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The second trip to Isle Delfino was definitely better than the first. The first and foremost reason being that there were no Koopas in sight to interrupt the vacation.
Despite the rather tumultuous first encounter Mario had with the piantas of the island, he definitely wasn’t protesting when Peach suggested they vacation there again. It’d been a long time since they’d had a trip that didn’t end in some sort of disaster or long journey that took up most of their vacation time. In fact, this time, Mario decided to bring Luigi along!
“Is Daisy coming?” Luigi asked when Mario proposed the vacation. Mario had had to resist teasing him—he knew how shy he was around Peach’s cousin, considering how long he’d had feelings for her.
“Just ask her out, already, Luigi.”
“N-No! Too scary!”
Mario had shaken his head and sighed. “Yes, Daisy’s coming. Peach asked her and she said yes.”
He hadn’t been lying to convince Luigi to come with them. Daisy actually had been invited, and she actually had said yes.
Though Mario knew he and Luigi would certainly have fun on this vacation, as the days came closer he became even more and more worried that Luigi’s shyness might prevent him from having as much fun as he could be having. He always became a nervous wreck when Daisy was around, and despite having Mario to remind him not to panic, his poor brother still became a stammering mess and could never fully get rid of the awkwardness that defined Luigi’s existence.
Considering how long Luigi had been dealing with being incredibly awkward around Daisy, Mario, who’d been helping him through his shyness since the beginning, wanted to help Luigi overcome his fears and be comfortable around Daisy. Maybe even comfortable enough to ask her out on an actual date.
But however was he supposed to do that? He couldn’t just yell at Luigi, that would just make him more frightened, and he couldn’t blame his brother for having anxiety. It wasn’t like he wanted to be a nervous wreck all the time. But Mario worried that if he made him just bite the bullet, something might go wrong. He wanted Luigi to feel... well, less nervous.
He pondered this the entire way to Isle Delfino, absently reading through one of the brochures he’d grabbed at the airport to read when he finally succumbed to pure boredom. It wasn’t the worst thing to read, at least—his mouth watered at the sight of all the food. He hadn’t had nearly enough time to try everything the last time they’d come here.
That was when it caught his eye: Mr. Pianta’s Sunset Diner. The perfect place for an evening of romance! the brochure advertised, a bunch of hearts surrounding a photo of a pretty romantic looking restaurant, if Mario had to admit.
Hmmm, he thought to himself, I should take Peach there sometime.
Then it clicked. “That’s it!”
“What’s it?” Luigi asked, being startled from his nap.
“Nothing, Luigi, I’ll explain later,” he said, winking. Luigi gave him a suspicious look before going back to sleep, and Mario spent the rest of the plane ride eagerly conjuring up the perfect plan to get his brother and Daisy together at last.
First, before he proposed the idea to Luigi, he had to make sure Peach was in on the plan. He spent the entire journey to the hotel plotting how he was going to approach not just Luigi, but also Peach on his clever plan, and soon he was practically jumping from the perfection of it. Surely, this plan could not go wrong!
After he’d unpacked all his things, he quickly went down the hall to Peach’s room.
“Peach, can I ask you to help me with something?”
“Of course Mario,” Peach replied. “What is it?”
Mario sat on her bed and explained his plan to her. She nodded, and when he got to the diner, she blinked.
“A double date?” She asked.
Mario nodded. “Luigi’s terrified of asking Daisy out because he thinks he’ll be too shy and awkward and she won’t be able to get anywhere with him. He wants to be comfortable,” he explained, “and Luigi’s really bad at making himself comfortable, especially when all this romance stuff is concerned. So I figured if he maybe has us there, he’d feel less shy and they’d be able to get somewhere.”
Peach nodded in understanding. “Do you think it’ll work?”
“Not completely,” Mario admitted. “I have to make sure Luigi’s A-OK first.”
“Are you going to ask him.”
“Soon as I know you’re in.”
Peach smiled. “Well, I’m in.”
“Really?”
“Of course! I don’t want poor Luigi to suffer with his anxiety forever,” she said. “Besides, I think he and Daisy would make a wonderful couple.”
Mario smiled and nodded. “I agree,” he said. “Alrighty, now to make sure Luigi’s in, too!”
“Good luck, Mario!” Peach exclaimed as he left the room. Mario halted, ran black in, and kissed her on the cheek.
“Thanks for the help!” He exclaimed, leaving again. He could hear Peach’s laughter behind him.
