Welcome readers to the first of many Mario x Daisy one-shots and/or scenes. Synopses will be found at the top of each new posting (i.e. the area your reading in right now) so you know what you're getting into before you start. Happy reading :)
"A Night Worth Freezing For"
In the midst of a grand prix, Mario and co. find themselves trapped by a blizzard. To live to race another day, they buddy's up under blankets, resulting in a certain plumber and princess spending some quality time together. NOTE: No lemon
A thick veil of white separates the summit town from the warmer world below. The veil riles and churns, gathering falling snow into fickle cyclones to pelt it across the sky. Oblivious, innocent balls of frozen water, forced into the fate of projectiles.
Trees whine under winter's weight, their branches bending beyond their limits, pulled clean off and sent flying. Brittle bark tears, leaving patches of interior exposed, making the wooden towers tremble all the more. Metal, man-made poles stand firm despite their wires seizing violently under the storm's influence. They watch their nature counterparts continue to thrash amidst the gusts of snow, praying that their roots hold.
Old Evergreen can be heard cracking over the wind's roar. The tallest of the tree horde, it's thrown every which way, fought over by the cyclones. One wants to pull it north, the other south, and so on, and so on. It fights to remain upright but age and loss of mass (half of it lying in a rotted heap) make just as much of an impact as the inclement weather. Its footholds in the Earth aren't what they used to be, and previous battles with the elements have made its wood weak. Worse still, its height –normally something to be proud of— is a curse in this circumstance, making the tree bow more than it would like.
Suddenly, the wind synergizes, all cyclones turning together, forming an icy twister that uproots Evergreen from its base. It falls into one of the metal poles, bringing it and its wires down. One metal cylinder crashes after another, strings sparking and snapping as they break in half. The packing powder muffles the sound, but anyone on a first floor can feel the ground rumble beneath their feet.
A building minding its own business hums along to its artificial glow. It screams when the final pole stabs it, boxes blowing, coils cooling, circuits ceasing from within. Energy releases as heat that the winter eagerly suffocates, and the summit town at the top of the mountain goes pitch black.
…
The brothers follow their faint footprints back to the brick mansion, surrounded by darkness and forced to keep their heads down. They stomp their heavy boots on the front steps, removing what snow they can from their feet before coming together to yank the front door. Ice and wind are determined to keep it shut.
"On three," Mario yells. "One, two, THREE!"
Their combined strength opens it a bit too eagerly. It swings and hits the side of the building once the angle's wide enough. Red and green, hands still gripping the handle, fly with it, letting go just before collision and tumbling into the snow.
"Bro!"
Mario jumps up, snowflakes biting his cheeks as he rises and falls through the air. He spots his brother lying on his back, arms and legs flailing.
"Bro, help!"
Trudging through snow, he catches a hand mid swing and pulls his sibling up and out. They grab the door together again, heaving it halfway before bounding inside to let the wind do the rest of the work. The door slams, shaking the chandelier above their heads as the two release sighs of relief.
"What took you so long?!"
They ignore the other brothers, shaking off the chill before doffing their snow-soaked gear. The group of ten in front of them shivers, wrapped in layers of blankets and huddled around a blazing fireplace. They stare at the duo with wide eyes.
Rosalina flies over to Luigi as he steps out of his boots. Her blanket soars like a cape and drapes evenly around her figure when she lands join hands with the younger Mario brother. "How bad was it?"
The heroes exchange glances. Luigi bites his lip, "Bad. Just as bad as you said."
Her grip tightens. Toad and Toadette tremble beside Princess Peach, who brings her own clasped hands into her lap. DK and Yoshi listen quietly while Bowser crosses his arms, watching the Wario brothers seethe.
"What do you mean, 'bad'?" Waluigi barks.
"Yeah! How long till the powers back on?" Wario snaps.
"A while," Luigi says, scanning them all before settling on Rosalina. "Days."
"Days?!" the Wario's repeat.
Bowser rolls his eyes, "What did you expect, chumps? Have you looked out the window?"
"We're in a mountain town!" the fat one in yellow growls back. "They should know how to handle this quickly!"
