(A/N: Okay, I got the idea for this MarioXPeach fanfic after reading about a certain detail from the first "Paper Mario" game. I can get inspired so easily by the simplest of things! Well, I think I'll get this fanfic started for your reading pleasure!)
It was nighttime in the Mushroom Kingdom. Life for the Mushroom people has been pretty peaceful and happy, especially since Bowser hasn't caused any trouble lately. His last attempt to cause trouble took place almost a year ago. But on a night like this one, I think Mario and Luigi might be up to something. Let's head on over to Luigi's Mansion and see if I'm right!
At Luigi's Mansion, we find Mario and Luigi out on the mansion's balcony, where they appeared to be looking up at the night sky, probably searching for constellations. I know it doesn't look like much is happening over here, but I still think we should stick around, for you never know if and when one of the brothers is going to say or do something particularly interesting...
"See any constellations up there, Luigi?" Mario asked his brother as they looked at the stars.
"Not really..." Luigi said, but then he gasped as he saw something that he wasn't expecting to see: a shooting star!
"Mama-mia! Mario, did you just see that?!" Luigi asked, turning to his brother in surprise.
"I sure did! That was una stella cadente, a shooting star!" Mario exclaimed, just as surprised as Luigi was.
"You know what that means! Let's-a make a wish!" Luigi exclaimed. He closed his eyes and began making his wish, but Mario's thoughts were not on wish-making. He was too surprised to do so after they saw that shooting star go by. A sight like that was common at Shooting Star Summit. Had the shooting star come from there? Could they really see that place from all the way over here?
"Apetta un minuto! Wait a minute!" Mario said to himself. Thinking about Shooting Star Summit brought something back to him. It was something he'd been told about that place right before he had to go to Star Haven and learn what happened to the Star Spirits, courtesy of Bowser.
(Flashback...)
Mario was at the party Princess Peach invited him and Luigi to the day Bowser had stolen the Star Rod. Bowser had yet to show up and ruin everything, and while Luigi was in the castle's Great Hall, Mario was looking for the princess. But he was in such a good mood that he didn't mind stopping to chat with some of the guests. At that moment, he was having a polite chat with a Toad on the lower part of the castle's second floor.
"Do you know of a place called Shooting Star Summit?" the Toad asked Mario at one point.
"No, I don't think so..." Mario replied, thinking about it. He never recalled hearing about a place like that before... until now, that is.
"It's near this castle. It's such a romantic place... It's definitely the best place for a date. Trust me." said the Toad.
"Don't worry. I'll take your word for it." Mario assured the Toad. The Mushroom people never once thought to steer Mario wrong. Not after the countless times he stopped Bowser and saved the life of their princess whenever she was in peril. He never failed to bring her back to them, safe and sound.
"Maybe you ought to, you know, ask the princess to go there..." the Toad suggested. Mario and Peach being in a relationship was a well-known fact in the Mushroom Kingdom, and it was one that the Mushroom people were glad to support.
Mario thought about the Toad's words for a moment before saying, "I might... consider it..."
(End flashback...)
Mario's eyes widened as he remembered that conversation; what the Toad suggested to him. And now that he thought about it, he was actually considering it. Asking Peach to go to Shooting Star Summit with him was sounding like a pretty good idea!
"Of course!" Mario said, catching Luigi's attention.
"What is it, bro? Did you figure out what you're going to wish for?" Luigi asked.
"No! Even better! I just got la più grande idea di sempre, the greatest idea ever!" Mario replied, sounding really excited because he was just about beaming.
"Greatest idea... Mario, what are you talking about?" Luigi asked, confused.
"Okay, do you want to know why it took me a while to come home this evening?" Mario asked.
"Well, kind of. But truth be told, I just assumed that you and the princess couldn't stop playing kissy-face long enough for her to let you come home. I was sure you were going to stay the night there until I saw you come into the kitchen, where I was preparing dinner." Luigi said.
Mario blushed at Luigi's words, but he said, "You were right about me and Peach kissing with each other, but at some point during our make-out session, I realized that I'm ready to take the next step in our relationship. I want to marry her."
"You want to what?!" Luigi asked, surprised. Had he heard that correctly? Did Mario really just say that he wanted to marry Princess Peach?
"I want to marry the princess." Mario said.
"Hold it, Mario! Are you absolutely certain about doing this? You do remember the lecture that Mama and Papa gave us about marriage, right?" Luigi asked.
"Yes, Luigi, I do remember that lecture. And for your information, I am very serious about Peach. You know that I love her with all my heart, and that I will never, ever leave her side. I knew from the moment I met her that I would never stop loving her, for anyone or anything. She's the one woman I know I want to spend the rest of eternity with." Mario said decisively.