He was grinning as he approached Luigi’s room and knocked on the door.
“Hello?”
“It’s me, Luigi!”
“Come on in, bro!”
Mario opened the door to find Luigi flipping through channels.
“Whatcha looking for?”
“I dunno. Something not scary,” he said, giving Mario a look.
Mario nodded. “I hate scary movies,” he replied, taking a seat on Luigi’s bed.
“Whatcha want, bro?”
“Well, I think I have a solution for your feelings with Daisy.”
Luigi’s face flushed bright red. “Wha, what do you mean, Mario?”
“You hear about the Sunset Diner in Delfino Plaza?”
Luigi shook his head. Mario took out the brochure from his pocket and waved it at him.
“I’m taking Peach out for a date there. I want you to come with Daisy for a double date.”
Luigi blinked. He didn’t say a word.
“It’s a good plan!” Mario exclaimed when he noticed the first inklings of skepticism in his brother’s eyes. Luigi frowned.
“I dunno Mario... I’m shy.”
“That’s exactly why having Peach and me there will help!” Mario replied. “Listen, you’ve gotta admit that having us there will make it less awkward, right?”
Slowly, Luigi nodded.
Mario grinned. “So, what do you say?”
“But when is it?”
“We’ll figure that out when you-” Mario wrapped an arm around Luigi’s shoulders, “-get Daisy on board.”
“Why do I have to do it!?”
“You’re the one who likes her! I can’t ask her out for you!”
“Oh, Mario...”
“C’mon, Luigi! I’m giving you the biggest shot you’ve had in your life!” Mario exclaimed. “Do your bro a favor and just ask her to come on a double date? Please?”
Luigi swallowed. Slowly, he nodded.
Mario’s expression lit up. “You’re not gonna regret this, bro!”
“I feel like I am.”
“That’s just the anxiety talking,” Mario replied with a laugh. “Now, when you get the chance, I want you to ask her, alright?”
Luigi nodded again. He looked terrified.
“Bro. You trust me?”
He nodded. A third time.
“Good. If you’re ever scared, just remember: Peach and I got your back, bro.”
“...Thanks, Mario.”
“Anytime, Luigi!”
❧
Luigi’s chance came at sunset. His heart was pounding as he noticed Daisy sitting on a lounge chair outside the hotel, smoothie in hand as she watched the sunset.
He swallowed. His eyes darted up to the balcony, where Mario and Peach were watching the sunset together. He caught his brother’s eyes and managed a smile grin when Mario flashed a thumbs up at him. Peach smiling and waving down at him helped too.
They’ve got my back, he reminded himself as he made his way to Daisy.
That didn’t stop the sweat coming off of him in waves, nor did it stop the heat in his face, or the panic in his head screaming at him to hide in his room.
But none of those things stopped him from approaching Daisy, slowly, but surely.
“Uh... h-hi, Daisy.”
“Oh? Hi, Luigi!” Daisy exclaimed, lifting up her sunglasses. “What’s up.”
“Uhhhh...” His one comprehensive thought was Wow, she looks pretty today.
What are you talking about, fool!? She looks pretty every day!
“Luigi?”
He shook his head. “Uh, nothing. Just... you know... I wanted to see the sunset.”
“Yeah. It’s pretty awesome, isn’t it?”
Luigi nodded. He swallowed.
“Uh... actually, speaking of which, did you hear about a new d-diner that’s opened up?”
“Which one?”
Oh stars, his gloves were soaked. Why’d he even bring them!? It was summer!
“The uh... well...”
What did Mario say it was called again!? He was coming up blank!
Wait a second! The sunset!
“...The Sunset Diner!” He exclaimed. “Sorry, forgot the name.”
“Sunset Diner? Sounds pretty nice,” Daisy commented.
“It does look pretty nice,” Luigi agreed. “Mario saw a brochure. I dunno what they serve, though...”
“I’m up for anything.”
“W-what?”
“Are you asking if you want me to eat with you there?” Daisy asked, raising an eyebrow.
Oh stars, she knows!
Don’t panic, Luigi, don’t panic, Luigi, don’t panic, Luigi, don’t panic, Luigi!
Mario’s got your back, remember!?
Remembering Mario made it much easier to speak.
“Uh... um, well, actually, I was, well, you see, wondering if you’d like to... yes, I’m asking if you want to eat dinner with me there!” Luigi blurted.
“Oh! Sure!” Daisy replied. Luigi blinked.
“Wha... just like that?”
