Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a dark night, a storm rumbling overhead, lightning flashing and thunder booming outside, but rather than adding to his anxieties, the horrible weather actually brought comfort to Luigi. While the rain did pose a threat to his outfit, it also deterred most people that would normally be out at night from taking a stroll through the streets of Brooklyn, which meant there were less people around that could potentially recognize him.

After Luigi and his brother had saved New York and the mystical world they’d found on the other side of the pipes, the Super Mario Bros had gotten a lot more recognizable. Which wasn’t a bad thing exactly, Luigi was glad for the fact that the two of them had gotten a lot more business since the incident, but it did make his late night excursions a lot harder.

Turning down a side alleyway, Luigi pulled the hood of his coat farther down over his head, taking care not to mess up the carefully styled wig he’d spent hours painstakingly styling in secret to make sure no one would find out his hidden hobby. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of what he was doing, no, on the contrary, Luigi found a hidden well of confidence within himself during these late night trips, but it wasn’t exactly the sort of confidence he was comfortable sharing with the people closest to him. After all, who knew how Mario would react if he knew what Luigi was doing? He didn’t think his brother would be intolerant, but one never knew with this sort of thing.

Taking a deep breath, glancing up and down the street to make sure no one was following him as he took a step down into the underground karaoke bar, shedding his raincoat at the bag check and smoothing out his blonde wig and pink dress to make sure everything was in order. After all, he’d spent a lot of time on his drag outfit after he’d heard about it and he wasn’t trying to show up with his dress all wrinkly now. With his head held high, Luigi made his way into the darkened room, slipping in amongst the crowd of people who had already arrived at the karaoke bar.

Loud music pumped through the speakers, someone was already on stage singing a very… Interesting rendition of “Night’s Like This” by Eli Paperboy Reed. Despite the crowd and the noise, Luigi had never felt more at home. The stress of trying to start his own business with Mario had been a lot even before the two of them had discovered the entirely new world hidden beneath their feet, but after saving the world, the stress had only gotten worse.

And so, Luigi had turned to drag to escape from the day to day stresses he had to deal with all the time. Sure, Luigi was now the co-owner of an interdimensional plumbing company that had to deal with balancing his work and home life after the trauma he’d experienced, but Luigila didn’t.

Dressed as the famous Princess Peach, mostly disguised from any prying eyes that would give him shit for his hobby, Luigi was free to finally take a breather from the stresses of the world. Luigila had no cares here in this karaoke bar hidden from the city, she had no worries, no concern, no trauma from being chased across a lava stricken wasteland, no anxieties about never being seen as good enough when it came to her brother, no, Luigila was just here to have a good time. And through her, Luigi was able to have a good time too.

Luigi wove his way through the crowds, some faces familiar from his previous trips to this bar and some that he didn’t quite recognize as well, dancing along to the beat as he made his way to the bar across from the stage to order. Luigi didn’t often get in the habit of drinking, but today had been particularly rough as he and Mario had attempted to figure out the plumbing system of the Kong Kingdom, which somehow seemed to be almost entirely banana based. It had been… An experience to say the least, and after a day like that, Luigi felt he deserved a drink or two to take the edge off.

“Hey Luigila!” a voice called out, cutting through the chatter of the crowd.

Luigi turned to see who had flagged him down and saw someone pushing through the swarm of people to get closer to him, smiling as he recognized the younger guy that had been at one of his previous shows at another bar on the other side of Brooklyn.

“Hi!” Luigi said, remembering to place his voice up an octave or show to fit with the persona he put on. While part of it was to help him remain unrecognizable as Luigi, the majority of the reason he changed the way he spoke was to help further separate Luigila from Luigi. The easier it was to keep his two lives separate the better, and speaking differently was just another part of that.

“Scotty, right?” Luigi asked for confirmation.

The young man’s eyes lit up at the fact that Luigi - or rather Luigila - had remembered his name. 

“Yes! That’s me!” Scotty said, smiling slightly. “I didn’t think I’d run into you tonight, but I just wanted to thank you again for the show you did the other week… It really inspired me to get into drag myself, and I’m not… Quite ready to come all dressed up to one of these things, but soon, hopefully, I think I’ll be able to.”

Luigi smiled. While he hadn’t set out to inspire anyone else to try out drag, he was happy that he was able to inspire and give confidence to other people that wanted to branch out and try it. Scotty had nervously asked him some questions about it after his last show where he’d done a small comedy routine as Princess Peach complaining about life in the Mushroom Kingdom and defending the land from Bowser that had earned him more than a few chuckles, so Luigi had counted it as a success.

While it wasn’t uncommon to see people in drag as famous female figures around various places in New York City, it was a little odd to be in drag as his brother’s friend? Girlfriend? Luigi still wasn’t sure what was going on with that whole situationship, and at this point he was too afraid to ask. But he knew Peach wouldn’t mind if she ever found out what he was doing, and having encountered her so much, it gave Luigi the opportunity to make his own outfit as accurate as possible, and Luigi was nothing if not committed to accuracy.