"Yeah!" the lanky purple agrees.
"A fallen tree took out almost every powerline and the main electrical hub," Luigi shares. "There's no 'handling it quickly.'"
"Unbelievable."
"Ridiculous!"
The conniving brothers continue to grouch and grumble, arms crossed out of annoyance, and as a means of heat. DK covers his ears with his hands and brings his fingered feet together in front of him. Rosalina guides Luigi to their space, throwing half of her blanket around him as they sit.
"Were there people working to resolve the issue?" Princess Peach asks, glancing at Mario who's still undressing, but focusing on Luigi.
The younger sibling answers without missing a beat. "A few but they're going to need a lot more people and equipment to make any real progress."
"Do you think you guys could have helped?" Toad pipes up, wrapped in a cocoon of blankets.
Luigi shakes his head, "We were plumbers, not electricians."
"I'm sure you still could have done something," Wario starts, glaring at the man in red. "After all, you're the 'Super Mario Brothers!'" He waves his hands and drenches the last three words with faux-enthusiasm. Waluigi chuckles and even Bowser's gruff composure cracks.
Mario brushes them off, turning to stare out a small patch of front window not yet covered by snow. In the darkness there isn't much to see, but anything is better than looking at Wario's sly smile.
Luigi closes his eyes to roll them, "Again. It's a major outage, and not our area of expertise. We'd just get in the way."
"That sounds like an excuse," Waluigi goads. "Don't you agree, brother?"
"Of course."
Yoshi growls, joining Mario by the window while Peach exhales. She tucks her feet further underneath her before speaking "Please you two, don't start."
"Yeah, what Peaches said," Bowser gestures to the small koopa shell behind him. "If my kid wakes up, we're gonna have a problem." Smoke streams from his nostrils, red eyes glaring at purple and yellow. "So clam it."
"Better yet," Luigi says, raising his brows at Rosalina. "You two should head down and help. Since you're so concerned."
"Not a chance!"
"We'd freeze out there!"
"Nonsense," Rosalina contends, suppressing a giggle. "I'm sure Wario's strength would be put to good use. And Waluigi, your long legs would make traveling through snow the simplest of tasks."
"Plus they'd probably pay you," Bowser murmurs, making everyones' brows raise. He shrugs, smiling with his mouth closed.
Waluigi rubs his chin, staring at the ground, "You really think they'd pay us?"
"Of course not!" his brother snaps back, elbowing him in the chest. "Get your head out of the money clouds, idiot. They're just trying to trick us!"
"And that means you gotta thwack me?!"
"You deserved it!"
"I did not!"
Bowser cradles his sleeping son, using his arms to barricade the small shell from further dissonance. He bares his teeth, "What did I just say?! Keep it down!"
They cease at the Koopa King's temper, flame visible in his mouth. Everyone jumps at the sight. On instinct, DK rises to meet the fiery koopa at eye-level, a display of dominance. Protection. He puffs his chest and clenches his fists, matching the hard glare with his own. Mario stands with his own fists tightened, readying to break up a fight.
Bowser glances between the two for a moment before deflating. Slightly. "Alright you ape, you made your point," he grumbles. "Now get out of my face."
He doesn't at first, remaining high on his massive hands before grunting and dropping to the floor. The fireplace, low on fuel, flickers softly. He chucks two logs into it with his hands and uses a foot to grab the iron poker, shifting the wood into place. Everyone (aside from the sleeping prince) watches.
When the fire burns brightly again, DK returns to his set up. Yoshi leads Mario to the space next to him, curling into a ball and resting his head on the hero's knee when he sits. Luigi shivers, prompting Rosalina to pull him closer.
Toadette twiddles her thumbs, "So, does this mean there's no race tomorrow?"
"Like it even matters to you," Waluigi nips. Peach's face contorts. "You're not a contender."
"I'm here for support," she says, smiling softly at Toad next to her.
"And look how well that worked out for you."
"No Toadette, there likely won't be a race," Peach answers directly, maintaining a lighter tone despite her irritation. "We'll have to reschedule."
"I blame the ape," Wario points a meaty finger, turning onto his stomach. Said ape snorts.
