Hey! So um...I'm back from my rather long hiatus. Sorry bout that ^^' I needed a break, but hey, I'm back! Here's a new chapter! Hope it's ok

here's a recap: Today is Roy's bday. Bowser is being a dick to Fawn cuz Peach is here. Peach is starting to like Bowser a bit. Larry will shine a bit today. Fluff and drama!

ps I did this on iPhone. So please excuse typos!

Any non guest reviewers, I'll respond to you by PM now. Thank you so much Angela! Your reviews inspired me to keep going and made me feel crappy XD! And thank you new reviewer JKoopaling! You reviewed lots of chapters, which was very nice of you! Hope you all can still get a hold of this story! Thank youuu!

Chapter 30: 1v1

Bowser

"Bowser?" the sweetest voice called. I was observing her perfection with a side glance, a smile glued to my face.

"...Bowser!"

I realized I had been staring a little to noticeably.

I blinked and snapped out of it, turning to face my Peach. "Sorry Peach," I said, chuckling. "I was uh…thinking."

Thankfully she didn't see through my awesome ruse, only nodding in response. "That's fine...what were you thinking about?" she asked curiously.

I gulped."Oh um...just random stuff..." Including a certain princess, a dead plumber, a few new castles, and a broken bed. "You maybe been in there," I added coyly.

She chuckled. "I see. So, Bowser...when do we start?"

We were in the ballroom, which was the one room not made of stone. It was a gigantic room, with a black tiling floor, murals of Dragon Koopas and the such on the wall to my left, and a bay window covered by red curtains on my right. We were seated at a fancy, six person oak table. To out left was Roy, sitting at a similar table, except smaller. We were in a large ballroom, with several large tables for people to eat at making a half circle around the room from the front. There was a large buffet at my right, and in between all that was a lot of dancing room. Behind us in the back was a large stage, where Ludwig awaited with his orchestra. We were waiting for people to come in, and it was our duty to greet them. "They should be here soon," I assured. "Party starts in just a minute or so."

"Okay then. So I just have to greet them?"

"Yep. They'll come to us first, then they'll talk to Roy." I paused. "Thanks for coming, by the way. This can get so boring."

She smiled at me. I still can't get over that she was doing that. "My pleasure! I did say I would get to know you better..."

"That's right...we can talk now..." I said slowly. I was so happy; I'd dreamed of this. The only problem was that now that I have it...what do I say?

"Um...what's your favorite color?" I dumbly asked.

She stared at me. "...Pink. My favorite color's pink, Bowser."

I blinked before turning away, rubbing my neck sheepishly. "Yeah...yeah, I knew that."

She chuckled and said, "Well, what's yours? I still don't know!"

I smiled at her interest and said, "Red."

"Red? Really?"

"Yep. It's the color of bloody bad asses."

She chuckled and said, "Well put. You know that's Mario's favorite color as well?"

My face scrunched up in annoyance. "You just ruined the color red for me. Now I've got to find a new one."

She chuckled again, but she seemed closer to laughing. I loved it. "Well why do you-"

"Because I refuse to be in any boat with that guy. Guess I'll go with..." I paused to rub my chin in thought, before snapping them in realization. "Pink."

She blinked. "Pink? Why?"

"Because it's a shade of red!"

"Well, why not settle for orange? Isn't pink too girly for you?"

"See, the awesome thing about me is that I decide what's girly. So pink might become too manly for you pretty soon."

She raised a brow. "That's it? You sure?"

"And I have an expert opinion on it. The second most awesome person in the world likes it too."

Peach smiled for me again. "Well...I suppose that's a compliment then! Thank you?"

I smiled coyly. "No problem, dear."

She looked away. Did I see a blush?

"So..." she started. "Was Fawn okay with watching the Koopalings?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't she be?"

"I don't know...just-"

"Oh, Peach!" I interrupted. "People are starting to come in."

"Oh, okay. So I just greet them?"

"Pretty much just be as perfect as you always are."

Another blush.

Fawn

"OMS, why are we still stuck in here!" Wendy complained from her seat on the couch.

