Chapter Text
The wedding preparations were almost done, much to Mario’s excitement and nervousness. The whole castle buzzed with energy as everyone decorated, baked, and cleaned for hours upon hours, days upon days. Mario had endured the toad tailors measuring him for his suit, Peach asking his opinions on colors, and even his own brother couldn’t stop flitting around everywhere, helping where he could.
As was explained to him in great detail, royal marriages done properly were meant to be multiple day affairs. The reason Bowser's ceremony went so quick was purely out of desperation for Peach to be legally bound to him.
The first day was for the arrival of guests, people coming from near and far to mingle and meet. Some would get there early, some late, but that's why there was a whole day for everyone to show up. Everyone needed to be announced as they were let in and led to where Peach and Mario would be waiting to greet them. All guests were accommodated with lavish rooms and even some of the toad’s houses were open for those who wanted to stay out in town.
The next day was the actual wedding ceremony, where the newlyweds would exchange their vows in front of the crowd. Mario had spent weeks writing his speech, tweaking it until the early hours of the morning when Luigi would eventually show up with a cup of coffee and a listening ear. The reception was right after where all the confections the toads had made would finally be eaten, along with some Mushroom Kingdom specialty wine (which, to Mario’s disgust, was in fact made from mushrooms).
The third day was for the grand coronation. In accordance to the nation’s customs, a full day was to be devoted solely to the crowning of the new queen and king. One of his family members and one of Peach’s would walk down the aisle together crowns in hand and place them on their heads. A second reception was held after the royals gave a joint speech about their vision for the future, complete with fancier fare than the night before. That night people could leave if they wished or stay and depart in the morning.
The fourth day was for all the stragglers who didn't leave the night before. Breakfast was provided of course, as any good host would do, and everyone was typically ushered out by noon. Later that afternoon was when the official paperwork would be signed in front of two trusted witnesses and the officiant and then it would finally be over.
Once that was done, Peach and Mario were free to go on their honeymoon! They had talked about where to go for ages but ultimately landed on Isle Delfino. The locals had offered free accommodations for their hero and his bride as courtesy for saving them some time ago from Bowser Junior.
Now that the actual event approached, Mario could feel his worries rise in a way he had never imagined possible. What if he messed up? What if he tore his suit on accident? What if he flubbed his vows or his speech as the new king? What if-
Mario stopped and took his own advice when calming down his brother and took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, then let it out. He shook his head a little and strode down the hall. Currently he was trying to find his fiancée to ask about the bouquet as Toadette prepared the arrangements for tables.
He gave Luigi a quick wave as he passed by where his brother was hanging banners and spotted Peach near the front doors, deep in thought. He approached and tapped her on the arm.
She gave a little start, “Oh, Mario! It’s a good thing you’ve arrived, tell me, how do you feel about ice flowers woven into the arch?”
He scratched his head, “Well, as long as they don’t freeze everything I don’t really see a problem with it. Also, before I forget to tell you, Toadette wanted your opinion on flowers for the tables and what’s in your bouquet. She wants them to… complement each other, I guess?”
“Ah, I’ll finish up here and find her soon, promise,” She gave Mario a quick kiss on the cheek. No matter how often he had to remind himself they were dating, no wait- they were getting married now- being kissed by the princess always felt special. He blushed a little and went to say something when a toad guard burst through the doors.
“Princess! Princess, a letter has arrived from the Dark Lands!” The toad ran up to Peach and Mario.
“Thank you, dear,” Peach said, taking the black envelope.
“Well, is it a rejection like we expected?” Mario asked.
Peach opened the parcel with delicate fingers and read it carefully, her eyes widening with each subsequent word. She let her hands drop to her sides, gave her husband-to-be a bewildered stare, and bit her lip before saying-
“No, it’s an acceptance. Bowser has agreed to come to our wedding.”
–
Now occupying the hastily-emptied war room, Mario sat at the table with Peach, Luigi, and Toad.
“So… why’d you guys invite Bowser in the first place?” Toad asked.
“Well, to be honest, we didn’t think he’d say yes,” Mario responded, dragging his hands down his face.
Peach sighed, “It was a gesture of goodwill. Bowser has kept true to the treaty he signed upon release from the Mushroom Kingdom those few years ago and hasn’t attacked us directly. He’s been polite and diplomatic at every meeting he’s shown up to. So after much debate, I sent him an invitation.”
Toad butt in, “Didn’t he literally try to blow up the galaxy?”
“He did, but he also admitted that was an… unforeseen consequence of his actions and that he took advantage of a loophole in the treaty that has since been rectified. I decided to overlook it,” Peach said.
