Forbidden Fruit (A Bowigi Fanfic)

I'm no fool

"Ugh! I can't read anymore!" Luigi slumped at a desk in the middle of the library.  History books, old manuscripts, and maps were piled up all around him.

Amakeshil stood across from him and rolled their eyes.  "It's been twenty minutes."

Luigi felt his face fall. He rubbed his eyes and let his chin fall into his hands. He knew this was going to be tough but he didn't anticipate his current knowledge of the war and Koopa Kingdom was this lacking.  He looked pleadingly at Amakeshil who smirked.

They had the fucking audacity to smirk.  Couldn't they see Luigi was having a meltdown? 

"Are you hungry? It's actually been a couple hours." Their smirk turned to a sympathetic smile. "I imagine this is a lot of new information to take in.  Especially after a kidnapping."

Oh, a joke. Phew.  Luigi cracked a weak smile and nodded.  Amakeshil's jokes were pretty funny but there must've been a cultural divide because he often couldn't tell they were making a joke until a little bit after.  Perhaps the straight delivery was throwing him off. No matter the cause, Luigi liked the jokes.  It helped lighten the mood when he eventually understood. 

"We'll leave out this stack of books," Amakeshil grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled a note on it. "I don't know how long you're here, and I certainly hope you're coming back." The look was pointed but Luigi understood why.  He had a lot to prove and he was lucky Amakeshil was trusting him this much.

Luigi nodded. "If I can.  I'd also like to borrow a book if possible?"

Amakeshil nodded. "That would be a Kamek question but I'm sure he'll lend you a duplicate. This does mean you'll have to tell him your plans as well. - Don't worry he won't tell the Mushroom Kingdom.  He may even disguise the book for you."

Luigi took a deep breath.  This was scarier than any battle he'd ever walked into.  It was possibly even scarier than King Boo himself,  but it had to be done.  How was he even going to go about this? Already he has two koopas on his side, trusting him, and he didn't even have a plan. 

"Come," Amakeshil gently helped Luigi to his feet and began to lead them to the kitchen. It absolutely wasn't necessary but it was appreciated. Luigi suspected Amakeshil had already figured out that physical touch was something that calmed him.   "Let's grab some food for this kitchen, I believe the conference just had lunch."

"Conference?" Is that what Bowser was doing?  It made sense why he wouldn't be allowed and why Amakeshil was ready to stop him at any cost.  After he'd explained his goal though, Amakeshil seemed to change.  They were suddenly much kinder and didn't drag him everywhere.

"His Majesty is hosting an all-day meeting with his Lords, Ladies and Lieges.  No doubt there were absences. Travel, even through the Koopa Kingdom isn't easy.  Should be extra high-quality food."

The rest of the way to the kitchen, Luigi thought about that.  In the Mushroom Kingdom, he was able to move from place to place quite freely but that also likely had to do with his status and ability to defend himself against any attacks that may come his way.  Koopas feared him and Toads often paid little attention to him.  He wondered what the possible dangers of the Koopa Kingdom were for its citizens.

Once they had reached the kitchen, Amakeshil pulled out a pair of handcuffs and looked at Luigi expectantly.  They were right. Luigi couldn't be seen around other workers in the castle walking around this freely.  It would cause panic, suspicion and a whirlwind of rumours.  He held out his hands and let Amakeshil cuff him. 

Inside the kitchen were a wide variety of koopas, goombas, hammer bros and other species that Luigi had fought in the past bustling about cleaning dishes, countertops and stoves.  A few were finishing up dessert but the moment the door opened they had all turned to stare a Luigi.  Some looked shocked, some frozen in fear and a few looked ready to fight him now.  Luigi nervously glanced at Amakeshil who luckily seemed calm.  He supposed being as high-ranked as they were, Amakehil had to be used to this.

"All is well," Amakeshil announced while holding up Luigi's cuffed hands. "We are just here to grab some food, and we'll be on our way.  At ease."  A few of the kitchen staff returned to what they were doing but most kept starting.  Despite being a hero of the Mushroom Kingdom and the lead military strategist, he rarely had direct attention like this. 

A goomba who looked to be the head chef approached the pair. They looked angry and spoke to Amakeshil in the natural tongue of the Koopa Kingdom.  Luigi didn't understand it but could tell they weren't the happiest with Amakeshil.  It seemed like his guard was making good points as the goomba eventually settled down and led them into a back room. 

The first thing Luigi noticed was a massive block of Moomoo cheese.  It was a brilliant white cube that went up to his chest! He'd seen large blocks of cheese before but never this big. Amakeshil shook their head in amusement and sliced some off, adding it to a plate of food Luigi didn't recognize. 

As soon as they left the kitchen, Luigi let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding in.

"Thank you."

Amakeshil looked confused.  Luigi continued.

"I know it's your job, but I think without you, they would've tried to kill me."

Amakeshil nodded. "Yeah, probably."

"Why are you so nice to me?" Luigi didn't mean to let it slip, but now that it was out there he did want to know the answer.

"It's my job."

"That isn't what I meant," Luigi shook his head. "You have no reason to trust me, yet you have been helping me all morning. You've had me without handcuffs and shown me so pretty important documents to the Kingdom."

For a long moment, Amakeshil said nothing. As they reached a door leading to one of the outside, they suddenly turned around. 

"I may not be an idiot but I'm a fool when it comes to hope."