The next few weeks at Bowser's castle went by in a blur. Along with the construction of the much anticipated go-kart track, Bowser and Kamek were overseeing multiple renovations and restorations throughout the castle. Peach was invited to join in, and she happily chose to head a team of servants in charge of revamping the palace gardens. She found the task more than enjoyable, and it even allowed her to make some friends among the servants.
Despite their busy schedules, Bowser always found time to spend with her. Peach didn't mind, as she found herself growing more and more curious about King Koopa and his past. Not just for information's sake, but because she really wanted to know him. And as it seemed, Bowser was just as curious about her. They shared every meal together, many including the Koopalings, but in some cases the time was simply spent talking to one another.
This day, Bowser had decided to join her out in the gardens while she worked. Peach giggled as Bowser tried to handle the delicate unplanted bulbs with his claws. They sat on their knees, side-by-side, while Peach showed him how to properly tend the soil and prep the plants.
"Here, look, you need to feather the roots out a bit before you bury it, see?" Peach took the bulb from Bowser's hand and demonstrated. Bowser hummed as he took it back, repeating the action (unintentionally) with far less gentleness. He sigh-growled as it crumbled in his grasp.
Suddenly, one of the servants out in the garden rushed behind them and accidentally stumbled on Bowser's tail. The latter whipped around, glaring fiercely at the Koopa in the dirt.
"M-My d-deepest apologies, Lord Bowser!" he stammered, shakily standing and dusting himself off.
Bowser opened his mouth to chew him out, then glanced over at Peach, who was watching with wide eyes. He stopped, exhaled slowly, and began again. "It's fine, accidents happen."
The Koopa looked at his king with utter disbelief, as though he had somehow managed to escape death, then looked to Peach, and she nodded at him with a small smile. He scurried off after giving a brief bow to the both of them.
Bowser silently took up another bulb and began to sloppily mimic what Peach had shown him. Peach smiled to herself as she saw the smallest puff of smoke escape his nostrils. It was clear that he was frustrated and doing his best to keep his temper in check. Gently, Peach reached out and cupped his hands with her own.
"Let me help, Bowser. The trick is to massage the soil clumped between the roots…" she instructed as she guided his hands.
Above the gardens, on a balcony guarded by two Bowser-shaped statues, Kamek and the Koopalings watched the scene with great delight.
"Well, who'd have thought?" Kamek mused.
"Well who indeed?" Ludwig said.
"Like, who could've guessed it? They came together on their own!" Wendy gushed.
"This is weird. I'm not used to seeing King Dad so happy and mushy all the time," Morton added.
"As long as it means the curse'll be broke, I don't gotta problem with it. Besides, it's nice to see King Dad happy for once," Roy countered.
"It's nice to see all of you happy for once," Kamek remarked. "I'm very glad that Princess Peach came along. You kids like her, don't you?"
"Define 'like,'" Iggy said.
"Well, I know that you all are hoping she can help break the curse, but have you kids stopped to think about what would happen afterwards?"
"Yeah! We'd finally get to see the outside world and cause some massive chaos!" Morton whooped. Iggy, Roy, and Larry all high-foured and cheered in agreement.
"I believe Kamek was referring to the fact that if Peach falls in love with King Dad she will likely marry him, and thus become our mother," Ludwig corrected while Wendy rolled her eyes at her other brothers' lack of intuition.
"Mama?" Lemmy asked innocently, his head tilted slightly to one side.
"Huh… I never thought about that," Roy said. "So, we'd get freedom and a Mama Peach if they broke the curse?"
"If all goes well, then yes," Kamek said as he calmly adjusted his glasses.
"WHAT'RE WE STANDING AROUND FOR? WE GOTTA GET THEM TOGETHER A.S.A.P!" Morton shouted, waving his arms frantically.
"SSHHHH!" all of Morton's brothers hissed and tackled him to the ground. Wendy pinched the bridge of her snout.
"They could've heard you, shell-for-brains!" she snapped. "They're just below us!"
