There's Something About Bowsette

A/N: Posting this from the airport! ^_^ I love flying~ Wow! I'm so happy at how many people have Fave'd and Followed! :D As I mentioned, the next couple of chapters will be a bit shorter, and I will do my best to update again before the end of the week!

buzzsaw935: Sorry, I wouldn't hold my breath for that...

GaoGod: Oh man, that was a big mistake! Actually, she knows all about it already. We've been trying to fit this trip into our schedules... the real challenge will be in getting her parents' approval and consent, since she's a good Christian girl and I'm, uh, writing this fanfic. XD

S: Ohhh, do you mean those female Pocket Chomps, like from Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time? I guess those could be called Chompettes, but I'm just going with the name that fandom has come up with so far, hehe.

AJ The Hedgehog: Thanks fam! We are both very excited about the whole thing. ;)

Zuskato Zyus: But but but isn't that the job of a good writer? ;)

JasonVUK: Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy this one, too!

Chapter Seven
Feeling Yourself Disintegrate

Princess Peach walked through the door with her finger on the trigger, ready to immediately wipe both Mario's and Bowsette's memories into last week.

What she didn't expect was to be struck silent by a vision that appeared to her like a hallowed scene.

Mario and Bowsette were sleeping so soundly against one another, their mellow snoring perfectly in sync as slivers of light leaked in from the windows and warmed their serene faces. They were as innocent as two babies in a crib, obviously hung-over and disheveled, but clearly at peace.

It was really Bowsette, though, who struck her. After hearing her sultry, husky voice on Chibi-Robo's mic, Peach didn't know what she was hoping or even expecting to find, but it certainly wasn't this radiant being. Indeed, Bowsette's beauty was one-of-a-kind. She was a perfect ten in every department: sex appeal, cuteness, primness, curvaceous body type, intelligence (OK, well, maybe that wasn't exactly a perfect ten), you name it.

Seeing Bowsette filled Peach with unspeakable envy, but at the same time, a deep and abiding understanding. If she absolutely had to lose to someone, she was glad that it was to Bowsette.

One of the Piantas, dressed up in a full tuxedo, was playing Kyoutenka (Ending Theme from Eternal Sonata) on the grand piano ever so delicately. Following that emotional song, he continued to play Chopin.

Princess Peach was standing there staring at the lovestruck duos for several minutes before she fully realized that she was playing with fire - they could after all wake up and notice her at any second, so she'd better get on with it.

She closed her eyes and tried to force herself to squeeze the trigger. She couldn't do it. Finally, Peach gave up on herself. She took a seat across from them and reflected.

The night previous, she'd been infected with a seething rage and determination.

Before Toadette's freakout, she would probably have done it in a heartbeat.

But she saw her own hatred and avarice in Peachette's wild, hungry, murderous eyes. If Obi-Wan Kenobi was there, he'd be yelling that Peach had become the very thing she swore to destroy.

Now, here, in the almost sanctified location of a Manta Ray-infested beach resort, she felt that she had no right to interfere in her friends' happiness.

Who was she, after all, to deal out such mind-altering judgment? What had Mario and Bowsette ever done to harm her, personally, aside from Bowsette existing (a fact that could chiefly be blamed on the corporate honchos at Nintendo for mandating the creation of the Super Crown in the first place)?

Peach couldn't fault her might-have-been lovers. In fact, she now felt disgusted at herself for even thinking that she had to right to interfere, especially since she hadn't ever put herself out there the way they obviously had. She hadn't made herself vulnerable in the eyes of anyone she'd loved, or convinced herself she loved.

Chibi-Robo, who was finished charging, climbed up on her armchair and, at her nonverbal instruction, plugged himself into the LED display on her Forget-Me-Gun, then handed Peach a small Bluetooth earbud.

Peach placed the earbud in her ear and picked up where she'd left off the night before. She listened to Mario and Bowsette laughing and sharing about their lives on the waves. She fast-forwarded to their frolicking on the beach, their tickle-fight, and finally, their tender lovemaking.

Rather than the anger she expected to feel, however, Peach found herself becoming terribly aroused at the sight of both of her suitors obviously taking their sexual frustration out on one another. It was the ultimate power trip, so to speak… or was it? Had she just made herself into a cuckquean? No, no she couldn't, because she'd never had a right to them, and had long ago forfeited any claims she might have with her abhorrent behavior…

This was my doing as much as it was Bowsette's, she realized.

The question now was simply whether or not it was too late for her to redeem herself in their eyes.

All these considerations weighed on her for quite some time. She figured they weren't about to wake up soon, but she wanted to at least see the look on their faces upon seeing her there with the Forget-Me-Gun pointed right at them.

But after she'd seen their video, even that didn't seem right.

Peach was, for the first time, able to put herself completely in the shoes of others.

Deep down, in a place she'd never admit to herself because she'd never turned her mirror of reflection that far in, Peach saw herself simultaneously as Bowsette, and as Mario, and she couldn't for the life of her decide who she wanted to be more.

The baseness of this realization coupled with her absolute refusal to accept it made her even more hot and bothered.

Peach shook off such thoughts as insanity and even slapped herself in the face. Finally, she stood ever so gently, beckoned for Chibi-Robo to follow, and left the hotel.

When Mario eventually woke up, it was one in the afternoon, and Bowsette was still fast asleep. He whispered for the waiters to bring them breakfast and coffee, then stepped outside to stretch.

If he wasn't still reeling with impressions from the night previous, and had been looking a bit closer, he might have seen the unmistakable feminine silhouette sitting thoughtfully under the covered hut nearby. But he didn't, and he returned to the hotel promptly.

Bowsette was stirring at the smell of freshly roasted coffee. She groggily opened her eyes, looked up at the approaching Mario, and smiled.

