Chapter 6 Candlelit Dinner

Bowser hummed to himself as he waited for Rosalina. He looked down at one of his nails, halfway tempted to rip it off and send it hurdling into space. He ultimately decided against it, but he just knew that there would be a component of satisfaction to the action. It wouldn't be anywhere near as satisfying as taking Rosalina's powers away though.

Bowser giggled to himself when he had that thought. Smirking, he leaned against the shelf that led to the library. His mind circled around all the possible outcomes of this date. He could already see the color draining from Rosalina's face when she learned that her powers were gone. Oh man, that would be so fun to see! Bowser already loved it when he saw his arch-enemies panic, but this time would be extra special. This time, he would be sending an all-powerful goddess into a panic. Oh, Mama Mia, just the thought of that was enough to make Bowser feel extra, supremely giddy.

"You won't get away with this."

Bowser blinked. He turned around and saw the lumas, all glaring at him. A pink one floated at the front of the pack, and they had their arms crossed while glaring. Admittedly, it was adorable for multiple reasons. Bowser chuckled when he saw it, although he was supremely aware of his image while he did it.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

The pink luma floated closer to his face, their face growing more angry. "Of course you do! Why else would you come to the Comet Observatory? Why else would you magically decide you love Mama and want to go on a date with her?"

Bowser chuckled. "Maybe it's because I've seen the light and have realized Rosalina is the wife I really needed all along."

The luma scoffed. He floated even closer to Bowser, staring deep into his eyes with the angriest expression Bowser had ever seen. "You won't get away with this, King Bowser. Mama is very important to all of us, and we won't let anything happen to her. You hear me?" He practically pressed his body against Bowser's face. "We'll protect her from you and your scheming ways."

Bowser started to sweat but just covered that up with a chuckle. "Oh, you are just adorable!" He patted the luma on the head. "I have absolutely no idea what you think I might be planning, but the determination you little guys have to stop me is one of the cutest things I've seen all week!" He beamed at the luma. "It would be really ironic if I managed to become your step-papa."

That suggestion shook the pink luma so much that they backed up. Bowser chuckled, once again appreciating this whole thing. Seriously, the Lumas thought they stood a chance when it came to stopping Bowser's plans? Bowser, who was eight feet tall while the lumas were just measly little pipsqueaks? Oh man, that was just too funny. Bowser really hadn't been kidding when he called the pink luma adorable, because he absolutely was. Bowser might have his plans thwarted by one short, portly plumber every week, but he wasn't going to be defeated by these little star children.

"I'm ready."

Bowser turned and gasped when he saw Rosalina's attire. The dress was mostly purple, but it had these splashes of cool colors like blue and green aligning the ruffles. It reminded Bowser of the aurora borealis, and it sent him over the moon. Sure, this whole date was nothing more than an elaborate ruse, but even still, Rosalina looked drop-dead gorgeous. Bowser wasn't afraid to admit that she put even the lovely Princess Peach to shame.

"Wow," he said.

Rosalina blushed. "Thanks." She ran her hand through her hair, which Bowser just now noticed had little gemstone barrettes in it. Wow, she really pulled out all the stops for little old him, didn't she?

Grinning, he stepped closer to her. "I've never seen someone put in this much effort in their appearance for me before." Wow, that sounded kind of forced. Clearing his throat, he took Rosalina's hand and continued to smile. "I have a feeling that this date is going to be the best date of my entire life."

Rosalina's face changed from pink to red, and she put on the most starstruck smile. "I hope so too."

Bowser internally chuckled. Oh, if he knew how easy it was to fool the goddess of the universe, he would've done it years ago. He swept his hair through his gorgeous fiery locks before extending his hand. "Where to first, my darling little nebula?"

Rosalina giggled as the lumas gagged. "Well, I was thinking we start off this evening with an old classic."

"An old classic?" Bowser asked.

Rosalina nodded. She got out her wand, and over near the Terrace, a table appeared. In the center of this table were two candles in a candle holder, flickering with a flame so lovely that it melted Bowser's heart. He turned back toward Rosalina.

"You have the best ideas in the entire universe."

Rosalina beamed, and together, they walked over to the table. Rosalina took a seat easily, but Bowser immediately realized that it would be difficult to do the same thing. He pulled out the teeny tiny chair, moving his enormous royal rump into it. He winced; it was so little, and it bit into his butt in the worst, least-romantic way possible. He tried not to let it bother him though. This pain would turn out to be worth it in the end, after all.

"Okay, now that we're situated…" Rosalina waved her wand, and two plates appeared on the table. The smell was the first thing that Bowser noticed, and it caused him to smile. The smile only got bigger when he saw a steak on his plate, complete with mixed vegetables and cheesy mashed potatoes.

He chuckled and looked at Rosalina. "You, my dear, know how to impress a man."

Rosalina blushed again, this time with her face turning super red. "Well, that's good. I don't usually get the attention of a lot of men, so…"

Bowser blinked. "You don't get the attention of men?" This question was a genuine one. While Bowser was in love with Peach, all Peach, and nobody but Peach, he could still see that Rosalina was objectively gorgeous. What man wouldn't look at her and think she was one of the most stunning women in the universe?

