Foreword:

YOU GUYS. I'M ON TIME. In fact, I'm early! One fantastic commenter suggested I post before I get to college, and that sounded like such a brilliant idea that I'm literally on my way right now and posting! Of course, 49 isn't written beyond a few sentances, but I thought that in case I get whirled up in the start-of-term insanity, I won't be late for a chapter that was already done. This one was written quite quickly, probably because it sounds like a filler. Bowser's section at least does...but I do find it beneficial, as a good review for me (and you guys, too, probably). And I rewrote Peach's section three times and am still not 100 percent thrilled with it, but I think it accomplishes what it ought to, which is not being a filler section.

Disclaimer stands that I own absolutely nothing. But I do own Super Mario Fruit snacks! And in case anyone wanted to know, Luigi is delicious. ;)

The girls were all crowded around Bowser as he sat on a large, pink pouf in the center of the room. He had two boxes of pizza next to him, all his eager audience in arms' reach of some sort of junk food. At least four girls had facial masks on, but even they had hands near the bowls of popcorn. "So, I assume you want the whole story?"

"Every last detail!" someone shrieked, and several girls agreed.

"Start when she got to the Palace!"

"No; start when you found out she was at the Palace!"

"Even the details we already know, Valkoopy added, a hint of bragging rights in her voice.

Bowser was happy to oblige. Such a fascinated audience and pleasant story to tell made him very happy. "Well, it all started at the beginning of the week, when I was having a very important discussion with Kammy, my old hag. And she got this call from Kamek, on her wand, saying how I needed to go to one of the hangars, because my kids were there. Of course, I already knew this. I had hatched the plan, which, by the way, was foolproof, with my kids earlier. Isn't that right, Wendy?"

"Sure, Dad," she agreed, very sarcastically.

Bowser continued with his story in great detail, telling the girls how Peach was supposed to be on a secret vacation, so no one would know that she was kidnapped, and that it was just like she had vacationed on her own free will to the Darklands. He told them how she wasn't very happy at first- Valkoopy was quick to agree and give her sidenote- but how that didn't last long. He told them all about their romantic dinner, leaving out the part where Peach ran away screaming, and emphasized how she came to him, begging for his attention the very next morning.

He detailed all about the next day, how she was so eager to tour the Palace. He embellished the way Peach got overheated in the central heating duct, saying how she had to grip onto him to keep balance, and held on longer than they needed. He told them eagerly how she went to meet his children and hit it off while he was busy, and how they went to McGoomba's for dinner. The girls found immense amusement in that, a few of them admitting for what seemed like the first time that they, too, loved to eat the greasy food they served there. Then, dramatically, he told them about when they sat on the bench together and watched the lights. He spoke slowly, his eyes so starry Wendy swore he could see the dancing lights all over again. And Bowser didn't embellish a single sentence.

At this point in the story, Valkoopy interrupted. "The next morning, Peach was a total wreck. She wouldn't wake up, she wouldn't eat; Bowser had to send me in to check on her-"

"Hey, jerk-jam, who said you had permission to talk?" Bowser snarled.

"Well, you don't know any part of this story, sire, so I thought it only fair I tell it. If I don't right now, you'll probably never hear it!" Bowser grumbled, allowing her to continue, which Valkoopy did, smugly. However, her continuation wasn't much more than repetition that Peach was silent and depressed, which bored Bowser quickly, so he cut in.

"Jerk-jam over here did her no good, so I got the brilliant idea all on my own that she should go on a picnic with me and the kids. Then she could get to know them anyway! She was completely excited to go, and put on her best outfit for me. I took her to a really pretty secret place that's cooler than any places you bums know. And it was there, when we were walking and she was holding my hand all lovey-dovey, that I told her I loved her."

Bowser paused his story for effect, taking a giant bite out of his pizza while the girls shrieked, grabbed onto each other and started talking amidst themselves. The young koopa who obviously had a crush on the Koopa King looked a little personally offended. Other girls started asking Bowser what she said, practically crawling over each other to get closer, now that Bowser's story had even more momentum.