She nodded. “We don’t spend enough time together. Is anyone else coming?”
...oh. She wasn’t like... she wasn’t expecting like a... oh.
“...actually, Mario and Peach wanted us to have a double date.”
Daisy raised her eyebrows. “Double date?”
“Yeah! Mario and Peach, and, uh, you and me!”
“That sounds like a great night out!” Daisy exclaimed. “I’d love to!”
“R-Really?” Luigi asked. “Like, y-you’re really sure?”
Daisy nodded. “Yeah. I’ve never been on a double date before! It sounds fun!”
“Well, you’re sure in for a treat then!” Luigi exclaimed. Stars, man, can you be any more awkward?
Daisy smiled. “So when is it?”
“Mario wanted everyone to be on board, first. We’ll discuss it later. Tonight or tomorrow or something.”
Daisy smiled and nodded. “Works for me!”
Luigi smiled and nodded too.
“Uh...”
“What?”
“...Where’d you get the smoothie?”
“Oh, it’s to the right of the lobby.”
“Thanks! Nice talking to you, Daisy!”
“You too, Luigi!”
As Luigi speed-walked back to the hotel, he looked up at Mario, still on the balcony, and gave him a thumbs up.
Mario’s expression was so excited it was almost comical as he waved his own thumbs up. Peach, next to him, started laughing.
Luigi sighed. His brother really struck gold in the romance department.
He sure hoped Mario’s plan might lead him to do the same.
❧
The four of them got together that night, discussing plans for the double date, and within minutes they had a date and time. All Mario needed to do was to make the reservation, which he promised he would do tomorrow.
As he got ready for bed, he popped his head into Luigi’s room, grinning, and said “Way to go, Luigi!”
Luigi looked drained. “That wasn’t easy!” He complained.
“C’mon, you’re like, halfway there!”
“More like a quarter.”
“Relax, Luigi. Tomorrow morning, we’ll have a dinner date!”
Luigi nodded. “Night, bro.”
“Night, bro!”
In the morning, Mario awoke bright and early, his heart soaring as he remembered what he’d managed to do the previous day, and what he still needed to do. As he threw on his clothes and got ready to meet everyone downstairs for breakfast, he couldn’t stop smiling.
This was fast becoming one of the best vacations he’d ever been on! Definitely better than the last time they’d been to Isle Delfino!
Mario met Luigi on the way down, and as they went down the stairs Mario explained his various misadventures searching for Shine Sprites in the hotel.
“This one time,” Mario explained, “I spent two hours going through the vents trying to find a way into the swimming pool, because there was a Shine in there.”
“Why didn’t you just... go in?”
“I tried! I told them what I was there for, and they insisted that I needed a swimsuit! And I couldn’t get it, because our luggage was still at the inn in Delfino Plaza!”
“So what’d you do?”
“I went through the vents!”
“Did you get the Shine?”
“Sure did,” Mario replied. He then leaned over the balcony and pointed to the very top of the hotel. “One time I came in here, and there was this giant bronze Boo head at the very top of this pole,” he said. “And the Boos wouldn’t let me use the stairs, so I had to spray the pink ones. It turned them into platforms for some reason.”
“... You mean FLUDD’s water could do that?”
“Actually, now that I recall it, it was actually Yoshi spraying fruit juice.”
Luigi shook his head. “What was up there?”
“One of those weird mini worlds,” Mario replied. “The Boo head vanished, so i don’t know if that world is still there or not.”
Near the lobby, Mario turned to Luigi and said, “Oh, and I met King Boo in the casino.”
“King Boo!?” Luigi exclaimed.
Mario nodded. “I guess after the first incident with the mansion, he wanted a vacation, too? Anyway, he was haunting the casino and I had to go in there and tell him to leave. He got mad at me and started getting aggressive, so I had to throw peppers at him.”
“...Why?”
“I guess he hated the spice,” Mario replied, “because one time it went in his mouth and he got really uncomfortable.”
“...Geez, Mario. You sure did a lot in here.”
“Oh, you won’t believe the half of it. When I first came here, the hotel was gone! It was buried under the goop and I had to kill this stingray-looking thing to bring it back. It was super flat, like paper, and it kept splitting every time I sprayed it.”
“Wow.”
“Later, I came back, and the place a complete mess! Bowser Jr. must’ve trashed the place. Anyway, I needed to get the place clean ASAP, because apparently some important guests were arriving soon and they wanted to impress them.”
“Did you get it done?”
