He smiled, even with his wounds riddled through his body, Mario was glad to hear the breath of the princess get steady while she rested her head in his hand. She had finally calmed down and he was alive enough to know, allowing each other to appreciate their closeness in silence and peace. His lifted arm could have hurt him in their moment, the burnt he received on his shoulder extended all the way to his worn out bicep. But oddly enough, the last place he could feel pain in was his lifted arm, rather, a cooling feeling extended all the way from his hand to his shoulder, like the burnt and muscle ache were never there to begin with.

That feeling of refreshment in his muscles was familiar, it unconsciously took him back to his deathbed moment when the same sensation invaded him through his nape, reanimating him back into consciousness. He remembered that kiss; there was no doubt in his mind that it was nothing more than a delusion, much like the many kisses he experienced in the very few times his mind gifted him an image of her for him to treasure up close. But still, it was odd for him, delusion and all, that kiss felt more real than those that came before.

"Princess…?" Mario called, barely audibly and groggy, he could barely put words together, the gash at the side of his torso barely allowed him to breathe. Even so, she responded to her call lifting her head. For the first time since they met that evening, he got a closer look at her. Her eyes were tired, both from days of captivity and her own tears. It hurt him seeing her that way, worn out, tired. He wanted to give her comfort and treat her with care, she did not deserve any wrong upon her, for some reason he hated it, it pained him.

But his body could try as it might, following his best instincts and make him move towards that goal, the truth was that Mario could not move his body. The mere attempt would make him whine in pain. The princess quickly reacted to him, "Please, don't move!" she pleaded while steadying his balance.

They had each other up close, their faces were roughly a few inches away from each other. Mario gazed upon her dimmed eyes, even if they were faint of light by her own perils, they were still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Once again he remembered that kiss that woke him up, Peach was at a much similar distance when he felt himself alive. His heart began to race, wondering if what he experience was well within reality.

"Princess… what-"

The door of the shack slammed open, startling both of them. Mario returned to the pain of his body and the princess turned towards the door. The cramped room was full with goombas of all ages, some old, some young, some in the middle. They were no less than 5 or 6 that he could count, two of which carried a large sailcloth bag. Surrounded, Mario's senses immediately alerted by sheer fight-flight instinct and he attempted to stand up to protect her, but he could only grunt in pain while his wounds crippled him, meeting the princess's careful touch imploring him to stand still.

Mario looked at her, despite of the seemingly bad situation, Peach was by no means frightened, but rather expectant. The goombas then presented the bag to Peach. "Ms. Pretty Face! We got the things ya' asked for. Is this enough?" One of the goombas said.

Peach quickly hopped off the bed and inspected the bag, taking out many strange items his tired eyes could not make sense from the distance and the evening darkness. He did see her eyes brighten ever so slightly, as well a very faint smile. "This is more than enough, thank you very much."

"Arright! We leave this to ya'!" And with that, the goombas left one by one as quickly as they came. "Get better, big man!" they cheered words of encouragement. Mario was not clear on what just happened at all, but his sense of danger dissipated, they were truly safe after all. His eyes moved back towards Peach, who began taking out things from the bag and arrange them in a neat fashion on the nearest wooden chair.

He counted a handful of bandages, a bag of cotton and other medical supplies. Completely out of line with those items, he also saw some spices, herbs and a red mushroom. But the thing that puzzled him the most was the black bottle she pulled out. He could not make sense of the label, but its lanky and stylish design told him it had to be a liquor of some kind. He could not ponder about it for more than just a second, however, the princess quickly opened the bottle and gave it a large chug without any kind of modesty.

Shocked, Mario stood frozen while Peach swallowed the drink nonstop. It felt so unlike her to drink that way, let alone alcohol, it was almost improper. Her formalities were thrown away in the bluntest way possible from the moment she began to drink, as well when she put the bottle away. She began catching her breath desperately, coughing like she was choking in the drink, her expression was one of outright disgust. Mario had no saying in what just happened, but something within him wanted to not give it too much thought. Perhaps she was thirsty, perhaps there was good a reason for her act, but it felt wrong to have witnessed her acting so brutish, especially for an alcoholic drink.

Oddly enough, he didn't realize that he was not thirsty in the slightest, he who ran a marathon to literal death.

Peach regained her composure soon after and checked her hands, rubbing them together and tapping her shoulders, then pressing slightly. He couldn't understand it, but she seemed frustrated, she whispered inaudible words in her disappointment. But as quick as her expression was, she calmed down and grabbed the bandages and chemicals.

