#bowuigi egg fic project

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

A Calm(ish) and Relatively Relaxing Time

Rating: General Audiences Characters: Bowser, Luigi, Daisy, Kamek Relationships: Bowser/Luigi Tags: Humor, Fluff, Minor Character(s)

Summary: Wherein Luigi and Bowser were watching their Baby Yoshi and they’d only taken their eyes off it for a second, they swear, where the heck did it go —? (Postlude to An Egg in a Trying Time) Word Count: 6,774 words

[AO3 Link]

~~~

Bowser and Luigi’s talk didn't go as horribly as Bowser had feared.

Well — it wasn't like it was going to go horribly in the first place; the two of them hadn't spent a non-zero amount of time holding hands in that plaza for nothing. But Bowser had made a complete fool of himself in the days prior, and he was still reeling from the scale of it. Talk about a major screw-up.

...Though maybe it wasn't that major of a screw-up, considering he’d still managed to charm Luigi despite it all. Heh.

Still, they’d both agreed there were better starts to a relationship than Bowser’s hindbrain going haywire, so a bit of a do-over was in order. They still had the rest of the vacation, after all, to hang out normally without any instincts or surprises getting in the way. Which was fair. Bowser welcomed the chance to redeem himself, even if his vague memories and Luigi’s assurances softened the necessity of that.

And in Bowser’s opinion, said hanging out was going great so far! Yesterday he’d met up with Luigi to hang out with the kid as promised, and it was then they'd gotten a chance to have their talk, and even walk around and grab lunch in what he wasn't going to dare call a date for fear of getting his hopes up too high. And sure, he’d had Mario glaring at him from afar the entire time, but that hadn't mattered because he’d honestly hardly imagined getting Greenie to smile at him this much outside of his wildest dreams but there he’d been, grinning just as much back. It had been a lot of fun!

And Luigi had evidently thought so, too, as today was more of the same; he’d wanted to check out some of the shopfronts in the center of town, so here they were, minding their Baby Yoshi as they walked down the street.

Bowser looked down at Luigi — brown curls bouncing with every step, Baby Yoshi cradled in his arms. Yep, it's been fun having Greenie metaphorically on his arm, especially as his gloriously grade-A self. The rest of this vacation was going to be awesome!

Sensing his stare, Luigi raised his head to meet it. “Whatcha thinkin’ about?” he asked, tilting his head curiously.

Bowser debated actually telling him the entirety of it. He decided not to. “You,” he instead smirked, and smugly delighted in the red of Luigi’s face. This was his new favorite thing, he was pretty sure.

Luigi’s gaze, averted in embarrassment, caught on an outdoor stall selling hats. He drifted over to it and the vendor cheerfully began giving him a sales pitch, showing him a bunch of hats to consider buying. Despite Luigi’s interest, the sheer number of options clearly had him overwhelmed; the vendor’s pushiness wasn't helping, either. Besides, none of the hats Luigi was being shown suited him to begin with — at least in Bowser’s opinion, anyway.

Bowser plucked a hat that did from a hook hanging above them; a tan, wide-brimmed sun hat he dropped on Luigi’s head. It covered Luigi’s eyes as it landed, and the end of the green ribbon tied around it fluttered under Luigi’s nose and caused him to scrunch it in a way cute enough to be borderline illegal. Good thing Bowser was a villain then, wasn't it?

To use both hands to adjust it, Luigi put the Baby Yoshi down on a nearby overturned box. As Luigi turned away, it sniffed. It stared off into the distance at something Luigi couldn't see because he was smiling shyly at himself in the mirror, at something Bowser couldn't see because he was busy staring at Luigi smiling shyly at himself in the mirror. The color of the hat actually matched his blouse now. Not bad, if Bowser did say so himself.

Luigi’s eyes flicked to the side, and all at once his smile faded to confusion. “Hey,” he said, staring at the empty box.

“Huh?” Bowser tore his eyes away from Luigi’s figure to focus on his face.

“Where’d...piccolino go?”

“Uh...” Bowser looked around. Oh. Good question. “You had it a second ago!”

“I...” Luigi, face paling, mentally retraced his steps. He searched the surrounding area, and Bowser did as well. Where did it go? It couldn't have gone far; they only weren't paying attention to it for a literal second!

Yet Luigi’s search radius kept widening. The patterned edge of Luigi’s skirt swished about his knees as he frantically spun every which way, calling for their piccolino.

“Greenie, wait —!” Bowser reached out a hand as if to grab Luigi, but he had long drifted out of reach. He whirled around to the vendor. “You! Where’d the kid go?”

The vendor gulped. “I — I don't know, I wasn't watching —”

“Whaddaya mean, you weren't watching?!” Oh, how Bowser wanted to punch this guy’s face in. But Luigi’s voice was getting farther and farther away. Bowser yelled in frustration, knocked one of the hat displays over, and chased after him before he lost both Luigi and the Baby Yoshi.

Bowser caught up relatively quickly, his larger strides winning out over Luigi’s unfocused wandering. Luigi’s panic, he understood; there was something in the back of Bowser’s brain that was also spinning off the rails about losing a kid of his, but he wrestled it down. Luigi was freaking out enough for the both of them as it was; he was already near tears. But tears and aimless wandering weren’t gonna help them find the kid.

And so, when Bowser finally reached Luigi he picked him up bodily off the ground with both hands. Luigi struggled, kicking his feet and hitting Bowser's wrists as if he could make Bowser let go with those tiny fists of his. “Put me down,” Luigi pouted, and Bowser was almost too distracted by the facial expression to acknowledge the request.

“Don't wanna.” Bowser shook Luigi lightly, as if to wipe his despair away like one of Junior’s old drawing toys. “Stop running around.”

Luigi’s face twisted. “Piccolino is lost,” he said. “Aren't you worried?”

“Yeah,” Bowser admitted. But this wasn't his first rodeo. Hell, he could hardly count the number of times Junior would up and disappear, even with half the castle watching him. That was just how kids were, sometimes. They always found him, though. And they’ll find their kid, too. “So screw your head back on, already.”

“It’s probably scared!”

“It’s probably hungry.”

Luigi scrunched his brows in thought. “...so...it’ll stay nearby, where all the food is,” he said slowly.

Bowser’s face broke into a proud grin. “Hey, there’s the brain I’d gotten a crush on!”

Luigi sputtered, blushed, and took a deep, calming breath. “Right.” He wiped his eyes. “We’ll find it.”

“Of course we will!” Bowser set Luigi down and adjusted his hat. “It's probably waiting somewhere obvious, eating its weight in who-knows-what by now!”

“Ha! It’s definitely got your appetite.”

“Mine? No way, it’s got yours for sure!”

They both couldn't help but chuckle, tension cut. But they needed to get back to business and make a game plan for finding their kid.

“Alright.” Bowser nodded resolutely. “You gotta ask around for the kid.”

“Me? Why not you?”

Bowser gestured to himself with a raised eyebrow, noting how naturally intimidating he was.

Luigi pursed his lips. “You look like a handsome yet concerned parent to me.”

“Just get to askin’,” Bowser grumbled, face hot.

Luigi got to asking, flagging down nearby passersby to ask if they’d seen a small, green Baby Yoshi around. Most of them were happy to help where they could, however despite Luigi doing most of the talking, Bowser standing at his five o’clock not quite keeping his own worry for their kid completely off his face ended up intimidating them out of giving many details.

Luigi glanced at Bowser after the nth try, one that had nudged them closer to finding their Baby Yoshi, but not by much. He beheld the results of the negative feedback loop of worry and the lack of leads and irritation that had spiraled Bowser’s mood down, down, down for all he tried to remain relatively composed, and his eyes trailed down to Bowser’s clenched fist by his side. Luigi extended his own hand. He hesitated. He reached out the rest of the way, and Bowser jolted at the touch of warmth to the back of his hand.

Amidst Luigi’s anxious expression, his eyes reflected Bowser’s assured words from earlier; to it, Bowser huffed, tentatively loosening his grip enough for Luigi to curl his fingers around one of Bowser’s own. Bowser adjusted his grip and carefully squeezed it, tension on his face chased away by the frenzied butterflies in his stomach crashing into each other about Luigi’s hand in his.

It was enough for the next person Luigi asked about the Baby Yoshi to give them more than a few breadcrumbs, pointing them toward the amusement park. “I hope it's alright...” Luigi worried as they drew closer to the wooden sign marking its entrance.

“It hasn't been that long,” Bowser replied, though he was still craning his neck every which way for any hint of their kid.

Suddenly, they heard a shout. “Yoo-hoo~!”

A blur of orange ran toward them. Luigi brightened upon seeing it. Daisy beamed back as she approached, but she slowed to a stop seeing Luigi and Bowser’s linked hands. She stared at them, and then at Luigi, brows raised.

Bowser could practically feel the self-conscious desire to tug his hand away radiating out from Luigi. But too bad for him, because Bowser didn't wanna let go! So he tightened his grip. Luigi sent him an apologetic glance Bowser didn't see in favor of glaring at Daisy challengingly. “Got a problem?” he growled.

Daisy met his glare unflinchingly, leaning forward. “Only if you're gonna treat him badly,” she threatened, “because if you break his heart...”

“Oh, save it.” Bowser rolled his eyes. “Peaches already gave the whole speech, and hers was way more intimidating than any crap you’ll say.”

“Hmph.” Daisy stood up straight. “That's fair. I don't think she and Mario would leave anything left of you for me to beat up, anyway.”

“Tch.”

“Daisy,” Luigi broke in before the conversation could escalate, “have you seen a Baby Yoshi around anywhere? We lost it.”

“‘We’?” Daisy did a double take. “You have a kid now?”

“No! Yes. Ah...” Luigi shook his head rapidly. “It doesn't matter. It's all alone; have you seen it?”

“Hm...” Daisy rifled through her memories. “Was it cute and little and green?”

“Yes!”

“I think I saw it earlier!”

“You did?”

“Yeah! It was trying to get into the amusement park, but got turned away. Argh,” she tugged at her hair. “It struck me as weird, but before I could do anything it’d vanished in the crowds! If I'd known it was yours, I would've...Sorry, Lu.”

“No, no, no, it's fine,” Luigi reassured her, tugging his hand from Bowser’s — to Bowser’s dismay — to flutter around her placatingly. “You didn't know! Did you see where it went, at least?”

Daisy nodded. “It was headed toward the beach, I’m pretty sure!”

Luigi smiled wanly. “Thanks,” he said, though he still looked troubled.

“Hey, don't worry” — Daisy smacked Luigi on the back in encouragement; he almost fell forward, hat falling over his eyes — “you’ll find it! The island’s only so big!”

“But it's so small...”

Daisy put a comforting hand on Luigi’s shoulder and jostled it. Bowser’s mood soured the longer it rested there.

“Which is why we should leave and go to the beach now,” he said crossly.

“Oh, hey, maybe I can come with you guys to help with the search!” Daisy bounced on her heels. “Six eyes are better than four, right?”

“No,” Bowser said, in a way that had Luigi frowning at him. He tried again. “You should stay here just in case it wanders back.”

Daisy laughed. “That's quite the sensible idea from you!”

Bowser grumbled. Luigi sent Daisy an exasperated look.

“You can count on me,” she continued regardless, clasping Luigi’s hand in a handshake. “Who knows? I’ll bet I’ll even find it first!”

Bowser scoffed, turning to leave for the beach. Daisy tugged Luigi back for a few extra words; Bowser side-eyed them as she whispered something to Luigi, elbowing him with a wink. Luigi rubbed his side with a blush on his cheeks. Bowser resisted the urge to march over and drag him away from her.

Luigi jogged over to him before long, though, and he matched Bowser’s frown with one of his own. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” Bowser replied mulishly. “Forget about it.” He stomped towards the beach. Luigi fell into step next to him, concern and contemplation on his face.

As the two of them sped into a run, Bowser took Luigi’s hand in his own. “So you don't slow us down,” was the reason he gave, face averted and cheeks red.

Luigi’s face softened as he adjusted his grip and squeezed. After all, even in sandals, Luigi was still the faster runner of the two of them.

---

Bowser and Luigi stopped short at the edge of the beach, heads turning every which way to see if they could spot their Baby Yoshi. They didn't, but Luigi did spot Peach’s beach umbrella in the distance. He ran ahead to it, Bowser following close behind.

