Work Text:
[Mario]
It was one of the rare occasions that it was raining in the 'Bad lands' as everyone liked to call it, which frankly just isn't true. Sure its all craggy rock and molten lava, but when it was raining like this it was oddly peaceful and serene... but I couldn't get distracted! Bowser had recently kidnapped princess Peach again, he also had extra troopas stationed around than usual and they all seemed to be knocking me down more often so I had to proceed with caution. With more caution than necessary I vaulted up above them all when they had their backs turned, which is surprisingly more difficult with wet floors and walls than you may think!
But unfortunately, despite my best efforts, some of them had spotted me so I had to knock out a few of his troopas but Bowser wasn't making this any easy by not putting ANY power-ups throughout the EVERY level, I get it I'm your mortal enemy! But don't be stingy! So with no extra layers of defence to fall back on, which I guess is another reason why I'm being so cautious I proceeded, clearing the first few levels without a hitch again the only problem was is that I had to take my time.
Nevertheless by the time I managed to clear half of all the levels I would've been done with them by now. So I started sprinting towards Bowser's castle, getting hit a few times along the way, but I didn't have time to wait. I had heard that he was going to attempt to marry princess Peach again, which at first had me feeling nauseous, now I just feel down within myself... why can't Bowser see that I like him? I mean I am aware that I don't exactly make it obvious, but I do things either for or because of him that I normally would never do for anyone else, such as only personally inviting him to sports events and I only ever battle him no one else!
I stopped sprinting once I reached a suspiciously empty open area, definitely a boss arena, my theory was proved to be correct when king Whomp appeared from the the sky, slamming into the ground with the force of a massive Bob-omb explosion "Why 'ello there Mario... are ya ready to get thowmped!" He pointed at me with a smug look on his face, his other arm shifting to cross with his other arm, I inhale then exhale to try and calm down, this is it... it's all or nothing...
I close my eyes, crack my knuckles, my neck and start steadily walking towards him. Picking up the pace my eyes snap open to start running towards him, his face morphing from smug to serious very quickly, as soon as I get within range he tries to fall on top of me, but thankfully I'm agile enough to get out the way, now presented with an opportunity I run over, jump up and slam down onto the band-aids on his back. He grunts in pain, I back off a little with concern on my face while he slowly gets back up on wobbly legs and stares at me, I gesture that I don't want to fight anymore and that I just want to get past, I clap my hands together and close my eyes as a symbol of mercy.
He grunted again but this time it wasn't in pain it was in thought, as if he was seriously considering my offer "Alright'y then! I didn' really wanna fight ya ta begin with, ya can go. Don't ya dare tell king Bowser or else!" He begs me, with a aggravated and distressed look on his face.
I start walking towards him with a smile on my face to try and quell his worries and nod quickly at him, a small smile creeps up onto his face.
He must have not have known he was smiling at me because after a few seconds his eyes widen and he quickly shakes his head and replaces it with a small scowl "Yeah yeah... just go already! I 'on't wanna have ta keep looking at ya stupid face!" He points at the warp pipe behind him and gesturing for me to go to it.
I'm practically beaming as I start jogging towards where he was pointing but instead of immediately going into the warp pipe I go to the flag pole so I can climb up and change it, from Bowser's flag to my flag, but I can't help but think about how I didn't want to change it. I stop a little ways behind it and then start running at the pole, I bend my knees and with the momentum I jump up into the air, overshooting my jump by way too much "Annnd that's what I get-a for being distracted" but at least from this high up I could see Bowser's castle in the distance, not only was rare if you could see past the clouds to see the sun peak through the dark gloomy clouds but it was also raining! I could even see a rainbow not too far away! And the Koopa kingdom is known for its hot and humid weather. Everything that the eye could see looked gorgeous, with the setting sun and bubbling lava the scenery had me stunned and I almost missed grabbing the flag pole! I sigh in relief when I do grip it, once I calm down I haul my legs up to help me keep a steady grip on the pole. Whilst I'm not only changing the flags I'm admiring the view with my smile changing from a just a regular happy smile to a content smile.
