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Chapter Text

It had been about two months since the Mario brothers had used the power star and defeated Bowser, shrinking and imprisoning him for the safety of not only the mushroom kingdom, but all the others as well. The princess and a large group of toads had helped the penguins restore their palace, The Kong Kingdom had decided to become permanent allies of the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario and Luigi had even decided to move into this new world of theirs! They still visited their family in Brooklyn of course, and life had been good for quite a while, But nothing lasts forever.

The toad set to guard Bowser in his cage has grown enraged from the king's constant singing and had left him unattended, needing something, anything to get those damn lyrics out of his head. Now Bowser simply needed a plan to escape, someone to come by who he could trick into granting him his freedom, and things couldn't have gone any better for the dragon when Luigi was walking by, leaving us where we are now, Bowser back on the Koopa kingdom's throne and Luigi locked away in a cell...

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"All hail, the king of the mighty koopas!" Kalmek cried as the koopas cheered and whooped for their king, excited and thrilled by his return. Luigi was locked away in the dungeon, able to hear the celebration taking place over his head. The only reason he wasn't being dangled over a massive pit of lava this time was because all the metal cages had been melted during the failed wedding between Bowser and Peach. He should have never trusted Bowser, of course he hadn't changed, why would he? Luigi felt like a fool for thinking that he could free a changed Bowser, maybe help make peace between the Koopa and Mushroom kingdoms.

He could recognize the sound of sharp talons scraping against the stone flooring as someone approached, knowing exactly who it was. "Well well well, I'm honestly shocked, greenie. Seriously, how could you fall for such an obvious lie?.." The turtle snarled as he gave a deep laugh, finding how trusting the human was quite laughable. Luigi just looked away, not wanting to look at the Koopa King for multiple reasons. He'd been tricked, humiliated, captured, and embarrassed all in a few hours, as per usual. Bowser could tell the man was upset, but paid little mind to it, he had to catch up on what had happened in his absence and see his kids, he didn't have time for the plumber.

Across the land, at the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario was in a panic at the capture of his younger brother. He knew he'd saved him before, but Bowser would likely be more on guard this time, it was too risky just to charge in like he had before, especially since he'd still struggled the last time! Peach was doing whatever she could to help the poor man calm down, but it wasn't helping much to soothe his worry for his brother. Peach was still trying to calm the plumber when a toad entered the room, saying there was someone there with a message from the Koopa Kingdom. Quickly, the two followed the toad and were led into the main hall, where Kalmek waited for them.

"Ah, wonderful to see you, princess, Bowser sends his best regards... As for you, Mario, Bowser has a message. Ahem..." The magikoopa cleared his throat as he waved his wand, summoning a scroll in front of him as he adjusted his glasses. "To, Mario. I'm sure you're already aware that I have your brother once again. He is to stay here as my prisoner to the end of his time unless my demands are met, and trust me, I can shorten said time. Bring me my beloved Peach, allow me to have her hand, and you can have your brother. You have a year to make your choice, refuse or take too long, and you can say goodbye to any chance of seeing your brother again!" The old koopa read aloud before making the scroll vanish, bidding the princess farewell, and vanishing into a cloud of purple smoke.

"...M-mama Mia... What are we gonna do..." Mario spoke softly as he sat back on the ground, his hands covering his face as he started to sob and the princess came to his side to help soothe him. They couldn't just agree to Bowser's terms, they couldn't and they wouldn't, but they needed to get Luigi back somehow... This was going to be far more difficult than the last time...

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It had been about a week now, maybe two, since Bowser had captured Luigi a second time and thrown him into a cell as ransom. He had kept the plumber well fed since he needed him alive if the princess and Mario accepted his deal and he needed to trade him, but that was about it. Luigi was starting to grow bored out of his mind, the rare visits from the king doing little to entertain him since all he did was insult and degrade him. He'd tried to start up a conversation with the koopa a few times now, but Bowser always ignored him, typically laughing at his face before stomping off. Honestly, if he hadn't started counting the cracks in the walls of his cell, he might have started to lose his mind. It was around crack 176 that he started to hear little whispers and feet pattering around the halls, or maybe it was crack 276.

He worried that he was actually starting to lose his mind now, since whenever he looked, there was nobody outside his cell, and he was the only prisoner down here. It was starting to make him paranoid as he tried to shut out the noise, that was, until he heard a little voice actually speak to him and not just around him. "Hey you, what's your name?" The voice asked, gaining the plumber's attention. Looking around, he saw a koopa standing outside of his cell, but he wasn't a normal koopa, actually, he looked like a mini Bowser. "Hellooooo, I asked for your name?" The koopa repeated, looking irritated now that Luigi hadn't answered him when he spoke. "Oh, ah... M-my apologies, I didn't-a realize you were asking me a question... M-my-a name is Luigi... May I ask who you are?" The man responded, realizing he was being rude by not answering the young koopa, who appeared to be a child based on his actions and voice.

"My name is Bowser! Well... Bowser the second.. Or Junior... You can just call me Junior tho, everyone else does!" The child, now known as Junior, responded, grinning at Luigi with his sharp teeth. "B-Bowser Junior?.. Like... A-as in being his-a son?.." Luigi asked, having not known that Bowser even had any children until now. "Yeah! My siblings are here too! They just didn't want to talk to you because they're scaredy ca- HEY!" The small koopa shouted as he suddenly was lifted from the ground by another who seemed to appear from thin air, scowling at the child, or rather, the prince. "We aren't scaredy cats! You're just the only one who wanted to break dad's rule about talking to prisoners!" The new koopa scolded. He looked around the typical size of most koopas, but clearly was different from them due to his large blue Mohawk and just general appearance looking more like that of Bowser. "Yeah! We just don't wanna make him mad!" Another voice spoke, a koopa once again appearing from nothing. This one was much different from the first two, being brown and grey with a star on his face instead of the typical shades of yellow.

