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Bowser pulled at the collar of his tuxedo as it hugged his throat, adjusting his mask and trying not to break a sweat as the sea of partygoers cheered all around. Before him, Princess Peach had arrived on the stage, nearly obscured by a far-too-large cake. As she approached the microphone on stage, a hush fell over the hall.
"I would like to extend a big thank you to everyone who showed today!"
More cheers. Bowser fought against the urge to scoff; a few less guests would have sufficed for his liking. This was going to make kidnapping Peach... challenging, to say the least.
"As you know, it is ancient Mushroom Kingdom tradition to hold a masquerade ball for each monarch's 25th birthday..."
Bowser tuned out the rest of the speech, instead trying to scan for the fastest route to the stage. If he leaped up now, could he reach her before she could run?
Unfortunately, he never got to attempt this plan, as at that moment, Peach's speech concluded, and the orchestra came to life. Suddenly, everyone around was shuffling to find a dance partner, and Peach disappeared amongst the crowd. Silently cursing to himself, Bowser picked a giggly toad as his first dance partner. Basically lifting them off the ground, Bowser tried discreetly spinning towards Peach's general direction. And so he went, the dance but a bump in the road. As it came time to switch partners, he tried picking an equally short one so that he could lead them towards his destination. Slowly but surely, he approached, Peach's pink dress peeking from between the crowd, almost in reach...
Bowser almost tripped as someone stepped in front of him. He looked down. The guest was wearing a dark green tuxedo, had a taller than average build, and was sporting a bushy, shiny moustache. The matching green mask on his face was obscuring any identifying features, but despite this, Bowser caught himself describing this stranger as rather dashing. And he was holding out his gloved hand to Bowser, asking him to dance.
Bowser was perplexed. Logically, he should have just pushed past this stranger, but Peach had again disappeared from sight. The stranger was now lowering his hand, averting his eyes as if embarrassed. Whether it be out of pity or out of actual interest, Bowser found himself taking the gloved hand into his own.
As the two spun around, Bowser trying to discreetly look for Peach, the stranger was still looking a little awkward. To Bowser's dismay, as he located Peach again, she was dancing with that little plumber. It was somewhat amusing to look at, as Peach was having to practically bend down to reach Mario's hands, while Mario was making no effort whatsoever to reach up to her, insisting on holding his own hands straight in front of him as if his dance partner was his own size.
"I'm not sure if you can see the Princess and her partner from down there," Bowser spoke, "But if she was reaching any further down she'd be at the ground."
The stranger looked taken aback, but then, to Bowser's surprise, burst out laughing.
"Mamma mia... is Mario doing the thing again?" he asked.
"Oh, stars. Does he always-"
"He never wants to reach up to the Princess. He says it makes him feel small."
Bowser snorted. "He should have worn his heels then."
"Come on-"
"I'm serious!" Bowser laughed. "He looks great in them. Making his dance partner miserable is not going to fix his ego problem."
"Tell-a me about it," the stranger sighed. He then glanced around, but it seemed that everyone was preoccupied.
Some Kingdom. Can't even speak your mind.
"Why don't you," Bowser murmured, leaning a little closer to his dance partner. "It seems you have a thing or two to say."
"He..." the stranger whispered, barely audible.
"He just-" he cut himself off again. Bowser leaned closer, desperate to catch whatever it was that he had to say.
"He's not exactly a good sport."
Bowser couldn't help but chuckle. The stranger turned bright red under his mask.
"Sorry, just-" Bowser said, "I thought it was going to be something a little less, well, obvious."
The music shifted, and the partygoers around scrambled to find a new partner for the next dance.
Seemingly boldened by Bowser's comment, the stranger spoke again: "I mean, I have played sports with him before - and he just always has to be the winner! Whenever I beat him, I end up having to comfort him rather than enjoying my own victory!"
"Hm. That's awful."
"I mean, of course I love him, but..." the stranger trailed off, averting his gaze.
That gave Bowser a pause. Who exactly was he dancing with, anyways? For how he spoke of Mario, it didn't exactly sound like the stranger was in love with Bowser's archnemesis. Regardless, Bowser found his shoulders sagging a bit. Though he couldn't quite pinpoint why.
"Anyways," the stranger said, seemingly trying very hard to find something else to talk about. He wouldn't get the chance though, because at that moment, some careless toad bumped into him, spilling their drink on the dark green tuxedo. The stranger yelped, the toad barely stopping to apologize as he giggled and disappeared back into the crowd.
"Watch it! Bowser growled, giving a start to the people in hearing shot. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, dapping it against the damp spot on his dance partner's suit.
"Oh, thank-a you," he stammered, taking the piece of cloth and holding it against his chest.
"This crowd is so obnoxious," Bowser murmured.
"I must say I agree. Would you rather chat outside?"
Bowser glanced over at where Peach was still trying to dance with Mario. He supposed he had all evening to kidnap her, and talking a little more with this handsome stranger couldn't hurt.
And so, Bowser followed the man in the green suit to a balcony. As the doors closed behind them, muffling the sounds of the party, all that was left was the crisp evening air. The stranger leaned against the railing, looking up at the sky. It was a cloudless night, the darkness dappled with thousands of little stars.
"My night already feels far better," Bowser confessed.
"Yeah..."
"I was not here for the sake of the party, exactly. More of a... shall we say, business trip."
The stranger glanced at him sideways, before turning to look at the stars once more. "It was something for me as well. You know, obligated to attend."
Silence fell over them once more. But it wasn't heavy or uncomfortable. Or perhaps it was heavy, but heavy in the way that a warm blanket was.