I sighed in response. Your guess is as good as mine. "Oh uh...please bear with me. Kamek wants us to stay in here for a while, and we'll join the party later...so yeah..."

Wendy growled and went back to her lounging.

"I don't want to go out there! The dell-gate people are boring!" Junior complained, bashing his toy cars together on the floor. I laughed at his mispronunciation of 'delegates'.

"Stupid fascists...stealing my inventions..." Iggy mumbled from the corner.

"I don't know about that! Maybe it'll be fun!" Lemmy cheered, bouncing high up on his ball.

"Yeah! I really like going because some of them are really smart people! And some of them like talking to me! So then they listen to me, and I talk about random stuff, and they're interested, and-"

I sighed, for once not in the mood for Morton's ramblings. My mind was somewhere else; I was still upset that Bowser didn't invite me to the party. In fact, he made it so I couldn't go.

Kamek walked in, interrupting Morton. "Hello you all! How's it going?"

I forced a smile. "Oh...we're all doing well!"

He noticed my demeanor and frowned. "Yes...may I see you outside for a moment?"

"Um...yeah, sure." I slowly got up from my seat on the floor and turned to everyone. "Uh, be right back."

Some nodded, some ignored me, so I walked outside the playroom with Kamek.

Once outside, with the door shut, he surprised me by placing his hand up to my shoulder.

"I'm sorry about this Fawn...you wanted to spend the day with Bowser, didn't you?" he asked in a comforting tone.

I blinked in surprise, before nodding slightly. "Um...yes, I guess. I mean, I'm very happy working! It's the least I can do!"

"Well I appreciate it…but iIt's okay to feel a bit sad. It's normal to want to be with your friend," he assured, his eyes crinkling with a kind smile. "Peach is just preoccupying him..."

I sighed. "I know...love does that, I would assume."

"Assume? Aren't you already in love to a degree?" Kamek teased.

"Huh?"

He chuckled and said, "Never mind, we've run out of time. I actually had something important to tell you."

"Oh? What is it?"

"Well...it appears one of clergyman, Sir Willington, has brought a rather...pricy present for Roy. A large, twenty four carat diamond, predicted to be worth a million coins."

I frowned. "I don't think Roy wants a rock."

Kamek chuckled. "I don't think he does either. But Willington's a bit of a show off, so he'd do something like this. But that's beside the point."

"What's the point?"

"Well, it'd be rather unfortunate if it were...stolen."

"What do you..." I realized what, or rather who, he was talking about. "Oh. Larry."

He nodded grimly. "Tradition says Roy's not allowed to open his presents until exactly three pm. Let's be honest. I asked Willington if I could store the diamond in a hidden room. But knowing Larry, he could easily find out where the room is from one of his moles in the guard system...who I still can't find...steal this item and sell it for twice it's value before we could even find the evidence to incriminate him."

I sighed. "He is quite amazing with that."

"Exactly. So I'm going to take the Koopalings to the party. But I want you to keep a closer eye on Larry. Our guards are a little spread at the moment, so there's only two guarding the diamond. Make sure he doesn't steal it...where is he, anyways?"

I chuckled nervously. "He's...preoccupied in his room."

He knew what that meant by now; he was stuck in a rope trap for running away. He laughed. "Well, good job occupying him. Well, I'll be on my way."

"Alright. Let me just go check on him. I won't let you down!"

He smiled. "I know you won't."

With that, I departed, quickly running to Larry's room to make sure he was still stuck in my trapped.

I paled at the sight I was greeted with. Sitting there where I had trapped Larry in a rope trap earlier, was now a few loose ropes. Larry was nowhere in sight.

Oh no...how'd he escape!? Don't tell me he's learned how to now! Damn, he's good; those knots were right! And if he's escaped...by now he's probably found out about the diamond!

In the loose pile of ropes, there was a single note. I hesitantly stopped over to pick it up and read it.

1v1 me brah

My mind went through a million things. What it meant (most likely meaning try and catch him), how to find him, and how scared I was. But in the end, I could only think of one thing.

…Oh crap.