“That’s great Scotty!” Luigi said, genuine excitement in his voice seeping through. “I can’t wait to see it when you’re ready to share with the world.”

The two talked for a little longer about drag and performing, before the karaoke singer switched to a different song and a girl Luigi had never seen before ran up to Scotty and pulled him off back closer to the stage to dance with him.

Luigi smiled as Scotty ran off, a bittersweet twinge in his heart as he thought about the last time he’d ever danced with somebody. It had been a long while, and if he was remembering correctly, he couldn’t remember actually dancing with someone since his last high school dance, where he’d awkwardly shuffled along to some rap song he didn’t even know the lyrics to with a girl his brother had set him up with. 

Wincing at the memory, Luigi set off towards the bar once again to get the drink he’d never actually managed to get after heading in, ordering a tequila from the bartender as he pushed himself up to sit on one of the stools at the counter. Scanning the room, Luigi allowed himself to finally relax for the day, with the rain pounding outside, and surrounded by the infectious good vibes of people partying around him, he couldn’t help but smile.

That is, at least until his eyes landed on the far corner of the room, opposite from the entrance, where a large hulking figure shifted his weight from foot to foot.

Since Brooklyn had merged with the Mushroom Kingdom, it hadn’t been uncommon to see other species of Koopas or Toads at random estabilishments throughout the city. After all, it was just as foreign to them as the Mushroom Kingdom and the Dark Lands had been to him. However, what Luigi hadn’t expected to see was the infamous Bowser milling about in the corner at Luigi’s favorite karaoke place in the city.

The self proclaimed King of the Dark Lands had escaped from his prison a little more than a month ago, after he realized that running full speed at the bars of his cage would undo the effects of the small mushroom powerup and allow him to return to full size. He’d been missing ever since, and most of the city had been on high alert.

However, there were still a lot of people in Brooklyn that didn’t realize how dangerous Bowser was and the threat that he posed to them all, and Luigi could assume that some poor bouncer or bag check hadn’t wanted to make a negative assumption about a member of Brooklyn’s newest species heading out for a night of fun, and had let Bowser in without giving it a second thought.

Instantly, Luigi’s blood froze in his veins, heart pounding in his chest as he realized that Bowser was right there, in the room with him, potentially planning his next move to get back at him and his brother and Peach for ruining his plans to take over the world with the Star Powerup. 

Oh god, does he recognize me? Luigi wondered to himself, eyes glued to Bowser’s position across the room, waiting for him to show any sign that he was about to attack. No, he couldn’t have recognized me, there’s no way, I made sure I haven’t been followed from my apartment every time I go out as Luigila, and I definitely would have noticed Bowser tailing me.

But then that left the question of what Bowser actually was doing at the karaoke bar. Surely he had to be plotting something, one didn’t just spend years plotting a world takeover just to give up after he’d been defeated by two plumbers of all people. 

“Your tequila miss,” a voice said from behind him, and Luigi nearly jumped out of his skin.

He turned to see the drink he’d ordered neatly sitting on a napkin on the bar in front of him, and hesitantly offered the bartender a small smile, praying that his nerves weren’t nearly as apparent as he thought they were. 

“Oh, um, thanks,” Luigi said, gingerly picking it up with the napkin underneath the drink to avoid any of the glass’ condensation on his dress and taking a sip as he turned back around to look at Bowser again. 

If he could just figure out what Bowser was doing here, then he could inform Mario and Peach about his movements, so they could put a plan to capture him into motion. Of course, Luigi would have to come up with some excuse as to why he’d been in the karaoke bar in the first place, but that worry paled in comparison to his worry over why Bowser was there in the first place. 

As if he could hear his thoughts, all of a sudden Bowser turned his gaze from the karaoke stage directly to Luigi, seeming to stare straight through his drag outfit and right into his very soul.

Any doubts that Luigi had had about that being the real Bowser before instantly vanished. He’d recognize that piercing glare anywhere, those eyes filled with rage and jealousy were like none other he’d ever seen. While the look he got this time didn’t have nearly as much fire behind it as the stare Bowser had given him while interrogating him about Mario, it was undeniable that it was in fact Bowser looking at him from across the room.

Far too late, Luigi forced himself to tear his gaze away from Bowser, trying to find something, anything to look at that wasn’t the hulking mass of a man who seemed to have his attention fully dedicated to Luigi.

He’s going to know it’s me, he has to know it’s me, he’s going to know it’s me and he’s going to come over here and rip my mustache off for good this time, and then he’s going to kill me, and I’m going to die in this goddamn karaoke bar, dressed as Princess Peach, oh god, oh god, oh god-

A creak came from across the room as Bowser stood up from his chair and began to make his way across the room towards Luigi. The rest of the crowd didn’t seem to bat an eye at Bowser, which spoke to the remarkable tolerance and inclusivity of the city, which Luigi was proud of, but unfortunately, it also meant that no one saw anything wrong with Bowser making his way across the room to enact his revenge on Luigi for all the things that had happened to him since his fall from grace.