Once my flag was up and I checked it was secure I stop tightly gripping the pole with my thighs and let myself gracefully slide down. Fortunately I was wearing gloves and overalls or else that would've resulted in friction burn! As I reach the bottom and pat down my clothes I notice that king Whomp was recording me, I tilted my head in confusion. Why was he recording me?
Once he noticed me looking at him he seemed frantic and stopped recording instantly and smiled anxiously "Heya Mario! Nothin' ta see 'ere! I was jus' checkin' ta see if I 'ad any missed calls or texts or whatev'..." Confused but didn't know how else to react I shrug my shoulders and make my way to the warp pipe, I look back and it looks like as if he's actually texting someone with a grin on his face, minding my own business I just hop down into the pipe. My mind was wandering while the pipe was taking me to some other level, but I couldn't help but be curious, why was the king Whomp recording me? Unable to come up with a good answer I close my eyes and clear my mind in an attempt to relax before having to go out there to run and jump around the place.
[King Whomp's Phone]
King Whomp: Hello you're majesty! You wouldn't guess what I have to show you!
His Lord Grouchiness: If its about that time where Junior caught you and king Bob-omb 'tonguing' in the corridor then don't bother, I'm already planning a gruesome death to the both of you for it, now stop bugging me and get back to defending the flag from Mario! Unless he's gotten past you already, which he should have cause he's later than normal...
King Whomp: Gee thanks for the vote of confidence sire! But no worries I'm already digging my grave for that one! Im just bugging you cause I have a video that will pardon me an untimely death! Unless you still want to kill me, which is fine btw! I completely understand that you wouldn't even want to imagine having a video of Mario sliding down a pole...
His Lord Grouchiness: If you send me that video to me right now I might just delay that death sentence...
King Whomp: Sorry sire I can't read your text! I've got my finger over the delete button because I know you would never want that video sire! Its absolutely fine!
His Lord Grouchiness: Okay fine I wont kill ya or king Bob-omb just send me that video already before I actually kill ya
King Whomp: OK sire! Here ya go! *Video attached*
[Bowser]
I felt like murdering that damned thwomp next time I saw him but as soon as I felt my phone vibrate and I saw that this text had a video attached to it I almost didn't know how to respond, was the video actually real? Or was he just teasing me and sending me a stupid prank video. My claws were shaking in anticipation... if this was really was a video of 'Mario sliding down a pole' then I don't know if I would be able to confront him the next time we fight, does he do that every time he claims a flag? Or was just a one time thing? Either way I was a ball of nerves.
I close my eyes, then breathe in to try and calm my blush but it isn't working. Without delaying it a second longer I click on that video and press play. At first it seemed completely innocent just Mario walking towards the pole, then he started running at the pole, he jumps high up into the air and the camera shakes a lot, as if it wasn't expecting Mario to jump that high but then quickly moves up to focus on him, and the sight almost makes my heart melt... he was just staring into the horizon at my land and the beautiful sky with a content happy smile on his face, it made me proud that my kingdom could elicit such a positive reaction from him, after a few seconds of him falling gracefully down to the pole, he grips the top of it with his hands and once he's stable he then swings his legs up to also grip at the flag pole to help him stay up there.
At this point the blush on my face was the same colour as my hair, with just his thighs alone he was able to stay gripped onto the pole whilst he fiddled with taking down my flag and putting up his own one, but he was up there for longer than necessary as he admired the environment around him, then too my disappointment he checks his work, seemingly satisfied with it he grips back onto the flag pole with his hands, then does what I was hoping and yet dreading would happen, he gently and gracefully slid down the pole then bounced off of it, and Whomp must not have been paying attention because as Mario noticed that he was being recorded, and instead of overreacting like I do he just tilted his head in confusion and oh! If I died right then and there I would die a happy Koopa. I save the video onto my phone to watch repeatedly later...
[Mario]
As soon as the warp pipe spat me out I sighed... now the castle was really up close, that warp pipe allowed me to skip a few levels it seems. I am starting to feel a bit worn out from doing all these extra acrobatics that I haven't done in quite some time, but regardless I have to push onwards! To save princess Peach from being forced into marriage, after all she should be able to choose who she wants to marry! As I reach the castle courtyard my eyes widen, a massive squadron of paratroopas swarm me from above.
