Chapter 8 Her Laugh

Larry smirked as he gripped the Switch controller in his hands. The colorful game that was currently being played was Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and… well, was it really that much of a shock to say that Larry was winning? Because he was. He was way ahead of the pack, and he was driving down GCN DK Mountain so easily that the other players might as well not even be playing. Speaking of which, Wendy, Peppy, and Lemmy were all trying desperately to catch up, to dethrone Larry as the Mario Kart Master. Well… they should realize that was wishful thinking. NOBODY could dethrone Larry. He eats, sleeps, and breathes video games, so any attempt to take him down was the very definition of a fool's errand.

"Dang, dude!" Peppy said, practically squeezing her Switch controller to death. "How are you so good at this?"

Larry snorted. "It's not about being good. It's about…" he intentionally paused before snickering. "Oh, who am I kidding; of course it's about being good!" He laughed as he ran into the item box, hoping he would get a shell or a banana as a way to defend his kart. Instead, he got a coin. Oh well; at the very least, he knew that he would come across a new patch of item boxes within no time at all.

Lemmy grunted as he did a trick. "This… this is hopeless." He leaned back in his chair. "There's no way I'll be able to beat you. There's no way."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious." Larry leaned extra close to the screen, for the third and final lap was almost over. He just had to get over the bridge at the end… "YES!" He leaped into the air, throwing his controller to the ground and laughing at the top of his voice. "I! DID IT!" He jumped up and down, doing a little dance as Wendy, Peppy, and Lemmy still tried to get their avatars across the finish line. "I am so good! I am…" he put his finger on his arm and made a sizzling sound through his teeth. "Smoking hot!"

Wendy just rolled her eyes. "You're as hot as coffee and just as bitter." She fell back into her chair once she crossed the finish line (securing a position in eighth place, by the way). "Man, I don't even know why I bother playing video games with you. You always make a complete ass of yourself whenever you win."

"HA!" Larry shook his head while smiling. "Well, for your information, the only reason why you think I'm an ass at all is because you're not as awesome as me." He snickered. "If you had only a fraction of my awesomeness, then you would think my behavior is justified."

Wendy sniffed. "Mmhm. Right."

Larry chuckled again. "I'm messing with you, of course." He turned back to the screen. "Anyway, you guys want to do another round?"

"And give you a chance to win five races in a row? Not a chance." Wendy picked up the remote and switched off the TV. "For the sake of everyone's sanity and pleasure, I think it would be best if we do something else."

"But what would that be, Wendy?" Lemmy asked.

Wendy blinked. "Uh…" she put her hand to her chin. "Well… I don't think there's much we can do, all things considered…"

"Well then, why don't we just let Peppy tell us about what's been happening in her life?" Peppy did a double-take when Larry suggested that. "I mean, that is part of the reason why you invited her to the castle today, isn't it Wendy?"

Much to Larry's surprise, his sister hesitated. "Um… well, I guess. I mean, I don't know how willing Peppy would be to talk about that stuff, considering things haven't been… ideal for her recently."

"Oh really?" Lemmy asked. He turned to face Peppy, the purest forms of concern, sympathy, and interest present on his face. "What's been going on, Peppy?"

Peppy squirmed in her seat a little bit, an action that Larry wondered if he was the only one to notice. "Um…" she looked at the others. While she didn't necessarily look uncomfortable per se, she didn't look that willing to share either. Larry, like Lemmy before him, started to feel concerned for his sister's friend. Just based on her body language, he could easily guess what was going on in her head.

"Um… well…" Peppy shrunk a little into her seat. "I… uh…" Wow, and here Larry thought she was the enthusiastic one.

"It's okay, Peppy," Wendy said, reaching out and putting her hand on Peppy's shoulder. "If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to talk about it."

Surprisingly, Peppy gave Wendy a serious look. "But I do want to talk about it." She sat fully upright in her chair again. "The only problem is I don't know where to start."

"Would you consider the beginning, perhaps?" This comment got Larry a dirty look from Wendy.

Eventually, Peppy let out a breath. "Well…" she looked at Lemmy and Larry. "My two best friends, Stormy and Lilac, have started dating."

Larry's eyes grew wide. "Wait, what? Two chicks got together, and have been making out and everything?" Larry's face rose into a smile, and he bolted to his feet. "DUDE!" He put his hands on the increasingly taken aback Peppy's shoulders. "That's awesome! By any chance, could you hook me up with some pictures of them kissing? Ooh, or maybe you could give me an audio recording of them kissing! That would just be…"

"Larry, stop being creepy!" Wendy said. Despite not wanting to, Larry pulled away from Peppy, and once Wendy stopped glaring at him, she turned back to her friend. "Anyway, I have heard of that. And… well, I must say good for them."

Peppy nodded. "Yes. Yes, definitely good for them." She tried to put on a smile, but anyone with half a brain could tell that it was forced. "I'm really happy for them, especially Lilac."

Larry raised an eyebrow. "But…?"

Peppy cringed. "It's… it's been an adjustment period for me."

"I can imagine." Wendy scooted closer to her friend. "Well… I'm sure you'll get used to it in time."

"I'm sure I will." Peppy directed her gaze down to the ground. "But… on some level, the adjustment period isn't even close to being my number one concern." The others blinked, all keeping their eyes on the orange-haired koopa girl. "Mostly, I've been worried about what would happen if they broke up. What would that mean for us? You know, as a friend group?" Now she looked uncomfortable. "As much as I hate to think about it… I think the days of the three of us painting the town together are over."