The princess shakes her head, "How is Donkey Kong responsible?"
"He's the one who wanted a race course up here."
"Quite the thrilling choice," Rosalina breathes, brushing hair away from her visible eye. "I feel like I'm soaring to my observatory when I go off every jump."
"It is good," Luigi adds. "Even if I can't help but scream every time I'm shot out of that cannon." He rubs the back of his neck.
Toadette chimes in, "The moguls are my favorite part. So many trick opportunities!"
"And the drifts around slopes? Awesome!" Toad cheers.
The crew begins to buzz, sharing complement after compliment about the racetrack. The three jealous members refuse to participate, but don't ruin it for the rest. DK belches happily, pounding his fists on his chest, resulting in laughs.
"Quiet. Quiet!" Bowser hisses.
The tiny shell in his hands begins to shake, prompting everyone to hush. Two red eyes appear inside it, blinking listlessly. "Papa?"
Bowser gently raises the shell to his eye-level, "Yes, son?"
Junior yawns, "Papa, is it morning yet?"
The Koopa King shakes his head, "We still have a while. Go back to sleep, kiddo. Sorry for waking you."
The eyes briefly bob up and down before disappearing. It doesn't take long for Junior to fall back to sleep; deep breathing softly echoing off the inside of his shell in a matter of moments.
Bowser exhales as he sits on the floor, placing his son next to him, "You're lucky the trip up here took a lot out of him."
"Lucky indeed," Rosalina concurs. She stares at the small, spikey shell, smiling as her mind drifts to her own children. "Junior has the right idea."
Peach nods, "We should all try to get some sleep."
"How are we—" Wario begins, restarting to answer in a harsh whisper, "How are we supposed to do that?! I'm freezing my mustache off!"
Rosalina huddles closer to Luigi, their cheeks flush against one another. Despite the lack of light, everyone can see the man in green's red face. "Snuggle," she says.
Wario rolls his eyes, "Fine," and begins waddling over to the two of them.
"With your own person!" Luigi exclaims.
"Well excuse me, Mr. Possessive! You can't share?"
"No."
"Whatever," Wario says, returning to the space next to his brother. He grunts as he drops, "No kissy stuff while we're all sleeping here, you two got me?"
"Loud and clear," Luigi salutes before lying next to the space princess.
Bodies shuffle and blankets drag along the floor, partner nestling next to partner. DK lies down, his back to Yoshi and Mario while Toad and Toadette sandwich Peach.
Bowser looks to her, bouncing his eyes brows, "Care to join me, Peaches? I'm probably the warmest one here."
"I'll stay with my toads, thank you," she replies, glancing at her hero again.
Waluigi blinks, ignorant, "Not Mario?"
Mario makes a point to focus on his hand as he scratches behind an already sleeping Yoshi's head. Peach reddens, failing to respond.
Bowser's eyes widen staring at the two of them. A wicked grin spreads across his face, "You two never made up?"
Luigi rises to glare at the koopa king. "Mind your own business."
"Did I ruin your little plumber-princess relationship?"
"Bowser." Luigi snaps. "Leave it alone."
"Or what, greenie? You gonna pound me?" he mocks, still smirking. "Not likely."
"It's fine, bro," Mario says, standing carefully to avoid waking the dinosaur. He spots Peach staring in his periphery. "I'm fine."
"Your avoidant eyes say otherwise," the koopa relishes.
Now Mario and Peachs' faces burn, feeling the focused gazes of everyone awake in the room. Bowser chuckles darkly, "Glad the odyssey escapade succeeded on some level." Adversaries' eyes lock, fiery and confident red meeting a strained blue. Despite the freeze, the air suddenly feels heavy and hot.
"H-Hey, has anyone seen Daisy?" Toad interjects, voice echoing in the quiet hall.
"Not recently," Toadette assists. "She walked off a while ago."
Rosalina hesitates, staring between the rivals and the hulking ape snoring next her. "This space is a bit crowded. Granted it's good for warmth but I don't blame her for relocating."
"Mario," Luigi calls. "Bro."
