Plumber and the Beast

Epilogue

Luigi smiled at the memories passing through his head as he pulled up into the driveway of his home.

They were merely distant memories now, the falling out with his family, his and Bowser's first kiss and all the havoc that came after with all the reporters and the press hunting them like hungry wolves for almost a month.

God, he remembered the stress of it, thinking it would all blow over overnight and then still being in the top 5 most unusual couples for a whole month after. Although Bowser was a much bigger actor now, five years later, the press had never hunted him in that way again. After their marriage, the hype had kind of died down a bit, and although they were still adored world wide they could for the most part live their life together in peace now. They couldn't walk outside without being recognised a few times, of course, but that had been in Bowser's job description from the beginning. 

Unlocking the door, Luigi still felt a slight jolt when hearing the silence on the other side of the doors. All the Koopalings, minus Junior, had moved out. Even though it had been several months since the last of the bunch left the nest, the silence still felt unfamiliar to him. The past five years had been filled with constant chaos, and Luigi had learned to love it. Now that it was gone...

He opened the door, and the small sting of sadness disappeared instantly. The smell of food and sound of Italian music flooded his senses, and he smiled widely as he stepped in, closing the door behind him.

''Honey, I'm home!'' he said sweetly, immediately hearing heavy footsteps coming from the kitchen. Bowser appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, smiling widely at him.

God, he was beautiful.

His hair, that had practically stayed the same length through the entire time they had been together, was slightly tied back as it usually was when he cooked. A few grey streaks ran through it, like ribbons of silver. 

He was wearing his usual frilly apron, a white thing that spelled ''King in the kitchen, beast in the bed''. Luigi had bought it for him a few years earlier, not quite understanding the meaning of the text until Bowser explained it to him, barely able to speak through all the laughter. Luigi had insisted on returning it, blushing and embarrassed, but Bowser wanted to keep it. He said It was the best gift he had ever received.

''Welcome!'' Bowser said, and took Luigi into his arms. He smelled of cooking grease and spice. ''How was your day?''

Luigi sighed. ''It was good.'' 

Bowser chuckled lowly. ''But...?''

''But'' Luigi agreed. ''I had a really tiring client. He has clogged the toilet SEVERAL times, and I keep telling him to stop flushing his trash down there, but he keeps blaming me! It's not my fault he's...unusually prone to misunderstandings!''

Bowser laughed out loud. ''It does sound like a handful. You dealt with it, though?''

''Yeah, for the fifth time.'' Luigi sighed, rubbing his nose into the stupid frilly apron. ''But let's not talk about that. What are you cooking?''

Bowser let him go and winked at him. ''Well...since It's Friday and Junior's at a friends house I made you your favourite.''

Luigi's eyes widened in excitement. ''Pasta pomodoro?'' he said hopefully.

''Yes!'' Bowser answered, disappearing into the kitchen as Luigi hurried to get his jacket and boots off. 

When he reached to put his gloves in their place on the drawer, however, he caught sight of the photograph on top of it. 

It was a photograph of him and Bowser, crying and blushing and smiling as if they were on top of the world. They were on top of the world that day, in fact, and had been ever since.