"She said…she said…" Bowser paused, unsure if he wanted to be honest about Peach's answer that still hadn't changed since that third day with her. "'I know'." He swallowed his pizza and looked over the girls. They were hushed, muttering things to each other, some looking pleased, others disappointed. "Anyway," Bowser growled, "The rest of the day was wonderful." He continued to tell them about the games they played, food they ate, and a few notable conversations the group had before they flew back home, all tired out. He mentioned how he and Peach had discussed Klawdia, but said nothing more than that. Compared to his expression of glee every time he said Peach's name, mentioning his dead wife seemed like torture.

Bowser skipped telling them about his tantrum and tear-filled episode with Kamek, moving directly on to when he ran into her in the hall, telling them word-for-word about how embarrassed and flighty Peach was acting, and especially about how she asked him out. That particular section he told three times, by request of the very thrilled audience. He was also very keen to emphasize their short, but meaningful conversation about his ideal birthday present. He promised them, when they asked that they would "find out later, freakazoids" if he ever got that, and to "get their tails out of a twist."

Their instance with playing Pickleball was also extremely detailed, Bowser lingered with an unearthly expression as he told them about helping Peach in her stances, and how lovely she looked in her sportsy outfit. He told them about that for longer than many felt comfortable with, and it wasn't until Wendy cleared her throat that he awkwardly skipped ahead in the day to dinner that evening. Valkoopy cut in, saying that she talked to Peach before that. "She was completely on Cloud Nine, all giggly and floatsy about King Bowser."

"She was?" Bowser asked, leaning in. Taking that as the king's permission, all the other sleepover guests turned expectedly towards Valkoopy.

Pleased, she told them all the things Peach had said, or at least as many as she could remember. "She was talking so fast, and about so many unimportant things, it was hard to keep track. But I'll tell you one thing- she had fallen hard already." Bowser grinned, his claws moving quickly from his knees to cover his face and then back again. Apparently, Peach had told almost the same lengthy stories that Bowser was telling the girls now, just from her point of view and in a lot faster and with a lot more distractions. Once she finished, Bowser looked terribly proud. He kept trying to open his mouth, say something witty about how it should be expected that she'd be so all over him, but he couldn't say anything, and ended up with a giggle instead.

The girls stared "aww"ing, fighting to get to Bowser and hug him. This intense evidence of Bowser's shrinking dignity shook him back to reality, and he snarled, "Get back on the floor, you sissy-girlies. I have more story to tell, and you need to pay attention or I'll chuck you all in the dungeon!" He nodded fiercely, and summarized their dinner by saying that them two talked for hours about nothing in particular. Even that short of a summary threw the girls into another small tizzy, gossiping amongst themselves.

Bowser's birthday seemed like it took as long to retell as it did to happen, as Bowser insisted on using great detail to not only explain all the wonderful experiences he had getting closer romantically to Peach, but also all the elaborate gifts and celebrations he received. But once he got to Peach's gift of one of her sapphires, he was stuck, choking on his own tears.

"Do you still have it?" one of the girls asked, bright eyed and clutching her pillow for dear life.

In reply, Bowser dug into his shell and pulled it out, shining bright from his countless caresses. Someone looked as if she wanted it passed around, but Bowser glared, clutching the sapphire close to his heart and far from the sticky-fingered audience members. He did, however, read the inscription on the back out loud.

He complained about not seeing Peach much more after that until the ball, but that it was completely worth it when he saw her in her ball gown, hand-crafted just that week. His description of her was so sweet, so filled with love, that the girls were all gripping at their hearts or each other's hands, cooing at his obvious adoration. His description of the evening was exactly as the ball went from his point of view; it consisted of nothing but Peach. He never mentioned the food, except how she looked when she ate it. His description of their first dance lasted longer than the actual song, getting glassy-eyed about her hands in his, and their feet moving together. He only mentioned the food-fight to brag about how they ran off together.

He talked about their dancing, emphasizing that she never wanted to leave his side, and in a moment of very uncharacteristic storytelling, completely skipped over the dance contest in favor of their slow songs. The girls were pleased with the intense detail he remembered and used, and even found the moments Bowser described as a "blur" to be fantastically romantic. He was very proud to tell about how Peach acted when she met his sister, Bell, and almost as proud to describe how courteous and wonderful she was when she said goodbye to the first half guests and hello to the second half guests.