Before anyone else could speak, Luigi spoke up, “Well, he accepted the invite so he’s definitely gonna come. What do you two think we should do about it?”
Mario huffed out a laugh, “We did make a plan Lu, but it involves you.”
“M-Me? What do you want me to do?”
“We hoped you could, you know, keep him company, show him around. Make sure he doesn’t burn all our hard work to ashes?”
“You want me to be Bowser’s chaperone?!” Luigi shouted.
Peach put a finger to her lips, “More like… his guide?”
Mario supplied, “His keeper?”
“His escort!” Toad added.
The last one set Luigi’s face on fire and he sputtered in embarrassment. After a few moments of calming down, Luigi continued, “Why me?”
Peach leaned forward on the table, hands coming up and fingers interlocking, “We believe he trusts you, Luigi. You were the one who demanded he get fair treatment when we held him captive, and you were also the one to convince Bowser to sign the treaty in the first place.”
–
“Princess, please, you can’t keep him in the dungeons! I-I know he kidnapped me, and had me dangling above l-lava, and was going to ritualistically s-sacrifice me for your wedding, and also kidnapped you, and- and a bunch of other stuff, but we don’t have to treat him the same way he treated us!”
He had taken the royal’s hands in his own and peered into her eyes with the look that always got Mario to agree with him. Small tears formed as he pleaded, “We can be better than him your highness, please?”
His brother may have been building up immunity to the kicked-puppy-look, but this was Peach’s first time on the receiving end of ‘sad little brother’ and thus, gave little resistance. She barely knew Luigi and yet he seemed trustworthy and kind. Like you could spill water on him and he’d apologize for getting in your way.
She nodded, “Okay, I’ll see where we can put him, but he has to stay small! For our safety. We can discuss other… conveniences in the morning. Also, it’s just Peach, you don’t have to use titles with me.”
“Okie dokie! Thank you, Peach!” Luigi smiled and retracted his hands, clasping them behind his back and rocking backward on his heels in joy.
In the end Bowser had been transferred to a room that was brighter and warmer than where he had originally been dropped off. Luigi asked some of the local artisans to craft small furniture for the tiny king and even presented him with a real piano in lieu of other ways to entertain himself. Bowser had been suspicious but accepted everything given to him. Once he found out that it was all Luigi’s doing he started to calm down and even spent time with him willingly.
When Bowser left the Mushroom Kingdom Peach could have sworn he shot Luigi a sad look before he boarded the airship that came to pick him up.
–
“Hmm, okay, I see why you think he’d trust me. But still… are you sure about this?” Luigi asked.
Before Peach could speak further, Mario cut in with an apology smile to his fiancée, “Lu, why did you ask the princess to treat Bowser with dignity while we held him captive?”
He stammered, “I, well, it was the r-right thing to do?”
“No, Lu, the real reason. It's okay, Peach and Toad won't laugh.”
“I might,” whispered Toad, who was then elbowed harshly by Mario.
Luigi took a deep breath and answered, “I just… I got a feeling. It happens sometimes. I get feelings and they turn out to be true.”
“You have prophetic visions?” Peach asked, flabbergasted.
“N-no! No, just feelings. Intuition?”
Mario persisted, “And how often are they right?”
“Not at all! Like, 50/50?” Luigi insisted, hands flapping in the air.
“Pft, try more like 90/10, in your favor, bro.”
Peach interrupted the brothers’ argument, “And what exactly was the ‘feeling’ you got from Bowser, Luigi?”
The younger brother looked thoughtful for a moment, “It felt like… like he was more than a giant fire-breathing turtle who likes to kidnap people. Like he was hiding something. Hiding it from us, his minions, maybe even himself? Something that would prove he's not as bad as he pretends to be.”
Toad’s eyebrows shot up. Peach sat back in her chair and brought a delicate hand to her chin. Mario crossed his arms in a smug manner.
“Well that settles it then, yeah? Lu, you’re in charge of Bowser when he gets here. If anything happens just yell for me and I’ll kick his butt just like we always do.” Mario said.
Sensing he had now lost the argument Luigi sighed and agreed to the plan. When the koopa king arrived in a few days it was his job to show Bowser around, chat with him, and make him feel welcome. Peach confided in him later one-on-one that this was for Bowser’s benefit too, not just the kingdom’s. She trusted Luigi to calm down the king if anyone tried to belittle him and to call out the bad behavior of her people. The extra pressure was almost overwhelming enough to rescind his agreement, but the relief in his brother’s and soon to be sister-in-law’s faces shut his mouth with a harsh clack of his teeth.
