Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"hey y/n!!"

"morning, toad!" you waved to the little mushroom man, pulling your sleigh along as he walked beside you. "how's it going?"

"it's going great!! the princess has even let me start my own brigade! though, nothings been nearly as exciting as my last adventure!!" he grinned, adjusting the straps of his backpack.

you chuckled, waving to a group of bramballs that passed nearby. "well, i doubt anything can top defeating bowser. i'm just glad he's finally locked up."

"oh yeah! and things are finally back to normal!" he continued, pointing to the covered lump on your sleigh. "how's the rebuilding going?"

"pretty good. a lot of the penguins have had to move from the castle to the nearby village, so it's been kinda busy." you explained, the two of you arriving at the mushroom kingdom, passing through toad square with a sigh. "i just wish i had a helping hand.. the penguins can't exactly help since they don't have- well, hands."

"why don't you ask the mario brothers?" he asked, and you glanced at him, tilting your head curiously. "they helped defeat bowser!! and they're great at fixing things!!"

"really..?" you asked, stopping at your first destination, greeting the toad store owner. you were curious about the brothers ever since you heard about them. two humans who suddenly showed up, won the kong army, and took on bowser. but you hadn't exactly talked to a human in years. except the princess, but she was raised by toads, so she didn't really count. "i'll think about it. they're probably crazy busy anyways, being heroes and all."

"they'd totally help you out! i guaranteed it! plus, i'm mario's best friend, i can put in a good word for ya!" he grinned, turning when he heard someone yell at him. "chanterelle! hey!!" he waved at you as he ran off to his friend, leaving you to your job. you chuckled a bit, cutting off a chunk of ice for the toad storekeeper. now that everything was back to normal, you could go back to delivering ice to the toads in the kingdom. it got especially hot in the kingdom sometimes, so you were more than happy to deliver!

you went about your day, greeting the toads as you passed, stopping for a snack, finally handing off the last bit of ice. you sighed, taking off your hat to cool off as you picked up your sleigh to take home. you walked through the streets, about to turn a corner before freezing when someone ran in front of you, your eyes widening as you watched him go, recognizing those red shirt and overalls from the many stories you'd heard. "mario..?"

you stepped out to see where he went, before yelping when someone crashed into you, sending you both to the ground. the sleigh and a few tools hit the ground with you, and you groaned, trying to turn over to see who exactly had tackled you  

"oh..! i'm sorry! so sorry," you stared, eyes wide as the mustachioed human apologized, quickly scrambling to grab his tools near you before pushing himself up. "i'm so sorry, i'm just really in a rush-"

you suddenly lost your ability to communicate, just blinking a few times as he grabbed the rest of the tools from the ground. toad had mentioned that the princess seemed really fond of mario, so that meant he was probably pretty good looking, but he hadn't mentioned anything about his brother..!! and he had just fallen on top of you!! well, crashed into, but still!!

"i'm sorry." he apologized again, grabbing the last tool, standing up straight and fixing his bag, holding out a hand to help you up, before his eyes widened, finally noticing who he'd ran into. "wait, are you a human?"

it was a pretty obvious answer, and it took you a second to respond before nodding. "y-yeah, i am!" you awkwardly reached out to grab his hand so he could pull you up, holding on for just a few seconds to steady yourself before letting go and taking a step back, looking around for your sleigh and also so you didn't have to make eye contact. "just a regular human. 

"i didn't know there were other humans here." he smiled, and you nodded, finally spotting your sleigh behind him, right as he took a step back onto it. he yelped as it started to slide, sleigh going forward as he fell backwards, hitting your leg as you instinctively reached forward to try to steady him, sending you falling after him, the two of you crashing down. again. "ugh.."

"ow.." you grimaced, rubbing your head and looking down at him with a huff. "i didn't know that other humans were this clumsy.."

"they're usually not.." he laughed awkwardly, the two of you carefully getting up, and this time you made sure to grab your sleigh straight away. "so, where are you from? i haven't seen you around here before." 

"the snow kingdom. i live with a bunch of penguins." you stated with a shrug, and he tilted his head, seeming confused. "you?"

"uh, brooklyn. me and my brother go back and forth from here to there." he explained, and now you titled your head, also confused.

"brook-lin..? is that some new kingdom i've never heard of..?" you asked, and now he was more confused, nervously clearing his throat.

"no, brooklyn, new york!" he corrected, your eyes widening in surprise. "are you.. not from the, uh, well- normal world?"

"oh- yeah. right. i am." you scratched the back of your head, looking at the ground nervously. "i ended up here when i was little, so i don't really remember it. i've just been living in this world ever since."

"oh..! like the princess!" he smiled, and you nodded, watching him adjust his cap. "it's nice to know there are some other humans living here!"

"yeah.." you smiled back, nodding in agreement. it was nice. you never really got to talk to the princess (you usually saw her when the kingdom was holding festivals, and you had lunch together once to discuss constructing a pipe directly to and from both kingdoms; but she was so proper and royal and a princess so you felt too nervous to really focus on her being human), and you had only heard rumors of other humans across the world, so having a conversation with someone who wasn't a talking animal or mushroom was really nice. 

your thoughts were interrupted when you heard feet thumping, turning when you saw someone in red running towards you two. "mario..?"

"mario?" he repeated, looking over as the other mustachioed human ran up with two wrapped burgers, making him yelp. "ah! mario! sorry, i got distracted!"

"it's fine, lu! i got the last two!!" he grinned, handing his brother one before turning to you, doing a double take as his eyes widened. "who's this..?"

"this is-" he gestured to you, before pausing, thinking for a second. "uh- sorry, what's your name..?" the taller brother turned to you, mario looking a bit bewildered that he didn't know your name despite you having been distracting him. 

"oh, right! i'm y/n, i'm from the snow kingdom." you greeted, mario nodding at you, and you glanced back to the other. "sorry, your name- lu? right?"

he seemed startled, mario suppressing a laugh, moving his fist over his mouth as his brother shook his head. "ah, no, that's- my name's'a luigi!" 

"ah- that's what the L on your hat means!" you pointed to his cap, and he nodded, awkwardly adjusting it with a smile. you smiled back, pulling out your own hat and looking at the front of it curiously. "maybe i should start doing that.."

"is that a penguin on it..?" he asked, and you nodded, putting it on so he could see - on the front, fluffy brim was two black dots and a yellow beak to resemble a penguin's face. "oh, i like that! because you're from the snow kingdom, like a penguin! it's really cute." he spoke without thinking before pausing, your eyes widening as he realized what he had said. "i mean-! it is, i'm not saying you aren't- i- i mean, it isn't- no, it is, and you're cute, but-"

he stopped, just putting his hand over his mouth as you stared, feeling so much warmer all of a sudden. mario glanced back and forth between you both for a moment, taking a bite of his burger before chuckling. "and donkey kong said i was bad at flirting."

"mario..!" luigi whisper-yelled at him, face turning redder by the second, mario just laughing a little more, putting his hand on his brother's shoulder.

"well, it's been nice meeting you! lu and i have a job to get to, so maybe we'll see you around!" he waved, starting to drag his brother away, luigi stuttering something while turning around to wave at you, and you waved back, biting your lip and holding your sleigh a little tighter.

you'd have to start delivering here more often.

Chapter Text

"here you go! two chunks of ice!" you put the ice on the counter, the green toad thanking you, giving you a couple coins before you were on your way, your sleigh feeling much lighter after half the ice had been delivered. "next up is the flower shop.. maybe i can get a couple fire flowers while i'm there.." 

you hummed, making your way through the town, tossing a coin into the fountain as you passed for some good luck. that's what the toads said, at least. you didn't know if it actually worked. 

"thank you both! i was a little nervous when the hose stopped working." you stared, slack jawed, the flower shop owner talking to the mario brothers. you'd have to use the fountain more often. 

"no problem! happy to help!" mario grinned, adjusting his cap, glancing around before he noticed you, eyes widening. "hey! y/n!" 

luigi jumped at the mention of your name, looking around frantically before spotting you, and you gulped, walking up to the store with as much confidence as possible. which wasn't a lot. 

"hey. i'm just making a delivery." you greeted them, crouching down and cutting off some ice for the flower shop owner, who took it inside before it started to melt. "what're you guys up to?" 

"just fixing some pipe problems." mario shrugged, and you nodded, glancing at the taller brother, who nervously looked away from you before mario elbowed him, making him yelp.

"y-yep! pipe p-problems!" he stuttered, holding onto his bag strap tighter, and you smiled just a bit, nodding. "what about you?" you blinked a few times, before just gestured to your sleigh, making him wince. "ah, right. ice.. hehe, yeah.." 

you just kinda looked at each other, mario looking between you both before clearing his throat. "well, we don't have any other jobs today. i think i'm gonna swing by and say hi to the princess! see ya later, lu! y/n!" 

"wait, mario..!" luigi turned to his brother for help, but he was already off, leaving the two of you alone, unsure exactly of what to say or do. 