He smiled back, and it became clear to both of them that each had no regrets from the night previous.

"Did-a you sleep all right?" Mario asked Bowsette.

"Better than I have in years," she replied, then without thinking about it, drew him close and kissed him. "I had the most lovely dreams, darling…"

Bowsette had never thought that kissing Mario would bring butterflies to her stomach, but there they were. An act unthinkable the night previous now came not just as second-nature, but as a drug to her.

"I don't-a think you were dreaming," Mario replied with a tender, loving glance at his best friend... and now lover. Still in a swoon and barely conscious of his own words, he didn't know how to reconcile these feelings.

"So how, uh… how do you feel about all that?" Bowsette queried.

Mario felt the beginnings of an internal conflict take a hold, but he didn't miss a beat. "My only regret is-a that the Super Crown wasn't invented years ago."

"Ha! I never took you for a sweet-talker, Mario," Bowsette replied with an ironic look, but it was clear that she was immensely pleased, and seeing how happy she was, he let himself be swept along in her reverie.

Their American breakfast of two sausages, a short stack, and spelt bread with jam was brought out, and they dined with great pleasure in the lounge. Bowsette in particular was famished and ordered a second helping, only to find that her stomach wasn't quite what it used to be.

Both of them laughed about the fact that Bowsette had lost her phone in all the fun they were having last night, and decided they could spare a few minutes to head out and look for it.

As they left from the back door and wandered around the scene of the crime, Bowsette grumbled about wishing she had some of her navel-gazing minions to help with the search.

"We're like kids in a sandbox!" Bowsette joked. "Wouldn't it be funny if Peach could see us now? I wonder what she'd say at this…"

But they had only just begun to embark on their search when they gradually became aware that they were being watched.

Sensing the downwind scent of the one person they'd come here to get away from, Mario and Bowsette looked at one another as if to be sure the other had smelled Princess Peach, and then simultaneously turned in the offending direction.

Peach stood with her hands in her pockets as her old-fashioned Super Mario Bros. dress bellowed about her. Bags under her eyes gave her a worn-out look. It was as if she'd been awake all night.

She thought of all the one-liners she could have flung at Bowsette.

"She'd probably say 'ya wear it well, but don't wear it out'."

"She'd probably have to give you a talk about the birds and the bees."

"She'd probably pretend like she didn't see anything and walk away."

But instead, what came out of her mouth was a simple "Hey".

"Hey," the two replied in unison.

"Looking for this?"

She opened her palm. Within it was Bowser's cellphone. She flung it at Bowsette.

No one seemed to know what to say.

They stood there for a long time.

Mario had so many questions he couldn't quite ask: How did she know where they were? Had she followed him? Had she not respected his request for some space? Was she just power-tripping, having decided that the use of her sex appeal as power and leverage was more important than even her own happiness?

"Bowser, dear, what were you thinking?" Peach queried in a manner that failed to hide her wrath. "That item was made for Toadette alone, and two of me is already one too many."

Bowsette felt abashed at first, but quickly recovered. "My name is Bowsette now," she corrected Peach. "And Mr. Miyamoto himself gave me this Super Crown. As I understand, you missed it - being farted on by Wario will do that."

There was a moment where Peach thought are you serious right now?, but it passed like a fleeting Lakitu Cloud and the Princess saw for the first time the resoluteness of Bowsette's expression, and just how important to the ol' King Koopa this whole thing really was.

Peach recognized more masculine versions of her own mannerisms; Peach's was a face and countenance to be respected… and she couldn't deny that Bowsette's twist on it was paradoxically cute, beautiful, and fierce, a combination of traits she didn't think she'd ever seen before.

As jealousy threatened to overwhelm her, she did what she always did at such situations and turned her charm up to eleven.

"Bows… ette… you can pretend to be me until the Yoshis come home," Peach said. "You can even call yourself whatever you want to. But please know that this - whatever this is - isn't you. It isn't how Nintendo intended you to be."

"Fuck what Nintendo wants me to be," Bowsette grumbled. "What about what I want me to be?!"

And then she closed the distance to Peach, whose resolute face held firm. "Is that what you are deep down, Peach, a shill for the system?"

"Hey, hold up!" Mario interjected while Peach's nostrils flared. "There's a no need—"

"Why, I never!" she exclaimed, her expression turning to one of absolute disgust.

"Ladies, please!" Mario finally ran between them. "Let's-a not be too hasty!"

"HASTY?!" Peach screamed. "You boys have NO idea what I went through last night! None at all! Bowsette, that THING on your head drove Toadette mad! There was nearly a deadly skirmish atop your castle! I got my head crushed by a Thwomp-princess! And Ganon and King Boo are… are…"

She gestured with her arms towards both her and Bowsette, highlighting her own curves for good measure.

"Good God," Mario replied.

Bowsette blinked. This was news to her. "Wait, slow down… I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Your stupid experiment has gone out of control!" Peach began explaining, but Mario suddenly slapped his forehead.

"Hang on! Mamma Mia! Have-a you been spying on us? Have-a you been listening—"

"Just check your notifications!" Peach continued as she promptly turned to walk away, not answering the question. "Honestly!"

Ganon's experiments! Bowsette's thoughts immediately went to Junior.

"Prin-a-cess! You didn't answer my question," Mario challenged her as she marched to her hot air balloon, where Toadsworth and Chibi-Robo were awaiting her. "Were a-you—"

Bowsette, who'd been reading her messages with a look of great concern on her face, suddenly placed a hand on Mario's shoulder, indicating they had bigger fish to fry. "Yeah, so... we should, uh, probably get back there."

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed it! If you're so inclined, please feel free to Follow and Fave, and leave me a Review! :D Reviews keep me going! Have a wonderful week, everyone~~~