For four days and three nights, Luigi would be by Bowser’s side. The prospect made him nervous, but he was also… kind of excited? He desperately wanted his intuition to be correct, that even outside the strange captor/captive relationship they had in the beginning the koopa was actually much nicer than he let on, and would maybe even want to see Luigi again? After the wedding? In a more intimate way?
Privately, so extremely, intensely, privately, Luigi found Bowser quite handsome. Yeah, their first meeting hadn’t gone so well, what with the kidnapping and scare tactics and the mustache pulling, but there had been other things too. The face caress, the way his eyes shone when he talked about Peach, the beautiful music he could hear from his cage if he listened hard enough. The plumber hadn’t known he could be attracted to someone of a different species but here he was, thinking about Bowser’s fiery red hair and wondering how his scales felt under his fingers.
Plus, their next real meeting when Bowser was small and in the cage went much better!
–
Luigi opened the door that led to Bowser’s prison with care. Mario was back in Brooklyn helping out with repairs and while the younger brother felt bad for not assisting, he was also on a mission. Peach had given him permission to visit the koopa king. When she asked why to his initial request he gave her his best innocent look and said, “I want to make sure he’s doing okay and ask him if there’s any specific furniture he wants made.”
So here he was. His first thought was that the room was dark and dreary. That would have to number one on his to-do list of ‘things to fix’. Everyone needed sunlight, turtle dragons included! His second thought was that it was freezing. He had no idea if Bowser was cold-blooded but based on the climate of his realm Luigi could only conclude that this chill was unwelcome.
He approached the small birdcage with caution, “Hello? Bowser?”
A snort came from the now tiny monarch, but no words followed.
“Um, I wanted to know how you were doing today?” He tried again.
That got a reaction, “How am I doing. How am I doing!? Do you even know how ridiculous that question is?”
Bowser stood and faced him, nostrils flared and fangs bared, “My plans have been ruined, I lost the Super Star, and I didn’t even get to marry Peaches! I was crushed by two small humans from a different world and captured! Now I’m far from my kingdom locked up in a stupid cold room! How do you think I’m doing, moron!”
Ah, so the cold did bother him.
Luigi shyly responded, “W-well, I asked the princess i-if we could… accommodate you better? This room is pretty bad, I can try to get you put somewhere nicer. A-and it seems cruel that you don’t have anything in there. No bed, or blanket, or something to do. I just-”
He was interrupted by a burst of laughter from the koopa. The plumber could feel his cheeks grow red in embarrassment. Of course he was getting laughed at. Just a few days ago Luigi was his prisoner trembling in a cage. Bowser must have found his offer hilarious. His former captive, now trying to extend some kindness? How pathetic.
When Bowser stopped laughing he bitterly spat out, “Why would you give me anything? I held you above lava with little food or water and was going to kill you at the wedding. Not to mention I almost succeeded in killing your brother and wrecked your homeland. Must you mock me at my lowest?”
Luigi shifted his feet in a nervous manner, clasped his hands together, and walked forward with determination until he and the small koopa looked each other in the eyes. He spoke with sincerity, “I’m not mocking you. I want you to be comfortable because no one deserves to be treated like this. You have no reason to believe me but I promise I will do everything I can to help you.”
Bowser squinted hard at Luigi’s face before he snorted once more, “You’re too soft.”
“Thank you!” Luigi beamed.
“Not a compliment. If you’re serious then my demands are as follows: I require a room with at least one window and one heater. If you can somehow get me furniture, which I doubt, a bed and a chair are all I need. As for entertainment, nothing less than a full grand piano would satisfy me. That or books. I prefer tales of violence and bloodshed but anything will do. Got all that, Greenie?” The king looked smug, as if he knew Luigi wouldn’t agree to procure all of that for him.
Instead, Luigi brought a hand to his face in concentration and whispered, “Better room to put him in, bed, chair, piano, books. Okay, not too hard. Well, except the piano. That might take a bit. I’m sure I can do all that, it’s not too much.”
The plumber turned around to leave, still whispering to himself. Bowser, utterly befuddled, yelled out, “If my demands are not met I’ll! I’ll break out! I will, and then you’ll be sorry you ever offered me anything!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll get it done! Bye-bye, Bowser!” Luigi waved cheerfully and shut the door.
–
After Luigi had been able to deliver on his promise Bowser became much more tolerant of the man. For the few months that the king was held in the castle the two of them had forged what Luigi hoped was a tentative friendship. They would talk every few days as the plumber had insisted that Bowser get ‘proper socialization’. The only other beings the koopa would ever see regularly were the toads that brought him food while shaking in their tiny boots. Often on days they knew the younger brother was coming the guards would leave the food outside the door for him to bring in himself. Princess Peach, her advisor, and Mario would occasionally drop in, but that was always for kingdom-related matters. Nothing at all like the friendly visits Luigi offered.