Pretty soon, a small group of koopas who weren't like the ones he'd seen before had all arrived, 8 boys including the first three and a girl, all arguing over why the ones who appeared to be older hadn't wanted to speak with the human. "ah... H-hello? C-can-a I ask a question?.." The plumber eventually spoke up, reminding the koopas that there was someone right there. They all paused for a minute until one of them, seeming the tallest of the group with blue hair, tho darker than the first one, stepped forward. "Fine, but only if we each get to ask you something after, so... You get three questions!" The koopa responded, nodding as he held up three of his clawed fingers. "Ah, o-okie dokie, that-a sounds good to me! So... Who are you... Ah... N-nine?.." Luigi asked, wanting to know who each of these strange koopas were, tho, clearly children of Bowser and Junior's siblings. "Good question greenie! These are my siblings, the koopalings!" Junior said happily as he approached the cell once again before turning and pointing at each of his siblings one at a time.

"The snobby blue one is Ludwig Von Koopa, tho we all just call him Ludie, and the green one with the goggles is Iggy!" He explained as he pointed to the dark blue koopa and another who was similar in height, but much slimmer with tall, green hair. "Then there's Morton Junior and Roy, Morton is the one with the star on his face and Roy is the cool one with shades!" He explained, pointing to the brown koopa from before and a new one who had a pair of red sunglasses perched on his snout. "And then there's the twins, Larry and Lemmy! They're pretty cool!" He said as he pointed to the koopa from before with a blue Mohawk and another who looked very similar, but smaller and with a rainbow Mohawk instead. "And then, of course, is our sister Wendy O. Koopa, but we all just call her Wendy. Don't get to close or she'll try to force some makeup on ya!" Junior joked as he introduced the last of his siblings, making himself and all his brothers chuckle while their sister huffed.

"So greenie, what else do ya wanna ask?" Junior asked with a grin, seemingly having enjoyed introducing his siblings to the human. "Ah... W-well um... F-first it's-a very nice to meet you all, and uh... I-I guess I want to ask... I-if-a Bowser is your father, who is your m-mother?" The plumber asked with a puzzled expression, after all, he hadn't really seen any female koopas aside from Wendy, and Bowser seemed so insistent on marrying Peach, it can make a guy wonder where all these kids came from. "...Well, junior here is the only one who's actually related to dad, he adopted the rest of us, but we couldn't be happier!" The green haired koopa, Iggy, responded. "Yeah, but we don't even know who his ma is, so none of us really have one, dad's been trying tho!" Roy added as he adjusted his sunglasses, the others agreeing with him. "Oh... I-I-a see... So that's why he's-a trying to marry the princess..." The plumber mumbled to himself, he had one question left, so he'd have to use it wisely.

"Ah... F-for my-a last question... D-do any of you have any idea how long Bowser plans on-a keeping me here and ah... W-why?.." He decided to ask, hoping someone would know so that he could better prepare himself if it would be a while. "Oh! I read a scroll that dad wrote for Kamek to read to the princess and the other human! If I remember correctly... It said something about them having a year to hand over the princess! I'm guessing that means you're staying for a year!" Wendy responded with a nod, trying to remember exactly what it had said on the scroll. The fact that there was a limit on how long Bowser planned on keeping Luigi around scarred the plumber, after all, what would happen if they didn't meet his demands by the time he wanted? What would happen to him!? "There, now that we've answered your questions, its our turn!" Lemmy added, him and the rest of his siblings grinning from ear to ear as they stared at the human, oh boy.

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"Why are you locked up?" "Are you really a human?" "Why are you dressed like that?" "Are humans fire proof?" "Do you have an escape plan?" "How do you know our dad?" "Is it true you and some other human beat dad up?" "What do you think of dad?" Luigi was all but instantly bombarded with questions after the koopalings had answered his, each of them asking their question at the same time. "Ah- W-wait a moment, I-I-a can barely understand you... C-could you-a ask one at a time, please?.." The plumber asked as he held onto the bars of his head, trying to make the young koopas slow down so that he could understand what they were asking. They all laughed at realizing he could barely understand them and decided to take turns, Ludwig going first.

"Fair enough, human. So here's my question, Why are you being held here?" The dark blue-haired koopa asked as the others calmed down a bit, each of them staring directly at the human and making him nervous. "Ah.. W-well uh... Y-you're father is using me for ransom I suppose..." The human responded, Another of the koopalings interrupting before Ludwig could say something else. "Alright then, Luigi. So are you really a human?" Larry asked with a grin, shoving his older brother out of the way to stand in front of Luigi's cell. "Oh, y-yes. Unless I-a secretly have a non-human relative, I'm-a human through and through!" Luigi responded with a small smile, forcing himself not to chuckle at how the brother's interacted. While Ludwig and Larry fought a bit, a third of the koopalings stepped forward, Wendy.

"So why are you dressed like that? I've never seen anyone wear that kinda stuff before." She asked as she looked the human up and down, almost analyzing his outfit. "Oh, because I'm a plumber! M-me and-a my brother Mario both are, meaning we work with-a pipes and such, so these kinds of clothes are best!" Luigi explained to the koopa, gesturing to a few stains on his overalls that he'd gotten from working in sewers and pipes before. As the koopa stepped away, thinking about the human's response, another soon took her place, Morton. "Are human's fire proof?" He asked simply. "Ah.. N-no... No we are-a not..." Luigi responded, a bit startled by the bluntness of the question. "Good to know." Morton mumbled as he stepped away, leaving Luigi very confused until another of the koopalings, Lemmy, leaped up and clung to the bars of the cell, scaring Lugi half to death. "So do ya' got any escape plans? Huh? Do ya'?" The hyper koopa asked, grinning from ear to ear with sharp teeth.