He didn't tell them about how he let her get completely drunk on koopale, but did tell them how she called him handsome. But their private hour or so on the patio, under the stars and all alone, Bowser chose to keep private. Oh, he told them it happened, but kept silent about just how close they had been to each other, and how every second was a fight to keep from kissing her all over her body. He mentioned the last few songs, and told them how embarrassing it was to sing Peach the last song, but how dang happy she seemed to hear him do it. And, of course, how they seemed like the perfect parents as they sent Lemmy to bed afterwards.

He went through the following day a little quicker, focusing on how Peach would lean on him, hold his arms and hands, and in general be a lot more generous with her affection. The events of the day seemed almost nonexistent to Bowser, as he jumped from highlight to highlight, hardly explaining where they even took place outside the palace. And he was very proud to explain how they spent the day pretending to be couples of varying commitment, getting comments right and left about what a wonderful couple they made.

Telling the story, Bowser looked like a kid in a candy store, jumping from moment to moment with his eyes growing wider each detail. Things were out of order, most making almost no sense, but to him, it was the best story ever told. The only part that he told exactly in the right order and with non Peach-related details was their escape from the cause-play, a score of koopatrol hot on their heels. It helped, of course, that Bowser got to talk about their episode behind the dumpster once they finished running.

He didn't tell much about going to Flurrie's show, almost skipping the entire section of time, if Peach hadn't gotten so flustered. Bowser was just so excited to go on to describe their conversation on the flight home, which he also rushed, trying desperately to get to when they slept in Peach's room together, but awkwardly cut himself off mid-word. Peach said to keep that a secret, Bowser growled inwardly. He paused, and in a very forced tone that was completely foreign from his previous storytelling voices, muttered, "then she said goodnight and I didn't see her again until the morning." He nodded fiercely, eating more pizza and allowing the girls a short break to mutter and giggle some more.

"What happened in the morning?" one of the girls asked, for some reason thinking that Bowser wasn't going to tell them.

"A bunch of unimportant sappy stuff," Bowser muttered, swiping at the air with his claw. "I gave her the pickleball room, she said goodbye to the kids, we flew home on the plane-"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Valkoopy complained, sitting up straight. "What happened to your hours of detail? Those seem like pretty big things, Your Majesty!"

"Look, chipmunk cheeks. Those things are smaller than your brain-cells in comparison to what I'm about to tell you, so shut up and listen.

"When we touched down, and were saying goodbye, Peach apparently took it upon herself to remember the birthday gift I wanted." With that, the entire room went ballistic. A few girls actually stood up and started hugging and jumping up and down, the other girls smacking each others' legs and arms, screaming into their faces. Bowser used some of his conductor's skills learned from Ludwig to shut them up all at once, and said, quietly, "Do you want to hear about it or not?"

Immediately, they all nodded as a group, clutching on to whoever was closest. Wendy's eyes were the size of her shell, and she was gripping her knees so hard, they had turned white. Bowser smiled at them all. "She was standing on something, so we were the same height, and she said my name even sweeter than she normally did. Then, she took my chin in her hand and pulled it closer to her face. Then," he paused, both for effect and to fully indulge himself in the memory, "she kissed me. It was…perfect."

The room let out a communal sigh, their eyes all starry. Bowser continued, "we kept kissing for awhile, and let me tell you, it was the best experience I've ever had in my life. It was like every good thing in the world was in between her two lips, and it was all mine. It felt like that moment was never going to end, and if the world collapsed in on itself, we two would still be there, forever. Never to be separated, never to be alone, and never to be sad again." Bowser smiled. For a faint moment, he considered that tomorrow he would probably hate himself for being so honest in front of all these strangers. But at this moment, it felt so good! Surely, Peach was telling everyone she knew, if the kiss was at all as amazing and earth-stopping to her as it was to him.

"You guys," he said quietly, leaning in towards the gaggle of girls, still gripping each other, a few wiping tears out of their eyes, "I love her. I really, really, honestly love her."

