Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"I feel like I know you from somewhere in my memories from my days of living, but those memories are sparse and finite. I had tried desperately to hold onto them, grasping at them, pleading them not to leave my hollow mind. But they would trickle through my fingers. Like cusping your hands to act as a vessel for water so you can drink from it, but the water slowly seeps out, as you try in vain to make it stop. No matter how hard you clutch your hands together, the water will always find a way out, and you will be left with nothing apart from the wet surface on your hands reminding you they once held the water, but the water is now gone.

I know I had memories. and that knowledge torments me. knowing i once held something so precious, and I will never get to know what exactly I lost, and I will never get them back. I don't remember who I was. If I was good, if I was bad, if I was someone too you. I don't even remember my old name. But I think you were there. I can't remember the way you made me feel. But you were there. Who were you to me?

He was staring at the picture of Luigi and E.Gadd on the table on opposite side of the room from him, he was focused on Luigi, he was smiling, hugging the professor, judging from the Poltergust he was wearing, it was probably after his first encounter with King Boo. He looked nice when he smiled.

" That's oddly poetic. But the answer to that is simple really..." E. Gadd said breaking the silence, entering the room, approaching the king in his enclosure
he continued "You are residual energy. energy left over from when you were alive, brought back by large amounts of energy charging your own. you guys are not like the other Spirits that are brought back because they clung to their life, you are brought back to carry on."

" I didn't know you were there." king Boo hissed, anger lacing his voice as he spoke

"Is that truly what you think happens?" he spoke again, questioning E. Gadd's words

" it's still a working theory. But yes, it aligns with my research the most." he spoke out "And i don't think Luigi will be able to answer those questions, if you do think he was someone in your past life, it was probably a past life of his as well. Do you think that links to your obsession with him?"

"And why would I tell you that?" king Boo snapped

"This is the longest conversation we've had in years. I'm just surprised you're still talking with me, but we've gotten this far. And I think you want an answer to that as well" E. Gadd spoke calmly, showing he isn't scared of the king

"Ghost's have obsessions, that's not strange" king Boo said as he turned his back on the scientist

"And he always gets in the way of my plans, he is my greatest enemy, that's not too outlandish is it?"

"Maybe not, but then Why do you keep luring him back in? chasing after him? why not just get it over and done with? He means something to you, you can't deny that. Someone's enemy wouldn't be so curious how they mattered to them in their past life. He makes you curious. Why not just try talking to him?" E. Gadd said stepping closer to the king

"It's not that simple." The king spat out

" Maybe not. But try it regardless, he's coming over later, try then" E. Gadd replied

" Why is he coming over, you're not performing more tests are you " The king asked hesitantly, turning back around to face the old man

" As tempting as that is, no. He likes to come an visit on the weekends. I think he's worried I'll blow something up again. It's nice having the company, and he makes delicious food, you should try it if you get the chance."

he pauses "he is not malicious, if you're willing to talk to him, he won't ignore you." E.Gadd finally said'' Yeah, yeah, I hear ya. can you leave now, your giving me a headache" king Boo answered, entertaining the thought

" fine, fine, see you later king Boo" he said as he walked away amused

"Damn kook" king Boo said under his breath

"this isn't going to end well" he said to himself

Chapter Text

It was around 6pm Luigi arrived at E. Gadd's lab, well that was King Boo's general estimate, there weren't any clocks in the room, he could only rely on how the sun's position in sky from what he could see outside of the tiny windows that provided a limited view from the angle he was stuck at in his enclosure.

He could hear E. Gadd and Luigi walking down the corridor towards his room. They were conversing about E.Gadd’s car, which had apparently broken down while he was out testing some new inventions of his, it sounded like Luigi was offering to take a look at it just before they both entered the room.

Then Silence.

".... E.Gadd. Luigi." King Boo said blankly before his gaze drifted over to Luigi.

He wasn't in his usual blue overalls and signature Green cap. Instead he was wearing a baggy green hoodie and some heavily worn-in jeans. It looks like he doesn't change up his colour scheme all that much, although the king had to agree that he looked decent in green. He had his hair half up, but still allowed the full length to be shown off. The brunette curls met his shoulders, a few pieces framing either side olf his face. It was a much more casual look the king had never seen the man in before. But somehow he looked almost... Pretty?

Perhaps his hair was throwing him off? He hadn't seen it down before, he always had it in a bun to keep it mostly out of his face, so seeing it down and without his hat made him more visually interesting, especially since he never actually pieced together that Luigi's hair was curly, it was a bit hard to tell considering it was always covered up.

He looked more comfortably dressed, this was probably how he dressed on most days when he wasn't having to help his brother out in whatever situation Mario got them into, or helping the toadstool princess getting out of a situation bowser got her into.

That being said, comfortable as he may be in his attire, he definitely didn't look comfortable with the current situation, he had visited every now and then when he came to help the professor but still clearly was a bit apprehensive towards interacting with the Boo. He seemed still a bit nervous and wasn't saying anything either, which probably meant he was intending on just having E.Gadd talk for the both of them. Which was a good thing! It meant that he was instantly spooked by King Boo, so at least he was still able to scare him even from behind the glass with just a look.

King Boo shook his head to break the train of thought, he was getting ahead of himself
“What are you two doing here, I thought you said my tests were done for today." the King hissed as he turned his head to face E.Gadd again.

“Who said I was going to do any tests? I told you Luigi was coming to visit, he just wanted to come and check up on you before i headed back to work” E.Gadd said, shrugging off the glare the King was giving him.

King Boo knew what E.Gadd was trying to do, and he didn't find it amusing. Not one bit.

“He wanted to check up on me? How amusing, what’s he going to do next, sit down for some tea? You clearly talked him into it” the King said sarcastically as he chuckled, gesturing towards the clearly nervous taller man next to him who was gingerly holding onto the door knob, keeping the door open, probably for quick a escape if anything went wrong.

“Tomato, tomato. Anyways it looks like everything here is fine, you're still as cheerful and lovely as ever, so we will take out leave, I will have him check on you later” E.Gadd responded nonchalantly before turning around and leaving the room.

Luigi buffered a minute before registering the interaction, then being as awkward as ever,  quickly waved goodbye with a nervous smile plastered on his face, then tailed behind E.Gadd and shut the door behind him, leaving King Boo alone.

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The fleeting light coming from outside slowly dissipated from the room, the few cracks of light beaming through the window slowly retreated back to the source, leaving the large and cluttered space in a cold dark emptiness. E.Gadd never bothered keeping the light on in here as King Boo could see perfectly fine in the dark and the main light was too bright for the ghost’s eyes, and although there was a window on the door allowing him to vaguely see part of hallway, it was heavily tinted and provided little light. However, the king did wish that he would at least leave a lamp on or something of the sort, although he could see in the dark it was difficult to make out any colours or certain features of things, which was exceedingly frustrating mixed with the mixture of having nothing to do all day and night.

After a while he saw movement coming from outside of the room, presumably Luigi judging from the height of the silhouette that kept passing by, was walking back and forth between the professor's lab and what he assumed was the kitchen. King Boo knew a bit of the layout of the building from the times he’s managed to escape or was being transported from his containment cell to the testing chamber but he didn't pay much attention to any of it. With how heavy and concentrated the steps were, the professor was probably being difficult for Luigi and frustrating him again, which was very much in character for the miserable old bastard.

He could just make out some of the words being said between the two at certain points, Luigi was berating the old man for leaving his work space an uncoordinated mess and how his diet of strictly super noodles, although were quick to make, we're certainly not healthy to be consumed as often as he did, not to mention at his age.

