Chapter 7 Being a Parent

Wincing, Bowser lowered himself onto Rosalina's bed. He had no idea such a small creature as a luma could cause so much pain, but here he was. He couldn't touch the wound, as that hurt. He couldn't keep his hands off the wound either, as it hurt just as much. This left Bowser stuck between the worst rock and hard place his sorry tail had ever experienced. What made it even worse was that the pain was getting worse. He didn't know if that was because the lumas were magic or what, but after four minutes of waiting had passed, it felt as though his cheek was on fire. It took all the self-control he had at his disposal to not scream.

It seemed that the lumas were going to make this difficult. Oh man, what little brats they were! All Bowser wanted was to strip Rosalina of her celestial powers; was that so wrong? Bowser frowned and shook his head, hoping that the lumas weren't gathering around Rosalina to tell her about the danger of kissing Bowser. Thankfully, turning his ear toward the door of the dome informed him that Rosalina was currently scolding her star children. She did this with the sternest tone ever, not letting any of the lumas get a word in edgewise. Admittedly, Bowser found this sound pretty funny (now if only laughing didn't make his pain spread).

Just as Bowser was wondering how long it was going to take before he got proper treatment, Rosalina floated in through the door. She stopped in the doorway, closing her eyes and letting out the most frustrated sigh Bowser had ever heard. She opened her eyes, looking at Bowser as an awkward vibe settled over the scene.

"Sorry I took so long," she eventually said. Pushing her long bang out of her face (wow, Bowser had to admit she had gorgeous eyes), she came over to him. "What Pinkbert did was completely unwarranted."

Bowser chuckled, thankful that she still wasn't aware how that statement was one hundred percent false. "Yeah, kids can be really rowdy when they act up."

"Mmhm," Rosalina said with a nod. "He won't do that again; I made him promise me that." She got out her wand. "Now, about that bruise…"

She walked up to him, her brow furrowed as she raised her wand. She chanted an incantation (one that Bowser had never heard before, despite being around a wizard his whole life) and waved it over his face, all while it glowed with a soft blue light. It took a minute or two before Bowser felt any difference, but he was pleasantly surprised to find a cooling sensation building up on his face. Next to the scalding hot burn the luma had given him, this sensation was much needed and very welcome.

The two of them didn't talk, with Rosalina keeping her eyes focused solely on Bowser's cheek. He looked at her eyes; even when she felt serious, they still sparkled like the night sky. She also had the prettiest nose, one so dainty and perfectly shaped. Bowser wasn't afraid to admit it; her nose was even prettier than Peach's. Granted, only by a small margin, but still.

Once they had spent what felt like six minutes in complete silence, Bowser started to feel awkward. He wondered what he should say, if there was even anything to say at all. Maybe he could flirt with Rosalina a little bit? Hmm, that would be nice, and possibly bring him closer to his ultimate goal. However… well, that didn't appeal to him at the moment. Maybe he was just naive when it came to dating, but flirting with someone trying to cure a painful injury didn't seem all that appropriate. So no, Bowser wasn't going to do that. But then, what could he do? If he spent any more time staying quiet, the awkwardness and discomfort would build so much that his head would explode.

He considered this until a question popped up in his head. "So… what's the deal with you and the lumas?" Rosalina raised an eyebrow. "Why do they call you Mama? Did you give birth to them? Because if you did… well, I'm very interested to know who their Dad is." He chuckled for a minute before noticing Rosalina's blank look. He cleared his throat. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend."

"It's alright." Rosalina pressed her wand to his cheek, making the cooling sensation even stronger. "I adopted them."

"Oh." Bowser sat still for a minute. "From who?"

"Well, the lumas themselves were created by an all-powerful goddess. She intended them to become all stars, galaxies, and planets when they were fully mature. You know, to make sure that the life of the universe continues on." She sat still for a second. "But… well, the thing was, with that mindset in place, she didn't view the lumas as people so much as sentient objects. The care she provided for them was very sparse and very lacking. One could even say that she was neglectful towards them. That she didn't care for them at all."

Bowser's heart hurt. He sat still for a second, trying to digest all that information. "And… you saw that and decided to step in?"

"I had to step in," Rosalina stated. "They're just children! Granted, magical children that have powers even beyond my understanding, but still children. And I can't let anyone mistreat children." Her face was ultra-serious, and she let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, but… there are just some sins in this universe that are absolutely unforgivable in my eyes, and one of them is the mistreatment of children." She grew misty-eyed. "To hurt a being so pure, so innocent, so joyful is not only a horrible thing to do, but it's also…" she wiped a tear from her eye as she sniffled. "Sorry. I'm sorry I'm getting emotional over this, it's just…" she shook her head. "It's hard for me to think about, you know?"

