Author's Note:
Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't posted any new chapters in a little while. I know you probably got used to seeing one every day. I didn't mean to suddenly stop updating out of the blue, but I started an internship for the summer and things just got really busy for me all of a sudden. I plan to continue writing and get the rest of the chapters out as soon as I finish them with the time I have in between. I hope I won't have to keep you waiting too much longer!
Fun fact, I was originally going to write only three "Memories" chapters and I did a lot of skipping in them because I wanted to only cover specific key moments from the past that highlighted things like Bowser's relationship with his father Morton, the war with the Rose Kingdom, how Bowser met Celia, and how Bowser became king and married Celia. I wasn't sure at first if people would like these chapters as much or if they would want more time focused on Bowser and Junior in present day, so I didn't want these chapters to drag on too long if that was the case. However, readers have expressed that they want to see more of Bowser and Celia so I decided to do an additional "Memories" chapter. Therefore, there will be four "Memories" chapters in total (meaning one more after this). Thank you so much for all of your support, everyone! I hope you enjoy!
The following chapter is a series of flashbacks. It doesn't forward the immediate plot of Bowser and Junior's journey home. Instead, it sheds some light on events that happened prior to this story. You can skip this chapter if you really want to get back on the road with the Koopas right away, but you might be confused why certain characters think and act the way they do in a later chapter without getting this context first.
"Bowser…," Celia began one evening while the two of them were alone in their secret meeting spot. The Koopa Prince looked to her from across the fire. "Did you leave anyone…special behind when you left home?"
"Special?" Bowser repeated, slightly puzzled.
"You know, someone you really care about," she clarified.
"Other than my mom, maybe? No, not really."
"So there wasn't…a girl?"
"Well, there were plenty of female Koopas….Oh…" Bowser's eyes widened. "You mean like…a girlfriend?" Celia nodded, blushing.
"No," Bowser answered. "I told you, I never really connected with anyone. Until I met you…" The two sat in awkward silence for a moment; afraid to let their eyes meet. "Why? Did you have a boyfriend?" Bowser asked.
"None that I chose," Celia answered.
"What do you mean?"
"My parents have been trying to match me up with all sorts of guys for the past several years. They figure if I marry one of them, his kingdom would ally with mine and help us in the war against…you," Celia described. She rubbed her forearm in a shameful manner.
"So…you did have a boyfriend," Bowser commented. "I see…" Celia shot her head up to look at Bowser.
"Nothing ever came of any of that," she argued. "I swear." The Koopa Prince didn't say anything. She knew he wasn't convinced. "My parents only cared about what they wanted; not what I did. They were willing to force me into a life I never asked for just for the sake of the Rose Kingdom's future. You might have a good reason to resent your father, Bowser. But you're not the only one to feel that way..." Bowser twiddled his claws sheepishly. Deep down, he hadn't meant to jump to such a conclusion.
"Celia, I…"
"Bowser, listen," Celia interrupted. "I know I'm always giving you a hard time about your confidence issues…" She shut her eyes. "But I need you to understand. You're different from any other guy I've ever met. You actually have a heart. So I don't mess with you just for the sake of it. I do it because I want you to be strong enough to stand beside me when the world says we can't be together…" Bowser got up as Celia spoke. He walked around the fire and sat down next to her, but Celia hadn't noticed. "But I realized that I don't want you to change because…then you might not be the guy I'm in love with anymore." When the Rose Princess opened her eyes, she froze when she saw Bowser's face inches away from her own; his intense red retinas staring into her's. He gripped her delicate hand.
"I'll get stronger if that's what it takes for us to stay together," the Koopa Prince responded. "But that doesn't mean everything about me will change." The silence spoke for Celia in the moment. "You have to promise me that you won't change either." The princess smiled. When no further words were necessary, the two embraced and shared a kiss that would seal their destinies together into one.
Celia took a seat on the rock and folded her arms as she watched the ocean waves crash upon the shore once again. But this did little to help her patience. Bowser was running late to their meeting. She caught the sound of his stomping footsteps and turned around before he could greet her.
"What took you so long?" she asked. Bowser sighed.
"Celia…we can't keep doing this."
"Doing what?" she asked.
"You know, meeting like this. I've been sneaking off every night to see you for a year now," Bowser explained. "My boys are bound to find out about this eventually."
"So why don't you just tell them then?"
"Why don't you tell your people?" the Koopa Prince countered. Celia didn't have a response. "See? I knew it. You're scared of what they'll think too."
"That's because I need to know I have your back in case they don't believe me."
"You do," Bowser corrected.
"Really? From where I'm standing, not much has changed about you since we first met. You're still too much of a coward to stand up for yourself. You still lack any real confidence," Celia described. Bowser's tail curled up. She knew it always did that whenever Bowser was nervous or ashamed.
"If you had to grow up with my father, you'd understand why this is so hard for me."
"Well, I didn't, so maybe I can't. But I still want to help." Bowser looked away.
