Chapter Text
It started off innocently enough. Just a simple question.
“Hey Mario?”
Luigi’s brother pauses mid-conversation with Princess Peach, swiveling his head to look at him. His attention is fully on Luigi, ever present for any and every moment with his family. “Yeah?”
Peach is looking at him curiously too, head tilted ever so slightly. Even now she has a regal air about her that he could not ever hope to replicate.
“I was just curious,” Luigi prefaces the coming question. “What ever happened to Bowser? After we shrunk him and all that, I mean.” He emphasizes the word ‘shrunk’ with hand gestures.
Mario opens his mouth to respond, holding up a finger as if he’s about to give a matter-of-fact answer. As if he should know the answer to any question Luigi could ever ask because he’s the big brother who should just know things.
“Uh… You know, I’m actually not sure?” He directs the question to Peach, passing it off like a game of hot potato. “You’re the one in charge here. What did you do with him?”
The princess clasps her hands together, excited to be included in the conversation. It hadn’t been very long since the whole ‘getting transported to another world’ ordeal, and even less long since Peach had finally gotten to meet the brother Mario was trying so hard to save. She was open and friendly and nice and everything Luigi had wanted in a love interest for his brother. Mario had always worked so hard and he deserved someone who could meet him where he needed to be.
Peach was exactly that. “We keep him in a terrarium! We keep it in one of the larger jail cells down in the castle’s dungeon, just in case something happens that causes the effect of the mushroom to wear off. Not that it would stop Bowser in his regular form for very long, but it would give us enough of a head start if we needed to evacuate again.”
The tone of her voice is beyond cheerful, and Luigi gets why. After everything King Koopa did to her and her people (her Toads?) , she is definitely justified in this bit of security. Still, it feels a little…
“I know Bowser is a bad guy and all—believe me, I know—but that seems kind of inhumane. Keeping him in a little box?”
Peach shakes her head, heart shaped bangs swinging back and forth with the movement. “It’s actually very environmentally conscious! Because he’s so small, the resources we give him are small as well. You can’t imagine the amount of food we’re saving.”
“Oh.” Sure, that makes sense.
Mario, however, can still sense some hesitance. “C’mon, Lu, you know the Princess would never keep a prisoner in cruel conditions. Not even Bowser.” Then, pivoting back to said princess, “What if we let Luigi see for himself? Take a little field trip?”
Mario is met with unease. “I don’t know…”
“It would really ease his mind.”
It’s true that now Luigi knows, he won’t be able to stop wondering. But he doesn’t want to make Peach uncomfortable, especially after everything she’s done for them.
“It’s fine! You don’t have to do that.” His voice comes out wobbly, with a hint of nervous laughter.
__________
“So, behind this door is the staircase that leads to the dungeon.”
Of course, despite Luigi’s protests (“You don’t need to, really!”), Peach had obliged Mario’s request.
She must really trust them.
Mario bumps shoulders with him, offering a reassuring smile. “We beat him once before, remember? We can do it again if necessary. No reason to be nervous.”
Luigi is nervous, though. He can’t pinpoint the exact reason why. He’s once again coming face to face with the guy–person–turtle who quite literally tried to kill him. He’s being shown the way into one of the most important and off limits part of the castle. And, worst of all, the Princess of the kingdom that’s taken them in, and Mario’s probably future girlfriend, is indicating that she has complete faith in Luigi by letting him see the worst criminal in their entire world. What if he lets her down or messes up in some way?
The stairs are steep and drop off into an inky blackness that goes down, down, down.
Hugging the stone wall of the spiral staircase, inching down step by step, Luigi says, “I didn’t know the Mushroom Kingdom had a dungeon. Everyone here seems so… not dungeon-y.”
Peach is lifting up her dress while she walks, careful not to step on it. Her head is held high and she shows no sign of fear. “We have a war room, so of course we have a dungeon. It was actually already here when the Toads took me in, so if anything, you can blame them.” She gives a small laugh that echoes off the wall. “They’re adorable, all right, but don’t underestimate them.”
Mario melts at the sound of her laugh, smitten to his very core. “About five seconds after I first met Princess Peach, a horde of Toads tackled me to the ground. They can be vicious.”
Luigi wants to follow that up. You were? Why? How? But they’re at the bottom of the stairs now, the only lightsource a few sparse lanterns that adorn the walls. There’s another door, made of cast iron. It looks heavy and intimidating and Luigi wants to turn around.
“I changed my mind,” He says, even as the guard stationed next to the door is fishing around for the right key. “We don’t have to do this. I don’t want to see—”
The door opens, creaky and slow. Mario gives his arm a reassuring squeeze.