Under the umbrella, Peach was sitting crouched over a Mario buried in a mound of sand. Deep in concentration, she was using the edge of a seashell to trace designs in said sand to make it look like a dress of scales. Her focus broke at Bowser’s laughter. “Shh!” she hissed, mischief warring with the scolding frown she sent his way. “He’ll never stay still long enough to finish if he wakes up!” Her gaze turned toward Luigi, as Bowser quieted himself. “Luigi!” she greeted him. “How’s your date going?”

Bowser's laughter caught in his throat. “Uh,” they both stuttered, glancing between each other and back again. Luigi pulled his hat over his face. “It’s not a date,” they tried to insist.

“Sure,” Peach smirked. “Though...” She examined the worried lines on their faces. “Something’s gone wrong, hasn’t it?”

“We were watching the kid and it up and went missing on us,” Bowser informed her. “Daisy said she saw it heading this way; you seen it?”

“No, I haven't!” Peach gasped. “But I can start looking. I suppose I'll have to wake Mario up after all. “

Just then, Bowser Junior ran up to them. “I found some!” he cheered, and dumped a bucket of kelp onto Mario’s face.

“Change of plans, Junior.” Peach brushed some kelp off Mario’s forehead. “The Baby Yoshi’s gone missing, and we need to help Luigi and your dad search for it.”

“Oh.” Junior drooped. But he bounced back quickly, claiming that finding the Baby Yoshi would be easy. For all their sakes, Bowser hoped he was right.

The group agreed to split up; Peach, Junior, and Mario would search one half of the beach. while Luigi and Bowser would search the other. Their discussion roused Mario, who blinked owlishly at the predicament he found himself in. Luigi offered him a brief wave as Peach filled him in before he and Bowser hurried off for their part of the search.

Unfortunately, they hit the end of the beach with no sign of their kid. Hoping that the Baby Yoshi was on the other side of the beach, or that it had decided to continue onwards on its journey to stress its guardians out something fierce, they waited for a text message from Peach or Mario while they followed a nearby path that wound through trees and eventually split into two.

They found Mayor Pauline rummaging through her purse at the intersection, and she spared a moment to greet them. “Oh, you don't have whatever it was under your shirt anymore,” she remarked to Luigi.

“That was a Yoshi egg, actually, and it's a baby Yoshi now,” Luigi sheepishly explained. “A baby Yoshi that’s lost. Have you seen it?”

“No, I haven't.” Pauline frowned. “I’ll keep an eye out, though. I did see — Kamek, was it? — skulking about down that path over there.” She pointed to said path. “Maybe he had something to do with it?”

“What kind of assumption is that?” Bowser glared.

“I don't know!” Pauline crossed her arms defensively. “Mario mentioned once that he had something against the Yoshis! It was just a guess!”

Bowser sneered at her. Was Mario wrong? No, though it pained to admit. But still, Kamek knew better than to mess with one of his kids. But speaking of Kamek, he’d probably have a spell that could find the kid quickly, so maybe they should go find him. Bowser said as much to Luigi, who agreed.

“Before you go,” Pauline said, “Do you know where I can find Princess Peach? I’ve got something to...to give to her.”

Pauline tried to keep a straight face while giving her request, but the color on her cheeks betrayed her. It darkened at Luigi’s visible amusement. “She’s at the beach,” he told her. “She’ll be thrilled to see you!”

As Pauline stammered a thanks and hurried off, Luigi and Bowser continued on down the path she’d indicated. Along the way, Bowser couldn't help but wonder aloud why Pauline was acting weird about seeing Peach. When Luigi told him the reason, Bowser’s resulting cackling earned him a surprisingly strong shove for someone of Luigi’s size. It didn't put a dent in Bowser’s amused incredulity, though. At least he could say she had good taste, he supposed.

That amusement lasted until they got farther down the path and came across a tree. If it was a tree on the side of the road, it wouldn't be very remarkable, but this particular one was smack-dab in the middle of it, growing straight out of the cracked asphalt.

“Interesting urban planning decision,” Bowser remarked, examining it.

“I...don't think this was on purpose?” Luigi plucked a bright red fruit from a branch. “These trees aren't even native to the island!” He noticed more trees beyond this one, in a misshapen line stretching out down the path. “How’d they get here?”

Bowser peered over Luigi’s shoulder at the fruit. He reached over Luigi’s shoulder to pick another one off the ground. That one had a bite mark in it. A bite mark that, even after only two days, Bowser knew like the back of his hand.

They both stared at it. As one, they looked forward to the line of trees, each one having scattered half-eaten fruit at its base. They shared a glance. They sprinted down the path.

---

The trail of half-eaten fruit led them to a park. With the lack of any additional fruit trees in the vicinity, they searched for where to go next.

“I think I saw some fruit over — yikes!” Luigi ducked, and a frisbee whizzed through the space where his head just was.

“Watch it!” Bowser snarled at the group of kids who’d thrown it.

“Bowser,” Luigi admonished him, picking up the frisbee and throwing it back. The kids scattered as soon as they caught it.

“What?” Bowser said, completely unapologetic. Luigi had almost gotten hurt, after all! “What were you saying?” he asked, getting back on track.

Luigi sighed, but decided to let it go. “There’s some more fruit over there,” Luigi pointed to the new trail of it curving around the concrete path. They followed it until it veered into the grass and stopped in front of a curtain of foliage. Bowser parted the leaves and there was a path: dirt-floored, overgrown, seemingly rarely visited. Luigi ducked under Bowser’s arm to proceed onwards, and the curtain fell closed as Bowser followed.

Bowser had little trouble stepping on and over the branches and brambles and roots, inadvertently paving a way forward, but Luigi’s open-toed sandals forced him to slow down, and his cute skirt getting caught on low-resting branches wasn't helping either, even as he found himself in Bowser’s wake instead of in front of him like he’d started.

“You go on ahead,” Luigi told Bowser when he turned back in concern. His face was screwed in concentration with the effort to navigate the path, tongue poking out. “I’ll...catch up soon!”

Instead of doing that, Bowser watched Luigi struggle for a little bit longer, huffed fondly, closed the distance between them, and picked Luigi up to sit him on his shoulder. Luigi yelped in surprise.

“W-warn a guy first, will ya?!” Luigi exclaimed, one hand on his hat and the other gripping Bowser’s horn tightly. He was smiling, though, and Bowser playfully shrugged his shoulder to jostle him until he got comfortable enough for his grip to loosen.

Up this high, Luigi was clear of all that was giving him trouble moving before, so the two of them were free to continue on at a brisker pace. As thanks, Luigi patted Bowser on the head; Bowser acknowledged the touch with a nudge to Luigi’s side with his head that accidentally turned into more of a nuzzle. He thought he’d be able to get away with the slip-up, but given that Luigi carded a hand through Bowser’s hair right after, maybe he hadn’t been as subtle as he thought. And given that Luigi kept up the motion as they walked, maybe it didn't matter at all.

Regardless, onward they went, to hopefully either find their Baby Yoshi or find Kamek, for him to help them search for it.

---

The path opened up to a clearing that, in contrast to the path itself, was incredibly well-kept and peaceful as far as groves went. Near the middle of it, leaning against a large stone, was Kamek, working away at some crochet.

“Look alive, old man!” Bowser shouted, shocking Kamek into dropping his yarn. “You’ve got somethin’ to do for me!”

“Lord Bowser,” Kamek greeted him. “What fortunate timing. I believe I have something you can do for me. And that thing is retrieving what you’ve gone and lost.” He pointed his crochet hook towards a nearby pond, where near the edge walking towards them was —

“Piccolino!” Luigi leapt off Bowser’s shoulder, Bowser too slow to catch him. He landed, slipped, hit the ground, stumbled to his feet, and ran over to their kid. In those motions he lost a sandal, and Bowser bent to pick it up. He watched Luigi kneel on the ground, tearfully cradling and scolding their kid, and something in his chest settled.

“How’d you find it?” Bowser asked Kamek, as Luigi pressed his face into the crown of the kid’s head.

“It was just wandering around, without a care in the world.” Kamek rolled his eyes. “Honestly, were you so distracted to lose a single Baby Yoshi?”

“Well, yeah.” Bowser shrugged. “Just look at him.”

Kamek scoffed.

“Thank you so much, Kamek,” Luigi said, voice still thick with tears.

“Don't mention it,” Kamek replied. “Don't,” he said again as Luigi opened his mouth again. “Just get the brat on a leash, so I never have to do this again.”

Luigi sniffled. Kamek’s stern look melted away with a sigh, and he floated a handkerchief to him to wipe his eyes with. As Luigi blew his nose, the Baby Yoshi babbled up at him. Luigi patted it on the head.

After all of today’s worries, there was little left for Luigi to do now that they were resolved besides slump to the ground in exhaustion. So he did, Bowser sitting next to him. The Baby Yoshi, meanwhile, squirmed out of Luigi’s grip and waddled off. Luigi and Bowser watched it like a hawk, but all it did was find the nearest apple and roll it over to Luigi with a concerned-sounding chirp. Bowser and Luigi both relaxed.

“You’re gonna be the death of us, kid,” Bowser said to it. Its response was to reach for him. Bowser obligingly gave it a claw, and it sang a little tune as it grabbed hold.

With the claws on his other hand, Bowser cut the apple into three pieces. One to feed to himself, one to feed to the kid, and one to feed to —

The fruit in Bowser’s hand stopped mid-journey to Luigi’s mouth.

Wait.

Luigi was staring at him, face red. There was no way Bowser’s wasn't the same as he stared back. Yet he remained frozen in place, the silence stretching into eternity as he scrambled to escape this painfully awkward situation. What Bowser should have done was retract his arm and refuse to acknowledge that the moment had ever happened. But no, instead of doing anything sensible like that, Bowser pushed his hand forward and all but stuffed the apple slice into Luigi’s mouth. Because of course he did.

Luigi made a noise of surprise as it happened. “...Thanks?” he mumbled confusedly around the mouthful, and the urge to curl up into his shell and hide crept up Bowser’s spine. But of course he wasn't going to do that, because it was the coward's way out, and he was no coward!

...He really wanted to, though.

During Bowser’s crisis of embarrassment, Luigi chewed, swallowed, and sat up, the Baby Yoshi in his lap. He didn't meet Bowser’s gaze; though his embarrassment wasn't as grand as Bowser’s it was nonetheless very much present. His attention lingered on Kamek, who was busy examining his crochet. “Hey Kamek, what’re ya making?” Luigi asked.

“...nothing.”

Bowser squinted at the shape the loops of yarn were forming. “What are you making a hat for?”

“None of your business.”

That was kind of a tiny hat, wasn't it? Almost the size of a... “I thought you didn't like Yoshis.”

“Who said this was for your Yoshi?”

“You did.”

“I —” Kamek scowled. Bowser grinned. Hah, he never got to outsmart the old man like that! He grinned at Luigi, too, who offered a bemused thumbs up in what was definitely congratulations, he was sure!.

“That’s nice of you! It'll love it!” Luigi cheered. Kamek’s eye twitched.

“As if the kid didn't like you already!” Bowser laughed, loud and boisterous. “Just admit you like it back! Heck, maybe you should tell it — it's not like it won't be happy to hear it!”

“Truly? You know, I’m not so sure,” Kamek deadpanned. “Maybe I should wait a season and a half before doing so, in case something goes wrong, and it decides to ‘hate me forever’ for it, hm?”

...That was a low blow.

“A season and a half...?” Luigi repeated, brow scrunched at the sly lilt to Kamek’s words.

“Uh!” Bowser stiffened. “N-no, he’s just being stupid — exaggerating — it wasn't that long...”

“Exaggeration, is it...?” Kamek lazily propped his chin on his hand. “You know, on second thought, maybe I should pester someone in the dead of night to come up with a way to remove all my feelings entirely because they’re too confusing for me to handle.”

“Old man if you don't shut up right now I swear I’m gonna —”

“Going to what? Pretend I’m a mirror and talk yourself hoarse about —”

“Kamek!”

Kamek cackled, sitting back and picking up his crochet work again. Bowser fumed at the failure to intimidate him into shutting his trap before —

“...you tried to remove your feelings for me?”

“No!” Bowser snapped his head down to meet Luigi's slack-jawed stare with his own wide-eyed one. “That's stupid! Why would I do that? I didn't do that!”

“Why?”

