Chapter 11 You're in Trouble

Pinkbert's eyes grew wide. He looked at Rosalina, as did his siblings. Their faces all told the same story, one of confusion and disbelief. There was also some fear mixed in with their expressions, which made sense because Rosalina was looking at them like they had just committed arson. Bowser wasn't sure what was about to happen, but whatever it was, it certainly wasn't going to end the greatest.

With his eyes still as wide as planets, Pinkbert swallowed a lump. "W… what's wrong, Mama?"

"Don't play dumb." Rosalina now stood up to her full height, and she glared at this little star-shaped child. Much to his surprise, Bowser saw sweat drops forming on not just Pinkbert's face, but also the faces of the other lumas. Weird; he didn't know Lumas could sweat.

"Uh… Mama, we don't…"

"You sabotaged the Tunnel of Love." Bowser wouldn't go out of his way to say Rosalina's voice sounded dangerous, but it certainly sent chills running down his spine. "You made that big scene, thoroughly ruining the ride and the time I got to spend with Bowser."

Pinkbert gasped. "How did you know?" His siblings let out little shrieks of terror, causing him to pull back. "I mean… what are you talking about."

Rosalina shook her head as the lumas feigned innocence. "Dear Grambi." She pinched her brow. "You guys really think you could get away with this? Do you really think it's okay to go out of your way to do this?" She looked back up at the lumas, giving them one of the most heated glares Bowser had ever seen on anybody. "You could've gotten me hurt! You could've gotten Bowser hurt!"

Bowser felt a little tingling sensation in his heart when she said that, one that caused him to smile. The lumas seemed to be feeling the exact opposite emotions though, as they all began to shake as they levitated in midair. Pinkbert especially looked as though this was his own personal level of hell.

"But… but Mama, you don't understand! If you and Bowser were to kiss, then…"

Rosalina held up her hand. "Enough." She closed her eyes. "I don't want to hear it." She took a deep breath before looking Pinkbert right in the eye. "You're grounded. All of you are grounded."

"But… but Mama…!" By this point, Pinkbert was a stuttery mess. Bowser honestly felt bad for him despite all of the circumstances.

"But nothing!" Wow, Bowser didn't even know Rosalina was capable of raising her voice. "I want you all to return to the Comet Observatory. And if I hear one single solitary peep from you, I'm gonna extend your grounding time! Do you understand?"

By this point, Bowser was trying to keep his giddiness contained. Oh man, was this fun to watch. Sure, watching children being scolded by their mother wasn't fun under normal circumstances, but considering all the trouble these little ones had caused, Bowser was more than thrilled to see this happening to the lot of them. This was especially true because he realized that, with the lumas out of the picture, there would be very little standing in the way of him kissing Rosalina. Seriously, could this get any more perfect?

"I… we understand," Pinkbert said as he hung his head. He looked back at his siblings, who all looked disappointed to at least some degree. "Come on, guys. Let's go."

In the blink of an eye, the lumas were gone, and silence befell the scene. Rosalina and Bowser stood in place, neither of them saying a word as Rosalina took deep breaths. Bowser bit his lip, uncertain what he should do in this scenario.

Eventually, Rosalina let out a sigh and turned toward Bowser, an indescribable sadness in her eyes. "I always hate doing that."

Bowser blinked. "You mean grounding the lumas?"

"That and yelling at them in general." She sighed, the sadness in her face growing even stronger. "They're not usually like this. They're usually some of the sweetest, most well-behaved kids around." She cringed. "I don't know what's gotten into them."

Bowser began to sweat. "Ye…yeah. Me neither." He scratched the back of his head. "Maybe… maybe they just don't like me."

Rosalina frowned. "Yeah, I can see that." She looked Bowser in the eye. "But even still, they don't act like this. They would never do what they did in the Tunnel. It's just…" she shook her head. "It's just so strange."

Bowser frowned. "Yeah," he said, unsure which level of enthusiasm was appropriate for the scenario. "It really is." He reached out and placed his hand on Rosalina's shoulder, patting it gently. Once again, a silence befell the scene, one that did interesting things to Bowser's heart. Again, he had no idea what the appropriate thing to do was. This whole thing reeked of both sorrow and awkwardness.

Eventually, Rosalina pulled away from Bowser and looked him in the eye. "I… suppose we should continue the date?"

"Y… yeah." Bowser smiled. "That shouldn't be too hard, especially considering that the lumas are no longer here." He just now noticed that it was getting close to sunset, a fact that made him grin. "And I know the absolute perfect place to cap off this exhilarating event."

"Really?"

"Really." Bowser took her hand, once again appreciating the feel of their hands interlocking. "Come with me."

By the time Pinkbert got back to the Comet Observatory, he felt like he was going to cry. The other lumas were in similar emotional states, with some even having a breathing rate that was speeding up significantly. Pinkbert wanted to comfort them, he wanted to comfort all of them. As their big brother, he wanted to tell them that it would all be okay, that their Mama probably wouldn't kiss Bowser, and that she probably wouldn't have her powers taken away.

Of course, he couldn't in good conscience say that. Especially since, much to his horror, he realized there was no guarantee that Mama would return to the Comet Observatory. After all, if Bowser did end up kissing her and she did lose her powers…

"Oh, what are we gonna do?" asked one of Pinkbert's sisters. She turned toward him, as did the other ones who had accompanied him down to the Mushroom World. "Pinkbert, what do we do?"