Larry

I snuck through the halls, weapon in hand, toward the ballroom. I had heard from one of the guards (Jimmy, one of the stupid ones) that Roy was getting a diamond for his birthday. A twenty four carat diamond, estimated for a million coins. The idea of getting that much money in one heist made me salivate. I needed to get my hands on it, no matter what the cost. I wasn't going to let Fawn stop me. I would beat her, no matter what the cost. I had a plan.

And I was about to start as I reached the ballroom. I scanned the room and found Junior, thankfully on the edge of the room, more or less out of sight. I smirked to myself as I approached him.

"Hey. Junior," I whispered, tapping on his shoulder.

He turned around, his expression clearly bored. Heh, perfect. "What's up?"

"So bored!" Junior whined, a little louder then I would've liked.

I made a shushing gesture, and he calmed. "Yeah. Ugh, it's so boring. I actually was wandering around a bit, I was so bored."

"Yeah...hey, what is that?" Junior asked, pointing to what I was holding.

I grinned. It was some sort of gun-like device I found in Iggy's lab. He had a lot of that stuff. "Oh, well, while I was wandering around, I sort of found this. It was just lying around! Crazy, right?"

"Yeah...what does it do?" Junior asked with mischievous and childlike curiously, ignoring the unlikelihood of me simply finding this thing lying around.

"Well, I'm actually not sure. I just found it, and I'm a little scared to use it myself..." I said craftily.

"Oh," Junior said, eying the device, his intent obvious.

"Yeah. Well, I've got to go talk to someone. Some boring delegate. Hey, you mind watching it for me while I'm out?" I asked, internally smirking.

"Yeah, sure," he said, trying to hide his impish smile.

"Alright, I'll be gone for a while. See you later!" I said, slipping in to the crowd. I later slipped out of the room undetected.

Heh, have fun dealing with me, and Junior to now.

Once out, I searched for one of my moles in the guards who was still actually here in the castle today. Once I found him, he informed me where the diamond was being kept.

Smirk ever present, I made my way to the room. I knew that Fawn was probably in charge of protecting it from me. The room would most likely be filled with traps.

But I'm already used to them by now. Fawn, you're not going to best me!

Fawn

After talking to one of Larry's friends in the guard force, I quickly began to see up traps in the room that held the diamond. It was a simple castle room, with cobblestone walls and ceiling. The only objects in the room were the torches lighting the room and the diamond being held in a glass case in the center of the room.

I had just finished setting up a simple net trap when I heard the door open. I turned my head, and standing there in front of the stone doors was Larry. My eyes widened, and I grabbed the bow and arrow that I was keeping next to me, should he come to face me. The arrows were, of course, dull. But not so much that they wouldn't hurt.

However, I was still surprised by his sudden presence. "Larry! How'd you get in here!?"

"Oh? Was I not allowed in here?" he asked, with a false sweetness to his voice.

I considered that. "No. There was a guard outside."

"Oh, him! He went out on a little walk, so I merely assumed it was okay to come in." He smirked evilly.

I grew fearful. "Um...what'd you do?"

His smirk widened. "You know, you've taught me a thing or two on traps. So let's say he's...preoccupied."

Ironically, that was the same word I used to address Larry when I'd trapped him. I sighed. "I see...so it comes to this."

I drew my bow and readied an arrow. "This room teeming with traps. I won't let you get away..."

Larry chuckled and said, "Actually, I think it's about time for you to run along yourself."

I raised a brow. "What do you mean? I don't think I should leave right now."

As I said this, a scream resounded through the castle. My eyes widened. "What is that? I don't think that was me..."

"You know, I don't think it was me either."

"Then who was it?"

"Maybe…it was Junior," Larry said mischievously.

I blinked. "That wasn't his scream…how could he make that noise?"

Larry put on a face of contemplation. I think it was sarcastic. "Hm...well, I did leave him with this nifty little weapon I found...I do hope he hasn't used it inappropriately."

I thought about it, and the realization hit me. Larry had set up Junior to wreak havoc, and if have to leave the diamond unprotected to stop him. My eyes narrowed. "Damn you..."

Larry whistled. "Woah. I got some expression there! That's pretty rare!"