"Mario," Peach attempts, ceasing the staring contest. For the first time in a while, hero and damsel hold each other's gaze. Her baby blues are weary like his, and wetter than normal. "Do you mind checking on her?"
He studies her face and every emotion currently painted across it: Shame, sadness, and a hint of longing he isn't ready to confront. But even though he looks away, air slips up his throat and out his lips in the form of, "Of course, princess."
"Thank you."
The hero heads for the first wing of rooms as Bowser lowers to settle inside of his shell, but not without uttering, "Have fun with Crazy, plumber."
Peach shoots daggers at him. After the day they've had, she can't control her anger a second time, "Bring Daisy back here when you find her, would you? I think she'd be more than happy to slap Bowser off the mountain."
"Don't even joke about that, Peaches!" Bowser cries, quickly retreating.
"But it would be a way out of this mess," she huffs.
The koopa responds from the safety of his shell, "I'll stick with the cold, thanks."
The Wario brothers snicker, "Are you afraid of a girl?"
"NO!" Bowser booms, still refusing to come back out.
"You are!"
Peach and Mario share a smile as everyone begins to guffaw. The Koopa King's eyes narrow in his shell at his nemesis, at everyone, "As if any of you have room to talk!" They ignore him, cracking up until their stomachs ache and stirring sleepers wake from their slumber.
Mario can see his breath the next room over but the lack of light is what makes him shiver. Standing in the darkness and listening to the wind rush, he's reminded of his brother's first mansion, and the course of events that occurred within it. But that was a long time ago. Brushing the memories away, he flexes his fingers to summon a handful of flames and starts his search.
The old floor creaks underneath his feet as he walks from room to room. Every door whines when it's touched, the sound reverberating off of the quiet, high-ceilinged halls. He opts to open them quickly and leave them ajar. Despite adding to the eerie atmosphere, a silence this heavy feels wrong to shatter.
When the first floor turns up empty he climbs to the second, spotting the flicker of fire spilling from a cracked door. Snuffing his light, he listens from the outside to the chatter of teeth against one another. Rapid and constant. He knocks.
Peering inside, he spots Daisy sitting on the floor of an empty room. She's a foot from a fireplace, wrapped in countless blankets. More throws, pillows, and a comforter lie beneath her, strewn out as a makeshift sleeping bag. She shakes more than the fire in front of her.
He calls but still there's no answer, not even a turn of the head, propelling him forward. Mario drops to his knees and grips her stiff figure by the shoulders, "Daisy?!"
"T-that's me," she says, voice crusted with cold.
Her desert tan is faded and her nose and cheeks are kissed with frost, the color of rouge. Lips are a soft tint of blue, hair is stiff and sparkling with snow. He slides his hands down her covered arms, feeling for her wrists and fingers beneath the blankets. When he tries exposing them she winces, resisting, "That hurts!"
"You're freezing!"
"Y-Yeah. T-This is not the kind of weather I'm u-used to." It's the understatement of the year.
"Can you feel your fingers?"
"Not really," she responds, but manages to re-secure the fabric around her.
"What about your toes?"
"Sort of."
"Ears?"
"That's a joke."
"Daisy!"
"I know! I k-know! It's bad-d," she voices, a sudden chill making her tremble more. "It's my own fault."
His eyebrows raise.
She exhales, pulling the blankets over her head, shadowing her face in the process, "I was running laps around the room, to build up body heat ya know? But I got all sweaty and as down and dirty as I am, I can't sit in sweat. I had to wash it off."
Mario's eyes could pop out of his head.
"I went as fast as I could! Dried off, dressed in layers, and bundled up as soon as I got out!"
"When you realized you weren't getting warmer, why didn't you go get help?"
She frowns, "It got hard to move. Figured I'd thaw out eventually though."
Discolored, stiff, and trembling non-stop, but somehow Daisy's eyes are still bright as ever. Shards of cobalt sparkling no matter the amount of light. Combined with winter's blush, she looks almost dreamlike. Oddly beautiful and on the brink of death.
His mouth disappears behind his mustache, "Blankets and a fire isn't good enough. You need to buddy up."
"What, you mean sharing body heat?" she surmises.
He nods.
"I don't really have any to share right now."