This was it, he was going to die, and it would all be over, he wouldn’t even get to say goodbye to his brother, or the rest of his family, he was going to die alone, trapped in a lie, all because he had snuck out and dared to live for himself a little, and now it was all going to be over.

Luigi should have ran the second he saw Bowser get up, maybe then at least he would have had a decent chance to escape from his death, but he’d hesitated for too long and now he had nowhere to run.

Taking a shaky breath in, Luigi braced himself for a long and painful death as Bowser stopped in front of him, bracing himself to be torn to shreds at any given moment, squeezing his eyes shut in preparation. 

And yet, the killing blow never actually came.

Peeking one eye open, Luigi turned to see Bowser looking… Concerned? Nervous? Flustered? It was hard to tell.

“Can I buy you a drink?” Bowser asked, his voice a low grumble, and his tone far softer and more gentle than Luigi had ever heard him speak before. 

‘Can I buy you a drink’??? ‘Can I buy you a drink’??? Surely I must have heard him wrong, there’s no way Bowser, the most feared and dangerous being in both realms, could have ever possibly just asked me, Luigi, the guy he held captive for weeks and who stole his coveted Star Powerup that was used to bring about his downfall, if he could buy me a drink of all things.

Bowser tentatively cleared his throat, and all of a sudden, Luigi realized he’d had the same dumbfounded look on his face the entire time Bowser had been standing there, waiting for a response. He really ought to say something before the situation could get any more awkward, but then of course, that brought up the question of how exactly he was supposed to respond. Luigi had never been the best at reading social cues, but even he didn’t think that the average person would have known what to do here.

“O-Oh, um, yeah? Sure?” Luigi said, barely remembering to pitch his voice up a few octaves before he spoke, his statement coming out as more of a question than anything else. If there was ever a time to make sure that no one recognized who he was, it was certainly now.

Bowser smiled -  smiled??? Luigi didn’t think he had ever seen such an expression on the turtle’s face - and asked the bartender for two of whatever Luigi was currently drinking now before taking a seat on the barstool beside him. 

“I’m Bowser, it’s a pleasure to meet someone as gorgeous as you,” the ex-king of the Koopas introduced, holding out a clawed hand for Luigi to shake.

“Luigila,” Luigi said, reaching out his own hand to grip Bowser’s gently. 

He no longer knew what was going on anymore, his body was moving of its own volition, his voice speaking without his brain fully processing the thoughts, running on autopilot while he tried to figure out how the fuck to get himself out of this situation. 

Gently, Bowser lifted Luigi’s hand to his lips, kissing the back of his hand, and Luigi felt his whole body flush bright red. He’d never been more grateful for the silk white gloves he’d gotten to complete the Princess Peach outfit than he had in that moment. He felt like he was burning up, like his skin was crawling with fire ants. Bowser had held him hostage, threatened to lower him into lava after forcing-

Ah right, Princess Peach, that’s why he’s acting like this, Luigi realized, suddenly remembering who he was dressed as and why Bowser was acting in such a way. You’d think it’d hurt more for him to have the reminder of being rejected right in front of him, but then again, he always did seem delusionally desperate for Peach to love him back.

Every instinct in Luigi was telling him to run, to find some excuse to gently pull away and then get the heck out of there, that Bowser was up to no good and it was only a matter of time before Bowser figured out who he was and decided to kill him for real. It would have been the safest option. It would have been the smartest option too.

But then the bartender was setting two drinks on the bar in front of them and Bowser was stumbling his way through his own version of a “so, come here often?” line, and part of Luigi wondered what would happen if he stayed.

This is the first anyone has heard from Bowser since he first escaped, that small traitorous voice in the back of Luigi’s mind piped up. Wouldn’t it make sense to stick around and see what he has planned? He doesn’t suspect anything of you, you’re just some drag queen dressed up as his crush that he’s clearly eager to impress, why not see if a couple drinks in, he becomes more talkative? Figure out what he’s doing and report back to Mario and Peach and the others, and help them figure out how to get him captured again.

The idea made sense, logically in Luigi’s mind, and it was hard to pass up the opportunity to gain more information on their enemy’s next move, even if it was technically putting him in danger. And so, Luigi forced himself to relax a little, appear a little less tense, take a sip from his drink like he was totally fine and not the brother of Bowser’s sworn enemy, and decided if he was going to die, at least he was going to go out with a bang.

Luigi nodded, responding to Bowser’s question. “Often enough, I suppose,” Luigi said, trying to figure out how much information he wanted to give away. Obviously he had to tell Bowser something, otherwise he wasn’t going to reveal any information about himself, but Luigi didn’t want Bowser to have any information that could be used to track him down. “I’ll come to open mic nights more often than just the general karaoke nights because some of the music here can be-”

Luigi winced as whoever was singing tried and failed to hit a high note. “-interesting to say the least.”

Bowser chuckled, a low rumble that seemed to vibrate through the space between them, shaking through Luigi’s core.

“I don’t mind listening to it,” Bowser said, taking a sip from his drink, a thoughtful expression crossing his face as he seemed to puzzle through how he felt about the taste of Luigi’s drink of choice. “It’s nice to hear people so passionate about music, even if they aren’t the greatest at it.”