Peach grabs a lantern off one of the hooks on the wall. “You guys ready?”
Mario says “Yep!” at the exact same time Luigi grunts out, “No!”
Beyond the door is a row of cells, made from the same iron. As soon as they cross the threshold, the air around them turns ten degrees cooler. All of the cells are empty, or appear to be, except for the very last one. There’s a faint glow coming from inside, but the wall of the cell next to it is blocking him from seeing what’s causing it.
The three of them inch ever closer to the last cell, mostly moving so slowly because of the way the younger of the brothers is dragging his feet.
“Seriously, Lu, it’s fine. We can get through anything as long as we’re together.”
Mario’s voice is encouraging enough to make Luigi almost brave.
I can do this. I can do this. Can I do this? Nope, can’t do it.
“Here we are!” Peach calls out, holding up her lantern to illuminate the dark corners of the cell. In the very middle, sat on the ground, is the terrarium. Bowser is splayed out in the corner, picking his sharp teeth with a leftover bone of… something.
He looks up at the three of them through thick eyebrows, glaring intensely, which would have been intimidating if not for his stature.
Luigi had forgotten how small he’d shrunk. Maybe, this whole time, his mind had just misremembered how frightening Bowser had been. It’s definitely hard to be afraid of King Koopa now.
“We make sure to feed him three meals a day, and we have someone scheduled to clean it every now and then. Of course, it is a terrarium, so it doesn’t need cleaning as often as every day. But I think it’s pretty humane!”
“Ha!” Bowser’s small voice forces its way through the barriers of his confinement. “Humane?! I’ve got no entertainment around here, I might as well die of boredom. How’s that for humane?”
Peach glowers at him disapprovingly. He wilts under her gaze. “You’re lucky you’re getting this treatment at all. The Snow Kingdom wanted to keep you in that small jar and throw you in a river. Unlike you, I actually have a conscience.”
“I have a conscience!” Bowser protests, fire flaming around his nostrils. “Excuse me for not living up to your impossible standards, princess!”
“You tried to kill these two!” She gestures to Mario and Luigi.
Bowser scoffs. “I knew you were going to throw that in my face.”
Peach just rolls her eyes, taking Mario by the elbow and leading him away, back towards the exit. Luigi lingers.
__________
The Mushroom Kingdom had supplied the two brothers with their very own rooms in the castle. Right next to each other, of course, with an adjoining door. At night Luigi can even hear his brother snoring. It’s comforting in its own way.
Tonight Mario is snoring louder than ever, and it’s comforting in a different way than usual. It means that he’s sound asleep and won’t suspect a thing.
Luigi knows the way to the dungeon, and has been retracing it in his mind all afternoon. He’s not sure why he’s so keen on going back. Just a few hours ago it had been the last thing in the world he’d wanted to do.
Maybe it’s the way he can physically look Bowser in the eye, someone who had caused him so much grief, someone he’d been so afraid of, and see that he’s no longer a threat. Luigi is safe. So safe, in fact, that he can even visit the villain by himself and nothing bad will happen.
The staircase is as long and dark as before, but now the darkness is warm. It wraps around him like a blanket and comforts his racing mind. The Toad on guard doesn’t ask him why he’s there, just gives a nod to one of the heroes who saved the kingdom as he pries open that heavy iron door.
Bowser stares at him. He blinks slowly, deadpan, as if he cannot understand what Luigi is doing there.
“Why are you here?”
How should he even begin to respond to that? There’s no better answer than the truth. “Seeing you so small makes me feel safe.”
Except, now that he’s said it, and Bowser’s face has fallen, Luigi knows that the truth was probably the worst answer he could have given.
“Come to laugh at me, then. Go ahead. Laugh at the guy who just wanted love. It’s not like that’s messed up.”
“You tried to kill me.”
Bowser huffs out a string of obscenities. “What is it with you do-gooders and being so against a little murder? People die all the time!”
Luigi sits down on the cold concrete floor, criss-cross applesauce. “That’s way more messed up than laughing at love.”
“Not in my opinion!” King Koopa paces around the length of the terrarium. “Everyone always discredits the way I’m feeling! Nobody understands it was a crime of passion!”
“Well. A crime of passion is still a crime.”
Bowser gives him a dirty look. “Is this what you’ve come here for? To berate me in the middle of the night, just to make yourself feel better? I thought you were supposed to be the hero.”
Luigi is taken aback. What is he doing? When it’s laid out like that, it doesn’t sound right at all. It’s just mean. He gets back to his feet, wringing his hands anxiously.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean… Sorry.”
Luigi feels his stomach drop lower and lower even as he ascends the stairs.
