(A/N: I'm happy that Mario and Peach worked things out, but I'm also surprised at how much this story has changed since I first wrote it over a year ago! Well, I'll get this last chapter, the epilogue, started so you won't be in suspense for long.)
It was evening in the Mushroom Kingdom. The sun was starting to go down, but over at Princess Peach's Castle, the party was still going on. At that moment, Mario noticed the position of the sun.
"Oh! It's-a getting late! I told Luigi I'd be back later today." Mario said.
"Do you really have to leave, Mario?" Peach asked.
"I'm afraid so, Peach. But I can come back tomorrow if that's okay." Mario said.
"That's okay." Peach replied, but the way she said it made it sound like she said 'jash okay', like a baby.
"A domani, mia principessa. See you tomorrow, my princess." Mario said as he hugged Peach tightly.
"I'll see you then, Mario. I love you." Peach replied, returning the hug and giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Ti amo anch'io, mia principessa. I love you, too, my princess." Mario replied, kissing her on the cheek. He was so happy that he and Peach were still a couple after all this. To hear her say that she loved him made his heart beat faster.
After a few more minutes, the two finally let go of each other and smiled at one another before Mario began making his way back to Luigi's Mansion for the night. Peach stood there, watching him leave until he was out of sight. Then she made her way into the castle to see if dinner was ready yet.
At Luigi's Mansion, Luigi had prepared spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, but he couldn't help wondering if and when his brother was going to return like he said he would. He'd been gone all day. But he hadn't gotten any texts or calls, letting him know if there had been a change of plans. Was Mario okay?
Polterpup noticed Luigi's worry and looked at his master with concern.
"I can't help worrying about my brother, Doggy. What if Bowser came back and decided to finish what he started? I know I would have heard something by now if that was the case, but after recent events, what am I supposed to think?" Luigi said to the dog.
Polterpup reassured Luigi by giving his face a lick.
"Good puppy." Luigi said, laughing a little as he patted the dog's head.
Five more minutes passed, and Luigi was still wondering about Mario. Unable to stand it any longer, Luigi finally pulled out his green smartphone and dialed Mario's cell number.
"Come on, Mario. Please pick up..." Luigi pleaded to himself as he heard the phone ringing.
"Ciao fratello. Hello, bro." Mario answered after the second ring.
"Mario! Grazie a Dio! Thank goodness! Are you all right?" Luigi asked.
"I'm fine, Luigi." Mario said.
"That's good." Luigi replied.
"Were you worried about me?" Mario asked.
"After everything you told me about the night before, of course I was. You can't blame me there." Luigi said.
"You're right. I can't. Not after what I had been through." Mario said.
"So, where are you right now?" Luigi asked.
"Why don't you open the door and find out for yourself?" Mario replied; he sounded like he was smiling.
Luigi shrugged his shoulders, but he did as Mario said and opened the door. Sure enough, there stood Mario, smiling at his brother. Seeing this, both brothers shared a laugh as they ended the call, put their phones back in their pockets, and then they hugged each other.
"Come on in, bro. Dinner's ready." Luigi said.
"I can tell." Mario said, sniffing the air as he followed his brother into the house. Then he added, "It sure smells good, too. What did you prepare, Luigi?"
"One of your favorites: spaghetti and meatballs." Luigi said.
"Ooh, if I had known you were fixing this, I think I would've asked Peach if she'd like to come to dinner." Mario said.
"How is Peach?" Luigi asked.
"She's okay." said Mario.
"Did you talk to her?" Luigi asked.
"I did." Mario replied.
"Tell me all about it." Luigi said.
"I will... while we eat." Mario said.
A few minutes later, the brothers were sitting at the table, with plates of spaghetti and meatballs before them.
"All right, Mario. Tell me about your talk with Peach. I want to know what happened, and how it went." Luigi said as he topped his spaghetti with Parmesan cheese.
Mario took a deep breath and told his brother everything, from the moment he got to the castle, to the moment before Peach had forgiven him.