"J-jeez!.. Ah.. W-well uh... N-no... But I-a b-believe my brother is working on one..." The plumber responded, clutching his chest as his heart raced from nearly having a heart attack, relieved when his answer seemed to satisfy the young koopa who hopped away once he was done speaking. "So, how do you even know our dad?" The calmest of the koopas, Iggy, asked as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. "W-well.. This isn't the first time you're-a father captured me... That's-a kinda how I met him I guess..." Luigi mumbled after gathering himself again, taking a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart before looking at the next koopaling approaching his cell. "Is it true that you and some other human managed to beat our dad? Is that why he's been gone for a while?" Roy asked as he stared down the plumber, his expression hard to read with his shades on.

"Ah... Y-yes, me and Mario, the brother I-a mentioned before, we managed to beat him and shrunk him, w-we had-a no idea he had kids at the time..." He responded with a nod, a bit thankful that none of them seemed too upset at this, including Roy who just shrugged before stepping aside, leaving Junior to ask a question. "...What do you think of our dad?" He asked, staring up at the human. "..W-well.. Eh.. Y-you're father is rather intimidating... I-I-a was scared half to death when first meeting him, and still am now... B-but-a he doesn't seem all bad, after all, you're-a all r-rather nice!" He responded with a small smile, which seemed to please the small Koopa who smiled back, along with his siblings. Before anyone else could say anything tho, the oh so familiar of talons against stone could be heard, and before anyone could hide, Bowser came from around the corner, stomping towards the young koopas.

"What do you all think you're doing!? What have I told you about talking to my prisoners!?" He growled at the kids, who didn't seem to scared by it while Luigi cowered in the furthest corner of his cell. "D-dad we were just-" "No, All of you are grounded, get to your rooms, now!" The king snarled, most of the koopalings groaning in annoyance, if not pouting, before doing as they were told and leaving the dungeon, each one going to their rooms. Once they were all out of sight, Bowser turned to Luigi with a scowl, smoke puffing from his nostrals as he gripped the metal bars of the cell, bending them a bit. "I swear to the fucking stars, greenie, if you laid a finger on their scales or told any of them fucking lies, you're dead!" The dragon roared before stomping off, leaving Luigi with a racing heart as he cowered in the corner, his stomach in knots from the terrifying interaction. "...M-mama mia... M-mario, please-a get me out of here soon..."

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It had to have been at least a month by this point since the koopa king had captured Luigi again, maybe longer, but it was a bit better now. He'd practically been rotting away before, on the verge of loosing his mind, until the koopalings first visited him. Since then, they've actually come by quite often, after they were ungrounded of course and being much more careful than they had been the first time, now always having at least one of them guarding the door. It gave Luigi something to look forward to. Sure they didn't visit every day, but at least every other day someone would stop by for a chat. Some of them even brought him things to entertain himself with when they weren't around, specifically Junior who brought him a tennis ball and Lenny who gave him some art and writing supplies. Sometimes Wendy and Lenny would bring him some new food to try, stuff that was better than the stale bread and warm water he'd mostly been living off of.

Any time a guard or Bowser would come by, he'd hide his things under the pillow on his mattress to make sure it wouldn't get taken away, and it seemed to be working so far. Honestly, the Koopalings seemed fond of the human, the younger ones at least, the older ones like Ludwig and Iggy didn't mind him, but they visited him the least. Junior specifically liked the plumber more than the others, visiting consistently and eventually giving him the nickname Weegie. It was nice finally having someone to talk to, but little did Luigi know, the Koopalings were forming a plan to get him out of the cell, not the castle, just the cell. They didn't like that someone so kind was locked away like that, and eventually got an idea. Kamek would usually babysit the younger koopalings and work as a teacher for him, so they started to terrorize him more and more until eventually, he quit working as their teacher.

They calmed down when Bowser took the role, but could tell he was struggling since he had other things to do. Everything was going according to plan. "Hey, dad." Lemmy said as he walked up to their father's throne, looking up at the tired koopa king. "What is it, Lemmy?" Bowser asked, his chin resting in his clawed hand. "Well, I got an idea. I know you're getting tired juggling watching us and your duties as a king, so I thought of someone else who could watch us for ya!" Intrigued, the king raised an eyebrow as he looked down at his son. "Go on..." "Well, what about the human!" The young koopa offered before quickly being cut off by his father's angry growl. "No, you know I don't want any of you near him." He snarled, his tone firm. "I know, I know! But just listen! He's kinda rotting away in that cell, so why not make him suffer more by making him work while he's here? And what better to make him do than watch us?" The koopaling offered, his siblings listening from outside the door. Bowser on the other hand, glared down at the young koopa, thinking about what he'd said.

"...I already said no. Now go play with your siblings or something, I'm thinking..." The large koopa snarled, making his son sigh as his shoulders slumped and he nodded before turning and walking away. But Bowser couldn't ignore the idea proposed by his son, it would be good if he were able to focus more on his duties by having someone watching his kids. Not to mention it would be humorous to make the human work while imprisoned here. He tried to shake away the thought and go to bed, but the next morning he still couldn't stop thinking about the idea. With a defeated growl, he stormed down to the dungeon, slamming his fist against the bars as he snarled. "Wake up, greenie! Now!" He shouted, startling the human awake who sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes. 'W-wha.. B-bowser? W-what-a do you want?.." He asked nervously as he fidgeted with his hat. "I don't like you, Luigi. You're a useless pest who I'm only keeping around to get what I want. But I've decided to be nice and give you a use." The king growled, tail swaying behind him as his arms crossed over his chest.

"I need someone to watch my kids when I'm busy, and Kamek recent quit, so you're gonna be taking his place as babysitter. Got it, human?" The king snarled as he opened the cell and stomped over to Luigi, towering over him with a glare. If looks could kill, Luigi would already be long gone. "A-ah.. I.. Y-yes sir.. But c-can I-a a- Eep!" As soon as Luigi agreed, Bowser reached over and lifted him up by his overalls as tho he were a kitten being held by their scruff, walking out of the cell with Luigi held in his claws. "Good, you start today." He grumbled as he carried Luigi out of the dungeon and stopped outside of a door, kicking it open to reveal a bedroom, pretty empty, but with the essentials. He tossed Luigi inside, who stumbled to gain his footing, before walking in himself and opening another door that led to a small bathroom.

