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“…and they complained when I just brought out the fries and saying they were cold when they were just from the fryer! I don’t know what that guy’s deal was!” Luigi huffed, sitting in the back room with Bowser, who leaned against the wall as he listened to his boyfriend vent of his day.
This week was infuriating for Luigi this week as there were more rude customers than usual.
First, there was one customer where they underestimate the cost of the bill they had when they ordered extra onion rings, to which it got resolved without drama after Luigi explained of how some items were premiums and may cost a bit more when ordering an extra.
Then, another one ordered a chocolate milkshake, but then changed their mind twice of what flavor they wanted until they wasted a couple of milkshakes until they were firmed that they can’t change their mind anymore.
Finally, one complained that the fries were too cold and not even salty enough even though Mario got them fresh out of the fryer and were seasoned enough. Then the customer left without paying, to which when that happened, Peach could see that his anxiety was about to go haywire and told him to go on break since they were in their slow hour.
And right on time, just as he got on break, Bowser came to the diner for his usual since he comes during their slow hours since it was more quiet for him.
“Is it make a complain week or something!? I just don’t get it!” Luigi huffed before burying his face in his hands. Bowser had his hands in his leather jacket pockets, sighing deeply before wrapping one arm around Luigi’s shoulder, pulling him into a side hug.
“Come on, Greenie. This is the downside when you work at diners. You’re gonna have a few letdowns, but don’t let ‘em get to you.” Bowser sighed, but he lets out a purr and nuzzled the side of Luigi’s head, smirking when he heard a quiet laugh from him.
“Besides, you didn’t broke down when it all happened, right?” He asked.
“Well…no…” Luigi weakly argued.
“Then that tells me they want to get under your skin and you don’t let them. You just gotta keep pushing, Lu…” Bowser smiled gently. Luigi took a deep breath, calming his nerves before glancing up at Bowser. “Thanks, Bowser. Sorry that I keep venting to you.”
“Hey, the last time I checked, I’m your boyfriend, so vent to me if you need to. I’d be pissed and vent too if I was in your position.” Bowser chuckled. This also made Luigi laugh, then blinked when Bowser was now eye level with him, as if waiting for something.
That’s when it clicked, to which Luigi huffed. “Okay, okay, come here, big guy.” He said, but there was a smile on his face. Bowser smirked gently as they shared a kiss, allowing them to forget the world around them, just only him and Luigi—
“Hey, Lu! Break is about up!” Mario called out.
Bowser had a flat look as he broke up the kiss, glaring at the door as Luigi only huffed a laugh. “Bowser, it’s okay.” Luigi laughed.
“…can I just punch him in the shoulder once? No one will know.” Bowser huffed.
“I will know!” Luigi laughed again.
“You can keep a secret, can’t ya?” Bowser asked, but Luigi can tell he was joking since they’ve been dating for some time. He just laughed again before kissing Bowser on the cheek. Bowser huffs, rolling his eyes as he knows that Luigi had to get back to work, then glanced at him.
“…you sure that I can’t punch him?”
“Bowser!” Luigi laughed.
The rest of the week didn’t have drama after that, Luigi working his normal schedule as many customers were satisfied of their food and service.
One evening, they were in their slow hour again, Mario working at the grill, since their chef called in sick, with Peach as Daisy worked at the register. Luigi, on his skates, kept taking orders before reporting it to the kitchen like normal.
“Okay, Sir and madam, I have one Mushroom Bacon Burger deluxe with large fries and one chilly cheese fries that comes with a vanilla milkshake.” Luigi said as he delivered the food. They smiled at their food being delivered.
“Oh, thank you so much. This looks so amazing.” The lady smiled.
“Is there anything else I can get you while I’m here?” Luigi smiled, holding the waiter’s plate in his hand. The man nods and gestured to his drink. “Can I have a refill on my coke, please?” He asked, to which Luigi nods with a smile. “Of course, I’ll have your refill in a jiffy.” He grabs the empty glass and takes it to the refill station.
“Hey!”
Luigi blinked, then turned to see a man took a lone booth, holding his menu while looking for any of the workers. “I’ve been here for ten minutes with no help!”
Daisy huffed and secretly rolled his eyes. “Oh boy, one of these…” She then glanced at Luigi with a concern look. “You want me to take that one, Luigi? You’re due on break soon, right?” She asked as Luigi finished the refill.
“No, it’s okay. I got it.” Luigi smiled gently. Granted, they did have a couple of incidents earlier of complaints about the service, but it’s nothing that Luigi could handle. And he wasn’t gonna let this guy ruin his happy mood today either. And he only had a couple of hours left until his shift was up.
“Are you sure? I can handle that guy.” Daisy offered.
“Daisy, no offense, but last time you did that, you almost dumped an entire food order on a customer’s head.” Peach interrupted. This made Daisy huffed, her hands on her hips at that response. “Hey, he started it! He kept changing his mind on how he wanted his steaks cooked!”