The king may be dead but he still has a grasp on human life, but has since convinced himself that E.Gadd has made a deal with a powerful warlock of some kind to make him live longer for whatever reason, as it was the only reasonable assumption as to how he was still alive and kicking.

Suddenly, Luigi's footsteps got louder, then the door to the room clicked open with a slightly miffed Luigi behind it. “Wh-? why is it so dark in here?” Luigi questioned, he couldn’t see anything apart from the Boo's glowing violet eyes in the darkness creating a very ominous atmosphere

King Boo was immediately pissed off by the sudden intrusion, especially since he didn’t actually expect Luigi to come into the room. Luigi wasn’t exactly a person he wanted to see at the moment with the emotional turmoil he was trying to sort through in his head, he could see that the plumber was beginning to become nervous when he scanned the rest of the room before focusing back on the boo.

“He likes to keep me in the dark since apparently my eyes are so sensitive I can’t have so much as a slither of light in here after dark” the King answered sarcastically after a moment. The obvious but unspoken truth being as long as it wasn't directly in his eyes or super bright he would be fine

He heard Luigi take in a sharp breath, clearly being spooked by the suddenness of King Boo speaking, which the King found a bit humorous. He stays in the exact same area all day every day, it's not like he could exactly move anywhere to properly jumpscare the man.

After a moment of composing himself and taking in the sarcasm, he responded to the absurdity of it “Pfft-what?? That’s ridiculous, let’s just- ugh- just- give me a sec” Luigi said as he stumbled about in the dark finding the desk and started rummaging around in the draws for something, still nervous but clearly having his heart set in something

After a moment he suddenly stopped movement, which indicated the possible end of his search

“Aha! Found some!” He said with victory, apparently finding the thing he was after

The outburst was then succeeded by the clinking of metal and the distinct scratches of flint, then followed by small jittery sparks flickering out, ever so slightly lighting up the contours of Luigi's hand for a brief moment before the sparks quickly died. Finally the wick of the candle he was holding was lit after his lighter caught light, letting out a small puff of smoke as the flame calmed. Then, setting the candle down on the desk before going to grab a few more to light.

“That's a bit better now isn't it? Not to harsh for you but still getting some light in here” Luigi said, lighting the last candle and placing it next to the King's containment cell

“You expecting a thank you or something? Cause you're not getting one for doing the bare minimum” the King let out in a huff

He was a bit mad that the man had intruded in what little personal space he had in this place, but he did have a small bit of appreciation for Luigi's gesture

“Not really, to be honest I'm more surprised you haven't tried biting my head off right now” Luigi said and then let out nervous chuckle, it was evident he was still somewhat scared of King Boo, even while in his contained state

King Boo rolled his eyes “Bit hard to do that in a giant bloody test tube now isn't it?” he quipped

“Haha, yeah.…... Well anyways! E.Gadd asked me to check in on you, and if that's all I really should be getting back to making him some food” He said quickly, clearly wanting to leave and escape the unsavoury tension

“Good. The sooner you're gone the sooner I can get back to my own thing.” Clearly glad at the news of the plumbers departure

With that Luigi quickly slipped out of the room and the King was back to his own thoughts. After a while he mentally kicked himself, he was supposed to be trying to be nice to Luigi right? He's not exactly the most friendly person, so it comes as second nature. He genuinely wasn't in the mood for it today to deal with all of this though, luigi being there just put him more on edge because he just didn’t know how to act around him while still keeping his pride, admitting to no wrong, but making luigi feel comfortable with him, and that's something he needed to work out before he felt he could properly talk with the man.

If only he had some of his art supplies with him, he loved painting while his mind wandered, it kept his hands busy while his thoughts slipped from their usual monotonous state and into an empty calm, it was one of the only times he actually felt at peace.
It’s a shame he can’t do that now.

He fidgeted with the rings on his hands, not sure what to do with himself now, he was getting frustrated at the loud quiet of the room, he hated being like this. He was usually someone that kept to himself, but even then he still had hobbies and people he spoke too, he wasn’t a complete recluse. So being stuck like this was like torture to him, a small part of him wishing he was a more stable person who didn't keep getting himself into situations like this.

He then started to play with his hair for a moment, then began to ruffle and pull at it, pulling strands out from the bun that kept them in place, he was one to try and keep himself looking presentable at all times, even in a place like this, but right now that was the last thing on his mind. He continued to mess about with his hair, giving up on the bun altogether and just letting his hair down so he could play with it more.

Huffing at himself, he slid down his container and sat there on the floor as he twirled strands and braided pieces here and there. It was therapeutic, and a much better way to keep his hands busy than just messing with his jewellery.

He let out a deep sigh as he continued to fidget with his hair. He needs to make a plan on how to approach talking to Luigi in a less snarky manner and attempt at trying to be more cordial with him...and possibly getting something to do in here..

Chapter Text

Luigi was preparing dinner for E.Gadd in the kitchen. Well, it was more like a small break room, similar to the one they had at the back of his uncle’s auto repair shop. It had a microwave, a small sink, a couple of cupboards, but only one had the cups, dishes and pans in it, it was only E.Gadd most of the time so there was no point in getting a lot of things like that. The rest of the cupboards were full of ‘rations’, meds, and random crap that didn't have a home anywhere else in the lab.

Luigi did manage to convince E.Gadd to install an oven in there when he first started coming around to check in on the man, so he could make proper meals and not the same processed crap E.Gadd ate every other day.

The professor survived on super noodles and sweets for the most part, they were cheap to buy in bulk, didn't have to worry about them going off, and were quick and easy to make, but he wasn't doing his body any favours by eating so much of it.

Luigi always worried about the old man and his health even if he is a pain in the ass at times. The old bugger reminded him of his grandfather back in Brooklyn, in his prime grandpa Mario was a professional Boxer, but time wasn't very kind on his body as the years went by, in recent years he struggled to even keep his fork straight and steady from the arthritis in his hands so he needed help with eating sometimes when it got to much for him.

Luigi and Mario both looked up to their grandfather, and as he got older they helped out looking after him, it's second nature to Luigi now, so he feels inclined to do the same for the professor. He can't help but see E.Gadd as a grandfather or even a father figure of sorts, maybe it was because he has a few of the same mannerisms that reminded him of his actual family members.

Well he was the closest thing to either of those figures he had now, and he wanted to make sure E.Gadd was looking after himself, he had nobody else to check up on him so Luigi filled that role himself.

Luigi liked to make big meals for him whenever he visited, that way he had plenty of leftovers that would even last him throughout the entire week sometimes, which would hopefully discourage the amount of junk the man would consume.

This week Luigi was making his mother's homemade beef stew, he had committed it to memory since it was easy to make and there was always lots of it.

Unfortunately he had to leave out the mushrooms, but he was used to making that same alteration to the recipe for when he made it for Mario.

He had prepared most of it at home earlier that day since it took several hours to properly stew, so he was simply reheating what he had already made along with preparing some nice bread to go on the side.

While watching the stew simmer his mind started to drift, watching the bubbles of gravy form and pop as the thoughts flowed into his brain.

“Ghosts can eat right? I mean I assume they can, but I don't think they need to? I wonder if they still enjoy it? Where would it go? Can they digest it? Orrrr would it disappear into some like- far off pocket dimension??? Or maybe it would just simply be converted into energy? That makes more sense, they are made of pure energy, but would the real food mess with that?

Mario said that the King Boo on island Delfino liked to eat fruit, so it seems that at least some of them can eat, but he couldn't handle eating chilli peppers apparently.

I wonder if that's the case for all ghosts or maybe he just doesn't have much of a spice tolerance? I mean it makes sense. If they don't actually need to eat then they could be going year's without consuming anything like that.