Cautiously, the Koopalings all peeked over the stone railing of the balcony. To their great relief, Bowser and Peach were still occupied with their gardening. Peach appeared to laugh at something Bowser said, and Bowser was smiling so brightly that the Koopalings could hardly recognize their adoptive father.
"Young masters, I say we should wait and watch for a few days more, they seem to be getting along just fine on their own," Kamek suggested.
"But Kamek, it's like, totally obvious there's a spark between them! We have to, you know, fan it or whatever!" Wendy insisted. Her brothers all nodded enthusiastically. Morton opened his mouth to speak again, but Roy promptly put a hand over his muzzle.
"Inside voice, kapeesh?" he warned. Morton glowered at him, but slowly nodded. Roy removed his hand and Morton inhaled obnoxiously.
"Guys, what if we just told Peach the truth? She'd fall in love with King Dad a lot faster if she knew it would be helping us, she's nice like that!"
Roy gave a dramatic eye roll and quickly covered Morton's mouth again. Morton grunted in annoyance.
"My endearingly obtuse little brother, there is a very good reason we have purposely not done that," Ludwig said. "Peach and King Dad cannot merely feel any kind of 'love' for one another, as you might feel towards a friend or a pet. The curse stated it can only be broken by True Love. If Peach feels pressured in any way to feel anything towards King Dad, there is a very good chance those feelings will not be genuine."
"Precisely, Ludwig," Kamek agreed with a firm nod.
Morton shoved Roy away and groaned. "Why does this love stuff take so long? I can't wait to be outside the castle grounds again!"
"You were a little kid when the curse first happened! You don't even remember the outside world!" Roy admonished.
Morton crossed his arms with a huff. "My point still stands."
"Alright, alright. I think we can all agree that we're eager to see this curse broken, but the best thing we can do at this point is to let them fall in love naturally," Kamek said as he stood between Roy and Morton as peacemaker, though his words were intended for all the Koopalings.
The group glanced back down at the aforementioned couple. At some point, a watering can must have spilled because the duo was now working in thick mud, and Peach had playfully flung some at the side of Bowser's face (her denim overalls and pink undershirt were already flecked with the stuff). Bowser touched the mud on his cheek in disbelief, then shot Peach a mischievous glance. He took up two massive armfuls of mud, and watched with wicked delight as she shrunk back from the dripping mass. He held it above his head, flicking his eyebrows up twice in a sassy manner. Suddenly, however, Peach leaned forward and flicked another bit of mud onto his snout. Bowser involuntarily flinched and his armloads of mud splattered unceremoniously onto his head.
After a moment of stunned silence, Peach burst out laughing, the sound bright and clear. Nearly all of the servants in the garden stopped and gawked at the scene before them; they weren't sure if they should rush over to assist their king or flee from his impending wrath. However, Bowser's deep and boisterous laughter joined in not a minute later, then the duo was doubled over in the mud while the servants looked on with concern.
Kamek smiled to himself as Peach, still giggling, took her right glove (the cleaner one) off and used it to delicately wipe away the mud around Bowser's eyes and nostrils. Their collective laughter died down and Kamek watched as they silently gazed into one another's eyes, sky blue meeting blood red in timid dance.
Yes, it's best to let love come softly, Kamek thought to himself.
The day of the big race had come at last. It had, to one's surprise, become quite the event, with a grand banquet, music (composed by Ludwig, no less), and other small activities run by the servants. To the Koopalings, it felt like all seven of their birthdays rolled up into one jam-packed afternoon, and everyone in the castle couldn't help but find their joy contagious.
Peach had volunteered to bake some treats for the banquet, and between that, her gardening, her meals with Bowser, and customizing her own vehicle for the race (she'd chosen to construct a sleek sports bike), she didn't even have time to miss home. Still, at night when she lay in bed with the soft-but-still-unfamiliar blankets pulled up to her chin, her mind would wander back to her old life. The memories were no longer unbearably painful nor moved her to tears, but they still brought a dull ache to her heart.
