Foreword:
This is not an excuse, but an explanation: I DID NOT BREAK MY PROMISE! :D I promised "see you next month", meaning I was going to post to ffnet. But I was rudely unclear. Most of you missed it, but I posted a little Christmas oneshot titled "A Koopaling Christmas". And now it's practically St. Patrick's Day because I suck at updating on time, so I'm sure no one is in the mood to read it anyway.
But yeah. I didn't break THAT promise. Even though I'm still terrible at updating.
Confession time: My friend roped me into a very, very addicting facebook RP for the glee fandom, so I haven't been spending ALL of my freetime writing. BUT I did finish this, so...yay! Now, chapter 50 isn't the BEST chapter, but I did get in everything I wanted to include in it...therefore, it's a little long. Sorry about that, too.
I still don't own anything. And it's a good thing, because if I owned Bowser or any of these people, they would probably die of starvation from my lack of attention. I still love you all though, I'm so sorry I'm so terrible. (love love)
"I don't see how this is going to work," Rocco seethed, his voice picked up from his nearly invisible headset clipped to his sunglasses. "It's not like this city is exactly small."
"She's a human in a big, poofy, pink dress!" Larry snarled back. "How can you miss her?" Larry and all of his other siblings had discovered that, even after only one day apart from Peach, they were missing her terribly. They had all crowded into the Outside Communications room, staring at the video screen that portrayed Rocco's eyesight.
Of course that was nothing compared to Bowser, who would lock himself away from everyone else for hours at a time, then reemerge in a whirlwind of productivity, refusing to acknowledge that the week even happened until some mysterious, unexpected trigger word would launch him back into depressed silence for another few hours.
"There are a lot of humans here. It's a dang tourist city. And it happens to be REALLY BIG."
"Then, like, get to higher ground!" Wendy instructed.
"You make it sound so easy," Rocco snarled back sarcastically. "This city is freaking weird. The buildings are all shorter than five stories and there aren't any roads. I don't know how to move, let alone find a princess. And even if I could see her, I don't know how I would get to her. No one is going to magically give me directions right into Peach's lap…"
"Are you asking about Princess Peach?" a very short shy-guy asked, jumping up and down in front of Rocco. He looked down at the little guy and raised an eyebrow.
"…yes…why…?"
"I saw her!" he squeaked, "I saw her at the carnival with my daughter! I'm on my way home to get her Peach doll to sign!"
"…what carnival?" Overeagerly, the shy-guy ran to an advertisement posted on the side of a streetlight. Rocco read aloud, "Annual Grand Canal Carnival: Come celebrate the summer in style! Games, activities, blah, blah, blah…runs the entire season of summer, blah, blah, blah…located four blocks west and two blocks north from this point." He backed up and blinked a little.
Smoothly, Ludwig asked, "You were saying?"
"I'm going, I'm going," Rocco growled back.
"Crazy man who talks to himself!" the shy-guy chirped as Rocco started to march west.
"WHAT?"
"Admission is half-off if you buy pasta at the ticket booth!"
"Good to know," he muttered before setting off at a quicker pace than the shy-guy's legs could handle. The walk took longer than Rocco would have liked, as most bridges had to lower themselves before he could cross the canal streets, but it wasn't long before he found the giant rides, bright colors, and kitschy music of the carnival. "Alright, koopalings, I'm at the carnival thing."
"Chyeah, Captain Obvious. We kin see er'rting you can see," Roy snarled. "Yer supposed teh not look like 'crazy man who talks to hi'sself'. Yer supposed teh not draw attention teh yourself."
"I'm so sorry," he snapped back before his turn to purchase admission. Plate of pasta in tow, Rocco joined the rest of the carnival. He smiled, memories flashing before his eyes of all the carnivals he used to attend as a little boy in the northern Darklands. They were different, of course…duller colors, scents closer to deep-frying than roasted tomatoes, and many more horror-oriented rides.