I know if I had gone years without eating much of anything to then suddenly chomping down on a chilli pepper, I would be very overwhelmed by that sensation too.

Imagine going years without eating, oh God my poor taste buds.

E.Gadd is probably similar to the ghosts in that respect, who knows how long he's been living on just those bland super noodles, I doubt he's been exploring much outside of that.

it's a good thing this stew has no spice, I'll have to ask him more about what he can tolerate eating.

I know I shouldn't use peanuts in anything because of his allergies but when it comes to his preferences it's just been a trial and error sort of thing seeing what he likes. I know he doesn't like broccoli- or mushrooms just like Mario.

I'm going to have to make him write a list for me.

Oh but he's busy doing more of his documenting at the moment so I'm not going to hear much from him for another 2 decades or something haha

When I've given him his food I'll have to try and occupy myself with something.

Maybe I should try and clean up some of the rooms here, it's such a mess. I know the ghosts would be more than happy to help. Oh! maybe I could even offer to see if they want any of the stew! I would be able to ask them about the eating thing, even if they don't have to, it's nice to be included, and who knows when the last time was when they had a nice meal, when any of them actually had something to eat.
I wonder when the last time King Boo ate was?

King Boo..

I know E.Gad said I should try and befriend him, that way if he got out again he wouldn't be so inclined to go after me or Mario again

But it's going to be difficult, he didn't want me in there earlier, though I can understand why, he's kept in that container all day with E.Gadd being the only one to go and see him every now and then, I'd probably be the last person he'd want to see.

I think i should try and talk to E.Gadd about that

I know he's scary but having a bigger place to move around would hopefully help a bit with his agitation, and we are not him, we can't just leave him or any of the ghosts in such small containment areas

It would help with most of the ghosts here to have a bigger space, I don't like how E.Gadd is treating them, I know it's much better than the other ghost hunters around, but it doesn't make it any less wrong, and it makes me feel awful.

Maybe if I went to see King Boo I could offer him some stew? Like as a peace offering, I doubt he'd take it but it's better than nothing at this point, I won't be able to clear it with E.Gadd but it's just some food, I doubt anything bad will happen-”

Luigi's train of thought was interrupted by the timer he had set on the oven to tell him when to take the pot of stew off heat.

He turned the hob off and went to retrieve the cutlery and dishes, opening the cupboard and grabbing two bowls for him and E.Gadd. But as he went to lift the two bowls out, that thought about King Boo came back again “what's the worst that could happen?” he thought to himself, and grabbed an extra bowl.

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Luigi knocked on the door to E.Gadd’s workroom with the bowl of stew in his hand hoping he wouldn't have to barge in again because the professor couldn't hear him
“Come in Luigi! I'm a bit busy at the moment so you'll have to get the door” E.Gadd shouted back

With a small sigh, Luigi opened the door with his free hand, using his foot to open it the rest of the way entering the disorganised room, he was repeating to himself in his head not to drop the bowl on accident again like he did last time, that's why there were now an odd number of plates and why there was a new stain that refused to come out of the rug in front of the door no matter what.

E.Gadd was hunched over his desk with files open next to him and two screens currently turned on, one displaying the text he was writing out, the other had information he had collected and had written up earlier that week. Luigi heard him audibly sniff the air when he stepped closer

“That smells lovely Luigi, what is it again?" E.Gadd eagerly asked, he was still facing his computer typing away but he seemed to perk up a bit at the promise of food

“It's Beef stew professor, there is plenty of it so you can continue to have it for the next couple of days if you remember to keep it in the fridge” Luigi chuckled, walking over to E.Gadd’s desk he noticed how much of a mess it really was and started clearing away some of the papers so he could put the bowl down next to the old man.

“You really should eat it before it goes cold again, your work isn't going to run off anywhere. Take a break and eat E.Gadd, your body needs the energy” Luigi said sternly, he knew the professor had the habit of leaving his food untouched until he found a space in his work that allowed him to take a quick break, the thing was that these spaces in his work would only show themselves to him every few hours, so Luigi had to make sure he stopped whatever he was doing so he could eat it while it was still warm and fresh.

“Ah but I'm so close to finishing this section, I only need to write 6 more paragraphs!" the man said allowing his eyes to leave the screen for a few seconds to make eye with now stern Luigi

“Ah-ah! No. I know how long those take! you sit and eat your food now. It will take you at most maybe 20 minutes to eat, I made sure your portion size was suitable enough so you wouldn't over or under eat.

I expect to come back in half an hour, and if this food is still here and untouched by that time, next week I will make your favourite spaghetti and I'll keep the mushrooms in.” Luigi pulled E.Gadd’s chair away from the computer and swivelled it over to where the bowl was sat

E.Gadd let out a defeated sigh and picked up the spoon he was provided with “fine fine, you win, but I will be going straight back to my work after”

“As long as you eat your food first, I don't care what you do, I'll come back for your dish later alright?” With that Luigi left the room, doing one last check to make sure the Professor was still eating his food before he closed the door.

Now with that out of the way, Luigi picked up the two other dishes he had set aside on the table in the hallway and began to walk down towards King Boo’s room “what's the worst that could happen?” Luigi kept thinking to himself

Luigi was mulling over what he could do to make the King more comfortable around him. He was a bit fidgety last time, so maybe he needed something to do, Luigi hated it when he had nothing to do or occupy his hands with, he was always doing something whether it was just reading or tinkering with some machines again in his workshop. King Boo liked to paint right? Maybe he should try and grab some art supplies for him?

An idea crossed his mind, maybe it was a bit silly, but at this point what wasn't, he was going to offer his biggest enemy, who is a ghost, some home made stew while he still could very well be in a mood.

Luigi made a quick detour to go grab his bag before running back through the hallway to return to his original course.

Now, with his bag around his shoulder and balancing the two bowls in one arm, he went to go knock on King Boo’s door and waited for a response, after all he didn't want to intrude anymore than he already had earlier.

“Who's there.” The King grumbled out through gritted teeth, most likely expecting E.Gadd or one of his annoying ghost's

“It's Luigi! Am I- am I alright to come in?” Luigi answered back nervously

There was a pause before the King answered back “well there isn't anything stopping you from coming in now is there?” he still sounded grumpy but seemed to have calmed down a lot more

Not exactly the most welcoming invitation for most people, but a good sign coming from King Boo, so with what courage he had built up, he opened the door to the room and stepped in. Hopefully this turns out well.

Chapter Text

The door shut behind Luigi’s back after taking a few steps into the room, earning a little squeak to come out of his mouth.  E.Gadd assured him that King Boo wasn't able to use his powers while in his containment, but moments like these and how it made the King chuckle would make Luigi question his trust in that assessment.

Some of the candles he lit earlier were still burning but it provided the room with very little light, but it was better than stumbling around in the dark again trying to find his way in complete darkness. He found the desk and sat the dishes down so he could take off his bag.

“So what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit?" The King chuckled with sarcasm in his voice, still amused from the small fright Luigi just had

Luigi turned to look at the King, which he only then realised he could only really see his glowing eyes with the lighting like this, maybe a few of his features but not much, the glass didn't exactly help with it reflecting the flickering candles and part of his own reflection, he just knew King Boo was in his humanoid form. Luigi had only seen it properly a few times before since he usually kept in his Boo form, but perhaps this way he was a little less cramped or vulnerable.

“I wonder why he's in his human form right now, I can't really make much out, but I think his hair may be down? I really can't tell, it's still weird seeing him without any sort of crown" Luigi thought to himself

Luigi squinted his eyes a little to try and get them to focus better in the dark so he could maybe see the King a bit better, but realised he wasn't getting anywhere and had stayed quiet for too long and hadn't answered the others question, so decided to start talking instead of wasting his efforts in trying to suddenly gain night vision.