"uh.. well, i- still have some ice to deliver. do you.. wanna come with me?" you asked, and his eyes widened a bit in surprise before nodded quickly, making you smile, nodding back. "i don't have that much left, it shouldn't take too long."

he followed beside you as you went, making small talk between deliveries. he told you about brooklyn, you told him about the snow kingdom, and before you knew it, your sleigh was empty and your pockets were full of coins. 

"well, that's all the ice." you picked up your sleigh and tucked it under your arm, unsure of where to go from here. you had a good time hanging out with him, and it was still so early.. "i guess.. i should get back to the snow kingdom..?" 

"oh.." he sounded almost disappointed, looking at the ground for a second before lighting up, turning to you quickly. "would you like to come over for dinner?" 

you dropped your sleigh. you stammered, picking it up as he chuckled a bit. "y-yeah, sure! i'd like that!" 

"alright! come on, i'll take you to our place." he gestured for you to follow, so you did, feeling all giddy and warm. "mario should be back by now, but i dunno. he spends a lot of time with the princess." 

"oh..? really?" you asked, and he nodded, walking carefully across some floating bricks. "does he.. like her?" 

he laughed a bit, rubbing his nose and shrugging. "well, she's kinda hard not to like."

"that's fair." you nodded, the princess was pretty awesome. it wasn't a shock to hear that mario had a thing for her. "do.. you like her?" 

"oh, no!" he stated quickly, before shaking his head, clearing his throat. "i mean, i like her of course, but- princesses aren't exactly my type. besides, i wouldn't wanna compete with mario!"

"why is that? don't want brotherly competition?" you asked, and he chuckled, scratching the back of his neck as you went up on a lift to the next level of the kingdom. 

"nah, it's nothing like that. mario's just always been more attractive than me, i guess. all the girls liked him in high school. i wouldn't stand a chance against him." he tilted his head, and the words were coming out of your mouth before you knew it. 

"i think you're attractive."

you both stared at each other, eyes wide, frozen in place. it felt like your face was on fire. "uh, i mean! y- y'know, that's just- i, uh- well, in the general sense-" 

"coming through!" a toad carrying a box nudged by you, pushing you into luigi, making the awkward situation even more awkward. 

you cleared your throat, trying not to stutter as you took a step back. "uh, i haven't- haven't met any other humans..! ever since i came here! so, yknow, i don't really- know what's attractive for humans, so-" what were you even saying???? "i'm just saying, y'know, to me, you're- uh, well, i dunno!" 

he blinked a few times, before nodding, awkwardly laughing. "ah, yeah, i guess so. you'd think differently if you didn't grow up here."

"y- yeah.." you nodded back, internally screaming and ripping your hair out. "uh, anyways- i'm starving..!" 

"oh! yeah! c'mon!" he continued to lead you, finally arriving at the bros' mushroom shaped house, passing a few construction toads as you walked up. "here we are!"

he opened the door for you, and you stepped inside, immediately feeling that yep, this was the bros' place for sure. there were posters all over the walls, furniture that was too big for a toad, a red bed, and a green bed. "woah.."

"sorry for the mess.." he closed the door, hanging up his cap on a hook and moving to the tiny kitchen, starting to pull ingridients out. "you can sit wherever! and we have a stereo if you want some music!" 

"thanks.." you took your hat off, taking a seat on the green bed to take a better look around. trophy's, board games, a pair of baseball bats and some other sports stuff.. "man, it's really cozy here. my place isn't nearly as nice." 

"your place? in the snow kingdom?" he asked, and you nodded, starting to talk about your home. you lived in an igloo, for starters. you had a bed, if you could even call it that. it was just a matress on top of some crates with a pillow and blanket. and you had a pet bed at the edge of it, a small dresser/table, and a small garden in the back where you planted fire flowers. 

"you could come over, sometime?" you offered, before laughing a bit and shaking your head. "actually, probably not. it's super cold there, and there's not really much to do until we finish rebuilding." 

"rebuilding? what happened?" he asked, draining something in the sink. 

"bowser happened. burned down most of the castle." you sighed, thinking back on that dreadful day. the king and his army had done their best to defend the castle and the super star (well.. as best as penguins could do), while you evacuated the rest of them to the nearby village. but with all the melted ice, most of the houses and streets were flooded and refrozen. "i've been working on rebuilding, but it's pretty tiring on top of my usual deliveries."

"if you need some extra helpers, mario and i are more than happy to help out!" he looked over at you with a smile, your eyes widening a little bit. "we've got winter coats and stuff too, so no worries about the cold!"

wow. toad had been right. 

"that's really nice of you." you smiled, leaning back as he walked up with two plates of food, handing one to you, which you looked at curiously. "what is this?" 

he flinched a little as he sat down, looking at you quickly with wide eyes. "you've never had spaghetti?"

"no.. i mostly eat fish." you grimaced, just the thought of eating seafood again making you feel a bit nauseous. "i do get snacks from here sometime, but i've never had a full meal." 

"well we've gotta change that! there's an awesome restaraunt in town, i'll'a take you there next time!" he sounded so sure, so excited, and you felt a little flustered by the idea of next time, but you couldn't help but feel tempted by his offer. 

"maybe, then." you nodded with a small smile, poking your fork into the pile of noodles and sauce, picking up a sliced mushroom. "what kind of mushroom is this..? doesn't look like any i've seen.."

"chanterelle!"

you dropped your fork, horrified. "chanterelle?! the singer?!"

"no-! no, these are regular mushrooms! not made from a toad!"

Chapter Text

a few days has passed. the snow kingdom was slowly growing bigger and better, despite having to fight off some freezies and ice bats every so often. the penguin king himself had made a visit down to the village, sending more helping hands your way. well, helping flippers.

"i give my thanks to you for your help. without you, many of my people would be without a home." he nodded to you, and you just smiled, setting down another block of ice, packing the cracks with snow to keep it stable.

"it's no problem at all! this is my home, too, i'm more than happy to help out." you grabbed another block, pausing when he took a few steps closer to you, examining your work.

"nonetheless, we wouldn't have gotten this far without you. thank you." he repeated, and you just nodded, a little embarassed and continuing to build. "you've worked quite hard these past few days. why don't you rest?"

"ah, no, i've really gotta get this done.." you leaned against the building, about halfway built. you needed to fix the windows, the door..

"i insist. as king, i command you to take the day off." he waved his flipper at you, turning to go without another word. you just sighed, looking at the half-built building, then at your pile of ice.

one day off wouldn't hurt.. besides, you hadn't been to the mushroom kingdom in a while! you were getting tired of eating fish. some spaghetti would be nice..

"alright, then.." you hummed, rubbing any ice off your gloves and making your way back home. you weren't delivering today, you could go and relax! you could wear something cozy, enjoy the sun!

one outfit change later, and you were off, making your way through the snow to the pipe that led to the mushroom kingdom. through it, you ended up by a long river, one that led straight to toad town.

"evening, y/n!" a few toads waved as you passed, and you waved back, keeping an eye out for anything to eat. mushroom soup.. mushroom and fruit skewers.. mushroom.. pizza..?

"pizza?" you walked up to the mushroom building, a small line of toads waiting for food. you curiously got in line, having to lean down to see the menu. "what exactly is that..?"

"oh! you don't know?" one of the toads sitting nearby turned to you, smiling brightly. "it's some kind of dough with sauce, cheese, and mushrooms!!"

"mhm! from cheese land to dream land, all the ingridients are hand picked!" another one continued, and you nodded, interested, rummaging through your pocket for some coins. "those brothers have given us a ton of food ideas from their world!!"

"the- brothers..?" you tilted your head, and suddenly it felt a little bit warmer outside. "as in.. the mario brothers..?"

"who else?"

"next!!" the pizza maker yelled, and you stepped forward, crouching down a bit to give him some coins, waiting for your pizza to come out of the oven. you wondered what kind of mushrooms they'd put on it.. chanterelle mushrooms were good, honestly, but you didn't feel too good about eating them. "here you go! one mushroom pizza!"

"thank you." you nodded, taking the box, walking around to find somewhere to sit and eat. it was a bit past noon, so most toads were moving out and about, leaving not much room for you. though.. maybe..

you looked down at the pizza box. this was something the brothers had come up with.. then, maybe..

'what am i doing here what am i doing why am i doing this' you were yelling at yourself in your mind, standing in front of the brothers' house, not really sure what to do from there. just knock on the door, say "hey, i got pizza!" and then what??

you held your breath, knocking on the door a few times, rocking back and forth on your feet as you tried not to just give up and run away. and thankfully, the door opened, revealing just the plumber you wanted to see!

"y-y/n-! what are you, uh- hi! what's, umm- what's up?" luigi stammered, of course, awkwardly trying to fix his hair, probably not expecting anyone to come over judging by the t-shirt and striped shorts. which you couldn't help but giggle at a little, making him flush, pulling his shirt down a little.