“Oh?” Luigi said, finishing the last of his own drink that he’d originally ordered before starting on the one Bowser had bought him. “Are you a big music fan then?”

Bowser nodded, “Back home there’s not many people that actually care about music, a few took interest in it, more out of obligation to me than anything else instead of a genuine interest of it… It’s nice to hear the passion for a change.”

Taking another small sip from his drink, Luigi’s eyebrows rose in genuine surprise. He hadn’t known Bowser actually cared about music so much. Sure he’d heard him composing his love ballad to Peach even all the way from the dungeons, but he hadn’t realized how deep those passions ran.

The conversation moved gradually from one subject to the next, Bowser ordering another round of drinks for the two of them as they spoke. Four drinks in and Luigi had started to get a little tipsy himself, wondering if koopas had the same alcohol metabolism as humans did, and started to regret his plan to try and convince Bowser to spill more information about his plans by loosening him up through drinking.

Stupid, stupid, stupid Luigi, this is why Mario comes up with all the plans, shouldn’t you have made sure koopas can actually get drunk before you decided to go through with this half-assed plan? You haven’t learned anything, and now you’re tipsy and Bowser seems no different than he did at the beginning of the night! 

And yet, despite his acknowledgement of his mistakes, Luigi still couldn’t bring himself to leave the bar. He knew sticking around was risky, he knew talking to Bowser for any longer was just going to put himself in more danger, knew he should get out of there and tell Mario and Peach about the sighting, but yet still, Luigi stayed.

At some point in the night, the two had moved from the bar to a booth in the back, far enough away from the stage that they could still hear the music comfortably without being overwhelmed by the sounds of the bar around them. They’d fallen into an easy rhythm somehow, talking back and forth, and while Luigi knew he should have stayed as on edge as he’d been when he first saw Bowser, it was impossible for him to not let his guard down.

“-And so then I told him, ‘Just because you can’t tell your spaghetti from your linguini doesn’t mean I have to eat this monstrosity!’ and I left!” Luigi finished telling his story, a faint flush in his cheeks from the buzz of the alcohol in his system and couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face as Bowser’s booming laugh sounded from across the table.

How long has it been since someone was genuinely interested in what I had to say? Luigi wondered to himself as he allowed himself to bask in the warmth of someone else’s laugh for those few moments. There was a reason it was also Mario and his brother Luigi. Luigi never came first, he wasn’t as interesting, wasn’t as important, and it wasn’t that he blamed his brother for being blessed with the spotlight’s love, but it was hard never being known as just Luigi.

Mario was a hero, he was the one with a plan, he was the one that did all the hard work to save the day and Luigi was always just- His brother. But to have this? To have something - to have someone real and in front of him, laughing at his jokes, smiling at what he had to say, wanting to hear more, asking him more about himself… It was almost enough to let Luigi forget that it was Bowser sitting across from him. 

Almost.

“Can’t tell spaghetti from linguine, that’s a good one,” Bowser said, still chuckling and even wiping away the tears of laughter that had welled up in his eyes at the joke. “Has anyone ever told you how funny you are Luigila?”

Right. Luigila. And just like that, Luigi felt his heart sink down to his stomach. Because he wasn’t Luigi, a plumber from Brooklyn who really liked the color green, not now in this moment, not to Bowser, no, to Bowser he was just Luigila, a drag queen dressed as his long term crush that he’d been obsessed with, because even when he was completely disassociated from Mario, he still couldn’t help but come in second place to someone else.

This is stupid, stupid, stupid, Luigi, of course Bowser doesn’t like you, he likes Peach, and Peach has told him multiple times she’d rather die than marry him so yet again you’re the next best thing.

Tears pricked at the edge of Luigi’s eyes for the first time that night, threatening to fall and ruin his makeup. Never had he ever thought that being Luigila for a night could hurt so badly, and it was as though the last real thing he’d had completely to himself had lost the joy that it had once brought him. 

Sensing something was wrong, Bowser drummed his clawed fingers on the table, trying to figure out what had happened and how he could fix it before Luigi got too upset.

“Would you like to dance?” Bowser asked, clearing his throat and nodding his head towards the dance floor where people were gathered in front of the karaoke stage and gently moving in time to the rhythm. 

Luigi blinked, taken by surprise at the question, the tears momentarily put on pause as he tried to process Bowser’s question. “...What?”

“Come and dance with me,” Bowser said, a small smile pulling at the edge of his lips as he stood up, holding his hand out for Luigi to take.

Staring in shock, Luigi hesitating as his mind caught up to the current events, smiling politely as he tried to determine the motive behind Bowser’s request.

Moving without thinking, a gloved hand reached out to clawed hand, one gently wrapping around the other, but still, Luigi couldn’t bring himself to stand and honor Bowser’s request.

His hand is warm, Luigi thought, more focused on that than the fact that he was seriously considering dancing with Bowser, or the fact that part of him wanted Bowser to really genuinely like him, despite all their history. Huh, I thought reptiles were supposed to be cold blooded.