“Sure did! They gave me a Shine for it!” Mario exclaimed.
“Why didn’t they just... give you the Shine? Didn’t they know you needed it?”
“Some people are stubborn like that,” Mario sighed. “Besides, sometimes they had actual problems only I could fix, and a Shine was good enough payment.”
“Huh.”
“I know. I’ve been on several searches for stuff like the Shines, and it gets pretty exhausting after a while.”
“Least you’ve got a lot of good stories to tell.”
“You’ve got some good ones, too!”
Luigi smiled. “Yeah.”
They reached lobby, and noticed Peach and Daisy already down there, talking excitedly with someone the brothers couldn’t see. The two glanced at each other, then approached the two princesses.
“Heya, Peach!”
“Oh! Mario! Good morning!” Peach exclaimed. “I was just talking with a friend of ours! You remember Rosalina, don’t you?”
Mario’s eyes widened, noticing the princess from outer space whom he’d helped long ago. “Well, hello!” Mario exclaimed. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
Rosalina smiled and nodded. “Hello, Mario,” she greeted. “It has. When did we last talk?”
“I think it was the last go-kart tournament,” Mario replied.
“The one where I won?” Luigi asked, grinning proudly.
“No, I think it was the one where Toadette won,” Rosalina replied.
Luigi wilted.
Mario laughed and patted his shoulders. “You got third place that tournament!”
“Yeah, but nobody likes bronze trophies. They’re all tacky and the color’s not even that cool-”
“I think you did pretty well that tournament,” Daisy commented.
Luigi’s cheeks turned red.
“So, Rosalina, what brings you to Isle Delfino?”
Rosalina smiled. “Well, I’m vacationing with my boyfriend. I’ve been wanting to get away from the observatory for a while and see more of the planet!”
Mario nodded. “Yeah, it’s always nice to—wait. Boyfriend?”
Rosalina, cheeks a light pink, nodded.
Peach gasped and covered her mouth.
“Rosie! You have a boyfriend!?”
“And you didn’t tell us!?” Daisy added in mock dismay. Her smile was wide.
Rosalina laughed awkwardly. “Well, we’ve only been going out for a couple months, and I didn’t see a reason to go and announce it to everybody...”
“Oh no, I get it!” Luigi said. “Gotta keep some stuff to yourself, especially when you’re well-known!”
Mario’s eyes had gone wide. “Well, congrats, Rosalina! How’d you get together?”
“Well, it was actually at the last tournament!” Rosalina explained, smiling. “We’d seen each other a couple times before that, but we didn’t properly meet until the go-kart tournament. You see, I’d been having a lot of problems with my bike, and he helped me figure out how everything works!”
“Did he ask you out after the tournament was over?”
She smiled and nodded. “Yes. We have been together ever since!”
“So who’s the lucky guy?” Peach asked, leaning in close.
“Oh, he’s W-”
Daisy gasped so dramatically both Mario brothers assumed someone was being attacked and started looking around for the threat.
“Oh. My. Gosh! I just had the best idea!”
“I-Idea?” Luigi stammered. Mario let out the breath he’d been holding, hand on his stomach.
“Goodness, Daisy, I thought the Boos had come back!”
“What Boos?” Rosalina asked.
“Oh, I think the hotel’s haunted,” Peach explained. “But Mario’s made it comfortable to stay in.”
“Guys!” Daisy exclaimed. “We should make this a triple date!”
Mario’s eyes widened. “A triple date?”
“Oh, that sounds like a wonderful idea!” Peach exclaimed, clapping her hands together.
“Uh, are sure?” Luigi asked, looking more anxious by the second. Mario quickly put a hand on his shoulder to settle him, while his own mind raced.
A triple date, that would mean he’d have to make a reservation for six and not four… hmm, how much money would that cost? The Sunset Diner was kind of expensive…
“I could help pay for it, if you’re worried about that,” Rosalina suggested to Mario. He nodded.
“Okay. Only if it’s super expensive.”
“Alright.”
“So you’re in?” Peach asked her. She smiled and nodded.
“I’ll have to ask him, of course, but I would love to! I haven’t been to very many human restaurants yet.”
“Well, it’s more of a Pianta restaurant than a human one,” Mario mentioned. “Luigi, what do you think of a triple date?”
“Well, the more’s the merrier!” He exclaimed, the red in his face disappearing. Mario smiled and patted his shoulder.
“Well, I guess it’s a deal if Rosalina’s boyfriend agrees, too!”