"i, umm.. well, i wanted to- uh," you almost forgot why you came, just holding the box up. "pizza?"

"pizza?" now he was intrigued, leaning over as you opened the box, revealing the contents inside. "mama mia..! that looks amazing!"

"do you, uh- want a slice?" you offered, and he nodded without a second thought, stepping back to let you inside. you noticed it was a little more clean than the last time you'd come over. you didn't say anything about it. "so, uh, how's it going?"

"ah, the castle had a leak, so mario went to fix it.. he told me to take the day off." he explained, taking a seat on the bed, you next to him, setting the box between you both. "what're you up to?"

"i also got the day off!" you smiled, grabbing a slice of pizza, feeling your mouth watering up just looking at it. a golden brown crust, bright red sauce, gooey, melty cheese, and cooked mushroom slices.. "this looks so good.. the toads told me you actually told them about this..?"

"ah, yes! a'pizza pie'a! one of the most delicious, customizable dishes in all of brooklyn!" he grinned, taking a bite of his own slice, humming in content. "i told the toads about the mushrooms, but there's so much more you can do! pepperonis, sausage, peppers.. you can even do a thin crust, or have alfredo sauce, or-"

he stopped talking, glancing over at you, just smiling fondly at him, maybe him flush, awkwardly flailing his hands about. "s-sorry! i'm, uh, talking too much-"

"nonono, it's fine-!" you interrupted him, shaking your head. "i like listening to you! uh, you- know a lot! about pizza! it's cool!"

"cool..? really?" he tilted his head, and you nodded, feeling your face grow warmer the longer you spoke.

"y-yeah. i mean, i don't know anything about it, so.." you held up your slice to take a bite, sighing in happiness. it was so good. "if all the food you know about is this delicious, i could listen to you for hours.."

"o-oh-! well, uh- then, have you heard of ravioli..?"

"ravi-what..?"

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

you only learned about pasta a few days ago, and now you knew everything about it. ravioli, penne, lasagna, macaroni, they all sounded so good..!!

"and of course, that's only the pasta. there's even more side dishes to eat with them!" he continued, the empty pizza box on the floor, both of you sitting much closer, now, as soft music played on the stereo. "there's garlic bread, and-"

"garlic.. bread..?" your eyes practically lit up, and he nodded, smiling a bit at how excited you seemed. "ugh, i feel so hungry, now.."

"you just ate a pizza." he laughed, and you groaned, falling backwards and hitting the bed.

"man, where have you been all my life..? i could've been having delicious pasta, but instead i've just been eating fish.." you sighed, dragging your hands down your face. "and all that, you learned about in brooklyn.. while i've been living here.."

"well, you know more about the snow kingdom than probably anybody else." he tilted his head, and you shrugged in response. "besides, it's not too late to catch up! me 'n mario know a ton of recipes, and.. well, maybe- if you want, you could.. you could come to brooklyn sometime!"

"go to brooklyn..?" you sat up on your elbows, and he looked away at nothing, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

"yeah..! mario and i go back and forth all the time, and- well, i could show you around! there are a bunch of good restaraunts, and.." he trailed off, so you sat up, leaning a bit closer to nudge him with your elbow, making him jolt. he looked at you, and you smiled, nodding.

"that would be nice." you tilted your head, and he nodded, shifting in his spot. "i'd like.. to hang out with you more. y'know, try different pastas, explore the worlds.."

he nodded again, unsure what to say, his hand flinching when you gently tapped it with your own. "y-yeah. that, uh- sounds fun.. i'd like to hang out with you more, too."

there was a sheepish silence between you both, just looking at each other, slowly, inch by inch leaning a little bit closer, and-

"i'a-! sh-should throw the pizza box away!!" he suddenly stood up, your eyes widening as he went to grab the empty box from the floor, and you panicked a little, standing up after him, about to apologize before what do you know, your foot caught in the blanket dangling onto the floor, and you started to fall, and he panicked and tried to steady you, and instead you both went tumbling back onto the bed. a much softer landing than the floor, but come on. really? again?

you huffed a little, watching him rise onto his elbows and hovering over you, your face getting warmer by the second. "so, uh, how many times are you planning on falling on top of me..?"

"uh- w-well, i didn't exactly plan this-" he flushed, and you laughed softly, reaching a hand up to ruffle his hair, making him sigh. "sorry.."

"don't be." you tilted your head with a smile, and he hesitated before smiling a little back, and you thought, for a fleeting moment, that you really wanted to kiss him. your heart raced, slowly moving your hand down to press against his cheek, making him gulp, but not pulling away, slowly letting you pull him down towards you-

and then the door swung open, both of you freezing as mario walked in, setting down his bag of tools. "'m'a'back, lu! the castle plumbing is crazy, you wouldn't believe-"

he stopped. looked at the two of you. in luigi's bed, the younger brother on top of you, both of you flushed as you looked back at him.

"..am i interrupting something?" he tilted his head, and that was your cue to get out of there, luigi almost tripping while moving backwards to get off of you, and you stood up straight, just walking to the front door to leave and spare yourself at least some embarrassment. "if you two wanted some alone time, you could've just told me."

"mario-!" luigi shushed him, making him laugh, luigi following you out the front door as you tried to escape. "h-hey! umm, s- sorry about that-"

"ah, it's f-fine.." you replied quickly, though the hand covering your face and your stammering proved the opposite. "i, uh.. got.. carried away, i think.. i didn't mean to.."

you trailed off, just grimacing and looking away at anything but him. so much for just coming over to eat pizza.. "i should, uh, probably get home anyways."

"oh.." he sounded a little disappointed, and you resisted turning around to face him, because if you did, you weren't sure what you would do. "w-well, we should do this again sometime..! the, uh, dinner! yeah! s-since you said you wanted to try a bunch of pasta!"

"hmm..? you- you want to..?" you glanced back just slightly, and he nodded quickly, so you gulped, turning to fully face him and nodding back. "yeah, that would be nice.. didn't you say there was a nice restaraunt around here..?"

"ah- yeah! we should go there next time!!" he smiled, and you honestly thought you might have a heart attack, it was racing oh so fast. "maybe tomorrow?"

you nodded, smiling back. "that sounds great. around sunset, maybe? i should be free by then."

"that works!" he replied, bringing a hand up to scratch the back of his neck, laughing awkwardly. "so, uh, it's'a'date?"

you thought for just a second as the word processed, and that was all you needed, biting your lip and nodding. "yeah. it's a date."

Chapter Text

the alarm clock went off, soft instrumentals starting as the plumber woke up, yawning and looking around the room. immediately he noticed his little brother was nowhere to be seen. his first thought was, of course, "oh no he got kidnapped again." 

after a second of panic, he shook his head, it was much more likely that his brother was super worried about something, so he had gone on an early morning walk to clear his mind. and he had a pretty good guess about what he'd be worrying about. 

it was pretty obvious that luigi and you had a thing for each other, but despite that, and what he had walked in (luigi swore it was an accident. mario only half believed him), he was a bit worried for his brother. after all, it had taken luigi nearly his whole senior year to work up the courage to ask for his crush's phone number..! and even after that, he could barely bring himself to even text them, and they only hung out outside of class a couple times. then they all graduated, and that was the end of that. he just didn't want anything like that to happen to you two. 

but his worries came to a halt when the door opened, and in walked luigi, holding a paper bag, quickly seeing his older brother and holding it up. "i got donuts." 

"awesome." he grinned, luigi walking over to sit next to him, mario immediately rummaging through the bag for a donut. "so, what's bugging 'ya?" 

"hmm?" luigi looked at him, a little stiff now and biting into a donut to act oblivious, mario shaking his head with a quiet scoff. 

"come on, what's going on? you don't wake up this early unless something's wrong." he shrugged, his brother looking away, just quietly eating his donut to avoid the situation. "it's about y/n, isn't it." 

"n-no! it's not!" he immediately responded to that, shaking his head as mario frowned at him. "i- th-there's nothing! nothing's wrong!" 

"suuure.." he sighed, just eating another donut. "oh, so today me 'n the princess are gonna be interrogating bowser again. a lot of his troops are a'hiding out, probably, we gotta figure out where they are." 

"oh, yeah.." he nodded, a silence between them for a second before mario tilted his head, chuckling a little. 

"you don't have to go-"

"good, i really don't want to.." luigi groaned, running a hand down his face, making his brother laugh more. his encounter with bowser was.. well, a frightening one. interesting, yes, but being threatened by the most "retched, evil creature alive" was not an experience he wanted to relive. his poor mustache.. it took weeks to regrow what the koopa had ripped away. "do you think they're up to something?" 

"mm, probably not. not much they can do without him." he shrugged, stretching his arms above his head as luigi crumbled the empty bag, going to toss it. "i probably won't be back until late. bowser isn't a big fan of talking to me." 

the taller brother chuckled, nodding and glancing out the window. it was still early.. a whole day ahead of them.. a whole day before sunset.. then..