She couldn't help but fret over the state of her kingdom. The last anyone saw of her was Toadsworth on that fateful night, and he had likely assumed that Bowser meant to imprison her or cause her worse harm. Of course, that was far from the case now, but if that was the message Toadsworth had spread to her subjects, it would be absolute pandemonium. Mario was no doubt searching for her, but with the special warp pipe unusable and the heavy illusions around the castle, there was no way he could have found Bowser's home without a hand directly leading him there. She only hoped he and the others would resolve the power vacuum she'd left behind and do what was best for the Toads. If only there was a way to tell them she was safe and well-taken care of…
A knock at the open kitchen door interrupted her musings. Peach looked up from the tray of cookies she was plating, and saw Bowser standing at the doorway awkwardly.
"Yes?" she said with a small smile, hoping to put him at ease.
"I was just uh… coming to see if you needed help with anything," he said as he fidgeted with his claws, like he wasn't sure what to do with himself.
Peach nodded, put the last cookies on the decorative plate and held it out. "I could use a hand carrying these out to the banquet? I've got two other trays this size."
"Oh! Let me just grab some servants and–" Bowser stopped himself. "…you meant me, didn't you."
"If you don't mind," Peach said. Bowser marched up to her side and took the plate out of her hands.
"Look at you, making me do servants' work," he said with mock disdain. "Just what kind of influence do you have on people to make them so weak-willed?"
"Kindness is not weakness, Lord Bowser," she corrected playfully. "Especially if it is for a friend, and we are friends after all, are we not?"
Bowser smirked. "I might reconsider that fact if all you're gonna do is make me slave away for you, Princess. First all that gardening, and now this?"
Peach crossed her arms across her chest. "If you don't like it, then no one is forcing you to spend time with me."
Bowser suddenly paled. "No, no! I like doing all that stuff with you, I just meant–"
"I was teasing, Bowser," Peach interrupted with a giggle. He was always so sensitive!
"Right, right, I knew that," Bowser adjusted his grip on the tray of cookies, the color flooding back to his cheeks (plus some extra). "I'm gonna take these out now… I'll come back for the rest."
"Thank you, Bowser," Peach said sweetly. She watched him shuffle out of the kitchen and turn the corner before taking up her own plate of treats to follow.
"HOT FIREBALLS!" Peach suddenly heard Bowser shout, accompanied by the sound of his tray crashing to the floor. She abruptly dropped her own tray back onto the counter and rushed out to see what was the matter.
"Bowser?!" she called, whipping her head around the kitchen doorway. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Oh stars…"
An obnoxiously loud horn blared and echoed throughout the hall. Bowser hurriedly stumbled backwards into the kitchen, forcing Peach to back up as well to avoid being unintentionally impaled on one of his spikes. A massive go-kart (if it could be called that) with seven passengers came racing down the hall, tearing up the red runner carpet as it did. It screeched to a painful halt just at the doorway, lurching forward so hard it was fortunate that the seatbelts held up.
"What the shell were you kids thinking?!" Bowser fumed as the Kooalings barreled out of the kart. They looked at each other fearfully, as if they had just realized what they'd almost done (apart from Lemmy, who noticed the cookies that Bowser had dropped on the floor and immediately crammed one in his mouth).
"No, no, Lemmy…" Peach admonished, then crouched down and began collecting the cookies into her apron pockets.
Bowser pinched the bridge of his snout and tapped his foot impatiently. "Ok, now, for the sake of our sanity, I'm going to skip the question of why you drove that thing all the way down here, and simply ask you what is that thing?"
The Koopalings again exchanged nervous glances.
"Well?"
"It's your go-kart, King Dad…" Larry said hesitantly. Bowser's eyebrows shot up so far Peach thought they might have gone flying were they not attached.