Thankfully I quickly ducked under all of them in time before they could manage to swipe or attack me, I made a break for the castle doors in a panicked rush, I got inside in time so I'm left fumbling with the doors to try and get them closed, as soon as I did close those doors I heard banging against them, good thing I closed them quickly... I pushed back against the doors, preventing those paratroopas from getting in long enough that they all got tired and flew off, trying to catch my breath from all thats been going on I close my eyes and exhale loudly.
After a few minutes I eventually psych myself to make my way to the throne room, only problem is... that whenever me and Bowser battle we absolutely destroy his castle, and of course whether or not its to spite me or not he then proceeds to rebuild the castle completely different every time! Normally I don't tend to get lost, but this time it seems I've ended up getting myself lost, With all the winding corridors that look the same wherever you go and all the dead ends that lead nowhere, I'm starting to get slightly frustrated. So when I rounded the next corner and spotted Bowser Jr I felt a wave of relief flood through me.
I speed walk in his direction and smile, once he spotted me he grinned which looked scarily similar to how his father grins at me, he runs up to me and tackles me with a bear hug "Heya Mario! How have ya feeling?" I would respond to him but English was never really my strong suit and I struggle to speak it, so instead of insulting someone with how bad I speak I choose not to, but I put my thumbs up and then pretend to draw with an invisible pencil and tilt my head, trying to ask him if he's been drawing recently, he takes a while to understand my gestures but once he does he hums in response.
Ever since me and Junior teamed up to get Bowser back to his normal self Junior and I have been really good friends, and I'd even like to say that Junior sees me as a cool uncle! Now that I think about it I remember hearing Junior call me 'papa' before, I'm fairly certain it was an accident, just a spur of the moment mistake, but I couldn't tell because at the time I was losing consciousness and was bleeding profusely, not that I blame Bowser for hitting me... I'm just glad that I was able to shield Junior in time so Bowser didn't claw him but clawed me instead. Sometimes I experience phantom pain in my back... I still have that scar... thankfully Bowser doesn't recall any of it, or he'd never forgive himself! After all he almost severely injured his son. I'm also partially thankful that Bowser doesn't remember Junior calling me 'papa' or it might become really awkward between me and Bowser...
Junior hasn't tried to talk to me about it, or even mentioned anything to me about anything that happened that day... and I don't want to remind a child of that traumatizing experience ever again if I can help it.
He grins up at me "Yeah! I have sketched this awesome sketch of me and dad as ninjas! Its so cool! C'mon follow me and I'll show you!" He grabbed my hand and started dragging me presumably towards his room. I know I didn't have enough time for this but... I can't bring myself to say 'no' to Junior, so I just let him drag me towards his room with a anxious smile on my face.
As we walked down several corridors and made many turns, lots of different Koopa retainers were staring at us, and well... glaring at me more specifically, some of them gasped and started running in some other direction, others were trying to intimate me and shout for me to 'leave the young prince alone!' But after a quick glare from Junior they hushed real quick, all seemingly terrified of whatever Junior would do to them, as we somehow made it to Junior's room in one piece I began to question how a literal child can memorise the castles layout every single time it's rebuilt, I know I shouldn't be too surprised since Junior is a very intelligent child, but still sometimes I forget how to traverse Peach's castle! And that place never changes, despite how many times it's destroyed.
Once Junior brings me into his room I'm left stunned while Junior scampers off to do whatever he's doing at how nicely his room is decorated, with a lovely hand-painted landscape across every one of his walls with a beautiful painted blue sky, an army green wardrobe and chest-of-drawers to match with go-karting stickers littering both of them, a large train set in the corner of the room with a nice burgundy rug underneath it that covers some of the scarlet red wood flooring with many different toys scattered all over the place, a toy chest that's completely empty for all the toys to go in, a single bed with sheets that were go-kart themed, a desk with so many different types of art supplies that I wouldn't know what to do with them an art stand just off to the side of it that had a very detailed painting of the Mushroom kingdom landscape.