"mario, i need help-!" he finally turned, panicking and grabbing the sides of his head, completely losing his nonchalant act. "i asked y/n out on a date and i don't know what to do!!" he whined, pausing when mario snorted. "this is no laughing matter! i've never been on a date before!" 

"what about with-"

"destiny del vecchio doesn't count! that was just a friendly outing!" he continued, groaning in worry. "i don't know what to wear, or say.." 

mario chuckled, patting his brother on the back. "don't worry, lu, i'll help you out! just leave it to me!" 

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

you stood at the fountain, flipping a coin in your hand, waiting and waiting. definitely not nervous. not panicking. not worrying about oh god what if you did something wrong and scared him off, what if you said something wrong and made him hate you, or even worse? what if it went well?? you'd never been on a date!!! how does a date end well?? just with a goodbye and a handshake or something?! 

"y/n?" you jolted, dropping your coin, watching it bounce off the edge of the fountain onto the ground. you sighed, looking up at the voice, recognizing those pink pigtails in an instant. "hey! what are you doing here today?"

"hi, toadette." you smiled, the pink mushroom girl walking up to you, standing beside you and looking into the fountain, coins glistening at the bottom. "i'm, uh, actually waiting on someone." 

"really?" she glanced at you, and you nodded, making her smile a little, tilting her head. "like for a date?" you stiffened a bit, and she laughed, stepping back and gently nudging your leg. "i knew it! it's with that plumber boy, right? the green one?" 

"mhm." you hummed, feeling giddy all over again just thinking about it and deciding not to question how she knew. "i'm kinda nervous.. i- haven't exactly ever been on a date.." 

"really?" she asked, and you nodded, watching her pigtails bob as she nodded back. "me neither! i've tried to ask the toad i like out to dinner, but.." she sighed in defeat, crossing her arms. "i'm no good at that sort of thing.. and i dunno if he'd say yes.." 

"aww, don't worry! you're adorable, i'm sure whichever toad it is would be happy to go on a date with you!" you smiled, and she nodded, but still seemed nervous all the same. "but, uh, just for curiosity's sake; which toad is it..?" 

"umm.. the new captain of the toad brigade.." she spoke quietly as she looked away, holding her pigtails tightly, your eyes widening as she flushed, face turning a light pink. "he's just so cool..! and he protected the princess from bowser! that's so brave..!" 

"the captain..? toadette, you should totally ask him out!!" you grinned, and she looked up at you expectantly as you continued on. "i've hung out with him a ton, he would love to go on a date with you, i'm sure!!" 

"really..?" she asked, and you nodded quickly, making her smile a little, looking at the ground with a giggle. "then, maybe..! it would be nice.." 

"yeah!" you smiled brightly, and she leaned against your leg, giggling to herself as she thought about the toad. you sighed, gently patting her head with an internal cheer. after all, toad may or may not have told you he was interested in her when you two were hanging out. but he made you swear to keep it a secret! and in return, you had told him about your crush, which he also swore to keep secret, but- 

"y/n!" you jolted, you and toadette looking up, luigi walking up with a wave, wearing a white shirt and black vest, with a little bow tie to match, a complete difference from his usual overalls. "h-hey! i hope you haven't waited too long.." 

"i- i haven't. toadette here kept me company." you gulped, already nervous because he was so cute, you couldn't do this, you were so excited, were you going to throw up? maybe. "you look really nice.."

"r-really?" he looked down at himself, sighing in relief. mario had said over and over that he looked good, and forced him out the door before he could argue or change his mind, so. 

"..." toadette looked between you both, sharing nervous glances, and she sighed, gently patting your leg before turning to go. "well, i won't keep you two! bye bye! and good luck, y/n!" 

you grimaced a little, waving to her as she sprinted off. luigi cleared his throat, nervously holding his hand out. "sh-shall we?" 

you laughed a little, nodding quickly and stepping up to him to wrap your arm around his, letting him lead the way. it was a quiet walk as most shops began to close up, both of you equally nervous and eager as it grew darker. the sun was almost down, so street lamps began to turn on, illuminating the town in a beautiful golden light. 

"here we are!" he pointed ahead, the restaraunt he had mentioned front and center, glowing lights and the smell of cooking coming from inside. you could already feel your stomach growling, nearly tripping him as you began to drag him to get inside. 

you made small talk while you waited on your food, laughing and telling stories about your homes and just having fun. you stopped feeling so nervous, and luigi was clearly having a good time, actually speaking full sentences without stammering. the food came, and you dug in, and oh my god this was the best thing you'd ever tasted. 

"good, right?" he smiled at the amazed look on your face, and you nodded, you didn't want to answer, you just wanted to eat, immediately going for more. "mario and i did a job here once, that's how i found out about it! it never disappoints!" 

you finally decided to stop stuffing your face, taking a drink of water before looking up at him with a smile. "this is incredible. i've gotta start coming here more often." 

he chuckled, nodding in agreement as you went back to your food. "i could, uh, start bringing you here more? though there's plenty of other restaraunts to go to.." 

you paused, curiously looking at him, nervousness washing back over you. "really..? like.. m- more dates..?"

"i- if that's okay, yes!" he was so nervous, looking at anywhere but you. "i- i really enjoy your company! so, if it's okay, then-" 

you wanted to answer, that you enjoyed his company, too. you loved being around him, you wanted more, you were scared, you really liked him, going to say something before feeling the table gently shake. you paused, looking down, silverware gently vibrating in place, turning to the window to look outside. "what's..?" 

luigi stood up from his seat, the toads at the other tables murmuring worriedly, unsure of what was happening. 

"what's going on?" you asked, standing after him, watching him walk over to the window, making a noise of shock before sprinting to the door, and you followed him outside, eyes widening when you looked at the sky above the castle. "oh no.." 

dark clouds circled and grew above as the wind harshly blew, turning the night sky even darker, and toads came running to get away from whatever was happening. but you and luigi ran forward through the crowds, trying to see what was going on at the castle. it couldn't be bowser, he was locked up! then who was..

an explosion came from the side of the castle, making the ground shake even more, rubble falling as a familiar laugh rang out. before the two of you could even react, a massive clown car appeared from inside, a small koopa steering as kamek flew beside him, and in their grasps..

"princess!!" "mario!!"

Chapter Text

"the princess has been captured! she must be saved!" toadsworth spoke to the crowd of panicked toads, who were frantically speaking over each other, trying to make sense of the situation. "where are the mario brothers?" 

"here! i'm here!" luigi raised his hand, the toads staring at him as he pushed through the crowd to the front, clearly worried as he spoke to the council of fungi. "mario was taken with the princess! i'll go to save them both!" 

"..." the council looked at him, then at each other, then back at him, looking even more worried, a couple grimacing while others shook their heads. "uh, no offense, but is there anybody else that could go?" 

"huh..?" 

"i mean, you were captured by bowser before, right?" one of them asked, luigi frowning. that was when he had just showed up..! it wasn't his fault!! "you had to be saved by the princess and mario? so, if they're both captured.."

he huffed, clenching his fists tightly. "i'll save them both! i swear!" he spoke confidentially, the toads sharing nervous glances, but not speaking up. sure, he was weaker than his brother, and slower, and a bit scared, okay, a lot scared, but! he had to save his brother! mario would do the same for him! and he had! so he would!

"alright." toadsworth nodded to him, seeming to trust him with this important mission. "it seems the perpetrator flew towards the dark lands.. no doubt one of bowser's minions.." 

"don't worry. i'll get them back." he was sure in his word, toadsworth wishing him luck as he headed out past the toads, ready to go save his brother, or die trying. hopefully not dying. 

but.. how was he supposed to save them..? he didn't know how to get to the darklands, he didn't know how much time he had to get there, and how was he going to beat that magic koopa..? he had completely overpowered him last time with just a tap of his wand, there was no way.. 

"luigi!" he jolted, turning to see you running up to him with a backpack and your sleigh strapped to your back, skidding to a halt when you reached him. "i'm coming with you." 

"oh, thank goodness, i really didn't wanna go alone.." he sighed in relief, and you laughed a little, shaking your head. 

"you're supposed to say, "no, it's too dangerous!" or "i'll do this on my own!"" you mimicked him, holding your hands out and doing a ton of gestures, and he huffed, muttering about how he didn't sound like that. "besides, i've lived here longer than you, i know more about where we're going. i even know some secret shortcuts!" 

"shortcuts-? alright, come on!" he nodded, and you cheered, walking beside him, making him laugh a little. "i think we can go to the kongs first for their help. i dunno if they want to fight bowser again, but it can't hurt to ask.." 

"good idea. i also have some supplies in my bag, so we shouldn't have any trouble." you clenched the straps of your backpack, and he nodded, finally stepping out of toad town. the clouds didn't seem to clear up at all the further the sky went, making the once sunny mushroom kingdom a land of darkness. not for long, though. the two of you would go save the princess and mario, together, just the two of you, for a super long journey, alone-

"whooo! we're going on another adventure!" you both glanced behind you, toad running up to you both, waving his frying pan above his head. "c'mon guys! let's go rescue the princess!" 

well, the more help the better, you sighed, shaking your head and walking past him to lead them. "you're way too cheerful about this. plus, don't you have a brigade to run..?"