Rosalina chuckled. "Well, to be fair, I don't really… uh, 'hang out' with a lot of men. Or anybody, for that matter. I mostly just spend my time here at the Comet Observatory, taking care of the lumas."

"Oh." Bowser stared down at his steak, thinking about this. "Well, I can understand that. As a parent, your children are your first and most important concern. I should know."

Rosalina nodded. "Yeah."

With that, the two started eating. Rosalina took dainty bites of her meal, all while Bowser felt uncomfortable for three very important reasons. One… well, again, there was the issue of the teeny weeny chair he sat in. Two, the utensils he was supposed to eat with were even teeny weenier; Bowser was legitimately worried that he would swallow the fork if he tried to eat with it. Three, and by far the most important reason, the lumas stared at him. He turned his head to get a look at them, trembling and whimpering when he saw them glaring. Seriously, who knew that such innocent star babies could look so terrifying?

"Are you okay?" Rosalina asked.

Ignoring the chills running up and down his arms, Bowser turned back around and nodded. "I'm doing alright." He cut into his steak and took his first bite. When he did, his entire being lit up. "Oh my God." He swallowed, his heart fluttering with positivity. "This is the most amazing steak I've ever tasted!" He laughed and looked Rosalina right in the eye. "You, my dear, make the best steak appear."

Rosalina chuckled, her face turning crimson. "Thank you. It really was nothing; just a simple flick of the wrist."

"Still though." Bowser took another bite of his steak. "Hey, do you mind making some water appear?" Rosalina waved her wand, causing two cups to appear. Bowser peeped into his glass before looking back at her. "Can you make it sparkly and peach-flavored?"

Rosalina giggled. She waved her wand again, and the water changed. Bowser felt like a little, awestruck kid when he saw this. Seriously, with all these cool things Rosalina could do, Bowser almost felt guilty trying to take her powers away from her!

Almost. He did have a mission, and he wasn't the kind of Koopa who abandoned a goal when he had one. With this thought in mind, he kept his eyes on Rosalina. He took a sip of water and another bite of his steak, not daring his eyes to move away from her. You are in for the biggest shock of your life Little Missy, mark my words.

It took a minute for Rosalina to notice Bowser staring at her in this way, and when she did, she stopped moving and raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?" Bowser noticed her trembling. "Is everything okay?"

"Oh yes. Everything is… perfect." Bowser leaned toward her, drinking in her beauty (or, at the very least, pretending to drink in her beauty). "I am just… taken aback by how perfect this is. Me, here with you, eating the best candlelit dinner one could possibly hope for." He beamed, taking the extra effort to show his teeth (which, yes, he did whiten for this special event). "I feel like I'm on top of the world. I feel as though I'm the luckiest Koopa in the universe."

Rosalina blinked before smiling. She blushed once more, this time with the reddest hue that Bowser had ever seen. "I… I'm glad that you feel that way."

"Oh, believe me, I am too." Bowser leaned forward. "I thank my lucky stars that I met you, Rosalina. Even though our first meeting wasn't the greatest, and even though we have been fighting on opposite sides of what is essentially a war, I feel like we were destined to be together." Just for show, he put his hand to his heart. "I can feel it. Can you feel it too, Rosalina?"

Rosalina raised an eyebrow. "I… can't say I do, no."

Bowser laughed. "That's perfectly fine. At least I know how I feel, and I know when I need to be honest with my feelings." He reached out his hand, taking a gentle hold of her face. Rosalina's eyes grew wide when this happened, but she didn't object. This gave Bowser leeway to tilt her head up, closer to his. "Yes, I know that I have to be honest with my feelings." He puckered his lips, continually getting closer and closer to her. Time seemed to slow down. He drank in her scent as his heart did leaps and cartwheels. This was it! This was actually happening! Oh man, this had got to be the easiest plan Bowser had ever enacted! It was almost unreal; was this even happening to him? He never imagined he would come across a day where he won, and won with so little difficulty present in his path. He was so close now. He just had to plant his lips on hers and…

"No!" THWACK!

Bowser gasped, the wind being completely knocked out of him as he fell down. Rosalina gasped when he landed on the grass. "Bowser! Are you alright?"

Bowser groaned. A sharp pain made itself known on his face. He put his hand to the wound before noticing the pink luma, looking down at him from his spot floating above the table. It was then that it occurred to Bowser what happened. The luma had lunged at him at top speed, hitting him in the face.

"Pinkbert!" Rosalina exclaimed. She glared at him. "Pinky, that was very naughty!"

Pinkbert's brow furrowed. "But Mama, you can't let him kiss you! You just can't! If you do then…"

"DAT DAT DA!" Bowser exclaimed before Pinkbert could finish his sentence. Grunting, Bowser rose to his feet. He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he felt like the bruise on his face hurt even more when he was standing upright. He wobbled. "Oh man, that smarts."

Rosalina, her brow furrowed, floated up to his face. She gently removed his hand to look at the bruise. It must've been pretty bad because she winced. "I think you might need some medical attention. Make your way to the bedroom; I'll be there in a minute."

Bowser's heart sank. "Of… of course, Rosalina." He started making his way there. He cast Pinkbert the most heated of glares while he did.