I tread carefully through all of his toys over towards his art desk, as he rummages through everything on his desk, patiently waiting for him to find whatever he's looking for I sit down on on a nearby chair, once he finds his art book he quickly flips through the many pages then he somehow smiles even wider, turns the book around and shows me, I gasp softly I couldn't describe how absolutely amazing this 'sketch' was, I know a lot of professional adult artists who could only dream of drawing something this good! This 'sketch' was of a life-like drawing of Junior and Bowser striking a theatrical ninja pose, with stereotypical ninja clothing and ninja stars in hand. With a look of awe and admiration on my face I keep on staring at the beautiful drawing, then I grin down at him and gesture that it's amazing by pumping my fists.
He replaces his grin with a small smile then looks back at his drawing "I believe that anyone can draw good if they just put in the time and effort" Somehow, despite him being only around seven years old, he speaks words that are much wiser than most adults.
Junior smirks then grabs my hand and brings me to his drawing desk "C'mon I'll teach you how to draw! I've also got some other sketches I wanna show ya!"
[Bowser]
I'm very aware that I'm not a very patient person, but still... it never normally takes Mario THIS long to clear all my levels and get to my castle, granted I did make this one much more difficult than usual, but that's only because Kamek was complaining about how it was 'Too easy' and my patience is starting to wear thin, but to pass the time I have been watching the video that Whomp sent me... the blush on my face must've been bright enough that steam might've been coming out of my ears as I waited with baited breath for Mario to kick down the throne room doors to 'rescue' the princess, the thought made my blood boil, why doesn't he get that I like him? Sure I publicly declare that I'm going to marry Peach, and I say that he's a pest to his face but I don't actually think that! I also don't even like her in that way, Peach figured that one out herself. Even though the first time she confronted me about my feelings for Mario I denied them entirely, but as I thought more and more about it, I realised that I actually liked him in that way, and when I did I asked her if I could still kidnap her to just to see him she actually said yes! 'As long as you don't interrupt any of my plans then I don't mind' of course I agreed to those simple conditions and now we have this arrangement where I kidnap Peach to see Mario. My subjects didn't know of my feelings for Mario, they all believe that I actually like Peach i'm unsure if Kamek is aware of it or not because he gives me strange looks whenever I insult Mario or declare that I hate him, but other than that he buys into the lie that I like Peach, and I have no idea how I would even begin to tell my son for that matter...
I do know how the Koopalings would react though, Wendy would be supportive as she loves 'forbidden love' stories and drama like that, Morton would accept it aswell because I'm his king and he follows all of my orders, Roy might accept it because he cares about my feelings and also he's just too laid back to actually care, Iggy is a wild card... he just goes along with whatever his siblings are doing so as long as the majority accept it he would as well, Larry would accept it as long as Mario didn't hurt my feelings, Lemmy wouldn't actually care all that much he would rather just do circus tricks than hate my feelings towards Mario, Ludwig however is the only Koopaling that will react badly, which is a shame since he's the leader of all of them which might deter the rest of the Koopalings into despising my feelings, which would be horrible...
Princess peach herself was in a massive bird cage to the left of me that I had cushioned to make her temporary stay at least a little more pleasant. She was leaning her arms against the bars of the cage in boredom "My my, what is taking Mario so long? I have some plans with that girl from New Donk city soon, her name is Pauline and she's lovely. Bowser, if Mario takes to much longer to get here can I just slip out? I don't wish to keep her waiting..." There was key under one of those cushions so she could let herself out at any time she wanted, She looked up at the ceiling with a lovey dovey look on her face, but I knew that she was worried that she was gonna miss her date with that girl, Peach won't admit that she has feelings for her, but she makes it difficult to miss, and similar to how she knew I had feelings for Mario, I could easily tell easily that she has feelings for Pauline.
However to say that I was shocked when a group of some distressed retainers burst through the throne room doors instead of Mario was an understatement, all of them knelt down to me, one of them spoke "Mario is battling with the prince sire! It also seemed as if the prince was hypnotised! As he wasn't fighting back instead he was directing Mario to his room!" I paled and Peach gasped, I knew that Mario was a good person, but the thought of him fighting with my son whilst being hypnotised terrified me, I got up and ran quicker than I ever have in my entire life. As I thunder down the many corridors in my castle I start worrying, goddamnit Mario I swear to all that is holy if you have hurt my son in any way I will make sure to incinerate you! Feelings or not! Why did I have to design the castle this way, As I reach the door to my sons room I hear... giggling? trying to rationalise it, I scowl. Of course Mario isn't the type of person to hurt or hypnotise anyone those damn retainers were lying...
