Chapter Text
King Boo was going to pay.
Luigi had his arms wrapped around Bowser’s shell, but he looked… awful.
“Lu!” Mario cried, running up, pulling Luigi from Bowser’s grasp. “Lu, buddy, you’ve gotta snap out of it, alright?” When Luigi just stared at him, offering a small smile and nothing else, Mario turned to Bowser. “You brought a healing mushroom, right?”
“Ah shit. ”
“You didn’t bring one?! ”
“I thought you would-“ A sudden noise had both of them turning to watch the gathering hoard of Boos that were descending on them.
Luigi wasn’t even conscious anymore, having collapsed into his brother’s arms, but he looked dangerously blue-
“Hold him,” Mario declared.
“ What?! ”
“He’s hypothermic, you need to hold him so he doesn’t freeze to death! You’re a dragon, you’re warm!”
“What about the army of boos? I can’t hold him and fight them!”
“ I’ll fight them!” Mario yelled right back.
“With what? Did you bring a flame flower with you?! Because you can’t just punch them, they’re ghosts!”
Mario paused, and he looked… torn. “…I don’t know. But if you don’t keep him warm he’s not gonna survive this.”
The boos were almost on them now, they had seconds.
“Ah… fuck,” Bowser complained, gently lifting Luigi into his arms, holding him close with one arm as he dug around in the bag he brought with him, grasping the power up, before sighing and passing it to Mario. “…You’d be a pretty shitty brother if you got beat up with this kind of boost,” he growled, and Mario blinked at him, shocked, and accepted the power star.
It was supposed to have been for Peach, and Bowser had a sinking suspicion Mario knew that.
“Bowser…”
“You’re right, I have to stay here and keep him alive, so stop wasting time and go beat them up already!” Then, quieter, he added: “I won’t let them touch him. Go.”
Mario nodded, grabbing the star, and letting the invincibility wash over him. “…Don’t you dare let them close to him,” he ordered, but before Bowser could get indignant, Mario was gone, running off to fight the army of boos.
Bowser stared down at Luigi in his arms, so blue, so frail, but…
But he’d smiled at Bowser, when he saw him.
Bowser let the memory of that smile feed his fire, and he curled his arms tighter around Luigi.
“I know you hate being touched without permission,” Bowser muttered, “but Mario said to hold you, so if you’ve got a problem with it… you gotta wake up and tell me yourself, okay?” He sniffed, steam forming near his eyes. “…You gotta wake up. Don’t you dare die on me, greenie. Not when I was just getting this right.”
Bowser had given him the power up.
Bowser had given Mario the power star, so Mario could fight the ghosts and keep Luigi safe.
With the power up, it was almost easy to defeat the ghosts, his fists somehow making contact with their bodies despite them not having bodies.
…This world really didn’t make sense.
There was a ghost floating towards him with a crown, scowling angrily, and Mario took a deep level of satisfaction punching him hard enough to send him flying off into the sky.
That’s what he got for hurting Lu.
Once Mario was done and the ghosts all defeated he came back to find Bowser cradling Luigi close, a strange kind of fire in Bowser’s chest, visible through his shell.
“Humans aren’t supposed to be blue,” Bowser whispered, staring down at Luigi. “I… I remember reading that in the book. Humans… aren’t supposed to be blue… why isn’t he waking up?”
“Come on,” Mario finally spoke, trying to get a grip on his own anger and fear. “We need to get him somewhere safe so we can try to treat this.”
“Should… do you need to…”
Mario stepped closer, resting his hand on Luigi’s chest, relieved when it rose and fell with Luigi’s breath.
Still alive.
That was all they could even hope for right now.
…This was worse than the hospital. At least then Luigi’d been alive, even if injured and traumatized. There hadn’t been any fear that he might not wake up again .
“You need to keep carrying him till he’s stable,” Mario concluded. Then he glared up at Bowser. “If you drop him, I will kill you. ”
“I won’t drop him!” Bowser snapped. “I’m not that shitty of a soulmate!”
“He was in your care when he got kidnapped, because someone didn’t think to walk with him to the warp pipe!”
“Why would I do that?! He’s a capable adult, and he knew where he was going!”
“You walk with someone to their destination to make sure they don’t get kidnapped! And he got kidnapped! ”
“How could I have-“ Bowser stopped, turning his head to the side as he growled. “…I… I’m sorry,” he finally bit out, and Mario stopped, startled.
“What?”
“…I didn’t think he’d be in danger here. I... failed. I’m sorry.”
What the hell? Mario thought to himself. Is this what Lu’s been seeing in him?
“…Let’s just get out of here so we can get him warmed up.”
