Chapter Text
Bowser stood in the doorway of what was suppose to be Luigi’s new room. It was suppose to be a surprise, but thanks to the quick work of the green plumber, and apparently some misunderstanding of instructions, Luigi was there, in his dark unfinished room.
However, this might be all for the best as Luigi was in no mood for surprises. Bowser walked in on a furious Luigi.
Luigi was tearing through his meticulously folded clothes searching for his pajama shirt. “Daisy, did you-a find my— oh… hey.”
“Hey… doing some unpacking?”
“… yeah…” Luigi sunk into himself, embarrassed at the state of his room, and for his mood.
“You… you seem upset.” Bowser inquired, reading the green plumbers obvious body language.
He nodded, averting his eyes to the ground. “Wanna talk about it.” Luigi shook his head.
"Okay, okay... I'll just be here reading my newspaper." Bowser sat on the couch, grabbed the newspaper from the coffee table, and began to read silently. Luigi started tidying up, occasionally glancing at Bowser. The giant Koopa kept his eyes on the newspaper, ignoring Luigi's looks.
Bowser knew what he was doing. As a father of eight, sibling squabbles and silent sulks were common. Pressing for answers was pointless; instead, he would just be nearby and available. Though it worked on his kids, he wasn't sure if it would work on a small human plumber.
Luigi continued cleaning but eventually ran out of tasks to justify staying by the dresser. Bowser felt someone sit beside him and glanced over to see Luigi on the couch, arms crossed, leg bouncing impatiently. Minutes passed in silence. When Bowser casually placed his arm across the back of the couch, Luigi leaned against him, nestling under Bowser's arm. Bowser was taken aback; even his own kids rarely got this close, except for Bowser Jr.
“So… you wanna—“
“Mario thinks he-a know everything and he is-a always telling me what to-a do, you know?” Luigi finally spoke.
“Ah… friendly fire from the red menace.” Bowser couldn’t help grin that the problem was Mario this time.
“He-a always does this! Anytime I want to make-a friends he’s-a like ‘they-a no good, they-a bad people’ and puff just like-a that they stop talking with-a me or hanging out with-a me. You would-a think things would be-a different here, but he’s even worse. He won’t-a let me go with-a him on his adventures and sometimes he will-a stop at the Princess’s castle before coming home and-a have fun while I’m-a stuck at the house.”
“So… I take it you and Mario got into a fight?”
“Yeah… he’s-a mad because you-a took me out to-a get tools. But-but-but he-a always does this when I-a make-a friends.” Luigi recounted.
“Friend?” That word struck the mighty koopa king. He didn’t think of himself as the friend type. “So I’m a friend now?” Bowser inquired, half joking, half sincere.
“No-no-no I didn’t mean…” Luigi stuttered afraid he crossed some line or made some terrible assumption. “no…actually…” the plumber stood up. “YES, we are-a friends! Me, Luigi, is a friend with-a Bowser! And if my-a brother don’t-a like it, ppbbbt” He declared before sticking his tongue out.
“Hmm… so… we’re friends.” Bowser never really thought of it but he never really had a friend. Allies sure, but never a friend. All his life the people and creatures in his life were things to rule, conquer, imprison, or destroy. Until that moment, he never thought of Luigi as a friend. To him, Luigi was just a human guest that he showed a little more favor to;
partly to annoy Mario but also Luigi was just easy to talk to. But the more he dwelled on it, the more his relationship with Luigi seemed… ‘friendly.’
“So you got into a fight over little old me?” Bowser said, a little too amused by the situation.
“Yeah… well kinda. Mario, he-a always did this. He-a thinks I’m a bad judge of character, you know? Mario always worried I-I make-a friend with the wrong people…sigh… and sometimes… most of the time he’s-a right. But still, if-a I make-a friends with the-a wrong people then he should just let-a me. Their-a my mistakes to-a make! I just wish… Mario would treat me like the-a grown man that I am. Not-a like his kid brother or something. We’re-a twins for-a crying out loud!”