"Oh, Daddy," Wendy said, gasping for air as she tried not to cry, "we know!"

xxxx0o0o0o0o0o0o0xxxx

Peach was brushing her hair, enjoying the moments of peace and luxury while Daisy hummed something quick-paced, choosing between her nightgowns.

"What are you so worried about looking nice for, Dayz?" Peach asked, flipping her hair to brush a different section. "We're just going to bed."

"You're the one brushing your hair forty times, Peachy," she laughed. "Besides, you never know when a certain someone might come knocking on your door." She winked at Peach, giggling before she asked, "Now, yellow or orange?" She lifted the two nightgowns up, one low-cut, the other nearly see-through.

"You really think Luigi's going to…stop by tonight?"

"Well, not to do anything with me. Maybe he'll kiss me on the cheek or something. But yeah, I do think he'll come over." She straightened up in front of the mirror, having tossed away the yellow strings of lace in place of a blue dress that cinched along her features and had a slit up the side and virtually no back. "Didn't you notice? He was fantastically friendly when we were all getting gelatos. I think my hints about taking after his father really started to sink in."

"Well, you did tell him, and I quote, if he had half the confidence of your father, he might not end up single with 35 cats who will never know the warmth of human touch. And I think you said something about sparing the gene pool an embarrassing excuse for an Italian, too. And why on earth did you bring so many…um…"

"Well, I had to have something in all those suitcases my father's servants needed me to bring. Now, honestly. Would Luigi like the blue or the orange more, you think?"

"Depends, are you trying to make him want you, or want you to stop scaring the mustache off his face?"

Daisy laughed, nodding. "Orange it is, with a cami underneath." She quickly changed, shouting out from behind the curtain, "I'm just so happy we're here together! You have no idea how much our talk during the gelato seemed to hit him. I don't care if it's his parents or just the romantic atmosphere; I'm gonna bottle this city up and pour it in his daily pasta!"

"I'm happy for you, Daisy," Peach laughed. She put her brush down and pulled her hair into a thick ponytail.

Her cousin bounced onto the bed, now dressed in her pale orange nightgown that clung to her curves like shrink wrap. "I bet, by the end of these seven days, he'll be ready to propose. Maybe even pick out a ring right here, in the city!"

Peach fell back onto the pillows and sighed more dramatically than necessary. "I forgot we're here for seven days. Do you realize that's even longer than my private vacation was?

"What does that matter?" Daisy asked, playing with her camisole. "You're with your friends longer than you're with Bowser's children and citizens. Isn't that a good thing? Safer? Happier? More like a vacation?"

"It's not that exactly," Peach whined. She yawned, and in her tired, vulnerable state, explained, "It's more that I'm with Mario longer than I'm with Bowser."

Daisy looked up from her chest and over at Peach. "You didn't tell me you were with Bowser." She leaned in closer. "Are you…okay? Did he give you any drugs? Do anything to you? Maybe you have a vague memory of a period of time?"

"Daisy, it was nothing like that-"

"Peach, what's the safety word?"

"He didn't brainwash me! I just made friends with him, that's all!"

"Friends? What's the safety word, Peach?"

"Avacado-berry! The safety word is Avacado-berry, your first boyfriend was Tommy Fletcher, and you've never liked the piano but learned it anyway so you could look like Elta Joan."

Daisy leaned a little farther away and reexamined Peach. "Okay, so you're not brainwashed. Are you sure you're not sick or something?"

"Why, for saying I'm friends with Bowser? Or for not thinking it's fair that…that…"

"That you have to spend an amazing week in an amazing city with your best friends and boyf-"

"Don't you call him my boyfriend," Peach snarled.

"Why are you getting so upset? Don't you love Mario?" Daisy asked.

Flustered, Peach stuttered, "Has it ever really been established that we're together? Or that I could possibly love him?"

"Uhum, yes, it has! Two weeks ago you were set on getting a proposal this week!"

"Well, I…he certainly doesn't act like we're together."