"They won't mind," he answers. "Can you stand?"
Slowly, she bends her knees out in front of her and slides her hands to her sides on the ground. Pushing up on her heels, her arms and legs quiver like an old bridge straining to raise. They collapse underneath her weight and she curses.
"It's okay. Shed the blankets and I'll carry you."
Begrudgingly, she does so. Mario stares at her now visible fingers: bent, and bright red like her nose and cheeks. When her hands link behind his neck, he shudders.
"Hold up, you're hot!" she exclaims. "Burning hot! Can't we just stay together?"
He stares into her wide eyes, words caught in his throat,"I didn't think you'd want to–"
"I want to! I want to!" When he doesn't respond right away she softens, "As long as you do."
Face turning a shade of pink, he nods once and sets her down before she can notice.
Her fingers move to her first layer. She struggles to get a grip on the zipper so he pulls it down for her, separating the two sides of the jacket to let it slip off. Her sweatshirt and thermal slide over her head, bending her snow stiff hair. She calls out when Mario wills them off faster than her arms can straighten and raise.
Sweatpants and leggings work their way down her legs, pulling off wool socks in the process; the princess is quick to yank them back into place. Straining, she brings her knees to her chest, shivering more than before (if possible) in socks, underwear, a bra, tank top, and shorts.
She pulls the blankets around her again, "Y-Your turn."
He shakes his head.
"That's not how this works."
"I'm plenty warm for you without taking my clothes off."
"Come on, Mario. We're just lying here."
It's the hero's second staring contest of the night. His mouth is tight, disappearing behind his mustache again and fists are at his sides.
"Getting colder."
He shakes his head again but grips the bottom of his shirt and tugs. Fabric clenched tightly in his hands, his undershirt comes off, too. He tosses them to the side before lying back in his pajama bottoms on the set up beside her.
"Fine," she says, handing over the blankets.
Daisy doesn't hesitate to get close, lacing one of his legs between her own and placing a hand over his stomach. Anchored, she reels herself in until her chest and abdomen are pressed against his side. She exhales, resting her head below his collarbone, and slides her shaky hand up to rest in front of her face.
Never stiffer, the cool of her icy skin doesn't phase him. Mario lies there, arms out like a T, unsure of where to put them.
"You can move those," she says, noticing the lack of limbs. His one arm nestles easily against his free side. The other however… "If it's more comfortable for you, you can put it around my waist."
He grits his teeth, eyes clenched, "Too comfortable."
"What do you—? Oh." she realizes, his bounding heart roaring in her ear. "I'll just let go of—."
"No. I'm not letting you freeze."
"Keep telling yourself that," Daisy says, tilting her head up. His bends down. "Think of it as saving me again."
"Saving you," he repeats, tasting the words.
"Yeah."
The hero swallows, resting his head back on the pillows. He lets his eyes close, willing his lungs to hold their air before slowly releasing it through pursed lips, inhaling deeply, and starting again. Her words echo in his head, lips syncing to them. Gradually, his heart slows to its regular pace, contracting at a soft, steady rhythm, and he relaxes enough to cradle her waist.
They lie under the blankets, listening to wood pop and wind whistle. Against a heated surface, her red hair thaws, releasing a honey lavender scent. Subconsciously, their breathing aligns, in and out in unison.
"How exactly are you this warm?" she asks, eager to accept the heat but curious.
He fishes his freehand out from the covers, creating a ball of fire again.
"Right. Duh." Despite the long day and likely hour, she isn't tired yet. "I'm assuming the outage is bad?"
"Yes," he says after realizing she can't see him nodding. "It's bad."
"This whole storm sucks," she mutters. "Trapped on a mountain, frozen like a popsicle, but worst of all, no race to win, and I was really looking forward to beating all of you."
A smile curves his lips, "You're not beating me."
"Says the one who placed fourth on his own course."
"That was because of a blue shell."
"Huh, blaming the item mechanics now." He doesn't have to see her face to know she, too, wears a grin. "And here I thought you were better than that."
"Fine. I lost," he admits, a smile still stuck to his face. "I could still win the prix though."
"Me, too."
"We'll see."