"Yeah well…you have a pretty twisted way of showing it sometimes, you know…" Celia approached Bowser and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
"I love you, Bowser. You're unlike any Koopa I've ever met," she explained. "You have a sensitive side that I just can't stand to be without. I've told you all of this before." The Rose Princess retracted her arms. "But we'll never be together for good unless we can stand our ground and put an end to this stupid war." Bowser gently stroked his claw to her cheek as their eyes met.
"I know that. But you're too precious to me, Celia," the Koopa King objected. "I can't risk losing you."
"Then we still have some work to do," she declared. Bowser looked at her, confused.
"We do?"
"Yes. We need to boost your confidence up even higher until you can stand with me in spite of that fear." Celia stepped away and looked back at the ocean. She put her hands on her hips and turned her head to look back at Bowser. "Let's build a house out here."
"Huh?" Bowser asked. She walked back towards him.
"I'm tired of sitting on these rocks all the time, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna stand out in the open during another rainstorm again like we did last week," Celia explained. "I want to keep seeing you. And I know you want to continue seeing me even though you're afraid someone will find out. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. But for now, we could at least be a little more comfortable out here, don't you think?" The Koopa King nodded his head in agreement, even though her previous statement still confused him.
"Sure, but…a house?"
"There's plenty of material we can use out here for construction, and the location is gorgeous. So let's make a place to come home to; just the two of us." Her hand tenderly caressed Bowser's chin. "If the manual labor doesn't mold you into a better Koopa, nothing will. Besides, it'll take some time to finish between just the two of us. Plenty of reason for you to keep coming back for our visits, right?" Celia punctuated her proposal with a kiss to Bowser's cheek. He blushed, then quickly tried to shake it off in order to replace it with a confident smirk.
"Alright, lead the way," he agreed.
Making smart use of mud, rocks, and trees, Bowser and Celia were able to construct a solid foundation for their home in a few weeks' time. Each week, they focused on a new part of the house. They constructed a bedroom, bath, kitchen, and dining room. Bowser and Celia each gradually stole supplies from their camps to fill their new home with makeshift appliances and furniture. The pair were convinced that the land they had chosen to build upon was destiny as they struck a source of water deep in the ground early on and were able to channel it and bring running water into the house. On the cooler nights of summer, they would work through the night; sleeping and working in shifts. They would explain their exhaustion to their troops as the result of staying up too late on patrol duty. By the time monsoon season rolled around, Bowser and Celia were relieved to find that their house's foundation had dried and hardened enough to withstand even the hardest of rainstorms. They were proud of their craftsmanship since they had constructed a house that was bound to last a lifetime. One year later, their secret home, secluded by the forest on one side and ocean on the other, was finally complete.
Unfortunately, Bowser's earlier concerns had merit. Not long after the home was complete, the Koopa army grew suspicious of their disappearing supplies and consistently absent leader. His secret meeting location with Celia was discovered. But to the Rose Princess's surprise, Bowser finally stood his ground. He told his comrades of how his relationship with Celia prospered in such a short amount of time, as well as how strongly he believed that peace between the two kingdoms could be achieved. Lucky for Bowser, the Koopa army was not nearly as stubborn or argumentative as King Morton. They were relieved to learn that they wouldn't have to fight anymore and that they could all go home soon.
A similar sentiment was shared with the Rose Kingdom soldiers when Celia decided to come clean about her behavior as well to them. The two armies may have reached a truce, but their monarchies back home were still under the assumption that nothing had changed. Celia felt more confident about confronting her home about the new developments knowing Bowser was now willing to support her.
"So, tomorrow's the big day, huh?" she asked as she was relaxing in front of the living room's fire pit. Bowser tossed another log onto the fire and laid down next to her.
"Yep. I just got word from your troops too. Everyone's all packed and ready to go. Tomorrow, we make our way to the Rose Kingdom…," the Koopa Prince described. Celia placed her hand on Bowser's chest as the two curled up closely to one another.
"I'm gonna miss this place...," she confessed. "It really does feel like home."
"Yeah, it does," Bowser agreed. He turned to look at Celia. "But that doesn't mean we can't ever come back here. Especially if we ever need to be alone." The pair smiled and shared a sigh of relief.
"I love the new,confident you. I'd say you're finally ready to meet my folks," she commented with a chuckle.
"You think so?" Celia nodded.
"You've grown into much more of a man now from what you were like when we first met two years ago. You've really come out of your shell."
"Was that a turtle joke?"
"Maybe!" the princess teased. Bowser smiled at her. They kissed and returned their view to the glow of the fire.
"I sure hope I can bring you home afterwards," said Bowser. "I've seen your beautiful face so many times now that any day of my life without it from now on just wouldn't be right."
"You will," Celia replied. "We'll make it through all of this together." She gripped Bowser's claw. "I have faith. I know you do too."
"You're right," Bowser confirmed. The two shared yet another kiss. As the night wore on and the fire died when it ran out of wood to burn, Bowser and Celia gradually drifted off to sleep in each other's arms. Their hearts were united; their destinies intertwined. Tomorrow, they would prove this to the world.