"This will be your room now since I don't want you watching my kids while filthy. Laundry runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays so put your dirty clothes in a basket before you clean up. You're still a prisoner, keep that in mind, I'm just being since since I need someone to watch my kids, don't fuck it up. A guard will come for you when you're needed." He growled before storming out, leaving Luigi alone in the room, pretty confused as he processed what had just happened. Once he'd come back to his senses, he went and took a shower before anything else, desperate to rid his skin of the grime clinging to it. Once he was clean, he found some clothes in a wardrobe and put them on, luckily fitting decently, if a little big. While he was stunned by the sudden change, he wasn't upset, rather grateful instead, after all, an actual bed and a bathroom were vast improvements from his cell, so he had no reason to complain.

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It had been a few hours since Luigi was left alone in his new room, free to do as he pleased until he was needed, so he took the time to get some proper rest after his shower. The cell he'd been forced to live in didn't have a very good bed, just a hard mattress and a thin blanket, not even a pillow. So the human was taking the opportunity to take a well deserved nap on a comfortable bed, which it very much was! The bed in this room might have even been more comfortable than his one at home! That or he's just slept on something that was practically a rock for so long that he forgot how his own bed had felt.

"Time for work, human!" Came a voice from the door, along with a few harsh knocks against it's wood. Luigi was startled from his sleep by the sound, but quickly fixed himself up before opening it. Before him stood your typical Koopa, a blue shell wearing some basic armor and wielding a spear, standing a bit shorter than Luigi but taller than some of the Koopalings. The guard was quick to point the spear at Luigi and made him start walking, keeping the tip against his back to keep him moving until they arrived at a large wooden door.
"The Koopalings have already had their breakfast, so you've just gotta watch em' for a few hours, should be simple enough for ya..." The Koopa spoke with a cold tone as he opened the door, revealing a large play room with all sorts of toys and structures within before he guided Luigi inside and shut the door behind him.

"Luigi!"A little voice called out, grabbing the human's attention before he was nearly tackled by a little ball of scales, which turned out to be Junior.
"If you're here, then that means dad made you our new babysitter, right?" The prince asked with a smile as Luigi scrambled a bit before managing to get a grip on him and keeping him held up. While Junior spoke, a few of the other Koopalings ran over as well, some in costumes while others looked the same as they had before.
"Ah.. Y-yes, that's-a right.." Luigi responded with a small nod, smiling at Junior and the other Koopalings.
"H-he gave me a better room and told me that I-I'd be-a watching over you all for a bit..." He responded with a nod, much to the joy of Junior and the others.

"Well before anything else..." Wendy said as she walked over and removed Junior from Luigi's arms, much to his dismay before handing him to Ludwig.
"Let me help you with those clothes, they don't seem to fit quite right..." She mumbled as she circled Luigi, examining his new attire before leading him away to a small boutique looking area in the playroom while the boys all went to do their own things. She started trimming and adjusting his shirt first until it fit nicely, tho she left his pants alone. While they were a little baggy around the ankles, the waistband was elastic, so they stayed up fine.

"There! Fashion disaster averted!" She said with a satisfied grin as she let Luigi get up from where she'd seated him, allowing him to test out the shirt a bit.
"W-wowie Wendy! This is-a much better! Great job!" He praised with a grin as he gave the Koopaling a high five, which she gladly accepted before deciding to work on a few costumes. As Luigi stepped away from her station, he was quickly ambushed by the twins dressed as knights.
"Hey, Weegie! Now that you're finally done with Wendy, you can play with us!" Larry said with a grin, Lemmy nodding along enthusiastically. They quickly led him over to where Junior and Morton were building something.

"Hey Weegie! Wanna help us build a wall around the tower?" Junior asked as he pointed up at a large, solid foam tower in the corner of the room that they were building around.
"We're gonna play save the princess, but we need a big wall first. Were gonna ask Wendy to be the princess later." Morton added, handing Luigi a large block of foam as he started to help make the tower. Once it was almost done, Junior went to ask Wendy to play, who whispered something to him. He seemed thrilled by the idea and went to ask Ludwig, Iggy, and Roy something as well. The wall was soon complete, along with some other things around the room that Junior suggested once he returned.

"It's perfect! This is gonna be awesome for our game! C'mon, lets go get our costumes!" Junior said with a grin. Luigi assumed he was just going to sit off to the side and watch the game, but turns out the kids had a role for him as well. Everyone aside from Ludwig went over to Wendy, who was now wearing a princess costume, and got dressed up. Iggy and Larry dressed up as guards, Morton and Roy got monster costumes, Lemmy got a wizard cloak paired with a hat, Junior dressed like a prince, and Luigi was given some accessories similar to Bowsers. Everyone quickly got into their positions, Luigi helping Wendy get up into the tower, and Ludwig started to play something on his Piano.

"I, Sir Koopa, will save the princess from you villains!" Junior called out as he held a plastic sword out to Iggy and Larry before charging at them, a fake battle taking place. While the 'prince' fought his way past his siblings as enemies, defeating the 'monsters' and getting the 'guards' to join him, Ludwig played music that matched the scene. Pretty soon, Junior defeated the 'wizard' and was left with his last opponent, Luigi the dragon, and Luigi decided to try and play his part well.
"Muahaha! So little prince, you-a made it past my forces! I-a must say, I'm impressed! But you'll never get to the princess, since I'll be the one to take you down!" He said in the deepest voice he could manage, making a few of the Koopalings laugh before the fake battle began. It went on for a bit since Luigi was meant to be the 'final boss' but he was eventually defeated by Junior, dramatically pretending to die.