Daisy and Peach were beaming. Rosalina’s smile was wider than he’d seen in a long time.
Heck, all five of them were grinning, and their conversation turned to how this triple date might go as they went together to get smoothies. Rosalina explained she and her boyfriend were staying at a hotel in Delfino Plaza, and had come to Sirena because she’d heard Mario and the others had been staying there.
“So, is this hotel really haunted?” She asked Mario and Luigi.
“Nah, I took care of it,” Mario said. “There might be the occasional Boo here and there, though. Ghosts have to take a vacation, too!”
“You’re right about that one,” agreed Luigi.
“Luigi, aren’t you a ghost hunter?”
“Not professionally!”
“Oh! Tell them the story about how you got Mario out of a painting!” Daisy exclaimed.
“You were in a painting?” Rosalina asked, eyes widening. Mario buried his face in his hands while Luigi laughed.
“Well, it was pretty scary,” he explained, “but after a while the Poltergust actually became really fun to use. Actually, you won’t even believe how I got there in the first place. I won a mansion, and Mario was so surprised he went there to check it out ahead of time, and that’s how he got captured…”
As Luigi began delving into a full account of his adventures within a haunted mansion, Mario, getting more and more embarrassed as he remembered the utter helplessness of being trapped in a painting, watched the growing confidence of his brother and grinned.
This triple date was going to work out perfectly, at this rate!
❧
A letter sent to them that afternoon from Rosalina confirmed that her boyfriend—whose name, Mario realized, he’d forgotten to ask for—was one-hundred percent in on this triple date. He was grinning as he went online and made the reservation. Thankfully, they were willing to take a group of six with such a small time’s notice! The date would occur in a couple days, and until then, the Mario brothers and the princesses all had fun!
At Pinna Park, the other three were all able to convince Luigi to try the roller coaster with them, with Daisy sitting next to him and holding his hand the whole way. In the line, Mario was able to relieve his anxieties (mostly) by telling him all he stuff he did while at the Park.
“You see that carousel over there?” He asked. “The Yoshi one?”
Luigi nodded.
“Mini world in there. You won’t believe how I got in there, either.”
“How?”
“I had to get an orange Yoshi—you can hatch the Yoshis here with certain colored fruits—and put him in the carousel. They were missing an orange Yoshi, and I used a real one to open the portal. It was an experience, let me tell you.”
“Now you’re just making stuff up!” Daisy exclaimed.
“Nope! Another time, I had to run around the whole park looking for red coins. You won’t believe how many times I had to ride those ships just to get one!” He pointed to the spinning ships ride, right as they swung in a full circle.
Luigi paled.
“Yeah, you get pretty sick of it after the fourth or fifth time,” Mario said.
On the roller coaster itself, Luigi started getting antsy again. Mario quickly looked back as they rode upwards towards the first drop.
“You think this is bad? I had to fight Mecha Bowser on this thing!”
“You WHAT!?”
“I know!”
Then they dropped, and all anyone could really do was scream.
Another day, at Gelato Beach, Mario told everyone about the Sand Bird.
“Was it really made completely out of sand?” Daisy asked.
“Yep! I was covered in it by the time I finally got off of it! And boy, was I relieved to be off of it! There were so many times where I thought I was going to fall off!”
“That sounds terrifying!” Luigi exclaimed, looking properly frightened by the idea. “No harness, no nothing… and it’s made of sand! It could disintegrate when you try to hold on!”
“Oh, parts of him did. But they usually grew back eventually.”
Luigi gulped.
Then, the day of the much awaited triple date, in between talks of what they were going to eat and how none of them had ever been on a triple date before, they checked out Ricco Harbor.
Luigi looked nervous.
“Relax, Luigi. You’ll do great!”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah! You’ve got me, Peach, Rosalina, and-”
I still haven’t asked for his name yet! What kind of friend am I!?
“-Daisy!”
“What if I mess up?”
“Luigi. I’ve messed up, before. Remember Pauline?”
Luigi nodded.
“If I can have a bad relationship and come out of it alright, so can you!”
“But the breakup was mutual. What if Daisy just decides she doesn’t like me?”
“I think you’d know if she hated you, Luigi.”
“Oh… yeah!”
Mario smiled when he saw how that cheered him up.
“Relax, bro. You’re gonna be fantastic tonight!”
❧
It was time.