Luigi felt sad when he learned that Mario had been upset enough to start crying in front of Peach, but he was glad that Peach hated to see him so upset and had tried to comfort him. Maybe Mario hadn't ruined everything like he thought he had.
However, there was one thing Luigi wanted to know: were Mario and Peach still a couple after all that had happened?
"So, what's the verdict, Mario? Did the Princess accept your apology and forgive you?" Luigi asked.
"Are you sure you really want to know?" Mario countered.
"You just said everything was fine..." Luigi moaned, afraid that Mario had been telling little white lies to make him think nothing was wrong.
"It's okay, Luigi. She and I talked about it, and I was forgiven for behaving like I did. Peach was also glad that I took responsibility and apologized to her, 'cause Bowser never will. So Peach and I are still in a relationship, like I hoped we'd be." Mario assured his brother.
"Mama-mia... Don't you scare me like that... I really hated seeing you sad, Mario." Luigi said.
"Scusa, fratello. Sorry, bro. I wasn't trying to scare you. I was just building the suspense." Mario said.
Luigi sighed. He knew Mario had a tendency to to that every now and again.
Mario then told Luigi how he and Peach spent the rest of the day celebrating the fact that they had worked things out and were still as close as ever.
It made Luigi very happy to know that his brother had fixed everything between him and Peach, that their relationship was still intact. But then he realized for the first time that evening that Mario wasn't wearing his hat.
"Where's your...?" Luigi asked, placing his hand on top of his hat.
Mario felt the top of his head and realized that he wasn't wearing his hat. He had been thinking he had forgotten to do something when he left Peach's Castle, but he couldn't think of what it was. Now he knew.
"Oh! I didn't even think to look for Cappy when I left the castle because I knew I had to get home to you. Ah well, he can stay there tonight if he wants. He'll get to spend some more time with his little sister if he does." Mario said.
"I bet he'll appreciate that thought." Luigi said.
"He will. I'm sure of it." Mario replied.
Later that night, when Luigi passed by Mario's bedroom, he heard Mario playing "She Loves You" on his Rickenbacker guitar, and he was also singing the song. He sounded a lot happier than he had the previous night, and Luigi felt good knowing that Mario was back to feeling the way he had before Bowser tried to ruin everything.
"It's-a so good to hear him sounding happy again." Luigi thought as he continued making his way to his room, a small smile on his face.
Luigi got under the covers of his bed, and Polterpup took his place at the foot of Luigi's bed, looking happily at his master.
"You should hear him in there, Doggy. He's happy again." Luigi said to his puppy.
Meanwhile, at Peach's Castle...
Peach was in her room, sitting at her computer desk with her laptop turned on. She was getting ready to start a video chat with Daisy and Rosalina. She couldn't wait to tell them what she was sure they wanted to know.
Cappy and Tiara had found out what had happened between Mario and Peach a few minutes ago, because Peach told them and they were so excited that they were currently celebrating out on Peach's balcony.
(A/N: This means Tiara didn't have to wait until she got home to find out the reason why Mario would not speak, but Cappy trusted Peach, so he didn't complain.)
At Daisy's Castle, Daisy was busy doing stuff on her laptop when she found out someone wanted to video chat with her. When she saw that it was Peach, she quickly called out, "Rosalina! Peach is calling!"
Rosalina had been getting ready for bed in Daisy's bathroom when she heard the flower princess's call.
"I'm coming!" Rosalina called, hurrying over to Daisy's computer desk. She wearing a fluffy, light blue robe over her cyan nightgown. She was also wearing slippers that matched her robe.
Then Peach appeared on the screen of Daisy's laptop.
"Hi, girls!" Peach greeted her cousin and friend.
"Hi, Peach!" Daisy and Rosalina said in unison.
"How have you two been these past few days?" Peach asked them.
Rosalina opened her mouth to tell Peach, but Daisy said, "You first, Peach."
"Why me?" Peach asked.
"Because we told you to call us after you and Mario talked. I'm assuming that since you're calling us, it happened. You and him did talk today, didn't you?" Daisy asked.