He almost wanted to throw off his sunglasses and just run to the Ferris wheel, cut everyone else in line, and never get off of it. However, he also wanted to have a job to go home to, so instead, he began the search for Princess Peach. The carnival was massive, stretching blocks and blocks, boards and enormous planks covering the canals below. Suspiciously enough, the whirligig wasn't even stationed over solid ground.
Getting to work, Rocco peered around for any signs of Princess Peach. According to the koopalings, she would most likely be with Mario, Luigi, and Princess Daisy. They shouldn't have been a very difficult group to spot, but it seemed like everyone at the carnival was brightly-colored and of exotic species. They weren't on any rides, as far as he could tell, and Rocco was searching the rides thoroughly. Very, very thoroughly.
He wouldn't have found them anywhere near rides, however. At the moment, Peach, Daisy, Luigi, and Mario were hopping from food stand to food stand, trying to find something for Peach to eat to alleviate her "sea-sickness". But Peach was adamantly not hungry.
"Peach," Daisy snarled, finally grabbing her shoulders, "You have to eat something."
"What's the point?" she whined in a little lower of a voice. "You and I both know this isn't real sea-sickness…"
"And you and I also both know that we can't handle this issue in the middle of the carnival. But I do know that you need to put food in your stomach, stop going to insane, and spend some more time with Mario. Figure things out on a full stomach. You just spent a nonstop week with you-know-who; you can't possibly think subjectively right now."
Peach nodded, still looking a little sick.
"Peach, stop thinking about this. Eat. Be with Mario. Try and see if you can feel it out the way you felt before you went on vacation. Don't consider this 'figuring things out' at all. Okay?"
She nodded again and swallowed. "I'll get some funnel cake…and a pasta-dog, I guess. I don't understand how those are supposed to taste remotely good, but it's worth a try if the locals love them so much."
Daisy grinned and slapped Peach, hard, on the shoulder. "You're already sounding better." They got in line, talking about all the weird foods they had eaten over the years, almost not hungry at all by the time they got to the front of the queue. Peach and Daisy got their food anyway, returning to the boys who had piles of carnival pasta on their respective plates.
They talked about a whole lot of nothing, somehow managing to cheer her up enough to stop thinking about Bowser all together. She was completely distracted by their silly little stories and walks down memory lane.
Then, of course, Luigi had to mention how romantic it would be to go on a Ferris wheel ride. Daisy totally agreed, pulling them all along, and not noticing Peach's distraught expression until too late. "This is good, Peach. You can talk." That was all she managed to say before bounding back to sit next to Luigi in their slowly rising car.
"What the crap is this?" Bowser snarled, making each and every one of his children shriek in terror. "What are you watching?"
They started to cower and groan, knowing this was a terrible time for Bowser to walk in. Once Rocco had FINALLY found the humans at the food stand, they were pleased to see a rather moody Peach, making all sorts of assumptions and pretending they could see into her mind. Of course, they were rather off in their guesses of what she was thinking, but her displeasure was still wonderful to behold.
Bowser was far, far away on the other side of the palace, but when it was dinner time and he was completely alone in the dining room (especially considering it was bacon-wrapped steak day), he knew something was up. It didn't take long to find his missing children and have the terrible timing Bowser normally did, finding them right when Peach was laughing and smiling right at Mario. Right in the middle of forgetting all about Bowser and their time together.
"What," he repeated, seething, "the crap…is this?"
"It's….um…." Larry started to shake as they all watched Bowser slowly figure things out.
First he saw Peach, and his eyes lit up. He was still scowling at his children for missing dinner and spying without letting him in on it, but even the scowl started to fade as he looked at his beloved, just as beautiful as when she left the day before.
Then he saw Mario, and he was furious again. Why did he get to spend time with that woman? He didn't appreciate her, he wouldn't give an entire kingdom's safety just to spend time with her, he didn't understand what it meant to really, truly love Princess Peach.
And then…he saw her laugh with him. Smile at him. Lightly freaking touch his ugly, puny sleeve. Like she was flirting. What the crap! She was supposed to be laughing and smiling and touching Bowser! Wasn't it bad enough for him that she wasn't going to be doing that anymore? Oh, no, she was going to be doing that. Just to another man. One far less deserving.