“Ah-! Well I thought you’d-” he quickly turned to grab one of the plates, which he could thankfully see because of the candle he kept on the desk “might want to have some food?” Luigi held it out in front of him to try and show the King the contents of the dish, he was completely guessing whether the Boo could actually see what he was holding right now or not however.

“... You came in here… To offer me food..?” the King puzzled

“Well I was thinking more like we could eat together, it's always nice to eat with someone else. And i-um- well I know you don't need to eat but I thought you still might like to? I made plenty and well- it felt rude to not at least offer some..?”

The King sat there for a moment trying to collect his thoughts, after which he spoke “you thought… It was rude not to share food with me.. Although I am a Boo, that doesn't even need to eat! Who has terrorised you, I have not been pleasant with you once. And you thought it was rude not to offer me food.”

King Boo didn't want to be fully snarky, he was trying his best to try and be somewhere civil with Luigi, afterall he'd need to work on his manners if he wanted any chance of making some kind of peace with him, but It didn't mean he could stop his utter bemusement from showing.

Luigi decided to stand his ground “yep- yeah, well, like I said, It's better to eat with company, and E.Gadd is… well to put it bluntly he is crap company most of time (he let's out a small chuckle) and I thought you may want some food since I don't know when the last time you ate was, and perhaps this could be a- a sort of peace offering…?" Luigi put on a bit of emphasis with those last few words, he did want it to be a peace offering, but had no idea how the King would find that idea so he wasn't sure how bringing it up so bluntly would make King Boo feel

King Boo burst into a small fit of laughter at Luigi’s jab at the professor, he could tell it was a genuine confession, after all he's had to have spent more time with him more than anyone at this point, but hearing it come from Luigi of all people, it just shocked him so hard he couldn't help but laugh

Luigi Blushed a bit in embarrassment, feeling as though he had made a fool of himself assuming he was laughing at the peace proposal, but he stood there and waited for the King to calm down so he could receive a proper answer and act accordingly from there

When the King had managed to get his last few giggles out, he looked at the plumber again, plate still in hand, his face turned away from him but it wasn't exactly hiding the light pink on his cheeks very well “ha.. Stars that was funny, you caught me off guard, I guess the man can even get on your nerves huh?"

Seeing that his little jab at E.Gadd seemed to have worked, it made Luigi a little more brave, and he decided to make another jab “I would like an answer the preferably today King Boo, I age unlike you and don't want to leave this room as old and withered as E.Gadd. The food is getting cold and I don't like eating congealed stew” Luigi mumbled,  he did want to eat his food, but maybe if he made a few more jokes it would soften King Boo up just a bit to let Luigi try and make peace while they ate.

The King once again laughed at Luigi’s quip, he had heard Luigi could be sassy from E.Gadd, but he'll admit it's a real treat to see in person, he enjoyed how the professor seemed to even annoy the more seemingly kindhearted people

“Now look who's a bit snippy, did Elven really piss you off that much? Or are you just happy to see me after dealing with him for so long?” The King joked, still chuckling as he tapped the glass of his containment to get Luigi's focus (and spook him a little)

“Don't die of laughter, your lungs won't be able to handle it for much longer, at least the professor doesn't laugh when I bring him food, I just have to physically rip him away from his damn work” Luigi joked again, starting to smile a little as he slowly approached the container

This made King Boo laugh even harder, so while the King was preoccupied Luigi walked up next to the container and placed the food down in front of the hatch. The hatch as the name suggests, was a small metal hatch/door that could be slid open from the outside when unlocked, which was used to transport King Boo and other ghosts in their smaller forms around the lab. It was made of two separated doors, that way if the door was opened from the outside, the inner door would still be locked until a button was pressed to open it, and vise versa, it was a safety precaution.

In a particularly heavy part of the Boo’s laughter, Luigi unlocked the hatch, slid the dish in, and closed it again while the Boo was distracted. When the King had settled down Luigi began to talk again “if you want the food, then I'll press the button and you can grab it, if you don't want it, I'll open the door and take It back and leave the room if you wish”

The King stared at the green man for a while, occasionally looking down at the dish then back up at the man again, mulling it over in his head. Although he knew Luigi couldn't really see most of the King's form and features, he could still tell he was trying his best to try and read his face“... Alright. I'll have your food, but only because I haven't had any food in a while and I'm quite bored. As for it being a peace offering… I suppose it's a start. I do intend to get out of here one way or another so this is something I suppose. Would have preferred cake over stew though.” King Boo answered, he crossed his arms and let out a huff of exasperation, trying his best to not be rude is exhausting, and he was still very unsure of Luigi, but he had to make a start somewhere.

“Okie-doki” Luigi replied in a chipper way before pressing the button which locked the door Luigi has just opened, and opened the door on the inside of the container where King Boo stood.

King Boo bent down and grabbed the bowl of stew, it was still warm and smelt unsurprisingly of beef, the sensation was one he hadn't felt in a short while, and he had to admit that he did somewhat miss the feeling of warmth, so he cupped the bowl with both of his hands and sat down so he could hold it close to make the most of the sensation.

He looked up at Luigi who looked to be trying to figure out abouts his eyes where since he couldn't see them shine when they were closed, he appreciated Luigi not being able to properly see him since humans don't have night vision, but it was getting a bit annoying.

“Down here Luigi. Try less focusing on me and just try and eat. Since I'm assuming you're wanting to stay in here while you eat.” the King sighed as he scooped a spoonful of stew and stared at it trying to decide on whether he actually wanted to eat it or not

“Ah- alright, I'll uh, grab the desk chair…" Luigi started to look around for the chair, reaching out and pulling it towards him and swivelled it to face him so he wouldn't fall on his ass when he sat down

He sat down on it using his hands as guides to make sure he didn't fall off the seet, and then went to go grab his stew and let out a sigh as he wiggled around a bit getting comfy

After watching the painfully slow display of Luigi finding his seat, he finally decided to try the stew that had been sitting in his spoon getting cold

The beef was rich and tender, it melted in his mouth when mixed with some of the velvety broth, the carrots were soft and sweet which paired well with the simple but filling potatoes and the crunch of the celery. It was a simple meal, one King Boo often had a couple hundred years ago when it was the only thing people could afford to make and offer him. But the heartiness and simplicity of it had its charm, and King Boo had to admit that Luigi's take on the dish was delicious, it had much more to it then the stuff he used to have, granted that must have been because Luigi had access to many more herbs and ingredients to help enhance the flavours, things people just simply couldn't afford back then.

It made him remember simpler times, where he would just scare off intruders from Boo woods himself and they'd stay gone, where he and his Boo’s mostly lived in peace, occasionally messing with the people of the nearby village. The villagers started to leave small offerings to them so that it would hopefully stop the Boo’s messing with them, it was a small village so they couldn't offer much, but they would offer meals or simple desserts or even offer to play with the Boo’s if they were able to.

They were good people, they never went after his Boo’s and he enjoyed the food, so they were left alone for the most part. Yes he's a bad guy, but he had his moments, and some people just never gave him a reason to actually go after them, he had more compassion back then when he was still relatively new to this world. But that was forever ago now and they are long gone

For a few moments he forgot where he was and who he was with, when he starts to delve into his memories he can get side tracked for a while. As he tore off a bit of the bread that came with the stew to dip in the broth, he remembered about Luigi and looked up to look at him.