I bit my lip, now weighing my options. I didn't want to leave this diamond unprotected; I wanted to seize the moment to capture Larry now. But Junior was wreaking havoc now, and if I didn't stop him, I think Bowser would hate me even more. I sighed as I withdrew my bow, slinging it over my back with my quiver of arrows. This wasn't the end of my plan; I had a plan B.

"Alright Larry...you win for now. But I will be back," I warned, somewhat stern for a change. I was being equaled by this boy.

"Well, we'll see about that, nanny," Larry teased. Another boom shook the room.

Actually growling a little, I took off, quickly trying to apprehend Junior.

I might've been unable to find Junior, if it wasn't for the second scream I heard in the distance. I was thankful for the fact that the ballroom was well insulated, and far away from this ruckus. After roaming about, I heard a moaning. I quickly turned down the intimidating stone hallway, my quickened footsteps rushing down the path. I turned a corner, when an intoxicating stench reached my nostrils. I looked around and saw the source; a glob of what looked like red paint.

Upon further inspection, I realized it wasn't just paint.

"...Jimmy?" I spoke.

The glob stirred, a guard being buried in the paint. "Ugh..." Jimmy moaned, completely covered in red paint.

"What happened to you!?"

"I...it was..." the paint covering his mouth parted as it opened and he coughed, the viscous liquid flying out. "Junior..."

My eyes widened, and I took a step back. What the hell did Larry give him!?

I shook my head. "I'll get him..." I mumbled, rushing off again to find him. I didn't pay anymore mind to Jimmy.

I found him in front of one of a hallway wall. He was spray painting it blue...well, more like paint blasting it. He had some sort of gun; it was a sleek, thin tube that had a few colored buttons on it, with a nozzle on one end, and a canister at the other.

After he finished, he cackled, turning to me. His face lit up. "Fawn! Cool to see you!"

I don't think I smiled. "Junior...what're you doing?"

He grinned mischievously. "Larry gave me this toy. It shoots paint; I love it! I finally get to paint this boring gray castle, like I've always wanted! Look at how cool my mural is!"

I observed the paint on the wall. All I could see was a bunch of different colors mixed together, their stench overpowering. I didn't doubt his painting abilities, but he clearly didn't know how to use this device.

"Junior...put that thing down," I warned.

He stopped grinning and observed me curiously. "Huh? Why?"

"Because, there's an important party going on right now, and they can't be disturbed."

He pouted. "But they're all boring old guys; who cares!? Besides, I'm making this castle better looking for them! It's a good thing!"

I blinked. Was he? ...No, he's not. "Well, it's still disruptive. You have to stop."

He looked very conflicted at my words. He paused to think, looking confused, before his face contorted in to a determined grin. "No!" he spoke defiantly.

I was not expecting that answer. "Um...what?"

"I said no!" he said, grinning evilly. "I'm gonna have fun today for once!"

I hated when this happened. Every now and then, Junior's rebellious spirit turned even on me. "No...Junior, you can't," I tried to reason.

He didn't listen. "See you later, Fawn!"

With that, he rose the device, and blasted a glob of blue paint at me.

I sidestepped to avoid it...well, more like dived away. By the time I got up, Junior was already running.

"Junior! Wait!" I comrades after him. I soon made chase. And to my dismay, he made a beeline for the ballroom.

I ran after Junior, our stomps thundering through the halls. I couldn't catch up; he was too fast for me. Eventually, he made it back in to the ballroom, gun in hand. I ran in after him; my mind was running so fast, only intent on catching Junior, that I didn't know where I was, or what was around me.

I vaguely remember entering a large room. I think I shoved pass a few people, as I saw Junior do. I'm pretty sure he ran up on to some sort of higher ground, and I ran after to him still. But I was soon stopped by one of the people I was shoving past.

"Ah, hey! Watch where...Fawn?"

I looked up and saw that I had crashed in to Bowser's chest. He was looking down at me inquisitively. I froze up from nerves of both the task at hand, and suddenly seeing him. "Bowser! I, uh..."

"Fawn?" a voice called next to him. It was Peach.

"I...uh..." I stuttered. My mind was working too fast; I knew I had to catch Junior. But I wanted to talk to Bowser...I hadn't seen him all day. But eventually I opted to run after Junior anyway, yelling "Got to run!"