“Let me dance with you,” Bowser insisted, pulling Luigi out of his seat to stand beside him, squeezing Luigi’s hand in a gentle reassuring manner.

“No, I really shouldn’t, I’m not-” Luigi started, but then that traitorous voice popped up in the back of his mind yet again. How long has it been since I danced with someone last? And really, you’ve been talking to him all night and he hasn’t shown any sign of trying to hurt you… So really, what have you got to lose? “... I’m not a good dancer, I have two left feet, and no sense of rhythm or groove at all, I wouldn’t want to step on your feet.”

A last ditch effort to try and dissuade Bowser from dancing with him, so at least he could say he tried. Even though he didn’t want to walk away, even though he didn’t want to let go of Bowser’s hand, even though he knew it was a fruitless effort, because once Bowser had his mind set on something there was nothing that was going to stop him from getting it.

That was what made him so dangerous, or at least that’s what Luigi had thought. Now though, in the dim lighting of the karaoke bar, faced with the smug grin of satisfaction plastered across Bowser’s face, Luigi thought it just might be the smallest bit endearing, how he was so willing to fight for what he wanted.

“Nonsense,” Bowser said, pulling him onto the dance floor and grinning the entire time, just like Luigi knew he would. “Even if someone as graceful as you did manage to step on my feet, it’d be well worth it for the chance to dance with someone as amazing as you.”

And so they danced, one song after another, Luigi twirling around as his dress flared out to the sides, to whatever shittily sung music the latest person had decided to sing, separating at times, but always returning to one another, like two magnets orbiting around each other, separated but destined to return. And with every step, every song, every turn back to the warmth Luigi had started to associate with the other man, he felt himself fall a little bit more.

Time flew and before he knew it, they were practically the last two people left in the bar, everyone else having slowly filtered out and headed home for the night, leaving the two of them breathless and laughing on the dance floor.

“Alright, we close in ten minutes lovebirds! You don’t have to go home but you certainly can’t stay here,” an employee called out to them as he began sweeping up the trash that had been littered across the floor of the bar.

Luigi felt his entire body flush at the insinuation that he and Bowser of all people were in a relationship, but couldn’t find the words to explain the dynamic between the two of them and so he just remained silent instead.  

“It’s a shame the night has to end,” Luigi said, looking anywhere but Bowser’s eyes as he spoke. “I had fun tonight.”

And really, he meant it. Despite all the panic and fear that had surged through his veins when he first saw Bowser, somehow, he’d genuinely had fun being twirled around the dance floor and getting to know the other better. While the night could never excuse Bowser’s actions, it had certainly given him a better look at the reasons behind why Bowser had done what he’d done.

“I could walk you home, if you’d like?” Bowser asked, and though Luigi had been hit on plenty that night, he didn’t sense any innuendos in Bowser’s offer. “It is late after all, and I wouldn’t want you to run into any trouble on your way home.”

And just that quick, Luigi’s world seemed to come crashing down on top of him as he realized just what it was he’d been doing all night, and worse, who he’d been doing it with.

“No, no, I… I really shouldn’t, my brother wouldn’t approve of me coming back so late, and he’s always been overprotective, so…” Luigi trailed off, still unable to look at Bowser as the sickening sensation of guilt filled his soul as he realized he’d been flirting with, hell, even falling for Bowser all night. 

Bowser nodded, “Yes, of course, I understand… Get home safe okay?”

“Mmhm,” Luigi said, feeling as though he was going to throw up from the turmoil of emotions within him.

“And… Maybe I’ll see you around here again sometime?” and the tone of his voice was so hopeful, it was almost enough to break Luigi’s heart.

“Yeah, maybe… I’ll… Thank you Bowser.”

And then Luigi was running, running, running, running as fast as his feet could carry him out the bar and down the street, running all the way home as tears streamed down his face as the guilt overtook him. He’d forgotten about the rain before he’d made his dramatic escape from the bar and by the time he made it back to the apartment he shared with Mario, his outfit was almost entirely ruined from the rain, but he was too caught up in the events of the night to care.

I danced with Bowser… With Bowser of all people, and I enjoyed it, what kind of terrible person does that make me to enjoy dancing with someone that held me hostage in a cage for so long?? 

Thankfully, Luigi had not lost all of his common sense and was able to stay quiet enough as he trudged back into his apartment building in the wee hours of the morning, making sure not to wake Mario as he hurriedly made his way to his room, shutting the door to softly with a gentle click of the lock as he sank down to the ground of his bedroom floor, wondering how in the world a simple night could have gone so wrong.

“It’ll be better in the morning,” Luigi muttered to himself, resisting the urge to shiver despite the cold that seeped through his bones as his dress and his tears dried around him. “Tomorrow, all of this will just seem like a bad dream, and you can pretend like none of it ever happened in the first place.”