Luigi took several deep breaths as the sun set outside his hotel room, and he adjusted, then readjusted, the small bow tie he’d clipped to his nicest shirt, over his nicest overalls. He… wasn’t very original in clothing styles, but if Mario could wear his classic red shirt and blue overalls to any occasion, then so could he…! But in green…!
He nodded to his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He planted his hands on the counter and took a deep breath again.
“Remember, you’ve got Mario and Peach and Rosalina and whoever her boyfriend is. Daisy is nice. She hasn’t made it obvious she hates you yet. You know she makes it obvious when she hates someone. So she likes you. Maybe she likes you the way you hope she does. Just stay calm, and when you panic, you look at Mario and he’ll give you the reassuring eyes you like so much.”
He nodded to himself again. His heart pounded. Stars, this was scarier than facing down King Boo!
But he could do it. He had to do it. Mario was right; if he didn’t take this opportunity his brother had planted in his lap, then when was he ever going to do it? He needed to do it right here, right now.
He opened his mouth to pep talk himself again, because his heart was beginning to race faster.
“Luigi! It’s time!” Mario exclaimed, swinging his bedroom door open. Luigi yelped and nearly leaped out of his skin.
“Stars, Mario, knock!”
“Sorry! Peach and Daisy are ready! Rosalina and her boyfriend are waiting for us at the restaurant.”
Luigi nodded, took several deep breaths, and made his way out of the room.
“You ready, Luigi?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“That’s the spirit!”
They met the princesses in the hallway, and they all walked to the hotel together. Luigi couldn’t help flushing when he saw Daisy in an orange sundress that matched Peach’s.
“Y-You look nice, Daisy.”
“Thanks, Luigi! You’re looking pretty sharp, too!”
That only made him look away, face burning. Daisy laughed and linked their arms together.
“We’re gonna have a great time, I just know it!”
“Y-Yeah!”
His eyes darted to Mario, who had linked his arms with Peach, and when his brother winked, Luigi began to finally relax.
They rode one of the tour busses to Delfino Plaza, and as they got out, the Pianta driving it waved at the four and told them to have a great time. Everyone waved back and gave their thanks as the bus began driving its new passengers back to the hotel.
“We’ve got plenty of time before the last bus leaves,” said Peach as they began heading towards the restaurant. Luigi’s heart began to pound again. Daisy noticed him growing pale.
“You alright?”
“Huh? Oh, uh, yeah! Just nervous. I’ve never been on a double- er, triple date before.”
“Me neither. But I think we’re gonna have a great time!”
“Yeah!”
“You know, I’ve kinda been wanting to go on a date with you for a while now,” Daisy admitted.
Wait, WHAT!?
Before Luigi could ask her what she meant, Peach pointed towards the Sunset Diner. “There it is!”
“Oh!” Luigi and Daisy exclaimed, staring at the brightly lit front. The building had a glowing sign in the shape of a sunset surrounded by bright red hearts, making it stand out in between the two establishments at its sides. Inside, Luigi could see that it really was a fancy-looking restaurant.
“Oh, boy.”
“Here we go, Luigi!”
“I think Rosalina’s gotten our table for us,” said Daisy.
“She did,” Peach confirmed. Luigi took a deep breath as they went into the restaurant.
“Welcome to the Sunset Diner! How many with you?” Asked the Pianta at the reservation desk.
“Uh, we’re a party of six, but two of us should’ve come in already?” Mario said.
“Uh huh. Name?”
“Mario.”
“Hmm… yep, got ya right here! Your table’s back there,” he said, pointing. Luigi caught sight of a silver crown and… a purple hat?
“Thanks, sir!” Everyone exclaimed as they sidled past.
“Thank you for helping us out with the Shine problem!”
“You’re welcome!” Mario exclaimed back to them as they made their way to the table.
Luigi caught Rosalina’s eyes as they approached, and she smiled and waved at them. And there, holding her hand, was…
“Waluigi!?”
❧
Well what do ya know!? Mario thought to himself.
“Hello, everyone! You’ve met Waluigi, haven’t you?” Rosalina asked. Beside her, Waluigi had a large grin.
“Of course we have!” Daisy exclaimed.
“Heya, Waluigi,” said Mario.
“Heya, Mario. How’ve you been?”
“I’ve been alright.” Troublemakers though he and his friend Wario were, he was actually pretty friendly with him when he wasn’t trying to take something for himself. He always played dirty when it came to parties and racing, though.