I bumped in to someone. I stopped again to turn around, and I saw I'd knocked over Peach. She was on the floor, and Bowser was helping me up, scowling lightly at me.

I felt my heart sink at his face. I felt terrible...but I knew I had to go. "S-sorry!" I squeaked before rushing off.

I felt terrible about how he looked at me, and knocking down Peach...I just wanted to just find Junior, and go to my room to daydream. But I had a mission now; although it was too late.

I looked up to see Junior, standing in the center of some stage that I was on the edge on, gun pointed outward, a wicked grin on his face.

"Hello dell-gates and other fancy people," Junior teased, raising his weapon. "For today's show, I'd like to kick off with my new masterpiece. Behold!"

He pressed a button, and I looked away. I failed Bowser! He'll never care about me again, I couldn't even do this right! I'm a failure!

I awaited for the whole room to be bathed in paint. But it never happened.

I looked up to see that the gun had disappeared with a flurry of shapes. And standing next to Junior, with his wand raised, was Kamek, now with the gun in his hands, and a tired smirk on his face. He'd prevented a catastrophe.

"I'm getting to old for this..." he muttered playfully.

Larry

I grinned as I walked away from the scene of the crime, with a beautiful, giant diamond in hand.

This is awesome! I'm going to make so much cash off this baby!

I continued to smirk as I walked down the halls, proud that my plan had worked out.

I had, indeed, managed to score the diamond. Yes, the traps that Fawn had laid out to protect it were rather bothersome. There was a pitfall, a rope trap, and even a dart trap, among others. How she sets it all up, I don't know. Still, in the end, I had finally beaten her.

I smirked cockily as I thought on that. I had finally bested Fawn and her stupid traps! I beat her in our little one on one. And the victory was shown in the spoils; indeed, the diamond seemed to have a peculiar shine to it. Almost as though it were reflecting...like-

My eyes widened in realization. Like glass! I dropped the 'diamond' to to the floor, and watched as it shattered in to little pieces. I realized what had happened; this diamond was a fake.

I began to race toward the ballroom, my thoughts going just as fast. Damn her; she went through all that effort to protect a fake!? Why!? How could this happen...my mole in the guard force said the diamond was being kept in that room! How could this've happened!? Argh, I need to hurry! Roy's getting his presents soon, and from the looks of it, he'll get this diamond if I don't hurry!

I picked up my speed, desperately trying to make it. I could see the open doors to the gallant ballroom; I could even see the loose pockets of the target. I ran a little faster, almost there, and then-

"AH!" I screamed, being pushed back by some sudden force. I collapsed on the ground, groaning. I tried to get up, but I found that I couldn't. I was trapped, and upon struggling and opening my eyes, I realized I was in a net. Looking through my webbed vision, I saw Fawn, standing there with a net gun.

"My...it works well," Fawn commented to herself, observing the gun. "Kamek makes like so much easier..."

My eyes flared with anger and disbelief. No...no! How'd I not see her coming!? This can't be! I wasn't caught! I wasn't! "How..." I growled.

"Hm?"

"How!? How'd you catch me!?" I demanded angrily.

She made an 'o' in realization. "Oh...well..."

I felt a jerk on my net from behind me. Standing there, of all people, was Tony, my mole in the guards. My eyes widened in realization. The reason why I was told the real diamond was being kept in that room was because I was given false information by this very person.

"No way...you betrayed me?" I asked him, looking up at his roguish appearance. "For her!?" I said incredulously, pointing to Fawn.

He shook his head, his red eyes flashing with greed. "I just went with a better paying employer."

I blinked, turning to Fawn. "You paid more then me...?"

Fawn nodded her head daintily. "I don't really spend my work money on much, so I figured this was better..."

"You always were stingy with your money, Cheatsy," Troy teased, chuckling.

My face flushed with indignation. "No...how'd you even find out who my mole was!?" I asked Fawn.

She shrugged. "Well...I see you talking to Troy a lot, so I spied on you a little, and saw you exchange money, so..."

"You spied on me!? Why!?"

