"A-ah... Hello...?" The Italian mumbled, smiling nervously at the silent bird.
The bird stared at him with two dark dot eyes and they almost looked nervous. The bird curved slightly forward and Luigi wondered how did he take so long to realize the bird was carrying a large bundle wrapped in it's beak - it even seemed to be struggling with the weight.
Luigi reacted more out of reflex than anything when the bundle slipped off of the bird's beak, catching it in his arms. His knees almost buckled at the sudden weight, but he managed to stand upright. No wonder the poor bird was struggling with it!
But before he could even think about asking what this was about, the bird had opened it's large wings and had taken off, leaving him behind with whatever it had dropped.
"W-wait!" Luigi stammered, confused, watching as the slim figure of the bird disappeared in the night sky.
Luigi looked down at the bundle, trying to process what had happened, and noticed that there was something, a little note, stuck to the knot keeping the bundle well wrapped.
He carefully readjusted the weight to one of his legs, wrapping his arm around it for safety, in order to check the note.
No Stork has delivered to the Koopa Castle in years! This is too nerve racking for me, it's my first year doing this! I'm sorry! But congratulations!
And only then, did Luigi manage to connect the dots.
"Oh... Mamma Mia..."
Large bird, carrying a bundle, delivering it to the castle, the "congratulations"... He was reminded of the talk he had had with Mario, which then led to another talk with Bowser...
Luigi ran back inside the room, keeping a tight hold of the bundle, and carried it over to the couches on the other side of the large bedroom. He rested it against the cushions and took a step back, still processing what was going on. He looked over to Bowser's sleeping form, wondering what to say to him.
A stork. They had been visited by a stork. A stork brought them a...
Luigi turned back to the bundle, remembering the weight and the solid shape under his fingers. He nervously but curiously pulled at the wrapped blanket like he was opening a christmas gift, and felt air get caught in his throat for a moment.
It was a large egg, with a shell of a deep green with large red spots covering it.
Luigi had seen koopa eggs in his stay at the Koopa Kingdom - even though he had never seen one being delivered by a stork. This one was similar to those, but still different, which was expected for the King of the Koopas.
Talking about Bowser...
Luigi had talked to him about storks before, mainly out of curiosity after hearing what Mario had to tell. He didn't exactly understand how it worked yet, but he had an idea. But Luigi wasn't exactly wishing for a kid, nor was he expecting Bowser to be wishing for it either, especially with all the seven koopalings around.
Did Bowser...? Luigi didn't know how to react to it, he could hardly think straight as he stared at the egg. Bowser's egg. His egg? Their egg?!
"Bowser..." He called, getting no response. He didn't want to take his eyes away from the egg resting on the couch, as if it could disappear any moment, but he was able to hear a grumble and the sound of rustling, but then nothing. "Bowser! Wake up!"
The same grumble from before got louder and he could hear the recognizable sound of Bowser slowly moving on the bed.
"What?!" He almost roared, a sound that still occasionally made Luigi jump, but this time he didn't care much about it. Bowser was always a bit cranky when he was woken up outside his usual waking up time. "What is it, Greenie?"
Luigi gestured over his shoulder with a hand, beckoning the king closer. Apparently Bowser couldn't see the egg from his position, which made Luigi just a little bit more nervous about it all. He heard the deep tremors of Bowser's steps as he moved closer.
"Luigi, what is it? Why did you wake-" He stopped talking as soon as he stood beside the plumber.
Luigi finally turned to his husband, only to find Bowser staring at the egg with wide, confused eyes. He wondered what was going through the koopa's mind, if it was the same things he had been thinking, questioning.
"It's..." He started saying but didn't seem to find the right words. He also didn't drift his eyes from the egg. "Where did you get this?"
"A stork left it here." Luigi explained.
"What?!" Bowser finally turned to his smaller husband, still as shocked as before.
By now Luigi barely minded the koopa's powerful stare, so he just handed him the note that had arrived with the bundle. He waited while the king read the message, studying his reaction, watching as his expression, despite still being shocked, softened as the seconds stretched.
Bowser blinked, once, twice, before looking over to Luigi again. The plumber didn't know what to do or what to say. The softness was still there on Bowser's powerful red eyes and Luigi recognized it, it was similar to the look he could see the koopa shooting the seven koopalings occasionally. It was similar to the look Luigi occasionally saw in his own father's eyes. He felt his chest and cheeks warm up considerably at that realization.
"Bowser?"
"Our egg..." Bowser spoke.
Luigi's body trembled at that, and he wasn't sure if it was because of the words or the softness of Bowser's voice.
"We have a new koopaling..." The king added and there was something on his voice that made Luigi's heart skip a beat.
He already knew Bowser well enough to know that, deep inside, he was actually a pretty sensitive, emotive soul, who shielded himself with a harsh exterior just like he shielded his body with his shell. He had seen the King of the Koopas in many different moments and moods, including those little, solemn moods that were restricted only for those closest to Bowser.
And this felt like one of them.
Honestly, Luigi still didn't know what to think about it all. They already had seven koopalings under their wings, but now a new one had appeared. Wasn't that enough already? Had he wished for this egg in some way or another? Was it Bowser? Did he want to have a kid with him, with Luigi?
It was too much.
Luigi took a deep breath.
He needed to take this slow.
Luigi gently laid a hand over the egg, feeling it's porous texture and the soft warmth that came from it. Bowser's much larger hand rested over his, pressing them both to the surface of the egg and, for some reason, it felt so right, Luigi could almost feel his whole body relax.
"I wonder how the koopalings will react..." He mumbled, feeling his thinking ability slowly returning, somehow.
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