The Smash Mansion was a sight to behold for the big costume party that came only once a year.
Halloween was in full swing around the grand building, with every nook and cranny decorated with some sort of prop, pumpkin, or paper ghost that announced that the spookiest holiday of the year was here. As it was every time the day rolled around, this fun festivity amongst the Smashers was also in motion as well.
Wandering up to the room where all of the action was, one could see all of the Smashers together dressed up in different costumes, most of them in something original and a couple of them even dressed as someone else in the room. Black and orange light glimmered above from strands that adorned the walls, and everyone was either mingling and chatting with their fellow competitor or helping themselves to snacks or punch laid out across the long table while some spooky music played around them.
The lights were bright and colorful, changing hues and patterns to match the music that played from the speakers. The furniture was arranged neatly and elegantly, with cushions and tablecloths in matching festive shades of orange and black.
As was expected considering how they went in years past, the party was a success and everyone had a good time and celebrated the Halloween spirit. What originally started as a simple party of just eight fighters that was organized to celebrate the season had only gotten better with each year, leading up to the busy celebration throughout the mansion they had today that was brimming with joy and fun and laughter.
Amongst the Smashers enjoying themselves on this day was Junior, who had just left the other Koopalings upon seeing father talking to some of the other villains that inhabited the mansion. He took a sip from the cup of sugary fruit punch that had been whipped up for the party before calling for him. "Papa?" he said.
As Bowser turned around to look at his son, the costume he was wearing became visible. On top of his head was a red hat and on his face was a fake mustache, the person he was dressed up as being a certain plumber that was his adversary both in battle and outside of the mansion. "You must-a have the wrong a-guy. It's a-me, a-Mario," he said with a not-so-great attempt at a recreation of the plumber's notable accent.
Junior smirked as his dad's attempt to imitate Mario's voice, unable to hold back the giggles that arose from him. "Come on, Dad," he replied. "I know it's you."
Bowser heartily chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess my impression wasn't very convincing, huh, Junior?" he inquired.
"Not quite," responded Junior with the honesty a kid his age normally gave.
His father noticed his fake mustache was starting to come off, to which he quickly put it back into place before he shurgged his shoulders. "Oh well. I guess I just gotta practice some more."
"A lot more," called out a certain plumber as he was passing through. "After all these years, I thought you could do a better impression than that."
Bowser snickered and crossed his arms. "Not sure if I'd take advice from a guy wearing a bunny costume right now," he remarked. "You do know you're dressed for the wrong holiday, don't you? How about you just hop along now?" He then chuckled at his own joke as if he had told the funniest one anyone had ever heard.
Junior starting to giggle alongside him quite naturally. "Hop along. That was a good one, Papa."
Mario had been dressed in a simplistic one-piece costume that made him look like a white rabbit with floppy ears above his head. Everyone else around at the party, though, complimented his cuter choice regarding what to wear, with Bowser being the only one that found something to say about it.
He just ignored his nemesis and made his way through where everything was happening, the snark floating away from him as fast as it came his way. He wasn't going to let something as little and insignificant as Bowser doing what he normally did best-throwing quips to darken a Smasher's upbeat mood-spoil his positivity or wipe the smile off his face. After all, he was waiting for the most special guest of all to finally come down and join the ongoing celebration, and everyone else in the mansion knew it.
Mario scanned the crowd of fighters looking for her, starting to feel just a tad nervous as he did so. He caught sight of one of his good friends Fox, who was wearing a bright red costume that resembled the outfit worn by a superhero in one of the movies they had watched before, as well as Link dressed in a handmade costume that was presumably his best attempt at dressing as a Koopa Troopa. He simply smiled and waved at them, but his eyes were only searching for one person.
He checked his watch for a brief spell before he lifted up his head once again and finally spotted her coming down the stairs, his jaw dropping at the sight of Princess Peach. She looked stunning in a long elegant white dress that hugged her curves and flowed behind her, a pair of delicate-looking wings behind her back that complimented her costume. Her hair was bright red instead of blonde, which made her stand out even more. She wore a tiara on her head and a necklace around her neck, both sparkling with jewels that altogether made her look like she stepped straight out a fairy tale.
She saw him and smiled, walking towards him. He quickly composed himself and greeted her. "Wow, Peach," he started to say, nervousness escaping him just then as he felt butterflies in his stomach. "You look a-amazing..."