Peach rolled her eyes, then looks at Luigi. “Once you finish and deliver his order, please take a break, Luigi. Okay?”
”Okay, Peach.” Luigi nods before skating towards the table for their refill, telling them the bill before going to the customer, to which the man scoffed when Luigi arrived. “About time.” He grumbled.
Luigi took a deep breath before smiling and had a notepad out. “Hello, welcome to Peaches Diner. I’m Luigi and I’ll be your waiter. Can I get you started on a drink?” Luigi smiled, waiting for him to choose. The man gave him an unamused look, glancing up at him up and down before sighing deeply.
“…coffee. Black.” He said.
Luigi cleared his throat. “Umm, unfortunately, our coffee machine is out of order—“
He jumped when the man slammed the menu on the table, turning to glare at him. “Not one thing works in this dumb place!?” He asked. Luigi gulped, feeling the tingling feeling in his arm slowly starting to rise up. He took another deep breath so that his anxiety can lower down until he can go on break, then smiled professionally. “I apologize for the inconvenience, sir. Was there something else you would like as a drink?”
The man groaned before looking back at the menu. “Then a glass of water.” He growled. Luigi gulped nervously and jolts down the order. “Do you need time to order still or do you—“
“My god, do you rush everyone you serve or is it me in particular!?” He shouts. Luigi tensed up, holding onto the notepad with one hand tightly. “M-My apologies, sir.” Luigi gulped.
The man glared at him, and kept looking at the menu. This meant he was still trying to figure out what to order and excused himself. “I’ll get your water and be right back, sir.” Luigi skated away, going to the counter to get a cup of ice and water.
Mario glanced over from the cook counter, looking over at his brother when he saw how he was writhing his hands together. “Hey…you alright, Lu?” Mario asked gently so he doesn’t get the customer’s attention.
Luigi only nods. He got the cup of iced water ready and skates back to the table, setting it down. The man sighed deeply before setting the menu down. “You guys still doing your all day breakfast menu?” He asked, still seemed aggravated from earlier.
“Y-Yes we are! What would you like?” Luigi smiled, having his pen ready.
“Give me the Mushroom Pancake combo, eggs over easy and white bread with grape jam.” He ordered. Luigi writes it down, then looks back up at the customer. “It also comes with hash browns as well, how do you like those cooked?”
He just grumbled before handing him the menu. Luigi wanted to ask again of how he wanted them cook, but then was doing a phone call before Luigi could respond. He sighed before finishing writing down the order and went to the kitchen.
“Hey, bro. I need a Mushroom Pancake combo with eggs over easy and white bread.” Luigi announced, Mario nodding as he got the pancake batter ready along with the eggs. He turned to his little brother. “How does he want his hash browns?” Mario asked.
Luigi gulped. “He…didn’t say. I couldn’t ask him because he got on his cellphone before I could say anything.” He said nervously. Mario glanced at him and sighed. “I’ll make ‘em regular then.” Mario states as he started on the meal.
Bowser came in while Luigi was distracted, giving a small wave to Daisy as she got his usual drink ready as he went to a corner booth. When he saw how everyone was tensed, he was very confused. He silently got Peach’s attention and mouthed ‘what’s happening?’ to her.
Peach gestured her head to the man in a couple of booths in front of him.
Daisy came with his shake since Luigi was busy. “He’s been giving Luigi a hard time already. Poor thing’s anxiety is spiking up.” Daisy whispered to Bowser. This made the Koopa straighten up a bit, then nods at Daisy as he silently watched the scene.
Luigi then came with the order for the man. “Here’s your meal sir.” Luigi smiled, the man glancing at his food. “Was there anything else—“
“What the hell is this?”
Luigi blinked, watching the man poking at the hash browns. “Umm, is something wrong, sir?” Luigi asked. The man turned to glare at Luigi.
“I thought I told you I wanted my hash browns smothered and covered! Why is it plain!?” The man ordered. Luigi looks back at the order on his notepad, trying to see if he made a mistake. “S-Sir, you never asked—“
“What?! Are you calling me a liar!?” The man stood up.
Luigi’s anxiety was now through the roof, the tingling feeling in his arms returning with full force as he tries to answer, but was stuttering. “S-Sir, you never mentioned a-anything. I-I tried to ask you, but you didn’t—“
“What kind of diner is this if you can’t get a damn order right!? Are you an idiot or just deaf because I know exactly what I ordered and you failed to do one thing! I ain’t paying for this!” The man shouted.
“Is there a problem?” A voice asked.
The man turned to shout, but then blinked when he saw only a black leather jacket. He looks up and slowly paled when he saw a ten foot Koopa glaring down at him. Bowser raised an eyebrow at him, but a deep growl was rumbling in his throat at the man before him.
“Uhhh…” The man stuttered.
Luigi was shaking as he could feel everything close around him, unaware what’s happening. He glanced over at Peach and told her he was taking his break early. He didn’t wait for a response as he skates to the back and exit the back door.