"Wait, this is–" Bowser stepped up to the vehicle. It was certainly large enough to fit Bowser's bulky frame, but it appeared to have gone under some major modifications. Its body was a standard sporting-vehicle style, and combined with monster-truck-like tires, it was quite the formidable go-kart. However, this fact was quickly overlooked once one's eyes met the layers of metal spikes lining nearly every edge and rim, the dual heavy-metal speakers attached to the back frame (including extra seating for smaller, Koopaling-sized passengers), and the rather clashy paintjob of green, yellow, and red flames over metallic purple. Bowser only looked at the monstrosity with his hands on his hips, unable to say a word.
"Did you guys deck-out your father's go-kart for him?" Peach prodded gently. The Koopalings nodded enthusiastically, glad that someone was able to recognize their intentions.
"Do… do you like it, King Dad?" Iggy asked, apparently moving right past the fact that they'd driven their creation through the castle halls (the undesignated ones) and had nearly run Bowser over with it.
Bowser's jaw worked back and forth, and he glanced over at Peach for help. She raised her hands as if to say don't look at me! He sighed and faced the Koopalings, folding his hands in an almost prayer-like fashion. He exhaled, and pointed his hands in their direction.
"So, you guys… you did this for me?"
"Yeah!" Morton said, grinning.
"You painted it and added extra spikes and some speakers all on your own?"
"Don't forget the victory confetti launchers and the flamethrowers!" Iggy threw in.
Bowser was silent again for a long moment. "Uhh, thank you guys. This is… certainly unique," he said eventually. Peach had to work hard to hold in her snickers.
"Oh, we almost forgot! We fixed your motorcycle, too, Peach!" Larry announced. Peach's laughter died in her throat. Larry took her hand and led her to the back of Bowser's monster machine, where her motorcycle– which had previously been a sleek design in white and pink– was attached to the back. It was a perfect match to Bowser's kart.
"Oh my… how… special!" Peach said, plastering a smile on her face. Bowser coughed several times behind her to cover up his chuckles.
"Try it out! You too, King Dad! It's time to start the race!" Larry hopped up and down excitedly.
"For the record, we let Iggy do most of the work," Wendy whispered in Peach's ear. "I would have, like, added much more glitter for sure."
After Peach quickly changed into a white cyclist suit, the ninesome drove (carefully, this time) to the starting line. The Koopalings' karts were already set up, and each one was a perfect reflection of their owner. The colors and designs varied, but each used a Clown Car as its base. Before, Peach had only seen them in pictures, so to witness them transformed into go-karts was certainly a surprise. Seeing their designs, now she was certain the Koopalings had made her and Bowser's karts as tacky as possible to highlight how they were matching.
Kamek appeared at the start, hovering above the karts and holding a stop light with his wand. His shoulders shook from restrained laughter as he saw Peach and Bowser's vehicles, but he quickly cleared his throat and began announcing the rules.
"Welcome all!" He briefly addressed the crowds of servants seated in makeshift bleachers. "Before we begin, let us all give a round of applause to His Amazingness, King Bowser!"
The halls erupted with thunderous applause. Peach looked over at Bowser curiously. Apparently, Kamek had planned this on his own, as Bowser looked ready to retreat into his shell. Of course, outwardly he was confident, but Peach could see in his eyes just the sublest hint of shame. It was odd, she knew he was still convinced that he wasn't a "real king" anymore, but the way he had led his people and planned all this was certainly very king-like. Plus, he seemed like the kind of guy who would normally sit and relish in the praise his subjects offered.
"Now then, the first thing I should mention is that there are no power-ups in this course," Kamek continued. The Koopalings all looked at one another, and Peach knew they must all be thinking the same thing: No way, there are usually power-ups in go-kart racing?!
"Next, I have taken the liberty to magically safe-proof all of the obstacles and have strategically placed Lakitus around the track to ensure everyone's safety. So, don't worry about falling into lava or being crushed by a Thwomp, kee-hee-hee!"
Wait, did he say lava? Peach thought.