"Thank you, Mario," she replied. "You look great as well." Pointing at his getup, she playfully added, "That costume is paw-fect, if I do say so myself."
He chuckled at the remark from the princess as he looked down at himself in the outfit he had on. "It was a new creation from the Miis," he explained. "They were a-looking for someone to try it so I thought, 'Why a-not?'"
Peach knew the trio of Mii fighters around the mansion, alongside possessing their individual skills in the tournament, had quite a knack when it came to the art of design. Not only did those three dress in different costumes that could be occasionally spotted during battles, but they also made more than a handful of them for themselves as well (and even pitched in to help sew and stitch up another Smasher's attire when the rare scenario came about). So it was only a natural presumption that this outfit had possibly came from their minds.
"Oh, and I almost forgot." Mario handed her the roses, which she accepted with a blush. "Here you are."
"Oh, they're beautiful," she complimented as she took the bouquet from him and smelled the flowers, smiling warmly back at him.
"Only the best flowers for the most beautiful princess," he said just before asking a question he became curious about. "What happened to your hair? Did you dye it?"
"Oh, yeah." She laughed and touched her hair. "It's a new look. Do you like it?" she asked as he curled a long strand of it with her finger.
He nodded and smiled. "I do. It suits you very well. But why did you change it?" he asked.
Peach giggled. "Well, I have to admit it was by accident, actually. I borrowed some hair dye from Daisy, thinking I'd change things up and color it brown, but it ended up making my hair this bright red. I didn't realize it until it was too late." She rolled her eyes and sighed. "That's the last time I borrow anything from Daisy."
Mario chuckled and hugged her. "Well, don't a-worry about it. I personally think it's beautiful," he said.
She smiled and kissed him on the cheek.
"Thank you, Mario. You're too sweet," she said.
They looked into each other's eyes and felt their hearts beat faster. They were about to kiss when they started to hear the shrill sound of feedback from an unseen microphone, followed the much gentler sounds of the strings of acoustic guitar harmoniously being plucked. The little melody, a combination of notes that invoked a light and romantic-sounding tune, reverberated unequally against the the playlist of Halloween songs that echoed around the mansion on repeat since it started.
"What's that?" Peach inquired out loud, turning her head in the direction the new sound was coming in from. She hadn't exactly anticipated for there to be any sort of live music alongside what already played.
Mario smiled back at her and, with a nod of his head, replied, "Sounds like it's coming from outside. Let's head out there."
Princess Peach placed her hand delicately in the plumber's as he slowly led her outside, away from where the good majority of the Smashers continued to enjoy themselves and socialize. It was as they were stepping out towards the long-stretching pool patio that the other music faded and it was just the sound of that slow but soothing acoustic guitar being played.
Although everyone else seemed to be having a good time inside, the exterior of the mansion had its equal value of Halloween decorating. The stone pavement below their feet glowed in spots in a shade of pumpkin orange, courtesy of the festive lightbulbs shining down from the fixtures that shined usually a bright white to light a guest's path. A row of jack-o-lanterns with silly faces carved into them lined either side of their walkway as the two of them walked past the pool, its water rippling as it awaited for someone to enjoy a dip into it and forget about the weather that was starting to cool down.
The source of that guitar became spotted once Peach directed her attention away from the scenery and over towards the little circular bandshell that stood on the far left of the patio, constructed in the small grass yard away from it with marigolds planted prior encircling it. It very seldom got used throughout the year and the guitar that sat outside on seemed to do nothing but wait for someone to pick it up, and at one point even Master Hand had complimented along with the Smashers to perhaps take it down and put something newer and more useful in its place. Hearing someone actually using it for its purpose was quite a change to the usual, considering that those in the mansion that knew how to play tended to just perform for the others from the luxury and comfort of indoors.
The two strolled over it to see that the one that was playing so very nicely was none other than a certain speedy blue hedgehog. He was sitting idly on a small stool that had sat inside the bandshell, warped and weathered from the elements, gingerly and rhythmically plucking the six-string he had strapped around him with gloved fingers. The instrument was plugged into a brown amp and resonated around the area through a pair of black square speakers.
Sonic looked as if his mind was empty of everything except for the guitar. Sitting with legs crossed on the stool, he had a wide and delighted smile on his face and him focused solely on playing the right note and avoiding any mistakes as the melody he played became slightly more elaborate. He brought it to a stop just then and lifted his head to see the two of them looking over at him.