"Geez..." Bowser muttered. There was something about Luigi that made gloating over his misery less enjoyable, even if Mario was to blame. Watching Luigi unjustly suffer, much like during their encounter with the toads on the mountain, stirred an unfamiliar sense of empathy in Bowser. Again, the usually remorseless king felt a pang of sympathy.
Then it hit him: distractions. Whenever the koopalings were upset, Bowser would assign them tasks to take their minds off their anger. By the time they finished, they were calmer and more level-headed. This tactic had successfully defused many major fights in Bowser's castle.
Bowser stood up suddenly, causing Luigi to fall back into the couch. “Get up!” Bowser commanded.
“S-S-Scusi?” Luigi said, pulling himself upright.
“I was going to do this for you but… just follow me.” Bowser insisted.
The pair headed to the guest living quarters and Bowser began knocking on the koopalings’ door.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
“Hey Iggy, want to polish that shell of yours with your old man?” Bowser said through the door.
Iggy cracked the door and poked his head out. “Thank you but no thank you. I am very busy with my latest science experiments and I cannot stop for such a minimal task. Besides, my shell is polished by my newly invited automatic shell polisher as well as coated with a special polish that I created to last much longer than the traditional shell polish.” Iggy said before shutting the door again.
Undeterred Bowser approached Wendy’s door.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
“WHAT?!” Wendy flung the door open, face covered in a goopy facial mask, in a fluffy pink bathrobe, and oddly enough, a ventilation mask.
“Don’t ‘what’ me! We’re going to polish shells, like old times. You in?” Bowser said, with a surprising degree of casualness.
“Uh No, I’m busy trying to do my nightly routine and polish my own shell since SOMEBODY let the castle staff go early this storm.” Wendy snapped back.
“If you're already polishing your shell, then why not just join us?”
“Heh no. I’m not going to use your geriatric old polish. Matte shells are out, ultra sparkle and shiny shells are in. Just getting it to shine takes at least 6 products and that’s even before you add the glitter and sparkles. I will not come out of this storm looking like my shell is made out of old tires.” Wendy explained. “Now, if you will excuse me, I have to finish watching this shell polishing tutorial on kooptube.” With that, Wendy shut the door in your father’s face.
“Hmmph rude. Anyways we’ll just ask everyone else. Surely someone here hasn’t grown out of polishing their shells with their old man.” The two went from door to door asking all the remaining koopalings. Lemmy said no as he was too busy with a new trampoline. Larry said no as he was too busy taking out the springs from Lemmy's new trampoline. Roy said he couldn’t because this was the time he usually did his third workout. Morton couldn’t as he was about to take his once every two weeks bowl movement. Ludwig couldn’t as he was busy with his music… he wouldn’t elaborate more than that.
“Geez these kids are no fun anymore. We use to polish shells every storm. Pop on a movie and just spend the night polishing shells. What happened to them?” Bowser said frustratingly.
“I think it’s-a normal for-a kids to-a get distant as they-a grow up. When me and Mario were teens we…” Luigi stopped mid sentence, almost forgetting he was still mad at his brother. “I mean… teenagers can-a be difficult, you know?”
“Yeah yeah, I don’t remembering being the easiest teen koopa myself.” Bowser bemoaned.
“Why not Bowser Jr.?” Luigi asked.
“Hmm… normally he wouldn’t. He’s too young to grasp the idea of shell shining… but on the other hand.” Bowser began to mull over the idea. “With my perfect teaching and his natural born intelligence, that he inherited from me, I’m sure it will be alright. Besides he has been begging me to let him. Shell shining is a special right of passage in a young koopas life.” Bowser explained.
“HEY JUNIOR!”
“Yeah dad?” A little head popped out of the doorway of a room further down the hallway.
“You wanna polish your shell with your old man?”
“OH MY STARS YES YES YES!!! HOLD ON… HOLD ON!” Rustling could be heard from the hallway as Junior gathered his shell and other things. Suddenly without warning, the small koopa burst out of the door, shell in hand and an unopened box of cleaning supplies. “I’ve been waiting for this since you gave me that turtle wax for my birthday!” Junior said, bursting with excitement.
“You won’t mind polishing your own shell right Greenie?” Bowser looked down at Luigi who had been trailing behind him.
Luigi looked confused. “My-my own shell?”
