Chapter Text
The 19th of March.
Luigi had been planning for this day since October of last year. He remembered purchasing this year’s calendar, and cutting all the days after March 19th out. None of them were important. He counted the days, even the hours until today. Luigi sat up in his bed, letting the covers pool around his bare waist. Cuts, bruises, and burns from fights and of his own accord covered his stomach, chest, collar, and arms. He couldn’t remember which were which. Pushing away the covers revealed even more marks on his legs, underneath his shorts. Luigi didn’t think much of it. He practically threw himself out of bed, moving to the closet despite his dizziness. He grabbed his favourite green sweatshirt and black sweats to change into after his shower.
When he got out of the shower, he heard his brother rouse in the other room. He’d have to be quick. Luigi towel dried his hair quickly. He miraculously got dressed before Mario entered the bathroom. “Buon giorno, fratellino,” Mario mumbled. “Buon giorno, Mario. I’m going to go for a walk after breakfast, but I’m sure you’re joining Peach for brunch, no?” The sentence came out more accusatory than Luigi intended. Mario either didn’t notice or care, because he simply responded with a nod. Luigi messed with his curly hair a bit in the mirror before scooching out of the bathroom and heading down to the kitchen. Toast and jam with a cup of coffee sounded heavenly, it made his stomach rumble just thinking about it.
Mario left the bathroom fully dressed a few minutes later. Luigi bit into his toast, not really paying attention when his brother approached him. “Stai bene?” His older brother asked. “Sì, why?” Luigi asked, genuinely confused. There was no way, Mario knew, right? “Non lo so... ho solo una brutta sensazione. Stai al sicuro durante la tua passeggiata, va bene Luigi?” Ah, good. He didn’t know. Luigi smiled, hoping it didn’t look fake. “I’ll be fine, fratello! It’s probably just the weather messing with you.” That could very well be true. As the Mushroom Kingdom faded into Spring, the temperature dropped suddenly, as if pushed off a far-up ledge. Mario sniffed. “Yeah…yeah, that could be it,” Mario sounded like he believed it, so Luigi went back to his jam and toast.
~-~-~
Bowser searched quietly, looking for the spike of green hair among the foliage. He already found the other Koopalings & Junior, but Iggy was always the hardest to find. “Uh, Dad?” Wendy’s voice distracted him. “What’s up, kid?” “We saw Mario’s brother walking by,” Wendy said excitedly. Bowser perked up at the opportunity. If he had Luigi in his claws, he could use it against that foul red plumber! “Really? Where?” Iggy poked his head out of the tree above Bowser. Ludwig, who stood a pace behind Wendy, gestured in the direction of a nearby cliff. “Well kids, let's see if we can catch a coward,” Bowser smirked.
As the kids had said, Luigi was at the cliff side. He held his cap in one hand, a piece of paper in the other.
Luigi’s hair swayed in the cool cliff-side breeze. It was a steep ledge that overlooked the Mushroom Kingdom and surrounding forest. It was his happy place. He came here whenever he needed comfort. This only made today sweeter. Luigi approached the pointy edge of the cliff and crouched down. This would be a good spot. Luigi looked at his hat and the note before setting both down. The human stayed crouched for a moment, propping the note up against the brim of the green hat. With a content sigh, Luigi stood up and confidently approached the edge. He felt warm tears begin to form. He let them fall. The salty water drops fell down his face, tracing his cheeks, as if encouraging him. Luigi sniffed. “Forse vi vedrò tutti in un'altra vita,” He said, mostly to himself. Looking down at the jagged rocks below, Luigi took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
Then he leaned forward, and let gravity take him.
~-~-~
Luigi woke up slowly. He was somewhere warm. “Are these…blankets? Am I in bed?” He thought to himself. “Oh, you’re awake!” A child’s voice came from next to him. “...Am I dead?” If so, death was pleasantly warm. “Um…no.” Oh. Where was he then? “You, uh…do…I’m gonna…I’m gonna get King Dad, yeah, I’m getting Dad. He knows what to do,” The kid mumbled. He heard the sound of small feet shuffling against stone, then heard a door open and close. Luigi opened his eyes. He was greeted with an undecorated stone brick wall, and a strangely comfortable pillow. Luigi curled into the warm bed, before he processed what was happening.