His face went stone-cold as he stared at the screen.
"Um…Daddy?" Wendy asked, quietly. "We can…turn it off. And go to dinner."
"I thought your father wasn't supposed to see this?" Rocco asked through the speakers.
"He was not supposed to indeed," Ludwig sighed. "We feared this reaction may come if he stepped in at an inopportune moment, just as he has."
"How could there be an opportune moment?" Bowser roared, his voice unexpectedly getting so loud that the speakers started to provide screeching feedback. "She is WITH HIM. FREAKING MARIO. THE MAN I HATE. Know why I hate him? He steals my woman, kills my subjects, killed my wife, your mother, and paints me as the villain ALL THE TIME. Okay, yeah, I'm the bad guy. I LOVE BEING THE BAD GUY. But sometimes I want a BREAK. Is that so much to ask?" Bowser roared and ripped a computer out of its socket, thrusting it to the ground and making all his children scream and crowd together defensively.
He stared at them, his eyes totally on fire. "I love her! He doesn't even know her! He spent HIS ENTIRE LIFE with her and HE HASN'T EVEN PROPOSED. I proposed the second time I MET her! He goes around, high and mighty, and everyone just goes batty insane over him. 'Oh, Mario, you're so handsome. Oh, Mario, you're so talented. Oh, Mario, you're so human and so the marrying type and so physically capable of having my children.' Screw Mario!" He tore another computer out of its socket and threw it against a wall, shattering the screens of four monitors around it. "No matter WHAT I DO, no matter if I kidnap her and threaten her life or if I sit patiently for a week and convince myself she might even love me…All he has to do is EXIST and he WINS. I would kill that freak-"
Bowser started to pant, hunched over and clenching his fists, then slowly started to cool down. "But if he was dead, she would be miserable. Even if she doesn't love him…and she has no reason to love him…she would be miserable." Bowser sat down on the floor, curling his tail around him and all the shattered pieces of electronics. The koopalings just stared at him, wide-eyed. Rocco, unable to see anything at all, awkwardly cleared his throat. "I don't want her to be miserable," Bowser said, choking on his own voice. "I don't want her to feel like this."
"Feel like what, King Dad?" Lemmy asked, somehow unfazed by everything that had just unfolded before him.
"Feel like the only point of living is loving, and the only point of loving…is dying. Like every day you exist for one other person, but they exist for so many other people that you don't matter. Feel like your life is a freaking lie, because she is your life, and everything about her is…a lie."
"Oh, Daddy," Wendy muttered, sitting down next to her father. She put her hand on his arm and looked into his eyes, her own swimming in tears. "It's not like that. She really does love you, I just know it. Maybe she doesn't, but-"
"Go away, Wendy."
"Daddy, you can't keep this all to yourself. You have to talk it ou-"
"I said go away, Wendy. It's dinnertime anyway." He looked away from his daughter, not wanting her, or any of his children, to see him cry. Bowser wasn't supposed to cry- ever. Especially not over such a girly, whiny emotion as love and heartbreak. "I'll come join you guys in a second."
"Rocco," Iggy started as he stood up, "we'll set the next stuff to record. You're not off the hook." He turned off the monitor and joined his siblings in their awkward shuffle out of the room, ignoring their father, reduced to a literal shell as he crawled inside.
Back at Grand Canal, Rocco swore under his breath. "This is still recording," he said out loud, "so I want you all to know that while Bowser was exploding, the humans decided to go on a Ferris wheel ride. I know, romantic and all that garbage. But Peach looked…less than excited."
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That was an understatement.
Peach sat uncomfortably with Mario, remembering how bad he was at starting conversations. He could hold his own in one, if the subject matter interested him enough, but Mario much preferred the "easy silence" type of togetherness. His silence used to be easy and almost never awkward, but Peach couldn't stand it now. The silence just spoke volumes.