"Yeah, I originally planned to polish it myself. We don’t expect guests to polish their own shells around here, but you looked like you could use a distraction. I figured, what better way to clear your mind than with some late-night polishing? It's one of our less rigid traditions but still important for koopas... or at least it was.” Bowser sighed, thinking about the koopalings rejecting his offer.
“Kids these days are losing the art of polishing their own shells. When they were younger, it was our bonding time—sitting back, relaxing, and polishing shells. Now, they rely on robots or companies, and they look awful. Instead of properly polished shells, they prefer potions to make them sparkle or glow in the dark or whatever’s 'trendy' this week.” Bowser ranted.
“Junior seemed to-a be excited though.” Luigi chimed in.
“Yeah… but he’s young. He’s still impressed by his old man.”
The three of them stopped by Bowser’s chambers before eventually heading back to Luigi’s room. Along with polishing supplies, Bowser held a bundle of silk maroon fabric. This fabric didn’t appear to be good for polishing.
Back in Luigi’s room Bowser and Junior began setting up a work area, complete with pillows, cleaning clothes, and polishing brushes.
“Oh greenie, you might want to change into those PJ you wore the other night. Polishing takes a long time and it’s not uncommon to fall asleep during the process. Plus it adds to the fun.”
“Okie dokie.” Luigi said, his spirits seemingly lifted a little. He grabbed the bundle of clothes he came to the room with and stepped in the bathroom the change. However, after a few minutes he bashfully popped his head out. “Um… you-a wouldn’t to have seen-a my shirt anywhere?”
Bowser scanned the room. “No. I think you took everything with you.”
“Oh…I might-a have to change back into my-a work clothes. I think I-a forgot my pajama shirt in the other room.” Luigi said sheepishly from the bathroom door.
“Why? You got the bottom part right?”
“Y-yeah?”
“Why not just wear that? It’s not like I haven’t seen you without your shirt or something. Besides you’re about to see us without our shells; it’s only fair.” Bowser retorted.
“… I-I guess.” Luigi stepped out of the bathroom, donning only his light green pajamas, using his arms to cover his bare chest. When his eyes looked up he saw a shell-less Bowser standing in the middle of the room wearing his own pair of maroon silk pajamas.
“Whaddya think? I don’t have a lot of causal human clothes, but when I saw your pajamas the other night, I figured I would get myself a pair. I have to admit, these things are quite comfortable if I do say so myself.” Bowser said, posing in his new silk pants.
Bowser’s appearance surprised Luigi, but even more so was the gesture itself. He didn't expect Bowser to take an interest in his outfit, nor did he expect to see Bowser without his shell. Luigi knew being in the presence of an unshelled Koopa was significant. Blushing slightly, he felt a sense of honor. It felt good to be trusted. He relaxed, joining Bowser and Junior on the floor with a small grin.
Bowser began setting up his station along with Junior. Luigi watched closely and copied how they set up the various bottles, brushes, and rags. As Bowser placed the pillow down on the ground that he would be sitting on, he noticed Luigi staring; not at his station, but at him. Luigi stared as if he was studying his face intensely.
“Wha-what is it? Is there something on my face?” Bowser asked, touching his face for anything out of place.
“You’re-a nose… it’s alright, no? And you’re-a eye, it’s-a no black anymore.” Luigi said.
It was only then that Bowser realized why Luigi was staring. The nose splint, the black eye, they were all gone since the last time they saw each other.
“Oh that. Yeah, must be my super powered Koopa genes at work. You can land a hit but I’m just going to bounce right back in a matter of no time.” Bowser gloated.
“Kamek used his magic too.” Junior chimed in, messing up Bowser’s little white lie. “Kamek fixed everything with his magic. I once had a boo-boo and Kamek did this…” Junior pantomimes Kamek. “… and it went away.”
Bowser groaned. “Yeah…Kamek did help… a little. But I was already pretty much healed before he did his magic thing. In fact, I probably didn’t even need him to use his magic.”
“That’s because my dad is the best. Nothing can hurt him.” Junior blurted out.
Luigi smiled with relief. “So… it-a don’t hurt?”