"No, Peach, he does. In the same way he has for years. It's you who seems to be falling short lately. And for what reason? You spend five days with an evil koopa who has a thing for blondes in pink dresses, end up thinking you're friends, and suddenly the man you've spent years trying to marry isn't up to scruff enough to be labeled your boyfriend?"

"Actually, Daisy, yes. That's exactly it. Bowser loves me and shows it. And Mario's not like Luigi; he's not just shy, and I can't just threaten him to a life of celibacy while he's hopped up on gelato and then, sunshine and lollypops, he gets a free exhibition of his lingerie-clad future wife. There's nothing there! He doesn't hold my hand the same way, he doesn't want us to have a forever the same way…for goodness sakes, Daisy, he hardly makes eye-contact with me!"

"Maybe he's nervous, Peach! Romance isn't the same as rescuing you from your doom. It takes a different kind of person completely to be good at it."

"And it takes a different kind of person completely for me to love, too."

Daisy narrowed her eyes at Peach, leaning close again. "What happened last week, Peach? This is not the Princess who left the castle."

"I…ah…I told you. I made friends with Bowser."

"This isn't a real friendship, Peach. Friends don't uproot everyone else in your social life just to make room for themselves."

"Bowser isn't uprooting anyone," Peach fought back. She fidgeted a bit before continuing, "but maybe I am. He's made me realize that if Mario can't love me when I'm practically throwing myself at him, I need to stop trying. Bowser has made me realize that I am worth something, that I am beautiful, and smart, and funny, and that I deserve to be appreciated and I deserve to have someone in my life that smiles whenever I enter the room, and makes me smile back, no matter how many reasons I have to be frowning."

"And Bowser made you realize this? Just by being your friend for a week?" Peach hardened her expression and nodded cautiously. Daisy sat back, seemed to think for a minute, and then looked back at Peach. Her frown melted into a wide smile and she threw her arms around Peach, squeezing her tightly. "Well, that doesn't sound too terrible after all! Maybe being friends with Bowser is exactly what you've been needing!"

"What are you talking about, Daisy? You love me with Mario!"

"Of course I do, Peach. And it's killing me that you've fallen out of love with the man you were picturing yourself with your whole life. He saves your life, and you always seem so happy with him, and glad when he shows up! But love shouldn't be about a safety issue, and it certainly should be dry and cold. And especially not degrading to your-self worth! You know what," she added, standing up and tapping her chin, "this is making more and more sense to me. You've been carting Mario around for years, and have you ever really loved him as…obsessively as Bowser loves you?"

"Not even close," Peach laughed.

"And yet, you've been considering him your End All, Be All. You made Mario out to be your Prince Charming, who not only saved you from horrid beasts, but would steal your heart and be your significant other until death do you part. But Mario never consistently made you feel special, right?"

"Only special enough to keep alive," Peach added, sounding a little sad. "We're more than friends, but I can't help thinking he would do the same for Luigi, or you."

"Honey, he did do the same for Luigi and me. Just not as often." Excitedly, Daisy leaned onto the bed and continued. "And you know why? Because Bowser doesn't love us; he only loves you! And now that, for whatever cracked-out reason that you had better explain ASAP, you two are buddy-buddy, you get to feel what it's like to be really, truly loved. I mean, without fearing for your life at the same time. He's made you realize you deserve more than Mario's brand of romance and, thusly, deserve to be happy. Why? Because you are special!"

She sat down on her own bed, bouncing into place. "Why didn't you ever tell anybody that you don't love Mario?"

"Because I didn't know," she answered honestly. "I thought that what we had was it. I never really understood why you cared so much to get Luigi out of his shell and into your arms."

"You see why nine choices in slutty pajamas is necessary?" Daisy laughed, indicating her nightgown. "He makes me feel like I don't even need to try, but at the same exact moment, makes me want to give him the very best I can offer." She smiled, breathing deeply. "Plus, I just love how much his moustache quivers when he can't seem to stay in the real world. Which I seem to be very good at doing to him."

Peach smiled. "Daisy, I'm glad you're not trying to get my head examined for spending a week with Bowser and enjoying it. He's…a really great guy."