Luigi seemed to be deep in thought too, slowly eating his stew and stirring the contents of the bowl about

“What are you doing? Do you not enjoy the food you made yourself or something?" the King asked with his mouth half full

“Hm? Oh, I was just thinking, zoned out since you weren't talking” Luigi said as he was a tad bit startled from being snatched from his thoughts

“You were the one telling me off for making you wait to eat, what's with the sudden disinterest." King Boo asked blankly

“Well I just hadn't really thought this far ahead if I'm being honest, I’m just trying to think what I should do now” Luigi said slowly not fully sure of his own words as he stared at the soup in his spoon and slowly letting it pour out as he tilted it back towards the bowl “ah! Well, for one, do you like the stew? It’s my mother’s recipe” Luigi said this with my excitement and anticipation waiting for the Boo’s response

…

“The..Stew is.. acceptable. The ingredients pair well and it’s nice to try the dish again with more things in it to add flavour. It’s better than nothing I suppose” the king said after a moment, then taking another sip of his stew to add a bit of effect

“That’s good! There is still plenty in kitchen, I always make sure I make a lot for E.Gadd so it will last him a while, maybe if you ask you can have more throughout the week if.. you want..too” Luigi’s excitement died down a bit near the end of his sentence as he remembered who exactly he was talking to, who probably wasn’t all that interesting in eating food anyways

“Well no need to sound all bloody depressed about it, stars. I’ll think about it, but like I said, I’m more of a deserts guy. I do.. appreciate.. the offer though” He kicked himself mentally with his first remark, it really was hard not to be snarky with him when he’s literally been able to do nothing else for this entire time.

Luigi replied with a cheerful “Okie dokie” and then they both returned to eating their meals by candlelight

Luigi somehow finished his food faster than the King, and decided to light a few more candles and re-light the ones which had burnt out so he could see around the room a bit better. The room just seemed to somehow eat up the light and didn’t let the light touch much of anything.

“Hey umm.. King Boo?" Luigi hesitantly spoke

“Yes?” the Boo answered

“Is your.. Hair down? I can't really tell from here because of the glass an the lighting and all” Luigi asked

“Ah, so that was why he was staring, I forgot to fix my hair after they left earlier, I had almost forgot about it” The king thought to himself

“It's a mess, I took it down and didn't put it back up, nothing the fuss over and not really any of your concern” King Boo spoke aloud

“Right, I get that, my hair frustrates me sometimes so I mess it up too” Luigi said with understanding

They slipped back into silence and after a few more minutes King Boo slid the now empty dish and spoon into the hatch so Luigi could take it back. Luigi then reached for his bag and pulled out some things and approached the containment chamber to retrieve the bowl.

“What is that. What are you planning?” The King pressed, tilting his head in confusion as he scowled a little

Luigi didn’t say anything, he instead opened up the hatch from his side, took the bowl out and put the objects in, and closed the small door.

The Boo eyes lingered on Luigi cautiously, he wasn’t sure what to make of it

“It’s a gift of sorts, it’s nothing much but I figured it would be nice to have” Luigi laughed nervously as he pressed the button to open the inner door so King Boo could retrieve it

King Boo hesitated for a moment, but then reached out to grab the offering since there wasn’t much Luigi could do to harm him anyways. The curious Boo inspected the items, running his hand along the surface, flipping them around to see every angle, and then he looked up at Luigi again who now had a very nervous but hopeful smile on his face

“What is this.” King Boo asked again, he knew what they were, but he didn’t understand why he was currently in possession of them

“It’s a sketch pad! It’s a new one I just bought myself, I usually get bored here so I usually bring one to doodle on, but I figured you would need it more than me since I can’t imagine you getting any enrichment in there. I gave you a few of my pencils, erasers, fine liners, and colouring pencils which are in that small case there” Luigi beamed

King Boo looked over all the things one more time before opening the case, and just like Luigi said, there were the supplies he was provided, they were from a good quality made brand the King was actually quite familiar with. He then opened the sketch book and flicked through the pages to check they were blank, all of the pages were clean and pristine apart from one which had a few small drawings of flowers in the corner, they looked to be bluebells which made sense as they should be in season about now.

“Is this part of this ‘peace offering’ you mentioned” King Boo said as he looked more closely at the drawings

“No, just a gift, something to help keep you occupied” Luigi answered honestly

Feeling that he probably wouldn't get much more out of the King he began to gather his stuff, putting his bag on and gathering the dishes, double checking the hatch was properly sealed shut and blew out the candles lit in some of the more dangerous places.

“It's been nice being able to talk to you, even if it wasn't all that much, I hope we can speak more like this soon. I have to go check on the professor to make sure he actually his food” Luigi said as he seemed to finally start to ease up a bit around the king

“Alright” was all the King said

And with that Luigi walked over to the door and left, giving him a friendly wave before closing the door

Once again King Boo had been left alone to sit with his thoughts, but now there were many new ones which had introduced themselves to his mind, floating about as he stared at the gift that Luigi gave him.

He'd finally be able to create things again even on something small like this, it seemed he was taking steps towards becoming peaceful, even if it was mostly Luigi doing everything. He couldn't help but feel a little relieved, it seemed that E.Gadd was right, Luigi truly isn't one to be malicious and only wanted to share a conversation with him.

King Boo had been here for quite a while now and his behaviour had calmed down a lot as a result, he definitely wasn't as snippy as he used to be so perhaps in a way it helped.

Now his main focus was trying to think of what to draw first, there wasn't a lot of inspiration around here so he'll have to do with what he has, whether that's coming from his brain or not.

Hopefully Luigi will bring something new next time, as well as his company. The stew was nice and for the first time in a while he felt full, he was feeling something that he could only really describe as content, which was something he hadn't felt in a very long time. He was still unsure about all of this though, so he'll just have to wait and see how this all plays out.

Now. What to draw..

Chapter Text

It has been a week since King Boo’s and Luigi dinner

It had been a relatively slow week with nothing much going on except helping Peach with preparations for an upcoming festival she was hosting, so Luigi had a fair amount of time to spend on thinking how to properly approach King Boo for his next visit.

The last dinner wasn't exactly a failure but they didn't really speak much with each other, it was mostly Luigi doing the talking every now and then which usually never happens to him in general. He wants to figure out a way to get around this awkward tension between the two, he wants to try and befriend King Boo as his go-too approach to dealing with his rivals is befriending them rather than battering them like his brother does.

The only problem is that they have a stressful and unpleasant past, the Boo has a lot of issues to work out with himself as well.

But Luigi know’s that if he wants a friendship or at the very least a truce between the two, they will have to actually speak with each other and get over the tension. But to get the King to talk to him in the first place he needs to try and properly engage him, to capture his attention with something he's genuinely interested in or wants to talk about.

Luigi manages to come up with a decent plan, a little bribe, a conversation topic that he knows always gets him talking, perhaps a little flattery as well, but not too much otherwise the King would catch on that there may be more to it, and then Luigi would introduce the more serious conversation topic.

There is no guarantee it would work but its worth a shot, he needs to get this out of the way if he wants any chance of properly developing any kind of general peace between the two, which would hopefully lay the foundation for a friendship to grow which seemed very possible to Luigi seeing a how King Boo had been reacting to him so far.

When Luigi arrives at E.Gadd’s lab he immediately notices how much of a state it was in, usually the ghosts would clear it up when it got this bad but this looked like something that had happened just before he arrived.

Apparently, according to the ghosts he found hiding in the cleaning supplies room, one of the ghost helpers knocked a painting off of the wall in one of the unused rooms while cleaning and it broke, the only problem was that it had about 4 mini hammer ghosts trapped inside that got out because of it and were causing all sorts of chaos as they were very obviously upset for being trapped for so long.

Luigi remembered those 4, E.Gadd said he was going to test them for some of the properties they possessed since he was curious to how they worked, but it's clear he just forgot about the ghosts. Again.