She's quiet before falling into a fit of laughter, "I love that the hero Super Mario is this competitive. Really breaks the cookie cutter mold."
"Says the pot to the kettle."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm not the typical princess," she mocks in a voice other than her own. "Sorry to disappoint."
"You don't." Bowser is his archenemy but the sole person that gives him the most trouble (the most fun) when it comes to competition is Daisy. And he loves her for that. "You never disappoint."
"As opposed to another princess you know?"
His mouth closes, levity lost with one sentence.
"I know you heard me."
Mario's body goes so still that at one point, Daisy doesn't think he's breathing. She looks up, face unmet, "Peach says you've been avoiding her." She sees his jaw tighten at her name. "She's worried. We all are."
His mouth refuses to open. Like a bear trap, its tendency is to remain shut. If he closes his eyes, Princess Toadstool's dispirited face from before consumes his thoughts. He stares at the wooden ceiling, memorizing its carved patterns.
"She just wants her friend back." When he still doesn't respond she adds, "You're really not going to acknowledge any of this?"
Words gather behind his lips but he refuses to let them out.
"You don't have to talk to me but talk to Peach. Please?"
Not even a nod.
Her sigh sweeps his skin. Daisy lies there, impatiently waiting for an answer likely to never come. She taps her fingers across his chest, too annoyed to think the action through. They land and lift off a koopa-made valley, making hypersensitive nerves fire.
He winces, "Could you not do that?"
Fingers flex back, hovering above the battle scar. She stares at the now sealed gash, following it down to his rising and falling stomach. Other marks tattoo his torso but none as big as this one. "Quite decorated, aren't you?"
"That's…one way to put it," he murmurs, sneaking a glance at her staring.
"Do they all hurt?" she asks, determined to keep him talking.
"None of them really hurt. Some are just more sensitive than others," he clarifies. "Your fingertips felt disturbing here." He uses his free hand to circle the main scar from above. "But if you tapped an inch or so adjacent, I likely wouldn't even feel it.
"Some shoot off pins and needles, others prickle, and others are just for show." He shrugs, "It really varies."
She stares at her hand, rubbing her thumb and fingers together, "The tapping was disturbing?"
"Lighter touch has always bothered me more. A punch in the gut actually would have been more bearable."
"I'll remember that for the future."
Another smile creeps up his face, "Thanks."
"No problem."
The back and forth doesn't come as easy with anyone else. Others are far too literal, or can't keep a rally going, and the worst kind of conversationalists are those with bad material. Despite being one of little words, they tumble out when he's with her. A down to earth girl, she's approachable in every sense. So why, when there's an important matter to discuss, will his mouth not open?
His eyes burn with tears long overdue their fall. He closes them, letting only a single stream from each side escape and wet the pillow. Between a rock and a hard place, the image of Peach materializes. His hands clench, and he holds his breath for fear of gasping.
"Ow. OW!" Daisy hollers, elbowing his arm and pulling her skin in the process. Pushing up with her one hand, the other yanks at his wrist, "Mario!"
He blinks, snapping out of the trance and releases her. She flees the warmth faster than an intolerant, glaring from a distance, "What the hell was—?!"
The fire makes Mario look more broken than he'd like. Shadows create sunken eyes, and the natural light shows the streaks of moisture on his face no matter how much he wipes. Sitting cross-legged, only half of him facing the fire, his silhouette on the ground stretches to the opposite end of the room, making the hero appear smaller than ever.
He wipes his face vacantly, sniffling as he does so.
"What happened? We were just talking and—?"
"I thought I was in love with her."
The room's never been quieter. Even the fire seems to snuff once the statement's aired. Daisy stares at him, mouth parted. He blinks again, sending dry tears down his cheeks and reiterates, "I actually thought I was in love with her, and that she was in love with me." He looks down, running a hand through his hair and gripping it in a fist, " How thick do you have to be to not realize the person you've been fixated on is someone you don't have feelings for? Who doesn't have feelings for you?" He brings both hands to his head, shaking it, "I proposed to her. I was committed to spending the rest of my life with a woman I don't even know."