They walked back toward the warp pipe, Luigi held in Bowser’s arms, and Mario glancing over at him every few minutes.
He was starting to look better, being so close to Bowser, but he was still too still, and too pale.
Ugh, he was never letting Lu out of his sight after this!
Luigi was looking slightly better, but they still had a long walk back to the warp pipe, and Bowser was holding him as close and as tight as he dared, trying to keep him warm.
Was this what it had been like before? The time Luigi had been kidnapped by the man who’d hurt him? Was it this terrifying, knowing that he was so badly hurt, and unable to help?
“What happened to him?” Bowser asked. “The one who hurt Luigi before?”
Mario stared at him, thinking for a moment before he decided to respond. “He’s in prison.”
Bowser slowly nodded. “…A lifetime in prison isn’t enough for what he did to Luigi.”
A heavy sigh. “It isn’t. Especially since it isn’t for life.”
“ What?! ”
“He only got sentenced to ten years.”
“Ten years for raping Luigi? How is that justice?!”
Mario’s scowl just grew worse. “It isn’t. And that’s not why he got ten years. He got ten years for the kidnapping, and for breaking Luigi’s collarbone, and for drugging him. He got two months for raping him.”
Bowser stopped walking.
“…That’s not justice.”
“No, it isn’t.” Mario turned to look at Bowser. “In our world, there isn’t justice for that. The law was made by people who don’t see anything wrong with rape. If I want to keep Luigi safe, I have to do it myself, regardless of laws.”
Bowser clutched Luigi tighter to himself, as if he could somehow protect him from that world. “…But…” he groaned. “What about the king of your world? Why hasn’t he changed the law?”
“You think kings influence law?” Mario scoffed. “Not anymore they don’t. Kings don’t do anything these days.”
“You assumed again,” a faint voice whispered from his arms, and Bowser squeaked.
“Luigi!” he gasped, cradling his soulmate closer. “Don’t you worry, we’re almost to the warp pipe. You’re gonna be fine!”
“What did he assume, Lu?” Mario asked, stepping closer and setting his hand on Luigi’s leg.
“You both did- Mario, you know we don’t have a king, we have a president. And Bowser- Peach rules the mushroom kingdom. Not a king. A ruler doesn’t have to be a man.”
Oh.
He was right.
“…Sorry,” he whispered, and Luigi smiled up at him.
“I know,” Luigi whispered back, shakily reaching up a cold hand and resting it against Bowser’s cheek, before his eyes fluttered and he rested his head against Bowser’s chest again. “…It’s so cold here,” he managed, his smile slipping.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be back home soon,” Mario promised, “and we’ll get you warmed up.”
Luigi just nodded slowly, starting to shake.
Bowser glanced at Mario, but he was just staring at Luigi looking sad.
“Why’s he shaking?” Bowser hissed, and Luigi snorted, trying to nuzzle his way impossibly closer to Bowser.
“He’s cold, ” Mario explained. “That’s what humans do when they’re cold, they shiver. To try and warm up.”
“But he wasn’t shaking before- is it getting worse?!”
“No, he wasn’t shaking before because he was too cold! It’s a good sign, it means he’s warmed up enough to feel it again.” Mario sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Just hold on Lu, I promise we’ll be back shortly.”
Luigi wasn’t saying anything anymore, but he was still shaking, so Bowser would assume that was good.
Instead, he turned to frown at Mario. “Why aren’t you shaking? You’re human too, you should also be cold.”
Mario turned to glare at him. “Why aren’t you cold, you’re a turtle, I thought turtles hibernated in the winter.”
“I’m a koopa, not a turtle- just answer the question!”
“I am cold, but I haven’t been here as long, so I’m not dangerously cold. Also, whatever that star was you gave me helped a bit. I’m just now starting to feel the chill again, and I’m also standing near you.”
“K-king B-boo,” Luigi chattered, still not lifting his head. “C-cold. Very c-cold.”
Mario seemed to know what he was saying at least. “Oh right, I did feel cold whenever one of the boos tried to grab me, like they were made of ice. Is that why you’re so cold?”
Luigi just nodded.
“Hey,” Bowser whispered, “I can see the warp pipe ahead. We’re almost back, alright greenie? We’re almost there.”
“Almost… home…” Luigi whispered, and Bowser glanced down to see that Luigi’s eyes had slipped shut again, the shivering inconsistent.
“Hold on,” Bowser encouraged, and Mario’s hand never left Luigi’s knee.
“Hold on Lu,” Mario’s voice was cracking, and Bowser saw tears slipping down his face. “Just hold on. It’s gonna be alright.”
It was.
It had to be.
Luigi had to be alright after all of this.