"It proved helpful, didn't it?"

I couldn't believe how she managed to destroy my plan. She was beating the greatest thief to ever live! It was unbelievable! "Well...how'd you sneak up on me with that gun then? I didn't see you coming!" I asked, not believing someone else actually snuck on me. Nobody gets the drop on me.

Fawn didn't respond like I thought she would. Instead of airily nodding or shrugging or blinking, she smiled gently. "Because Larry...you're still a kid. You got angry, and weren't paying attention."

My eyes widened again as I relaxed. She took advantage of my distraction...ironic, coming from her. Sitting in that net, knowing I lost this little match, I began to reflect. And I began to laugh.

Troy scowled at my laughing form, as Fawn cocked her head curiously. "Um...did I say something funny? Apparently I do that sometimes without meaning to..."

After I calmed myself, I addressed her, grinning. "I hate you, know that?"

She frowned. "Really?"

"Yeah. I think you're a bitch, that's a consistent pain in the ass for me. You're naive, slow minded, and awkward as hell. I can't stand the idea of acting remotely nice around you! And that's why it's hilarious that I lost to you, of all people!"

She frowned and shrugged. "I guess so...but maybe I'm not so bad."

"How so?"

"Well...you said you can't stand pretending to be nice around me. So maybe that's easier for you?"

I blinked and looked down. There was truth to that, surprisingly. I think she might've been the only person I didn't have to lie around. She was...

I grinned at her. "Guess that just makes you my rival, huh?"

She smiled. "Maybe so." She looked to Troy, growing a little nervous.

"Um...thanks. Could you uh...take him to his room?"

Troy shrugged. "Sure. Come on, kid."

I felt myself get dragged away. I watched Fawn go back in the ballroom. I could vaguely see several people start to talk to her.

She's probably not going to like that. I chuckled. You're not going to win next time.

Roy

"My, you simply must attend my daughters sixteenth birthday," Arrogant Asshole Number 14 of the night proposed. "She's grown to be quite a vision; I'm sure you'd simply love to see her again."

I've met her? She's probably not as hot as he makes her out to be then. About how much does he want me to bang her?

"Yeah, I'll remember dat," I said dismissively.

He looked like he was about to go on, when I pinched my eyebrows in annoyance. "Look, I'm not goin to yo damn daughter's birthday. She didn't even go to mine apparently, now did she?"

He looked angered at my tone. "How dare the prince speak so impudently!?"

I growled and shoved pass him. "Use real people words." I was done with this crap, I needed to get out of there or something. I wasn't going to pretend like I can put up with these ass munchers.

I tried to get to the door, wanting nothing more then to leave, when I noticed that a large amount of the guests had bunched up near the entrance. I groaned and began to shove pass them, having no patience left for these retards. As I made my way to the entrance, I saw the object of their interest.

"My, is that the human?" Fancy Ass A asked, observing Fawn, who was standing in the center, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. I don't think that allegory will ever get old.

"It must be! So this is what she looks like..." another mused, scrutinizing her. "The media never show us head or tail of her!"

"Um...hi..." Fawn whispered, desperately looking around the crowd, as if trying to absorb it all and focus on one thing. "Or um...you...I mean..." She had a terrified look on her face; she was clearly overwhelmed.

"Her voice is rather high," a Koopa lady observed.

After she searched a bit, she locked eyes with me. Her face almost grew pleading once she saw me. She didn't break eye contact. Something rose in me.

"Indeed! And her skin is tanner than Peach's!"

"And her hair is so black...do you suppose it's soft?"

Stray hands began to reach for her. She really did look like a cornered animal, and if this wasn't stopped, either she'd faint or she'd bite.

"Fawn!" I called automatically, pacing up to her.

She smiled, rushing to my front.

"Prince Roy?" Fancy Ass B questioned. "Is this indeed the new human girl, Fawn?"

I rolled my eyes. "Ya know, I think so."

I looked down and met her eyes. She still looked as though she was pleading. I needed to get her out; I acted automatically.

"And I wanna dance wid her," I blurted out.

I looked down to see Fawn's reaction. I could tell she was embarrassed, but much preferred this solution. She paused a long while before speaking.