“Uh… hi, Waluigi,” Luigi murmured, suddenly becoming shy again. Mario worried over whether Waluigi might ruin the confidence he’s been trying to build up in his brother—then figured, nah. If he of all people was able to make Rosalina happy, then he wouldn’t try to screw Luigi over.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Waluigi laughed.
Luigi tried to stammer out a response.
“Aw, relax!” Daisy exclaimed. “It’s all in good fun here, right?”
“Of course!” Rosalina replied.
“Sit down already, we can’t take our orders until you do!” Waluigi exclaimed.
“I told you to eat something earlier today,” Rosalina reminded him as everyone took their seats.
“I did eat!”
“One durian does not count as lunch.”
“I had breakfast.”
“A few star bits isn’t breakfast.”
“You’ve eaten star bits?” Mario asked. “Geez, I haven’t thought of those things in forever!”
“They’re delicious,” Luigi sighed. Mario blinked and spun to stare at him.
“You’ve eaten star bits!?”
“I told you they were edible!” Rosalina exclaimed.
“Mario, what did you eat while we were adventuring in space?” Luigi asked.
“I ate whatever the natives would eat!”
“So you ate nothing but honey and the pasta the Lumas made for us? You didn’t even think to try the star bits?”
“Wow,” Waluigi deadpanned.
Mario groaned and buried his face in his hands. He was so worried about making sure Luigi didn’t feel like a fool that he had become the fool!
“Are star bits really good?” Daisy asked Rosalina and Waluigi.
“Yep! The different colors are different flavors!”
“Oh yeah! I really liked the green ones,” said Luigi.
“You love everything green,” said Daisy. He stiffened.
“W-Well, green is a wonderful color!”
“The green ones are lovely,” sighed Rosalina. “I remember when I first had them. They were all I ate for days!”
“Really?” Peach asked.
“Well, partly because we’d run out of the food I’d brought from my native planet, and the Lumas told me they’d seen people like me eat them and survive before, so…”
“They taste like honey, regardless of the flavor,” Waluigi added.
“And they’re actually quite healthy for you!” Rosalina mentioned.
“I should’ve tried some!” Mario groaned.
Peach laughed. “It’s okay, I’ve never had star bits either!”
“Maybe next time, I’ll bring some for everyone!” Rosalina suggested.
“N-Next time?” Luigi stammered.
“Sure!” Waluigi exclaimed.
“That sounds nice!” Daisy added.
“Gooood evening, everyone!” A Pianta waiter exclaimed, sliding up to their table holding a notepad. “Can I take y’all’s orders?”
“Uh, does everyone know what they want?” Mario asked.
“I do!” Daisy exclaimed. Luigi nodded. Waluigi flashed a thumbs up. Rosalina and Peach both nodded.
Mario nodded in turn. He was ready, too.
Once everyone had taken their orders, Daisy propped her head on her hands. “So, Rosalina, Waluigi,” she said, “how did you two get together?”
Rosalina and Waluigi gave each other looks before turning back to face the group.
“Well,” Waluigi began, “it was actually pretty funny, actually-”
“My Flame Runner broke down,” Rosalina admitted. “And I couldn’t get it to restart.”
“Not even after all those times I saw you working on the observatory’s engine?” Mario asked.
“Yes. I could repair an intergalactic spaceship but not one motorbike,” she replied with a sigh.
“So she went asking around for a mechanic,” Waluigi continued, “and that’s when I finally noticed her. She was just standing next to her bike, and some smoke was coming out of the engine, and looked real lost.”
“I wasn’t used to asking strangers for help,” Rosalina admitted, sheepishly.
“Oh, I feel the exact same way!” Luigi exclaimed. “Usually, Mario’s the one who has to ask for me.”
“You got that right!” Mario exclaimed.
“So, she’s looking real lost next to her bike, and the race is starting in like… ten minutes? So I go over there and I ask her what’s wrong.”
“I explained it to him, and he took a quick look at my bike, and he told me to wait a second. He came back with a box of tools and started fixing it.”
“Wario yelled at me from where he was all relaxed in his car to hurry up,” Waluigi added with a roll of his eyes.
“He got a low rank on that race,” Rosalina recalled.
“Did you fix it?” Peach asked.
“Course I did! I’m actually pretty good with cars and stuff—took it up a few years back.”
“Cool!” Luigi replied.
Mario nodded in agreement. He couldn’t remember Waluigi ever helping anyone before.
“He finished it up, and he told me it should work now,” Rosalina concluded. “And when the race started, it worked even better than it had before! I even got first place!”