And though he wanted more than anything to believe his own words, deep down, Luigi knew there’d be no forgetting that oh so great and terrible night, and the way it had felt to be loved, even if at the end of the night, that precious feeling could only come crumbling down in a house of lies.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Luigi woke up somehow feeling worse than the night before. His head was pounding and he hadn’t bothered to change out of his dress from the night before, and though the rain had dried, it made his clothes stiff and wrinkled and gross. Not to mention, he’d had a lot more to drink the night before than he’d thought and his hangover was pounding in his head, making it hard to focus on the room around him. All he wanted was to bury his face in his pillow, throw the covers over his head and forget the rest of the world existed, but he could smell Mario cooking breakfast in the kitchen and knew that if he didn’t get up and make himself somewhat presentable now, it would only be a matter of time before Mario knocked on his door to check on him and make sure everything was alright.

And though the gesture was appreciated, the last thing Luigi wanted to have to deal with was explaining to Mario why he was hungover in a crusty Princess Peach dress on top of the turmoil of emotions he was already experiencing.

So Luigi forced himself to get up and out of bed, wincing as the room seemed to spin for a little bit, until his sense of balance was temporarily restored enough for him to start the arduous process of changing out of his outfit and into his usual green shirt and overalls.

Massaging his temples, Luigi took a sip from the glass of water that seemed to be a now permanent fixture in his room, either from forgetting to take it to the kitchen or bracing for the inevitable thirstiness he’d face in the middle of the night. And sure enough, by the time Luigi finished making himself look at least somewhat presentable, a soft knock came to his door.

“Lu?” Mario asked, his tone just loud enough to be heard from the other side of the wood. “Everything alright in there? I’ve made breakfast.”

Luigi loved his brother, really he did. He enjoyed working with him and spending his days fixing various plumbing issues around the city, but Mario could be more than a bit overbearing at times. Luigi knew that getting kidnapped and held hostage would have lasting effects on the both of them — hell, Luigi himself was far from free from the nightmares that plagued him from the whole ordeal — but Mario’s attachment issues had proven to be more than a bit… Much at times.

Sure enough, before Luigi could even think of responding, the door to his room was being pushed open and Mario was stepping inside, gently poking his head inside to look at Luigi in concern.

“I’m fine Mario,” Luigi reassured, offering his brother a gentle smiling and silently saying thanks to at the fact that he’d had the wherewithal to get up and get changed when he did. “Was just feeling a bit tired is all. I slept in more than I meant to, but I’ll be down for breakfast in a minute.”

Mario’s eyes met his own as he gave Luigi a small smile. “Sorry, yeah, just wanted to check in to make sure you didn’t sleep through breakfast is all. I’ll see you in the dining room?”

Luigi nodded. “Will the princess be joining us for breakfast?” he asked, knowing that was the only way to get Mario to actually leave him be to finish getting ready in peace instead of hovering over him at all times.

Nearly instantaneously, Mario’s cheeks reddened. “Wh- Peach? Why would she- I mean- No of course- Oh my goodness, do you smell that? I think the bacon’s burning, sorry I just gotta go check on that–”

And then he was gone, disappearing down the hall without a trace, leaving Luigi chuckling to himself in his absence. For all his hovering, Mario really couldn’t handle any sort of conversation that would make him confront what his relationship was with Peach. It was the one and only way to convince him to stop his hovering, but Luigi knew if he didn’t get down to breakfast soon, it would only be a matter of time before Mario came back to urge him to come out for breakfast.

Luigi sighed, glancing at the hamper where he’d hurriedly buried his Princess Peach drag dress. It really wasn’t meant to be crumpled up like that, but the damage had already been dealt from wearing it out in the rain so carelessly the night before. Leaving it in the hamper for now wouldn’t ruin it any more than it already had been, just as long as he remembered to run it to the dry cleaner’s right after breakfast.

With a sigh, Luigi braced himself for the day ahead, and walked down for breakfast.

***

After his morning tasks of breakfast and heading to the dry cleaners to make sure his dress was washed with the proper care it deserved, Luigi faced a long and busy day of making house calls for various plumbing issues faced around the city. Yet, despite the many distractions that busted pipes and faulty water lines provided him, Luigi couldn’t stop his mind from wandering back to the night before, and how warm Bowser’s hand had been in his own.

You danced with Bowser last night Luigi, he thought to himself, the words still ringing out in shock in his own mind. Bowser, the guy that tried to take over the entire world after holding you hostage for ages. And you enjoyed it.

Luigi felt himself flush ever so slightly, and willed the issue to go away before Mario could notice that he was blushing at his own thoughts.

It’s just been a while since I’ve danced with someone is all, Luigi rationalized to himself as he laid awake in bed that night, unable to fall asleep for some reason. And it’s a good opportunity to get more information about what he could possibly be up to! Just because he’s showing up to karaoke bars now instead of causing trouble doesn’t mean he doesn’t have something up his sleeve in the future. In fact the smart thing to do would be to go back and see if he’s there tonight again.