Only one king had kids and an extremely warm castle.
Luigi sat up, suddenly much more alert than before. He noticed his shoes and hat in the corner. Panic began to settle in. This is not what he had planned nor expected. The sound of quick, heavy footsteps scared him. He clutched the covers in both hands, tanned knuckles turning white from the tight grip. Luigi couldn’t bring himself to look up from his lap when Bowser entered the room. He felt the king sit down, the weight shifting further down the mattress. Luigi crossed his legs under the covers to make room for the koopa. A clawed, scaly hand was suddenly on his knee. Luigi flinched harshly, surprised. “I’m not gonna hurt you, Luigi,” Bowser spoke softly. His hand moved up to one of Luigi’s, which were still holding onto the covers for dear life. Luigi pulled his hands away, uncomfortable. Bowser pulled back. “Sorry, sorry, too fast, I understand. I…I read your note. The one you left on your hat.” Luigi sucked in a breath, expecting the worst.
Bowser observed the anxious human sympathetically. Luigi was visibly shaking, hands clutching the covers in a death grip, and brown curls hiding his face. Bowser remembered the horror of realising what Luigi was doing, the kids yelling, and the look of shock on Luigi's face before passing out when Bowser barely caught the human. The koopa had easily lifted Luigi back over the edge off the cliff and asked Ludwig to grab his hat and the note. Bowser had read the note in the privacy of his office. The king would never forget the dread and heartbreak he felt during and after he read the letter. “Do you really think you aren’t worth saving?” Bowser asked, bending down to see Luigi’s face. Small tears fell onto Luigi’s lap. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but I’m not letting you go directly after…well, y’know…” Bowser sat back up, uncomfortable from the hunched posture. Luigi cleared his throat, but said nothing. Suddenly, the scales on the back of Bowser’s neck tilted. They were being watched.
Eight curious Koopalings stacked on top of each other, peeking through the door. They couldn’t see Luigi, but they could hear their father. Morton, who was stomach-down on the floor, did his best to not fidget and throw his siblings off his shell. Bowser Jr. and Lemmy both reared their heads in an attempt to see the human. “Kids,” Their dad said, “don’t be rude.” The stack of children disassembled quickly, most of them running off to avoid punishment. Ludwig and Roy stayed. “Do you two need something? I’m kinda in the middle of something.” “I was curious as to if our guest wanted anything. Tea, coffee, or any refreshment, really—Roy quit doing that, it’s unseemly…but can we get you anything?” Ludwig more so asked Luigi than his dad. The human muttered, cleared his throat, and asked for some coffee. “Alright, we’ll be right back!” Roy grabbed his older brother and ran off, presumably to get their guest’s requested drink. Bowser turned back to Luigi. “Sorry about them, they–” “Don’t,” Luigi interrupted the king. Bowser’s eyebrows flew up. He was not expecting the cold tone. “I…I’m sorry, I should be kinder, I just…I…” Luigi tried to find a nice way to tell Bowser that he didn’t want this, how he didn’t need this.
Bowser waited patiently, watching the human rearrange himself under the sheets. “You…what?” “I…I’m sorry, you weren’t…you shouldn’t have seen that…I’m very sorry,” Luigi muttered apologies as he pulled his knees up to his chest, finally making eye contact with the king. He knew he was crying a little, so Luigi wiped his eyes with his sleeve and went back to glancing around the room, anywhere but Bowser. Bowser frowned. “Why are you apologising?” The king was confused. As far as Bowser knew, this never should’ve happened in the first place. “I…I’m sorry, I don’t—I’m just…sorry, okay? Sorry that you had to see that.” “Stop apologising! It doesn’t matter! I—well, it does matter, but it’s not something to apologise for,” Bowser stumbled over his words and mentally grimaced.