When she was with Bowser, they could talk for hours and hours, not even noticing. Just comfortable around each other's voices, opinions, jokes, and laughs. His low, crooning, and just slightly scratchy voice melted beautifully into her chipper, crisp, giggly one. And then when they didn't talk, when it was just him looking at her, feeling her presence, holding her in his arms, it seemed just as natural as those hours of conversation.
Being alone with Mario was different. Talking to him felt like a chore, like something she was expected to do. And he wasn't exactly touchy-feely to warm up the silence. She wasn't a novelty to look at lovingly unless he had just saved her skin, and as he leaned over the Ferris wheel, looking at the view with her, it seemed much more like they were two people looking at the same view out of consequence, not two people looking at the same view together.
Shoot. She wasn't supposed to be thinking about Bowser.
"So…Mario…" He turned to look at her, his full attention on Peach. "Do you…do you have any good plans for this week?" Forcibly, Peach remembered what she was feeling before she left for the Darklands. She wanted to be with Mario forever. She wanted him to propose to her on this trip. She wanted to marry him.
…what was she thinking? Forever with…Mario?
No, Peach. No, she chastised herself. That's the normal, healthy thing to think. I must have thought that for a very good reason.
"Good-a plans?" Mario replied. He shrugged and looked over at the city again.
"You just…want to spend it being together?"
But Mario was not the romantic Bowser was. "Uh, si. You, and-a me, and-a Daisy, and-a Luigi. It's a Mario Party!" He flashed a grin at her and Peach couldn't help rolling her eyes. Of course, she immediately regretted it afterwards. "What?"
What was she supposed to say? "Oh, nothing, Mario. You just constantly fail the tests I lay before you, that's all. Next time, try a little harder to remind me why I'm supposed to be in love with you." Yeah, that wasn't going to work. "Sorry, it's nothing. I just thought…it's the most romantic city in the world. Maybe you had something in mind for us?"
"Oh! Right! We will-a take a gondola ride." Mario smiled at her, genuinely proud of his idea.
Peach smiled back. "When?"
"Um…I don't-a know. When we have-a nothing else to do?"
Aaaand strike two. "So romance is 'when we have nothing else to do' now?"
"When was it not?"
Peach sputtered a laugh, doing her absolute best to keep it in, but failing. It was like Mario was trying to convince her they shouldn't be together. "Mario, when you love someone, you're supposed to want to do things with them. Alone, privately, to make yourselves feel good. Because it feels good to spend time with someone you love." She said everything so matter-of-fact, not even once thinking about how good it felt to be with Bowser and how that may relate, that Mario bit his lip.
All he said was "Oh," followed by an awkward "I'm-a sorry?"
"Don't worry about it," Peach replied breathily. "Let's just enjoy the view and take this week one day at a time, okay?"
They were quiet for a while again, easing into the familiar silence that being with Mario always brought. "Oh, Peach!" Mario said suddenly, making her jump a little. "I thought of-a something. We have another dinner with-a my parents tonight." He smiled, clearly pleased that he had 'planned' something good for their trip.
She smiled back, feeling like she was giving the same smile princesses gave to their adoring fans whose names they would never fully learn. "Wonderful. I love your parents." She leaned back into the Ferris wheel's seat and stared at the back of Mario's head, his hair and hat fluttering a little. She blinked, and for that second of having her eyes closed, she saw a red mane fluttering in his place.
Peach groaned. Apparently, getting Bowser out of her head was going to be a lot harder than it seemed.
And it really shouldn't be hard.
It's not like Daisy was right.
It's not like she actually is in love with him.
No way.
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"Where is Toadsworth?" King Toadstool asked, looking up from his papers with his reading glasses nearly falling off his nose.
Surtain T. jumped at his sudden comment, after apparently having been napping standing up. "Toadsvorth, zire?" he asked, his accent thick.
"Yes, that is who I asked for," he repeated kindly, setting down his pen. "Rereading this, I realize I have to talk to him about a very crucial matter."
"I vill find him, zire." Surtain T. marched out of the office and returned within five minutes, Toadsworth trailing behind.
