. And as long as you're here, you'll have three square meals a day!"

"Really?" Waluigi blinked.

Even Wario got the dollar signs out of his eyes and stared at the woman in mild awe. This was a kindness he didn't expect.

Peach summoned one of the authorities and asked them to show the two to a room in the castle, and to post guards outside their door. The authority figure nodded and led the bound men away. Once they were gone, Mario rounded on the woman.

He frowned and said, "Peach. They're troublemakers. They should be fine with whatever they get. You don't have to go accommodating them like they're some kind of honored guests."

"Mario, they're your family." She reminded him. "It's only fair to treat them the way family should be treated. They'll pay for their crimes, but that doesn't mean we can't show them a bit of hospitality, does it?"

Mario relented. He took hold of Peach's waist and pulled her close for a kiss.

I guess she's right, He thought, but I'm keeping my eye on these two. They're always up to no good.

"Well let's get back." He said down at the woman in his arms. "I've got a sandwich with my name on it."

Daisy was getting better at blowing the Council off, or maybe I was a bad influence on the normally duty-bound young woman. She'd chosen to shirk her responsibilities after only a couple of weeks of diving back into her busy life and this time I wasn't so glad so much as anxious.

I said, "This isn't a good idea."

"I know, I heard you the first five hundred times." Daisy teased, pecking me on the cheek.

She and I walked with our suitcases in hand through the crowded Mushroom Kingdom train station in search of the warp pipe that would take us back to the other world. She'd set a date for our engagement shindig and worked out all the details of how it would go down. Together we'd come up with a menu and decided on drinks and music and everything. All that was left were the invitations, and that's where we didn't quite see eye to eye. Somehow the girl had dragged me into her plans anyway.

And it's kinda' too late to turn back now.

Especially now, since we'd reached the room I used to think was a utility closet. It was actually a small space home to a luminescent green pipe sticking out of the ground. Daisy pulled me into the closet behind her and shut the door. It was a quiet little space. I had one last chance to talk her out of this.

Though if I haven't succeeded by now after a week of persuasion, I don't think I'll have much luck.

"A party is one thing." I stated. "It could be fun. But inviting Alicia? That's just going to complicate things."

"How?" Daisy challenged, dropping her suitcase down the pipe.

I sighed and said, "How are we supposed to get her here?"

"Same way we come." Daisy shrugged.

"And how are we going to explain," I glanced around me. "All this? This whole other world?"

"I'll tell her the truth." Daisy said simply. "I'll just be really, really vague."

"How do you think she's going to react?" I then asked.

Daisy guessed, "She…might freak out. She might not believe me. She might think I'm crazy. I don't know. You didn't know I was a princess when you met me but you took that in stride."

"That is not even remotely the same." I replied. "Considering all the things I'd seen and done at that point, that news was tame."

"But," Daisy stated, looking triumphant and holding up her index finger. "But, but; remember what you told me back at your apartment when-"

"Oh right," I muttered, already recalling what she was about to say.

"-when we got back from the Badlands, after Ludwig was going gaga over his clone? You told me to just tell Alicia the truth about the kidnapping and stuff, and I didn't think she'd believe me but you were all like, 'you never know' and-"

"We still don't know if she believed you or not because she never texted back." I reminded the girl.

And it's not like I can check; I ended my contract.

Daisy threw up her hands and said, "Even so Luigi, she's my best friend. I can't just not invite her to my engagement party."

"We could have a separate party over there." I said, hoping she'd take me up on the idea after having mentioned it a second time.

"Like I said before," Daisy folded her arms. "I don't want to live a double life. If I have a separate party there, what will we do when our wedding day comes? And when I get pregnant and it comes time to have a baby shower?"

I swallowed at the mention of children and realized, if we weren't careful, they may come sooner than either of us were ready for. Daisy took my silence as acceptance and slung one leg over the ledge of the pipe so that she was straddling the green thing.

"Wait." I said, glancing over my shoulder. "Are you really sure about this?"

Daisy smiled up at me like she had all the answers. She took my suitcase and tossed it down, then patted my hand.

"See you on the other side."

Oh boy, I thought after she disappeared. Home sweet Brooklyn, here we come.

