"Man, I'm sore," Bowser said as he sat at the kitchen table. Just like Luigi had promised, he got Bowser and Kamek to come to the Blue Shell Fair with him and Junior. Bowser was awkward at first, not knowing if it was a good idea, but oh boy, he was glad he got to see how excited everyone was to see him there. Not to mention the pure joy on Junior's face as he pulled him around, even when it seemed that Bowser may have ruined it but didn't. It also brought him joy when he saw the fun Luigi and Kamek were having as they mostly watched the two. Jumping in a few times but mostly letting Bowser and Junior have all the fun while Bowser would catch Luigi getting flustered about something Kamek had told him since he had a cocky smile on his face every time Bowser looked at the two.
"You don't have to tell me twice," Luigi said as he grabbed two cups for both of them. Filling it up with hot chocolate instead of coffee as it has become the norm for him and Bowser to have hot chocolate this late into the night. Sometimes, Luigi would drink hot chocolate in the morning out of habit when he made breakfast. "I'm starting to feel my joints ache too."
"Thank you," Bowser said as Luigi gave him his cup, sipping Luigi's version of his hot chocolate. Every time, it tasted different, and Bowser loved it as Luigi tried his best to make the same kind of hot chocolate he did, but Bowser loved the charm that came with Luigi. The main thing that was always the same was the taste of peppermint, no matter if it was strong or you could only taste a hint of it.
"So, tell me, did you have fun?" Luigi said as he sat beside him, as the smile came to Bowser's face.
"I haven't had that much fun at the Blue Shell Fair in years. I honestly don't remember when was the last time I had this much fun at the fair." Bowser told him as he tried to remember the last time he went to the fair. He was maybe just a young teen the last time he went, not having fun as that was around the same time King Boo was around him 24/7. It made Bowser frown for a moment, just enough for Luigi to spot it before Bowser had a smile on his face again. "But this year sure take the cake, that's for sure!"
Luigi couldn't help but notice the sad face he pulled. The last time he wanted must have gone sour for Bowser that it tugged at Luigi's heartstrings. Luigi was at least happy to know that this year was different, but he felt that maybe there was more that he could do for Bowser. Get his mind away from the past and replace it with something new and sweeter.
"Hey, are you tired yet?" Luigi asked as Bowser raised his brow at the sudden change of topic.
"No, not at all. Why?" Bowser asked as Luigi pulled a shy smile.
"Want to go on a ride?" Luigi asked. Bowser was quiet at first, studying Luigi's face as if he had said something odd. The more he stared, the more embarrassed Luigi felt as his cheek started to heat up. It led to Luigi turning away from him as he began to stutter, "I-i-i mean we don't have t-to! I j-just t-thought that you like to. O-of course if you're t-too tired, we can go to b-bed together- I mean! You- yes, you- you can g-go to bed. Hehehe...wait, you just said y-you're not tired-"
Bowser watches Luigi as he stutters, mumbles, and fumbles with his words. Honestly, the only reason that Bowser was quiet at his question was the fact that he was trying to figure out if Luigi was asking him out on a date or just wanted to hang out as friends. Yes, he wanted to go on a ride with him. Yes, he wanted to go to bed and sleep next to him. He wanted to say yes to everything that was coming out of Luigi's mouth as he kept looking down; Bowser was just afraid that if he straight out said yes, he would scare him away. That he just wanted to hang out. Be buds. Not go out and do something lovers do.
Bowser snapped out of his thoughts when Luigi stood up and started to walk away. Bowser acted on his own when he got up and grabbed Luigi's arm, watching as Luigi turned to face him. They were both silent during the sudden act as Bowser noticed the blush hidden on Luigi's face by the red dot on his cheek. Luigi also noticed the look on Bowser's face; he was shocked and worried in his eyes, as if he was about to break down. Bowser had to look away when he looked into Luigi's eyes; he could see he was worried for him. Bowser let go of him and let out a cough, the blush now showing on his face.
"I would," Bowser said, covering up his embarrassment with another caught as he got the courage to look at Luigi again, "I would like that ride very much."
"O-okay!" Luigi said as he felt his heart skip a beat. He could finally calm down from that bit of panic he went into; however, his heart would feel stuck in his throat when Bowser offered his arm to him. Luigi knew Bowser was being nice, but it made him feel special. Like he actually sees him as a possible lover rather than just a friend. Luigi also found it cute when he looked up at Bowser's face. It was slightly turned away from him, but Luigi could see the blush on his cheek. With a timid hand, Luigi places it on his arm before locking it with his arm. Bowser seemed to stiffen up a bit, his face redder than before as he looked at Luigi.
They walk in silence. Both tried to figure out what to say to each other as they fought with their thoughts. Bowser was thinking about things like compliments and how to tell them to Luigi, asking him what he would like to do things like these more often or if Luigi was happy here and would stay forever. Yet everything in his body told him that he would scare Luigi away, that even right now, he was quiet. That offering his arm was too much, and Luigi didn't want him to look like a fool for doing such a thing with him.