Luigi hates it when E.Gadd does this, he hates it when he just leaves the ghosts in paintings instead of letting them go after he's done or doesn't end up using them, he knows they just get violent because they are scared or have been ordered too and just want to protect their home, because naturally if they are left alone they will not pick a fight.

He doesn't like the tests E.Gadd performs on them either, which is why Luigi has been slowly managing to convince E.Gadd to be more ethical and ask the ghosts instead of capturing them and keeping them locked up to only bring them out when necessary. He thinks it's a shame that the professor doesn't take time out of his day, or at least hires someone to do it for him, to help calm down the ghosts and deal with the real problem.

Luigi has been building up his confidence around ghosts by doing this himself behind the professors back and setting them free, he knew if E.Gadd were to find out he wouldn't really care but Luigi doesn't need him nagging him about it either.

He's started off with the ghosts he's found abandoned in random rooms, making peace and then letting them go so they can go home, and then he slowly started taking them from more obvious places.

Luigi hasn't been able to find all of them yet which is obvious because of the current situation but now he has to try and fix it because he knows the professor certainly can't. However, this is giving him the motivation to do a more proper and thorough sweep through the place when this situation is sorted out to make sure there isn't a repeat of this event.

Luigi dropped off his bag and the food he made at home in the kitchen and set out to find the enraged hammer ghosts. Luckily, as soon as Luigi exited to the corridor he immediately spotted one, this one had tossed the tables about and broke the glass from the nearby door's. It was currently brooding as it circled around a broken plant pot not sure what to do with itself.

He approached it slowly and began to speak, at first the little hammer was having none of it, so Luigi nervously patted his pockets to feel if he had anything of use on him and heard a crinkling sound come from his right pocket.

It was a packet of sherbets he forgot he had, he reached his hand in his pocket to retrieve it and shakily opened the packet, taking a hand full out and nervously offered them to the ghost, coaxing it a little towards him.

It cautiously approached Luigi then snatched the sweets out of his hand and guzzled them in an instant. Luigi got a few more out and held his hand out for it to get some more as he began to talk to it again to help calm it down, he felt he was more dealin with a spooked dog rather than a ghost while doing this. It took a few minutes of convincing and an entire packet of sherberts before it finally calmed down.

Luigi had it follow him as he began to search for the others, he found one in the garage and another in one of the many spare rooms, presumably the one where their painting was kept. He now had 3 ghosts following and helping him try to find the last one, it wasn't until he had nearly given up on his search when he heard muffled chatter from behind a door, King Boo’s door.

Thinking he had nothing to loose he opened the door to see the last little hammer sat outside of King Boo's enclosure speaking with the King, it looked so upset.

Luigi could hardly believe that King Boo was actually comforting it, its not like he wasn't acting like his usual cold self, but there was a slight tenderness to the way he spoke with it, he was sympathising with them and was just listening to them babble on.

King Boo looked up to lock eyes with Luigi for a split moment before a scowl formed on his face and he looked away

“I'm assuming this was your doing? Locking them up? Are you going to take them back and put them in another painting and just leave them to rot?" the King said with a very bitter tone

“Wha- no of course not! Why would I do that?! Listen, just because I assist E.Gadd with a few of his projects does not mean I go around capturing these guys for fun! I just wanted to gather them all so I could let them go!" Luigi raised his voice, he didn't mean to, he understood why the King made that assumption, he knew that he had no reason to believe his words. But to be immediately accused of doing something like that really pushed his buttons

That caught the King a little off guard and turned to look at the plumber again, then looking at the 3 other little hammers by his legs looking a little frightened at the sudden outburst. The 4th rushed to the other 3 when it too noticed them and they all embraced each other while.

“Right.. And why are you doing that?" the King asked bluntly not really understanding why since he knew E.Gadd would never ask such a thing of him.

“Maybe because I don't like them being trapped either? Just because I've caught some before whenever I've had to fight you doesn't mean I go out of my way to do it in my spare time for kicks. I only do it when I have to. I have no interest in keeping them trapped here.” Luigi answered still a bit snippy

King Boo seemed genuinely baffled at this and was thrown off by Luigi's anger. He has never seen Luigi like this before. Before he could get another word in however Luigi spoke up again

“I apologise for raising my voice but I need to get these 4 out of here before E.Gadd asks questions. I'll come by later” to which Luigi then left the room, leaving the King in confused silence.

Cut to about 3 hours later, during that time Luigi had spoken with all 4 of them and let them out into the forest, he then got the helpers out from their hiding spots and got them to help him start cleaning up the mess. After the first 2 hours they had finished up, the hour after that was vaguely explaining to E.Gadd what happened keeping as many details as he could out, and then starting to prepare the food he left in the kitchen earlier, which was a simple creamy chicken pasta with spinach in it to get the professor to eat some more leafy Green's.

He prepared a bowl of pasta for E.Gadd, himself and.. well he felt as though he should probably bring another peace offering considering how Luigi snapped at him earlier, he's not going to apologize for what he said but he doesn't want the little progress he has made to go down the drain.

So after he made sure E.Gadd was all set up with his food Luigi set off to go see the Boo, hoping that the additional gifts he had gotten the king would help make up for it *and butter him up*

Luigi knocked on the door and awaited a response from the other, he tried to balance the two bowls properly on one arm but the cuts he got from cleaning up earlier was mixing with the hot surface of the bowl and made it harder and harder to keep them from smashing on the floor from pain.

"Come in" King Boo shouted from behind the door. It startled Luigi a little but not enough to drop the bowls

Luigi made his way into the room with haste so he could put the food down as soon as possible, slamming the door behind him a bit harder than he meant to in his rush.

After putting the dishes down on the desk and Luigi was able to worry about something other than the hot ceramic burning his hands, he looked up to face king boo while still shaking his hands about so the air could cool them off.

The look on the King's face was utter bewilderment as the scene played out before him, Luigi had never seen that face on him before and it managed to get a small bit of laughter out of him which only confused King boo more.

From King Boo's perspective Luigi had snapped at him earlier and the Boo felt as though he should sort of apologise for the words he said as he knows spouting stuff like that isn't exactly going to make someone your friend. Then Luigi comes back a few hours later politely knocking at the door and then bursting in when he was given the go ahead, slams the door behind him, puts the food down in lightning speed, then flaps his hands about, and then finally looks up at him and starts laughing. It was very confusing without context

Luigi sat his bag down on the desk as he pulled the chair up to sit on before he explained "the dishes are hot and were burning my hands" before he made an awkward smile that still had a bit of humour in it

"Ah." is all the king could think to say, his brain failing to come up with any good responses now that Luigi was actually here

... "Anywayysss, I brought food and a couple more peace offerings for you" Luigi said as he picked up one of the dishes from the desk and quickly leaned over to set it down next to the container before it had the chance to burn him again

"Isn't the food already a peace offering?" the king quirked his brow as he watched Luigi's antics, he did have to admit it was a little funny to watch

"Well a double peace offering then, you know? For extra peace" Luigi said as he gestured about with the cutlery, got up and crouched down to open the hatch door from his side

"Do you think you will win me over purely with food and small gifts?" King Boo asked with a flat tone but was genuinely curious to see it this was the man's only strategy

"Well of course not, but I know it doesn't hurt now does it? I mean I personally would love to be won over by gifts and food" Luigi laughed a little to himself as he slid the food and cutlery in before standing up to get his bag

"I suppose not.. " The King had to admit that the 'offerings' where nice to get, but his attention was quickly stolen by Luigi rummaging around in his bag, curious as to what he was going to pull out of it this time

From the look on Luigi's face it seemed like he was struggling to find the items in his bag, feeling about for whatever he was after, every now and then his eyes lit up a little when he thought he had the item but then quickly got annoyed when he realized the object felt similar but wasn't the thing he was after.

