Chapter 10 It'sa Me, Mario!

The steps Luigi took down the way to Peach's Castle were slow and nervous. Exactly how long would it take before he royally screwed up his meeting with the Princess (no pun intended)? How much time would pass before he let his brother down, and let him down so badly that Mario would never talk to him again? This wasn't just a task that Mario had asked him to take care of. This was Mario's life! Every last thing Luigi was going to do while within the castle walls was going to reflect on his brother. People were going to be paying attention to every last syllable that left his mouth; toads and humans alike were going to examine his posture and judge him if he looked so much as a smidge out of character. This was big. This was really big.

And honestly? Luigi felt like he was going to throw up. Never before hd he experienced an event that put him under so much pressure, and he hadn't even arrived at the castle yet! Mario's entire life, his entire reputation hung in the balance. How in the hell was Luigi supposed to live up to his brother's expectations? He could barely handle the challenges of his own life! Oh…this was going to go badly. This was going to go so so so badly.

"Hey, Mario!"

Luigi nearly jumped out of his brother's skin. He looked around, fear causing his heart to pump. Who addressed him? Who?

He heard laughter, innocent and pure. "Mommy, you scared him."

Luigi looked to his left. That's when he noticed two toads, a mother and a daughter, standing right outside the door to their mushroom house. Relieved that it wasn't a boo or some other scary monster (not that those things showing up was likely in this location, but Luigi was never one to cease with the worrying), he waved at them. They waved back.

"You're my hero, Mario!" the little girl said.

Luigi put on a smile, doing his best to look grateful about the comment from the people who spooked him. "Thank you!" He thought about that before deciding he needed to go further to sell the act. "It'sa me, Mario! Wahoo!"

The Toads laughed before going back into their house. Luigi let out a breath of relief once they were out of sight. However, his nerves returned when he noticed that Toad house wasn't the only one visible. There were a LOT of them, and each one had a Toad or two occupying its yard. It quickly occurred to Luigi that he was in Toad Town.

And just as quickly, he became scared. His knees shook, his palms became clammy. Already, he was doomed to be on the receiving end of smiles and adoration that he had no idea how to deal with. He took a deep breath.

"It's okay, Luigi," he whispered to himself. Since he currently had Mario's voice, he could pretend these words were a pep talk that his older brother was giving him. A fact that actually helped him feel a little better. "You got this in the bag. There's no need to worry; it's not like you're dealing with a boohemoth again." He chuckled. "In fact, that's your brother's job right now. So, essentially, you have the opportunity to just loosen up and relax." These words managed to put a smile on his brother's face. "Toads are nothing in comparison to boos."

Really, they weren't, Even for the shy and introverted Luigi, toads and the conversations they wished to have with him were nothing in comparison to the horrors he faced in his mansion and the Last Resort. With this realization came a whole new dose of confidence. This was going to be easy peasy lemon squeezy. What was Luigi worrying about before! Dealing with the fame that Mario had in his daily life was going to be a piece of cake!

What's more…Luigi was FINALLY going to get a taste of what it was like to be famous. When he was himself, most people ignored him in favor of his brother. But now, the reverse was going to be true. Luigi was going to be recognized by everyone and their mother (literally; that was exactly what happened less than a minute ago). Sure, an introvert wasn't really the one who liked being the center of attention all the time. But this wasn't going to be all the time. It was just for a day, a day that was going to be over lickity split.

So, the nervousness he had experience earlier vanished. Puffing his chest out, holding his head up high, and grinning like he had just gotten away with a crime, Luigi strolled down the path to Peach's Castle. While he did that, all the Toads who saw him gave him their greetings.

"What's up, Mario?"

"It's so nice to see you!"

"You are my hero!"

The words of praise overlapped with each other, creating an echo chamber of positive reinforcement. Luigi loved it. Sure, the fact that it wasn't HIM who was being recognized still made him feel a little weird. But overall, this was a pleasant experience. Seeing others flash smiles his way as oppose to ignoring him like he was a passing wind gave him a confidence boost that he never knew he needed.

"I love you more than my kids, Mario!"

Luigi laughed. These Toads were the loyalest followers a hero could possibly ask for. Luigi sure hoped that his brother appreciated them. After all, these guys were probably willing to go through the wringer for the Mushroom Kingdom's hero. And just to be absolutely sure, Luigi was going to test that theory right now.

"Hey, you!" he said, pointing toward a random Toad.

"Me?" the toad asked with a blink.

"Yeah, you! Can you stand on your head for me?"

The Toad smiled. "Anything for the world's greatest hero!" Without any other questions, without so much as a bat of an eye, the Toad did what Luigi told him to do.

Luigi nodded. "Cool. Now, do a bunch of cartwheels while saying the alphabet backwards!"