On the other hand, Luigi was thinking his own thoughts, like how nice this was and how much he wanted to tell Bowser that. Or if he should be bolded and flat out say how he felt - ask if Bowser was just being nice or felt something romantic toward him. However, the only reason Luigi was staying quiet was the fact that he didn't know how Bowser would react badly again. After all, he was expecting him to say yes or no to him when Luigi asked to go on a ride, but instead, he just stared at him. He didn't want something like that to happen again. Thankfully, the sound of Koopas, who stayed up late to work on something, filled the silence for a bit.
"Here we are," Bowser said, breaking the silence as they entered the garage. "Go ahead and pick one."
"Oh, um," Luigi started as he expected to share a car. Not go in two different ones.
"What's wrong?" Bowser asks as he watches Luigi try to pick out a car or bike to ride. Luigi scratched the back of his neck. If Luigi was human right now, Bowser would likely see his ears bright red.
"I was, um, kinda hoping that we can...share one..." Luigi admitted as his voice was low. Luigi was embarrassed to say it out loud, but Bowser's heart found his voice coming off more cute as now he wanted to confess his love. Bowser shook his head, moved over to Flame Flyer, and opened the passenger door for Luigi.
"Then after you," Bowser said as Luigi lit up from his reaction.
"Thank you," Luigi said as he went over and took his seat. Bowser closed the door after him and soon made his way to the driver seat, happy and ready to get this hang-out going.
"Hold on!" Bowser said as Luigi prepared himself. Bowser booked it, letting out a cheerful cheer as they shot out of the tunnel. The night was cold, but the heat from the land made up for it. Bowser never once slowed down as he took sharp turns or went fast up a hill that they jumped off. To Luigi, this would have scared him, and it did for a bit, but as they passed lava that looked like waterfalls and flew across the sky without worry made Luigi cheer every time. Bowser got glimpses of those moments, seeing the smile on his face that made him want to stop for a moment and take it all in. Bowser got the chance as he started to head back to the castle. He was going the speed limit, maybe even slower, just so he and Luigi could talk more. On the other hand, Luigi looked up at the sky, letting his heartbeat calm down from all their close calls.
"It's so nice tonight," Luigi said, happy as he watched the clouds move by.
"It really is, the cold air helps," Bowser said as he felt himself railed all up.
"I just wish I could see the star," Luigi said, reaching his hand out as if he could grab the cloud and move them himself, just so that he could see the stars he missed seeing.
"Do you miss seeing them?" Bowser asks after some time in silence. It was the downside of the Darkland; the clouds and smoke never seemed to leave. Therefore, the stars never get to shine like they do everywhere else.
"A bit. They gave me hope on hopeless nights, and I learned a lot of facts about them to show off to people..." Luigi said, putting his hands down and turning to face Bowser, who had a serious face right now. Luigi doesn't see that face often, but it never seems to be for good emotions. He was about to say something else when Bowser spoke up.
"Hold on," Bowser said, putting their other hand on the steering wheel.
"What do yo- AH!" Luigi said, getting scared as Bowser broke as he pulled a U-turn in the middle of the road. It caught him off guard, but Luigi's heart rate went back up as Bowser sped up down the road again. Luigi didn't know where Bowser was taking them as he thought the ride was over, but the farther they went, the fewer clouds in the sky he saw. Soon, he heard the sound of waves; he looked down to see that they were by the ocean. The smell of seawater hit his nose as Bowser made his way to what looked like a small dock with a few boats at it.
"Um, where are we?" Luigi asks as Bowser gets out of the car and makes his way over to Luigi's side.
"At the end of the Darkland- after you," Bowser said as he opened the door and offered his hand to Luigi so he could take it. Luigi was a bit confused by the sudden change of plans, but he let Bowser hold his hand as he took them to the dock.
"Thank you..." Luigi said as Bowser released his hand as he got into a boat. He offers his hand again, waiting for Luigi to take it and join him, "you're not serious."
"I'm dead serious," Bowser said, reaching toward Luigi, hoping he would take it. This time, he did take it. He stumbled a bit when getting in, but it wasn't so bad as he took his seat and Bowser started to untie the boat from the dock.
"I didn't even know you guys were this close to the water or that you had boats," Luigi said as Bowser pushed them away from the dock. The boat tilted up a bit due to Browser size, but it wasn't much as he started to row them out to sea.
"We do a lot of fishing," Bowser explained as he rolled the boat, "we try to stock up on fish so we have food. But, um, I know the boat is not the nicest, but it would do the job for what I have planned."
"What do you mean by that?" Luigi said, leading toward Bowser as a cocky smile came across his face."
"You'll see; all you gotta do is trust me," Bowser said, "you do trust me, right?"
"I do," Luigi said, returning a sweeter smile to Bowser as his turned into a goofy, toothy one. Bowser rolled the small boat out to sea, Luigi leading over the boat occasionally to see if he could see some Cheep Cheeps or touch the water with his hand. Bowser would scare him from time to time as he rocked the boat, making Luigi let out a yelp before he would splash water at Bowser. At some point, Bowser just stopped rolling, and they were in the middle of nowhere.
"We're pretty far out," Luigi said, barely seeing where they came from. It looked like they were lost at sea.
"It's the only way to see them," Bowser said as he made Luigi look at him.