“I—! Because—!” How was Bowser supposed to explain how half his universe turned upside down after that damn kart race? How he’d watched Luigi claw his way to first place in the final race of the Grand Prix, utilizing all sorts of tricks and treachery he never would have expected him to be capable of? And how the image of Luigi on the podium, sheepishly holding his trophy aloft, nose still bleeding a little from when he’d fallen flat on his face when he’d tried to get out of his kart after the race had ended, had stuck in Bowser’s mind for the rest of the day, and the next, and the next, and the next? Or how Bowser’s idle curiosity about a hero’s sidekick like Luigi having a hidden ruthless side had grown until he’d found himself watching him for another sign of it, and even though he’d just kept getting his usual goody-goody behavior over and over again he’d stubbornly kept observing him, hoping to see Luigi finally slip up and do something else just as interesting? How weeks later, during some downtime at one of the tennis tournaments, Bowser had looked across at Luigi returning a lost ball to a child, a scratch on his chin from a mishap during the search for it, a bright yet soft smile sitting on his face, and had been slammed with the realization that Luigi’s usual goody-goody behavior had inexplicably become the interesting thing he was watching for? And how said behavior had somehow transitioned from interesting to endearing in the meantime? And how it felt when he’d prodded at the reason why, and in doing so crashed the status quo of liking Peach all around his ears, leaving him standing in the rubble of it with no idea what to do next in the absence of the familiar and faced with the unknown?

“...It was a stupid idea and I'm not doing it, so stop looking at me like that,” Bowser settled on saying. “I’d regret it, anyways,” he added, and Luigi’s face softened.

“Would you?”

“Yeah.”

With a complete lack of ceremony, the Baby Yoshi kicked its legs and tipped itself sideways out of Luigi’s lap, snapping Luigi and Bowser out of the spellbound staring at each other they had settled into. As it righted itself and milled around the pair, Luigi caught it by the arm to stop it for long enough to press a kiss to the top of its head and regard it thoughtfully. “Why did you run away from us, I wonder?”

“Like I said before” — Bowser crossed his arms, consciously and adamantly refusing to be jealous of a child, of all things — “it was probably hungry. Or maybe it was just bored.”

Luigi hummed, considering. The Baby Yoshi toddled away, then back; Luigi stroked the Baby’s head, and it hummed. “I guess we’re hardly doing anything interesting, as grownups. Not when we’re on a...” Luigi stopped. He glanced at Bowser, unsure.

“...a date?” They both chuckled sheepishly.

“If this is a — a date, then isn't this kid supposed to be being babysat right now? So we can have time to ourselves or whatever?”

“Hm...” Luigi glanced at Kamek. “Hey, Kamek?” Luigi called, voice saccharine.

“What?” Kamek studied Luigi’s face. He realized what Luigi wanted to ask. “Absolutely not,” he scowled. “No,” he repeated as Luigi’s gaze turned hopeful.

“Please?” Luigi added a pout to round out the pleading image.

“No,” Kamek said again, less surely this time. Bowser stifled a laugh. As someone who fell victim to that face yesterday while being convinced to pay for an extra sandwich or three for lunch, he knew Kamek didn't stand a chance in hell of resisting it.

And as if to reinforce this futility, the Baby Yoshi freed itself from Luigi’s grip and toddled over to Kamek. It plopped down next to him, balled a fist into his sundress, and dropped right off to sleep. Kamek stared at it like it was a particularly ugly bomb.

“Thank you so much!” Luigi beamed.

“Stop thanking me.”

Luigi got to his feet, and it was then he finally noticed he’d lost a shoe. He blinked. “When’d that happen?” he wondered aloud.

With a raised eyebrow, Bowser held up the missing shoe. The expectation was that Luigi was going to take it from him to put it on. Instead, Luigi lifted his foot and slipped it into the shoe while Bowser was still holding it. Bowser stiffened in surprise; Luigi froze, foot halfway in the shoe. They stared at each other.

Face red, Luigi jerked his foot upwards out of Bowser’s grasp, shoe and all; the suddenness of doing so sent him stumbling. As Luigi finished putting his shoe on, movements stiff and eyes glancing everywhere except for the person he was leaning on to keep his balance, said person was resisting the urge to snicker at him. He really was too cute. Even better was that he didn't move his hand when he was done, even as Bowser got to his feet! So with his other arm, Bowser waved at Kamek. “See you later, old man!”

Kamek sighed. Hand-on-arm, Bowser and Luigi left him frowning resignedly at the Baby Yoshi.

---

As they walked down a different, better-maintained path, the color of Luigi's face gradually dimmed back to its normal shade. When he finally gathered the courage to meet Bowser’s eyes again, it was after glancing worriedly back at the clearing they’d left. “I hope he isn’t mad...” Luigi worried.

“Are you kidding? That was hilarious!” Bowser answered, not answering Luigi’s question. Luigi huffed.

“Maybe we should get him something to pay him back for this.”

Bowser shrugged. “Suit yourself.” There’s gotta be a good enough knick-knack for him somewhere around here.

They tossed around ideas of what to get Kamek while continuing down the path. As it brought them over a bridge, Luigi, distracted by the lily pads floating below it in the lake, stopped to lean over the railing to peer at them. And although Bowser kind of wanted to hurry up and get back to the beach, he couldn't help but feel it wasn't so bad, pausing to bask in the fluttering feeling in his chest spurred by the relaxation resting on his companion’s face.

After a while, Luigi spoke up. “Was it really that long?” he asked.

It took Bowser a minute to realize what Luigi was referring to. He shrugged self-consciously. “I had to...get used to it first. It's only really ever been all about Peach for so long. And this...with you it...felt...” He struggled for words. “...Different. Bigger than that. S-so however I told you about how I felt had to be bigger, too — I couldn't settle for kidnappings anymore! But...” Bowser glowered at the water’s edge. “But then I ended up kidnapping you anyway...ugh, stupid brain...”

Luigi smiled wryly. “I guess it technically worked, in the end.”

“Maybe I should keep doing that, then!”

“Please don't. I don't know if I could handle that. Or if Mario could handle that.”

“All the more reason to kidnap you!”

“Bowser.”

Bowser laughed. Luigi tried to keep his stern expression in place, but Bowser’s mirth was too contagious for it to hold.

“Hey,” Luigi said when their laughter died down. “What were you thinking of doing, anyway? Instead of the kidnapping?”

“Oh, well...” Bowser rubbed a hand behind his head. “It was just gonna be a song, 's all.”

“A song? I didn't know you wrote music!”

“You kidding?” Bowser puffed his chest with a smirk. “There’s no one in my kingdom — or anywhere else — that's a better piano tapper than me!”

“Wow!” Luigi’s eyes sparkled. “I’d love to hear it! Uh, the song you were writing for me, I mean?”

“Y-yeah, for sure! It’ll knock your socks off, guaranteed!” Bowser bragged. “‘Specially because I spent ages working on it!”

“Oh! That’s a long time!”

“I had to spend that long.” Bowser peeked at Luigi out of the corner of his eye. “‘Cause it’s gotta be perfect like you!”

“I —!” Luigi’s face went ablaze for yet another time today. Bowser’s smirk deepened. Hah. Definitely his new favorite thing.

“Well—!” Luigi managed to say after a whole lot of sputtering. "I'm — I’m looking forward to hearing it!” The effort to push past how flustered he was to say that made it come out as a shout, and it bounced off the trees alongside Bowser’s chuckling. Put out, Luigi pointedly turned his attention back to the rippling water below them, and then to his phone, to message his friends and tell them the Baby Yoshi had been found. Bowser watched him do so, the brim of Luigi’s hat shading the screen, and — wait.

“We stole that hat,” Bowser said aloud, and Luigi paused.

“What?”

“The hat. You just ran off with it.”

“What are you —?” Luigi’s brow furrowed. His hand hovered near his head in thought for a moment, then he snatched his hat off his head. The price tag fell free, and Luigi stared at it with such horror on his face that it circled back around to being hilarious.

“You gonna show your face to give it back?” Bowser teased, and Luigi looked even more panicked. He did, however, elbow Bowser in a vain attempt to get him to stop laughing at him.

“It’s not funny,” Luigi insisted. “It’s not....oh...!” He buried his head in his hands.

Bowser slung his arm around Luigi’s shoulder. “Not even a week and I’m already corrupting you!” he crowed. “What's your brother gonna have to say about that?”

“Absolutely nothing,” Luigi answered, with a glare that held no heat, “because he knows it’ll happen the other way ‘round”

“As if,” Bowser scoffed, despite knowing full well it was, indeed, starting to happen the other way around.

Luigi seemed to know it too, by the crinkling at the corners of his eyes. And by the way he thanked Bowser. “For calming me down when I was freaking out earlier,” he clarified. He leaned into Bowser’s side, and Bowser desperately hoped that he couldn't hear how his heartbeat was thudding a mile a minute.

“Well, what was I supposed to do, let you walk yourself straight into the ocean?” Bowser rolled his eyes with a mask of nonchalance. It was a mask with some cracks of bashfulness in it, and now it was Luigi’s turn to laugh at him. He stood on his tiptoes to kiss Bowser’s cheek before ducking out of his one-armed embrace and dancing away off the bridge. Bowser almost fell over the railing, counterweight gone. “Hey,” he complained, trying to look mad but failing hardcore because holy shit

Luigi twisted to face him, skirt flaring out; his eyes flicked to somewhere just behind Bowser, where Bowser’s tail was absolutely threatening the structural integrity of the bridge he was still standing on in light of recent events. Thankfully, Luigi didn't comment on it as Bowser also got off the bridge. Nor did he comment on how red Bowser’s face was, either.

“I think we should go back and pay for the hat,” Luigi decided.

“You sure we can’t just keep it — alright, alright,” Bowser amended at the flat expression Luigi sent his way. “We’ll go be good guys, I guess.”

“Quite the sacrifice for you, I'm sure.”

Bowser snorted. “I think I can manage. It's just about worth it, anyway.”

“‘Just about?’” Luigi prodded, curious about what could possibly bump it up to ‘completely worth it’.

Mere moments before asking for another kiss, Bowser’s brain caught up with itself. Hold on, would that come across as desperate? No, he already got one, so another wouldn't be weird. Maybe? Probably. Argh, he’s never had to think about these sorts of things before...! At least there was something else he could for sure ask for, though.

“I could get that story you promised me the other day,” he said, trying his best to sound casual.

“Right, I didn't get around to telling you, did I?” Luigi winced. “Sorry. I guess I’d gotten” — his eyes roved over Bowser, briefly — “distracted.”

“Finally!” An exaggerated fist pump had Luigi near-giggling — as if Bowser’s cheeks couldn't hurt any more than they did already. “I’ve been waiting to hear what kind of story ends with you getting called that.” Bowser nudged him, good-natured. “You trying to hold out on me, Greenie?”

“No, no, I was just...heh.” Luigi shook his head. Bowser raised an eyebrow, bidding him to continue. He also held out his elbow, and Luigi slotted his hand in the space as if it belonged there. The two of them fell into step side-by-side, and as Luigi began his tale about the ridiculous events that had followed that fateful job he and Mario had taken all those years ago, Bowser knew the memories of this awesome vacation were going to stick with him for many years more.

And by the way Luigi was practically glowing with happiness, he was more than positive Luigi would, too.

#bowuigi #bowser #luigi #super mario #*dabs* yay I finished this one before 2024!!! #mlv.fic #smb #bowuigi egg fic project

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

I cannot keep this last line. And yet.

#its highlighted because its gotta change #the tone is just barely wrong #...but also i'm having a hard timw replacing it lmao #a future-me problem ig #mlv.txt #bowuigi egg fic project #personally i think mario should be able to wahoo people to death but eh what do i know

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

Lost and Found

Chapter 1 (of 2): Wherein Mario doesn't know where his brother is

Rating: General Audiences Characters: Mario, Peach, Luigi, Bowser Relationships: Mario & Peach, Mario & Luigi Tags: Minor Bowser/Luigi, Hurt/Comfort, Humor, Nonverbal Mario

Summary: Sunny skies and friends by his side...in Mario’s opinion, it was all the perfect setup for a perfect vacation! ...Too bad his brother up and disappeared partway through it. Word Count: 2,608 words A/N: This fic's Mario's POV of An Egg in a Trying Time! So it would be helpful to read that one first, but i can't tell you what to do so do whatever!

[AO3 Link]