To subject one's will to another's through use of magic; it was considered one of the blackest arts. But it fascinated him so, so much. Perhaps that was because of the questionable magic within. It wasn't his own. Anyone who was affected by the Composition Curse and didn't die were left with residual, unclaimed magic inside them. Not too much, but enough to play around with. That's what he was doing. At first his interest was only to find out more about what happened to him, to learn about his new form and condition. But then, while studying these things, his intrigue began to wander. Spells and curses and the knowledge thereof had been key to his survival against the now-dead witch but he hadn't stopped there. He continued to learn, continued to chant, continued to lose sleep because his rapt engrossment with dark magic refused to let him rest. Even now, as he stitched up someone's wounds in the hospital, he pored over a large tome that formerly collected dust in his parents' private library.

The key is to visualize what I want to happen; to see that which is not as if it already were, the fair-haired young man recited in his head.

He had far surpassed everyone's expectations of him regarding his medical career, not that they were low to begin with. As a physician and surgeon he was now renowned, and people came from far and wide with their sickest and weakest, begging for his miraculous aid. It wasn't so miraculous as much as magical. Using his magic to assist in healing and caring for people was as elementary to him as it was imperative at this point, because there seemed to be no scarcity of people seeking his expertise. He obliged as many as he could, which left very little time for a personal life.

"Coalenus sorpestum," He murmured softly, committing the words to memory.

He wasn't himself lately, not in a social sense. He hadn't been to a party in weeks and even then he'd been very distant and detached from the festivities; very unlike him, seeing as how it was his twenty-sixth birthday they were celebrating. Through the dancing and cake-cutting, all he could think about was getting back to his room and cracking open his latest read, Magick Moste Evile.

"Coalenus…sorpestum," He repeated, narrowing his pea-green eyes.

His hands were occupied with threading the patient's wound closed but his eyes were on the book hovering in front of his line of sight. He didn't spare the unconscious woman on the bed a single glance, but he didn't make a single mistake, either. His practiced digits worked expertly with the suture; he could do it in his sleep. His main focus was on keeping the book levitated and absorbing its contents at the same time. It was a mild task for a blossoming telepath.

Blinking to refresh his eyes, he made the book's page turn on its own. That was easy. Exerting his power over inanimate objects, it was too easy. First he'd done that with words and now the mere thought was enough to get chairs to fly and dishes to wash themselves. He was beyond toying around with furniture and household items. The real challenge lay in subduing and controlling living, breathing, thinking creatures. Creatures who had a will of their own and could withstand and protest his influence.

But he refused to practice such unethical magic on another person. Which was why he'd turned to animals. First it'd been a bird, he'd made it fly around the courtyard in a path of his choosing. And then the four-footed beast had come later and was a bit more difficult to tame, but even it danced under the sorcerer's command. Still, he wasn't satisfied.

I shall have to be, he thought, tying off the thread with his eyes hesitating on a particularly unfamiliar word.

He had to be because the next step would be to cross the line between entertaining his intrigue and becoming something he'd soon grow to detest. He wasn't so enthralled with what he was doing that he didn't realize this was how monsters were born.

Could be born, he corrected, seeing a shut book in his mind's eye. No unit of time could measure how fast the vision manifested with a dull thud in front of him as the tome dropped from mid-air to his waiting hands. He cast a look at his patient, still slumbering, and pulled the white bed sheet over their previously exposed stomach.

He pocketed his thread and needle and went to the nearest sink to wash his hands. On the way out the door he shed his white coat. Down the hall of the upper hospital floor he walked, book in in hand, smiling charmingly at whoever caught his eye. It was important that he keep his people unaware of his recent leisure activities. He didn't want to worry them unnecessarily.

"Your Highness, I heard you were here!"

"So I am," Prince Peasley stated with a wry smile.

He looked at the Beanish attendant from the palace who only came up to his waist. Tipping his head in the green person's direction, his blonde hair careened in front of his shoulders and hung against his tan cheeks.

"What is it, Fernald?" He asked pleasantly.

Coalenus sorpestum, he silently rehearsed while gazing at his subject.

The tiny person had a piece of mail in his hand and handed it to the taller prince. Peasley took it and stood, peeling it open.

"This came for you by way of runner mail." The attendant explained. "It's from the Princess of Sarasaland."

"Oh?" Peasley smirked, losing his train of thought for a moment.

He removed the letter from its envelope and read over the words written in black ink. His smirk grew into a broad, affectionate smile.

"Well, here we are." I announced, waving a hand in front of my face.

Daisy, who landed first, was checking the mail vent. I knew there wouldn't be any since we last left. She let the flap slam down and then dusted her hands on her pants and came over to me, grabbing the handle of her suitcase on the way. I coughed and blinked the dust out of my eyes. The bakery-warehouse hadn't changed at all, at least not for the better.