A twist of guilt shot through Luigi’s gut that he was very pointedly intent on not examining any further. Surely he had to do something about this, it was the most logical decision he could possibly make to get up and get dressed in drag for the second night in a row while Mario remained dead asleep next door. And there was just no way that he could tell Mario or Peach about his encounter. After all, they had already done so much to prevent Bowser from wreaking havoc on the world before, they didn’t deserve to have to go through all of that stress and pressure again. This was Luigi’s chance to prove himself, to show that he wasn’t the useless brother always flailing around and stuck in Mario’s shadow. That was the reason he was going out to do all of this. To make a name for himself. There was certainly no other reason for going out to see if he could find Bowser once more.

Before he could change his mind, Luigi hurriedly snuck out of the tiny apartment he shared with his brother and made his way down the street to the karaoke bar he’d been at the night before. Thankfully tonight, the sky was nice and clear, with not a single rain cloud to ruin his dress in sight. And yet for whatever reason, Luigi couldn’t help but feel more nervous about the whole thing. The night time rain kept people out, it kept people away, and going out on back to back nights meant it was more likely people would take notice of him in the first place.

“Why am I doing this, oh my god, why am I doing this?” Luigi muttered to himself as he pulled open the door to the karaoke bar, and silently slipped inside, half expecting to see Bowser right there waiting for him. His stomach flipped back and forth, nerves growing with each glance he took around the bar, trying to prepare something to say when he saw him.

Dancing together the previous night had gotten them talking hadn’t it? Even if they were more caught up in how wonderful it was to get out of the house for once, how freeing it was to be surrounded by people who wouldn’t judge them for who they were or what they enjoyed, surely that could segue into more useful information couldn’t it? So it wouldn’t be unreasonable for Luigi to ask him to dance yet again, right?

“Luigila?” a deep voice asked from behind him and Luigi spun around instantaneously to meet it, only to be disappointed – no, not disappointed, why would he be disappointed, it must have just been shock surely — when his eyes landed on not Bowser but another Koopa he recognized as being a regular at the bar. “How lucky to run into you tonight! A few of my friends said you were here yesterday, and I didn’t think you hit the town on back to back nights!”

“Yeah, haha, just… Got a little stir crazy is all,” Luigi responded, trying not to let his disappointment, shock not disappointment, get it together man , show through in his tone. His eyes flickered around the room, hoping somehow he might have just missed Bowser hiding around a corner somewhere, despite the fact that he was too large to go undetected for so long. After all, Bowser had been practically magnetic the night before with how immediate Luigi’s eyes had been drawn to him and-

“So that’s why I was wondering, if perhaps, I could um, buy you a drink, or something, Luigila?” the koopa before him was saying, face flushed and avoiding eye contact as Luigi rapidly turned back into the conversation.

Oh… Oh , poor thing, Luigi thought to himself, offering the brave koopa a soft smile. “As much as I certainly appreciate your offer, I’m not quite in a drinking mood tonight, and I’m not looking for any sort of-”

“Oh my gosh, I’m sososososo sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you! I’m just such a huge fan of your work is all and my friend said it couldn’t hurt to try and see if you were interested, but I won’t bother you again, I promise and-”

Luigi smiled gently, reaching a gloved hand out to place on the other koopa’s. “I would love a dance with a friend though, if you’d be amenable.”

The koopa’s eyes went wide, glancing from Luigi’s hand before up at Luigi himself, smiling sheepishly as he nodded. “A dance with a friend, yeah… That would be nice.”

And so for the second night in a row, Luigi found himself spinning around the dance floor, enthused to be dancing again, but unable to stop his eyes from being glued to the door, waiting to see someone else walk in and sweep him off his feet once more.

The night ended far too quickly, without any sort of appearance from Bowser, and once again, Luigi made the trek back home, slipping inside before sunrise and quietly taking off his outfit and storing it in the back of his drawer where not even Mario in his most overprotective of moods would be able to find it.

“He probably only showed up for that one night,” Luigi muttered to himself as he crawled back in bed, pulling the blankets over top of him. “It’s not worth risking Mario finding out about your hobby for, and even if you did find him, there’s a chance he’d recognize you and…” 

Luigi sighed, remembering the way Bowser’s hand had felt in his, remembering the way that Bowser had looked at him, had seen him, and forced his eyes shut before he could think about that any longer. It was just nice to go dancing with someone was all. Nevermind the fact that the second night he’d spent dancing with a different koopa left him thinking about Bowser the entire time.

***

Despite his promise not to continue this habit, more often than not, Luigi found himself donning his drag persona and sneaking out to the karaoke bar that he’d first seen Bowser at. What had usually only been a guilty passion he’d indulge in once or maybe twice a week tops, and never more than one night at the same place each time, became a full fledged addiction, an itch that he couldn’t stop himself from scratching.

The flimsy excuse of trying to find Bowser to interrogate him about his plan fell apart after long, and Luigi was forced to confront the fact that he just wanted to see him again, wanted to dance with him one more time, wanted someone to look at him and actually see him, to see the things that he could be on his own, without living in Mario’s shadow. And so night after night, he found himself sneaking out to the bar in hopes that Bowser would be there again eventually, taking greater and greater care to make sure that Mario never once found out what it was he’d been doing this entire time. And yet, when he finally saw Bowser again, his appearance took him by complete and utter surprise.