"Dude…"
"I misinterpreted our whole relationship. I let thank you kisses and cakes completely go to my head. I couldn't even piece it together until Peach blatantly said: We don't know each other. And she's right!" He finally looks at her, "The fact that I went so long, so far without realizing that makes me an idiot."
"You're not an idiot."
"Yes I—"
"Stop," Daisy commands, sitting in front of him. She untangles his hands from his head and puts them in his lap. "Stop talking and listen. You've gone above and beyond for Peach all these years, meaning you've been on the receiving end of her gratitude and hospitality more than anyone else. She's sweet, sometimes sickeningly so." She shakes her own head. "I still don't understand how she's so kind to Bowser at these get-togethers. But she goes above and beyond for you for obvious reasons, and it would be easy to interpret that as romantic interest."
When he turns away she guides his head back, continuing, "You both have a routine and major roles in one another's lives, it's not hard to put you two together. I mean, prior to the moon everyone wanted you guys to make it official. 'Mario and Peach are perfect for each other!'" Her toad impression is crude but it gets the point across. "Some still refuse to face the fact that you two aren't involved somehow. That's just fans for you, and you're around them. All the time."
Mario lets a final tear trickle down to his chin and hang upside down, too focused on her words to brush it away. "If you hear something enough you're going to start to believe it's true. They say princess and plumber belong together, and your brain thinks: 'Hmmm, me, too." Her eyes have never been so bright, illuminated by passion with a purpose. "All that being said, and you still think it was idiotic of you to assume false feelings? It was completely reasonable. You shouldn't be beating yourself up," she emphasizes, glancing at his scars again. "Don't baddies do that enough already?"
The hero wipes his face on his discarded undershirt before responding, "Bowser's been quiet lately."
"So you have to fill the quota?"
"No one else was stepping up." He glances at her annoyed expression, "Sorry."
"You're not an idiot," Daisy affirms, placing her hand on his shoulder.
He nods.
"Say it."
"I'm not an idiot."
He exhales, taking time to release the final traces of self-hate from his system. They place another log on the fire and re-awaken the embers before settling against one another again. Snow still falls outside but at its own pace. It piles peacefully atop itself, creating the silent, breathtaking scene people love winter for.
"All this time," Daisy breathes, hand against her upper lip. "You were mad at yourself."
"Yes," Mario says. "Who else would I be mad at?"
It comes out fast and easy, "Peach?"
"I'm not mad at her and I never was." He looks down, brows furrowed, "Is that what she thinks?"
The desert princess nods, "Her and everyone else. As far as they know you've been trying to get over her this past year."
"That couldn't be farther from the truth!"
"Then tell her that."
He leans back, shaking his head for the umpteenth time and releasing a Wario grumble, "It was easy to get over her —if I ever did it to begin with. Heck, once it all clicked a part of me was relieved. No more expectations and I was free to be interested in someone else."
"Someone else?"
He freezes, watching her push up on her hands again to question him face to face.
"Who is she? Or he?" she asks, enthusiasm on the rise.
Mario's face reddens, trying and failing to look away, "She's someone. But there's nothing to cause a fuss over because nothing's happened yet."
"Why not?"
He opts to rub behind his neck instead of picking at his mustache, answering quietly, "There hasn't been a perfect moment."
"Dude, there is no perfect moment. Just go for it!"
He hesitates, "It's…really not a good time."
"I'm telling you it never is," Daisy states. "Sitting around waiting is a waste, just ask her out."
He stares at her, face as hot as the fire as she smiles back. If she still laid against him, she'd hear, feel his heart pounding in his chest again. "What?" she says when it still doesn't click. And then her face flattens, "Ah."
She lies back down, close as before but her body is lifeless. Her mind races and so does his, blood roaring in the hero's ears at the lull. "I didn't mean for it to go like this," he blurts, longing to fill the void. "I'm–I'm sorry."
Pain and shame no sooner leave him only to boomerang back. Body burning, they heat and boil inside, each pop of a bubble cramping his stomach. He wants to tighten his hold around her, cling to her and the relationship they already have. Had, his conscience corrects, building water pressure again. She isn't his, and at this rate, she never would be.