Still I gently open the door, Junior and Mario both immediately stop giggling to eachother and turns their heads to look my way. Both of their faces spell 'oh no', Mario doesn't stop making eye contact as he slowly puts down the pencil that was in his hand with a panicked look on his face, but the thing that tells me that those blasted retainers were lying is that Mario wasn't even trying to hurt my son but was actually just, drawing and giggling like school girls with eachother "Junior... son, what are you doing with Mario?" Despite me feeling warm inside that my son and Mario were getting along I pulled a stern expression because, why would these two even be friendly with eachother, even though I want them to be friends I didn't expect them to already be friends.
Junior quickly gets up from his chair and bounds over to Mario with both his arms extended in a defensive position "I brought Mario here to show him some of my sketches... it's my fault he's here, you can blame me, that's fine, but please don't be angry at him..." Junior looked desperate, like as if he expected me to explode in rage because of Mario.
The look on Mario's face changed from panicked, to guilty. But why would he feel guilty? I growl at Mario, only to keep appearances! Even though I didn't want to... "Why would you take him to your room just to show him some of your drawings Junior!" Junior's face also changed to guilty, I felt terrible... but I needed to know why he wanted to be around Mario in the first place.
"I don't get to hang out with him any other time than when he invites us to sports events, and even then we don't get to talk to eachother much..." Junior couldn't even look me in the eyes, was he really that nervous about my reaction? Besides, since when did Junior want to be around Mario? Mario himself was pivoting his eyes between me and Junior, clearly stuck on what to do so he just continued looking between us, looking at me like as if I so much as moved he would jump to Junior's defence... why? I have a sneaking suspicion that these two got along well. But when did these two get the chance to bond? I've never left Junior alone with Mario long enough for them to bond.
"When did you two become friends! Besides! Why in the world would you want to 'hang out' with my mortal enemy Junior!?" I obviously didn't consider Mario to be an enemy, but again, its all for appearances.
Junior clenched his claws into fists "I don't have to tell you why we're friends dad! Besides you two don't have to be enemies yanno? You could be friends aswell if you tried!" For the first time in his life Junior not only was snapping at me but he was holding information from me... okay now I know never something bizarre and suspicious is going on here...
"Yes you do! I am your father! Now tell me! That's an order!" Junior flinched when I moved my claws to put them on my hips, Mario twitched, he looked ready to jump... what is going on?
"You might be my dad but this is between me and Mario! Stay out of something that doesn't concern you!" This was really out of character for Junior, he never argues with me unless it's about a serious topic. Have I been asleep for a month and missed something between these two? If so, why is Junior outright refusing to tell me?
"Son... do you have something you need to tell me?" I cross my arms and stop using my stern voice to speak softly, hoping a different approach might gain me different results.
It seemingly works as both looked at eachother, Junior looking at Mario for answers, he nods his head and puts his hand on Junior's shoulder, Junior then bit his lip, then turns his head to look back at me with a face that spelled uncertainty and anxiety "Are you absolutely sure you want to know, dad? Once we tell you it can't be taken back..." I hesitate for a few seconds but nod my head 'yes', whatever's being kept from me can't be that bad, right? Junior sighs and looks at me seriously, uh oh...
"Dad... three months ago... I tried to prank you while you slept, by painting on your face, but I used the wrong paint and accidentally corrupted you, turning you actually evil, so I asked Mario for help to get you back to normal..." Junior fiddled with his claws the entire time he was explaining to me, however I got the feeling he's still hiding something from me.
"Go on..." Junior's eyes widen at the fact that I figured out that he was still hiding something from me, he then fiddles with his claws even more than before and nervously darts his eyes around the room.