Mario seemed to be okay with it as long as Luigi kept himself safe. The older brother would grumble and mumble about it, expressing exasperation in bounds when the green brother went to visit the tiny ruler with a skip in his step, but he never told Luigi to stop.
Peach was worried that Bowser would be able to sweet talk Luigi into letting him go. She knew he could be persuasive and that Luigi’s kind nature might eventually get the better of him. When she told her worries to Mario he laughed a little and said, “Lu’s nice, not dumb. I told him to be extra careful, so he will be.”
It did hurt a little bit that the princess didn’t fully trust him then but in the end he found he couldn’t blame her. He was essentially a stranger at that point. A stranger who, for some reason, wanted to be around the guy who had just almost destroyed her home and forcibly married her.
So, as underprepared as Luigi felt, he had to make himself ready to accompany Bowser during the wedding.
While every other castle resident worked on finishing the decorations, the younger brother found someone to show him where the king’s guest room would be. Unsurprisingly, it was close to the room he and Mario shared when they stayed at the castle (or at least, he and Mario had shared until his brother and the princess became official, now it was just his). Everything in it was too small for someone Bowser’s size and Luigi started instructing the toads to procure bigger furniture. The bed, the sheets, the dresser, every item needed upsizing. Luigi stood there while the room was redone, overseeing the entire process. It took much longer than anticipated considering the castle had very little staff to spare for this task. Once finished it was like every other guest room, with a giant bed, typical furnishings, and an attached bathroom.
Next, he wrote down everything he remembered about koopa dietary needs and restrictions. When they had held Bowser at the castle, there were certain foods he would refuse to eat and would inform Luigi later that he physically couldn’t. There weren’t many things on the list, but he handed it over to the chefs anyway to make sure nobody offered Bowser something he couldn’t have. That would surely be a one-way ticket to getting roasted to a crisp. Not to mention that the insult to a fellow ruler wouldn’t be taken lightly, even if it was Bowser who was slighted.
With that done it was near dinner time and Luigi was suddenly exhausted. He had also been working nonstop around the castle as the date of the wedding drew nearer and now he had a whole bobomb dropped on him. It didn’t help that he was also still Mario’s best man and needed to fulfill those duties as well. He would help his brother get dressed and stand at his side for both the vow exchange and the royal crowning. He wasn’t expected to give a speech but more harrowingly, he had to present the rings and, as Mario’s only family present, would be the one to place the crown on his head. (The rest of their family would get a visit in Brooklyn after the honeymoon of course, but none of them were allowed to travel through the warp pipes, too many dangers and risks.)
In addition, Donkey Kong and Princess Daisy were arriving the night before the first day so they could have bachelor/bachelorette parties. The princesses and Toadette had half-jokingly extended an invite to Luigi and he found himself telling them he’d love to join after he spent some time with his brother, DK, and Toad. So now he had to make sure the three boys would be safe in his absence for the rest of the night. Mario he didn’t worry about, he would never jeopardize his and Peach’s special day. No, it was DK and Toad who would need to be convinced not to cause mischief or drag the groom into any.
With all that in mind, he figured the first step was to get a good nights’ sleep. He was out as soon as his head hit the pillow.
–
Mario was extra worried now. He had truly thought there would be no reason for the giant turtle to accept the invitation. He and Peach had come up with the plan for Luigi to watch over Bowser as a joke, he didn’t mean for it to become reality! As much as he trusts and loves Luigi there was no denying that the koopa was dangerous.
After their first battle, even though the Super Star had healed the brothers’ wounds internally, the scars remained. Mario knew a few of his own were gnarly to look at but the most horrific to him were the burns that covered his little brother’s upper right arm and left hand. When Luigi had defended him with the manhole cover from Bowser’s flames, it was not without consequences. Luigi’s moment of bravery was praiseworthy and Mario never let him forget that he saved his big brother’s life. But the memory also ignited his protective nature just thinking about it. The two had gained quite a few scars from their adventures since then, but to Mario those first ones would always be the worst.
He had already been on edge when Luigi repeatedly insisted on meeting with the turtle when he was captured but Bowser couldn’t harm him while small. Now he’d be his normal size, metal-melting flame breath and all. If Bowser laid a single claw on Luigi he would deck him even if it was in the middle of the ceremony.
For now, he had to trust that his brother was good enough acquaintances with his once-enemy that no incidents would occur over the potentially four days and three nights he would be here.
But he’d be watching. Very closely.