"All right. That's the most important thing, bro. Marriage is serious, and not something that you can throw away whenever you see fit. You have to be sure that she's the one you truly love, and the one you want to be with for the rest of forever." Luigi said, remembering that part of their parents' lecture.
"Right. Now the reason I took so long in coming home is because after I left Peach's castle, I went straight to the jewelry store in Toad Town to pick out un anello di fidanzamento, an engagement ring for her. And I found the right one, too. So I bought it." Mario explained.
"You really got a ring for Peach? Do you know what her ring size is?" Luigi asked. He remembered not knowing that rings came in different sizes until he and Mario were picking out their class rings in high school and had to have their fingers measured so their rings would fit when they arrived.
"Yup. I asked her about it earlier today, and she told me what it was without even thinking about it." Mario replied.
"Mama-mia... If I were her, I would've been pretty suspicious about such a question, but perhaps she wasn't exactly paying very close attention..." Luigi mumbled. Then he realized that he didn't know what the greatest idea ever was, and he said, "Say, do you think you could tell me about 'the greatest idea ever' now? You didn't tell me what it is yet, and I'm getting curious."
"Oh, right. Well, I know for a fact that I want to surprise Peach with the proposal, but I wasn't sure how, when, or where I wanted to propose to her. I was constantly drawing a blank. When we saw that shooting star, I wondered if we could actually see Shooting Star Summit from here." Mario explained.
"Huh... I don't think we can see it from here, Mario..." Luigi replied. It was too dark for them to tell, and he was pretty sure the mansion was built nowhere near there.
"I might have guessed. But thinking about that place brought back a conversation I had with a Toad about it." Mario replied.
"Really? What did the Toad tell you? E dov'ero? And where was I when that was going on?" Luigi asked.
"Well, do you remember la grande festa, the big party that Peach threw on the day Bowser stole the Star Rod from Star Haven?" Mario asked.
"Really? Mario, you said you hated thinking about that day, and that party, because Bowser had to go and ruin it for you, Peach, and everyone else by showing up and being a big, stupido jerk-face like always." Luigi said.
"I know that. But Bowser had yet to show up, you were in the Great Hall, and the Toad and I were on the castle's second floor. We were engaged in a casual conversation, and he was telling me all about Shooting Star Summit. He even mentioned how it's a romantic place, which makes it perfect for una data, a date." Mario said.
"A Toad told you this?" Luigi asked.
"Yeah! He even suggested I ask the princess to go there sometime..." Mario said.
Luigi quickly began putting two and two together, and he said, "Okie-dokie, let me get this straight, Mario... You're going to pop the question to Peach at Shooting Star Summit?"
"That's right!" Mario replied happily.
Then Luigi remembered something else, and he asked his brother, "Are you really sure you're ready to ask her the big question, Mario? I mean, you tried to ask the princess to marry you once before, and what did that get you? Un cuore spezzato. A broken heart." Luigi recalled how miserable Mario looked when he returned from the biggest adventure of his life. Seeing him that upset really hurt...
Mario frowned as he remembered that moment, but then he said, "This time is going to be different, Luigi. When I first attempted to propose to Peach, we were standing outside the Wedding Hall at Honeylune Ridge, dressed in wedding attire, and I didn't even have the ring on me. But I wish I'd had it then, for it would have been my ace in the hole; the best way to one-up Bowser. In fact, he was the main reason everything fell apart."
"Okay, I can see that you're thinking this time will be different, but we'd better hope that Bowser still hasn't recovered from being rejected by Peach just yet. We don't want him to show up and ruin this proposal as well. It wouldn't do either of you any good." Luigi said.
"Actually, what if he did recover, but somebody suggested to him that he forget all about Peach and try to pursue someone else, like a Koopa woman who really loves him and would be happy to take on a ready-made family? And what if he agreed to do that, since Peach never really liked him in the first place?" Mario asked.
"È una buona cosa. Then that's a good thing. He'd be glad to leave the two of you alone from now on if that's the case." Luigi said.
"And even if Bowser doesn't show up, this time will be very different from my first attempt in another way. We'll be at Shooting Star Summit, not on the moon. And we won't be wearing wedding attire, either. I'm thinking we'll be wearing our usual attire. I'll also have the ring I picked out... I just hope Peach likes it enough to say 'yes'..." Mario said.
"Say, what does the ring look like? Puoi mostrarmi? Can you show me? Please?" Luigi asked.