After a very painful minute of watching him struggle the boo began to snicker a little
"Stars- you know- you know you can just dump the bag out on the desk" King Boo chuckled

"Yeah well then the surprise would be ruined! If it wasn't- for- this-stupid-bag! Agh! Come on where is it- FOUND IT!!" Luigi laughed a little with the king although his annoyance was very visible, but then he burst out into celebration after he finally found the thing he was after

Luigi dramatically pulled out a small black bag from his bag and held it in the air as if to say to whatever God was messing with him that he was victorious in their petty battle

He then walked over and slid the bag inside the hatch to sit beside the food before he closed the door and hit the button to open it on the other side
The king raised his eyebrow at Luigi once more before looking towards the food in the hatch and sat down and grabbed the dish

The pasta smelt really nice, the sauce, and the chicken, and the spices, and the sauce- it just all smelt delicious, it looked to be a generous portion as well. He rested the dish on his lap and then grabbed the black bag, opening it to find a small treasure trove of sweets. Chocolate, lollies, gummies, strawberry liquorice, a good selection of all sorts.

"I didn't know what you liked, so I just got a bit of everything. It's not a whole lot but that should do you for another week, yes?" Luigi said hesitantly as he watched the king inspect the sweets

After a moment the king said "they will do for now yes. I do prefer chocolate but I do like the options you have provided. I shall look forward to eating them later, however they may not last me a whole week, maybe not even 2 days" the king said a little bluntly trying to hide the little smile on his lips as he spoke, putting all the sweets back in the bag

"All that suger will rot your teeth you know" Luigi laughed a little

"I'm dead. A ghost. My teeth, like the rest of my body, do not rot, because I am dead. My real teeth are long gone by now I'm sure. Probably not from sweets though. So I will scarf down as much sweets as I bloody well please, thank you very much" the king deadpanned

Luigi chuckled "you do have a point there, well anyways you should instead focus on eating your actual dinner before it gets cold"

"Very well" King Boo replied before taking his fork and scooping up some pasta

Luigi picked up his bag, sat back down on the seat and rested the bag on his lap, he then grabbed his own dish and placed it on top of the bag so it wouldn't burn his lap and then picked up his fork ready to eat.

"Before I eat I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for raising my voice earlier.. I do not regret or apologize for what I said as I meant every word, but I do think it was a bit uncalled for me to raise my voice like that at you" Luigi said as he breathed out a sigh

The King had a slightly shocked look on his face like a deer in headlights while he was halfway through a mouthful of pasta. He quickly chewed and swallowed the rest of it before he spoke "its..fine, I would have been upset too. I think. I don't blame you for raising your voice though."

"Good to know. Thank you" and with that Luigi began to eat his food as well, leaving the Boo a little puzzled, but not deterred from finishing the rest of his plate.

After a short time had passed, both had finished their meals, Luigi had collected the bowls and King Boo was starting to eat some of his sweets to which he had been secretly looking forward to throughout the whole meal. Chocolate is always a good start when you have been craving sugar for so long .

Luigi noted what chocolates King Boo went for for future purchases, then he started into a rant "I can't believe E.Gadd. I told him I don't how many times, to release the ghosts trapped in the paintings, I even removed the ones from the walls myself and they were the most obvious ones! With the rest he just puts them wherever and just forgets about them. Honestly im a little baffled at how he's managed to make it this late into life." Luigi complained, he knew the king enjoyed hearing him complain about the professor, and it allowed him to blow of some much needed steam about the man with someone who understood actually the frustration

"So that's what happens? No wonder the one who found me was so upset. I tried to calm them down to the- best of my abilities.. but it was just all over the place and clearly in a disoriented and pitiful state the poor thing. Elvin couldn't keep a cactus alive even if he put actual effort into it." King Boo grumbled

Luigi went on "yeah! And get this, he didn't even know they got out! He didn't know anything even happened in the lab! He was completely unaware! He's always so absorbed in his work he just doesn't pay attention to anything else"

"You're joking. He's even more senile than I thought, how he's managing to keep me here is a miracle. I'm surprised he hasn't forgot about me in some dusty corner yet" the King looked Appalled yet not awfully surprised considering it was E.Gadd

"I don't think he could ever forget you, I mean I know I wouldn't, you are a very impressionable character, plus you are very interesting and kinda fun to talk to, and even E.Gadd needs his social interactions every now and then from anything other than a computer screen" Luigi chuckled

This surprised King Boo in a very different fashion, he felt..? Bashful? Flustered? It caught him off guard!! I mean how would you react if someone had said that to you out of nowhere?! Don't answer that.

Long story short, he felt embarrassed at the thought of actually being flattered at something so simple as being told he’s hard to forget, it was a little pathetic. He hoped that Luigi wouldn't pick up on it, he had trained himself to hide most of his facial expressions well in the past, but it's been a long time since he's ever needed to put it into practice so he has no idea if his face is betraying him right now or not. That didn't really matter a whole lot at the moment however, as he knew Luigi was trying to steer this conversation somewhere specific, he just didn’t know what for, hopefully it meant that luigi was to worried about that to read into his reactions at the moment.

Luigi however did notice, well he more noticed the uncharacteristic quietness, the increased avoidance in eye contact and the slightest, almost unnoticeable purple tint on his cheeks, but that could just be a trick of the lighting.

Well regardless to whether he was flustered or not, he figured a bit more truthful flattery may be nice for the Boo to hear since he hadn't outright objected to his statement.

He continued "well at the very least I'd notice you missing, I'd rather not have to capture you again if I could help it that and I'm starting to grow fond of your company, even if it's just sharing a meal and talking about E.Gadd" Luigi said as he looked down, trying to make it bit easier for the Boo

King Boo stayed silent, he felt he almost knew where this conversation was going, but regardless he felt luigi was about to rip the plaster off.

"I.. I hate having to do this cycle with you. I don't want to keep bringing you back here after you escape because you keep coming after me, I don't take pleasure in keeping you in a little glass test tube and your subjects in paintings. I know we haven't had a good past with each other but I want to change that, I want for this time to be your last in this cell and last time to be the last time I had to capture you.. But I can't do that without addressing what we both experienced" Luigi finally spoke after the silence grew heavy and sat on his chest for too long

"You seem to think we are all buddy buddy now after a few shared meals, how easy do you think this is going to be Luigi? Just a quick sorry and everything will be okay? You seriously can't think that, can you. " the King spoke after composing himself

"Of course I don't, I've dealt with too many 'villains' and less than ideal people to know that, but if we want to stop this, then apologies need to be exchanged so we can move on" Luigi sighed

"Who said this was a ”We” situation?” King Boo sarcastically remarked

“Well I know you don't want to be stuck in there forever. And I know you want to be out there in the woods with your Boo's. This time round you seem so different, compared to the previous times you've been here” Luigi said

"Different.?" King Boo was becoming more frustrated how blunt and awkward Luigi was being

"You just seem fed up. You enjoy the fun of being mischievous and messing with me sure, but at the end of the day you want freedom more than anything, you just didn't have the same energy towards everything this time round, you look tired” Luigi tried his best to suger coat the words that came out of his mouth but it didn't exactly help with his bluntness

"That's a very nice way of saying I look like shit." King Boo huffed

Luigi was starting to get frustrated as well at this point "For the love of-! Okay. Listen, I'll go first okay? I'm sorry for capturing you, I'm sorry for capturing your Boo's and I'm sorry for intruding in your home the way I did. I was just trying to get my brother back, I never wanted to go around and hunt you all down, but whenever you got out you'd come after me and capture my family again and again, forcing me to take actions I did not want to take, I do not want to harm anybody you may care for, I just wanted to get my family out safe however I could. "