"No! How-a could this me! I've been defeated! Curse-a you, Sir Koopa!.. Bleh..." Luigi said as he fell back, the plastic sword tucked under his arm to imitate a stab as he stuck out his tongue, making the kids laugh once again before Junior climbed the tower.
"Dear princess! I have come to rescue you!" He said as Ludwig played a much more peaceful tune.
"Oh, my hero! Thank you, Sir Koopa!" Wendy responded as she hugged her little brother before suddenly attacking him with kisses, making the other Koopalings double over in laughter, even Luigi couldn't help laughing a bit.
"Ack!- No, Wendy! Gross!" The young prince cried as he squirmed away from her and jumped off the tower, only to be followed and chased by his sister.

"But my prince! You are my one true love!!!~" She shouted as she chased the smaller Koopalings, continuing to make everyone laugh until a knock was heard at the door. Everyone paused as the door opened and Bowser stepped inside, the Koopalings all grinning happily at seeing their father.
"Dad!" They all cheered as they ran and jumped into their father's arms, each eager to tell him about the fun they'd had that day. This was only the second time Luigi had seen Bowser with his kids, and the first had been in the dungeon, he'd been protective of them then, and right now, he actually seemed really happy with them. It was a nice to see this kind of side to him.

"Haha! Well it seems like you lot had quite the fun day eh?" Bowser roared with a large grin before looking over at Luigi, noticing the accessories similar to his own.
"And what about him..." He growled, more than ready to pounce at the human if he'd messed up.
"He was awesome! He played an amazing dragon guarding the tower!" Junior said with a wide smile.
"I fixed up his shirt to and gave him his costume!" Wendy added, making the king relax a bit since his kids seemed happy, making Luigi let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath when Bowser stared him down.

"Alright then... Well, now that I'm free, I can join you all!" The king spoke with a laugh, his mood shifting back to a happy one as he turned his attention back to the Koopalongs. And he did just that, he joined in the games and fun, so Luigi was pretty damn tense the whole time, but Bowser seemed pretty calm, which helped him relax. After a while, they all ate Lunch before playing some more and, finally, having dinner. The Koopalings even insisted on Luigi eating with them, so the meal was rather nerve wracking for Luigi with the Koopa king sat beside him. It was rather nice tho, and the food was far better than the stuff he'd had to survive on in the past. Once all was said and done, Bowser put the Koopalings to bed before escorting Luigi back to his room, standing awkwardly outside the door once they'd arrived.

"...Well, Greenie, I must admit, you did well today... I suppose you aren't as useless as I thought after all..." He growled before sighing with annoyance and opening Luigi's door.
"Get some rest, you have to watch the kids again tomorrow. It should be easier tho since they have schoolwork to do, you'll have the teacher books so anything you don't know will be in them don't worry..." He growled as he started to walk away before looking back at the human a final time.

"Goodnight... Luigi." He grumbled before stomping off. Luigi hesitated before going into his room and closing the door behind him, leaning against it with a sigh. That. Was. Terrifying. But hey, he'd made it out alive at least, and hopefully, gotten a bit on the king's good side. In desperate need of some rest, the human changed into more comfortable clothes before flopping down onto his bed and passing out. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad from here on...

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Back in the Mushroom Kingdom.:

"We've been trying to plan out something to get Luigi back for-a weeks now, Peach! And we're still no closer than when we started! What if- W-what if Bowser gets impatient and-a shortens the time!? What do we do then!? What if we run out of time and he does something horrible to my brother!" Mario shouted as he placed around he and the princesses shared room, hands grabbing fistfuls of his hair as he ranted nervously. It had been over a month since Luigi was captured by now, and they weren't any closer to getting him back than they were after they first got Bowser's message from Kamek.

"Mario, please just breathe, you need to calm down, panicking will only make things worse..." Peach said calmly as she tried to calm down the plumber, her tone gentle as she placed her hands on his shoulders, hoping her words and touch would ground him somehow and help him relax a bit.
"We're going to get him back, Mario, and we won't stop trying until we do, I promise you. We just need to keep thinking of what to do, okay?" She said as she hugged him softly, gently running her hands through the man's hair in an attempt to help him relax and take a breather.
"..I know.. I know... I-I'm just-a so worried about him..." Mario mumbled as he hugged the princess back, holding onto her for dear life as tho Bowser were about to take her to.

"You know-a how Lu' is, he's just so kind to those who don't deserve it, so trusting... I'm-a worried he'll get hurt... I'm sorry for getting panicked..." The plumber added as he took a few deep breaths to calm down, his grip on the princess easing up a bit as he calmed down, grateful for her company and help. Soon after, there was a knock heard at the door, making the pair turn their attention to it before Peach allowed whoever was there to come inside.
"Hello Princess, Mario!" Toadette said sweetly as she walked in carrying a tray with a tea set, placing it on the small table the princess kept in the room.
"Hello, Toadette! How wonderful to see you, how are you?" The princess responded kindly as she walked over to the Toadette, helping her set up the tea set and pouring herself and Mario a cup before the two sat down to chat with her for a bit. A while into their conversation, Peach seemed to get lost in thought, her eyes locked on Toadette as she thought to herself.

"Peach? Are-a you alright?" Mario asked with a worried look on his face, placing his hand on the other human's shoulder and bringing her back to reality.
"Huh?- Oh!- Oh, no darling I'm alright, but thank you!" The princess apologized as she came back to her senses.
"I was just thinking... The Toadettes look so much like me when they use a crown power up... I can't help but wonder if Bowser might confuse one for me if tricked into it..." She muttered as she nursed on her tea, now having Mario humming to himself as he thought about it as well.
"You know... Maybe he could be... Are you-a thinking what I'm thinking?" The plumber added with a grin as he turned to the princess, who smiled in turn before nodding and looking at the Toadette sitting across from them at the table, oblivious to the conversation the two just had.

"...What?"