It took quite a while for Pinkbert to officially answer. "There… I don't think there's anything we can do."

The lumas' eyes all grew wide. "What?" asked one of his brothers as they floated up to him. "But there has to be something! Come on Pinkbert; what can we do to help Mama?"

The little pink luma's emotions became even more unbearable. "That's the thing. She doesn't want our help. If she sees any of us go back down to her, she could get mad! There's nothing we can do to help her."

The lumas exchanged looks before their facial features drooped. "Oh, if only we had been able to tell her about the kiss."

"Yeah." Pinkbert directed his gaze down toward the ground. "If only…"

The sunset… what words could possibly used to describe it? It was like looking at glowing lava with all of its warm colors. And unlike lava, there was no possible way for Bowser to get hurt by the sunset. Instead, all he could do was watch, watch as twilight settled over the land and the world retired to bed. It was beautiful in the most soothing way possible. A round of tranquility washed over his soul, almost strong enough to diminish his excitement over having an opportunity to kiss Rosalina.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Bowser asked, figuring that talking to her would be the perfect way to build up to the act.

Rosalina nodded, smiling as she did. "It reminds me of some of the sunsets I watched as a kid." She curled her hair back. "My family and I would go out into the backyard to watch the sunset. And sometimes, after doing that, we would then get the telescope out and do some stargazing." A twinkle appeared in her eye. "Those days will always be special to me."

Bowser beamed. "I don't blame you; that sounds amazing." He scooted closer to her on the bench. "And really, I think that's the most ideal way to spend a childhood. With a family who loves you, doing some fun things together that you will remember for the rest of your life…" he chuckled. "My kids and I often participate in such events. It's always fun when we do so."

"I see." Rosalina squirmed a little in her seat, and the twinkle in her eye was snuffed out. Admittedly, this caught Bowser's interest.

"Something wrong?"

"Well…" Rosalina hesitated. "I mean…" she blinked before sighing. "The memories do have a bitter twinge to them when something happens to that family in question."

Bowser couldn't help but blink. That was… surprisingly morbid, especially coming from someone like Rosalina. In all honesty, it made him feel strange, like he had just witnessed a part of Rosalina that he was never supposed to see. He squirmed in his seat, trying to think of a good way to change the subject (or, at the very least, a decent way to change the subject). He had just about discovered a way to do so when something occurred to him, something he could say to Rose that would potentially lift her spirits.

"True. But even with that said, that shouldn't stop you from trying to form those memories in the first place." He directed his gaze to a random part of the ground. "I'm a King. I have every treasure that one could possibly ask for in this world; money, power, looks, jewels. But… if I were to be honest, none of those things matter to me. What does matter to me… is my family." He smiled, a warm feeling filling his heart. "They are truly the ones who make life worth living. They… there are no words to describe how much I love them." His smile grew bigger. "Because I do. I wouldn't trade them for any other treasure this world could possibly give me." He paused for a little bit. "And… yes. It hurts when something happens to your loved ones. It hurts more than anything else in the whole world. But… on some level, I think that makes the good moments you had with them even sweeter." He turned toward Rosalina. "The height of your joy is only as deep as the well of your sorrow, after all."

Rosalina stayed silent. By this point, Bowser really wished he could see what was going on in her head. She seemed so distant at this moment as if she was in a world constructed by her specifically. What was in this world, Bowser had no idea. He could guess that it was something sad, something that made Rosalina feel progressively worse.

But then, a small smile graced her lips. Her face lit up, and the light that had been in her eyes gradually returned. She looked up at Bowser, wearing an expression that looked… thankful?

"You're right." She chuckled, shaking her head as she did. "I knew you were. I knew that is a healthy way to look at death. I just…" she wiped her eye. "I just wish that it gets easier, I guess. I've lost so many people, and yet it never gets any easier to see them go."

"No, of course not," Bowser said. "I don't think it's supposed to get easier, frankly. What would it mean if it did, anyway?" He directed his eyes forward, noticing that the sun was literally seconds away from disappearing over the horizon line. "If you've reached a point where someone's death doesn't matter to you, then I don't think that reflects well on your own character. If anything, I think it shows that you're pretty heartless. Evil, I would even say." He shifted in his seat. "So, as much as it hurts, I think I would prefer the hurt over anything else. I mean, what's the alternative?"

Rosalina was silent for a little bit. "I see what you're saying." The sun finally disappeared, and the darkening sky made her look… surreal, in some ways. "And I think you're right about that too." She stayed silent for a little bit. "In that sense, I suppose I can be grateful for the pain." She chuckled. "I can also be thankful for the joy."

"Yes." Bowser shifted in his seat so that he was directly facing her. "Always be thankful for the joy. And be thankful for the sorrow too." He chortled. "Both are symptoms of being a person, of being alive."

Rosalina nodded. She looked in Bowser's eyes, appearing like she had been moved in ways she never would've imagined before. She scooted closer to him. He scooted closer to her. At this particular moment, he forgot his entire reason for being here. He forgot why he was with Rosalina. All he knew now was that this moment… was beautiful. It was absolutely beautiful, and he would remember it for years to come.

Letting his emotions guide him, he leaned over and kissed Rosalina on the lips.