"Good afternoon, siah. Wot seems to be the problem?"
"Unfortunately," he began, removing his glasses and looking at Toadsworth steely, "it's you."
"Me? What in jelly's name are you talking about, siah?"
"I have here a letter from a certain Miss Toadstool, apologizing for what she names an 'unprofessional crush'. She continues to go on in this letter about how she is unfit to even work in the castle and includes a paragraph where she understands if resignation is desired. Can you explain this, Toadsworth?"
"I…don't know why the old gel thinks our little tiff is worth throwing in the ole' towel, but I do believe she is talking about her infatuation with Mario." Toadsworth looked like he felt extremely awkward, shifting his cane from wrinkled hand to wrinkled hand.
"And why, exactly, did you need to have a 'tiff' over that?"
"Well, it warn't truly a tiff, siah. It was moh…I found it a bit funny, y'see. That our little gel has a hankering for Mistah Mario."
"So you laughed at her? Embarrased her enough that she now thinks herself nworthy of working in our castle?"
"Well, I didn't mean to-"
"Toadsworth, excuse my interrupting, but you of all gentlemen should know that Toadette is a very sensitive toad. She takes everything you say to heart. She has a wonderful iron grip on herself in public forums, and does her job fantastically. But when Toadette is the one protecting Toadette, she can't do it. She can't believe in herself enough to. We can't have you misleading her into thinking she isn't worthy of her position here."
"I understand I should not have laughed, siah, but she was being ridiculous."
"How so? By having a crush on someone else often in the castle that is most likely out of her league? May I remind you, Toadsworth, that our own Mario himself started here as a plumber after the boo we hired finally retired to Booville? Don't you remember how he saw her, fell hard into a crush with her, and that is why he was so eager to rescue her those first few times? Mario and Peach started out as an 'unprofessional crush', and look where they are now."
"Are you saying that we should…encourage the little lass…to take Mario for herself?"
"I'm saying there is no reason to judge her for a crush. If it makes her work harder to stay at the castle and remain closer to the object of her affection, all the better! Crushes fade, Toadsworth, but hurt feelings can linger for years."
"She went too far, siah. She was insinuating that Peach and Bowser had a thing. Can you honestly tell me that's not too far?"
"Obviously, they do not have a thing, and that was simply her wishful thinking. And how is wishful thinking harmful? We all know that Bowser is attracted to my daughter in more ways than anyone should be, and that is not a healthy relationship for her at all. This is common knowledge. It makes sense that if she wants Mario to herself, she would find this to be an easy fix." The king chuckled, moving his papers around on his desk to better organize them. "Rest assured, that easy fix is not going to happen anytime soon. Peach doesn't have an ounce of appreciation for King Bowser. And honestly," he looked straight at Toadsworth, a twinkle in his eye, "I think Toadette's encouragement for the Darklands Relations group was brilliant. She should appreciate him a tad more. I certainly don't like the koopa, but I respect his ruling abilities. We have things we can learn from his success, even if they are all laced with evil intentions."
Toadsworth cleared his throat awkwardly. "So…I s'pose an apology is in order, right, siah?"
"That would be correct, Toadsworth," King Toadstool agreed, nodding. "And next time…remember your place. It's never appropriate to laugh at someone for what their heart is doing. Just give it time."
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Dinner isn't normally awkward. Not for Peach, not for Mario, not for Bowser, and certainly not for the koopalings. Peach is a princess; she's used to dining in less-than-pleasant situations and with people she'd rather not dine with. Eating dinner at the home of Mario and Luigi's charming parents should be the most comfortable experience possible, especially considering how easy it was on their very first meeting. Mario is simply always happy to be around food, and nothing could bring him down; Bowser is very similar. He gets grumpy, furious, and upset, but the right food can make almost any problem seem trivial. And when the koopalings are faced with bacon-wrapped steak, they don't even know what problems are.
But the Powers that Be apparently didn't want dinner to be normal for anyone that night.
Papa Mario, Mama Mario, Luigi, and Peach loved it, of course. Mama made a special soup, and they told stories together of crazy relatives who ate too much, sang too much, and worked too much.