~~~

Mario woke up an hour or so after sunrise.

He shuffled about his and Luigi’s hotel room as quietly as he could as he got ready for the day. Luigi was usually a pretty heavy sleeper, but nonetheless Mario had accidentally woken him up yesterday morning and he still felt a bit bad about it. And Luigi had stayed up late last night, so he really needed the extra sleep this morning.

Tiptoeing out of the room, Mario closed the door with a near-inaudible click and headed out of the hotel down to the nearest beach. He took off his shoes and dug his toes into the sand, watching the sun climb higher and higher into the sky with the seagulls’ cries and the salty breeze and the sound of the ocean waves keeping him company.

A tap on his shoulder brought him out of his tranquil state; it was Peach, arms laden with beach-going supplies and smiling at him. As Mario hurried to relieve her of her bag she passed him another, smaller paper bag in which Mario could smell something from the nearby bakery. He smiled thankfully at her. His smile turned sheepish when she reached into her bag he was holding and took out a bottle of sunscreen to wave in his face with a raised eyebrow.

The two sunscreen-laden friends ate breakfast and watched the sunlight reflect on the ocean’s surface until more people trickled onto the beach, at which point they went to claim a good spot to spend the rest of the morning. Neither of them were at that spot now, with Peach kicking a ball around farther down the beach with some friends and Mario sitting on the edge of a dock a ways away from her, feet kicking absently in the chilled water and humming quietly to himself while watching them.

He could join them. In fact, he was planning to, soon. But the water felt nice, and — he cast a glance at the sky, shielding his eyes with a hand — Luigi was probably due to wake up soon, if he hadn't already. Peach had sent him a text earlier telling him they were at the beach, and Mario kind of wanted to sit in a highly-visible-from-the-sidewalk place to catch him as he arrived.

Mario remained there until a little after noon, when he couldn't quite ignore how hungry he was anymore. There was a hot dog stand within sight, and Mario weighed his desire to fill his empty stomach against his desire to not miss Luigi’s arrival. The hunger won. Surely Luigi would understand.

But as he ventured to the stand, something felt...off. Beyond how hungry he was. Mario stood halfway between the ocean and his pending lunch, trying to parse the uniquely foreboding feeling he was suddenly flooded with. It felt like...he frowned. He changed course entirely, to the road that would take him back into town. It felt like where he should be going right now.

The universe had other plans, however, as at the exact moment Mario took one step off the sand onto the concrete the ground shook with the rumblings of an explosion from somewhere behind him. Mario spun to find the source and locked eyes with Peach as she stood amidst beachgoers who were beginning to react in alarm. “Over there!” she called to him, pointing further up the beach and darting in that direction. Mario scrambled to follow her. By the time he and Peach pushed through the crowd to truly behold the chaos at the root of it all, Mario’s earlier foreboding feeling had faded to nothing. By the time they finished dealing with the consequences of said chaos, Mario had forgotten about the feeling entirely.

---

At dinnertime, Peach returned from the overflowing buffet table to find Mario fiddling with his phone, looking downcast. He'd been slowly deflating all day, for all he tried to hide it. Case in point, he tried to smile at her as she approached, despite hardly touching his food since they’d arrived in the restaurant.

It took a bit of needling, but Peach finally got an answer as to what was bothering Mario in the form of him handing her his phone. It was open to its messaging app, to Mario and Luigi’s messages specifically, where there was nothing sent all day aside from the periodic picture from Mario.

“That’s odd...” Peach frowned and checked her own phone. “He hasn't responded to any of my messages either.” She messaged him again right then and there; with each minute of no response Mario drummed his fingers on the table a little bit faster, a little bit harder. It wasn't necessarily bad, he told himself, that Luigi wasn't using his phone. He was hardly beholden to checking in with his brother every once in a while.

But...the entire day?

Mario shook his head. He didn't want to jump to any conclusions just yet. No, Luigi was probably out having fun somewhere else. So much fun that he didn't have time to text his brother. Or the Princess. Which was fine! Totally fine. Mario wasn't worried about it. Not one bit.

Peach reached across the table to put her hands on Mario’s, finally stilling it. “We’ll go look for him after dinner,” she said, and Mario slumped in both embarrassment and relief.

So after finishing dinner, Mario and Peach ventured around the central hub of the island. They searched the beach and didn't find Luigi. They ran into Yoshi at about the same time Mario remembered Luigi had been walking the nature trails recently, and Yoshi volunteered itself and its friends to scour them for any sign of him. They asked the Toads working the amusement park gates, and they told them they haven't seen a “Loogey” around anywhere. They searched the beach again and didn't find him. The sun finished setting, and the two of them took the hotel stairs down to the casino, where the owner told them he didn't see “that green-hatted upstart” that’d been on track to bankrupt the entire establishment last night. Peach dragged Mario out by the arm before he could do anything about how his brother was just spoken about. Peach made a mental note to lodge a complaint to someone higher up before she went to bed.

Trekking disappointedly back up the stairs, they almost collided with Rosalina. “We’re looking for Luigi,” Peach told her when she asked them what had them so down. “We haven't seen him at all, today. Have you?”