"Mario." Peach called, her eyes were drifting ever so slightly, eyelids making an effort to stay awake. She clearly was tired and dizzy. He couldn't say anything, or reach out to her, the mere attempt made his bones crack in ways that felt wrong, his muscles sting so much it leaked thought his voice in whimpers. It was wrong seeing her get so tired like that, it began to hurt him more than his physical pain could. He wanted to take her hand and reassure her, but then two hands took him instead. One resting in his overall button, the other in his chin. "Please, don't move. I'm going to check your wounds."

Just what was there to see that his torn and burnt clothes didn't allow her to see already? Such a simple statement was confusing when the princess was so close he could smell the faint scent of homebrew tonic wine lingering in her breath. Despite the light stings in his weakened flesh, her touch was strangely dazzling, so much Mario couldn't help himself and sigh in so much ease. Those words quickly made sense when he felt the only strap in his ruined overalls loosen up by her own hand.


Mario tried to protest, but the pain was too unbearable to allow him have any saying. His heart began to race, he was unsure on what to focus on, the jarring pain in his muscles and bones as the princess forced off his overalls, or sheer embarrassment over the fact she was undressing him in the first place. His shoes were off, his overalls too, only his striped red shorts remained. He did not want to look at the princess, Mario kept his eyes shut either by the pain or the embarrassment. But the silence between the two of them grew louder, a feeling of dread crept in among Mario's delicate nerves. He opened his eyes to see the princess at the verge of tears, abhorred. The next thing he picked up was his own uncovered flesh and, he as well, got shocked.

The long run and the bad landing got his feet red and bloated with a faint shade of purple. Without the overalls, he could see the many bloody scratches all over his legs and knees, mixed with bumps and bruises of varying colors, one of which covering almost his entire right thigh. And such was the severity of the wounds he could see, the mere recollection of the many hits he took during his fight and escape made Mario wonder what else was broken that he couldn't see. When he lifted his head he saw the princess holding back her tears, shaking her head fervently in an attempt to keep herself together. He wanted her to stop looking at him, for she was clearly afflicted and pained by his state. It was not just embarrassing anymore, it was shameful, it was disgusting, it was scary. Mario knew better that she did not need the image of his heavy injuries in her mind.

It pained him to see her so hurt by it, his chest began to sting the longer she forced herself to keep it together. She wanted her to leave, that way she wouldn't have had to deal with any of his pain. But strangely enough, leaving him was the opposite of what her movement suggested. Peach reached to the cotton balls and one of the chemicals. Carefully she moistened the cotton with it, completely ignoring that she was still at the verge of crying.

"T-this may hurt, b-but..." Peach stuttered, then cleared up her teary eyes. The princess' hand was shaking towards one of his open cuts, yet she was having a hard time reaching it. Suddenly, it came to him what she was planning on doing. Peach wanted to take care of his wounds.

As soon as the cotton made contact with his skin, Mario gasped for air between his clenched teeth, squinting his eyes and letting go a grunt of pain. the chemical burnt so much he couldn't help but startle Peach, who was already apologizing to him while her eyes filled with tears once again. But even if hesitation was crippling her moves, she continued, pleading Mario to resist. Her faint sobs and his whines filled the silence between each other, she could not bear looking at his horrible injuries, she could not bear having to clean them. Mario knew she was pushing herself way too much, she didn't need to. He wanted her to stop, it was too much for her to handle, but he could not make a single word come out, only whines and grunts. His pain was too much for him to stop her.

One after another, cotton balls dropped on the wooden floor, stained with his blood and cleaning his own marks. Peach wrapped the gashes and open wounds with bandages, seeing they wouldn't get infected. Then she reached for a small jar, it's smell was fresh, but strong and invasive, like some kind of mint. With her hands, she spread the gel all over his bruises and bloats. For a moment it pained him, but shortly afterwards the pain calmed down, leaving in his skin a sensation of refreshment.

Soon enough, his injuries on his lower body were clean and covered. There was only so much she could do with his legs, and there was no way to truly tell how his body was internally. Seeing how hard it was for the princess to treat his pain, Mario sighed of relief, knowing it was over. "That's more than enough," he thought, although in his sigh, he felt the gash in his lower side hurt. It really wasn't enough, but he was not going to submit Peach to any more of his injuries.

But then, still afflicted, she requested him to rise his arms, grabbing the bottom of his shirt.

Peach didn't give him a single moment to think things through, the shirt was being unfolded and she herself was stripping him down. In so much pain he forcefully got his way out of the shirt, feeling soon enough the muscles of his arms ache and the unending pain in his lower side. He shuddered, then panted with heavy breath. When he saw the princess, his heart sunk by the look in her face. She had enough, she broke down to tears again.