“Of course not. It didn’t hurt in the first place.” This was a lie. It still hurt to even touch his face, and it would require a few more sessions with Kamek to even get Bowser’s nose back to normal.
The three got back to making their work area comfortable. Junior sat on the floor with what appeared to be the kids version of all the same tools and products that Bowser had. Junior had meticulously imitated the lay out of all his stuff just like Bowser, constantly looking over to make sure his things were placed exactly as his dad. It appeared that Junior wanted to do everything his dad did, except in one area.
“Um… does-a Little Bowser have-a pajamas too?” Luigi said, noticing a shell-less Junior on the floor waiting with his own shell in front of him.
“Eh… Junior isn’t a fan of human clothes. Heck, when he was younger it was hard to keep a shell on him. Little man just loves being naked, aside from that handkerchief.” Bowser explained.
“Oh, by the way…Here you go.” Bowser grabbed a box and placed it in front of Luigi before opening it. “Tada!”
“Oh Wowie Zowie!” Luigi gazed upon the shell. It was exactly as he requested. The green was deep and multifaceted. It glowed with flecks of iridescent, orange, yellow, and red. It was beautiful.
“If you're impressed by that, just wait till we polish it.” Bowser said. “Now before we get started I gotta teach you two a thing or two.”
Junior immediately sat up at attention. Luigi could tell this was a big deal to the young koopa.
“First things first, we gotta clean your shell. Greenie, you can skip this step since yours is brand new.” Bowser grabbed a dark-bristled brush. “You gotta give your shell a good brush down, making sure there's no dust, dirt, or ash. Don't forget to brush underneath. I’ve seen how you and Lemmy play; who knows what's under there. While we do that… Greenie, how about you pick a movie.” He gestured to the TV.
Luigi hadn't taken in his surroundings since moving to this room. It was spacious, much more so than the one they previously shared. The TV was huge, and when he turned it on, Bowser’s insignia greeted him before displaying a home menu. The preloaded movies, most of which Luigi had never heard of, left him feeling a bit stumped and overwhelmed with choices.
“Ah, I forgot. I doubt you’ve ever seen a koopa film before.” Bowser mentioned, looking up from his work.
“Uh… no, no I haven’t.”
“Pfft, figures. Those Mushroom kingdom folks never watch anything that isn’t made by toads. ” Bowser commented.
“Ooo, let's watch Ghost Shell.” Junior chimed in.
“Oh no, you are way too young for that.”
“Come on dad. I’m old enough. I won’t get scared or nothing!”
“Old enough to polish your shell, not old enough to watch Ghost Shell without getting nightmares.” Bowser looked at the screen. “How about Lonesome Yoshi Ranch. I used to watch that one all the time when you were a hatchling.”
The young koopa thought it over. “Hmm… okay. But there better not be any of that mushy kissing stuff.”
Luigi breathed a sigh of relief; he wasn’t looking forward to watching anything with ghosts. The movie started as Bowser and Junior cleaned their shells. Bowser guided his son through the process, ensuring the Prince didn’t miss any spots. Occasionally, the Koopa King glanced at Luigi, who split his attention between the movie and the father-son duo.
“Alright, first step done. Pause the movie for a sec. Greenie, you’re up.” Luigi paused the movie and rejoined Bowser and Junior by his shell. “Now for the fun part… kind of. Properly polishing a shell the old-school way takes three coats: the protectant, the polish, and the finishing coat. Each coat has to dry, hence the movie. This whole process might take about a movie and a half, depending on the movie. Let’s see if you two can keep up with the shell-polishing extraordinaire,” Bowser explained with a grin.
As the movie resumed, the three began the polishing process. Bowser would demonstrate while Junior and Luigi would follow along. “Greenie, you're a natural at this. You sure you haven’t done this before?” Bowser inquired.
“No, but I-a have done something similar to my brother’s…” Luigi paused mid sentence. Bowser plan seemed to work; Luigi completely forgot he was mad at Mario until that moment. “I-a polished our work van before.” Luigi finished with a more somber tone in his voice.
“Well you’re not bad at it that’s for sure. Your first coat is applied very evenly. Good job.” Bowser said, coaxing a smile out of Luigi once again.