Making a face, Daisy countered, "I don't understand how you can put Bowser under the description of 'really great guy', but I would assume that has to do with your story?"

She laughed and nodded. "All will be explained; I promise, Daisy. If you knew him as well as I do now, you would just love him, too."

"I don't know about that. It's easier to admire a guy who consistently puts himself in life-threatening danger to try and hold your hand. He probably wouldn't try so hard to get my approval."

"That's the weird thing…it seems like everyone who knows him just adores him! You know how my subjects go crazy when I go out in the street? When he shows his face, they're scraping at the ground just to get closer to him. And not because they're scared, either! I mean, to go out in public, Bowser and I had to-"

Both girls went stone-silent when the hotel room phone rang. Whispering, Daisy panicked, "who is that?"

"I don't know!" Peach replied in a whisper. They looked at the phone like it could explode with each consecutive ring. It was an antique phone with a spinning dial and certainly no caller ID. Hesitantly, she reached for it and, in a deep disguised voice, asked, "Hello?"

"Who is this?" a frantic voice with an English accent asked, "I thought I called the Princess' room! Who are you? I swear, I'll have you strung and quartered if you've laid even one finger on either of those women! If you've even thought of-"

Peach put her hand on the bottom of the phone, and said to Daisy, "It's just Toadsworth." She laughed and said into the phone, in her regular voice, "Toadsworth, it's me; Princess Peach. I didn't know who was calling."

"Oh!" he sighed dramatically and chuckled. "You had me so bally worried, old gel. Why haven't you called yet? And why is your cell phone off, love?"

"I forgot to turn it back on, sorry. And I guess I just forgot to call you, too."

"Well stop forgetting, poppet. You're going to give this old toad a heart attack."

While Peach was on the phone with Toadsworth, there was a soft knock at their door. Daisy tripped over herself to get there, straightening out her nightgown and winking at Peach. She flung the door open, making certain to brush her hair back at the same time. "Why, hello there, Luigi,"

Luigi caught sight of Daisy, seeing more thigh than he normally ever saw on any girls, and shot his eyes right back to her face. "H-h-hello, Daisy. Umm, I came to...Uh…actually, I do not remember-a why I-….uh…" his eyes had traveled back down her figure, and he snapped them back up, now wringing his hands, too. "Why I came. Um…did I disturb you? Are you-a…going to sleep right now?"

She got closer to him and twisted her arms around his neck, kissing his bulbous nose. "Just thinking about you." Daisy smirked, close enough to feel Luigi's moustache quiver. "Come on, let's talk in the other room. Peach is on the phone." She traced a finger along his overalls and unbuttoned just one. "woops," Daisy whispered, walking with Luigi, completely dumbstruck, farther out into the hallway. She shut the door forcefully with her foot, leaving Peach alone with the phone.

"Princess?" Toadsworth asked.

"Sorry, Toadsworth," she laughed. "I was watching Daisy and Luigi. They're just so funny."

"Ah? What are the twitterpated off to now, eh?"

"Honestly, I have no idea," she replied, falling back onto her bed. "How's the castle?"

"Oh, the same as usual," he answered. "We miss you, of course. You've been gone too long, poppet! And we don't even know where you were last week."

"I'll tell you next time we talk, I promise. I would just feel bad telling you before I told Mario and Luigi."

"So Daisy knows where you were?"

"Well…yeah. But I didn't tell her everything."

"What's 'everything', Peach? Should I be worried?"

"Um, no?" Peach hit herself on the forehead, feeling like she had lost all sense of how to misdirect people over the week of such honesty with Bowser. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Actually, Toadette would like a word, if you don't mind," he suggested.

"That sounds lovely," Peach agreed.

As soon as she had the phone in her hands, Toadette shrieked, "Are you in love?"

"Excuse me?" Peach stuttered, sitting straight up again.

"Do you love somebody? Besides Mario?"

"Um…I…don't…know? How did you know I don't…what?"

"You don't love Mario, right?"

"Who told you that?" Peach asked, scanning the room and suddenly mad at herself for not checking its security before spewing her fountain of honesty.

"Is that a 'yes' or a 'no'? Because I think you don't love him anymore."