"Mario...!" Her voice had pain, so much pain, it was almost as if she could feel his own injuries. When he thought about it, it was confusing. Not only she was disgusted by the scene, but also deeply hurt to the point of breaking down. He saw his wounds and, while he still didn't understand her feelings, he knew why she was so affected. The bloody gash at the side of his torso was horrible, the open flesh made him tremble in fear. His forearm had a long mark of darkened, burnt skin. Spots of red and purple were scattered all over his body, bruises and hits, especially in his arm for when he used to guard himself.

The mere look at his wounds was enough to make him feel them fresh again. Mario almost wanted to cry with her, he got himself hurt badly, and he had to put up with such crippling pain. And worst of it, she had to put up with such a gross scene.

But that wasn't true, she did not have to put up with any of it.

The princess walked away from him, reaching the alcohol bottle and taking chug from it. He could see in her expression that she was having a bad time dealing with things. She was pushing herself far too much when she didn't need to. The drink could have been her way to cope with the situation, as wrong as it sounded. It only worried him even more, he was putting her through it. His chest hurt at the thought that it was all his fault, he couldn't allow things to go further.

His worry only got worse when he heard the princess choke, coughing badly and gasping for air between coughs. It was wrong to hear her do those kind of noises, it was wrong seeing her face show nausea, covering her mouth as if the drink threatened to make its way out. Mario did not understand what was happening with her, he grew frustrated alongside with the constant pain of his injuries. He could not stand seeing the princess like that, his guilt only grew stronger. She reached the cotton and the chemical to treat his wounds, then called his name again, voice groggy.

"Mario, I'm-"
"Princess, that's enough." Mario reached out to the bottle, powering her delicate hand.

As bad as his injuries were, the pain of seeing her waste herself in such a way, having to put up with taking care of his state, it was far worse for him to bear. But she didn't have to, he couldn't allow it any longer. "You don't have to push yourself."

Peach stood in silence, confused by his reaction. It was strange, that look in her face that suggested feeling of sadness, but Mario didn't budge.

"I don't like seeing you hurt like this, so please... get some rest. I'll take care of my injuries. Don't force yourself to treat me, It's okay."

She gave him no response, she just kept staring at him with a surprised expression. He held to his gentle demeanor even though his injuries were killing him. He meant his words and he would hold onto them. She didn't need to go such lengths just for him. He sighed, ready to take away the chemical from her hand. However, she forced it away from him. When he looked back at her, she was already crying, but it was not sadness what riddled her eyes, but anger.

"I'm not hearing that from you, of all people."

Mario retreated his hand, he was then the one confused by her irritated tone. He was about to call back, but those pained eyes prevented him.

"Look at yourself. You're badly hurt, you can't even move yourself and..." Peach did not make an effort to hide away her tears. She grabbed his hand, seeking some kind of comfort in them. Her voice began to break. "...this is all my fault..."

"Bowser keeps outsmarting my defenses... I'm still unable to protect my kingdom." Peach lowered her head, she wanted to let it rest in his hand once again, but she was hesitating. For a second Mario did not feel a single one of his injuries, instead, a painful feeling crept up in his chest as the princess cried.

"And you... you always push yourself to the limit for me..." Her words were interrupted by her own misery, many seconds passed without her saying a single word, only her cries were all Mario could listen to and the longer she cried, the more it pained him. "How can you pretend me to leave you like this when you're always there for me…?"

"I had you injured this badly, I had you dying in my arms." Her grip became tighter, it almost hurt him given the delicate state of even his fingers. Peach rose her head to face him, tears still falling down, yet her expression held some kind of ire with a mix of concern. "It hurts my heart to see you injured… I hate it so much!"

She loosened her grip the moment she realized how much it was hurting him. With a deep breath, Peach steadied herself again, but even then her voice still had concern for him, making his chest flutter.

"I am going to push myself for you, just like you always do for me. And I don't want to hear you say anything against it."

He didn't get it, she was not meant to go that far just for him and yet she was committed to it. It felt oddly familiar, but his concern for her was all that there was in his mind, he couldn't see anything else.

"Princess-"
"I forbid you, Mario!"

He flinched with the raise and crack of her voice. Never once she made use of her authority on him. It felt out of place from their relationship. It could almost make him feel bad, knowing how conscious he was about their differences in status, but with one look of her teary eyes, he had an epiphany.

"You hate to see those you love get hurt, even a little." A thought came to him, a soothing voice from his younger days. The woman in his thoughts was treating a much smaller injury on his knee, and yet the sadness in her eyes was pretty much the same. She was hurt seeing him hurt and, similarly, he wanted her to not be sad.