His eyes open at the sound of her voice, "Would this be a first date then?"
Mario looks down at her scantily dressed form lying against his bare chest. Alone. At night. In a darkened room. Fireplace thriving. "A b-bit much for a first date."
She looks up at him, shrugging, "Not intentionally."
Her face is still flat, unreadably so. With all the energy she usually possesses, it's surreal to see her so still. Somehow his face flares even more under her neutral gaze. He wants the Daisy he knows back, the one that would give him a straight answer.
"This is whatever you want it to be," he breathes, unsure of what to say.
Her brows raise, "Whatever I want?"
Mario swallows, nodding.
Back to the fire, her face is covered in shadow, making reading it that much harder. "There is something I want," she reveals, glancing away as she does so. "Though it might be, as you say 'too comfortable.'"
"Define 'too c-comfortable,'" he stutters.
"You define 'too comfortable.'"
He trembles underneath her narrowed gaze, his position on the ground doing little to conceal the shaking. Suddenly his throats dry, as dry as the crusted fragments of wood flaking in the fire. He swallows again, teeth coming together to utter one three letter word, "Sex."
Daisy pops up, "WOW. I mean I know I'm not exactly ladylike at times, but I really come off that easy?"
"No!" he cries, sitting up himself, uncertain of where to start. "I was just—. You asked me—. I don't think—!"
Her composure cracks and she smiles from ear to ear. It's impossible to cover up but she tries anyway, bringing a hand to her mouth in an effort to relish his abash face a moment longer. His expression changes so fast that a blink would cause one to miss it, "You're horrible."
She puts her hand down, "You're cute when you're embarrassed and I rarely get to see it."
"Good."
If anything, his scowl brightens her beam, causing him to soften. Daisy chuckles, "Sex is not what I want."
"It's not what I want either."
"You sure?"
His ears match his red face. He can't be any more mortified, "Stop it!"
"But you make it too easy."
She laughs again, all remnants of cold gone. It doesn't take long for a grin to break out on his face as well. He can't be mad at her even if he wants to be.
Mario's hand finds hers and they settle, staring at one another. "Apologize," he says, failing to keep a straight face.
"But it wouldn't be sincere."
Shaking his head a final time, his eyes flick to her lips and back again, "What do you want?"
"You know," she murmurs, catching the glance.
Leaning into one another, they press their parted lips together. His free hand finds her hair, still slightly wet from the shower. Honey lavender fills the air around them again, causing the two to inhale and sigh blissfully. His mustache is softer than she imagined, grazing her upper lip and causing her to shiver.
He pulls away gently, "Are you alright?"
She smiles, nodding to beckon him back, "Your mustache tickles."
Light and lasting only a few seconds, it's still enough to make their hearts flutter.
"It turned out to be a good night," Daisy muses when they're lying on the ground again. "Yeah," he agrees, brushing his lips across each other.
"Granted it wasn't perfect. I mean—I did almost freeze." Their eyes meet again. She wears a small, tired smile, "But we still made a moment out of it, right?"
"Point proven," he yawns. "Are you happy?"
"Very." She smirks through her own yawn somehow. "Thank you by the way."
"For what?"
"Saving me."
"I'm the one that should be thanking you," he whispers, watching her eyes close.
"Your words not mine."
"I'm serious."
"I know." She manages a wink before letting fatigue overtake her. "You're welcome."
A sleeping princess beside him, Mario rests his head on the pillow, tasting the remnants of the kiss once more before drifting off. Quiet snow continues to fall as they sleep through the morning and into early afternoon. Questions, assumptions, and remarks bombard them when they rise, but despite all attempts, the evening's events stay between the man in red and the redhead.
I hope you all enjoyed (even if you're not major Mario x Daisy fans). In some ways this (and the future postings) are redos at previous attempts I've made at writing this pairing, but you have to start somewhere, right? Nonetheless, thank you, thank you all for reading.
Reviews are more than welcome; I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. More content to come so be sure to follow if Maisy is up your alley. If you're hungry for more, "Pleasure of it all" and "Like a Date" are two previous one-shots I've written focusing on the two. Mange.
Until next time, all the best to you!