Mario had nothing to add. Peach just kept thinking of another crazy family of individuals who did everything too much…but didn't dare say a word.
Bowser's table, however, was silent. It was too much to bear for Bowser. "Say something, someone," he ordered with a grumble.
"You were crying in the room for no reason?"
Bowser unintentionally gripped his fork so tightly, it bent right out of shape. "Never mind. Go back to being freaky silent freaks. And never, ever mention that again." He didn't need to ask twice…but that didn't make anything less awkward.
Peach was feeling just as awkward. She looked over at Mario and tried, really, honestly tried to find something for them to talk about. Obviously he wasn't going to join the conversation about Grandma Mia's garlic-chip cookies anytime soon, but that seemed to be simply because his soup was interesting him so much.
She turned to Daisy. Daisy had a strange smile on her face that couldn't possibly relate to the conversation, as Papa Mario, who actually was listening, seemed disgusted. Peach looked a little closer and noticed Daisy's hand was…not on her own lap. Peach shifted in her seat, honestly jealous of Luigi and Daisy, as inappropriate as it was to use his parents' house for such interaction.
She looked at Mario again and considered…what would he do if she were to put her hand on his thigh like that? Or even more innocently than Daisy had it placed? She was having trouble imagining it, but it certainly wouldn't be that exciting.
What she could imagine was putting her hand on Bowser's thigh. During some dinner, with some other awkward conversation that she didn't feel like listening to, just putting her little hand on his thigh would probably distract him from everything else that was happening in the world. Peach smirked, in spite of herself. Oh, there would never be an awkward dinner with Bowser.
They would talk for hours, just like they did last week, even long after their plate had been cleared. And if they couldn't talk because of the company, it still wouldn't be awkward. Just being there with him would be pleasant.
Daisy jabbed Peach hard in the side. She woke up from her daydream and stared at Daisy, who was glaring and jerked her head towards Mama Mario. Mama Mario smiled and repeated what Peach had apparently not heard. "Can I talk to you in-a the kitchen? I would-a like some of your famous cake recipes." She smiled sweetly and Peach, still a little absent from the conversation, nodded and got up and followed the short woman to the kitchen where they could not be overheard.
"Peach, you know I love-a you, si?"
"Of course I do, Mama Mario," Peach answered, very confused by Mama Peach's actions.
"I am not blind, ciumachella. I see you and-a my son, and I see your face with him." Peach swallowed thickly. Was she thinking they were going to become engaged, like how the week was supposed to go, and didn't approve? Mama Mario continued, grabbing one of Peach's hands. "And more than-a anything, I would love for you to consider me like your own mamma. But Peach, like I did-a say, I am not blind."
"What do you mean, Mama Mario?"
She kindly stroked Peach's face with the back of her hand. "You do not-a love him, do you?"
"Everyone is asking me that lately," Peach breathed. Mama Mario chuckled, but just warmly gave Peach time to consider her answer. She looked at Mama Mario, really looked at her. This was the woman with the heart-warming love story. The woman who had brought up two boys; one madly in love with Daisy, the other…unreadable. She had been comparing Mario and Bowser all day, even though she wasn't supposed to. She didn't exactly know what love was, but she knew that if she didn't love Bowser, she CERTAINLY didn't love Mario. "What…do you define love as?"
"You can't define it, ciumchella. Amore is different for every person. And being in love is different for every two people. For me, love is-a waking up and seeing the sunrise, wanting to see it every single day with Adolfo next to me. For Luigi, it is wanting to be the person he is-a too afraid to be, just so every day he and Daisy are happy. For you…non io so." She shrugged, but smiled sofly.
"…I don't know what love is to me, either." She swallowed, and stared Mama Peach hard in the face. "But I know it's not Mario. I-…I'm sorry, Mama Mario. I do love him, just not…"
"No excuses, bambina. I knew you did-a not love him. And I know he does-a not love you."
"Did he tell you that?"
