Chapter Text
Flicking through pages, the Koopa King scrolled through a large leatherbound book with a broad smile. Pictures of flowers, banquet menus, location brochures, and other miscellaneous objects. This may as well be the most guarded document in his office; after all, it holds all the details for his and Luigi’s wedding!
It felt like only yesterday that the two started dating. Six years ago, Bowser realized he couldn't keep doing this. He couldn’t continue this life of villainy and kidnapping. He was missing out on his kids’ lives, his citizens were losing respect for him, and the constant defeat just kept making his mental health worse and worse. After failing to wed Peach in the Moon Kingdom, Bowser got stuck there for a little while (his warship suffered from an engine malfunction) and during his brief exile, he stopped for once in his life to think.
The Mushroom Kingdom may have resources, yeah, but… Bowser doesn’t really need them, his home country is quite sufficient. None of the other kingdoms and nations want anything to do with him because of his behavior, which was once again for a useless reason: he doesn’t like Peach. Well, not romantically at least; don’t get him wrong, Princess Toadstool seems like a lovely lady, and Mario’s one lucky bastard to have her. But, on that lunar surface, he realized he went off the deep end over a crush, a half-baked attraction towards her.
Bowser has some experience in the romance department (otherwise, how would Junior have come to be?) but… shit happened. Things didn’t go well, a divorce occurred and ever since then, the king has just been afraid to date again. And then he saw Peach and half-assed courted her like an idiot; ego bruised by her well-deserved rejection birthed the familiar villainous routine of today. After pondering all of this, Bowser decided to call it quits. He returned to the Darklands and focused on what he should be doing: taking care of his kingdom and his kids. After several months of peace, Bowser started feeling better. He was actually there for his kids and all their craziness, his kingdom was relieved to have their king again. Hell, he even started hitting the gym properly again and got himself a much-needed hobby.
And then Luigi came in. Due to his inactivity, Peach became concerned (read: suspicious) and sent the little man to investigate; she didn’t send Mario because he was helping out with an oil spill in Lake Lapcat. Bowser vividly remembers he was sitting in his throne room, listening to a citizen’s grievances when suddenly a guard burst in with Luigi in a floating cage. The king visibly panicked and ordered his immediate release; after clearing out the confusion, the human in green explained his intentions. While he was a little hurt, Bowser understood where Peach was coming from and subsequently told him that he was done. No more kidnappings, no more elaborate schemes. He just wants to be a good father and a good king.
Most shocking of all? Luigi believed him without hesitation. His eyes had glimmered with joy and pride like he knew Bowser would someday come around and redeem himself; the reaction was refreshing, to put it mildly. Armed with his response, Luigi respectfully exited his kingdom.
Then he kept coming back.
At first, Bowser felt like they appointed him as some parole officer, periodically coming in to make sure he was actually staying out of trouble. However, every time Luigi visited, he revealed it was out of his own volition; in fact, Mario and the princess had no idea this was happening. He’d bring homemade snacks and talk to him during his breaks; the Koopa King learned a lot about Luigi. He has a passion for cooking and embroidery; despite his naturally anxious nature, he seemed to enjoy his company. And hey, someone who can kick King Boo’s ass was someone deserving of being his friend in his book! It didn’t take long for the king to realize how charming and heartwarming Luigi was and soon enough, Bowser was whipped. And being the boisterous creature he is, he made it blatantly obvious.
He started out small, gave a compliment here, perhaps reached for his hand there; he was being cautious, he was heartbroken once after all. Bowser would gladly welcome him into his home, practically letting him roam free. He slowly opened himself up to Luigi, indulging him with information he hasn’t really shared with anyone. How he was basically given the throne after his parents were overthrown, how he’s trying to be a better ruler and father for his kids’ sake. When he told Luigi about his turbulent, short-lived marriage, the human hugged him without hesitation, sensing his distress. The understanding, the care for him… It fueled Bowser’s determination to court the human and do so properly.
He’d make or buy Luigi gifts and compliment him.
Bowser gave him special privileges and sometimes took him on “diplomatic” trips to other kingdoms as his ambassador.
At first, the Italian seemed oblivious, which gave the mighty king deep bouts of anxiety. His kids knew he liked him (correction: the whole castle knew about his feelings) and even placed bets on who would confess first. However, one day, after 2 months of flirting with him, Luigi basically stormed through the castle and into his bedchambers, still dressed in his pajamas and his ghost dog hot on his heels.
“You’ve been flirting with me, haven’t you…”
Gods, he loves this man, but he can be so dense sometimes…
And he still remembers his half-asleep response.
“Ye.”
Luigi looked like his brain fried. He stood there for what felt like an eternity; Bowser had even fallen back asleep while sitting, waiting for his response. He was startled-awake when Luigi tackled-hugged him and pretty much confessed while in his arms. The Koopa’s tail had wagged so much, it sounded like a rotor. And waking up with his love in his arms the morning after was the best feeling in the world.
Maneuvering their relationship took time and finesse since there were some issues. For one, they had previously been enemies and, even though his beef was mainly with Mario, people would be disapproving of their relationship; so, they kept it secret for a while. It was challenging, especially for Bowser since he just wanted to pick up Luigi and shout to the world that this was his boyfriend.