A silence filled the room. Larry exchanged a look with Lemmy, and Wendy looked like she was caught between two completely different emotions. She bit her lip, hesitating for a good long while. So long, in fact, that Peppy said more before she had a chance to.

"And it's scary. For years, I never would've imagined that there'd come a time when Stormy and Lilac wouldn't be friends with me. It stings so much. I mean, I'm happy for them. I am absolutely thrilled for them. But…" she sighed and shook her head. "I probably sound incredibly selfish right now."

"No, it's fine!" Lemmy said. He walked over to Peppy. "Change is scary; we all get it."

"Me especially," Larry said, looking down at his metallic body. He got closer to Wendy's friend. "But… well, just because you feel stuck in a certain position doesn't mean that you'll be stuck that way forever. Sure, the future might look a little bleak as of right now. But think about the future that comes after that future. There are so many possibilities, and quite a good number of them are actually good. So… yeah. I'd say don't stress about it." He smiled. "I'm sure things will work out in the end."

"You really think so?" When Larry nodded, a whole new surge of positivity appeared on Peppy's face. "Wow. Thanks, Larry." She smiled as she looked down at her lap. "I think you're right. The future will iron itself out." She beamed. "Especially so with my current circumstances. I've more or less started a new hobby not to long ago, a hobby that has helped me through these complicated feelings."

"Really? What hobby is that?" Wendy asked.

Peppy just chuckled. "Oh, it's nothing big, really." She looked back at the boys. "But with the new possibilities this hobby has opened up for me… I'm excited, at least about that aspect of my life."

"Well, that's good!" Lemmy exclaimed. A smile appeared on his face, one that had the type of innocence and playfulness one typically associated with him. "See, things really can work out for the better!"

"That they can." Wendy looked back down at the Switch controller. "You know what? Maybe giving Larry a chance to win five races in a row wouldn't be the worst thing in the world."

Larry immediately perked up. "You think so?"

Wendy gave him a playful look. "You managed to effectively comfort my friend. You deserve a little reward."

"Oh, do I?" Larry chuckled. "Man, I should try comforting your friends more often." He picked up his Switch controller and looked at Peppy and Lemmy. Peppy had a smile on her face as she held her own controller, but to Larry's surprise, Lemmy wasn't doing anything of the sort. He just sat there, smiling like a dope and looking over at Peppy. If Larry were to wager a guess, he would also say his older brother was trying to hold back some giggles.

"Lemmy?" Larry asked. "Don't you want to play?"

"In a little bit." Lemmy chuckled. "I was actually hoping that I could do something first."

A look of dread appeared on Wendy's face. "Dare I ask what that something is?"

Lemmy chortled in a way that made Larry feel just as anxious as Wendy. "Well…" he dug into his hammerspace and pulled out a stack of papers. "I think it's about time I show Peppy my one and only, true magnum opus!"

Larry's heart sank before he even had a chance to thoroughly study those papers. "Oh. Moo Man."

"Yep! Moo Man!" Lemmy giggled uncontrollably while Peppy looked at him in confusion.

"What the heck is Moo Man?" she asked.

"Only the greatest thing ever!" Lemmy walked up to Peppy, making sure to keep the drawings in her line of sight. "It's a comic that I started working on not too long ago. I'm really excited about it, and I think you would really like it."

"Really now?" Peppy's eyes sparkled. "Well… I do like comics." She took the papers from Lemmy. "Maybe it wouldn't be the worst idea in the world to give this a chance."

It took all the self-control Larry had to not snort. He kept his eyes on Peppy as she began to read through the comics, as did the two other Koopalings. Much to Larry's surprise, she didn't immediately dismiss this comic for being the stupidest thing on the planet (Larry wondered how much that said about her personality). She browsed through the drawings, smiling and chuckling at quite a few of them. When she finished, she lifted her head and looked at Lemmy. The smallest Koopaling could barely contain himself.

"Well?"

"I like it!" Larry had to do a double-take at that statement. "It's very creative!" She handed the papers back. "It's silly, but I think its silliness gives it its own brand of charm."

Lemmy beamed. "That's what I've been saying this whole time!" He laughed and looked at his siblings. "These bozos right here don't understand the appeal of the comic just yet."

"Implying that we will eventually," Larry murmured aloud in a way that made Wendy giggle.

"Well, that's really their loss," Peppy said. "You keep working on your comic, Lemmy."

"Oh, I will!" Lemmy giggled. "Like I said earlier, I'm gonna milk this idea for all it's worth!"

Peppy burst into laughter, an action that surprised Larry. No, not because of what she was laughing at, but more so because of the laugh itself. With how melodic it was, with how infectious it was… it sounded familiar. Larry was fairly certain he had heard it before. But where? He didn't hang out with Peppy very often; why did her laugh trigger a sense of familiarity?

Wait. Could… could it be…? No, no, it couldn't. There was no way! Peppy couldn't be… *gasp* Wait! She… she was! She absolutely was. Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!

"That's funny, Lemmy." Peppy got up from the couch. "I'll be right back guys; I need to go to the bathroom. After I get back, we can start that Mario Kart race, okay?"

"Sure thing," Wendy said. With that, Peppy left. When she did, Larry's breathing rate sped up by a considerable degree. It immediately drew Wendy's attention. "Larry, are you…?"

"I can't believe it," he said. A smile grew on his face. "It's her! I can't believe it; it's her! It's got to be her!"

"Larry, what are you saying?" Lemmy asked.

Larry turned toward the others, barely able to contain his excitement. "Peppy is Fiery Tempest!"