"Finally, and this is the most important rule." Kamek shot a knowing look at the Koopalings. "No cheating." This earned him a collective round of "awws."
"Good luck, you guys!" Peach called to them with a smile.
"Without further ado, your one-lap go-kart race around the castle grounds begins in five!"
Peach adjusted her helmet one last time and gripped her handlebars, taking extra care not to impale her hand on one of the many new spikes.
"Four!"
Each racer leaned forward, narrowing their gaze on the track ahead.
"Three-two-one!" Kamek finished quickly in an attempt to throw them all off.
The low hum of the running engines roared to life as each kart took off in a blaze.
Peach twisted the throttle and whooped as she flew down the track. After their initial takeoff, she found herself close to the lead, trailing just behind Wendy and Lemmy. They all easily maneuvered around the tight corner turns throughout the hallways (despite the occasional obstacle) and quickly came to the outside portion of the course.
Thankfully, they stayed far away from the gardens, and instead headed towards the lava moat. The orange glow was slightly tinged with purple, which surely must have been the magical protection Kamek had mentioned. The track narrowed considerably, making just enough room for two karts to fit side by side. Peach was forced a little further back, being passed by Ludwig and Roy. As they zoomed across the criss-cross bridge over the lava, fireballs began to rain down upon them.
Peach flinched and swerved out of the way, but was relieved to see that the fireballs dissipated as soon as they touched an object. Illusions, she realized. The distraction, however, gave her the opportunity to overtake Wendy and Ludwig. She glanced back in her rear-view mirror, and saw Bowser coming up fast. He easily passed Morton and Larry, then found himself stuck behind Wendy and Ludwig as they took up the width of the track. Peach turned back to the road, and slowed down a bit as the track began to ascend and twist around the base of the castle. Roy and Lemmy stayed firmly in the front of the pack, and Ludwig retook his position in third as they continued up the spiral.
"So, what do you think of the track?" Bowser suddenly came up beside her, shouting to be heard over the roar of the go-karts. Peach startled and glanced over at Bowser, who had the silliest grin on his face as his red hair flew widely in the wind.
"It's great! But, uh, we're a little busy right now!" She quickly returned her attention to the road. A thwomp stood at the edge of the track, and fell just as she spoke. It landed right in her path, so she abruptly braked to avoid a collision. Bowser, unexpectedly, braked too, though his path was clear. This allowed all the remaining racers to pass them easily.
"What are you doing?" Peach called, picking up speed again as they made their way to the end of the spiral up the castle. Bowser kept up at an exact pace with her, neither pulling ahead nor falling behind.
"Look, I was wondering–!" he began, but was cut off as they suddenly dropped off the ramp and landed on another section of the track. His kart swerved as his lack of attention made him forget to keep both hands firmly on the steering wheel. Peach kept glancing over at him with concern.
"Can this wait until after the race?" she shouted. The track now took a steep dip downwards, and Peach had to duck as a couple piranha plants lined up at the edge of the track (real ones, this time) chomped at the air around their heads.
"No, no, wait! I just wanted to ask–!" Bowser was again cut off as a piranha plant clipped the tall speakers on his kart, stopping his downhill momentum. After a moment he sped up and rejoined her side. By now, the Koopalings all were a good distance ahead, and Peach could barely make out their brake lights.
"What is it, Bowser?" she slowed down slightly to match his speed since he was so insistent on talking to her now.
"I was thinking, since it's such a nice day, we should have a dance tonight!" he asked excitedly.
"What?" Peach cried, unsure if she misheard him.
"I said, do you want to have a dance tonight?!" he repeated, louder this time.
Peach looked at him with wide eyes and blinked rapidly. She veered back onto the track as she realized she was slowly drifting off, then looked back at Bowser. He kept glancing at her with hopeful eyes.
"Sure, alright!" she replied with a smile. Bowser gawked at her.
"Wait, really?!"
"Yes, why not!"
