Chapter Text
At the end of all the stories Luigi knew, after their trials in strange lands, the victorious heroes returned home to their families, where they spent the rest of their days among peers.
Therefore, Luigi had no idea how to deal with the possibility of this world becoming his new home, even as it became more likely by the day.
To thank them for their help in defeating Bowser, Peach had gifted Mario and him a beautiful cottage near Toad Town with a small plot of land. As well as a frankly unreasonable amount of money, made all the more absurd by the sheer size of the local currency.
Useful, thoughtful, and welcome gifts… That the brothers could not use in the human world.
It had seemed like a waste to not enjoy the fruit of their labor though, and their family had seen it as the perfect opportunity for the two young men to leave the nest. So here they were, Mario hanging their laundry to dry while Luigi made them lunch.
It wasn’t like they could overstay their welcome. Bowser may have been defeated, but the Mushroom Kingdom had its fair share of issues that required the help of handy plumbers and part time heroes.
Luigi helped his brother when needed, tended to his garden in their beautiful cottage, and once a week or so they visited their family.
It was a good peaceful life.
Which made the green clad plumber’s anxiety feel all the more ridiculous.
“Delicious as usual lil’ bro!” Mario praised as he ate his lasagna with gusto.
“Seconds?” Luigi offered.
“Nah, I need to save some space for Peach’s strawberry and white chocolate cake.”
Luigi’s smile froze a little. He had forgotten they’d been invited for tea. And though the monarch was kind enough to invite both of them, Luigi knew better than to stick around. After an hour or so, he usually found some pretext to excuse himself and leave the lovebirds alone.
“Everything will be just fine as long as we’re together.” Mario had once told him.
But that was the problem, wasn’t it? They couldn’t always be together. And it was made quite evident by how close Peach and Mario were getting.
*
Luigi sighed deeply as he plucked some weed from Peach’s garden. Not that her gardener toads needed any help, but Luigi was helplessly curious about the local flora. And more importantly, it gave him something to do after having left their tea party a few minutes prior.
Brooklyn had always been like a too small cage for Mario: quaint, stifling. When he’d gone through that pipe, he had finally found a world his size. A place where the same energy and drive that had made him an annoyance back home had turned him into hero.
Hadn’t he loved his brother so much, Luigi would have been deathly jealous.
No matter where he was, he remained a shy gangly mess. An anxious pushover only appreciated for what he didn’t do. He didn’t make waves, didn’t make rash decisions, didn’t talk back.
As if any of it was done by choice.
But at least, in his home world, these dubious qualities had earned him his family’s love. Here they just made him invisible or a deadweight.
Since they’d come to this realm, Mario had saved a kingdom, won the heart of a princess, and finally earned their father’s approbation… Meanwhile Luigi had been kidnapped and nearly killed.
And the worst part? That had been weeks ago, and he didn’t seem to be able to get over it!
From what he’d told him, Mario had nearly died a thousand times when attempting to rescue him. Yet he seemed perfectly fine. Peach had almost been forcefully married to a brute twice her size that had threatened to level her whole kingdom, and she made jokes about it over tea!
Meanwhile, Luigi still woke up in the middle of the night convinced he was back in his cage in Bowser’s castle, and that his rescue had been nothing but a dream.
He wasn’t sure what to do about it.
He didn’t want to tell his brother, as he knew his well being was the only thing that truly worried the man.
He’d considered talking to a human therapist, but he wasn’t sure they were equipped to help him process what he was dealing with. In that same vein, a toad therapist may understood what he had been through, but toads were, by definition, not human. So he had no idea whether they processed trauma the same way.
It seemed insensitive to ask.
Luigi was morosely ruminating these thoughts, when he heard two passing toad guards argue among themselves.
“I’m not giving him his food.”
“Come on, I fed him yesterday!”
“So? I nearly lost a finger! Maybe we should stop bringing him food until he gets more cooperative...”
“Are you kidding? That’ll only make him angrier!”
“Uuuggghhh.”
