Petit Four Promises (a Bowuigi fic)

Chapter 1

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Bowser's head buzzed from the ballroom commotion coupled with the last few drinks he'd had. After arriving, he wasted no time in making his way to the bar to separate himself from the large crowd of dancing toadstools and koopas.

Tonight they were all celebrating the first marriage anniversary of Princess Peach and Mario. That, and the recent peace treaty that had been established (that very same morning) between the Mushroom Kingdom and the Koopa Kingdom. It was a huge party - from where Bowser was sitting, it seemed that they'd somehow managed to fit the entirety of both kingdoms in one room.

Despite having the majority of his loyal subjects there with him, it was as though no one wished to mingle with Bowser. At this thought he turned up his glass, deciding that one more shot surely couldn't hurt. 

He slammed the tiny glass back down upon the table with a loud thud, then bringing himself to his feet. Bowser's face was flush, but he was certainly not drunk. It took more than a few human-sized glasses to sway him. He sighed inwardly, glancing around before his eyes landed on the happy couple.

They were surrounded by their subjects, all sharing laughs and their own drinks as well. The princess looked beautiful as ever, and he couldn't deny that even Mario could clean up nicely when he really wanted to. Bowser felt a twinge of some funny, familiar feeling in his gut, but it went away just as quick as it had came.

His business here was done, really. With a flat expression, he mumbled a sincere compliment beneath his breath directed towards the both of them before turning towards the door to leave.

He hadn't even taken two steps forward before he bumped into something. "Hm?" Bowser looked down only to be met with two shining orbs of blue and a mop of tangled brown hair. "Ah! I-I'm sorry! Molto dispiaciuto!" Someone.

The infamous King of the Koopas towered over the man before him, watching intently as he pathetically tried to scrub the red wine stain out of Bowser's white suit with a napkin. Bowser furrowed his brows, annoyed. Mario's brother. Of course.

His ruby eyes fell upon a green mound near his foot. Luigi was still scrubbing the stain on his front to no avail. Bowser let out an irritated huff before slowly reaching down to grasp Luigi's entire forearm tightly. Luigi froze as the draconic ruler leaned down, their cheeks nearly touching.

"B-Bah- Bowse-" Luigi stammered, scared to the bone when he felt Bowser's warm breath against his ear. A deep, gruff voice came out in a whisper.
"You dropped your hat."

Standing back up, green hat in his claw, Bowser locked eyes with Luigi again. Luigi blushed in embarrassment and swallowed the lump in his throat, shaking and trying his best to speak as Bowser eyed him expectantly. "Here." He pushed the hat towards the green clad man impatiently, only then realizing that he was still grasping his arm.

"Agh- my bad." Bowser said sheepishly and let him go. Luigi pulled his arm back along with his hat and quickly looked away. "Thank you!" He blurted out, then gasped, looking back up at Bowser. "Wait, your suit! Oh, B.. Bowser, I am so sor-" "Forget it."

Luigi blinked, confused. Usually Bowser was so hot tempered, always jumping at the opportunity to bite someone's head off. He was sure the koopa king wouldn't let him off the hook so easy- and even if it was someone else, he still wanted to offer to fix his mistake. "I'm the one who ran into you." Bowser stated, rolling his eyes. He leaned back down and used a claw to gently push Luigi's hands aside. They were still gripping his hat tightly, frightfully.

"Plus, you got some on yourself, too." This made Luigi raise his eyebrows and quickly look down at the spot to which he was pointing. Sure enough, red wine was soaked into the velvet of his vest and the green of his dress shirt. "Fantastico, solo la mia fortuna..." Luigi muttered to himself. "I'm almost certain that I ran into you, though.."

Luigi went to look back up at Bowser, but found no one in his place. "Ah-" Swiftly he turned on his heels, running towards the koopa who was almost out the door. Behind Luigi, toadstool guards were hurriedly cleaning up the broken glass and remnants of his drink. He called out a quick 'sorry!' before he reached Bowser.

"Wait, hold on! I ruined your outfit! Let me fix it!" He jumped up beside him, reaching an arm out to block the exit. This didn't faze Bowser as he glared at Luigi from the side of his eye, using a big clawed hand to gently push him out of the way. "Hmpfh. No fixing this," he let out a small sarcastic laugh.

"Then let me pay for a new one!" "No need." "But-!"

The last straw was when Bowser felt a persistent tug at his sleeve. He whipped around, two big puffs of smoke escaping his nostrils and encircling Luigi's slender frame. With claws unfurled and a fire in his eyes, Bowser let out a deep, menacing growl.

"Buzz. Off." Before he could grab the small man by the collar of his shirt to really seal the deal, the crowd around them began to get quiet and stare in their direction.

Luigi tensed, sensing all the eyes on him. He knew that across the room, Mario and Peach were staring as well. "U-uhm.." he gulped, desperately looking for an out.

Princess Peach took note of what was happening, watching Bowser intently and sending him a bit of a warning glare once he noticed her. The Koopa composed himself, straightening his back a bit awkwardly and adjusting his tie. He swatted at the smoke he'd emitted, rolling his eyes. The crowd's normal chatter began to pick back up after the situation had been defused.

The princess smiled, pleased, and looked down at one of her toadstool butlers. She snapped her fingers, pointing them in Luigi's direction. The toadstool nodded, hurrying over with silver platter in hand.

"Luigi." Bowser's guttural voice made Luigi jump, his stomach flipping at the sound of his name. Almost to the point of trembling, he dared to look back up and lock eyes with him again.
"I don't want-"

Suddenly, a little yellow toad in a suit and tie hopped in between them and held up a platter, adorned with dozens of miniature cakes.

"Petit four?"

Annoyed at the interruption, Bowser stared down at them blankly. "Eh? What the hell did you say?"

"Please," they insisted, "take one!"

Bowser's temper was through the roof at that point. He began to growl, showcasing his pointy white teeth for all to see. The nerve of these people! Rudely interrupting a king who was merely trying to have a conversation with someone! His night was practically ruined, and all he wanted to do in the first place was leave.

Actually, you know what? This was all Luigi's fault! If there wasn't anyone around, Bowser would surely rip him to shreds! If he hadn't signed that stupid peace treaty, he probably would've already done it.

"Oh!" Luigi exclaimed from behind the toadstool. The two of them looked back at him in question. "Those are actually my favorite!" His mustache turned upwards alongside his awkward smile. "Ehm.. are there any chocolate?"

The toad smiled and gratefully pushed the platter towards Luigi. He licked his lips and went in to take one, but before they knew it, Bowser had grabbed the entire plate full and snatched it out of the toadstool's grasp.

"I'LL HAVE THEM ALL THEN, ACTUALLY!"  He snarled, then turned and stomped off through the crowd.

Luigi blinked, sharing a confused look with the toad.

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