Flipped (Super Paper Mario SWAP AU)

The Rain (12)

Luigi was on the ground, staring at the ceiling as time passed. No one ever mentioned how painfully boring being kidnapped really was. He couldn't tell how long he had been just sitting there, but it felt like days at least. Sometimes he'd run his hands over the stone beneath him, just to pass the time. It wasn't cold like he expected it to be, although that made sense considering where he was.

He had probably missed the rainstorm by then. He tried not to think about it because he wanted to keep his composure, but it was hard not to with all the silence surrounding him. Rain brings water, life, happiness, joy, and he missed it. He missed it all.

It seemed he was always missing the rain. He used to try getting time off from his princely duties to go to the Mushroom Kingdom during one of their rainstorms, but it was selfish to leave his kingdom for something so seemingly small. Besides, something always came up, so he had given up on trying long ago.

There was a leaking from the ceiling. Envy bubbled within him with each drop of gross, soggy water that landed on the stone, sizzling slightly as it did. 

He let out a sigh, then grasped his crown and held it out in front of himself. His golden reflection was slightly distorted due to the curve, but its golden glow couldn't hide the dark bags beneath his puffy red eyes. Never before had he felt so unprincely, yet princely at the same time. After all, being kidnapped was what happened to important princes, right?

Daisy used to tell him that she'd deal with rain and water all the time. Sometimes, she'd talk about having to swim across entire oceans to save Prince Mario. There were times when she'd cross through worlds snowier than Luigi could even begin to imagine. Sometimes Luigi would dream about snow. The very idea of being able to hold solidified water in his hands felt like something out of a fairytale, not real life. For Daisy, Peach, and Prince Mario, the rain was so normal that they hardly noticed it when it came. Was that weird, or was Prince Luigi the weird one? He supposed small things like rain were only appreciated by those who didn't have it.

A goomba was marching back and forth outside of his cell, likely assigned to keep watch. There were various other cells the guard was checking too, though they were all empty.

"What do you love?" Luigi asked, keeping his eyes on the golden reflection.

The goomba guard stopped just outside of Luigi's cell and looked in, raising an eyebrow. There was a little helmet on its head. Aside from that, they looked like a standard goomba.

"I love the rain. What about you? Do you love the rain? Or is there something else?" Luigi clarified. The prince slowly stood up and walked over to the dark metal bars, grasping them with his gloved hands which were starting to become slightly dirty. Never before had they looked so far from white. (Although, they were still fairly clean.)

At first, the presence of a guard had made Luigi feel uneasy, but they were too small to be terrifying.

"Um... no one's... ever really asked me that before," the goomba admitted, shrugging. "I guess... I like flowers. And stars. We don't get many of those around here, though. Not anymore."

"Oh, I love those too," Luigi chimed. "Sarasaland may not have many flowers, but the sky is so clear that I can see other worlds with my telescope. I'd love to go to space someday. Like in a rocket ship! I want to explore the galaxy. Maybe I can find a planet where it rains all the time!"

The goomba guard quietly laughed to themself, their voice almost squeaky.

"That sounds wonderful. We've got so much smoke in the sky that we can't even see the moon or the sun," they stated. "I'm Gary, by the way."

"Gary," Luigi repeated, feeling a small smile form on his face. "Well, I'm Prince Luigi of Sarasaland."

"Oh, I know," Gary nodded. "You're the one that no one really talks about. But don't worry, we all know who you are. Because you're much harder to kidnap. When our king worked with King Boo, the ghost king was complaining about how he wished it was easier to get you since he likes you so much more."