#uhhhh is that enough tags fhchdjncd

[delightfuldevin]

Bowsario AU fic (No Title cause I’m bad at titles)

Summary: With super powered villains creeping up all over the world, it was obvious for Mario that he wanted to get into the hero business. Most other heroes had powers of their own, too, but Mario would just have to make do with the temporary magic granted to him by the mysterious plants he tended to. What happens, then, when his face strikes fear into not just the villains he fights, but even the civilians he tries to save? How is he meant to be a hero when he's associated with one of the most powerful villains in the world?

Silly little au thing that popped into my brain as soon as I saw this prompt and I had to write it. I didn’t know how to end it so apologies that it just sorta cuts off. Also I hc Mario to be semi verbal, so he doesn’t speak in this. It’s hard to write characters who don’t speak (as someone who talks a lot lmao) so bear with me here,,

***

Mario is easily the most well known hero around here. Sure, he had a rough start being the new guy in a big city, but once he proved his capabilities, everyone would come to him for just about anything. He's an inspiration to all, having graduated top of his class from one of the most prestigious hero academies without any natural born powers at all. Turns out, all you really need is a green thumb and the right kind of seeds. Those "fire flowers" of his can pack just as much a punch as any pyromancer.

"Ready to head out, bro?" Mario smiles as his younger twin throws his arm over his shoulder. Luigi had attended the academy with him and, against all odds, graduated with a score just under his. He always knew his brother could make it with him, even if no one else did, even Luigi himself. The guy doesn't know his own strength, but Mario does. After living in the city for the first few years after graduating, the brothers decided to move back to their hometown. If they were going to make a difference in the world, they wanted to start in the place they call home.

The plane ride was uneventful, and soon enough they're in the airport of their hometown. "Say, you think Peach will remember us?" Luigi asks absently as they wait for their luggage on the conveyor belt. Why wouldn't she, Mario thinks to himself. It's only been six years since they saw her last. If she did forget them, he'd definitely give her an earful about it. Suddenly, they hear a scream.

"Help! Somebody stop him!" A masked Beanish man runs through the airport, carrying a bag as a Toad woman chases after him. She was the one who had screamed before, still calling after him. Easily coming to a conclusion, Mario jumps into action, stopping the Beanish man in his tracks.

"Out of the way, red! No one stops Popple the Shadow Thief!" This guy seems weak enough, so Mario readies to fight him with his bare hands, leaving the fire flowers in his pocket. "Oh, you wanna tussle, ey? Fine then! I'll pummel ya and take whatever ya got, too!" This Popple fellow seemed not to have gotten a good look at Mario's face before, because once he does, he suddenly starts trembling, shrinking back from him.

"W-wait a second, you're–!" He pauses and puts the Toad woman's bag down on the floor slowly, hands up as if trying to appease a wild beast. "S-sorry about this, truly! I-I didn't mean none of what I said to ya, I swear!" And just like that, Popple runs off at an even higher speed than when he was trying to escape the woman in the first place.

Eyebrow raised in confusion, Mario stoops down to pick up the bag and walks it over to its owner. "Oh, thank you so much, kind sir." Mario smiles as she cranes her neck up to look at him, her short stature preventing her from seeing him properly. But the second she sees his face, her eyes widen enough to pop out of her skull and she lets out a terrified squeak, hurrying away from him. Okay, what happened with that thief was odd, but this was even stranger. He had just helped her; why did she look so afraid of him? He turns over to Luigi, who had dragged both their bags over to him.

"Well, that was weird... right?" Still dumbfounded, Mario grabs his bag from Luigi and the two of them make their way out of the airport.

The rest of their short walk to their old home went quite the same as their time in the airport. The second anyone got a good look at Mario's face, they'd run away in terror. "Maybe you'd make a better villain instead, bro!" Luigi jokes as he unlocks the door to their house. Mario knows he means it lightheartedly, but it does get to him a bit. Why was he garnering such a reaction from everyone around him? He hadn't been around for six years, and he was only the kindest and sweetest to everyone before he left. Maybe some bad rumors spread about him while he was gone... But how did that happen?

"Hey, cheer up!" Luigi exclaims, noticing how his "joke" hadn't gone over so well. "Let's go see Peach! She doesn't know we're back in town yet!" He pats Mario's back, and the older twin forces a smile. For a brief moment, he worries that Peach will react the same way as everyone else, but he knows that wouldn't happen. She knows him better than anyone...

One of the upsides about having a best friend who's royalty is that you don't have to put in any effort to remember where they live. After all, how could you miss the giant marble castle standing proudly at the edge of the town? Mario ignores the stares he gets as he and Luigi walk through town and to the front of the castle. The Toad guards in front smile as Luigi approaches, but, like everyone else, freeze up when they see Mario.

"H-halt! Y-you... you can't come in here...!" The guards try to put on brave faces, speaking as firmly as possible, but their trembling voices aren't very convincing.

"Hey hey, easy, pals," Luigi tries, hands out to show he's not a threat. "We're friends of the Princess. Tell her Mario and Luigi are here to see her. She'll vouch for us!"

"Uh, okay, wait here then," the green Toad says, eying the brothers suspiciously.

"No, I wanna go tell her!" the purple Toad whisper-shouts.

"I'll tell her! You stay here!"

"I don't wanna stay here with him!"

"Shut up and deal with it! I'll be right back!" Before the purple Toad could retaliate again, the green one goes into the castle. Mario keeps up a smile as they wait, hoping to calm the purple Toad's nerves, but it doesn't seem to be working. Though it feels like hours pass, it must've only been a few minutes when they hear the Princess's voice on the other side of the door.