"no point being negative! the princess will be fine, she's tough! and my brigade will do fine without me for a the!" he reassured, holding onto the straps of his bag as he jogged to catch up with you, turning his head around to talk to luigi. "plus she's got mario! he won't let anyone hurt her! and, it's not my first time fighting him, either! this'll be a piece of cake!" 

"it is mine, though." you sighed, but toad did have a point. the odds were against the koopa king. you glanced around, seeing the plumber looking ahead at the sky nervously. "luigi, you took on bowser, how did you do it?"

"ah! well, actually, mario mostly fought him.." he jolted a little, scratching the back of his neck. "when i first got captured by bowser, i couldn't really do much.. i just got thrown in a cage.."

"a cage?"

"y- yeah. he tried to interrogate me, but i guess.. he didn't like the answers i gave him.." he shuddered a little, not really wanting to remember what had happened. "so i got put in a cage. and almost fell into lava. but mario saved me, and we used the superstar together to defeat bowser!" 

"yeah! it was awesome!" toad agreed, laughing as he looked back at him, not noticing the distressed look you had on your face. "we're gonna kick his butt again! i guaranteed it!" 

you bit your lip before nodding, sighing as you entered the mushroom forest to head towards your secret shortcut. "i sure hope you're right.."

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

in the deepest part of the darklands, a new castle was being built. not nearly as impressive as the king's previous ship, but it would do for now. surrounded by lava and woods full of dry bones, guarded by troops at every angle, with a red flag at the very top with the king's face on it, of course. and inside, princess peach was sitting at a set dinner table, a banquet of food before her, and a tiny koopa across from her, scarfing down plate after plate, dirtying his bib and the table. 

"aren't you gonna eat?" he asked through a mouthful of food, peach grimacing a bit at the sight. "it's real good! dad's got the best chefs!" 

dad.. she had figured this smaller koopa was related to bowser in some way, thanks to the similarities they shared. apparently bad manners was one of them. 

"where's mario?" she asked gently, flinching when the small koopa immediately whined, slamming his tiny fists on the table. so much for asking gently. 

"not here! he tried to take mama from me, so dad sent him somewhere he'll never escape!" he cried, peach's eyes widening. mario was sent somewhere else, that meant she was- wait, "mama"? "dad may be tiny right now, but soon we'll fix him, then we can be a happy family!" 

she scoffed, looking away with a frown. a "happy family"? she already said no to marrying bowser! there's no way she'd agreed to have a kid with him!! though, with mario gone.. 

she sighed, turning to the window, a dark, cloudy sky covering what was once a beautiful, starry night. she just hoped her toads were okay, and that somehow she and mario could escape from this and stop bowser's plan. it couldn't be that hard, right..?

Chapter Text

"this pipe will take us to the sewers, where we can get to the jungle kingdom. hopefully the kongs will lend us a hand.. without having to fight anyone.." you pointed towards the massive green pipe you were walking towards, toad laughing a little at your mention of the fight between mario and donkey kong. you hadn't seen it, but after hearing toad explain it.. a tiny part of you was nervous about possibly having to have a rematch. though you did kinda wish you had gotten to see mario with the cat suit."it's a shortcut, so we should get there soon." 

"ooh, shortcut!" the little mushroom man grinned, looking into the pipe before jumping in with a whoop, disappearing into it. you looked at luigi, who gulped, stepping into the pipe to follow, you right behind him, popping out on the other side. "..it stinks in here." 

"it is a sewer." you chuckled, and he grimaced, following behind you as you led them through the tunnels, pipes of all sizes and colors coming out from the walls and ceiling. it was almost like a maze. "let's see.. it should be just around here.. or does that one lead to the gorge..?"

you stopped to examine a pipe, luigi and toad nervously looking at each other as you squinted, thinking about it. but you shook your head, continuing to walk on, the two sharing a sigh of relief. 

you were walking for what seemed like forever, the pipes seeming to never end. around one corner, around the next, they just continued on, small items popping out every so often and floating down the sewage river to who knows where. it felt like you were going around in circles..

"uh, are you really sure about this shortcut..?" luigi asked, and you nodded quickly, turning another corner, and he followed you around, yelping when he bumped into you after you'd suddenly stopped. "what's wrong..?"

"that.." you grimaced, pointing to the three tunnels ahead of you. things down here liked to change sometimes, but usually never to this degree. you huffed, crossing your arms and looking at the different paths to take. "the one on the left goes to some trash factories in another galaxy. so it's either the middle or right.. one should lead to the jungle.. the other.. i dunno."  

"you "dunno"?" toad asked, and you grimaced a bit, making him sigh, bringing his hand to his chin. "well, why don't we just hop into one and see where it goes?" 

"well.. i guess it's a fifty fifty chance." you shrugged, stepping up to the yellow pipe, glancing curiously into it. "i doubt there could be anything too bad on the other side." 

"what counts as "too bad"..?" 

"..." you didn't answer, the two of them stepping back a little, and you clapped your hands together, turning back to them. "yeah, let's not do that! come on, i bet there'll be another pipe to the jungle kingdom further down!" 

luigi and toad looked at each other, extremely nervous at what your idea of "too bad" could mean, especially since you didn't elaborate. but, you were the one who knew the pipes! apparently. so they followed you deeper into the sewer. 

it felt like hours had passed. you and toad seemed fine, keeping an eye out for the pipe as you walked, but luigi was lagging behind a bit. he had bad knees, he wasn't used to doing all this walking! and he was wondering just where all these pipes led. maybe one would lead to brooklyn? surely one had to! then once this adventure was done, he could connect it to the snow kingdom, and he could take you there, and show you all the different places..

he glanced up to look at you at the thought, eyes widening when you and toad were nowhere to be seen. he looked back and forth, nervousness sinking in his gut as he realized he was alone in the sewers. 

there was a cracking noise echoing from somewhere nearby. he jumped. now he was hoping he was alone. 

he heard it again, flinching a little and trying to find which tunnel the noise was coming from. there were so many, it could've come from anywhere..! 

he followed the sound, eventually finding what he thought was the right tunnel. the cracking hadn't paused yet, so he slowly stepped down the tunnel, ready to run at any second. step.. after step.. 

he turned a corner, eyes widening a bit at the giant leaking pipe in the wall, a pile of various items having come through. a few blocks, mushrooms, and.. "an egg? what's this?" 

he walked towards it, crouching down to examine it, and there was that cracking again! the egg was hatching! "oh! oh geez, umm-" 

before he could even think about what to do, the top cracked open, a little green yoshi poking its head out, looking at him curiously as the shell fell off his head. 

"mama!"

"huh?"

"mama!" the little yoshi raised its arms, luigi scratching his head, very confused. didn't he learn about this in biology..? something about babies imprinting on the first thing they see? that was about ducks, though.. this was a dinosaur..

"i'm not your mama! i'm luigi!" he pointed to himself, yelping when the yoshi jumped into his arms, instinctively holding him tightly so he wouldn't fall, watching it just bury its face into his overalls and making little baby yoshi noises. 

"mama luigi!" 

"oh geez.." he sighed, just holding the little guy, looking around for anything that might help. he couldn't take this guy with them! it was too dangerous! but he couldn't just leave him there..! that was even more dangerous! "maybe we can make a pit stop somewhere to drop you off..?"

he turned to take the yoshi back down the alley, barely making it two steps before freezing when he heard that cracking noise again. "please tell me there's not another one.." 

he turned around to see what it was, and it wasn't a yoshi, thankfully! it was a dry bones! great!! and it was charging at him!!!

he yelped, running back down the alley, hearing more cracking behind him, more grinding of bones, more footsteps chasing him. "not again..!" 

he turned the corner, running and jumping down past pipe after pipe as the dry bones tumbled after him, the yoshi in his arms beginning to cry. so clearly scared and distressed, poor thing..! luigi hadn't meant to bring him into this!! he was probably so stressed!!

"hungry..!" 

..or he was hungry. okay. 

"we can eat later, little guy!" he could feel himself slowing down with the bit of extra weight, and he was exhausted, and the dry bones were gaining on them, and why oh why did he wander off?!?

"hungry now!" the yoshi repeated, poking his head over the plumber's shoulders, luigi skidding to a halt when his tongue shot out, grabbing a dry bone's head and eating it whole. the group of dry bones froze, too, equally shocked as the headless body collapsed to the ground with a rattle. "mmm..!!"

"eh.." luigi wasn't sure what to say to this, but the next thing he knew, the yoshi spat out a few bones, hitting a few skeletons and sending them down before grabbing them to eat. he was gobbling up bone after bone, the rest of the dry bones running away to avoid being eaten. "whoa..! good job, little yoshi!" 