Ludwig and Roy returned with a tray of coffee and biscuits. Roy hugged the door frame, not fully entering the room. The blue-haired koopaling carefully set the tray down on the nightside table. A small pot of coffee, an empty mug, creamer, milk, sugar cubes, a mixing spoon; everything he might need for his coffee. The biscuits were arranged in a small pile on their own plate with a small box of butter and a knife. “I know you asked for just coffee, but the servants were adamant you had something to eat,” Ludwig stepped back. “Grazie,” Luigi thanked the koopaling shyly. The boy smiled before heading back to the doorway, where Roy was close to falling on his stomach if he leaned forward any more. “Roy, stop staring at our guest,” The older boy scolded his brother lightly before pulling him back up to his feet. The younger koopaling flushed, embarrassed. “Don’t scold your brother, Ludwig; that’s my job.”
~-~-~
“Roy, you really must stop doing such crass things in front of others,” Ludwig shook his head. Roy frowned. “Sheesh, why are you so worried about me? I’m fine, I haven’t died yet!” Roy shrugged before darting towards his personal quarters. He left Ludwig alone in the hallway, or so he thought. “Is he still not listening?” Wendy approached her older brother boldly. “He’s almost 15, he’ll have to go to Korra’s soon,” Ludwig rubbed his arm anxiously, “I just don’t want him to get hurt.” Wendy hummed. The fashionista wrapped an arm around her brother, comforting him. She gave him a squeeze and a smile before saying, “Yeah, but Roy’s super tough! I’m sure he’ll be a-okay!” Ludwig brightened a little, black eyes regaining their usual sparkle. “Yeah, he’ll be fine,” Ludwig reassured himself aloud.
~-~-~
After a while, Bowser left the bedroom.
Luigi flopped back down on the warm bed, exhausted. Why did that take so much out of him? The human dragged himself to the side of the bed and, as carefully as he could, made himself a second cup of coffee. Coffee, creamer, then two sugar cubes. He found comfort in at least knowing he could have coffee. But a large part of him felt…empty. He was supposed to die today. It was going to work, if only he had been more cautious…dammit! Luigi felt new tears surface. Angry tears. Why couldn’t anything go his way? He didn’t ask for much. He never wanted anything; never got anything; never had anything, but the universe still seemed to shun him.
The warm coffee was heavenly. Earthy, and even a little buttery, if that made sense. It must be a local blend. Surprisingly, it left a sweet, toffee-like taste in his mouth. He set the now empty mug back down before curling into a tight ball and thought about what Bowser had said. He wasn’t going to let him go…not any time soon, anyway. “Questo non è un bene. Non va per niente bene…” Luigi mumbled to himself before unwillingly sitting up and grabbing a biscuit. He hadn’t tried one yet, even though they looked (and smelled) delicious. He figured it would be rude if he didn’t at least try one, even if he had an inkling they were poisoned. But why would Bowser save him just to have his servants poison him? Why would the servants even bother poisoning him? Was he really that selfish, to think that someone would poison him?
Luigi, deep breath. You’re spiraling. Just take a bite of a biscuit, you’ll be fine.
~-~-~
“I see.”
Kamek and Bowser sat in silence. Bowser was hunched over his desk, head in his hands. Kamek sat in a plush chair across from him, holding his staff loosely. Bowser’s tangled red hair hung in clumps around his eyes, hiding his face from view…and still, his father could tell the king was on the verge of tears. “My spikiness, what I said about…her…still stands. I cannot fix him with magic. Emotions such as love and joy are easy to create, but to rid people of emotions is nearly impossible,” Kamek tapped his claws on his staff’s gem nervously. It was forbidden to mention her, but it was relevant to the situation. Bowser dug his claws into his forehead and sighed. “I…I don’t want that to happen to anyone else…not even Mario, I—“ Bowser barely choked back a sob. Kamek stood from his seat and walked around the desk hastily. The elderly mage rested a hand on his son’s side. “I know, my liege. I know. I don’t, either.” “It’s not fair!” Bowser suddenly sat straight up. Fat tears dripped down his cheeks. The king hiccuped softly while his "father" comforted him...