"Oh, right..." Rosalina thought, closing her mouth. She almost forgot all about that.
"Yes, Daisy. We did talk. Mario got back the other day, but he came over today to talk with me." Peach said.
"And how did that go?" Rosalina asked.
"You were right, Rosalina. Mario was hurting just as much, if not more, than I was." Peach said.
"Poor guy..." Rosalina said sympathetically.
"Mario was an emotional wreck when he spoke with me. If I had known how upset he was going to be, I never would have turned him down like I did. I would have spoken with him and worked this out with him sooner than now. And I certainly wouldn't have let the sun set on that unsettled argument as many times as it had." Peach said.
"Awww..." Daisy and Rosalina said together. Even they were feeling bad for Mario.
"Yeah, I never knew how bad his heart ached. Not until today. But I can assure him that from now on, if he and I have any more problems in the future, the two of us are going to make sure we get them squared away before they get too out of hand. Like Mario, I never again wish to let the sun set on an unsettled argument." Peach said.
"Atta girl, Peach!" Daisy cheered.
"That's a good idea, Peach. By doing that, neither of you will have to suffer for long. I don't want either of you to have to go through that pain ever again." Rosalina said.
"Hearing how sad Mario was made me wish I could have pressed 'rewind' and stopped myself from turning him down. I had no idea that being turned down like that was enough to break his heart." Peach said.
"What did you just say?" Daisy asked in a dangerously quiet voice as Rosalina put a hand to her mouth.
"Mario's heart broke when I turned him down..." Peach nervously replied.
Rosalina gasped when she heard that.
"You broke Mario's heart?! Oh no! I knew he was ripped!" Daisy shouted in distress.
"If being turned down caused Mario's heart to break, Peach, then you really are his special one." Rosalina said.
"I know that for a fact now. I found out that Mario still loves me in spite of what I had done to him." Peach said.
"That right there proves that you're always going to be Mario's special one, whether or not you return his love." Rosalina said.
Peach's face flushed at that thought. But she knew that she'd much rather be Mario's special one than Bowser's. When she and Mario shared their first kiss, she knew she'd found the one man she would love for the rest of her life. Mario was the only one for her. There had never been anyone else.
"Did you tell Mario that you still love him?" Daisy asked.
"I told him that I'm still in love with him." Peach said.
"That's even better. How did he feel then?" Rosalina asked.
"He felt a lot better when we made up for what happened with a kiss." Peach said.
That earned an excited fangirl squee from both princesses.
"I should have seen that coming..." Peach muttered, but she said, "Either way, he and I are still boyfriend and girlfriend, and that makes me feel good."
"I'm so happy for you, Peach. And for Mario, too." Daisy said.
"So am I. I can't even begin tell you how happy I am, knowing that two of my friends, who are the other's special one, are still together and still in love." Rosalina smiled.
"Oh, I think I can tell how happy you are, Rosalina. You're positively beaming, like I am." Peach said, smiling.
"That's not my fault, Peach; your happiness is pretty much contagious." Rosalina said.
"It's true, Peach. We're all happy princesses right now." Daisy said.
"It's understandable. Now how have things been in your neck of the woods?" Peach asked.
"We're doing okay." Rosalina smiled.
"Yeah. But we were also hoping that Mario would return soon and talk to you. And should he come back, you two would be able to work things out easily." Daisy said.
"And, much to our relief, we did." Peach smiled.
"Just like I knew you would." Rosalina said.
"I also realized that I'd forgotten to thank Mario for saving my life." Peach said.
"You what?! Peach, even I thanked Mario for saving my life when I was captured by Tatanga!" Daisy exclaimed.
"And I thanked Mario for powering up the Comet Observatory and taking care of my little lost Luma by teaching him how to play the guitar. And he's been a very good and attentive student, eager and quick to learn." Rosalina said.
"Don't worry, girls. I finally thanked Mario today, with a kiss." Peach said.
"Good. He earned a kiss after everything he went through." Rosalina replied.