"You've got your keys?" Daisy asked me expectantly.

I smirked and said, "Fine time to ask that, isn't it?"

She smiled at me and I dug through the pocket of my black pants and pulled one of three things buried there. The keys were warm like the air around us; I had no clue about what season or day it was here but it couldn't have been winter. I would have been shivering in my t-shirt and Daisy would have been absolutely freezing. She'd traded her slightly formal, palatial attire for a look that was more compatible with the 'real world'. Besides the fitted red pants and wedge sandals, she wore a sleeveless white cotton and lace tank top. She brightened when I showed her the keys.

"I can get that for you," I told her, taking her suitcase.

Like mine it was small. We weren't going to be here that long, if things went as I anticipated. With my hands full, I headed to the warehouse's exit and Daisy walked with her hand resting on my back. I didn't know if I was surprised to see my car still in the lot or not.

It's not like it's a Ferrari. Who'd want to jack this cruddy old thing?

I couldn't be too harsh on my car, though. It wasn't always reliable and it sure wasn't glamorous—nothing about my life in Brooklyn was—but it was mine and it made things a whole lot more convenient.

"See, Luigi?" Daisy spoke cheerily, waltzing over to it. "This is going to work out fine!"

I said, "If you say so, Daisy."

Opening both doors I went over to the trunk and put our stuff in there, then came back and dropped down into the driver's seat. After I clicked my seat belt on, I went over our tentative plan in my head. Armed with my keys, my wallet, and my phone I was and so far things were going alright, I had to agree with the girl strapping herself in on the passenger's side on that note. Step one was to come back in one piece, which we'd accomplished, and to see if my car was still here, which it was. Now we had to call Alicia. Since my contract was up, I couldn't make calls or send texts, but I had an app that let me bypass that stipulation so long as I could latch onto some wifi. A lot of public places had wifi, like my job—which I will not be going near—and the library. But this was a Sunday so the library around here was closed. No matter, there were plenty of fast food joints I could go to instead.

Well, here goes, I thought, turning the key and half-expected the car not to start.

It did, and I had more than a half a tank of gas so we were good on that for as long as our intended two-day stay.

Even if we weren't, I have my wallet so yeah…

In my wallet was my life; well, the legal aspects of it. There was my birth certificate folded up, my social security card, a credit card I never activated, my state ID and license, and my debit card. There was also some cash in there but not a lot. I was glad I kept it in the same place back at the palace.

"I missed riding in your car," Daisy spoke, gazing with a smile out the window.

She rolled it down and the wind blew in her face and through her long, thick and wavy ponytail. Her teeth peeked through from between her lips as her smile grew.

I made a face and said, "Yeah, breathe in that good ole' polluted air."

"Stop it," Daisy laughed, shoving my shoulder while I drove.

I had to get used to driving again and I realized it was…no, no it wasn't something I'd missed. Not really.

"Ooh, stop there!" Daisy urged, rising in her seat and pointing to an ice cream shop.

I smirked and mumbled, "You would wanna' stop there."

"You were supposed to take me that one time, remember?" She shot back and poked my arm.

To that I had nothing to say, but pulled up to the red and gold shop nonetheless. Daisy unbuckled herself eagerly and hopped from the car. I did so at a much less enthused pace and pulled out my black phone. It took me a second to turn it on and confirm that there was good wifi here and once I did, I headed round the front of the car and took my fiancee's hand, walking towards the shop.

"You've got your money?" Daisy asked, looking up at me.

I asked, "You don't have your card?"

Not that I was gonna' make you pay for anything

Daisy shook her head and she just looked so cute then, with her ponytail swinging and her expression a tad worried. I kissed her on the bridge of her nose.

"I got you." I told her, and those ruby lips spread in another brilliant smile before she kissed me.

We had to quit when we got to the door. I held it open for her and saw her bound right over to the store's cash register like a little girl. She turned and gave me a very excited look with her light eyes glittering and her tan skin glowing and her grin stretching from ear to ear. That girl was so beautiful I forgot what I'd come to do.

Call Alicia, I thought, blinking and shaking my head a bit.

I took a seat off to the side where a bunch of cushioned stools were nailed to the ground in front of the countertop. Around the shop there were other tables of various sizes but I needed to wait here for Daisy to order. She didn't look like she knew what to get, as she stood there bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet with her hands steeped in front of her mouth.