Rosalina tilted her head in thought. “I did see him earlier today,” she said, to Mario and Peach’s delight. “Yes, in the part of town with all the restaurants, having lunch in the one with the large windows. He had an object underneath his shirt. But I don't know where he went afterwards.”

Outdated info, but they at least had a lead now. Mario practically bounced in place, eager to chase it. Noticing this, Peach hurried to say a farewell to Rosalina before he ran off. “And thank you so much!” she added.

Rosalina barely had time to wave after them before they were gone, up the stairs and out of the hotel, beelining towards the restaurant in question. A darkened interior and a locked door greeted Mario as he ran up first, despite the buildings on either side bustling with activity. When Peach approached, her attention was caught by the paper sign taped to the inside of one of the windows; though it was a bit hard to read, scrawled hastily as it was, she could at least tell it was an apology that the restaurant was closed, and a promise to be open at the usual hour tomorrow. Mario wilted as she read it aloud.

“Well,” Peach sighed. “At least we tried...Hopefully Luigi will come back to the hotel tonight so we won't have to come back here tomorrow and ask about him?”

Hopefully. The frown didn't leave Mario’s face as they trudged back to the hotel. While Peach retired to her room, Mario parked himself on one of the plush chairs in the hotel lobby, with a full view of the entrance doors. He sat there for an hour or two, fiddling with his phone and his hat and the hem of his shirt, until the receptionist began to side-eye him. Mario decided to wait for Luigi in his hotel room instead, half-hoping he'd snuck by him somehow and was already waiting for him there.

Mario opened the door to his and Luigi’s hotel room. It was empty, and the silence was deafening as Mario quietly clicked the door shut. Mechanically, he got ready for bed; but instead of getting under the covers, he sat with his back to his headboard and waited and waited and waited. His usual bedtime came and went, and every time he snapped himself back awake from dozing off he sent yet another text message to Luigi that had no answer.

A knock sounded at the door. The thought didn't occur to Mario that if it was Luigi then he would have heard the beep of a keycard instead — he was the one out of the two of them who never forgot it — until he threw the door open and was face to face with Peach.

“Luigi hasn't shown up yet, huh?” Peach asked, seeing Mario’s face fall.

Mario shook his head, feeling silly.

“In that case” — Peach pushed her way into the room, wearing one of the hotel-provided bathrobes — “you don't mind if I wait with you, do you?”

Even if she hadn't already entered the room, Mario would have gladly invited her in. She perched herself on the other bed and turned on the TV as Mario sat back on his. Though she spent a non-zero amount of time tuning the TV to a channel serviceable for late-night background noise, she wasn't really watching it, too busy shooting Mario worried glances he didn't catch because he was too focused on watching the door. In the end, despite Mario’s best efforts, he couldn't ignore how tired he was any longer, and as time continued to pass his eyes unwittingly slid shut.

---

When Mario next opened his eyes, it was dark. He turned his head to the side and there was a shape resting on Luigi’s bed. He woke up the rest of the way with a jolt. Was that...?

...No, it wasn't. The shape was too still, too quiet.

Mario’s heart sank as he got out of bed. That shape was actually Peach, who had evidently elected to not return to her room for the night. A seemingly impromptu decision, considering she wasn't under the covers. Mario pulled the comforter off his own bed and carefully draped it over her.

Mario drifted to the window, peering through it up at the moon high in the sky. Luigi was still nowhere to be found. This was late, even for him. And in this continued absence Mario was forced to truly entertain the possibility that maybe there really was something wrong. Was Luigi in trouble? Unable to contact him somehow, even if he wanted to? The thought of it had Mario pacing, pinpricks of anxiety buzzing underneath his skin. He needed to do something about this.

Mario shuffled about the room as quietly as he could, as if he was getting ready for the day. He and Peach had already checked all the likely places Luigi could be, but it wouldn't hurt for Mario to check again. Just to make sure. Even if it was the middle of the night. He reached for the door and —

“Mario?”

Mario froze.

Peach raised her head, blinking sleep out of her eyes. She squinted at the scene before her. “...where’re you going?”

...out?

Peach frowned. She kept frowning until Mario’s hand guiltily inched away from the doorknob, to which she sighed, getting out of bed. Mario’s comforter sat on her shoulders, and as she rubbed at her eyes and yawned Mario felt worse for waking her while trying to sneak out than for the sneaking out itself. He couldn't muster up an explanation for doing so as she waited for one, either — or at least, he couldn't come up with one that wouldn't put all his anxieties on full display.

Still, Peach’s face softened in sympathy, because why else would Mario be awake? “I know you’re worried,” she said, putting her hands on Mario’s shoulders. But it’s late, she didn't say, though it was clear in the undercurrent of her words.

Mario shrank in on himself, chewing the inside of his cheek. There were so many things that could have happened to Luigi — bad things — that Mario had no way of knowing about. He could have gotten lost, he could have gotten hurt somewhere...heck, what if Bowser had done something?

“If he did, we can hardly confront him about it this late at night,“ was Peach’s response to that last part, and Mario was forced to admit she had a point. Especially when they hardly had any information to work with regarding whether Bowser was even involved in the first place. “Luigi will be fine, regardless of what happened,” Peach continued, voice filled with confidence. “He’s capable in his own right, and he’ll keep the egg safe, too!”

Mario knew that already. But nonetheless it was so, so difficult to shake off all the worst-case scenarios. If Luigi was upset somewhere and Mario wasn't there to help him...but Peach was right, Luigi could take care of himself. But what if this was the one time...no, even if it was, Luigi could definitely handle it. Although, he could've...no, he’ll be...well, maybe...

Around and around Mario’s brain spun, caught in its fretful loop. Until something suddenly bumped against his forehead and surprised it into stopping. He stared cross-eyed at the hesitant look on Peach’s face.

“Um. I know you and Luigi do this to calm each other down.” She smiled unsurely. “Is...it helping?”

It — Mario blinked. Well, he thought to himself. The faint smell of her shampoo wafted about them, floral where he might have expected fruit when he closed his eyes. There was the lack of mustache hair, and the absence of a nose pushing into his. Also the angle was wrong because she was over a half-a-head taller than Luigi was. And she’d come in too fast to begin with, as the smart of the red mark that surely existed on his forehead from the impact could attest to.

...But.

Curtained by blonde hair and bracketed by the comforter, Mario breathed in, then out, near-sagging against her. It — did help, in its own way. Enough that Mario’s mind quieted, enough that he started to doze off.

As he slumped further, Peach huffed, straightening and shaking him a little bit. “Back to bed with you, mister,” she declared, to which Mario blinked owlishly.

With a bit of nudging, Mario dutifully returned to his bed; Peach was close behind, and she lay down next to him when he settled. “So you don't try leaving again,” she said by way of explanation, and Mario was just barely too tired to be sheepish about it.

Of the two of them, it was Peach who fell back asleep first. Mario watched her face go slack, watched her burrow into her pillow. Too still, too quiet. But not quite as discomfiting anymore. So he watched her, and it was only as the sun started to dream of rising did he, too, finally drift off into dreams of his own.

#hurrah i've finally finished this one! #one a half more fics in this 'verse to go! ^.^ #mlv.fic #smb #bowuigi egg fic project #<- bringing this tag back to keep all these girlies together haha

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

Lost and Found

Chapter 2 (of 2): Wherein Mario finds out where his brother is

Fic Summary: Sunny skies and friends by his side...in Mario’s opinion, it was all the perfect setup for a perfect vacation! ...Too bad his brother up and disappeared partway through it. Fic Tags: Minor Bowser/Luigi, Hurt/Comfort, Humor, Nonverbal Mario

Word Count: 4,427 words A/N: This fic's Mario's POV of An Egg in a Trying Time! So it would be helpful to read that one first, but I can't tell you what to do so do whatever!