"Uh...yeah," she finally said.

"Dancing with a human?" Fancy Ass C commented. "Why would you want to do that? You can dance with my daughter, who's right he-"

"Cuz Fawn's probly not as much of a bitch as yo daughter is," I sneered. "Now scram already! Ya got nutin better to do?"

The man grew red in the face, to my delight. In response to my outburst, the crowd dispersed, allowing me to grab Fawn's hand and take her to the dancing floor. And of freaking course it had to be a slow song. Couples poured in with us to dance slow and close.

I inwardly groaned at the awkwardness of the situation, but I knew I'd gotten myself in to this. I wrapped my arms around her waist, to which she flinched, blushing slightly.

I growled in annoyance. "Whatcha flinchin for? It's a slow song."

"Slow...song?" she spoke slowly, relaxing in to my arms, realizing I was supposed to hold her like this.

"Yes," he sighed. "Ya know, dat cheesy ass dance where ya just wrap to arms round my shoulders and walk in place?"

She frowned, but nodded. "I've heard of it..."

Nothing happened as she stood there in thought. I growled. "So, wrap yo arms round my shoulders!"

She snapped out of it. "Oh, right! Sorry!"

She slowly and carefully placed her arms around my shoulders, awkwardly conjoining them by locking her hands behind my neck. I sighed at her awkwardness...until I realized how soft and warm her arms were. I cleared my throat.

"Ya gotta move now."

"Oh! Uh...like this?" She started to just sidestep, dragging me with her, almost making me fall.

"No ya idiot! Just...move in place!" I began to demonstrate, taking simple steps in place and turning.

"Um...like this?" She began to sort of get it...except she was sort of waddling. She looked like a penguin walking in place.

I was going to correct her, but I ended up chuckling and saying, "Yeah, exactly like dat." Who the hell cares if she isn't dancing normally.

She gave a small grin at her 'success' and continued to do this, relaxing and moving with with me.

"Um...how was your birthday?" she asked, in her meek manner.

My lip curled. "Annoying as hell. I hate dese stupid rich people."

"Oh...I'm sorry." There was a pause. "Did you like the present Sir Willington got you?"

I recalled his present. "I'm gonna sell it. Why da hell would I wanna rock?"

She almost to be in disbelief at my answer, for whatever reason, before chuckling a bit. "Yeah, I didn't think you'd like it."

I couldn't help but grin at her comment.

Another pause. "You know...my birthday's coming up."

"Really?"

"Yeah...I'll be twenty one."

"Coo."

We both continued to dance together, and I realized that I may've be enjoying this dance with her.

But I saw her frown, as though she was looking behind me.

"Um...Roy? I don't know much about this dance...but isn't it supposed to be romantic or something?"

I rose a brow at the odd question. Was she thinking about it because she's dancing with me? For some reason that thought made me nervous. "Uh...yeah. It's kinda romantic, I guess."

She looked down, appearing slightly forlorn. "Oh...okay..."

I realized that she was looking behind me after all. Wondering what caused this sudden mood change, I shifted myself to see. I was greeted with the sight of Peach and Bowser dancing together.

Peach

"Got to run!" Fawn yelled, bumping in to me. I yelped as I lost my balance in my heels and fell over.

I sat on my bottom, slightly dazed. "Ow..." I muttered as I looked up. I saw Bowser looking over me, his hand outstretched to help me up. I smiled and took it, feeling him lift me up. His face lit up with a smile for a second, before he turned his head to scowl at Fawn.

Fawn looked saddened and terrified from his face. "S-sorry!" With that, she scampered off.

I frowned at Bowser, now standing up and releasing his hand. "You didn't need to scowl at her."

His face didn't alleviate much as he turned to me. "But she pushed you! That's just stupid. And...rude!"

I couldn't help but giggle. "Since when do you care about courtesy?"

He showed off his evil smirk. "Because I'm awesome! She's not cool enough to ignore the rules yet."

"Well, I'm sure she had a good reason to hurry."

"What could she possibly be doing that's so damn-"

"Hello dell-gates and other fancy people!" a voice suddenly boomed from the front stage. Looking at the stage, I saw it was Junior, and he was raising some sort of gun.