"Can I get you anything, sir?" Someone asked me.

I looked up at the young man who wore the shop's red and white and gold uniform and shook my head. He then went over to Daisy and smiled politely, waiting for her to make up her mind.

"Um," The girl trailed indecisively. "Can I get…a banana split? No, no! I want a um, a…um…"

It was amusing how concentrated Daisy looked with her brow knitted and her eyes searching the big menu board. I imagined she had something of the same look when in meetings with the Council.

She narrowed her eyes and said, "How 'bout a um…a…you know what? Just give me the banana split."

With a small chuckle the young man asked, "And will that be all for you, gorgeous?"

I bristled. It'd been a while since I'd had to put up with the fact that Daisy's beauty was kind of an overt thing and other people had no problem complimenting her. In the palace, no one was really bold enough to go there but back here in Brooklyn it was a constant thing. Daisy noticed this, too, but instead of flinching like me, her brows jumped and she blushed a little.

"That's it." She answered.

Is she flirting with that guy? Or is she just being nice?

"That'll be an even $5.00." The cashier announced.

"But the menu says eight," Daisy frowned.

It's easy to look a gift horse in the mouth when you're not the one shelling out, I thought dryly.

The guy at the counter said, "They're cheaper on Sundays."

"Ah."

"Besides," He added slyly, "I'd give a pretty girl like you a discount any day of the week."

You idiot, is that the best you've got? And 'pretty'? Please. She's more than that, you've got to be blind not to see it.

"Well thank you, sir." Daisy spoke, flattered. "Now could I have two spoons? I'd like to share this with my fiancé."

At the same time that I looked up, the cashier glanced over to me and looked as if he'd just put his foot in his mouth. He swallowed, seeming embarrassed, and I felt bad for the jealous thoughts. It was irrational. There was no reason to be insecure, not when what Daisy and I had was strengthened with all that we'd endured together.

I paid the guy and he gave Daisy the spoons and we went over towards a more secluded booth near the shop's window. Daisy slid in and I sat on the end with both of us on one side. She put the ice cream in between us and I laid my phone face-up on the table.

"Alright," I said, "Let's do this."

Daisy got to work on the ice cream while I dialed Alicia's number and put the call on loudspeaker mode. The sound of Daisy's metal spoon tinkering against the glass bowl with each bite and the sound of a busy line resonated in the empty shop.

"Try again," Daisy told me.

I did, and this time her friend did pick up, on the first ring. Her voice was clear but guarded, as if she wasn't sure who she was talking to.

"Hello?" She said, and Daisy dropped her spoon onto her napkin on the table.

She grabbed the phone and said, "…Alicia?"

"Daisy? Girl, is that you?!"

Daisy's grin was exuberant and it made me feel the same way inside, like the more wholesome version of a contact high. She laughed and confirmed her identity and the other line went dead silent.

Then, "Oh. My. Freaking. God, where have you been? I mean you told me you were leaving: are you back?"

"I'm gonna' go to the bathroom."

I don't even think Daisy heard me because her and her friend had started yammering full force. I chuckled and climbed out of the booth, heading to the restrooms. Yeah I did have to go, but mostly I wanted to give her some privacy with her best friend.

Hopefully this does work out, because I don't want to have to go to plan B.

Plan B, I recalled as I pushed open the swinging red door, involved us spending the night in my apartment. Now it hasn't quite been a year and I still have my key so we could do that, but it wouldn't be pleasant. Not without lights or water. And I bet everything smelled all stale and stuffy in there.

Yeah, I hope she says yes.

She, as in Alicia, and yes to Daisy and me spending the night in her apartment with her and her boyfriend. It was the better alternative.

When I came out of the bathroom Daisy was almost done with the ice cream. To say there wasn't much to her, she sure could put away. I locked eyes with her and she beamed. The phone was down on the table again and I could feel her energy from far away.

"So it went well?" I asked, as if I even had to.

Daisy nodded fervently and said, "She says of course we can spend the night and she wants to see us ASEP."

"ASAP." I corrected, then remarked, "In that case, you better hurry up with that." I pointed to the sheared banana.

She frowned. "You don't want any?"

"Nah."

"More for me."

A/N: Sick as a dog, on my way to work job number three. Hope you enjoyed this people. It would've been posted sooner but this time it wasn't my fault; website had some kind of wonky error message thing all day the other day. Oh well.

Until next time!

~DymondGold~