In Bowser's Castle.:

"Ah yes, that-a can be a bit tricky once you're just getting started with negatives. When you're adding to a negative, don't think of it like normal numbers. Instead, think of it as subtraction! The-a number get's smaller, not larger!" The plumber explained to the youngest of the Koopalings, helping him understand how negative numbers work a bit better before going back to his seat at the teachers desk. Today had been a bit better for Luigi since he was able to get a good nights sleep in his new room, and the Koopalings had homeschooling today, so he just had to help them out with that a bit. Like Bowser had said, Kamek had given him the answer books when he'd gotten to the room, looking more like a classroom than anything else. Things were going well so far, Luigi helping out the Koopalings whenever they needed it or didn't understand something, shocked that they were so focused.

Kamek had warned him that some of them practically refuse to do their work, but honestly, Luigi thought they were better behaved than some kids he knew in his world. Before long, the lunch bell had rung and it was time for lunch, so Luigi led the excited Koopalings to the dining hall to make their lunches. In the kitchen, he found a note on the fridge from bowser explaining what each of the kids liked on their sandwiches and what they liked as a side, along with their allergies. Each plate was pretty simple to make, typical lunch meat with a condiment and some kind of cheese, tho two of the kids enjoyed PB+J sandwiches instead. Since the plates were lable, Luigi was able to just call the Koopalings over and allow them to get their plate, each one happy with their lunch before sitting down to eat. He was about to make himself something before getting a thought, if Bowser wasn't eating with them, then did he have a lunch with him wherever he was? Wanting to make sure if he did or not, Luigi approached Ludwig to check.

"Dad's lunch? Oh, usually Kamek makes him something and takes it to his office, tho I don't know if he has anything today since you're here instead of Kamek..." The eldest of the Koopalings explained, even telling Luigi what their father usually had for lunch before going back to his own sandwich. Luigi, the sweet soul, decided he wanted to make sure Bowser had something to eat for his Lunch, so he got an extra plate and made the Lunch that Ludwig had described to him, A sandwich with nearly every lunch meat and multiple sides. It made sense for Bowser to eat more, he was fucking massive after all. Once the plate was made, Luigi told the Koopalings to stay put before walking into the hall, looking around for a guard.

He eventually managed to find a blue shell who, at first, was hostile towards him until he explained that he wanted to make sure Bowser got some lunch but didn't know where his office was. The koopa was hesitant before agreeing to lead the man there, tho he kept his spear ready if Luigi made any wrong moves. Eventually they made it to Bowser's office, two large doors blocking the way.
"Uh... M-mister Bowser, sir?.. Um... I-I made-a you some lunch since I wasn't sure if you had any... Can... Can I come in?.." The man asked as he knocked on the wood, not getting a response at first until a gruff, familiar voice responded.

"Get in before I change my mind..." The voice of Bowser growled, startling the human for a moment before he nervously pushed the door open, walking into Bowser's office. The dragon was currently sitting at his desk, reading over something, tho Luigi had no idea what it was.
"Ah... S-sorry for the intrusion, Bowser... I-a just wanted to make sure you got some lunch... Ah.. Ludwig told-a me what you like..." Luigi explained as he hesitantly walked over to the desk, the plate with Bowser's lunch held in his shaky hands.

"...Put it on the desk.. Hell, bring your lunch to, I need to talk to you..." The king growled as he made room on his desk for the plate, shocking Luigi with the offer to join him.
"Oh!.. Ah... A-alright... I'll-a go get my food and uh... A-and be right back!" Luigi responded as he placed down the plate before bolting out of the office and going to make his own food, a much smaller portion compared to Bowsers, closer to that of the Koopalings. Once his plate was made, he hurried back to Bowser's office and sat down in a chair on the opposite side of his desk, his plate in his lap. For a while, the two ate in a tense silence before Bowser eventually broke it.
"Uh... Thanks for making me lunch... I forgot that Kamek usually does that.." He growled awkwardly before taking another bite of his sandwich, not used to thanking people other than his kids and Kamek.
"Oh, i-it's-a no problem, really! I was happy to... W-wouldn't want you going hungry after all!" The plumber responded, a bit startled by the sudden break in the silence as he continued to eat his own sandwich. Things were quickly shifting back to a tense silence, so this time Luigi decided to break it.

"S-so uh... I-if you'd-a like, I'd be happy to make you lunch from here on, s-since you-a said Kamek used to and uh... He's not-a really taking care of them anymore..."
"...Yeah, I'd appreciate that... That's actually what I was going to ask about, so thanks..." The king responded with a small nod as he ate the last bite of his sandwich, licking his large fangs before moving onto the next item on his plate, a fruit the plumber had never seen anywhere other than Bowser's kingdom. The human couldn't help staring at the dragons large teeth as he licked them, a knot forming in his throat at the thought of how much damage fangs like that could do to a little human like him. Honestly, everything about Bowser could hurt him in some way, the claws, the teeth, the horns, even just the spikes on the back of his shell could impale someone. And yet the Koopalings were practically pouncing on the Koopa king just the other day, the smallest of the bunch even swinging around on his spikes.

"Hey, greenie, wake up..." A deep voice rumbled, snapping Luigi back to reality as a pair of claws were clicked in his face, the closest thing to snapping that could be done with talons like those.
"H-huh? What?" The man muttered as he fixed his posture and blinked a few times, confused, when had he drifted off?
"You were staring, got a problem?"
"O-oh! N-no, I'm-a sorry, I-I must have just zoned out for a moment there, m-my mistake!" The plumber quickly retorted as he lifted his hands up as tho he were trying to show his innocence.

"Yeah? Well maybe next time you 'zone out', don't do it while staring at someone. I know I don' got the best lookin' face but jeez..." Bowser growled as he took a large bite from the fruit held in his talons, which seemed to be similar to an apple based on the crunch it made when he bit into it.
"Ah! N-no! No no that's not it at all! I-I've just-a never seen anyone like you or the Koopalings before, s-so I was just taking you in! H-honestly, I'd say you're-a rather attractive!" Luigi stammered, trying to explain himself and make it clear that he wasn't judging the way Bowser looked, only realizing what he'd said when the Dragon froze for a moment and just stared at him.