Peach was desperate, desperate to soothe the pain of the wounds she allegedly caused. Her words of displeasure over his sorry state reverbed in his thoughts, it all made sense. Those tears, that desperation, the way she used her ruler status on him even though she couldn't rule over him... It was all for his sake, it was all because she hated to see him in pain, it was all because she wanted him to be safe.

It was all because she loved him, in some way, in some form, she loved him.

"Let me do this for you, please..." the princess pleaded in a much tender tone.

Mario felt his body relax, yet a knot in his throat began to form. Once silence made its way between the two of them, Peach continued to treat the injury in his side. Instinctively, he rose his arm for her to reach, even though it hurt a lot. Tears began to fall from him, Peach immediately called for him with concern, but quickly he shook his head.

"It hurts, but…" The severity of his state could mask the meaning his tears, for they were not of pain, but gratitude. "I'll be fine as long as you take care of me."

He looked her way, meeting those tired eyes filled with concern. She was devoted to her task, all for his sake, and he could not be any happier. "Do your best, Peachy."

For the first time in what may have been ages apart, she smiled. Gently, her hand reached out to his cheeks, wiping away his tears. Peach nodded at him and, "I shall."

He didn't put his thoughts into it before, but while she carefully cleaned up the gash in his torso and effortlessly wrapped the bandage around him, Mario came to realize the princess had an excellent hand for nursing. The mere touch of her through the cotton could make him gasp for air between his teeth and shudder in pain, yet it only was for a brief moment, then he wouldn't feel as hurt. Her hands applying cream all over his bloats and hits only pained him briefly, her hand could continue treating him and he would not feel as much pain.

"You're really good at this, princess."

Without losing sight of her work, she replied, "I studied nursing during my formative years. This is merely a given, but I'm glad it can be of use."

Mario chuckled, his sides could barely take it, however. "Aren't you excited for finally putting your hard work studying to test?"

"Not exactly, no."

Her response came without emotion of any kind, it felt awkward on his end. She did say she didn't like to see him wounded like that, so it felt weird to think that she would be excited to nurse him. With that thought, he needed to know.

"Princess, can I ask you something?"

She moved her hand to another bruise as he asked, then gave him a hum of inquiry.

"Does it really hurt you seeing me like this? Why?" he asked.

The princess went silent, rubbing her hands all over his shoulder with the refreshing gel. The cream was rather pleasing on his skin, but her silence was daunting. She moved to the other burnt in his forearm, still no response.

"Come to think of it," Mario replied to himself. "If you were this hurt, I'd definitely do anything to treat you... that is if I can keep it together."

Their eyes promptly met. "Then you know why, since I feel the same way," she said. The look in her eyes was soft and quite warm. If she really loved him, it was there in her eyes; but if it was the same way as his own love for her, he couldn't know for sure.

"You mean so much to the kingdom," she replied, then her words trailed off. He could only smile at her, to think he was valued by many people in a world that wasn't his own made him happy. But what really set his heart beating with joy, was to know that, more than being valuable for the kingdom…

"You mean so much to me, too."

…He was valuable for her as well.

Soon after, the princess already completed her task. Mario's open wounds were sealed and clean, the bloats and burns in him were in course of recovering, as well the many blows that left marks on him. He could not know for sure the state of his body internally, and he still couldn't move without being hurt by crippling pain. But if he could gaze at the angel that treated his injuries and still keep himself together, Mario realized he had to be alright.

Peach retreated from his side and, once again, reached for the bottle in the counter, his ease quickly dropped and, nervously, he stopped her.

"Princess, erm... do you really need that drink? Are you okay?"

With a puzzled look, she lowered the bottle. "Yes, I do. Tonic wine has an abhorrent taste when it's warm, but it's highly effective for all intents and purposes."

And once again, she took a big sip from the bottle, it was certainly unsettling to see how eager she was to drink it even when she was not a fan of its taste. Soon after, she tapped her shoulders, then rubbed her hands together, like a ritual of some kind. Her face held a relief and she held her hands together for a while. "W-what do you need that for?" Mario asked.

She left the bottle in the counter, then reached back to him. Suddenly he felt something different in the air, it was not unpleasant, but quite unusual and mildly familiar as well. The princess then spoke. "I exhausted all of my energy while in captivity. It was a miracle I was able to heal you back into consciousness. But now I've replenished my energy, I can do this right, now."

With that remark, it all made sense. Tonic had that effect on their systems, allowing them to recover energy for multitude of abilities, his Firebrand came to mind. Every time she grabbed the bottle, she was replenishing her own power, hence the desperation in her drinking. It relieved him, for there really was a good reason for such unsettling happening. But what did she want to-

The cooling touch that reanimated him. Mario remembered it, it really was her doing all along, for she had that ability within her.

"Mario, Hold still. I'm going to heal your injuries."