[AO3 Link] [Link to beginning]

~~~

When Mario woke up, he squinted blearily at the clock and realized the restaurant Luigi had been last seen at had opened an hour ago.

Mario leapt out of bed. Beside him, Peach stirred. By the time he was ready to go she was still sleepily stumbling about, steps vaguely aiming for the bathroom. It took a minute or two of standing in the mirror for her to realize that her toothbrush wasn't here because she was in the wrong bathroom.

So she left. Mario followed her. He almost followed her straight into her room; the bemused smirk Peach sent at him at the threshold made Mario realize what he was doing, and he sheepishly stepped back to wait for her in the hallway.

During his wait, Toadette stepped out of her hotel room across the hall. Mario waved at her in greeting, and her face lit up with a grin.

“So the Princess was with you last night!” The glint in her eye strengthened at Mario’s confirming yet confused nod. She snickered. “Busy making quite the wish, weren't you?”

...What?

“Toadette!” Peach shouted from behind the door. She sounded mad. “What are you saying to him!”

“Nothing!” Toadette sang. She laughed, winked at Mario, and pranced down the hall.

Almost as soon as she’d turned the corner, Peach emerged from her hotel room. “Sorry about her,” she sighed, but Mario shrugged. He had no idea what Toadette had been on about.

The two of them scarfed down their complimentary continental breakfasts, and as soon as Mario finished he was immediately dashing for the door. “Mario, wait!” Peach called after him, to little avail. The only reason he stopped long enough for her to catch up was because he suddenly tripped on thin air. He must have finally realized what Toadette was hinting at earlier, judging by how red his face was and how he wouldn't look her in the eye. Peach couldn't help but laugh at his embarrassment.

---

Mario and Peach burst into the restaurant Rosalina had directed them to. The man at the counter, who had been practically falling asleep, started violently, jerking his head up. Peach steamrolled over his canned customer greeting to ask if anyone who looked like Mario but taller and wearing green had come by yesterday.

“I wasn't workin’ yesterday so I can't really help you,” the man said, looking regretful. “My junior was the one on the clock, but they'd had a bad day yesterday, so they're taking the day off.”

“I see.” Peach sighed, similarly disappointed. “Thanks anyway.”

With a little curtsy she turned to leave, and Mario trailed after her, hat pulled low on his head. Something about that downtrodden motion had the man’s eyes widening.

“H-Hold on a sec!” He stopped them as they were almost out the door. “Did your guy have a hat like that one?” He pointed to Mario’s hat. Mario nodded, and the man ducked under the counter and pulled out —

“That’s Luigi’s hat!” Peach exclaimed. Mario’s eyes widened at the evidence Luigi had been here. Peach hurried back to the counter. “Where did you —?”

“Guess he’s the guy from yesterday my junior was telling me about.” The man handed Peach the hat. “I think they said he dropped it when he left with that other guy.”

“‘Other guy’?”

“Big, spiky, scaly, looks like he could tear apart concrete with his bare hands?” The man raised an arm in the air as if to demonstrate how tall that 'other guy' was. "Apparently he just picked up your guy and left. Scared my junior half to death; it's why they're not here, ha! Honestly, if that’s all it takes to scare them, then I'm not sure they’re cut out for this job if I'm being honest!”

“O-oh thank you for your help have a good day goodbye!” Peach said all in one breath, because Mario had already stormed out as soon as he’d heard the words big and spiky. If not for knowing exactly where he was headed, she probably would have lost him completely. She just about caught up with him at the beginning of the makeshift path to Bowser’s fortress, where she had to stop and catch her breath. Ugh, she knew she shouldn't have worn these shoes today...!

Perhaps sensing how exhausted she was trying to run after him, Mario paused his determined march to turn around and hover near Peach concernedly. And now that he was close, Peach glared at him, poking a painted nail into his chest. “Quit leaving me behind,” she scolded him. “I want to teach Bowser a lesson as much as you do! Using my invitation to pull this stunt...” she huffed, punctuating her frustration by putting Luigi’s hat firmly on her head. She scowled at the place the dirt path met the horizon.

Mario looked chastened, and also a little wary of Peach’s ire. That was likely why he stopped rushing ahead, making a point to make sure Peach was always close behind him. To her credit, Peach wasn't exactly going slow, and they sped down the path. They only stopped once more, upon catching a glint of something in the grass. It was Luigi’s phone, screen cracked yet still powered on. The sight put them on edge; was there some kind of struggle? At least they knew why he wasn't answering any of their messages, now. They took it with them as they ran onward.

---

They arrived at the front gates of the fortress, closed. Mario had half a mind to break in through the doors anyway, but Peach was already sneaking around the curve of the fence to scout ahead so he quietly followed her lead.

Soon enough, they heard laughter. They hid behind some bushes, peeking out to see Bowser Junior running across the courtyard behind the fence, with Kammy chasing after him. Beyond them, Bowser was sitting against the wall, looking down at something.

Kammy stumbled, catching herself before she fell but staying hunched over, hands on her knees. She panted and gasped for breath in a way that had Mario concerned for her overall well-being. Before that sympathy could fully manifest, though, Kammy perked her head up, furrowed her brow, and stared straight at Mario and Peach’s hiding place like she was seeing right through it.

Peach gathered her skirts to hide better. Mario tensed, ready to act if Kammy exposed their hiding spot.

Kammy narrowed her eyes at them, but then turned to Junior, who was too busy taunting her and waving something shiny around to pay attention to what she was looking at. She dashed at him, and he danced out of reach with a laugh, towards Bowser. She feinted, and he ran away in the opposite direction. With one last look at them, Kammy resumed her chase, leaving Mario and Peach feeling a bit wrong-footed. Because if this was a kidnapping, then why didn't Kammy fight them? She definitely knew they were there. And for that matter, why lead Junior away? Maybe it was a way to get him out of an upcoming fight? But it wasn't like Junior’s family shied away much from letting him participate in kidnappings to begin with...

The pair crept forward, hidden in the foliage. From behind a tree they watched Bowser as he sat on a blanket. Kamek was sitting next to him. In Bowser’s lap was the Yoshi egg, and next to Bowser’s leg was a clump of green, chest rising and falling. Peach's grip on Mario's shoulder was strong as Mario went weak-kneed in relief. Luigi was okay, thank goodness.

That relief bred a bit of carelessness, so Mario and Peach were noticed by Kamek next. But aside from sending them an aggrieved glare, he did nothing else, similar to Kammy earlier. When neither of them moved, Kamek raised an eyebrow. Well?, he seemed to be asking.

With a shared unsure glance, Mario and Peach stepped out of their hiding spot and approached the fence. It was then Bowser noticed them and — yep, there was the aggression Mario had been expecting this entire time, even if said aggression was manifesting as snarling and growling rather than the usual shouting and taunting. Either way, of course his brother would be sleeping through it, the spaghetti-head, despite Peach calling his name to try and rouse him.

Well, desperate times called for desperate measures, and Mario was pretty sure he could manage one such measure, given the situation. Hands gripping tight on the fence and eyes squeezed shut, Mario took the biggest breath he could, dug deep inside himself, and shouted his brother’s name. It wasn't a particularly good shout, crackling and dying on the last syllable in a way that had Mario coughing from the lingering tear in his throat, but it was enough to cause Luigi to leap to his feet instantly upon hearing it, scooping up the egg as he rose and turning his head every which way for the source of the sound. When he found it, he looked surprised, then gladdened, but then worried as he took in the full scope of what was happening. A worry Mario certainly shared, and one that grew for the both of them when Luigi’s attempt to leave Bowser’s reach captured Bowser’s full attention. A second attempt had Bowser advancing towards Luigi, and Mario’s heart dropped like a stone.

Mario needed to get over there. But there wasn't a way around this fence. So Mario lodged a foot into one of its decorative spirals and pulled himself up, and up, and up. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kamek reluctantly ready himself for a fight, but Mario’s main focus was on Luigi, pushing himself to climb faster as his brother was forced to resort to using his Thunderhand to keep Bowser at arms length.

Mario was almost at the top of the fence when he felt something hit his leg. He looked down. It was Peach, arm outstretched. Wait, she mouthed up at him and — wha —?! No!

But in that brief moment Mario spared to scowl down at Peach, the situation in the courtyard changed dramatically. Luigi was backing away from Bowser, and Bowser looked...like he’d given up on whatever he’d planned for Luigi. Which was so odd and incredibly unlike him that Mario stopped climbing the fence. Bowser was hardly known as someone who just...gave up, like he was seemingly doing now. It was a difference Luigi seemed to pick up on as well as he — as he walked toward Bowser? If Luigi was going to make baffling decisions like that, then Mario really shouldn't have stopped climbing after all...

But strangely yet thankfully, Bowser still didn't move, letting Luigi rest the Yoshi egg by his foot and back away again. Luigi continued to back away, and after a hesitant glance at Kamek — who also looked disinclined to do anything — he turned on his heel and ran toward Mario and Peach.

Despite Mario’s progress up the fence, he slid all the way back down it, because Luigi was running too fast to not get a faceful of iron when he reached them. And get a faceful of iron he did, Peach and Mario putting a hand on each of his shoulders to steady him. As Luigi breathed the adrenaline out of his system Peach carefully put his hat back on his head, and he clutched the brim of it so tightly that he was probably creating creases he’d be cross about not being able to iron out for the time being.

Movement over Luigi’s shoulder caught Mario’s eye. It was Bowser, who’d also reacted to Luigi’s impact with the fence, having taken a step forward. He watched them not with the second wave of anger Mario was expecting him to be in by now, but with something closer to wariness plus a touch of what maybe could have been described as concern, if such an emotion made any sense right now. But watch was all Bowser did, so in the lull in the action Mario checked Luigi over, gaze sweeping over his shaking form. He looked unharmed physically, but...

As Luigi took one last deep breath, Peach asked him what was going on. Luigi took a moment to steady himself, then he answered her, a long-winded story that told the tale of what had happened over the past day.

Luigi told them about being snatched away from that restaurant around lunchtime yesterday, and Mario abruptly remembered that foreboding feeling he’d had at the beach. The feeling that, if he’d followed it, he might have been able to...A wave of regret washed over him, and he kept it off his face the best he could.

As Luigi explained the reason behind Bowser acting so strange lately, Mario glanced behind Luigi at the Koopa in question. The longer Luigi stood over here, the less wary Bowser looked. Until he was just annoyed and impatient, wearing a scowl more closely resembling his usual self. He also looked like he wanted to go over to them, which despite what Luigi had told them so far had Mario’s guard rising. Except Kamek leaned up and whispered something into Bowser’s ear, and whatever he had to say made Bowser huff grumpily and sit down. Not only did that make Mario feel a bit better, but the fact that Bowser listened to something Kamek said without any complaint or backtalk was yet another piece of evidence for his strange behavior.

Luigi finished off his tale by assuring them he was unharmed — “I know it looked scary earlier, but everyone’s been pretty nice to me, promise!” — but Mario knew said scare had probably spooked his brother something fierce, despite the brave face he was trying to put on. So Mario was back to trying to get over the fence, this time to give Luigi the embrace he sorely needed to hold it together (and one he himself could admit he’d like to have for the same reason). He could try climbing again, but now that he had the space to think, Mario had a better idea. He turned to Peach, who nodded.