"Not out here in the dark. You would never see it, and I'd be afraid of losing it. Plus, I don't have it on me right now. Before we came out here, I put it in my nightstand in my room, to keep it safe." Mario said.
"I was thinking that you could show me the ring when we're inside the mansion." Luigi said.
"I should have guessed. I'd be glad to do that. But you're going to have to stop by my room before we go to bed if you want to see it so badly." Mario replied.
"I can do that." Luigi said.
Due to their present conversation, the brothers had pretty much forgotten all about searching for constellations, but that wasn't too bad, because they heard a loud rumble of thunder, and the next thing they knew, it was starting to rain. Upon feeling the first few raindrops, Mario and Luigi ran back into the mansion as fast as they could and decided that now was a good time for them to call it a night.
"Well, I guess I'll show you the ring now. Come with me." Mario said, motioning for Luigi to follow him after he locked the door to the balcony.
So the pair made their way to where their bedrooms were, and Luigi followed Mario into his room, eager to see the ring Mario had picked out for Peach. Once they reached his room, Mario turned on the lights, walked over to his nightstand, and opened the top drawer. From the drawer he produced a small, black velvet box.
"Check it out, bro. This is what I'm planning to give Peach at Shooting Star Summit." Mario said, opening the ring box and showing Luigi the ring inside.
"Mama-mia..." Luigi said, his eyes big as he looked at the ring. The ring was very beautiful; 14-karat gold, and set with a heart-shaped ruby that sparkled prettily in the light. The younger plumber just couldn't see Peach saying no to a ring as lovely as the one that Mario had picked out for her.
"What do you think she'll say to this? Do you think she's going to like it?" Mario asked hopefully.
Luigi thought about his answer, and he began, "Peach is never going to be able to say 'no'. Not to you, and not to a ring as nice as that."
"That's a good thought." said Mario.
"I think she's also going to apologize for breaking your heart at Honeylune Ridge." Luigi added.
"Luigi, she already apologized for breaking my heart. You know that." Mario said.
"But that ring might make her feel like she owes you big-time for hurting your feelings like she did. And after she apologizes for breaking your heart, she's going to glomp you and say 'YES!' in a very loud, very excited, high-pitched voice." Luigi finished.
"You really think so?" Mario asked hopefully.
"I'm pretty sure that's the response you're going to get from Peach this time around, bro. You did say that the two of you worked things out after Bowser tried to tear you apart when he attempted to propose with a stolen bouquet of flowers containing Piranha Plants, didn't you?" Luigi asked.
"Sì. After working things out, Peach and I are as close as we've ever been, and we now know that we hate Bowser more than we did before he forced Peach into marrying him." Mario replied, nodding his head.
"Then you've got nothing to worry about this time. Peach will be sure to say 'yes' when you ask her to marry you." Luigi said.
"Grazie. Thanks, Luigi. That's what I needed to hear." Mario said, smiling at his brother.
"So, now that you know where you're going to ask Peach the big question, when are you going to ask her, and how do you plan to do it?" Luigi asked.
"Well... I haven't really figured that out yet, but I do know that I want to do it soon." Mario said.
"How soon? Tomorrow night?" Luigi asked.
"Oh no! Not that soon, Luigi! I don't have a plan yet, and I need to think of some sort of speech to give my princess when I'm going to propose." Mario said.
"Right... Well, if we're lucky, maybe one of us can come up with something in our dreams, and then we can tell each other about what happened, and we can figure out a plan for you." Luigi said.
"Perhaps. That would be una benedizione, a blessing." Mario replied as he closed the ring box and put it back in the drawer of his nightstand for safe-keeping. Then he closed the drawer.
"Well, we'll continue this discussion in the morning, then." Luigi said with a yawn. He sounded like he was ready to turn in for the night.
"Okie-dokie. I guess we should start getting ready to go to bed. Buona notte, Luigi. Good night." said Mario.
"Buona notte. Good night." Luigi replied as he left the room.
With Luigi out of the room, Mario decided it was time for him to get ready for bed. As he got undressed and changed into his comfy red pajamas, he looked back at the nightstand, where the ring was. He tried thinking of an interesting way to propose to the princess, but he wasn't coming up with anything really good.
"I guess I'll just go to sleep and see if maybe my dreams can help me come up with a good enough proposal plan." Mario muttered to himself, crawling under the covers and allowing sleep to claim him the moment his head hit the pillow.
And that's where we're going to end Chapter 1. Mario's flashback is the moment that helped inspire this fanfic, and we now know that the lovesick plumber is planning to propose to the princess he loves. But will he come up with an interesting way to propose to her? Stay tuned in order to find out!