Chapter 2: Grown-up Chat
Toad was visibly flustered all throughout the day as he did his duties around the castle now that his job as assistant was suddenly and irreversibly taken. He was now on guard duty, the job he hated. It involved sitting on the balcony of the castle with an uncomfortable metal chair, peering through a pair of binoculars and reporting any strange sightings. At least five Toads were on this task at any given time, even at night. They rotated out so everyone got a turn. The thing he hated most about it, though, was that he would sometimes get woken up in the middle of the night for an hour's worth of guard duty. Those times always seemed to be when he needed sleep from the day's worth of assisting Peach. Sitting in the chair, he sighed, looking out at the portion of courtyard he was supposed to watch.
"Ugh... This sucks." he mumbled under his breath. "I could've been at Delfino Island right now..." he groaned, looking out the binoculars not because he saw anything, but to look like he was actively participating instead of sitting around. Unexpectedly, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He wanted to look, but it could be the princess for all he knew, and then he would just get angrier about everything. He thought about it for a second, then took it out and read the message, from Mario.
Meet me by the bar tonight. I have some things I'd like to know.
Toad swiftly opened the phone and replied a message back.
Why? You know I'm only 16. He was about to put the phone back, but then Mario's reply came.
I said by the bar, silly! XD Meet me around the back at 9.
Toad put the phone away, nodding his head. He'd like a chat with someone about this.
"But first I have to go through this crummy job..." he exaggeratedly groaned, slumping into the chair for effect.
Two hours later, he was walking down the street to the local bar, Pipe Club. Nothing really too special about it; it was very rundown and had little charm to it on the outside, apart from the neon sign that near every party goer disliked because it was too bright. On the inside, there was much fun to be had, but instead of going there, Toad walked around just as Mario told him. Sure enough, when he got there, Mario was waiting for him.
"Hey." they both greeted at the same time, causing them to chuckle.
"So why'd you call me over here?" Toad asked.
"Oh, nothing much. Just wanted to talk to you about today." Mario smiled. "I mean, it's not really that often the Princess calls you down just so she can say goodbye to you. She must think you're a good person."
"Yeah..." Toad agreed, a slight blush appearing on his face.
"So why do you hate guard duty, Toad?"
"Why do I hate- it's boring!" Toad exclaimed. "Sorry." he apologized because of how loud he was. "But seriously, think about it. Would you like to sit out there in the bitter cold, with a metal chair and binoculars, looking for threats that aren't there? Oh, and even if they are there, they're not gonna come in through the courtyard all guns blazing. They're going to go around the back or somewhere they can't be seen. It's unnecessary." he explained.
Mario chuckled at his little rant. "I see. Must be hard. But you still do it. I've seen plenty of other Toads sleeping on the job and just walking out of their chair to go get some water or something like that. But I've never seen you do that once; you're always on time, you always do your work, and quite frankly you put your heart into it. It's... reassuring to see someone like that."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Toad smiled.
"Which begs the question... Why? Why do you do this? For the kingdom, for someone else, for yourself? Why do you put yourself through all this, Toad?" Toad looked away at that question. "Hey, Toad?" Mario asked after a while, to make sure he had heard.
"Well..." Toad finally responded. "Do you want the short answer or the long answer?"
"Umm... the short one." Mario chose, confused as to why he would ask such a question.
"Okay." Toad took a deep breath before turning to face Mario again. "It's for the kingdom... and for the Princess." he blushed.
"Really?" Mario smiled. "That's good to hear." he complimented, oblivious to the fact.
"No, no, you don't get it, do you? I like the Princess, Mario. In... a romantic... sorta way." he blushed even more.
"Oh! Well... I have to say I wasn't expecting that." Mario chuckled, furrowing his brow. "That's... good to hear too." he chuckled. "Can I ask why?"
"Of course, I was going to explain anyway." Toad assured. "But I was anticipating you to be more apprehensive, to be honest with you. Aren't you in a relationship with her already?"
"Oh, that? That's a total lie." Mario explained.
"Really?" Toad questioned, shocked. "But it was all over the newspapers the first time you saved her and everything!"
"Yeah, I know." Mario chuckled, leaning back into his seat. "Newspapers just do that for the publicity. You know, to get more money you have to stretch the truth a little bit, right?"
"Yeah, right." Toad agreed.
"Just because she kisses me on the nose when I save her from the clutches of an evil lizard king doesn't mean she's in a relationship with me, Toad." Mario said 'evil lizard king' in a comedic voice, earning a laugh from Toad.
"Yeah, that's true... So who are you in a relationship with, then?"
"Oh, no one at all. Although..." he leaned in close, whispering. "I think Toadette's not too bad of a candidate myself." They both laughed at that comment.
"So why exactly do you like the Princess, Toad?"
"Oh, it's a long story. But I've liked her for months now. Her personality is really one I'd love to have. She's bubbly, carefree, and cheerful all the while, even when she knows that someone is trying to capture her every waking moment."
"Yeah, I see where you're coming from. So have you tried to make a move yet?"
"Who, me? Of course not..." Toad blushed. "I don't have the guts."
"Of course you do!" Mario chuckled and put a hand on his shoulder. "If you have the guts to perform better than everyone else around the castle just to prove how much you love Peach, then you have the guts to ask her out." he concluded with a smile. Toad just blushed a little more, but smiled a little too. "I think we both have to head back, huh?" Mario checked his watch, reading 10:32. "Yessir, we definitely have to go. Come on." Mario took Toad's hand and together they headed back across the streets of downtown Mushroom Kingdom, back to the castle in the distance.
To be continued...