"The only way to see what?" Luigi asked.
"The stars. Look up" Bowser replay. When Luigi did just that, his eyes grew wide. Up high in the sky, he saw the starry night that he had missed so much. He was overwhelmed by them, slowly standing up as if he could touch them. Bowser, however, was admiring the reaction that he was having. Enjoying the shine in Luigi's eyes, the smile on his face as he slowly turned in the boat. Bowser watches him so closely that he almost misses Luigi's gasp.
"Oh wow..." Luigi whisper, getting a giggle out of Bowser
"Like it?" Bowser said as Luigi soon turned to face him. His face was still in shock, but his whole body screamed how happy he was.
"I-I love it...oh, look at how they shine, and so many new constellations I've never seen," Luigi said, looking back at the stars to see new constellations he's never seen. One looked like a Bob-omb, another looked like a Koopa, and there was even one that looked like a Boo, which Luigi quickly turned away from and went looking for the other constellations.
"Never was a star gazing kinda person, but...I thought I would give it a try," Bowser said as he looked at the stars, not understanding why Luigi loved seeing little dots of light in the sky.
"I can show you my favorite one then! Lay down so you can see it!" Luigi said, happy as he moved to the other end of the boat so that Bowser could lie down. Bowser was a bit nervous about that; the boat was just big enough for him to sit in, and he didn't think he could move without knocking them out. But that joyful face on Luigi made him bite down his tongue, and he made himself move. There was a lot of rocking, and he thought he would knock Luigi out, but it was fine as he got to lie down. Luigi soon joined next to him, their shoulders touching each other due to how squashed they were together.
"Alright," Bowser said, getting more nervous as he never thought they would be lying side by side together this close. "So which one is it?"
"That one!" Luigi said, pointing to the shape of a boot. In the boot, there was what looked like a goomba in it.
"Which one?" Bowser asks as he doesn't see it like Luigi does, only seeing some stars shining brighter than others.
"That one, it's called the Goomba's Shoe." Luigi said, pointing at one star and making the shape of the boot before adding the goomba on top of it. "You can see the goomba popping out of the boot."
"I kinda see it?" Bowser said thanks to Luigi for making the shape for him, but he still wasn't getting all of it. "But why is that one your favorite one?"
"It's a goomba in a boot! They name a constellation after seeing a goomba fall into a shoe and getting stuck. That alone is enough to make it my favorite." Bowser said, getting on his hand so he could look Bowser in the face. Getting a good look at Bowser's confused face as he looks down at him. Bowser soon turns away, smiling as he tries to cover it with his hand.
"Well, if you put it like that, it is hella funny," Bowser said, letting out a good laugh.
"I know!" Luigi agrees, resting his head on Bowser's chest as Bowser tries not to rock the boat while laughing. Soon, Bowser got his only good look at Luigi's face, noticing the slight blush that covered his cheek. Bowser was glad that he was about to notice it more and more.
"Alright, show me another one." Bowser told Luigi as he lay back down next to him. Bowser was finding this more and more enjoyable as Luigi started again.
"Okay, do you see that star right there?" Luigi said as he pointed to one that was brighter than the other. It took Bowser a second, but having Luigi point at it helped.
"Yeah," Bowser said as Luigi raised his hand.
"That one connects to that one," Luigi said as he slowly moved his hands up, connecting more stars together, "all the way till you get to the fourth one. On the fourth one, you have to connect it to the star on your left."
Luigi moved to the left as he connected stars to a mushroom's top. He went until he returned to the first star, showing Bowser the mushroom constellation. Bowser smiled as he kept looking at it.
"That's the mushroom constellation. You can see it every night in the mushroom kingdom," Luigi told him, realizing that they may actually be near the Mushroom kingdom. Luigi couldn't help but turn his head to try to see Bowser's face. His face was shocked, as if he could see the mushroom in the stars. His smile grew as he looked at it as if he found joy in knowing he could see a whole new world. He turns to Luigi, catching him as his smile softens.
"I can see why you like to do this...the stars are beautiful to watch," Bowser said, catching Luigi's eye contact.
"It's more beautiful when you have someone to share it with," Luigi whispers under his breath, lowering his arm down. No one said a word as they stared at each other. Luigi didn't break eye contact as he placed his hand beside Bowser. Bowser didn't break eye contact as he put his hand in his. They stared at each other a bit more before looking up as both of their faces were red.
"Would...would you like to see the stars more often?" Bowser asks, his eyes still up at the stars to act cool.
"Huh? C-can we really?" Luigi softly said, turning to him in fear that this was all a dream. In fear that if he screams in joy, it will fall apart.
"Of course...Besides, it's nice to get out every so often." Bowser said, seeing how scared and worried Luigi got. Bowser was just glad that he learned that look on his face and realized that he wasn't making that face because he didn't want that or because he was scared of him. He was glad to know that it was Luigi's disbelieving face that he got when he feared that it was too good to be true. Bowser gave him a smile, one that made Luigi's heart know what he said was from the heart. "So what do you say? Want to come back down here soon?"
"I would love that." Luigi whispers, squeezing Bowser's hand as they float on the water, watching the stars.