Bowser slapped a hand to his face. "Damn it Junior..."

I giggled nervously. "I guess that's why Fawn was hurrying..."

"For today's show, I'd like to kick off with my new masterpiece. Behold!" he proclaimed gleefully, pointing his gun at us dangerously.

"What's that idiot going to do?" Bowser growled.

I was actually afraid of what Junior was going to do with that gun. But, thank the stars, it suddenly disappeared from his hands in a flurry of shapes. I was confused for a moment, until Kamek appeared on stage in a similar manner, gun in hand.

"I'm getting to old for this..." he joked.

Bowser and I breathed a sigh of relief that a potential disaster was avoided. "Thank Stars for Kamek..."

Bowser huffed. "Yeah...geez, what the hell was Fawn doing to let that happen?"

I frowned at him for his talk of her. "Come now! She works very hard! She's been watching eight kids while we partied! And some of those kids...aren't well behaved. Surprisingly so."

He continued to frown before chuckling slightly. "Yeah...they're pretty terrible. I'm surprised; I don't think Larry's stolen anything!"

"See, she is doing well! Working during a party..." A sudden wave of guilt washed over me when I said that. I began to wonder if she'd be working if I wasn't here. "You know...her birthday's coming up in three days."

"Is it?" Bowser commented.

I nodded. "She'll be twenty-one. That's a big year, and it's her first since she's gone in to the world...so I had been planning this surprise party for her."

"Had been?"

I glared teasingly. "Yes. I had to stop because I was kidnapped."

He grinned sheepishly. "Oh...right."

I smirked. "So, since Fawn's been working and missing Roy's party...could we throw the party here?"

He grinned crookedly. "If you want it, it'll happen."

I beamed as I grabbed his hand in both of mine in glee. "Hooray! Thank you!"

He looked down at our conjoined hands, grinning larger. "Your welcome!"

I was about to retract my hand when the music changed to something much slower and romantic. Bowser suddenly tightened his hold on my hand and looked excited and nervous. "Hey...why don't we dance?"

The idea made me nervous. "Um..."

"Yeah! Come on, it'll be fun!" he insisted, practically dragging me out to the dance floor.

Once there, we stopped and we got in to position. He locked his arms behind my waist and I gently took hold of his shoulders. I couldn't help but notice that Fawn was right about his warmth.

"See? This is nice," he said softly, moving a bit awkwardly.

I smiled and did the same. I suppose it was a bit nice.

We danced slowly for a bit until he whispered, "Peach?"

"Hm?"

"I...I love you."

My eyes widened with shock. I felt myself begin to blush as the closeness suddenly felt very intimate.

"…Oh,'" I squeaked. This response didn't stop him.

"I've loved you ever since you didn't think it was a monster. I've loved you ever since I started kidnapping you after I heard you hate me. I…"

He...loves me? I mean, I wasn't sure if he really did love me...I hadn't really heard it from his mouth. Someone really loves me like that? All this time….and it's from him...I-

"Peach?" he whispered nervously.

I snapped out of it. I could tell my silence scared him, for which I felt bad for. But I was overwhelmed! I still was...I felt my heat sore, especially in his arms. I think I just noticed how strong and warm they were. I didn't know what to say...I wanted to know why he loved someone like me. If he realized I can't love him back. If he knows I thought about it... But I did want him to know one thing. "Thank you Bowser," I said as sweetly as I could. In the end, I was grateful for his love. "Thank you for telling me. It means…a lot to me."

He grinned and, without another word, pulled me in to his chest. Without thinking, I inhaled his scent, with my face against his sternum. He smelt like...smoke. Guess that makes sense. I felt so at peace in his warmth, strength, and love, that I almost ignored the self loathing that accompanied it.

Bowser

The night was so close to perfect. I told Peach about my love finally, she responded well, and I got to hold her close. It was good...but one thing bugged me. I locked eyes with Fawn, who was dancing with Roy, while I was dancing with Peach. Her face grew sad and looked away, turning to Roy. Her sadness...her dancing with Roy; the whole scene annoyed me.