Forbidden Fruit (A Bowigi Fanfic)

Nothing but the truth

Luigi was staring at Bowser incredulously. Bowser supposed it must have been a shock to him that he'd drink the wine but,

"It's only fair," the king shrugged.

"What?"

"Well, you had a sip of the wine, so I did too."

"That was an accident."

"Oh," Bowser paused. "Either way, I still think it's fair." 

There was another pause.

"You really want to know me?" Luigi looked almost hopeful but still had fear and a touch of anger in his soft, blue eyes. 

"Yes." Bowser didn't even need to think about it. The man before him was intriguing, to say the least. Simultaneously the bravest and most fearful person he had ever met.  Had the roles been reversed, Bowser knew he wouldn't treat Luigi with the kind of respect and kindness he was being met with now.  He glanced down at his burned hand, now being held in both hands of the plumber must've put the wine down at some point. He slowly looked up from their hands and found Luigi watching him expectantly.  

Had he been lost in thought? He nearly choked when he attempted to clear his throat. He now knew it wasn't magic but there was something about this man that made him let his guard down. He wasn't sure whether he liked it or not but it certainly scared him. 

"Are you alright ... uh ... your... Highness?" Luigi seemed concerned but it was hard to tell whether the concern was for Bowser or his title. Bowser couldn't help but smile, it was rather endearing. 

Endearing?  Bowser thought to himself. That's not how you think about a man you've actively been trying to kill and who has actively been trying to kill you for years.

"Majesty," he supplied.

"What?"

"It would be Majesty, I'm a king."

"I'm s-s-orry your Majes-"

"Bowser. You've earned it. I mean, we've been foes long enough, we aren't exactly strangers and you certainly aren't one of my subjects."

Luigi smiled weakly, "Thank you? I think. Uh... " He desperately looked around before his eyes widened as he looked at their joined hands. "You're hurt.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not. I hurt you and I need to make it up to you." Luigi was starting to get annoyed again but quickly softened. Bowser admired the control the man seemed to have over his anger. "Do you have a first aid kit?"

"I'm not entirely sure what that means, but I have a medical kit in my washroom."

Luigi stood up. "Up."

Bowser stood up and Luigi, still not releasing his hand gently led him across the room to the washroom and turned on the sink.  He turned on the tap and held his own finger under it until he nodded and started to pull Bowser's hand to the water. 

"This'll sting a bit but it's important." Luigi seemed so earnest in his attempts to help that Bowser didn't have the heart to tell him that Kamek could easily fix a burn much faster.  Much less painful too.  

Bowser watched as the man worked, first cleaning his hand, then drying it.  Luigi asked him about nearly every ointment in the kit before deciding on a suitable one to place on his hand.  Did the Mushroom Kingdom and the Koopa Kingdom (Bowser would never call it the Darklands, as it had been dubbed, it felt too negative for such a beautiful place) really have that many medical differences? It would be so much better if they could share the information they learned. 

An idea struck him. Maybe Luigi was open to peace between the kingdoms? Or maybe he could get an audience of Peach. He mentally shook the thought out of his head as he watched Luigi bandage his hand.  He didn't want Luigi more involved in this mess than he already was. The entire time, he had been speaking to him in a calm, soothing voice and telling Bowser what he was doing.  He was acting the way Bowser did when he was comforting Luigi. Did the man really pick up on that or was he just the most compassionate being Bowser had met?

"All done!" Luigi announced as he beamed up at Bowser. It was the kind of smile that made him freeze in place and smile back. The men both stood there for what felt like an eternity.  An eternity Bowser felt was cut too short when Luigi cleared his throat and let go of his hand.

"Thanks, Greenie, would you like to find a non-secret wine or another drink?" Bowser still felt bad about the wine. He didn't like that it was in his room and was a little concerned about its existence in the first place. 

"Actually," Luigi smiled wickedly, an expression Bowser was surprised he could make. However, he wasn't disappointed, rather, the opposite. "I have an idea... That is if you'll allow it, Your Maj- Bowser."

Bowser smiled back. This could be interesting. 

"What did you have in mind, Greenie?"

It was a pretty simple premise.  Luigi said there was a similar game back on Earth called Truth or Dare. Bowser smirked, truth or dare must be a universal thing but he let Luigi explain. The man looked quite excited about the concept. Since Bowser was hurt and Luigi was physically exhausted from being awake for so long, the two decided only to do the truth part. They would ask two questions, drink the wine and see what ended up happening.  

"I don't think the wine works quite like that."

Luigi's face only beamed brighter. "That's half the fun! We don't know what's going to happen."

Bowser couldn't help but smile back, Luigi had the most contagious smile. 

The game, as predicted, went off the rails almost the moment it started. Answers were given but not to any of the questions asked.  Bowser learned that Luigi loved cooking, gardening and pretty much any kind of sport, competition or physical activity. Bowser had also ended up admitting his love for competition and was thoroughly embarrassed when he blurted out that he'd like to compete with him in something other than a fight for once. 

Luigi had also confided in him that while he loved his brother and most of the life he lived, he wished that someone would see him for someone other than an accessory to Mario. Bowser felt pretty awful about the 'Green Mario' comment he had made earlier.  He apologized again and told Luigi that he knew Mario would never have been this kind to him. Luigi seemed satisfied with that.

Eventually, the wine was finished but the two continued to talk about nothing and everything.  After a while, Luigi couldn't seem to keep his eyes open anymore and ended up falling asleep in his chair. 

Bowser sighed, picked him up and carried him all the way back to his room.  The guards standing outside the door cowered away in fear. No doubt they hadn't even realized their prisoner was gone. Bowser would have to talk to them about that even though he was quite pleased with the result. 

He stepped into the room, laid Luigi in his bed, and tucked him in.  He felt a very strong urge to brush the hair from his forehead but held back.  He barely knew the man, that would be borderline creepy. Instead, he nodded and left, not without grumbling at the guards to inform him of when Luigi awoke and to not say a word about what they had just witnessed. 

Being as afraid of him as they were, they agreed.

Bowser lumbered back to his room, cleared up the evidence he'd had a visitor and went to bed.

For the first time in a very long while, he had no trouble falling asleep.