__________
“You not hungry?” Mario looks at him, face full of concern.
Luigi’s plate of baked ziti is still over half full, but he has no intention of finishing it. He hasn’t been able to stomach anything since his conversation with Bowser the night before. “Uh… I guess not.”
“You didn’t eat much at lunch either,” Peach says. “Are you feeling alright?”
This sets off alarm bells for Mario. He’s out of his chair in a second, pressing the back of his hand against Luigi’s forehead. “Do you have a fever? Are you getting sick?”
Luigi pushes his hand away. “Nothing like that! I’m just not very hungry, you know? I’ve been snacking all day.”
His brother is not convinced. He can make out a frown under Mario’s mustache. “Maybe you should get some rest. Sleep could do you some good!”
Peach nods supportively. “And if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. This is your home now, I want you to be comfortable here.”
The two of them are so nice it makes him want to cry. And he does, just a little. “Thanks, guys,” He says, wiping away a few tears.
Luigi tosses and turns in his bed for hours afterwards, trying to get some sleep like Mario suggested. Sleep won’t come.
It isn’t until the clock on the bedside table displays one in the morning and his brother’s snores once again sound off in the next room that Luigi even considers getting up. He shouldn’t be doing this, he knows, but after the previous night…
Well, he needs to speak to Bowser again. Clear the air. Apologize for being so mean.
“Are you serious?” Is the first thing the villain says when he lays eyes on the plumber. “Back for more? It wasn’t funny enough for you the first time?”
“No!” Luigi protests. Then, hearing what that sounded like, he quickly corrects himself. “I mean—it wasn’t funny! And I’m here to apologize this time.”
Bowser raises an eyebrow, suspicion and curiosity evident on his visage. “Apologize? To me?”
“Yes. You were right. Coming here to make myself feel better was wrong. I want to make it up to you.”
The other nods, stroking his chin with sharp claws. “Alright. Let me out of here, then.”
“What?! No!” God, this was getting out of hand fast. “I meant like… I could get you a snack or something? I’m not going to let you out of prison after you—”
Bowser interrupts. “I swear to God, if you bring up the killing thing again—”
“Okay, look.” Luigi takes a deep breath to ground himself. “What’s done is done. You did something bad and now you have to live up to the consequences, because that’s the way the world works. I did something bad, coming here to laugh at you, so I’m apologizing and trying to make it up to you. See how I’m owning up to my actions?”
“You want me to apologize?” King Koopa looks like he might burst out laughing at any moment.
“It would be a nice start.”
Upon realizing that Luigi is entirely serious, Bowser sobers up a little. “Sure. Whatever.”
A moment of silence.
Luigi crosses his arms. “That’s not a real apology.”
“I just agreed with you! How is that not an apology?!”
Ugh, he should have known better than to expect something to come from this. Luigi has said his piece, cleared his conscience, and now he doesn’t owe the turtle anything. He turns to go.
“Fiiiiine,” The other draws out in a gruff voice. “I’m sorry for trying to kill you even though I was only doing it because you and your brother got in the way of true love.”
That’s not really a real apology either, but Luigi will take his wins where he can get them. At least the guy said the words ‘I’m sorry.’
“Thank you for the apology,” He tells Bowser slowly. “That makes me feel better.”
Bowser squints at him. “And what do I get?”
“You don’t get anything. That’s not how this works.”
“Then what was the point?!” He’s getting agitated now, fire finding its way out of his mouth. “I did that for nothing?!”
Luigi blows air through his lips, running a hand through his hair. “Well, you’re supposed to feel a weight lifted off your shoulders. Admitting you did something wrong allows you to learn from the experience and grow as a person!”
“That’s so stupid! I didn’t do anything wrong!” The turtle turns his shell to Luigi and faces the wall, sulking. “Just get out.”
__________
Luigi has a different view of Bowser than he did two days ago.
Talking with him about taking accountability feels like teaching a toddler the difference between right and wrong. He can’t help but feel for the guy because it’s clear that he’s not aware how he’s hurting other people.
And thus he feels torn.
Now that he knows the root of Bowser’s issues, is it moral for him to continue his luxurious life in the castle when he could try to help the villain see the error of his ways? Can he look the other way when he knows someone is suffering and he could do something about it?
And worse yet, he’s been visiting Bowser without permission from the princess. She would never endorse rehabilitating the one who threatened her entire kingdom, forced her into a wedding she didn’t want, and almost took over both their world and Brooklyn.
Besides, he can’t keep secrets from Mario. It would be over before it even started.
But Luigi can’t leave things like this. He has to try and do some good.
Even if the results are disastrous.