“What about me dad? How am I doing?” Junior interjected.
“Well let me see…” Bowser inspected his son's handy work, humming and rubbing his chin, pantomiming a shell inspector. “It appears that… you’re just like your old man, a natural. Great job son!”
Junior beamed hearing that praise from Bowser. Luigi joined in in cheering the young Prince on. With the first coat on, now all they can do is wait for it to dry completely. Bowser set a small timer for 30 minutes and the three of them retreated to the couch and began to watch the movie. After the timer went off, they returned to their shells for the next coat, only returning to the couch once that coat was ready to dry. They repeated this process on the final coat, with the exception of setting the timer as this final coat needed all night to cure. By that time both Junior and Luigi were tired.
The movie was long enough that they didn’t need a second film ready. Despite it being full of action, Junior found himself falling asleep pretty soon after finishing his shell. Luigi, on the other hand, was enraptured by the film. Bowser caught himself looking over at him, gauging his reaction to the movie. What he didn’t tell Luigi was that this was his all time favorite movie. He had seen the movie hundreds of times. It shaped the way Bowser ruled as a king.
Despite its title, Lonesome Yoshi was about a general in a fictional koopa army that get betrayed by a rival within his ranks. Before they can kill him, he escapes into the forest. There he finds a Yoshi egg that he originally intends to eat. When it hatches unexpectedly, he ends up taking care of it, all while plotting his revenge and returning home. The story follows the Koopa general’s journey, fighting off various monsters, completing nearly impossible task, and traveling feast distances, all with a baby Yoshi in his care and before he finally faces off with the rogue general who usurped him.
Luigi was enthralled, however, the exhaustion of the day was slowly catching up with him.
“I can pause the movie if you want. We can finish it tomorrow.” Said Bowser.
Luigi shook his head. “No, no I’m-a fine. I want to-a finish the movie. It’s-a so… YAWN… good. I wouldn’t be able to-a sleep if I-a don’t know how it ends.” But before he could see the general reunite with his family, Luigi was fast asleep. Junior faired no better, having fallen asleep pretty soon after finishing the last coat on his shell.
The movie ended, credits rolling, and the TV switched off. In the dark, Bowser found himself in an unusual situation; on one side, his son snuggled on his lap, fast asleep. On the other, Luigi nestled under his arm, resting peacefully. Moving would wake them, and he didn’t have the heart to disturb them just yet. Junior had only recently started sleeping in his own room, which was still a challenge. Seeing him sleep so soundly was a rare sight.
And then there was Luigi. He must have been more tired than he let on. He had worked hard today, fixing several of the koopalings' bathrooms, and had a huge fight with Mario. Bowser knew from experience that sibling squabbles could be draining, even when not violent. He didn’t want to wake Luigi either, knowing he had more work ahead of him.
Bowser looked down at the little human. In the dim light, he could still make out details on Luigi’s body. Luigi turned more into Bowser as he slept. ‘Hmm… did Greenie always have that scar on his shoulder?’ Bowser thought, noticing a cross-shaped scar on Luigi’s back. His torso had several small scars and scrapes, more than Bowser expected. Bowser looked at his hair next. In the faint moonlight, he could tell it wasn’t just brown but had strands of blonde and dark brown, making it more dimensional and complex. He chuckled softly, noticing a few grey hairs. He always thought of himself as significantly older than the plumbers, but the grey hairs made Luigi seem older than his initial impression.
As Luigi unconsciously adjusted himself, Bowser could feel his hair brush up against him and his skin rub against his own. He found Luigi surprisingly soft, much softer than he expected. His hair was plush and silky, his skin supple and warm. Bowser always figured that Peach’s hair and skin felt this way, though he had never actually touched her. He assumed plumbers would be rough to the touch due to their line of work and adventuring. ‘Interesting,’ he thought.
Junior eventually moved to the other side of the couch, off his dad. Bowser looked down at Luigi, whose head now fully rested on the giant koopa’s belly. “Hmm… I’ll give him one more hour. Eventually, he’ll move,” Bowser whispered to himself. The night drew on, and Bowser waited, watching as the sleeping plumber rested gently under his arm.