It wasn’t often that Luigi missed someone new entering the bar. For the past few weeks, he mostly came and stayed camped out at the perfect booth to watch the flow of people coming and going, not wanting to miss Bowser if he popped inside for even just a second. But Mario had been particularly insistent that Luigi get good rest that night, having noticed him getting increasingly tired on the jobs they went on, and it had taken him a bit longer to sneak out than he would have liked. Which meant by the time he arrived at the karaoke bar, his usual booth had been taken by someone else.

Of course, it was tonight of all nights then that Bowser had decided to arrive, when Luigi couldn’t see him coming, when he didn’t have time to prepare, didn’t know what to expect. All he knew was that one moment he was sitting in the back corner in a booth with a terrible view of the door, and the next, the seat across from him was bending slightly under the weight of a koopa sliding in across from him, looking sheepish and holding out a bouquet of flowers in one hand.

Luigi’s eyes instantly went wide. “B-Bowser?” he asked, hating the way his voice seemed to crack in the middle. “I- You- Um- What… What are you doing here?” he asked, glancing around as though there was someone behind him that Bowser could possibly be offering the flowers to.

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the night we danced together,” Bowser confessed, looking sheepish at his words. “I thought it would go away if I gave it some time, but it just got worse, and I… I guess I was just, I was hoping you’d let me dance with you?”

Luigi couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face, reaching out to gently take the flowers from Bowser. “I’d love to.”

And then they were off again, whirling around the dance floor in the bar, forgetting the rest of the world around them existed. While he could have tried to find out information about what Bowser was doing, Luigi couldn’t focus on anything but the feeling of contentment he’d found in this moment.

Besides, Luigi rationalized, if Bowser is busy dancing with me, he can’t be distracted by other, more nefarious things right?

And maybe that was the reason that when the night ended, Luigi found himself asking to see Bowser again. And again. And again. Night after night after night, they’d meet under the cover of darkness when no one else was around to steal a dance from a world that would demand too much of them otherwise.

But all good things must come to an end, and with Luigi sneaking out every night to meet with Bowser, he was getting sloppy. He was getting careless, and it was only a matter of time before someone realized exactly what had happened.

“Are you feeling alright?” Mario asked as they headed back home one evening after a long day of plumbing jobs. “You’ve seemed… Different lately.”

Luigi’s blood froze in his veins. Different could mean a lot of things, different could mean more tired, different could mean more giddy, or worse, different could mean more guilty. “Just… Been thinking about things a lot more recently is all,” Luigi said, taking care to keep his tone light.

Mario looked at him for a minute, and Luigi did his best not to squirm. “You know you can tell me anything, right Lu? I’m here for you no matter what.”

“I know,” Luigi said, pointedly looking away from his brother to unlock the door to their apartment. “You’re a good brother Mario, I know I can come to you with anything but really there’s nothing going on so you don’t need to-”

“Luigi,” Mario said, letting out a sigh, his tone heavy. “I know.”

Luigi froze in his tracks. “You… What?”

“I know Lu. You don’t have to keep up the act.”

All of a sudden the world was closing in on him. Mario knew, Mario knew . “Look, I didn’t mean for this to happen, I didn’t- I wasn’t thinking, and Bowser just showed up one day and asked me to dance and then one thing led to another, and things just happened and I was having such a good time, I didn’t think it was going to hurt anyone and now I think I’m in too deep because I think I’m in love with him and-” Luigi began to ramble, unable to stop the torrent of words from pouring out of his mouth.

“Wait wait wait, Luigi, you’re in love with who ?” Mario asked, looking confused. “I… I was talking about you doing drag, you… Sorry, did you say Bowser asked you to dance? The same Bowser that held you hostage? The one that escaped forever ago? And you’re… You’re…”

“Fuck,” Luigi swore, eyes going wide. His whole body was shaking and his vision was blurry, and he’d messed everything up. He had to get out of there, he had to leave, he had to run and the next thing he knew, Luigi was making a break from it.

Mario called out behind him, rushing to catch up, but Luigi couldn’t face him, couldn’t look his brother in the eyes now that he knew everything, now that he’d messed everything up. He didn’t know where he was going but he couldn’t stay here, he had to get out, he had to leave, he had to keep running. Luigi tripped over nothing, falling to his knees and most certainly tearing a hole in his favorite pair of overalls, but he couldn’t stop moving, he had to get out of there until no one else could find him.

Eventually, once he was sure he’d gotten far enough away, Luigi collapsed in an empty alleyway, far away from home in a part of the city he wasn’t sure he’d seen before and let himself sob. He knew he should have confronted Bowser when he’d first had the chance, but he hadn’t, and now absolutely everything was ruined. And since when had he been in love with Bowser? That was news to him.

Footsteps sounded at the mouth of the alleyway and Luigi sighed, resigning himself to his fate. “Look, Mario I’m sorry, I can explain, I just-”

Laughter rang out from above him. “Oh Mario can’t save you now,” a voice said, and then the world went dark around him.