"But overall, I'd say it's been a fun night," the stranger spoke, handing Bowser's handkerchief back to him.
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah. It's rare that I get to talk about these things. About Mario, I mean."
For Bowser, it was not so rare. He was very open about his disdain for his nemesis among his own folk. Not that he could tell the stranger that.
"I was surprised that there are people in the Mushroom Kingdom who feel that way also. I thought Mario was more of a revered hero around here."
The stranger looked him in the eye.
Oh, shit.
"I mean- Of course I'm from here, I just-"
"You're a foreigner, right? Peach likes to invite diplomats from other Kingdoms sometimes."
"Yeah! That's it."
The stranger smiled, and then turned his eyes back to the sky. His eyes were half-lidded behind the mask, the starlight reflecting on his eyes, the edges of his mouth curving upwards as he inhaled deeply. The faint light shining through the doors was giving him a halo of sorts, painting his profile with soft, yellow light.
"And you're from here... right?" Bowser asked absentmindedly. "I wonder who you are behind that mask."
The stranger looked back to him. "I could take it off, if you'd like. We could unmask together."
Bowser froze. As much as he wanted to fully see the stranger's face, unmasking was out of the question. He wasn't exactly invited to this party, after all.
But the stranger was already reaching for his mask, grabbing its edges to slide it off his face. Bowser turned away, covering his eyes.
"Wait, no, I can't," he stammered in a way that was not exactly appropriate for the supposedly fearsome King of the koopas.
"Sorry," he said, and without uncovering his eyes, he turned around and headed back into the dance hall, practically slamming the doors open. His senses were assaulted by the sudden noise, of people cheering and laughing, of the music, of the lights... Pushing through the crowd, probably knocking over more than a few of the drunken toads, he finally made it to the exit. He ran through the castle corridors until the partygoers dwindled, and as he made it to the front door and back outside, he was finally alone.
Even the faintest rays of the sun had already disappeared behind the horizon, the moon beginning to rise and to join the stars illuminating the cold night. So here he was, without the Princess in tow, having fled like some teenager.
Bowser sat on the stairs leading up to the castle doors, sighing as he removed his mask at last. He turned it over in his hands. It was as if the lifeless piece of carved bone was mocking him. This was how he was forced to present himself, in order to blend in with the others. Had he robbed himself of a chance at a normal life, forced to sit alone on his throne, surrounded only by his minions? He squeezed the mask between his fingers. How easy it would have been to snap it in half. But then, he laid the mask on the stairs, defeated.
He barely heard the doors open behind him.
"Bowser, wait!" a familiar voice called. The stranger was back.
The King scrambled to grab his mask, shoving it back on his face, thought he knew that it was futile by now. His cover was already blown. As he turned around, he came face to face with...
"Luigi?!"
And indeed, his archnemesis's brother was there, dressed in a dark green tuxedo, holding a plate of cake in his hands. The Italian was trying to catch his breath as he ran down the stairs.
"I'm sorry- I didn't mean to scare you off," he said between his breaths. Bowser could do nothing but stare. If Luigi knew who he was, then why was he here, and not alerting the castle guards?
"You- You knew? All along?" Bowser managed to utter.
"Well, it's a little... obvious," Luigi said, vaguely gesturing towards Bowser's spiny shell.
"Then- then why-?"
"I brought you some of the birthday cake. Since you left in such a hurry," Luigi said, holding the plate of cake out to him.
Bowser took the plate and sat down on the stairs, Luigi joining beside him.
What do you even say in a situation like this?
"Thanks," Bowser said, biting into the cake. The texture was a little strange, and there were yellow kernels spread over the whipped cream. But all things considered, it was pretty good, and so, it was gone in a single bite. Which was rather unfortunate considering that now Bowser would have to say something else.
"It means a lot to me," he managed. "Though I can't understand why."
"I meant all that I said, you know. About... Mario. And it was really nice to get to open up about that," Luigi spoke, scratching behind his ear.
"But he's your brother!"
"And it's like I'm always in his shadow. It's not that I'm any worse than him, I don't think. Even if I beat him fair and square, he somehow always twists it so that he can take credit."
Bowser considered Luigi's words. And then, he thought of his son - he could never treat Bowser Jr. like Mario was treating his family!
"I'm so sorry to hear all of that. But also a little glad that my instant dislike of the guy is justified."
And once again, Luigi barked out a laugh. Bowser found himself smiling - he should strive to make that happen a little more often.
Suddenly, there was a sizzle and a bang, and then another. Bowser turned to look as the Princess's birthday firework display painted the sky in all the colors of a rainbow.
"Beautiful..." he found himself saying.
"Uh-huh," said Luigi, though it sounded a little absentminded. Bowser turned to look at the Italian, and found that he wasn't looking at the fireworks at all.
Caught, Luigi averted his eyes for a moment, before looking back up at Bowser, locking eyes with him. Bowser leaned towards him, to see if he would back away - and he didn't. The two finally closed the distance and let their lips brush against each other, Bowser's practically encompassing Luigi's entire face. As Bowser pulled back, Luigi was beaming at him.
"So," he asked, "Want to go back to the party? I promise not to rat you out."
Bowser chuckled. "Maybe later."
And so, the two continued sitting on the stairs, looking up at the fireworks and letting all their worries melt away. Perhaps they would return at the party later, with masks or without, perhaps they would head somewhere else - but right now, there was nothing but the two unlikely companions and the night sky. And maybe, just maybe, that was enough for them both.