"If he hadn't intruded on my property then I wouldn't have captured Mario. You kept getting in the way of every single one of my plans and still somehow managed to capture me despite being the scaredy cat you are! At first I was just frustrated and wanted to teach you a lesson, after that it got more personal, the more you succeeded the more I wanted to go after you so I could finally beat you! Is it so bad that I wanted the trophy I so obviously deserved!" King Boo exacerbated

"Mario wouldn't have been there in the first place if you hadn't sent that letter, or did you just conveniently forget that whole piece of information! I just wanted to save my brother, you kept escalating the situation because you couldn't control your temper or obsessive tendencies!!" Luigi snapped at him

"OBSESSIVE TENDENCIES?! What do you take me for?! I am so above that! Being obsessed with you just because I wasn't able to defeat you in battle?! How crazy do you think I am?! " King Boo doubled down and shouted after Being called out in such a way, his pride wouldn't allow him to just take it like that.

"Come on! You are lying to yourself if you think that isn't obsessive tendencies coming out after a while! Are you even listening to what I'm saying?! " Luigi shouted back not feeling heard at all

"I'm hearing words but nothing that makes any sense!" King Boo crossed his arms and sneered at Luigi

"Okay. That's it. Time out. We need a five minute breather to calm down" Luigi didn't want this conversation to escalate any further than it already had

"Fine." King Boo exclaimed

…

…

…

…

…

The silence shared was tense.

However..

After a while, it loosened

And both sunk into thought about how to approach the conversation next

King Boo hated to admit it, but he knew exactly how he was in the wrong, he understood what Luigi was saying, he just didn't want to admit it. But he had to remind himself of what E.Gadd said, he couldn't believe it but he was actually taking in some of the old fart's advice. He knew he was going to have to..take accountability so that he could befriend Luigi, it didn't mean he wasn't bitter and pissed off about having to actually say he was wrong though.

"Ugh.. I hate this. Fine!” King Boo said in defeat
He took in a deep breath before he spoke "I'm sorry. For.. how I've acted in the past. I know what I did was wrong. I don't have an excuse for it, I started it and continued to force you into it, and I apologize for that- and any pain I may have caused you or your family.

I'm still not happy about my ghosts being held captive but I'm aware of how that old bastard has a price for using his equipment for his favorite subject. I cannot tell you my exact motives to all of it but do know that I am sssorry- just- please- stop looking at me like that!” The Boo looked away

When King Boo started talking Luigi was surprised, he didn't think King Boo would actually start talking first, never mind starting with his attempts at an actual apology, with the words 'I'm sorry' in it! he was just so dumbfounded he just kept staring wide eyed at him

He snapped himself out of his staring trance and started "Right-sorry- you don't like eye contact-, well, Thank you. For the apology. It is very appreciated.. and I stillman what I said earlier, I'm sorry for capturing you an your subjects the way I did, and for intruding on your property and disturbing you all” Luigi stumbled over himself

"Thank you.. I suppose I should also say something like- well, I haven't had to do anything like this in decades so give me a moment to find the words..

In the future I will try my best to better myself and promise to endeavour in not targeting you or your loved ones anymore, unless they try to harass my ghosts or Boo's first. I'll start.. therapy or something to prove my word to be genuine I suppose" it had been quite a while since King Boo had to, or better put, wanted to, properly apologise to anyone.

"I will aim to help your subjects that are still captured to make it up to you, and I promise not to take part in capture of ghosts for E.Gadd unless absolutely necessary” Luigi returned the sentiment

They both sat in silence once again to digest the words said, calmer this time

"So.. Is that it? Apologies done?" King Boo asked

"Yes, unless you are unhappy with them?" Luigi questioned

"No, I think it was fine, you said what I wanted to hear and I assume what I said was satisfactory and to your liking?" King Boo wanted to make sure it was all sorted and that his words were enough for Luigi

"Pfft, yes, I am satisfied with your apology, although I am going to hold you to getting that therapy" Luigi joked

"Then I suppose this part of the process is over with for now" now his apology had been confirmed to be enough he was more than happy to move on from it

"Yeah, we can revisit it at some point in the future if we need to talk about it a bit more, but I think for the time being it was good. I am sorry for raising my voice at you this ti e round though" Luigi reassured

"It's alright, I raised my voice first, it was a- reasonable reaction, and I had it coming” King Boo huffed out with a smile

"That is true" Luigi said

"Hey! You werent suposed to agree with me!" He joke a little "Well.. now what?" King Boo said a bit impatiently, he was starting to get a bit more excited now the thought of friendship was firmly planted in his mind

"Well, now we take the next steps to befriending each other" Luigi said with a smile

"Hah, you want to be my friend" King Boo joked

"I don't see why that's so funny" Luigi teased

“Because you want to be friends with me- it just is! Anyways, what are these steps?" He blubbering out

"First steps.. I guess reintroductions are the best way to start, it's not like the first time was exactly great between us" Luigi thought aloud

"I beg to differ, scaring you was hilarious, you should have seen the look on your face" King Boo jokes once more

"The scaring isn't going to stop is it." Luigi sighed, he phrased it as a question but he already knew the answer

"Nope" King Boo said with just a hint of noticeable glee in his voice

"Well anyways I don't even know your name, or if you even have one, I just know you as King Boo, the only name I've ever heard of you having was Teresa, no judgement here if it is your name! i just- well you don't look like a Teresa to me and I want to make sure is all” Luigi explained

"Of course I have a name, only my friends know my real name which is why the history books or E.Gadd don’t know it. Teresa was a name given to me at one point when I took on a more feminine appearance for a while but it is not my proper name” King Boo said matter-of-factly

"Well, you don't have to, but I suppose since I'm becoming your friend now, you can tell me your name if you want to" Luigi said apprehensively

"I suppose.. Just don't tell E.Gadd for the love of whatever you believe in or I will kill you” King Boo threatened, he did not need or want E.Gadd to ever get a hold of that piece of information

"Understood” Luigi quickly replied, he didn't want to make the Boo any more angry than he already had today

“Well I'll start with the introduction since you know already know most of that about me" Luigi said moving on as fast as he could

Luigi got up from his chair and stood up straight in front of King Boo and held out his hand ready to shake the King's

"Hello, my name is Luigi Mario of the mushroom kingdom, it's a pleasure to meet you sir" Luigi said with a smile and cheer in his voice

"You know we can't actually shake hands right?" king boo said bluntly

"Yes I know but it's important, come on it's your go" Luigi insisted

"Ugh, fine.. " the King groaned

King Boo got up from where he was sat and stood up straight and held his hand close to his side while doing the same gesture as Luigi the best he could in the limited space

"Greetings Luigi, my name is- my name is Luan. King of the Boo's and partial ruler over and resident of the evershade valley, it's a pleasure to meet you" King Boo grunted, wanting to get it out as fast a he could

"That is a beautiful name" Luigi said

"An old friend of mine picked it out for me, we chose each other's names since we didn't have any at that point. Don't wear it out" King Boo passed by the comment as to not feel embarrassed by it

"Well they chose well, I think it suits you, and is much less of a mouth full. It's nice to be acquainted with you Luan" Luigi said happily

They both pretend to shake the others hand much to The King’s dismay an embarrassment

“It's nice to be acquainted with you too Luigi” King Boo said, it was nice to hear his name being said again, it sounded so odd to hear it coming from Luigi though, it wasn't bad, just odd, he liked it.