"I think Mario should've gotten more than just a kiss from Peach. Methinks he really earned her hand in marriage." Daisy whispered to Rosalina, thinking back to when Mario brought her home after rescuing her from Tatanga. Her parents had been ready to give him a kingdom to rule, as well as their fair daughter's hand.
"That's true, Daisy, but after everything Peach has been through recently, she may need a break from the topic of marriage for a while." Rosalina whispered back.
"Hmm, I guess you're right." Daisy muttered, thinking about her friend's words.
"What are you two whispering about?" Peach asked, seeing them whispering to each other.
"Nothing." the girls replied, facing the screen.
Peach didn't really think it was nothing, but she didn't say so. She said, "Either way, I'm glad that everything is finally fixed. Mario and I are feeling so much better now that we've talked it out and are still boyfriend and girlfriend."
"We're glad, too, Peach." Daisy replied.
"We really are." Rosalina added with a smile.
"So, is there a good chance we might be hearing wedding bells ringing for the two of you soon enough?" Daisy asked.
"Daisy! What did I just say?!" Rosalina exclaimed. Didn't she just say that Peach needed a break from that topic? She was pretty sure she did.
"Oops! I'm sorry! It slipped out!" Daisy quickly apologized, remembering that Rosalina had said not to bring up that topic.
"No, girls, it's okay. In fact, it's really funny you should ask, Daisy, because after we made up for what happened, Mario did start to ask me the question..." Peach began.
Both girls gasped while covering their mouths to stifle the screams of excitement that were building up.
"But I politely told him that I'd like to wait a little while before thinking about marriage again, and he agreed to it with no fuss." Peach said.
Their excitement died down pretty quickly.
"That's understandable, Peach. After what you've been through, you deserve a bit of a break from that subject." said Rosalina, giving Daisy a look that said 'I told you so'.
"Yeah. And don't you worry, Peach; I'm going to make sure Bowser lets you have that break, no matter what." Daisy said, cracking her knuckles.
"You're really not going to let him off the hook, are you, Daisy?" Peach asked.
"After the way he treated you and Mario?! Not for a second!" Daisy said.
"Don't worry, Peach, I'm still going to be here in Sarasaland for a couple more days. Perhaps I can try and change her mind before my visit comes to an end." Rosalina said.
"Good luck with that." Peach said.
"You can't change my mind, Rosalina! Once I've made up my mind, that's it! There's no way I can change it! No one can make me change it!" Daisy declared.
"See what I mean?" Peach asked with an look of annoyance and amusement on her pretty face.
"I see..." Rosalina mumbled, before saying, "I'll do my best. I've got my guitar with me, and you know what they say: music soothes the savage beast. Let's see if I can't play some music that can cool Daisy's hot temper."
"Okay. I'll leave you to it, and we'll talk again tomorrow night. Speaking of, I should mention that Mario and I are planning to see each other again tomorrow." Peach said.
Daisy's hot temper cooled some at that thought.
"Ooooooh..." Daisy and Rosalina said in unison. They were really happy for Mario and Peach.
"Talk to you then, Peach!" Daisy said.
"See you tomorrow!" Rosalina said, going for her guitar case and pulling out her instrument.
"Bye." Peach said, ending the chat.
"Someone's gonna get it!" Daisy said in a sing-song voice as she ended the video chat with Peach, her anger for Bowser coming back.
But Rosalina started playing "The Fool On The Hill" by the Beatles, and when she started singing, Daisy couldn't help joining in. Rosalina played Beatles songs until Daisy was too tired to sing anymore. It cooled her temper, though, so she decided not to go after Bowser... for now.
As for Mario and Peach, they continued to enjoy each other's company and love. They weren't ready to get married yet, but Mario was willing to wait until Peach was ready for that big step. He was glad they had been able to talk about it. If they ever had any problems in the future, they were going to work them out by talking about them as soon as possible, and keep their love as strong as ever.
The End
Okay, so the story ends on a good note, with Mario and Peach having worked out their problems, but they did not get engaged. But at least they're still boyfriend and girlfriend, and that should work for the MarioXPeach shippers. I hope you all enjoyed the new version of an old fanfic!