A Nutcracker and the Beast

Chapter 38: Code Name 1-Up

"We were talking about Luigi. I wanted to know more about this "wish" that he was under." Mario told Junior. Mario actually caught Kamek on his way to the garden, wanting to talk about Luigi since hanging out with him has been bugging him. Not in the bad way that Mario finds Luigi annoying, but the way that every time Mario hangs out with Luigi, he's always left with a sad and lonely feeling. Since Bowser refused to go into more detail about Luigi's curse, he thought he would ask Kamek since he always saw Luigi talking to him. Kamek went into a bit more detail, the main one being that Luigi's cures only affect the one that Luigi has met in the past before he got cursed. This made Mario realize that he and Luigi had indeed met before Peach dragged them all to the Darkland. Yet, he has no memory of meeting him. Kamek also mentioned that the curses affect the person's memories, which answers Mario's question on why that was the case. It left Mario thinking till they ran in with the other.

"But I just wanted to talk about how happy he's been ever since the Blue Shell Fair," Kamek said, bringing them back to Bowser and Luigi. Going to the Blue Shell Fair with Luigi was a fun time. He teased Luigi and offered to watch Junior while Luigi and Bowser ran off to have their own fun. Of course, Luigi denied any offer at the fair, always going red and saying this was more of a father and son event and didn't want to ruin it. It didn't stop Kamek from noticing Bowser looking at them and then making a suggested comment so Bowser could see how bashful Luigi could get. It was a fun time, and now that Kamek sees Luigi spending more time with Bowser, it just makes him want to keep teasing him till Luigi confuses his love for Bowser.

"They both have been pretty happy since then, haven't they?" Peach said as everyone looked out of the balcony, seeing they had finished their crowns and traded them. Bowser wears Luigi's lovely red flower crown, while Luigi wears the one that Bowser made. It was a bit damaged but still came out nice, as Bowser used pink and red flowers.

"They have," Kamek said, everyone nodding in agreement to his words. This gave Junior an idea.

"If that's the case, to the kitchen!" Junior said as he started to head to the kitchen. They all share a look, but they decide, why not follow the little guy and see why this goes. They followed him all the way to the kitchen, grabbing some paper and crayons that he kept in one of the drawers. They all sat on a stool one by one while Junior stood on his.

"Okay, listen up!" Junior said as he drew quickly, "It's time to make a new plan! And this one is called 1-up!"

"Plan?" Mario asks as he looks around the room. A was wired that they were listening to a kid make a plan right now.

"Yup! A plan," Junior said as she showed his drawing; it was a drawing of Bowser and Luigi holding hands in a heart with a title. "This plan is to finally get Papa and Dad together!"

"That's nice, Junior, but I don't think they need any help," Peach told him. Yes, it would be nice to help out, but she felt like they were being too noisy instead of letting it grow independently.

"Are you kidding me? Those two are so blind for their affection toward each other, that they're like birds. Flying into glass over and over again and expecting the glass to be gone the next time the other one hits on them." Waluigi said as most of the others nodded in agreement. It was clear they were both too afraid to be the first to be confused, whether it was because of past expanse or lack in the romance department. Those two need help and fast.

"He's not wrong," Wario said, stating the obvious, "From what we saw from Bowser's attempts with Peach, the man doesn't know when someone is being nice or when they're flirting with him."

"Hehe, I can second that," Kamek adds, embarrassed to admit Bowser's lack of flirting skills. He was just happy that Bowser was at least good at being romantic, "not to mention that Luigi himself is always second guessing himself."