Work Text:
It was around 8PM when Peach knocked on the Mario Bros.’s house door, a good half hour earlier than the agreed time. She did have a preference for arriving earlier at any event, no matter how casual, and so she wasn’t surprised at the panicked sounds she heard from inside. She let out a small giggle before the door was opened - really, for how long the two knew each other, Mario should have taken that into consideration already.
“I always forget that you like to get early everywhere”, Mario chuckled as he opened the door, letting Peach in with an arm gesture.
“Thank you for inviting me! It’s been a while since we’ve had dinner just the two of us.”
“Oh, it won’t be just us. I have another guest coming soon.”
Peach raised an eyebrow. “Hm?” She looked at Mario, who shifted his eyes nervously as he pointed her to the living room.
“I invited you because I wanted to share some news with you”, he began as he fiddled with his hands, “since they are relevant to us all. It’s nothing bad, don’t worry!”
He excused himself as he went back to the kitchen, to check up on dinner, leaving Peach with some time to think about what this news could be. She had noticed him happier these last few months, probably due to the lack of kidnapping attempts.
She looked around the room, trying to find any hints, before landing her sight on the coffee table, seeing a small keychain near the remote. It seemed to be able to light up, fitting its shape - a Lava Bubble. It looked familiar to her, as if she had seen it somewhere else before.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of knocking, followed by the sound of Mario rushing to the door. She looked back at the keychain, turning it around, trying to remember where she had seen it before, before looking back at the door.
And dropping the keychain onto the coffee table.
“Uh. Hi?” Bowser awkwardly waved, as Peach looked on in shock.
“So the news I had… well…” Mario nervously began, coming out from behind Bowser, holding a bouquet of red and black tulips. “Bowser and I are. Together. As in a romantic relationship.”
Dinner began in a deathly silence. Mario wondered for a second if it would be better for him to get one of the wine bottles for it, but quickly discarded the idea. He has seen both Peach and Bowser drunk, and he did not want to risk his house being destroyed.
He did, however, attempt to break the ice. “So, how’s it taste?”
“It’s really good!” Bowser answered with his mouth full, nervously swallowing as he attempted to continue the conversation. “you make a damn good lasagna, babe.”
“Thank you!” Mario turned to Peach, worry clear in his voice. “How about you, Peach?”
A few seconds of silence followed, as Peach ate a couple bites off her plate. “It’s good, but I always like your food, so it’s not that surprising.”
She took a swig of her drink, and looking at the two men, just sighed, cracking a smile. “So, for how long have you been together?”
“3 months as of last week.”
“That explains the lack of kidnappings.”
“Well, that’s one of the reasons, yes.”
“What do you mean, one of the reasons?” Mario shot Bowser a look that was equal parts accusatory and curious, making the other man shudder for a bit.
“I mean I don’t want to kidnap her ANYMORE, there is no point,” Bowser nervously took a swig of his glass before continuing, “but I had hit a creative block regarding my plans, so that’s the other reason.”
“Uh-huh.” She took another bite. “Why did you wait so long to tell me, then?”
“We didn’t really find a good chance to do this until now,” answered Bowser as he ate another bite. “Just telling you in the middle of an event with everyone around ‘hey, I’m not going to kidnap you anymore because I’m making out with your main savior’”- he mimicked overly dramatic flourishes with his fork as he spoke -”isn’t really the best of ideas.”
“That is true”, Peach pondered between a sip from her drink. “But why not some sort of royal audience, just between the two of us? Surely that could’ve been arranged?”
“Are you telling me you would’ve come alone to a meeting point we both agreed to completely alone, with my track record?” Bowser deadpanned.
Peach opened her mouth, and then closed it again.
“We also didn’t want anyone to know for a while until we knew this was serious”, Mario interjected, putting his hand on top of Bowser’s,” and now we know it’s more than just a fling.”
“Makes sense.”
“So… you’re okay with it?”
Peach snorted, confusing both men. “Mario, we’ve known each other for years. I’ve known for a while now that just rescuing me wasn’t the reason you kept saving me. Similarly,” she turned to Bowser, “the way you’ve talked about Mario when gloating about your conquests always seemed just a bit too focused on his looks and demeanor for me to not notice something going on.”
Both men blushed.
“That, and you two teamed up for the tennis tournament and the kart race these last couple weeks. That was a big tip-off too.”
Mario deflated. “Honestly I’m now surprised more people haven’t realized it yet.”
Peach laughed. “It only clicked for me once I saw Bowser come in, don’t beat yourself up that much.” She took another bite of her lasagna, before continuing.
“So, what was the first date like?”
“It wasn’t much, I took him to that lake around the Grasslands area,” began Mario after a drink. “Mainly just walked around and talked for a while.”
“Turns out we already knew most of everything about each other,” chuckled Bowser, “what with knowing each other for so long. But it was a nice evening. He took me for a boat ride!”
“How romantic!” swooned Peach. “Anything else?”
Mario and Bowser kept telling stories about their dates to Peach, laughing about any funny anecdotes and wincing at the few missteps along the way. Dinner had been finished for a while now, and as Mario brought out some ice cream for dessert, Peach asked some other things.
“Who knows about you two by now besides me? I assume Luigi and Junior do by this point.”
“Also Kamek and some of my guards”, sighed Bowser. “It was getting annoying, having to sneak him up on the castle some nights. It felt like I was 15 years old.”
“Pauline also knows” added Mario.
“Wait, what?! How?!” Bowser pointed as his partner with his spoon. “And why didn’t you tell me earlier?!”
“Because she knows how to keep a secret! Also, I uh. Went to visit her wearing one of your wrist cuffs.”
Bowser’s muzzle turned as red as his hair, while Peach burst into laughter. “Yeah, that would do it!”
“Is everyone around us stupid? Is that why no one has figured it out yet?” Bowser sighed, resting his face on his hands.
“We are planning to make a public statement soon”, interjected Mario. “That was the other reason I wanted to meet with you in private. Could you help us with that?”
“I’d be glad to,” beamed Peach. “It would be nice if you guys could have dates around here instead of having to always go to remote or hidden places.”
“I mean, I don’t mind the privacy”, chuckled Bowser wiggling his eyebrows, earning an eye roll from Mario and another chuckle from Peach, “but I’d like to not repeat that one Toad situation.”
“Some of my citizens truly are too nosy for their own good”, sighed Peach.
“That’s a… kind way to put it.” Mario took a piece from his ice cream. “But this was a nice evening. Happy you were able to spend it with us, Peach!”
“My pleasure”, she curtsied on her seat, before realizing something. “Wait, I just noticed. Why wasn’t Luigi with us for dinner? Daisy’s on Tostarena arranging some trade deals for Sarasaland, so it couldn’t been a date night…”
“Ah, he’s visiting Professor E. Gadd. Something about a busted experiment or something?”
“Oh yeah, that old guy. He gave me Junior’s paintbrush when we were on Isle Delfino.”
“I haven’t been back there in ages, thinking about it.” Peach put her finger on her chin. “Wouldn’t be a bad idea to have another vacation there soon, since that one trip was botched.” She threw a quick but strong glare at Bowser, making the man chuckle nervously in response.
“Would you guys want to go with me, whenever that happens? I wouldn’t mind the extra company, and I could invite Daisy or Pauline so I’m not third-wheeling!”
Mario glanced at Bowser, who glanced at him back. “Uh. We’re. We’re perma-banned from Isle Delfino.”
“...What?”
“So there’s one date we didn’t tell you about…”