The two of them both backed up, Peach motioning for Luigi to back up as well. With a lead-up run and a hop into Peach’s cupped hands, Mario was over the fence in one fell swoop. He’d meant to land next to Luigi, but in his excitement he landed on top of him instead, sending them both crashing to the ground. Mario propped himself on an elbow and grinned at Luigi, even as he was admonished for almost re-antagonizing Bowser.

As Luigi sat up, Mario rubbed at the red mark on Luigi’s forehead from when he’d collided with the fence. When blue eyes met blue, Luigi’s breath hitched, and he dropped his head on Mario’s shoulder. Mario leaned his head atop his, all the stress about being apart from his brother melting away in an instant. Not even Junior’s suspicion at his presence could disrupt it. And really, if Luigi didn't want him laughing so much every time someone brought up that acquired maternal title of his, then he should probably react less hilariously defensive about it when Mario did so!

What did pop his mood a bit, however, was Peach joking about hanging out in Bowser’s nest herself. Although he had to concede to her implied point that Bowser was quite the bastion of safety for the people he held dear, at least. When Luigi agreed too, her smile widened, but she quickly moved the conversation along.

Peach handed Luigi his phone; Luigi’s eyes widened as he scrolled through his notifications, and Mario abruptly remembered the obscene number of messages he’d sent him, face growing hot. But even still, Luigi looked apologetic, as if he hadn't been the one who’d lost his phone while getting kidnapped. Thankfully, Luigi got distracted from asking why Mario had sent so many messages to him by one of Peach’s texts that had come way before most of them, and Mario leapt to help Peach explain what, exactly, had happened at the beach yesterday in Luigi’s absence. They talked and talked and for a moment Mario forgot Luigi wouldn't be able to go with them when it was time for them to leave.

And that time came sooner than Mario wanted it to, judging by how Bowser was looking at them. Or, rather, how he was looking at Luigi. And wasn't that a curious thing? From what Luigi had explained, it was the Yoshi egg that had been the trigger for all this, and it was currently sitting right next to Bowser’s knee. By all rights, then, Bowser should be satisfied. So why wasn't he?

Luigi asked almost as much out loud, and Peach’s cryptic reply shed no light on it. And for some reason, she added an out-of-pocket comment about Bowser being cute, which was an opinion Mario was pretty sure she’d never held in her entire life.

But...it was one Luigi apparently had, judging by his near-immediate hum of agreement. Subconsciously, too, by the way he immediately tried to take that agreement back.

As Mario watched his brother sputter and wave his arms around in embarrassed denial, he realized he’d seen this behavior before. With Daisy, Prince Peasley...Mario knew Luigi was quick to catch feelings, but...Bowser? Of all people? Really? Mario looked between Luigi, who was looking more and more flustered by the second, and Bowser, who was looking more and more forlorn to match. Mario resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. His brother really outdid himself this time, didn't he. When did this even start? No, that was a silly question; of course one day of Bowser acting soft would be all it took for a crush to form. Luigi knew Bowser had to go back to normal eventually, right? What was he going to do then? Honestly...

Mario's thoughts were derailed by Luigi calling his name. He decided not to answer Luigi’s question of what he was thinking about; just because he was still struggling to wrap his head around the current state of his brother’s love life didn't mean he had to turn his incredulity outwards in a way that might come off as negative. Maybe later, when it could come out with a more teasing edge to it.

For now, it was probably time to stop stalling and let Luigi go back to Bowser’s nest. Before he could lose his nerve about it, Mario clasped a hand on Luigi’s shoulder and led him back there himself. He got as close as he dared, since Kamek was snapping at him and Bowser’s defensive aggression had returned in full force, and pushed Luigi the rest of the way. Though Bowser calmed down a few notches once Luigi was within arm’s reach again, from the way he was still glaring at him he must have been thinking Mario was going to change his mind and take Luigi away after all, in some cruel bait and switch. One Mario had no interest in; there was no telling how exactly Bowser would react if he tried. Admittedly, Mario felt like he probably should bear the brunt of whatever fury would ensue to bring Luigi back to town with him, but...

Mario’s eyes swept over the scene before him, taking in Luigi’s surprise at his actions and everyone else’s varying degrees of hostile protectiveness, keeping what Luigi had said about their treatment of him and the optimism with which he’d described it in mind. If Luigi was confident his remaining time here was going to be fine, then Mario was willing to borrow some of that confidence and trust he was right. Besides, with Bowser’s current mental state Luigi was obviously considered important to him in some way, so at least Luigi would be safe in Mario's absence.

...it was still hard to part with him, though. And yet he had to, because his presence was making this sub-optimal situation worse for Luigi. It took all he could to muster the energy to back away, and after jumping back over the fence he and Peach waved goodbye to Luigi for maybe a little too long before they parted ways with him. Mario fought the urge to turn back around, slotting a hand in Peach’s so she could lead him away before he gave in to that impulse.

---

The walk back to town was quiet, with both Mario and Peach thinking and worrying about Luigi.

Mario, especially, was worried if he’d done the right thing by leaving him with Bowser. But at least he knew where Luigi was now, and he could go fight to get him back, if necessary. And hopefully that wouldn't be necessary; hopefully all that would happen was Luigi would hang out with his new crush for a day or two more and then come back safe and sound. Mario huffed at the thought of it.

“What’s so funny? Oh!” Peach giggled. “Luigi’s crush on Bowser, right? It’s cute, isn't it?”

Mario made a face. He wasn't sure ‘cute’ was the word to describe it. But at least it'll be fleeting, like all Luigi’s crushes usually were, and all Mario really had to worry about was the moment it petered out into a teary-eyed aftermath he would have to help him through, as per usual.

Peach hummed. “Maybe...I guess it would end that way if not for Bowser having a crush on Luigi, as well.”

Mario rolled his eyes. Right, it was so —

Mario stopped.

Peach kept walking, turning around to smirk at him. Mario’s feet caught up with his brain when she was almost a pink speck on the road before him, and he all but sprinted to catch up with her.

“What, you didn't notice?” Peach innocently asked when Mario grabbed desperately at her sleeve. The distress on Mario’s face only grew. Peach laughed and took pity on him, explaining how Luigi’s recount of Kamek’s explanation for Bowser’s behavior truly aligned with said behavior regarding Luigi, with ample evidence from both Luigi’s description of Bowser’s actions yesterday and the behavior they witnessed from him themselves. It was really the only explanation that made sense, given all the facts.

Mario nodded slowly. Now that Peach laid it all out, it was a little bit obvious, wasn't it? He let go of Peach’s sleeve. He took a step back. He turned on his heel.

“Hey, wait!” Peach snapped her arm out to grab Mario’s sleeve, this time. “You can't do that!”

But —

“You wouldn't have left him there in the first place if he wasn't safe,” Peach argued. “This hardly changes that. In fact, I think that makes things even more safe for him, actually! Bowser does have standards for how he treats love interests, you know.”

Mario thought about the places he’d rescue Peach from — cages, locked rooms, dangling from the ceiling by rope. Weird standards, aren't they?

“And yet!” Peach clapped her hands once with a grin. “The feelings are real this time! So it’ll already be a step up from how he’d treated me!”

...Mario wasn't sure he was reassured by that.

At his continued hesitance, Peach’s grin melted into something softer. She patted him on the shoulder. “We still have to get Luigi some spare clothes, among other things,” she reminded him, “So you can check on him then. In the meantime,” she added when his worried face still didn't budge, “since Luigi isn't here, you can tell me the story behind the whole ‘Mama Luigi’ thing; I’m dying to know!”

At that, Mario’s face finally broke into a small smile. They resumed their walk back to town, a walk that was loud with laughter about the job Mario and Luigi had taken all those years ago, and the ridiculous events that had followed it.

---

About an hour later, Mario returned to Bowser’s fortress, a green duffle bag slung over his shoulder. He made his way directly to the same part of the fence as before, and through it he could see Bowser, Luigi, and the others having a picnic lunch. When Bowser noticed him and began to growl, Luigi was quick to nudge him for it, and with a few words he had Bowser sullenly glaring at Mario instead. Seeing that Luigi had Bowser well under control put Mario a bit more at ease. Even if the main reason for that control was nigh incomprehensible.

Mario shook his head; he could continue to process all this some other time, but right now he had to get Luigi his bag. He wondered if he could make the triple-jump over the fence again; in the middle of backing up to try it, the bag slipped up off his shoulder. Mario almost ran right into the fence trying to grab it as it floated away from him, but then it floated up and over the fence towards the picnicking group and he realized Kammy’s magic was levitating it, solving his problem. Oh well. He’d kind of been hoping to hug Luigi again, but he supposed he would have to wait until some other time.

On the other side of the fence, Luigi rifled through his bag, even giving one or two things to Bowser to examine more closely. Satisfied with the contents, Luigi raised his head and turned his attention back to Mario. Even from this far away Mario could see Luigi’s dawning realization about how he looked planted square in Bowser’s lap. His lips twitched in amusement as Luigi’s cheeks turned pink. Just as he’d hoped; Luigi was just hanging out with his crush, his crush’s family notwithstanding. Fleeting or not, and regardless of how things would go after Bowser was back to normal, Mario could hardly begrudge Luigi making the most of his circumstances while he could; if nothing else, it was more to use to tease Luigi later, which was something Mario could admit he was very much looking forward to after the days he’s had, recently.

With that, though, there was little Mario could do besides leave again, to go back to town while Luigi stayed here. It was still hard, but at the same time it was easier, somehow. Still, as he turned away, Mario couldn't help but pull out his phone. He sent a message. Seconds later, he got one back. The skip in his step stayed for the entire walk back down the path.

#(two eggfics down and one and a half to go! 💪🏾 yay!) #(i actually made good progress on the next one today so hopefully i can post it soon!) #mlv.fic #smb #bowuigi egg fic project

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

An Egg in a Trying Time

Ch 2 (of 4): Wherein the time doesn't turn out to be that trying

(Aka the "Luigi, Bowser, and co. faff about in a blanket nest" chapter)

[Link to chapter] [Link to beginning]

Fic Summary: If Luigi had known babysitting this Yoshi egg would bring him this much trouble, he would have thought twice about volunteering to watch it. Especially since said trouble had Bowser’s name written all over it. But perhaps that won’t turn out to be such a bad thing, in the end… Fic Tags: Humor, Fluff, Oblivious Luigi, Accidental Egg Acquisition

Excerpt under the cut:

As part of arranging a getaway for everyone, Peach had offered them all paid-for rooms in the island’s five-star hotel. All had accepted except for Bowser and his family, Bowser preferring to stay in a place where everything was built with his size in mind. So in true bombastic fashion, a small landmass with a fortress sitting on it crashed into the island’s northern shore an hour or so after Peach had asked everyone to arrive by.

It was on the path to this home away from home that Bowser and Luigi ran into Kamek, who had been speeding in their direction on his broom. Luigi waved nervously from where he was still trapped in Bowser’s grip. Kamek slowed to a stop and sighed.

“Couldn't resist, could you,” Kamek deadpanned, pinching the bridge of his nose. Bowser didn't respond, continuing to walk purposefully to the fortress. Kamek could do little but follow him.

Luigi craned his neck to look at Kamek. “Wh-what’s going on?” he asked fearfully. “What are you going to do with the egg?”