Another problem was their physical differences. Bowser never felt more aware of his size than when he started dating Luigi; after all, he was a full three feet taller, a mountain of muscle and sharp teeth. The royal suddenly became afraid of even holding Luigi’s hand for fear of crushing him. It got to the point that the touch-starved pistachio grabbed his face one day and, in a rather terrifying yet weirdly titillating voice, said.
“Hug me. Cuddle with me. Hell, PLEASE carry me! Just- anything!”
Learning to communicate and safely show affection was nerve-wracking but rewarding in the end. Luigi grew accustomed to co-parenting rather quickly; although, Bowser doesn’t know how since he went from having 0 to 8 kids at once. Nevertheless, he did. The castle staff adored his company and treated him like a king. And just like that, six years passed. The two were in a deeply committed relationship and went public roughly four years ago; there was a bit of backlash but that wasn’t surprising. What was surprising was how accepting Mario was of them.
“Who wouldn’t fall for my bro?” he said while chuckling. “He’s happy, right? Why wouldn’t I support that? Plus, it means no more kidnapping of my amore.”
Bowser chuckled at the memories and softly closed the book. He’s been planning the proposal but every time he looked at the wedding plans, something felt off. Incomplete. It wasn’t the most extravagant wedding in the world since he wanted to respect Luigi’s more modest and quiet nature, but something told him that wasn’t the issue. The theme was perfect, he picked L’s favorite flowers and planned on the event taking place right here in the capital. He mulled over the details over and over again, but couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
Sighing, the king slowed up and exited his office. As he traversed the lava-lit halls of his castle, he listened to the sound of life. Servants scampered around the corridors, keeping up the palace’s appearance; he could hear the chefs working in the kitchen, and the scent of warm meals floated in the air. Moving on, he entered the castle’s living spaces and made a beeline for Luigi’s room, tail wagging. The king approached the door and slightly opened it.
Luigi was seated at his desk, working a piece of fabric through a sewing machine. Fully engrossed in his work, he failed to notice his royal boyfriend. Spools of fabric lined the walls, along with mannequins of all shapes and sizes. Racks of finished projects stood neatly in the corner. With a flourish of the wrist, the dashing Italian removed the fabric from the sewing machine and smiled at his work; a shimmering navy blue skirt with silver lining. Luigi softly rubbed the fabric, then placed it on one of the racks.
Bower rapped his knuckle on the door, making his presence known. Luigi looked up and smiled at him, waving him to come inside. The king obliged, cautiously stepping inside and ensuring his spikes were far away from the delicate material; he was not going to ruin his beloved’s work. Gently wrapping a hand on his hip, he pulled himself closer to Luigi. “Hi.”
“Ciao, amore. Haven’t seen you since lunch; is everything okay?”
Bowser nuzzled against him. “Yeah, a few of my minions needed help with something.”
Convinced by his response, the little man in green reached up and scratched his chin; the king purred at his touch. It’s astonishing how this human can cause the Great Demon King to melt at his touch. Bowser would do anything for his husband-to-be; it could be something as simple as his own sewing room to his own galaxy. No matter what, he will make him happy.
Because in his eyes, Luigi deserves the world.
“What’s that for?” he asked between purrs and gesturing at the skirt.
Luigi pulled his hand away (much to his disappointment) and reached for it. Upon analyzing the piece of clothing, Bowser realized the sparkles resembled stars. Luigi dusted it off, “Rosalina commissioned this. She said she needed it for some event that’s coming up,” he replied. Bowser struggled to keep his face neutral.
So, she finally got my letter…
Geez, getting in contact with the celestial sorceress had been an absolute nightmare, even more so because he had to be discreet. It was also very awkward considering the chaos he caused a few years ago with the whole “make his own galaxy” scheme. Bowser looked at the other outfits, “Are you planning on wearing some of these? They look amazing!” His significant other blushed at his comment.
“I’m thinking about it. But there’s been a lot of eyes on me lately…”
Bowser frowned slightly. While he was completely comfortable with Luigi wearing dresses, he knew the public would not be so kind. It saddened and angered him that his partner could not express himself as freely as he should be able to. The castle staff were okay with this and made sure to keep this a secret at Luigi’s request, but that’s as public as he was comfortable going. Bowser isn’t even sure if Mario knows about this, and that’s his twin brother! He knows Red enough to know he wouldn’t be judgemental, but Luigi was still apprehensive.
A small knot of guilt formed in his chest. Citizens have been anxiously awaiting the day the two finally tie the knot. And as the king’s consort, eyes are going to be on him, searching for even the slightest hint of an engagement. Bowser felt responsible for all that; he knows Luigi was not a fan of the publicity. And his bravery can only stretch so far…
Wait.
The Koopa King looked at the articles of clothing, very delicately touching them as he began to think. Luigi was brave, there was no doubt about it. But it depended on the situation. Fighting against boos was drastically different from challenging societal norms. However, Bowser’s form of bravery was consistent across the board. He could give two shits about what society thought of him; he only cared about what his family thought of him. Everyone else? Only enough that his kingdom can stay afloat. Does this attitude bite him in the ass sometimes? Most definitely. But, for what he has planned, it might work out just fine.
And without skipping a beat, he turned to Luigi. “Babe.”
“Hmm?”
“Can I ask ya somethin’?”
Luigi put a hand on his chest, “Of course!”
“I want you to make me a dress.”