"Ah!- W-wait no!- I-I didn't mean- I-I meant- w-well- I-I'm-a not saying you aren't attractive, b-but- I-I just... Uh..." Luigi frantically stammered as his face flushed as red as the king's hair, his hands flailing wildly as he tried to correct himself again. Bowser just stared at him for a moment, watching the flustered plumber try to explain himself before, instead of getting angry, he started to laugh.
"..Pfft-... Hmfhnn... HAHAHA!" The king roared with laughter as he leaned back in his chair after trying to hold in his laughs, failing miserably as his shoulders shook and he ran a clawed hand through his hair, helping Luigi calm down for a moment.

"HAHA- H-holy shit greenie! Relax, I was only joking around! Thanks for the compliment tho!" The king said through chuckles, his arm clutching his stomach as he tried to make himself stop laughing, only making Luigi flush a bit more.
"..Ah... N-no problem..." The human mumbled as he hid his face behind his hat, feeling pretty embarrassed for that as he waited for Bowser to calm down, which he eventually did. After the king's laughing fit was over with, he went back to eating his meal, Luigi soon doing the same as the pair continued to make small talk. Eventually, once the two were done, Luigi took both of their plates to wash as Bowser went back to whatever work he'd been doing beforehand. The rest of the day wen't rather smoothly, the Koopalings all did what was let of their work before enjoying the rest of the day, all of them shared dinner as the sun began to set, and eventually it was time for everyone to retire to their rooms.

Just like last time, Bowser escorted the human to his room personally, chatting with him a bit at the door.
"Good work again, greenie, you're really proving your worth here!" The king spoke with a toothy grin, his fangs bore in an almost friendly manner.
"Tho... I'd like for you to join me for lunch like today more often, I enjoyed having someone to talk to." He grumbled, almost like he was forcing himself to say the words, which shocked the plumber.
"O-oh... Uh, sure... I-a can do that... I-I think..."
"Good, good... Well uh... Goodnight, Luigi... Um... Sleep well..." The king added with a nod before walking away, leaving the human to enjoy his nightly routine before settling into bed.

Luigi was struggling to sleep tho, unable to get the images of Bowser's sharp teeth and claws out of his mind as he tried to fall asleep. He wouldn't lie, he did find the king to be physically attractive, that was obvious enough, but he couldn't stop thinking about the way they spoke either. The way Bowser laughed, how he'd let his guard down, it was like when he first watched the Koopalings, it made Bowser seem... Kind. He didn't know why he couldn't stop thinking of the Koopa king, so he decided to just roll over and think of his family instead, eventually managing to fall asleep once his mind was away from Bowser.

However, somewhere else in the palace, unbeknownst to anyone else, Bowser was having the same problem... But his mind was stuck on the plumber in green.

Chapter Text

About a month had passed now since Luigi was raised from a simple prisoner and hostage to the babysitter of the Koopalings, and things seemed to be getting along well as far as anyone could tell! The kids, of course, loved their new babysitter and how much more patient he was with them during school days than Kamek had been. The guards had started to relax as well, no longer keeping a spear to Luigi's back when moving him somewhere and just keeping an eye on him when he went somewhere on his own. Speaking of, Bowser had loosened the reins on the human as well, allowing him to roam freely around the castle, but only being allowed outside if supervised by himself or multiple guards. All in all, things were better! Luigi himself had managed to find new ways to entertain himself now that he's more free than before, spending most of his free time in the castle library, kitchen, or even Bowser's office enjoying a simple conversation. He'd come to learn a lot about Koopas thanks to the books he'd found in the library, more than any other human would know at least.

As for Bowser, he'd grown more accustom to the human's company and even grew to enjoy their lunches together, hell, even just his company. It was nice talking with someone from outside of the kingdom who wasn't just gonna kiss his feet for his approval, it was a change of pace that he enjoyed. Today was another of Luigi's free days, and he'd initially planned to spend it somewhere in the castle as usual, until he was greeted by a blue shell at his door.
"Human, Bowser requested someone get you so you wouldn't miss an announcement he's making today." The Koopa explained simply before leading Luigi off to the throne room, where Bowser was perched up high.
"Is that everyone?" He asked the majikoopa at his side, receiving a nod before turning to the crowd.
"Koopas! I'm sure you all know what day it is, and if you don't, I'm glad to remind you all... It's Slacker day!" The king roared with a grin, earning a cheer from the crowd standing before him.
"Go and enjoy yourselves everyone, me and Kamek will be available if anyone needs anything!" The dragon stated with a stretch before stepping down from his throne, the crowd quickly dispersing as guards almost seemed to pair up and go off to do who knows what, eventually leaving Luigi, some stragglers, and Bowser as the only ones left in the throne room.

"Slacker day? What's-a that?" Luigi asked as he jogged over to where the king was chatting with Kamek.
"Huh? Oh yeah, I forgot that you were in the cell for last Slacker day, Greenie. It's simple enough, today everyone does whatever the hell they want, within reason of course. Think of it as a Holliday, happens every month." The king explained as he waved off the Majikoopa and turned his attention to the plumber at his side.
"Usually Koopas will go into groups or pairs and help each other relax for the day, it's something we all look forward to." He explained with a yawn, his lips curling back as his maw stretched wide, making Luigi's throat tighten as the dragon's fangs glinted in the light of the fires around.
"O-oh, so like a break day, huh... That actually sounds pretty fun, am I allowed to join?" The human asked, pointing at himself since he wasn't sure if he qualified for the day, not being a Koopa and all.
"Of course, Greenie! Everyone in the castle who serves a purpose gets to enjoy Slacker day, you included." The king explained with a hearty chuckle as he poked the human in the chest.