“We’re not doing anything with the egg,” Kamek said flatly.

They're not? “Then what am I doing here?!” Luigi wailed. Bowser stumbled, startled by the outburst. Luigi clacked his mouth shut.

“Because — ugh.” Kamek huffed. “It's the fault of that egg of yours.”

“Huh? You just said...?”

[Keep Reading]

#bowuigi #luigi #kamek #bowser #bowser jr #kammy koopa #smb #mlv.fic #bowuigi egg fic project #you know im not really sure about the format of these multichap update posts lmao #oh well! cant stop now!

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

An Egg in a Trying Time

Ch 1 (of 4): Wherein Luigi obtains an egg (and a trying time)

Rating: General Audiences Relationships: Bowser/Luigi, Luigi & Mario & Peach Characters: Luigi, Bowser, Mario, Peach, Kamek, Bowser Jr, Kammy Tags: Humor, Fluff, Oblivious Luigi, Accidental Egg Acquisition

Summary: If Luigi had known babysitting this Yoshi egg would bring him this much trouble, he would have thought twice about volunteering to watch it. Especially since said trouble had Bowser's name written all over it. But perhaps that won’t turn out to be such a bad thing, in the end...

[Link to AO3]

With a startled yelp, Luigi tripped and sprawled face-first to the ground.

Rolling over onto his back, he stared up at the puffy white clouds floating in the sky and fought the urge to take a nap right then and there. His eyes slipped closed anyway, a combination of the longer-than-he’d-thought-it’d-be nature walk he was currently on and Mario inadvertently waking him up early this morning weakening his resolve.

He could hardly hold it against his brother for the latter though; they were on vacation, after all, thanks to Princess Peach’s generous invitation, and there were plenty of things to do on the island she’d chosen. She’d invited a bunch of their other friends too, to join them, because she was just that nice of a person (and also apparently logistics for accommodations for this getaway were somehow easier with more people, backwards as that seemed).

Speaking of friends, Luigi could hear Yoshi muttering to itself as it strolled down the trail in his direction. It was only when he heard its cry of alarm and rapid footsteps approaching him did Luigi open his eyes again. 

“I’m alright,” Luigi reassured it, waving it away as he sat up with a wince. What did he trip over, anyway? He’d drifted to the edge of the path, so he would have thought a tree root had gotten him, but there weren't any trees nearby, only waving stalks of tall grass. Luigi scanned his surroundings and — there, that lump in the grass must have been it. Yoshi was already moving toward it, curious, and Luigi crawled after him. Parting the grass revealed a lone Yoshi egg, its multicolored spots standing stark against the pale dirt.

“What are you doing here, piccolino?” Luigi reached over to pick it up. His first thought was that this was one of those decoy-like eggs that had been thrown too far while the Yoshis were playing around. But hefting it in his arms proved that this egg was much heavier than one of those decoy eggs would normally be, and a lot warmer too. Which meant this was a real egg, with a real Baby Yoshi inside, that had been sitting out here all alone for who knew how long.

[Keep reading]

#bowuigi #super mario #bowser #luigi #mario #peach #*screams because i've been working on this since february and its done now* #can you believe i wanted this done before the movie? what a fool i was... #smb #mlv.fic #bowuigi egg fic project

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

An Egg in a Trying Time

Ch 4 (of 4): Wherein there are feelings, beginnings, ends, and promises

[Link to chapter] [Link to beginning]

Fic Summary: If Luigi had known babysitting this Yoshi egg would bring him this much trouble, he would have thought twice about volunteering to watch it. Especially since said trouble had Bowser’s name written all over it. But perhaps that won’t turn out to be such a bad thing, in the end… Fic Tags: Humor, Fluff, Oblivious Luigi, Accidental Egg Acquisition

Excerpt under the cut:

As the day remained bright and sunny, the group collectively decided to stay outside for lunch. Munching on an apple, Luigi watched Kamek and Kammy snark at each other from his place sitting practically on Bowser’s lap. It was a loose embrace Luigi didn't really mind being in, and he had no interest in examining why at that particular moment.

As Luigi’s gaze turned to Junior, who was busy stuffing his face with ice cream sandwiches, he felt Bowser tense up. Luigi snapped to attention with a sneaking suspicion and — yep, Mario was on the other side of the fence again. Mario waved at them, the motion jostling the green duffle bag slung over his shoulder. Luigi brightened. He was looking forward to a change of clothes. His ‘stache was a mess, too.

Bowser was starting to growl again, but Luigi didn't feel as scared of it this time. Something about the aggression being on his behalf instead of turned against him made it a bit...touching, if a bit exasperating.

Luigi reached up and nudged Bowser. Bowser’s growling cut off. “Hey, it's just Mario,” Luigi said with a reassuring pat to the side of Bowser’s head. “What’s he gonna do from all the way over there, wahoo you to death?”

[Keep reading]

#bowuigi #luigi #bowser #mario #kamek #kammy koopa #princess peach #waaaah this is the last chapter...! #mlv.fic #smb #bowuigi egg fic project

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

Ok! Finished the general outline of the Mario POV fic and its about 5.1k words! I think I'm gonna work on Postlude now; fill out that outline more.

#the pov fic was easy because most of it is a rehash wahaha #but now I gotta sit down and fill in scenes for Postlude now~ #hopefully it'll be shorter...? #then again thats what i said about the OG Egg Fic lmao #mlv.txt #bowuigi egg fic project

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

An Egg in a Trying Time

Ch 3 (of 4): Wherein the time becomes a teensy bit trying, actually —!

[Link to chapter] [Link to beginning]

Fic Summary: If Luigi had known babysitting this Yoshi egg would bring him this much trouble, he would have thought twice about volunteering to watch it. Especially since said trouble had Bowser’s name written all over it. But perhaps that won’t turn out to be such a bad thing, in the end… Fic Tags: Humor, Fluff, Oblivious Luigi, Accidental Egg Acquisition

Excerpt under the cut:

Multiple games of tag later, Luigi stumbled back to the outdoor nest, collapsing onto the main blanket next to Bowser. Bowser looked down at him, crinkled amusement at the corners of an understanding gaze. Luigi couldn't help but smile tiredly back, in between gasps of air. Really, though. Fighting against that kid didn't tell the whole story about how hyperactive he was. He was still running across the courtyard at full tilt, something sparkling clutched in his claws. Kammy was running after him, shouting for him to give it back to her. She stopped in front of the nest, hunched over and panting.

“Are you idiots just going to sit there?!” Kammy shrieked at them.

Luigi would've helped her out, but he was currently too tired to even stand. Bowser very unconvincingly pretended he didn't hear her. Kamek grinned wide, but didn't move an inch.

Kammy cursed. “Useless, the lot of you!” she spat, hitching her robes and resuming her chase.

Luigi wondered why Kammy didn't use her broom to go after Junior. But that was the sort of thing that made this place so lively, Luigi supposed. He curled up right where he was against Bowser’s knee, too exhausted to notice Bowser stiffen at the contact. Memories floated through Luigi’s brain about some of the adventures he and Mario and Peach had gone on together. It’d been a while since he’d seen them, hadn't it? He hoped they weren't too worried about him, but they were probably worried sick. The last time Luigi had gotten himself into trouble like this, Peach had been beside herself; her shout of “Luigi!” had echoed ad infinitum down the cavern he’d fallen into. He could practically hear it now, repeating on itself amidst the rumbling of stone. Mario hadn't said anything back then, though he seldom did; he’d just jumped in after him before Peach could stop him, Luigi recalled. He was always more of an action person, in that regard, and he always stayed cool and collected about it all. It was pretty rare that Mario would do something like shout for his name in the cadence Luigi would shout for his when he was worried for —

"Luigi!"

…wait hold on was that Mario’s voice —?

Luigi scrambled to his feet, scooping the egg up as he rose and turning his head every which way to find the source of the shout. It had come from across the courtyard, where Mario and Peach were standing on the other side of the fence. Peach had one hand cupped to her mouth to yell, the other waving in the air in a manner that threatened to knock Luigi’s hat off from where it rested on her head. Mario was staring at a point past Luigi’s shoulder with a hard frown.

Luigi turned around. Evidently, he was the last person to notice Mario and Peach; Kamek had his book snapped closed in vexation, and Bowser was crouched defensively, teeth bared at Mario. Oh no. This probably looked really bad. Maybe he could just…go talk to Mario and Peach? Tell them that everything was fine?

Luigi stepped one foot out of the nest to go to them. Bowser snapped his attention to him. Raising the other foot off the blanket earned him a growl, and as Bowser stepped towards him Luigi remembered he was technically being held here against his will.

[Read on AO3]

#bowuigi #luigi #bowser #kamek #bowser jr #kammy koopa #mario #princess peach #whoops almost forgot to make a post for this its been 2 days lmao #smb #mlv.fic #bowuigi egg fic project

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

3 chapters out of 4 done!!! This fic has gotten so long lmaooo how did I think this would be done before the movie

#this is an approximate word count of all 3 chapters so far #but chapter 3 is about 4.7k! #i should (hopefully) be able to finish the second draft of chapter 4 by the end of the month #then it'll just be editing! #the outline for ch4 is about 3.1k #itll probs balloon by a couple hundred words or so when i actually sit down to write it #soon i'll be able to put this fic away... #mlv.txt #bowuigi egg fic project

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

Started outlining the Mario POV of An Egg in a Trying Time (because it's farther along idea-wise than the postlude) and. Man I am making Mario so sad wahaha this poor fucker

#mario: my brother... 🥺 where is my brother!!! 😭 *vibrating with separation anxiety* #luigi (offscreen): playing video games 🎮 big delicious dinner 😋 koopa family movie night 🍿 cuddling 😴 #love the duality #mlv.txt #bowuigi egg fic project #oh boy bringing this tag back lmao

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

fighting last minute cringe to get this fic up lmao

#I'M ALLOWED TO PUT ITALIAN IN HERE!!! #IF I FUCK IT UP PEOPLE WILL JUST TELL ME ITS NO BIG DEAL!!!!!!!!!!! #ok i just needed to get that off my chest lmao #also i've learned in my research that there are like 4 ways of saying sorry in italian #which is kind of interesting ngl #waow foreign languages... #mlv.txt #bowuigi egg fic project

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

My outline's almost 5k and I'm not done with it :/

#guess im splitting it into 3 chapters after all #hopefully theyre long enough... #i still have to outline chapter 3 though #wish i knew how big the outline for Blizzard Fic was; i'd love to compare them #(though Blizzard was 5 chapters long) #(so the outline might have been...7k or so? just a guess tho) #bowuigi egg fic project #mlv.txt

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

I'm halfway done!!!!!!

#2 chapters out of 4 yeahhhhhh!!!! #this isnt coming out before the movie lmaoooo #chapter 1 is 3.5k and chapter 2 is 4.1k #woagh #bowuigi egg fic project #mlv.txt

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

I thiiiink I'll have my fic posted today (Sunday)! I wanted to post it yesterday but I was having too much fun reading it out loud to myself and I ran out of time XD not to mention I spent a while trying to translate phrases to Italian. But I think I'll be all set to post it in the afternoon, yay! 🥳

#finally i can kick this fic out of my fucking house (my wip folder) #fun fact i came up with a little spinoff alternate pov thing to write #so i might do that next. or take a break #who knows? #mlv.txt #bowuigi egg fic project #also reading your fic aloud is fun 10/10 would recommend

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

ok so i wasn't able to finish my mario fic by the time the mario movie came out (fair; its pushing 15k so far)

but now i have to finish it by mid-May because thats when the new zelda game is coming out, and I'm referencing its prequel in the fic so.

#fam i dont want the fic to be dated before it even comes out lmao #im not rewriting that scene! i dont wanna! #thankfully if it comes down to the wire i just have to post up to chapter 2 #because thats when Luigi and Junior play botw together hehe #mlv.txt #bowuigi egg fic project