"I understand your concern, Toadsworth, but if a villain is polite enough to wait at my door before attacking, I'm willing to hear them out." The door swings open as the Princess, the green Toad guard, and a brown elderly Toad come out, though the elderly Toad immediately slides behind the Princess's dress in fear. "Maybe it's not as bad as it–" She pauses as her eyes fall upon the twins. Again, Mario fears the worst. But then, her mouth spreads into a wide grin, turning up her eyelids and making her cheeks plump.

"Oh my gosh!" She throws her arms around them, pulling them both against her. "Why didn't you tell me you guys were coming back today?! I would've planned something!"

"Nice to see you, too, Princess," Luigi laughs, returning her hug. With all the weird reactions he's been getting lately, Mario is taken aback to actually be receiving a warm welcome. But he smiles sincerely, laughing too, as he squeezes her as tight as he can. Peach loosens her grip on them, turning to look at the green Toad guard.

"Now why would you tell me there was a villain at my door when it was my two best friends I haven't seen in years?" Mario's smile begins to fall hearing that.

"W-well, y'know... On account of his association with... him..." Association with who? So he was right about there being some rumor about him, but what was it and why?

“Uh, Princess… What’s going on?” Luigi asks. “Ever since we arrived, everyone’s been giving Mario weird looks, and what’s this about him being a villain?!”

“News probably hasn’t spread to the city you were studying in. It did happen somewhat recently…” Peach sighs, bringing her hand to her forehead. Then, she smiles brightly, going to stand between the brothers and wrapping her arms in theirs. “Let’s go inside and have a seat. I’ll explain everything. Toadsworth!” The old brown Toad flinches upon hearing his name, still uneasy in Mario’s presence. “Be a dear and prepare us some tea, will you?”

“C-certainly, Your Highness!” The old Toad wastes no time, spinning on his heels and hurrying back inside, eager to make himself scarce. Meanwhile, Peach leads her best friends to the sitting room, which is the first room on the right when entering through the castle’s front door. They sit on the plush dark pink couches, remaining in antsy silence as Toadsworth returns with the requested tea.

Toadsworth’s hands tremble as he pours the tea. Luigi smiles and thanks him and he nods in response, but at Mario’s smile, the old Toad flinches again, nearly dropping the teapot. “Oh, for Stars’ sake, Toadsworth! Get over it!” Peach finally exclaims. “It’s Mario! You know him! He’s been my best friend since we were infants!“

“Y-yes, of course… F-forgive me.” Peach sighs again in exasperation, taking a sip of her tea before continuing to the brothers.

“So, as you might’ve guessed, a lot has happened since you went away to study. Goodness, where to start… Do you guys remember Bowser?” Mario and Luigi exchange unsure glances. “He went to high school with us? He was an exchange student from the Koopa Kingdom.” Again, the brothers exchange looks, before a metaphorical lightbulb goes off in Luigi’s head.

“Oh, right yeah! Remember, bro? He used to always pick fights with you?” That’s when Mario’s memory comes back as well. Bowser, huh… He was a strange guy. From the minute he arrived at the school, he seemed like trouble. He’d always try to insert himself into any situation, like he just had to be the center of attention. He’d even tried to get Peach to go out with him, despite knowing every guy in school had their eyes on her and would most definitely fight him over her.

But by far the strangest thing about him was the fact that he’d keep trying to antagonize Mario somehow. At first, Mario thought it was because he was friends with Peach, but Bowser never targeted Luigi and even after Peach made it clear she wasn’t going to date anyone, he would still try to bother him. At first, he’d really try to pick fist fights with him, but then it started devolving into silly little pranks that an elementary kid would do, like putting a jack-in-the-box in his locker or filling his shoes with candy during gym.

“Yeah, well, after graduation, right after you guys left, he returned to the Koopa Kingdom,” Peach continues. “I don’t know how it happened, but somehow he overthrew the Koopa King and he’s been ruling the kingdom ever since.”

“Uh… good for him…?” Luigi says with a shrug, confusion in his tone and on his face. “But what does he have to do with Mario?”

“He’s also become the most dangerous villain on the continent, and his power is only growing stronger. And after he ascended to the throne, he announced publicly that he’ll kill anyone who tries to hurt Mario.” Both brothers nearly choke on their tea. No wonder everyone thinks Mario is associated with a villain, but why would Bowser go to such lengths? It’s not like they were even friends. If anything, it seemed like Bowser couldn’t even stand being in the same room as him. “Well, he did have that little crush on you in high school, but I didn’t think he’d go this far…” Mario barely registers what the Princess just said, but when he does, his eyes go wide and he freezes up.

It’s obvious that Mario would be surprised about someone he went to school with becoming a powerful villain, but Peach soon realizes that that’s not the only thing that surprises him. “…I take it from your reaction that you didn’t know about his crush, huh?” Mario can only shake his head slowly, eyes still wide. “You knew, right, Luigi?”

“I mean, I didn’t guess it was a crush per se, but I could definitely tell he had some kinda complex goin’ on with my bro.”

“I would’ve said something, but I thought you already knew and were purposefully ignoring all the weird stuff he kept doing to get your attention. In any case, that’s the long and short of it. It didn’t take long for everyone’s perception of you to change. Even if it was clear you were aspiring to become a hero, the second Bowser announced any kind of relation to you, everyone became scared of your return.”

Once he recovers from the shock, Mario’s expression changes to that of determination. He’s going to become a hero no matter what, and his first step from here must be confronting Bowser. He hasn’t seen him in years and he wouldn’t even know what to say, but he has to go clear all of this up. He can’t become a hero if everyone is afraid of even being in his presence. So, he stands up and places his tea cup down on the table. There’s no time to lose. It’s off to the Koopa Kingdom with him.