"mama luigi!" he snuggled closer to luigi's chest, and he sighed, now even more unsure what to do. the little guy clearly wouldn't let go of him anytime soon, and more importantly-

"i'm not your mama!" he repeated, the little yoshi just ignoring him and snuggling closer. well, whatever, he had to find you and toad. with a yoshi, i guess. 

"luigi! there you are!" or you guys would find him, you and toad running up to him, covered in some scratches and bruises. "glad we found you..! we ran into some trouble, but.." you slowly stopped, looking down at his chest, where yoshi was looking back at you, big, bright eyes staring right at you. "uh.. who's this..?" 

he was about to explain, but the little guy spoke before he even got the chance. "mama!" 

"hey! i'm not your-" 

you snorted, covering your mouth with your hand as toad looked away, struggling to hold his laughter in. "'mama'?" 

"i-" 

"mama luigi!"

and you two burst out laughing, luigi huffing in annoyance, ignoring you both and just trying to explain the situation leading up to this. "his egg opened in front of me, i couldn't just leave him! it's dangerous here!" 

"y-yeah, okay, i get it." you giggled, toad still cracking up beside you. you tilted your head; stepping up to him to pat the little yoshi's head. "so, what should we do with him, mama luigi?" 

toad cracked up harder, and luigi rolled his eyes. this was gonna get old real fast.

Chapter Text

"ta-da! told you i'd find the right pipe!!" you gestured to the doors of the jungle kingdom, toad and luigi groaning as they followed, all three of you covered in scratches and bruises, and you had a fresh bite mark on your arm from a particularly rude cheep cheep. 

"next time, let's just go the normal way.." toad rubbed his head, luigi nodding in agreement, the three of you stepping up to the massive doors. you knocked, toad hid behind your legs, and luigi moved a little closer to you, nervous about the welcome you would get in this situation. 

the doors opened, and suddenly a gorilla was roaring at the three of you, toad and luigi yelling and clutching onto you as your eyes widened, too stunned to react. the roar came to a halt suddenly, and now you could actually process who had decided to greet you like that. 

"hey, luigi! good to see you again!" 

"donkey kong!" luigi poked his head out from behind you, toad doing the same, and you silently sighed in relief as the plumber and the kong immediately began talking. "listen, we need help! mario and the princess have been kidnapped by bowser's minions!"

"ugh, that loser got captured?" he huffed just at the mention of mario's name, clearly still not over losing to him in the ring. though thankfully he was much more fond of the younger brother, turning and waving the three of you in. "come on, i'll take you to dad! he'll know what to do!" 

"thank you!" luigi nodded, following him through the doors, dk hopping into his cart, the three of you following suit. he was about to start driving, before pausing, turning back and looking at you, eyes widening a bit, making you tilt your head, confused. 

"who's the new guy?" 

"this is y/n! he's here to help us save the princess!" luigi explained, dk nodding in understanding, glancing back at you, then at luigi again, a loud silence between you before he spoke again. 

"so, is he like, your boyfriend, or?" 

"what?!" you both yelled, toad snickering beside you, luigi trying to stammer something out as you raised your voice, both panicking and trying to talk at the same time. "no-! he's not- i'm not- that's not it-!"

dk just laughed a little, glancing to toad, who shrugged and shook his head, so he turned back to the wheel, taking off to see the king. 

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

"c'mon, mom! let's play!" 

the princess sighed, junior pestering her for the hundredth time that day. every second it was "let's play!" or "let's throw some prisoners in the lava!". she was tired of it! the only time she could maybe escape was when junior went to see bowser in the top floor of the castle, but even then, there were guards everywhere, and she hadn't seen any power ups.. 

"mama! mom! c'mon!" junior tugged at her dress, and she finally scoffed, pulling her dress back and glaring down at him. 

"no. i won't play with you." she spoke sternly, a little surprised when he didn't talk back, or scream, or whine. he just stepped back, looking at her, before tears started to well up, her eyes widening when he started crying. hard. "oh-! no, don't cry! we can play later, okay?"

"noooo!! i wanna play nooow!!" he whined, falling back onto his shell, kicking his arms and legs out and having a full on tantrum. "dad never plays with me! you have to!" 

she sighed, shaking her head. this kid was impossible. "just- stop crying, okay? calm down, and we'll do something." he actually stopped, looking at her with wet cheeks and a snotty nose. she crouched down to his level, talking gently to him, just like she had done for the toads who came to her with problems. "listen, how about we just sit still for a while..? i could tell you a story."

"oh! oh! i wanna tell a story!" he sat up quickly, and she tilted her head, watching him get up and bound over to the door, struggling to open it since the handle was so tall, eventually jumping up to it and opening the door. "come on! i'll show you!" 

the door was open..! now was her chance to escape..!

..but junior was looking at her with such excitement.. he was really looking forward to this.. and his dad didn't spend much time with him.. he was probably really lonely..

great, she was feeling bad for bowser's kid. 

she sighed, nodding and walking up to him, following him through the halls as he skipped, laughing all the while. 

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

"don't worry, we started planning in case something like this happened again. i'll be sending you to sarasaland to contact their ruler, she should be able to help. and thankfully, i have a shortcut to get there!" 

"hopefully without an ambush this time." toad mumbled, donkey kong laughing, cranky kong glaring at them both. "but uh, is there not.. a normal way we can get there? we haven't really been having the best luck with shortcuts- ow!" you threw a banana at him, making him fall off his chair. donkey kong laughed harder. 

"this road will take you straight there. you should get there by sunset." he explained, ignoring the obvious bickering going on. he grimaced a bit, looking outside, clouds making it unsure to tell what time it actually was. "maybe. and we've added more defenses to the karts, so if an ambush does happen," he glared at the two jokesters again, who chuckled. "you'll be ready."

"great. thank you, cranky kong." you nodded to him, and he just scoffed, waving you off and heading on his way. you turned to your group of heroes, ready to go to sarasaland to get backup. but first..! "is anyone else hungry?" 

your backpack rustled, and little baby yoshi popped his head out of it, making a noise of agreement as he hopped out onto the floor, donkey kong's eyes widening. "woah, you've got a baby yoshi? seriously? we're about to go fight bowser, and you brought a baby?" 

"we didn't have a choice." toad sighed, patting the little yoshi as it walked by. "someone happened to be there when it hatched, so now we're stuck with it." 

it looked like donkey kong was about to ask who it got attached to, because of course he'd be curious, but he didn't need to ask. yoshi just bounded up to the plumber, jumping into his arms and babbling. "mama!" 

there was precisely three seconds of silence as the word processed in everyone's brains, and then laughter erupted, luigi grimacing and setting the little dinosaur down, so it settled for grabbing his leg. you did your best to still your laughter (toad and donkey kong did not), walking up to him and gently nudging him with your elbow. "come on, let's go get some food." 

you turned to step out of the hut, snickering to yourself. "mama luigi." 

"stop..!"

Chapter Text

"and then bam! dad turned into a huuuge castle, and powered up!!" junior exclaimed, holding his arms out wide as he told the story to the princess, who was sitting on a surprisingly soft pillow. "he charged up the ultimate wonder, and took over the world and saved the princess!"

"wow.." peach tilted her head, junior laughing and running around, pretending to be his father and destroying the world (a bunch of stacked building blocks). "do you have any stories.. not about your dad?" 

junior looked at her, thinking for a moment before nodding. "yeah! once upon a time, there was a princess who went on vacation with her ugly body guard!" it seemed to be a theme, a princess and an ugly body guard. she noticed it quickly. "but her ugly body guard was defeated by a cool guy who painted the whole town and won the princess' heart!" 

"wow.." she sighed, getting a little tired of hearing basically the same story over and over again. bowser defeating mario and saving/marrying the princess. as if that would ever happen. "why don't i tell you a story this time?" 

"really? about what?" junior asked, taking a seat beside her on a smaller pillow, kicking his little legs up and down. "is it about a princess?"

"yep. sure is." she nodded, clearing her throat as she began, junior watching her with anticipation. "once upon a time, there was a town. they were celebrating the star festival, which only happened once a century."

"ooh, stars!" 

"star bits rained down from the sky, and everyone danced and sang, collecting as many as they could. they would give them to the princess when the festival ended." she continued, junior smiling, already on the edge of his seat. "at least, that's what was supposed to happen. but a monster showed up." 

"a monster!?" he yelped, grabbing onto her dress and gently tugging it. "what happened?!"

"he took the princess, leaving the town in ruin without a leader. he wanted to make her his queen, in the center of the universe." she sounded serious, before smiling, placing her hand on junior's head. "but a hero arrived. an attractive hero, who went through galaxies to save her and defeat the monster." 

"wow..! he sounds amazing!!" he gasped, and she nodded, turning to the window, wondering just where said hero might be. "what was the hero like?" 

she chuckled, unsure exactly on how to sum him up with just a few words. "a brave human in overalls. he was small, but he had a big heart, and wouldn't let anyone hurt his loved ones." 