He leaned against the wall as he felt a panic attack coming in, sitting on a large milk crate as gripped the side of his head with his hands, breathing fast and raspy as his heart rate was picking up at a fast rate. Tears were forming in his eyes as he tries to do the calm breathing exercise, but kept messing up. He can’t calm down—
He felt hands on his shoulders, making him jump in surprise. Was someone out here with him? Was it the customer?
”Luigi? Hey, you with me?”
He looks up to see Bowser, kneeling in front of him so he can be eye level with him, having both hands on Luigi’s shoulders. “Just nod yes or no, okay? Think you can take deep breaths for me?” He asked.
Luigi could only nod as he tries to take deep and steady breaths, but he kept messing and kept going back to fast and shaky breaths. “I-I-I can’t—“
“Hey, hey, hey, it’s okay. I’m right here, okay? I ain’t leaving you alone. Keep trying to take deep breaths, okay?” Bowser managed to remove one of Luigi’s hands away from his head, now gripping the Koopa’s hand like a lifeline. Luigi tries again, breathe in through the nose four seconds, hold four seconds, then exhale through the mouth four seconds. It was shaky, but then after a few times, his breathing was now starting to be less shaky and more even.
After awhile, Luigi glanced up at Bowser, who looked at him with a concern look. “You with me now, Greenie?” Bowser gently asked.
Luigi was about to say yes, but after the event of what happened, he could feel it crashing down as he didn’t realize he was crying until Bowser used his other hand to wipe a tear away with his thumb. Luigi then bowed his head low in embarrassment as he choked on a sob.
“C’mere…” Bowser gently pulled Luigi into a hug, feeling him cling to his arm and jacket as he buried his face into his shoulder, sobbing of what happened earlier. Bowser didn’t say anything, holding Luigi, gently carding his claws through Luigi’s hair.
“I’m sorry…” Luigi sobbed. Bowser just tighten the hug, gently hushing him and waits for him to get it all out. Bowser heard a door silently opening, glancing up to see Mario. He looks over at Luigi, then at Bowser. The Koopa merely shook his head, glancing down at Luigi as he starts to rub his back.
Mario could only nod and wrote something on a notepad and showed it to Bowser.
‘Peach clocked Luigi out. Tell him he’s good to go home and he has tomorrow off.’ The note said.
Bowser nods at Mario in thanks. Something that they both can agree on for once. Mario nods back before silently closing the door, leaving the two alone. Bowser looks down at Luigi, who stopped crying after awhile. Luigi took a deep breath before pulling away, wiping his eyes with his arm to rid of the tears.
“I’m sorry…I…I completely lost it on you.” Luigi sniffed.
Bowser sighed deeply, but he had a sad smile on his face. “Greenie, I thought we went over this. I would be a horrible boyfriend if I didn’t let you vent to me. This counts as one of them.” He smiled before kissing the side of Luigi’s head.
Luigi sighed, then slumped against Bowser, his head resting against his shoulder. The Koopa didn’t mind as he held him with one arm. “…’m exhausted from all that…”
“Well, good thing you’re off for the rest of the night and tomorrow, huh?” Bowser smirked gently. This made Luigi blink, pulling back to look at him properly. “But I was schedule—“
“Things change. And when was the last time you took a personal day off? Didn’t you mentioned you wanted to do one?” Bowser chuckled at his confused expression. He glanced back at the back door of the diner, then back at Bowser. “I mean…yeah, I did. But I—“
“Hey, no more ‘if’s, what’s or buts’ okay? We can do somethin’ together tomorrow; just you and me? We haven’t had a date for a bit, right? Because I know a good place with an awesome view of Rainbow Road that appeared not too long ago.” Bowser offered, still having one arm around Luigi, smirking when he saw how Luigi light up when he mentioned Rainbow Road.
“You serious?” Luigi asked.
“Serious as a heart attack.” Bowser chuckled.
“L-Let me get my stuff.” Luigi said, giving him a quick peck on the lips before going back in to grab his stuff. Bowser smirk gently, leaning against the wall as he waits for Luigi to change out of the uniform so they can go. Good thing he brought a spare helmet for his bike.
After a minute, Luigi came out in his normal outfit, after saying good-bye to Daisy, Mario and Peach as they can handle the closing for the night. Bowser pushed himself off of the wall, smirking gently down at Luigi. But then he blinked when got a hug again from Luigi.
But he wasn’t complaining as he hugged him back. “Someone’s in a cuddly mood.” Bowser chuckled, to which Luigi glanced up at him. “I never got a chance to thank you for earlier.” He said, smiling up at the Koopa.
Bowser smirked again. “So am I the best boyfriend ever, then?”
Luigi snorted. “The absolute best.” He chuckled as stood on his tippy toes to kiss Bowser properly, to which the Koopa smirk, keeping one arm around him as they share a kiss. Once they pulled away, Bowser kissed his forehead. “Love ya.”
“Love you more.” Luigi smiled.