"O-Ok then! I look forward–" Bowser was cut off once more as they re-entered the castle for the last part of the race and suddenly had to make a tight turn. Peach giggled and pushed ahead while Bowser sharply made the late turn, his tires leaving dark skid marks behind him.
They had finally caught up to the Koopalings, who were all neck-and-neck with each other. The roar of the crowd could be heard once again as they reached the final stretch. Peach knew she wouldn't be able to pass any of them, but she sped up just so she could finish closer to them. Kamek waved a massive checkered flag at the finish line, smiling broadly. The Koopalings all crowded dangerously close together, pushing their limits in order to gain the slightest edge and pass their siblings.
All of a sudden, Lemmy, who had been in the lead for the majority of the race, spun out as one of the other karts (it was impossible to see who) clipped his back tire. His kart jerked towards the sidelines, where it automatically stopped thanks to the magical safety barriers set up. Unfortunately, however, the momentum sent Lemmy flying out of his seat and into the air.
Peach gasped and charged the throttle on her bike, simultaneously speeding up and putting her motorcycle into a wheelie. The additional height gave her just enough reach to snatch Lemmy out of the air and pull him to safety. Heart pounding, she skidded to a halt over the finish line, clutching Lemmy (who had tucked himself into his shell) like a football. The crowd had gone silent from the shock of the sudden turn of events, but cheered twice as loud as Peach safely put Lemmy on the ground.
"Oh my stars! Lemmy, are you ok buddy?" Bowser barreled out of his kart and knelt next to Lemmy. The other Koopalings were hot on his heels, having just noticed the incident themselves since they had finished the race ahead of them.
Lemmy poked his head out of his shell and grinned up at them. "Again!" he cried.
Bowser sighed and slumped over with relief. The Koopalings all crowded around their brother, and Wendy started to cry.
"I-it's, like, my fault! I got too close," she sniffled. Bowser patted her pink shell gently.
"Hey, hey, it's ok now. Nobody got hurt," he soothed. He looked up at Peach with shining eyes. "Thank you."
"Of course," she murmured. Her heart was still racing. Lemmy looked at her with a happy smile.
"Forgive me, sire! The magical barrier I created did not account for inertia!" Kamek cried, levitating down to the growing crowd. He bowed deeply before his king, trembling ever so slightly.
Bowser nodded solemnly. "It's ok, it's ok. We both know his shell would've spared him most of the damage anyways. I'm still glad Peach was close enough to grab him, though."
"Yeah, you were great!" Morton exclaimed, turning to her.
"Your heroics were indeed most impressive," Ludwig added.
"Yeah! You were all like–" Larry zoomed away and began weaving between his siblings, mimicking how Peach had ridden her motorcycle. "–Then you did this cool thing–" He sprinted a few paces then leapt into the air, landing with a cool spin move. "–And wow! You were so awesome, Mama Peach!" he ended with a wide grin.
Peach looked at him in surprise. Those close enough to hear him also went dead silent. Larry's grin slowly faded as he realized what he'd just said. "Oh, oh! No, I'm sorry, so sorry I–"
Peach waved him off. "No, no need to apologize, sweetheart," she said. Then again, what else was she supposed to say? She'd had no idea that any of the Koopalings felt any maternal feelings towards her whatsoever. A heavy awkward silence fell over them.
"Why don't we all enjoy the banquet now, hm? We've all had a very exciting day," Kamek suggested as he clapped, breaking the trance. Everyone hurriedly agreed and began to make their way to the grand hall.
As they walked, Peach couldn't help but repeat Larry's words in her mind. The faintest smile tugged at her lips, and she found that she wouldn't mind at all if he or the other Koopalings made that "mistake" again.
Just as a reminder, this story is also posted on AO3! There, you are two chapters ahead, PLUS you get some fun author's notes! Have a good one guys!
UPDATE: I have gone back and added line breaks to all the chapters. I hadn't realized they didn't transfer when I uploaded my documents, but they should be good to go now! Sorry if it caused any confusion.