"No, but raising that allocco for eighteen years…I think that I-a know a thing or-a two." She winked, then pulled Peach in for a hug. "I never want you to be my nuora, my daughter-in-law. But Peach…" She pulled away from the hug so she could look into Peach's bright blue eyes once more. "I hope you-a know, you are always my figlia. My daughter."
Dinner was surprisingly less awkward after Peach had finally admitted to herself (and to Mama Mario) that she was not in love with Mario. She was able to actually listen to the conversations around her, to add things, to laugh at their jokes, and to be involved enough even to make up for Mario, still fiddling with his soup like there was nothing but him and the soup.
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They all left after a few hours, Peach kissing Mama Mario lightly on both cheeks, as she whispered into Peach's ear "Don't-a worry, this will-a be our little secret for now."
They returned to the hotel, Daisy and Luigi holding back. Peach didn't even bother thinking about doing the same with Mario…were they even a couple?...and wished him goodnight with a hug.
But Peach didn't feel like sleeping.
Instead, she sat on the edge of her bed, thinking. Unfortunately for her, the room wasn't about to let her just think. The old fashioned clock was ticking away obnoxiously and whoever had the next room over was watching some movie that was apparently very funny. She sighed and laid down on her bed, still fully clothed. It was useless. She couldn't truly think in here. All she could think about was putting her hand on Bowser's thigh, which was a pointless thing to think about. It wasn't like it had ever actually happened the way she kept imagining it. She tried to think about things that had happened, tried to figure out if she, as Daisy hinted, may have fallen in love with King Bowser Koopa. She couldn't have, right?
He was…tick, tock, tick, tock…a monster, who loved nothing more than kidnapping her so he could…um, so he could…her hand inching along his thigh…he was a terrible creature that didn't care about…tick, tick, tick, tick…her entire life, he had done nothing but…tock, tock, tock, tock… and he was going to…if they were ever actually together, he would…his scales tighten when he tenses, they would do that if she had her hand on his thigh…she was supposed to marry a good man who could let her be queen and…tick, tock, tick, tock…
Peach sat up, her eyes lit on fire with frustration. She was going outside. Even if it was louder there with more distractions, somehow, she'd be able to clear her head. Daisy still hadn't gotten in, so Peach left a note on the bed, promising to return soon and that she had her cell-phone on in case there was a problem.
When she got outside, she realized just how truly stunning Grand Canal was at night. Lanterns were glittering every which way, and since there weren't any cars in their streets, just gliding boats and gondolas, the only sounds came from the rustle of the crowd, the gentle conversation, and the music from restaurants and gondoliers.
She walked alongside the river, trying to figure out exactly what to figure out first, when a voice called out to her, sweet and clear. "Ciao, bella!"
Peach spun towards the river, recognizing the gondolier nearby as the same who had taken her and Daisy home from their shopping earlier that morning. "And-a what are you doing this fine evening, bella? All by yourself tonight, are you?"
She smiled graciously at him. "Yes. Just taking an evening stroll…I need to think some things out."
"Amore?" he suggested, stroking backwards to stay at her pace.
"Yes, actually."
"Ahhh," he sighed, kissing his fingers dramatically. "It is what keeps so many of us a-walking the streets at night. When you are thinking of just-a you and another spending forever together, it-a helps to think of-a just you first. Si?" Peach nodded. "Bella, would you like to talk about it with an old gondolier who has-a spent many-a, many-a years with lovers in my gondola? Free of charge for my little bella-donna."
Peach considered it for a second. Obviously, he spoke wonderful English, so he had certainly heard most of the conversation from the morning. And it's not like she had figured anything out on her own; it had been over a week and she had no idea what Bowser meant to her. "As long as you accept my apology for my cousin. Thinking you didn't know English, I mean."
He waved his hand, brushing the concern away. "Eh, it is nothing, bella. Come climb aboard and tell me of your-a woes."
She got on the boat and stared up at the gondolier, shoving them back into the steady flow of the river. "You heard most of it, I presume?"
He chuckled. "Admittedly, si. It was a lovely story, bella. And you seem to be-a very confused."