Mario noticed that Junior was stressed and rubbed Junior's shoulder in an effort to comfort him, I should be the one to comforting Junior right now, but I get the feeling that I wouldn't help much, I also didn't want to intrude on their moment "You-a don't-a have to bring yourself-a to say-a it Junior, I can-a carry on-a so you-a don't-a have to remember it..." In any other circumstance I would be totally freaking out over the fact that Mario was actually talking, as I've never even heard him speak. But instead of that making me ecstatic it made me worried instead, what did I do while I was corrupted in order for Mario, of all people to offer to speak for someone?
"No, no it's okay, I got this... this is probably worse for you, than it is for me, and no offence Mario but I think I can speak much clearer than you..." Mario wasn't offended... much, cause he knew it was the truth.
"You did something... bad... something really, really bad dad..." Junior stared at the floor like as if it insulted him, he couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with me anymore.
"How bad are we talking Junior..." I felt terrible... what have I done...
"You tried to hurt me..." If I could just sink into the floor and die right then and there, I would... I've never felt more angry at myself, hurt that Junior wouldn't tell me, and miserable that I even tried to hurt him, in all my life.
"Did I actually hurt you..." When I uttered the question that I was dreading in my mind I felt like the scumbag of the Mushroom planet.
"No, Mario defended me..." Oh thank god, I don't think I've ever been so happy to have known that adorably short plumber in all my life. The joy I felt in that moment couldn't be described.
"But you hurt him instead..." I couldn't even begin to process what Junior just said. A cold, icy dread washed all over my body and I felt numb the moment Junior uttered those words... I hurt Mario? I didn't want to believe that I would hurt Mario but looking at his face confirmed that it was true, he looked at me with guilt and shame written all over his face, I wanted to reach out and comfort him but I highly doubted he wanted me anywhere near him, so I took a few steps back from him, his arm reached out as if to stop me but he hesitated, and thats all I needed...
"I can-a show-a you..." Mario lowered his arm and looked down at the floor, me and Junior looked at Mario weirdly, what did he mean by 'show'? You can't just 'show' someone an injury that was already gone. Yet despite that fact he started undoing the metal buttons of his overalls... I blushed madly. He can't take them off now! Not with Junior watching! But thankfully he didn't pull them down any further than his waist, he turned around to face the wall and lifted his shirt to reveal his back, as soon as I saw his back an unbearable feeling of guilt and dread flood through me as all colour drained from my face...
There were these massive scars of claw marks going down from his right shoulder all the way down to the left side of his waist... "Oh my god... oh my god! I'm... I'm... I'M SO SORRY MARIO!" My vision went blurry as tears streamed down my face like a waterfall as I stared at the presumably permanent damage I have caused to his skin, Junior was sobbing as he looked with widened eyes, but he also looked horrified at that scar...
He quickly pulled his shirt down and did his overall straps back up, he then turned around to face me and Junior with a panicked look on his face "It's-a okay Bowser! Junior! Really, I'm-a fine. It no hurt-a anymore!" Despite me being the cause of his scar in the first place he didn't seem angry at all, infact he looked at me and Junior with a smile on his face as he slowly walked up to me but I backed off even more, he doesn't deserve this... doesn't deserve what I've caused...
He noticed me backing off and instead of stopping like I wanted him to, he jumped at me instead! He wrapped his arms under my shoulders and latched on, with his head perched on my shoulder, I blushed, feeling the urge to hug back, but I know I don't deserve it. So I go to grab the straps of his overalls but I think better of it and instead I just use my words "Mario... get off of me... I'll hurt you again..."
"I know you won't-a! I'm really fine Bowser. I'm-a showing you that I trust-a you!" He pulled his head back from my shoulder and smiled at me with a actually happy smile. I couldn't stop crying, I slowly wrap my arms around his tiny body, even though he told me that scar doesn't hurt him anymore, I still tried to be mindful of it, so I tried to as gentle as possible.
I felt Junior climb up my leg, I help him climb up by picking him up and hug him close as he cried into my shoulder, this was going to be a long and painful road of recovery... for not only Junior, but for Mario aswell, but I will be patient, and try to help them both get over it... for I would do anything for the both of them, and yet... despite the circumstances of the situation I felt a small slither of hope, maybe this can lead to something, eventually. Until then, I guess, I'm just going to have to think about how rare today is...