For a second Luigi thought the guards were talking about the princess’ chain chomps, which made no sense since they were incredibly well behaved. But then, he saw that the toads were heading toward the west wing, and he remembered who was being held there.
In a flash, his mind went back to the Koopa King’s imposing figure, backlit with lava, his massive presence looming over him. He had held his entire torso in a single hand.
Luigi’s heart hammered behind his ribs.
It was over. They’d won, and the fearsome creature was now completely harmless. Too tiny to cause any pain, and locked up in a very spacious and comfortable cage, in an equally spacious and comfortable room. He couldn’t hurt others, or himself, if he tried.
And yet, Luigi’s body didn’t seem to have gotten the memo. His palms sweating profusely.
Perhaps what he needed to convince his anxious mind that Bowser’s imprisonment was just as real as the violence he had subjected Luigi to was a visual? Perhaps, once confronted with indubitable proof, his brain and body would finally settle?
It had happened before. Reality rarely lived up with the terrifying scenario Luigi’s brain could conjure. And though they could rarely be reasoned with, his nerves tended to settle when faced with something they could touch.
So Luigi put away his gardening tools, and followed the guards from afar.
*
“I told you I’d get you a pet turtle.” That annoying red plumber had boasted as he’d handed him over to Peach in a sealed jar.
Bowser wished he was Peach’s pet.
He’d seen how she treated everything that was under her care: her subjects, her flowers, even her chain chomps. How she spoke to them, caressed them, or scratched them with her long painted nails, perfectly manicured under her pristine white gloves.
There was very little Bowser wanted more than for these same nails to run between the spikes on his shell, or under his chin.
In his current size, she could hold him in the palms of her hands: her body heat as warm and comforting as the lava pits back home. Seated there and gazing up at her, he would see nothing but her beautiful face and gorgeous pink lips, stretched in a smile both endeared and ruthless.
The thought made Bowser shiver in delight.
But no. The second he’d been put in that dumb cage, it was like the princess had entirely forgotten about him. No threats, no interrogation, not even a little bit of torture! That was no way to treat a prisoner!
At least they had given him some entertainment… Though not always on purpose.
Bowser glanced up at the clock, and saw that it was near the time the toads would bring him lunch. He smiled. He didn’t feel particularly hungry but he was in the mood to scare some cowardly guards.
Oh sure, they’d acted tough, at first.
They’d made the mistake of thinking their size, or the power they held over Bowser, made them fearsome by default. Unlike their strong-willed princess, they didn’t know the first thing about true power. That was how, at the beginning of his imprisonment, they had nearly aided his escape twice. They had tried to silence or intimidate him, and Bowser had instead gone all out, nearly succeeding at maiming them through the bars. Of course the Koopa King wouldn’t have done any serious damage given his current size, but that hadn’t been his intention anyway.
The toads were way more careful around him now. Which wouldn’t do. Their false sense of security was too useful to lose.
So when he heard their footsteps in the hallway, the dragon turtle curled up and pretended to be asleep. Even turning his back on his captors for good measure. Not that he took any risk by doing so, his shell was spiked for a reason.
Buying his act, the toads tiptoed into the room and very quietly opened his cage to put his lunch in. The second they’d locked the door, they ran out of the room. Bowser even caught their sighs of relief in the hallway.
A few days of that, interspersed with aggressiveness when he woke, and he was sure the toads would lower their guard.
Bowser was about to open his eyes and turn around to eat, smiling at his own genius… When the door opened again.
The king forced himself to keep his eyes closed, his entire body tensing under his shell.
Who the fire was that?
Had one of the toads forgotten something in the room? Had princess Peach decided to visit him at last?… No the steps were too heavy, slow, careful. Had one of his minions come to rescue him? That made even less sense, Kamek could just teleport in…
The presence neared his cage, Bowser fought his instinct to open his eyes, keeping up the charade just a little longer.
“Wow, you really are tiny.” A high pitched but masculine voice whispered in awe.
And much to his surprise, Bowser knew that voice.