"How do you know if it's love?" She asked, totally straight forward.
"Ahhh, the eternal question. It has-a been asked and answered and re-asked and re-answered since the beginning of-a time. It has no one answer, bella." She groaned. "Tell me about this-a koopa you may love."
"I don't know if I do," she added unnecessarily. "I only started seriously…considering him as an individual…for a week. Before that, I thought he was…crude, and brash, and boarish, and evil, and monstrous, and….well, practically the opposite of how I see him now."
"What changed, bella?"
She leaned back and stared up at the sparkling heavens. "I got to actually know him. Got to realize that was all a façade that he puts up to protect himself. He's sweet, and caring, and a wonderful father. And he loves me, and he's gentle with me, and he makes me feel…safe. Which is deliciously ironic, since I used to be scared to even be anywhere near him."
"That was-a not my question," the gondolier said quietly, making Peach sit straight up. "Those things are opinions. What-a changed, bella? Why do you think this now and not before?"
"What changed?" Peach asked, a little confused still. She bit her lip, thinking. Something certainly had changed. Something had changed to make her actually allow herself to think these things. "My heart," she muttered. "My heart changed."
The gondolier seemed to be glowing underneath his mask. "Why?"
She couldn't answer that. She had started paying attention because she was trying to be a 'good princess'- that was easy. But that wasn't why she had had a total change of heart.
Sensing her inability (or lack of desire, at the very least) to answer, the gondolier pressed another question. "Do you think that-a you will always think these-a new thoughts about him?"
That question was answerable. "Yes," she replied, assuredly. "I will always think that about Bowser. And I want to always think that about him, because it's the truth."
"Even when you are-a married to someone else?"
"I-…what?"
"Can you see yourself with-a someone else?"
A faceless man entered Peach's thoughts. He was human, he was as tall as her, and they had three little, faceless children holding their hands. But it was cold. And seemed wrong. It wasn't her family- her family was holding hands with an overeager giant of a koopa and eight little koopalings, totally misbehaving, but still loving their parents. Their parents. "No," she answered calmly, "I can't."
"Think about your week," he suggested, easing them farther down the river.
She didn't need to be asked twice. She sat comfortably in the gondola, replaying moments from her week. She thought about that silly dance competition, running with Bowser down the halls of the big hotel, sitting in his cowncopter as they moved from city to city. She thought about spending time with the koopalings, spending time with the workers of the Palace, and thinking about how both their faces would light up when they returned to each other. She thought about that night where they slept in each other's arms, she thought about their first kiss. And she definitely thought about the fact that it didn't necessarily need to be their last.
After nearly thirty minutes of the gondolier quietly crooning, giving Peach a soundtrack to her reel of memories, he cleared his throat. "One more question, bella." She looked up at him and he repeated, "Why did-a your heart change."
"Because," Peach breathed, her face slowly spreading into a smile. She felt warm from the tip of her toes to the top of her hair. Everything was beautiful, everything made sense, and everything was new. "I fell in love with him."
"Did you?"
She smiled, pulling her knees up to her face and squeezing them. "Yes," she laughed, not even meaning to. Her throat was swollen and her hands were hot, but she had never felt more beautiful or more joyful. "I'm in love with Bowser."
Author's Note: FINALLY. TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH, PRINCESS. TOOK YOU NEARLY FIVE YEARS.
Speaking of five years- my goal is to post 51 on CoH's fifth birthday (marking it as basically the most pathetic fanfiction this poor website has ever seen). Therefore, it'll probably be a pretty dang short chapter.
I'm getting SO CLOSE to the end of the story that it's getting hard for me to figure out how to wrap everything up. I'm going to be rude and enlist your help- besides my rereading of this tome, if there are any storylines or characters you think need to be revisited or wrapped up, please point them out. I don't want any Checkhov's guns laying around when we get to "The End".
I hope you patient, patient, patient insane people liked this chapter. And I hope you realize how much I really do, honestly, love all of you. Thank you for sticking with me C:
-Razzi