A Nutcracker and the Beast

Chapter 27: Tea Time

"My, these are delicious," Peach said as she grabbed another frosted toffee cookie from the center of the table.

"No kidding! Yo Bowser, who made these?" Wario said as he grabbed a handful for him and Daisy, who were stuffing their faces.

"Oh, um, they're an old family reprise..." Bowser admitted as he sipped his cup of tea, turning away as he found himself in uncomfortable situations. For you see, Junior had set up a tea party for the Rulers to enjoy themselves and get to know one another. It sounded like a fun and silly idea to indulge Junior, but the fact that Bowser is at the table now with Peach and Daisy, he never thought that meant Mario and the Wario brothers, too. So, him sitting here admitting that he made the dessert for this party was uncomfortable.

"Are you saying that you made these?" Mario said, shaking the cookie towards Bowser. His face showed doubt, as if he didn't believe him. Bowser looked annoyed at his comment but knew that Mario was just being a pain in the ass.

"Yes, I did. Do you have a problem with that?" Bowser said his question through his teeth as he tried not to yell at Mario. Mario glared at Bowser when he answered and was about to toss his cookie until Peach shoved it in his mouth to shut him up.

"He doesn't; he is just surprised like the rest of us. We learn something new daily as we hang out, isn't that right Mario?" Peach said, having a cheerful smile. Mario just grabbed his drink and nodded before taking a sip, his face still looking mad, but now he was quiet.

"Dad makes the best dessert! Peach is a close second," Junior said as he finished his cup of apple juices; he wasn't much of a tea drinker.

"I can taste it," Waluigi said as he tossed another one in his mouth, "It's also funny to think the big bad baddie is secretly a big old softie who can hurt you with a cavity."

Wario laughs at Waluigi's joke. The two have a laughing fit as Bowser rolls his eyes. He honestly wanted to throw them across the garden, but that would lead to him ruining the party. Not to mention that Luigi was watching them, and he had told him to not mess this up for Junior.

"Haha, very funny indeed," Bowser said through his teeth as he could hear his annoyance come out in his voice. It was clear to everyone else that he wasn't enjoying the joke. Dairy smacked the back of Waluigi's head, not trying to hide the fact that she was hitting him.

"Ahem," Peach cleared her voice, trying to not let a fight get out, "It's a shame that Kamek and your little friend couldn't join us. It would be nice to have them around."

"Now that you mention it, where is the little guy? Um, what was his name?" Daisy asks as she snaps her finger, trying to remember Luigi's name.

"Luigi. His name is Luigi, Daisy," Peach said as she sipped her tea.

"Luigi! That's it! It's actually a cute name for a toy," Dairy said, taking a bite of the cookie that Wario was waving in her face. She starts to talk again as she covers her mouth to not show it is full of cookies, "Where is the little guy?"

"Papa likes to hide in plain sight," Junior said as he grabbed a cookie, "he is just timid but he is in the garden with us."

Everyone except Bowser and Junior starts to look around for Luigi. It was hard to miss a green talking wooden toy in a primarily red and yellow garden, but they were having difficulty seeing him. Junior giggled as he saw them looking but didn't say a word as he poured himself a cup of tea with sugar and honey. On the other hand, Bowser was tilting his head to the side, letting them know where Luigi was. Daisy caught on to what Browser was doing and looked behind her to see the arcade that outlined the gardens. At first, she looks at the ground and the little wall that outlines the bottom before moving to the flowers planted by them. She was about to turn back around before following the vines leading up to see something green on the dark stone. Luigi was lying against the frame behind the tiny leaves, eating one of the frosted toffee cookies that were as big as his head, breaking it into smaller pieces as he took a drink out of a cup that looked like a thimble. Daisy got up and rushed over to him, making everyone's eyes follow her as she went to talk to Luigi.