"wow.." junior sighed, resting his head on her lap and looking up at her. "tell me more?" 

"of course. i'll tell you about his adventures." she began, and junior listened intently, wanting to hear all about this hero. 

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

"coming through!" you yelped, nearly dodging a gorilla rolling a tire by at full speed, bumping into luigi as he went by. the garage was busy as always, everyone getting ready to take on bowser. again. 

"sorry.." you apologized, taking a step back and awkwardly clearing your throat as he looked away at nothing. "come on, let's go make some karts!" 

"yeah.. karts.." he nodded, you, toad, and dk running off to go make your desired vehicles. you were thinking something fast and flashy, something that could easily beat up a few bad guys if you ran into them. then you wouldn't have to actually fight them! you pushed the big red button, looking up with a grin as your kart began to be built.

"alright!! woohoo!!" toad cheered, immediately getting into his kart when it came out, a massive one with big spiky wheels and a cannon on the back. he laughed, looking down when luigi walked up to him. he wasn't used to having to look down at him! "what's the matter, luigi? gonna make your kart yet?" 

"uh, yeah.. but could you hold onto this guy? i want him to be safe while we're driving.." he held up the yoshi, who cooed in excitement, toad looking at him curiously before reaching down to pick him up and setting him in the passengers seat beside him. "thank you!" 

"anytime, mama luigi!" toad gave him a thumbs up and a laugh, luigi grumbling to himself and walking off. he looked over at his new buddy, reaching over to buckle him up. "look's like you're my copilot!"

"mama luigi!" 

he laughed, already loving this little guy. 

meanwhile you looked at your own kart, a shiny blue bike that almost reminded you of a comet. it reminded you of home. a tiny part of you missed it. how were the penguins doing without you, anyways..? you had told them about what happened, and they gladly let you go to help, but..

"hey, y/n..?" you turned, luigi walking up to you, and your nerves melted away like a fresh plate of snow. you smiled, waving to him as he stopped in front of you, noticing the anxious look on his face. 

"something wrong? where's your kart?" you asked, putting your helmet on as he began to mutter, stammer, trying to say something, and you chuckled, hoisting yourself onto your bike. "what, don't tell me you can't drive." 

he was silent. your eyes widened. he looked down at the ground. "well, mario always drove us everywhere, so.." 

you blinked a few times, a little bit surprised, before shaking your head, smiling a bit and nodding to him. "you can ride with me. and i can teach you a thing or two after all this is over." 

"are.. you sure?" he asked, looking at your bike, which was pretty small. he'd be sitting directly behind you, with not much space.. "i could, uh, always ride with someone else, or-"

"get on the bike, luigi." 

he stiffened up like a board, walking up and awkwardly pulling himself onto the bike, trying not to nudge you as he held onto the seat, steadying himself. you couldn't help but snicker, he was definitely gonna fall off like that.

the garage door slowly began to open, everyone revving up their engines to go to sarasaland. the stoplight above you began to beep, marking the time to go. one beep..

"you can hold onto me, you know." you spoke quietly, ignoring the way your heart did a little kick as you did. he gulped, nodding and awkwardly moving his hands around before deciding to lightly put them on your shoulders. 

"l-like this..?" 

two beeps..

you sighed, leaning back into him, making him jump a little, hands clenching your shoulders a little tighter. "if you wanna fall off, sure." 

"what-" 

a third beep, and you revved your bike, taking off, and he yelped, hands flying to wrap around your waist before he could fall off, making you laugh, the rest of the army following close behind. 

don't worry princess, mario, help was on the way..!

Chapter Text

you had acted so confident, so sure that you would be fine. you weren't. you absolutely weren't. 

"y/n and luigi, sitting in a bell tree! k-i-s-s-i-n-g"

"shut up!" you turned to yell at toad, who just laughed in response, grumbling and turning back to try to concentrate on the road. keyword: try, because it was hard to concentrate on anything but the warm body pressed against you, arms around your waist, and you were oh so conscious of every little feeling. you were dying. super happy, super embarassed, and super dying. "so, uh.. mario drives you guys everywhere?" 

"y-yeah. though we don't drive on rainbows." he gulped, looking down at the road, the ocean waving harshly beneath them. "but traffic does get pretty bad sometimes.." 

you smiled a little, glancing back at him. he hadn't moved at all, head buried against your back in fear of falling off. "brooklyn sounds really interesting."

"not as interesting as here.." he mumbled, thinking of all the things he'd done since coming to this world. both good and bad, exciting and traumatizing, he was happy he got to be here. "oh! there was this one time, though, me and mario got on the wrong train, and we ended up at the wrong place. but the train broke down, so we had to walk all the way home."

"seriously?" you looked back at him, and he nodded, raising his head up to talk to you, arms loosening just a bit. "what happened?" 

"well, we had to go through a construction zone as a shortcut, and the workers weren't happy with us.. we also got chased by a bunch of dogs being walked cause mario bought a hot dog to eat on the way home.." 

"a.. hot dog..? what's that? why were the dogs chasing another dog?" 

"oh, no, a hot dog is like a.. meat, sausage thing? they put it in a bun, usually with ketchup or mustard." he explained, and you were a bit confused, but nodded anyways. "but yeah, some dogs chased us, mario had to scarf down his food, and we had to bring back the dogs to their owners." 

"that sounds exciting, though!" you smiled over your shoulder, and he nodded, hands finally relaxed around you. "what happened next?" 

"ah, well, we managed to get home just fine after that." he continued, looking off at the view as you drove. the massive trees of the jungle kingdom were slowly dispersing, leading to the sandy deserts of sarasaland. he had heard the princess mention it a few times in conversation, but he didn't know anything about it. and.. he'd be seeing it without mario.. 

"luigi? you okay?" you glanced back at him, and he nodded, holding onto you a little tighter. he really hoped they could help rescue his brother and the princess.. "what do you think their leader is like?"

"huh?"

"the leader of sarasaland. cranky kong mentioned her, but i dunno anything about her or their kingdom." you explained, and he hummed in thought, looking at you when you laughed softly. "if she's anything like princess peach, we'll be fine."

"i just hope she'll be willing to help.." he sighed, wondering just who their leader was- most leaders of the kingdoms seemed to reflect their names; cranky kong led the kongs, the penguin king led the penguins, but sarasaland didn't really give any hints as to who their leader was. well, princess peach didn't really match her kingdom, either.. she wasn't a peach.. though he had heard a few toads call her princess toadstool sometimes..

the desert began to surround you as you drove, the rainbow road slowly lowering down onto the sand. it was much warmer, now, making you sweat, not used to the extreme heat after living in freezing temperatures for so long. cacti and tumbleweeds were plentiful, along with some old, abandoned blocks buried in the sand, but other than that, it was barren, until you finally caught eye of the kingdom- pyramids surrounded it, square shaped buildings and strange, tall mushrooms in the center. it was unlike anything you'd seen before, coming to a stop as you got closer to the kingdom's entrance. 

"halt!! who goes there!!" you froze, looking up as you parked, and at the entrance were two sphinx-like statues, and, to your surprise, they spoke, glaring down at you as you got off the bike, luigi close behind you as the others stayed put. "what is your business?"

"we're- uh, here to see your ruler.." luigi moved out from behind you, feeling a little nervous under their harsh gaze. they glanced at each other, then back at him, clearly not accepting that simple answer. "cranky kong sent us- he said she could help us stop bowser..?"

that got their attention, their eyes widening and quietly muttering to each other, before humming in content. "alright. you may pass. but not all of you."

"yeah, there's way too many of you." the other one grunted, and he nodded in understanding- he didn't really expect them to let an entire army inside, after all. "we'll let five of you go in. the rest can stay out here."

"thank you.." he sighed in relief, waving for toad and donkey kong to follow you. they hopped from their carts, toad running up with your bag to hand to you, yoshi popping his head out curiously. "let's go."

you walked through the streets, a few toads staring and murmuring as they saw you pass- they were different from the toads in the mushroom kingdom, more skinny and much taller- you looked down, and toad had stepped closer behind you, seemingly a bit nervous. above you, some bee-like creatures flew, spears in hand and glaring down at you. at the center of the kingdom was a massive pyramid, two staircases on either side leading up to it, with a hole between them to let water fall through, going through a divet in the ground around the city. you walked up the stairs, to see a larger creature, like the ones at the entrance, standing there and staring down at your group. 

"i thought cranky kong told them we were coming.." toad mumbled, shivering a little as his eyes darted back and forth. "they don't seem very welcoming.."

"well, they probably aren't, considering.. y'know.." donkey kong huffed, gesturing up at the sky, which was still full of dark clouds. little light peeked through, yet it did nothing about the heat around. even little yoshi seemed nervous, hiding down in his bag, luigi reassuringly reaching over to rub his head before stepping forward. 