"Say, since it's your first Slacker day, how 'bout you pair up with me and I can show you the traditional ways Koopas relax?" The king offered with a grin, being more lenient and friendly since, well, it was Slacker day, he was allowed to put up less face.
"Ah- really? W-wow, I'd really appreciate that actually!" Luigi responded happily, thrilled to both be seeing this friendlier side of the koopa and to be involved in the 'festivities'. The human's smile made Bowser's heart seem to skip a beat for a moment, but he ignored the feeling, brushing it off as just a normal reaction since he wasn't used to being nice to humans.
"Great! I already know the perfect first stop, especially if your joints have been givin' you issues recently." The larger male said with a nod as he turned to walk out of the room, expecting the human to just follow him which, of course, he did. It was strange to the both of them since, even though they weren't inherently hostile towards each other any more, there was still an odd tension between them from everything that had happened. That didn't matter though since, right now, they were getting along, why would they need to focus on anything else? Instead, Bowser led Luigi to a large cavern in the castle that seemed to be filled with steam and pools of water, almost all of which had koopas lounging in them.
"Welcome to the springs, Greenie, the water's great for the scales! Or- uh... skin in your case I suppose..." Bowser explained with a shrug before stepping into the cavern and walking over to what seemed to be a storage area that had a shelf of towels beside it.

"If you wanna relax in a spring, leave your clothes here and grab a towel." Bowser explained as he started to remove the spike-covered cuffs on his limbs and leaving them on an empty shelf after aquiring a towel for himself. Luigi, understandably, was more hesitant to follow Bowser's example since... well, he was human, being without his clothes was inherently strange to him. Then again, it might seem rude not following Koopa tradition, so he decided to go along with it, just wrapping his towel around his waist once he was naked instead of just carrying it like Bowser had with his own. Quickly scurrying to follow the dragon, Luigi was led over to one of the 'cooler' pools since it was common sense that a human's bare skin was much more sensitive than a Koopa's scales. Bowser was the first to step into the pool, placing his towel on the ledge behind him as he relaxed into the water with a groan, letting the warmth seep into his joints. Luigi, once again more hesitant than the king, followed suite after a few moments, just being sure to submerge himself as quickly as possible once his towel was removed.

The water was decently foggy, likely from minerals or salts of some kind, which made Luigi feel less exposed once he was sat down. For Bowser, the water only rose up to his chest, the perfect height for him to prop his arms up on the edge of the pool while, for Luigi, it just barely went over his shoulders, leaving only his head and neck out in the air.
"Ahh~ This is, without question, one of my favorite places in the castle..." The koopa growled as he slouched against the wall of the pool, starting to talk to the human sat across from him. Luigi though, wasn't paying very much attention to the king's words, instead much more focused on the fact that, now he was thinking about it, none of the Koopas seemed to have Genitals to cover. What kind of strange anatomy did they have to have to feel so comfortable walking around in, at most, chest plates and helmets? Hell, most of the koopas didn't wear anything! It didn't take too long for Bowser to realize he was being ignored though when Luigi wasn't responding to what he was saying, his eyes narrowing as he clicked his claws in the human's face.

"Hey, earth to Luigi, the heat getting to your head?" Bowser growled, his tone carrying the smallest hint of concern when he mentioned the heat, part of him worried that it was to hot for Luigi.
"Ah- W-what? Oh- no no! I was-a just thinking, my mind wandering off, that's all!" The plumber quickly corrected after being pulled back from his thoughts, embarrassed that he'd gotten so caught up in his own head.
"Thinking huh? Well what about, seems pretty important if you were willing to ignore me over it, heh."
"Oh uh, it's nothing really, just some stupid things is all! No need to talk about it!" Luigi was trying to just move on from his little thought break, but now Bowser was a bit too curious.
"Well now you've gotta tell me, being so secretive like that's making me think you're hiding something, Greenie..." The king muttered, his eyes narrowing as he glared into Luigi's own, not joking or messing around anymore, wanting a clear answer.
"H-honestly, i-it was nothing, really! I just-"
"Don't test me, human." Bowser growled, his voice taking an annoyed tone.
"Just cause it's Slacker day doesn't mean I'm not still king. My word is still law, so split it out before I really get annoyed..." The dragon demanded with a huff, light puffs of smoke pluming from his nose, though he still kept his voice low as to not disturb the other Koopas enjoying the day. It was pretty obvious that trying to keep something from the king was a bad idea, especially when he knew something was being kept, and Luigi really didn't wanna get back on bad terms with Bowser so soon.

"Oh... A-alright, but you-a better not think I'm weird or anything, it's something humans think about with any species other than-"
"Just get on with it already, jeez..."
"O-okay okay... ah... I-I was thinking about how Koopa... Anatomy works... S-since clearly it's very different from a human's..." The plumber admitted, tucking himself down a bit into the water till his chin was submerged, his cheeks a bit flushed with embarrassment.
"... That's it?"
"Eh-?"
"That's what had you so secretive? If you had questions you could've asked, Greenie, or read a book or whatever, it's really not that awkward."
"Oh..." The two ended up sitting there for a few minutes in a fairly awkward silence before Bowser, getting annoyed again, decided to break the quiet.
"So do you have questions or what? I'm getting pretty irritated with your quiet..."
"Ah- right um, well... H-humans always have our-a things outside of our bodies... ah... M-more specifically our uh... Penises, t-testicles and breasts... So I-a guess I'm just wondering... Where are Koopa's stuff?.." The human eventually stammered out, embarrassed with how awkward and nervous he sounded, but then again, he was very awkward and nervous right now.
"Oh, that's easy." Bowser responded with a quick shrug before standing up in the water, which now came up to his thighs as he stepped up onto the bench he'd been sat on.
"Easiest are breasts, we just don't have 'em, being reptiles and all. Our testicles are internal for their safety, and our cocks are in slits like mine, again for their safety." The dragon explained casually, a large claw gesturing down to what looked to be an opening at his groin before using two fingers to open it slightly, allowing Luigi to get a look at the flesh inside and see the head of his cock, ready for use when and if needed.

"See? Pretty basic reptile stuff."
"... Oh..."

Clearly, this wasn't as awkward or sensitive of a topic for Koopas as it is for humans...