"Sure thing, Mario!" The Toad started cartwheeling. "Z, Y, X, W, V, U, T…" They went on and on. They didn't even stop due to them clearly running out of breath and needing to take a rest.

This impressed Luigi to his core. Man, these guys' loyalty knows no bounds. He grinned. "Thank you! You can stop now!"

The Toad did just that. Once they had readjusted themself and were standing upright, they waved at Luigi. "Have a great day, Mario!"

"Thanks!" Luigi waved at the Toad and continued on with his journey to the castle. The smile didn't fall from his face as he got more praise, more happy greetings and more excited grins.

I can see why Mario would potentially miss this; this is incredible! Luigi continued on with returning the waves and smiles right up until he got to the Princess's doorstep. Once there, he walked in with a casual attitude he didn't usually have. Must have been the influence of fame and popularity.

Okay, now to find Peach. Luigi didn't think finding her was going to be too terribly difficult. While he didn't know her as well as his brother did, he knew that she usually spent time in her throne room, surrounded by her subjects and the love that came with them. So, not even thinking twice, Luigi started on his trek to the throne room. He had the same stance and expression that he possessed when he was on his walk here.

Even though he had been in this castle before, its wonders and beauty never ceased. The white walls with pink curtains and trim, as well as a regal red carpet that cushioned every step a person took down these corridors, made Luigi beam. He loved the way the castle looked, so much so that he had tried on multiple occasions to convince Mario to decorate their own home after it. He of course had said no, but the conversation/argument would always resume whenever the brothers came back from a trip to the palace. Luigi knew for a fact that that was going to happen this time too.

After a lovely walk through the even lovelier halls, Luigi finally got to the throne room. Sure enough, there was Peach, sitting on a throne that was far less gaudy and far more humble than most royal figures sat on. Luigi took careful, reverent steps up toward the Princess, putting in the effort to get into the most appropriate mindset one could possess while in the presence of royalty. When he got to the throne, he got down on one knee.

"Your majesty." He lowered his head, not daring to look into Peach's face without permission.

Surprisingly, the Princess giggled. "Mario! What's with all these formalities? There's no need for you to bow."

Luigi's face grew warm as he rose back to standing. Peach must really like Mario, if she was willing to go that far. No royal figure should ever turn down a bow. At least, in Luigi's opinion. But hey, he was just a meek little plumber; what did he know?

"Sorry." Luigi looked into the face of the princess. While not the target of his own feeling of attraction, Luigi could still see the beauty she possessed (he was a man, after all). With her long, honey colored hair, perfect skin and crystal blue eyes, Luigi had no difficulty seeing why his brother was infatuated and possibly in love with Peach.

Peach giggled as she approached. "I'm so happy you stopped by today." She stopped just mere inches from Luigi's face. "I have a lot of plans today."

Then, without any warning whatsoever, Peach kissed Luigi on the cheek. Honestly, the green-clad plumber had no idea how to react like this. Mario usually received kisses, but since Daisy wasn't the ooey gooey romantic type, he never got any himself. He kind of seized up under Peach's kiss now; his form going stick straight and his jaw dropping to the floor.

Peach blinked upon noticing this. "Mario? Are you okay?"

It took every ounce of willpower Luigi had to get himself to speak. "Yes!" Actually, it wasn't so much 'speaking" as it was "squeaking."

The Princess must have noticed this, because she giggled. "My my. You're tense today, aren't you?"

Not knowing what to say (in fact, almost forgetting how to speak entirely), Luigi nodded. This got a sympathetic, caring look from Princess Toadstool.

"That speech was more stressful on you than we thought, huh?"

Luigi blinked. The speech? Oh yeah, that's right; the speech that he and Mario had been arguing about the night before. The speech that drew more ire than normal out of Luigi. He struggled to not grit his teeth as he spoke up.

"Uh…yeah, sure." He looked back at Peach. "I really didn't like giving that speech. And I ESPECIALLY didn't like having to walk away from my brother in order to do it."

Peach's brow furrowed. "I'm sorry about that. Next time, I'll just do it myself, okay?"

Luigi's tense posture softened up in relief. Now, Mario had no excuse whatsoever to ditch Luigi on a special day.

He smiled. "Thank you, Princess."

"Anytime." Peach took a deep breath. "Now, we have a lot of work we need to do today."

Luigi blinked. "We do?"

"Yes. Rosalina sent me a letter this morning; she's planning on visiting for a few days. We need to get a room ready for her."

Luigi beamed. Oh, that was going to be easy! If Mario had worried that the things he had fro Luigi to do were too difficult, than by all means, he should stop worrying. Preparing a room was nothing, especially in comparison to rescuing a Princess.

"Okay!" Luigi grinned. "Lead the way then, Peach!"

Peach giggled. "Of course, my handsome prince."

Luigi seized up again. Handsome prince? Oh boy, this day was sure going to be an interesting one.