Unfiltered Confessions

"Can I sit up at all..?" It sounded like it took a lot of effort for Mario to even ask that.

"Hm... maybe? I can try asking." Peach fiddled with her hands in her seat. The two were in a small white room, with fancy machines and doohickeys everywhere, most of them attached to Mario in his bed. It overwhelmed her, even more so than she already was when she saw the crowd of humans in Brooklyn congratulating her and her friends for saving the city.

Shortly after that, Mario and his brother were taken into medical care. The Superstar might've given them the strength they needed to defeat the mighty Koopa king, but once it wore off, the brothers were utterly exhausted and severely injured, mostly in Mario's case. Which is why he was here, hooked up to all these beeping machines.

The doctors informed her that he would be "a bit loopy" from the medicine he was given, whatever that meant. Peach could hardly focus on anything the doctor was saying to her; for one, she was already anxious about Mario. And two, talking to so many humans was way more overwhelming than she thought it would be.

The princess took a deep breath. It's fine, she's here with him now. Everything is okay.

"Did the doctor send you...?"

Peach blinked and looked down at the small man squinting at her, as if he'd never seen her before.

Before she could try answering, his slurred voice broke the air once more. "Man, you are eye candy..."

Her eyes widened, blinking rapidly. She could feel her face getting warm. Did he really just say that?

She giggled a bit at the absurdity of it, feeling some of her previous anxiety melt away. "Goodness, Mustache, where did that come from?"

Mario blinked slowly before responding. "You're just... the prettiest woman I've ever seen..." He tilted his head, raising an eyebrow with that goofy grin on his face. "Are you a model..?"

Peach could feel her heart beat faster. "I... I have no idea what that is, but..." Her brain had trouble for a bit processing the next words. "I'm just... gonna be right here with you, okay?" She gently patted his hand for emphasis.

"Who are you..?" Mario slurred out. "What's your name..?"

Peach raised her eyebrows. "I'm Peach. You don't remember me? I'm your friend."

He suddenly gasped. "Really??" He had the biggest, brightest smile on his face.

Peach resisted the urge to fawn over him by giggling. "Of course. Now relax, they said they'd be back soon."

"Oh man..." Mario's droopy eyes shone with admiration as he looked at her. "I'm so happy..."

The princess gave him a bright smile before she leaned over and gave him a small peck on his forehead. He blinked a few times, his cheeks growing bright red. The machine near him started beeping faster, drawing the attention of a nervous Peach.

"Uh... is, is that supposed to happen?"

"What's going on?" A nurse returned to their room and sprinted over to Mario, who looked as if he was in another world.

Peach fiddled with her hands again, backing away. "I-I don't know what happened, I just gave him a little kiss and..."

The nurse sighed and straightened up. "He's alright, that was just his heart monitor. Please refrain from doing that before his surgery." Peach nodded before the nurse messed with Mario's bed and started rolling him out. "We'll let you know when you're able to see him afterwards."

The princess anxiously watched, but also slightly in awe with the mechanical advances of this world. Before Mario disappeared from her vision, he reached out an arm towards her with a giant smile on his face.

"Ciao, principessa! Ti amo!"

Peach giggled as she waved back before he was rolled out of the room.

Perhaps she could ask Luigi about what those words meant later on.