"umm.. excuse me..?" he asked awkwardly, the creature glaring harder at him, and you had half a mind to turn and forget about the entire plan for backup. "are- y-you the leader here? cranky kong sent us, he- said you could help us.. against bowser.."

"i am king totomesu. i have not heard such a thing." he huffed, luigi's eyes widening a little, looking around at the group, who seemed just as surprised. 

"uh.. s-sorry, but- i don't wanna sound rude, but cranky kong said that the leader is a "she"..?" you took a step forward and cleared your throat, and he raised a brow, slowly starting to rise, and now you were scared, stepping backwards to hide yourself behind dk. "so, uh- we assumed that the leader would be- i dunno, a queen, or maybe a princess.."

"you enter my kingdom, and you assume i am not the leader? how foolish," he leaned down, much, much bigger and way more intimidating, glaring harshly at you as he spoke. "you claim to have been sent, yet you do not even know the leader's name." 

"w-well.. uh.."

"hey, toto!! quit it, you're scaring them!!" 

you looked up, and atop the creature's back was a- a human, hands on her hips as she huffed. the king grumbled, moving back to lay down, letting the human jump off of him, doing a flip in the air before landing perfectly on the ground, turning back to frown at the king. "..apologies. i was simply being careful."

"yeah, yeah, it's fine. they don't look nasty. not like that last human who came here.." she grimaced a bit before looking back at your group, walking up with a grin. "you must be the ones ol' cranky sent!" 

you blinked a few times, not really sure what to think, or what to say. she.. wasn't exactly what you thought she'd be like. and apparently everyone else in your group was just as confused, all of you looking at each other curiously. except for luigi, who's eyes were wide, suddenly pointing at her and yelping. "destiny!?!?"

"hmm? wait-" she looked at him for a second before her eyes widened, gasping and pointing back at him. "luigi!?"

"umm. sorry, what..?"

Chapter Text

"y- what are you doing here?!" the plumber asked, bewildered, walking up to the human, who was just as shocked before smiling brightly.

"me? what are you doing here?" she asked excitedly with a laugh, before glancing back at the group, who had their jaws dropped, looking between the two of them with confused expressions. "oh, here- come on, come inside!! i'll explain everything!!" 

luigi nodded, following her without thought, and you tilted your head, furrowing your brows and clutching your bag tighter as you watched them go. 

"looks like someone has competition." toad hummed, and you glared down at him, making him squeak, sprinting to get inside, donkey kong chuckling at the interaction as he followed, leaving you behind them, feeling something at the pit of your stomach. 

"okay, so- welcome to the birabuto kingdom! one of the four kingdoms in sarasaland!" the princess led you to a table, each of you taking a seat as she gestured up to the wall, where a map of the kingdoms was to show where they were. "i'm princess daisy, the leader of sarasaland!! cranky kong told me he'd sent an army to help us against bowser." 

"y-yeah, that's why we're here.." luigi nodded, tilting his head and looking back and forth between the map and the princess. "but, how did you-"

"you know how my family moved away after we graduated?" she cut him off, knowing exactly what he was going to ask, grinning and pointing to the center of the four kingdoms, where a red pipe was pictured. "i was exploring around our new home, and i fell in this pipe, and i ended up here!! the people here needed a ruler, and, well, you know how good i was at being class president, so i sorta just fell into the role!" 

"oh.. wait, but, d-"

"i know, 'daisy', it's that stupid nickname those boys in class would call me." she crossed her arms with a grumble, before shaking her head and letting out a huff. "but i started a new life here, so i took that name back to reclaim it!" she clenched her fist, and he nodded in understanding, watching her laugh. "so here i am! princess daisy of sarasaland!! oh, so what about you, luigi? how'd you end up here?"

"oh-! mario and i fell down this pipe when we were- uh, trying to save brooklyn.." he started, going over the story of how he and his brother had defeated bowser, her eyes widening the more he explained. "so now we live in the mushroom kingdom." 

"no way!! you and mario defeated bowser!?" she gasped, and he nodded, making her grin, stepping up to him and gently punching his arm. "that's incredible!! when i'd heard two humans had helped peaches out, i was hoping they'd be cool, who knew i'd actually already know both of them?" 

"hey, uh, sorry to interrupt, but-" donkey kong cleared his throat, the two looking at him as he pointed to them. "i think the rest of us are a bit confused about what's going on here, so, care to explain?" 

"oh-! r-right! uh, destiny- i mean- daisy and i went to high school together back in- uh, the normal world.." luigi began to explain, the rest of you nodding in understanding. "and.. well, yeah, apparently she's a princess, now.." 

"..cool."

"you're darn right it's cool!" she grinned, clapping her hands together and looking between you all. "so, that's me out of the way! what's your guys' stories?" 

"i'm toad! captain toad! yeah, i helped the princess take on bowser." toad started, crossing his arms and grinning, eager to brag about his accomplishment, before pointing to your bag across the table. "that there is yoshi!"

"mama!"

"mama?" daisy tilted her head, not noticing the way luigi looked away from the little dinosaur. but she nodded, turning to donkey kong next. "you're cranky's kid, right? he's told me a lot about you!"

"he has?" 

"yeah, he told me about what you did to help against bowser! he sounded super proud!" she spoke, and his eyes widened, before grinning and nodding. she turned to you, next, and you flinched a little as she did. "and you?"

"i'm, uh, y/n. i'm from the snow kingdom." that was really all you had to say, and she stayed silent, as if waiting for you to continue. "y- yeah. i'm. here to help." 

"..okay! awesome!" she smiled, and you internally screamed, wishing you had some accomplishment to talk about. but she clapped her hands together, nodding to the group before her. "well, it is pretty late, how about we all get some rest and then start planning in the morning? i'll send some guards to get the kongs a place to rest." 

"sounds good to me!!" toad nodded, hopping down from his chair, donkey kong following behind as daisy pointed to a hall where their rooms would be. you leaned forward to grab the bag with yoshi in it, the little creature cooing as you did so, clutching it to your chest and looking over at the two humans. they seemed to be in their own world as they talked, leaving you to just slink back, following the other two down the hall to your room.

"..so, you and mario have been living in the mushroom kingdom?" 

"ah- yeah, for a few months now." she was starting to move along, so he pushed himself up and hurried to catch up, following her through the halls of the pyramid. "how long have you been living here..?" 

"let's see.. a couple years, maybe?" she hummed, counting on her fingers before just giving up and shaking her hands. "agh, i've been telling peaches we need to set up a pipe from here to there-!" 

he laughed at that, making her grin, stopping when they reached a doorway that led outside, looking out over the town. it was dark, of course, the residents slowly heading home to rest, leaving a comfortable silence over the kingdom. 

"so, anyways.." she cleared her throat, and he glanced over at her curiously, regretting it when she chuckled mischievously. "a hero of the mushroom kingdom, hmm? that's pretty impressive!"

"ah.. i guess.." he scratched at the back of neck, being gently nudged in response. 

"don't be so modest!" she scoffed, crossing her arms and grumbling when he started to stammer something. "you literally stopped bowser. that's an insane thing to do!"

"well, i- i didn't really do that much, honestly.." he looked off at nothing, awkwardly smiling when she groaned, not surprised by his low self esteem but still disappointed nonetheless. 

"..well, whatever. surely you're super popular, at least! i bet the toads in the mushroom kingdom all adore you guys!" she continued, and he winced a little, thinking back to the last time he'd interacted with the toads.. and they had basically said they didn't think he could do this.. and that he'd fail at rescuing his brother and the princess.. "..ugh, you're impossible! come on, they have to appreciate what you did!!" 

"wh- wait, th-they're appreciative!" he argued, grimacing a bit when she raised an eyebrow. "they are! the princess held this whole festival thing for us," (that he had skipped because it was crowded and he didn't know all these people and he was still recovering from nearly dying) "and the toads always thank us when we're in the town-" (they always thanked mario. he could probably walk through the town and not a single toad would bat an eye) "and they always send gifts to our house-!" (addressed to mario, or, if they felt generous, to 'the mario bros') 

and she just watched him for a moment before sighing, shaking her head and turning to head back inside. "not one person has said anything..? really..? i'm gonna have to talk to peaches about her toads' manners.." 

he awkwardly followed behind her, trying to rack his brain and think of any examples. he didn't mind being overlooked, especially with a brother like mario. he was fine just being in the background. so he wasn't sure why this was eating at him so much. beating bowser wasn't that big of a deal, right..? it's not like he actually did anything except use the super star with mario to beat him.. so of course people would underestimate him.. but..

"ah, what about that boy from the snow kingdom?" she snapped her finger, his eyes widening at the mention as she continued on. "he's a human, he's gotta realize how cool it is that another human beat bowser..! right-?" 

she looked back at him, before pausing, bringing her hand to her mouth with a snort. "hey, uh, your face is really red." 

"eh-?" he brought his hand up, and indeed, his face was burning, zipping both his hands to his face to cover it as she started to laugh at him.