Bowser felt a pang. "I… yeah. I think I get it." He stared off at one corner of the room. "I mean, I've got plenty of children of my own. If anything major were to happen to them… well, going down that path in my mind doesn't exactly make me feel the greatest."

"Really?" Rosalina asked, sounding genuinely shocked and surprised. "You…" her eyes were wide. "But you let your children go into battle all the time! Isn't that dangerous in its own right?"

Bowser laughed. "Well, number one, my children are koopas. Koopas can take quite a few beatings. Heck, I've been dunked into lava about ten thousand times, and I still turned out okay." His mood grew somber. "And two, if I thought that my kids would get severely injured in battles against Mario and Luigi, then I wouldn't let them do it at all. I know that they can handle themselves; they've been trained more than enough to be able to hold their own in a fight."

Rosalina bit her lip. "I… I see."

Bowser nodded. He thought about everything he just said, as he so often did whenever the topic of his children going into battle was brought up. He stood by all those words, and therefore, he didn't regret sending his own children into battle. Heck, he even celebrated it somewhat, mostly because of the fact that he had seen firsthand how well they handled it and how willing they were to help out their old man. But even with that said…

"But… the thing is, I worry that sometimes it'll prove too much. I often wonder, what if one day comes? What if one day, Mario gives them one injury too many? What if they make one mistake that spells their doom? And furthermore, what happens when they're all grown up? What would become of them if one bad person found them and made their lives a living hell? How would I be able to handle that?" Bowser shrunk back a little. "It's… it's overwhelming sometimes. I try not to think about it too much, but when I do…"

"Yeah," Rosalina said with a nod. She resumed holding her wand over the injury, which Bowser was grateful to find was becoming less and less painful by the second. "I never knew you cared so much about your kids."

Bowser chuckled, making sure not to move too far away from Rosalina's wand. "Yeah, well, it kind of comes with the territory of being a parent." He looked into Rosalina's eyes, so deeply one could think he was staring into her soul. "Something I'm sure you're fully aware of."

Now it was Rosalina's turn to chuckle. "Yeah." She finally pulled her wand away from Bowser's face, making the blue light go out. "Now, how does that feel?"

Bowser touched his cheek, smiling once he pulled away. "It's as good as new." He got up from the bed. "Man, I've gotta give you some credit; you're really good with magic."

"Thanks," Rosalina said with a smile of her own. She looked down at her wand. "I've had a long time to practice."

Bowser stood still. For a minute, he forgot why he was even here in the first place. All he thought about was this woman, this woman who had generously used some ancient power to make him feel better. This woman, who cared so much about children that weren't even her own. Considering that seven out of eight of Bowser's children were adopted, he could fully understand her thought process and stance on these matters. Even though they hadn't been around each for very long, Bowser was finding that he liked her. Nay, respected her.

At least, that's what he thought until he remembered his mission. When he did, he internally kicked himself. He was so stupid! How could he get sidetracked so easily? How could he let himself get misguided in such an obvious, idiotic way? He needed to figure out how to kiss Rosalina! He couldn't let relatability and empathy get in his way.

With this thought in mind, he cleared his throat. "Well, thanks for patching me up." He put on the biggest, most excited grin he had ever worn. "Now, about our date…"

"Our date?" Rosalina asked after doing a double take.

"Yeah, our date!" Bowser stepped closer to her and took her tiny, delicate hand in his huge, meaty paw. "You and I were in the middle of one of the most awesome dates in the history of the universe! We need to continue it!" He pushed her bang, which had fallen back over her eye, away from her face. "And thankfully, I know just how to do it."

"You do?"

"Oh yeah." He had to keep himself from turning into a giggly mess, as this plan was just so perfect that he couldn't help but feel giddy. "Why don't you and I go down to the Mushroom World? Specifically, to a fair that's taking place in the Mushroom Kingdom? There are so many amazing attractions we could go on, including the Tunnel of Love." He wiggled his eyebrow. "Eh? Does that sound appealing to you?"

Rosalina thought about this for a few seconds. "Um… yeah, that does sound pretty good."

Bowser was dancing on the inside. "Awesome!" Oh man, this plan was seriously perfect! If he and Rosalina were on the planet, away from the Comet Observatory, that meant that they wouldn't have to deal with any of the lumas! Getting Rosalina to kiss him would be a piece of cake! "So… what do you say we go?"

"Sure." Rosalina smiled. "Yeah, I think that could be fun." She got out her wand. Bowser felt like he was on top of the world as she waved it. At least, until he saw some lumas come into the dome and get onto Rosalina's back mere seconds before teleporting away…