"Hey there, friends!" he said with a chuckle that let both of them know he was happy to see them. "How are you two lovebirds doing tonight? Having fun?" he asked.
"Sure are, Sonic," replied Mario.
Sonic straightened up his posture and smiled at his friends. "That's great to hear..."
"I never knew you could play a guitar that beautifully, Sonic," Peach admitted.
With a grin forming on his face, the hedgehog answered, "Yeah, I'm great at a lot more than people know."
"With cockiness being one of them," interrupted Mario with blunt honesty.
"What? I'm not lying," Sonic replied in defense of himself with a shrug of his shoulders. "I mean, on top of bein' the fastest hedgehog anyone's ever seen- Let's see..." He started to tick off things on his fingers as he continued to prove his point to his plumber friend. "I had the best swing in the sandbag contest this year, made only the best chili cheese dogs that everyone loved at the Smashers' potluck dinner over everything else... Oh yeah, I took home gold several years in a row for multiple sports at the Olympics."
"It's not a fair match when it comes to track and field, though," Mario chimed in once again. "Of course you have the best sprint in a group of runners."
"I said multiple sports, Mario. How fast my legs can run's got nothing to do with how good I kicked your butt in that fencing match."
Mario nodded his head at the last point made by his friend. "I suppose you're right about that one. Not my favorite sport of all time."
Raising a hand, Sonic returned, "I rest my case." He then turned his attention away from Mario and over to the princess standing patiently to the right of him. "So, you guys decide to step out from the party a little bit?"
"Well, we came out here because we heard you playing," Peach replied, "and it's such a nice night out. Very-"
"Romantic?" Mario inquired as he look into her blue eyes that seemed to sparkle in the dark night.
"Yes. Very much so."
Sonic snapped his fingers before looking at his friends with a very enthusiastic look on his face. "Say, I know the perfect way to make it even more romantic. What do you say, guys?" He then turned his head slightly toward Mario and winked.
The plumber in his rabbit costume stood there, mindlessly wondering why he had done so before it suddenly clicked in his brain two seconds later. "Oh, yeah," he remarked.
"Got you covered," the blue hedgehog answered. "Well, here's goes nothing."
Sonic started to return his focus back to the guitar, suddenly beginning to break into an acoustic melody where he started to pluck the strings at a very quick pace as if it were second nature. The tempo in which he talentedly played in started to become slower and slower before becoming the kind of romantic melody that could be danced to.
Mario slowly started to take several steps backwards before taking a bow in front of the princess with a smile as she watched him in surprise. "May I have this dance, Princess?" he asked. "You always you wanted to dance together at some place where it's just the two of us."
Peach knew for a fact how she had mentioned the idea to him in weeks past not thinking anything of it, and she was happily surprised to see how he managed to make that come true even during a busy celebration going on back inside the mansion. "Certainly," she replied a twinkle of her eyes.
Mario hoped the practicing he had been doing in preparation for such a moment together with her would pay off now. He walked up to her once again and outstretched his arm invitingly. "Take my hand..."
"Wouldn't it be more like take your paw?" she joked before giggling softly.
Mario was quizzical for a split second before recalling his choice of costume. "Oh, you're right," he said, laughing at himself alongside her.
The two let the music being played by the hedgehog begin to resonate around them before they pulled each other close and began to sway in time to it. They felt their love growing even stronger than it was the moment before as they danced by the bandshell, the Halloween party forgotten and the only thing their focus was on being each other.
Author's Note: Well, it's about dang time I came back with the much-needed story taking place around Halloween time. With that coming very, very soon, I quickly realized I needed to get something written for the season. I decided not to go for a scary story and settle on something a bit on the romantic side, and what better pair to write about than Mario and Peach? And some of you might have noticed that Peach's hair being red for this story was a nod to her original character design as well. :)
I might be doing some stories that are on the scarier side of things in the near future, but life has gotten SUPER busy so writing these stories kept continuously getting set aside even though I really wanted to. *sigh*
Anyway, let me know what your thoughts were on this. As I said already, I haven't been writing for quite some time, so my writing hasn't been at its peak in terms of quality. But any thoughts, whether they're good or bad, are always gladly appreciated.
'Til next time, everyone! :)