Work Text:
Luigi sighed as he sat out in the royal garden. It had been a long day, but to say just that would be an understatement. Luigi loved his brother dearly, but he knew Mario had gone too far this time. Even for him, this was... extreme. Luigi had tried, he really did, to convince Mario to leave it be. The heritage of Prince Bowser was none of their business. They were foreigners, for Stars' sake!
But no, the people just had to be told, and Mario was the one to tell them.
He cringed as he thought about helping his brother put up posters across town, all of them proclaiming that Bowser is half koopa.
He cringed further as he thought about how he'd just stormed out on both Mario and Toadette as they ranted and rambled. Bowser this, koopa that. Haven't they sulied his name enough? Now he sits out in the castle garden, curious if they'd even bother to notice his absence.
"What are you doing in my garden?"
The tired, only mildly irritated voice startled Luigi out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see none other than King Boo looking down at him as he sat on his bench, in his garden, in his castle. Oops.
"Oh- um, Toadette- Peach's handmaiden, I should say- she invited me and-" Luigi was cut off as King Boo spoke suddenly.
"You know what," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose, "nevermind. I don't care." His voice was laced with exhaustion and frustration, and it wasn't hard to guess the origin of either.
Luigi expected him to walk off, to go back to whatever he was doing before, so he was startled when Boo instead sat down beside him on the bench.
Of course, Luigi had cast fleeting glances at the King from time to time. His dusty white hair, peach fuzz beard, his piercing gray eyes. He'd be lying if he said he found King Boo to be anything other than attractive. On the contrary, he found himself quite distracted when he'd first caught a glimpse of Boo from across the castle. Now, here he was, sitting beside Luigi for seemingly no reason.
He looked rather pathetic from this angle. No, that wasn't the right word. Pitiful? Weary? All of them probably applied, but there was something else in the King's expression Luigi couldn't pinpoint. In the dim light of the moonlit garden, the King hardly seemed like royalty at all. Luigi could be convinced that he was looking at the tired form of a man who'd never experienced luxury in his life. Perhaps, in some ways, he hadn't.
"I bet you're wondering if the rumors are true." Boo said skeptically, as though he wasn't the one to approach Luigi in the first place.
The words caught Luigi off guard. "About your brother?" He resisted the urge to say he knew they were, and instead said "I couldn't care less, honestly. Koopa or not, what difference does it make?"
Boo sighed. "I wish more people in this kingdom shared that stance. I've had a rather... eventful evening."
"I shudder to imagine." Luigi responded, feeling guilty for his role in this poor man's misery.
"What brings you here, then? Out in the garden, I mean. I couldn't care less about whatever stupid reason Toadette invited you."
"I've had an eventful day myself. I came out here to think." Luigi answered truthfully.
For several moments, the two sat in a comfortable silence, the sounds of rustling leaves and scurrying critters a beautiful backdrop to their shared contemplation. The moon rose imperceptibly further up the sky as seconds stretched into minutes.
"I'm sorry." Luigi's voice broke their silence, a quiet and simple phrase.
"You've nothing to be sorry for, but thanks."
Luigi bit back the urge to say that he did, to say that he should have tried harder to stop his brother. In truth, he probably would have said something to that effect, if it weren't for the risk that Boo would want to hurt Mario for his treason. Instead, he simply said, "this can't be easy, having to protect your brother and your position as king. Not to assume anything, though. I guess what I'm trying to say-" Luigi cut himself off as he realized he was rambling. "Is I hope you're doing okay." Luigi finished conclusively, his voice sincere.
Boo turned to him, his previously amused gaze at Luigi's rambling switching to one of faint surprise, the exhaustion in his face still clear. "That's what you hope? You don't know me." He retorted.
"I can't wish someone the best if I don't know them? You just... seem like you're quite troubled. I hope my eyes and ears are deceiving me, and that you're well." Luigi tried to explain.
Boo seemed taken aback by Lugi's words. "Well..." He said, clearly calculating how much he should share with this stranger. "I've been better, but I've also been through worse. I'll manage." He confessed, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice. The King glanced over at Luigi, giving him a once over. "If I may be so bold, you don't seem all that well yourself." He mused.
"I'm fine, it's just... It's my brother. He did something he shouldn't have, and I'm not sure how to forgive him."
Boo's eyes had a glint of sorrow or bitterness as he spoke. "Tale as old as time." He muttered vaugley, his gaze landing on the sky above. "What did he do?"
Luigi looked down awkwardly, even though the King wasn't looking. "I can't say, but it... it wasn't good."
"Do you think he can change? Be someone worth loving again?" Boo said, a strange intensity in his eyes, still fixed on the stars above.
"Of course I think he can, but I don't think he will. I still care about him... I just need some time to think."
"Right." Boo said, looking down at Luigi again, "sorry. Dumb question, I guess." Boo said with uncharacteristic sheepishness. He looked away, down at the ground.
"No, no. It's fine." Luigi responded, and they returned to silence for a time.
"Luigi!"
Luigi flinched as he heard his brother's voice, loud but concerned, cut into the silence. He got up, casting a final glance at Boo. "I need to go, but, um... It was nice talking to you, your grace."
Boo looked up to him, his gaze remained tired, but there was a hint of something else in it. Longing? Sorrow? Regret? Maybe all three. It felt to Luigi that there were so many words that he wanted to say, but instead he only said four. "Please, call me Boo."
Luigi smiled faintly. "Okay. See you around, Boo." It was as much a promise as it was a simple phrase, and Luigi meant it. They would see eachother again. Someday.