Chapter Text
“Dangit, Iggy…”
Bowser had put Iggy into bed after finding him collapsed in the castle’s lab. He’d spent so long in there that he’d forgotten to take care of himself, like eating…
It was terrifying seeing the state he was in. He was already pretty skinny, but he looked almost like a Dry Bones right now… He was lucky Bowser headed in there when he did, though Bowser still cursed himself for not checking on him sooner… Stupid royal duties and seven other kids...
“I’m gonna have to force mealtimes on you from now on…”
Bowser didn’t want to have to enforce any strict rules on his kids, but this made it clear if he wanted to keep a good eye on his children he had to, whether anyone liked it or not...
Iggy groaned, feeling weak. He didn’t mean to forget to eat, he just got so caught up in his experiments, it was distracting him from his own needs…
“Sorry, Dad…”
Bowser put his hand on Iggy’s head to comfort him. He didn’t want Iggy to think he was angry at him for this… Just worried…
“You even took breaks to feed your Chain Chomps and you still forget to take care of yourself…”
Iggy laughed weakly. It wasn’t that he thought negatively of himself, he just loved his pets so much that he felt more of a need to look after them than himself.
“Hey, doesn’t that mean I’m good with pets though…?”
Bowser chuckled a little too. He remembered how Iggy wanted to keep the Chomps from the jungle as pets, but was concerned that Iggy would end up neglecting them. Boy did he prove him wrong...
“Maybe try being good with yourself too, kid…”
Iggy then scrunched up in pain as his stomach loudly protested.
“Ugh… I’m hungry but… my tummy hurts…”
Bowser sighed. Of course Iggy’s stomach hurt, it’s been deprived of food for days...
“That’s what happens when you don’t eat for a while. I’ll get you some soup, that’ll go down easy.”
Iggy laid in bed, looking at the ceiling above him. Yeah, he really messed up there. And now he’s gonna have to wait on his experiments and rely on his siblings to feed his beloved pets...
Bowser returned with a small bowl of soup. It was in Iggy’s favourite bowl, which of course was Chain Chomp themed.
“Okay, Iggy. It’s important you eat this, alright?”
Iggy put the bowl to his mouth and started drinking it from there. Man, he must have been out of his mind to not eat anything all that time. He forgot how much he missed the taste...
“Thanks… And… I’m sorry. I… really messed up…”
Bowser patted Iggy’s head and pulled him into a light hug.
“No, I messed up. I should have paid more attention to you. I’m sorry.”
Bowser wasn’t perfect. He was capable of making mistakes. But he wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. He promised that.