"Why do you think that?"

"'Yes' or 'No', your highness?"

"Toadette, I really don't want to have this discussion right now…what if the phone is tapped? Would either answer be very beneficial to anyone if overheard?"

"Well, since your public position is that yes, you love him, that would be beneficial to be overheard. And since you obviously can't work yourself to say that, I think the answer is n-"

Her voice was suddenly muffled and Toadsworth's came back to the phone, saying, "I'm terribly sorry, Princess, that won't happen again. Toadette seems to have this crazy idea in her head that you spent the week falling for someone else. And, oh poppet, you would just die if you knew who she thought your lover to be!"

"I'm sure I would," Peach muttered, still scanning the room. "Where exactly did she get that crazy idea?" But Peach didn't get to hear Toadsworth's answer, because right as he was explaining, her hotel door slammed open against the wall again, Daisy singing at the top of her lungs as she came in. His explanation was completely drowned out. "I'm sorry, Toadsworth," Peach yelled into the receiver as Daisy spun around closer and closer to Peach, "But Daisy just came back in. And I think she wants to talk to me."

He was saying something, either a collection of goodbyes or shouts of disapproval, when Daisy leapt over and nimbly pressed down on the phone, hanging up on the old Toad. "Peach, Peach, Peach!" Daisy sang out, flumping backwards onto her bed. "I need to talk to you!"

"About me and my week some more?" Peach asked, hanging up the phone with a bit more dignity.

"No, silly." Daisy curled her blankets around her and beamed at Peach. Her entire face was glowing. "About me. And about how much I love having Luigi here!" She giggled and covered her face in blankets.

"I don't mind talking about that," Peach agreed pleasantly. She laughed. "You know, Daisy, you are a completely different person when he catches you off-guard like he obviously just did. What happened while you two were off?"

"Oh, you know," Daisy said, poking her head out. "I guess you could say he got a little tongue-tied." She started giggling again, and covered her face in blankets, before throwing them off and looking at Peach very seriously. "So. We need to talk about this."

"What exactly would you like to talk about? Are you going to give me a step-by-step recall or something?"

"That'd be fun!" Daisy said, a little too eagerly.

"And a little unnecessary," Peach cautioned. "I was joking, Dayz."

Daisy stuck out her tongue in defiance. "One day, Peach, you'll fall in love for real. Then you'll understand what it's like to kiss so amazing and earth-stopping, you'll want to tell everyone you know all about it."

Peach's mind went instantly to her final birthday gift she gave to Bowser. That kiss that she had replayed so many times in her mind, it should be worn through but was still just as fresh and wonderful. The one that she wanted to tell all about to not only Daisy, but Toadsworth, Mario and Luigi, Bowser's children, the gondolier, and the janitor in the hallway.

But she couldn't. That would be bad.

She wasn't supposed to have enjoyed it, anyway.

That would be bad.

Peach nodded firmly. She looked at Daisy's face, completely lost in her own little world, and understood exactly how she must feel. She was jealous of Daisy's freedom, but wanted her to have every joy of utilizing it that Peach felt she couldn't. "Never mind, Daisy. I want you to tell me everything. Every single detail your heart could ever desire."

Daisy smiled, squeezing her comforter as she looked at Peach. "Get ready for a long night, Peachy, because I'm in an amazingly talkative mood!"

Author's Note: No, we are not going to hear Daisy's life story next chapter. As much as I LOVE Luigi and Daisy, it doesn't accomplish anything. (And I don't want to hear any gruff about how Bowser's life story didn't accomplish anything! It accomplished me getting to write more of Bowser being lovey-dovey!)

49 should be a good chapter, if all goes as planned. We should be finishing up with the silly sleepover and getting Peach going in this BEAUTIFUL city of Grand Canal, and those are both very entertaining things, I'm hoping. If anyone noticed, I'm trying to give this last bit of story an extra push, trying to find a balance between being rushed and taking 2 years to write 1 day. Hopefully I will be able to set aside some time to actually write!

Also, yay for no Italian to screw up this chapter! :)

Good luck to everyone starting school, and see you next month!

-Razzi