“That’s awesome,” Daisy said. “Winning a race is awesome.”
“Especially when it’s on Rainbow Road,” Luigi added. He shuddered. “I still have nightmares of that place.”
Mario nodded. “You start to fall off, and the Lakitus always catch you, but there’s always that split second where you’re like ‘why aren’t they catching me’, and it makes you panic.”
“Oh I hate that feeling!” Waluigi exclaimed. “Although it’s funny to see Wario fall over. His screams are hilarious.”
“One time I saw Daisy get bumped off by Bowser. She was swearing a storm when the Lakitus brought her back up,” Mario added.
“Wait, you saw that?” Daisy asked, blushing.
“It’s alright, I sometimes have a bad time, too,” Rosalina replied.
“You mean you don’t have a bad time all the time, every time?” Peach asked. “It feels like I can’t make it a lap without falling off three times.”
“She’s actually pretty good at Rainbow Road,” Waluigi explained, grinning proudly. Rosalina shrugged it off.
“Oh, it’s not too difficult. I just like to go a little slower. It feels like I’m at home.”
Peach sighed wistfully. “When you aren’t falling off, or being hit by items, being on Rainbow Road is really nice.”
“We should be allowed up there when it’s not a race,” Daisy said. “Just so we can drift around and just… ya know, enjoy the sights. Rainbow Road is terrifying but pretty.”
“It really is,” Rosalina agreed. “It’s not the Comet Observatory, but racing on it feels a little like flying through the stars.”
“I’ve visited the observatory,” Waluigi mentioned.
“Really?” Peach asked.
“Yeah, it’s real nice. It’s orbiting Earth right now.”
“It is?” Daisy asked.
“I couldn’t find anywhere to park it.”
“Gee, imagine parking the Comet Observatory,” Mario commented.
“Imagine racing it in Mario Kart,” Waluigi suggested.
Everyone burst into laughter.
“It’s so big, it could crush the whole track!” Daisy exclaimed.
“I worry my Lumas would have raided your concessions stands!” Rosalina added, giggling.
“Do they mind not finding Star Bits in there?” Mario asked.
“No, they enjoy other foods as well.”
“Waluigi, did the Lumas like you?” Luigi asked.
“Yeah. Cuddly little things, aren’t they?”
He nodded.
“Did you cuddle the Lumas, Luigi?” Daisy asked.
Luigi nodded again, looking sheepish.
“That’s so cute!” She exclaimed.
“Really?”
“Who wouldn’t cuddle Lumas?” Mario said.
“You’re food is ready!” The Pianta from before exclaimed, hefting three platters of food, one resting comfortably on his head!
“Uh, how do you-” Luigi began.
“You won’t believe the things these here trees on our heads can carry!” The Pianta answered before he could finish the quiestion, placing everyone’s meals in front of them. “Y’all have a wonderful meal!” He exclaimed as he left their table to serve someone else.
“Yummy, pasta!” Luigi exclaimed, grabbing at his silverware and beginning to dig in.
“Mario, remember that time I saw Bowser Jr. parading around as you, and you were so busy daydreaming about food that you didn’t hear me?” Peach asked as everyone else started eating, too.
Waluigi snorted. “You really are unobservant, huh?”
“Wha? Did I really?” He asked, cheeks reddening.
“I was telling you, ‘Mario, there’s somebody who looks just like you bouncing around in that commercial’, and your response was ‘Peach, I’m craving seafood like there’s no tomorrow!’”
Everyone started laughing again, Luigi in particular having to struggle to keep his mouthful of pasta in when he snorted. Mario groaned.
He really had become the fool at this triple date.
“Considering how you obsessed over food the last time you were here, I’m honestly shocked you never considered that the Star Bits were edible,” Rosalina commented.
“I knew they were edible I just… never thought I could… you know… eat them.”
“The entire Toad Brigade ate them,” Peach pointed out.
“They did!?”
“Mario, you’re a doofus,” Waluigi declared.
That had the whole table laughing again.
Mario sighed. “I guess I am a doofus.”
“You’re my doofus,” Peach replied, affectionately patting his check.
“Thanks, Peach.”
“Tell ‘em the story about the Boos in the casino!” Luigi exclaimed.
“Boos? In the casino?” Waluigi exclaimed. “Please tell me you saw gambling Boos.”
“I saw gambling Boos.”
That had him let out a cackle. “That’s hilarious!”
“It is!” Rosalina agreed. “Do you remember the time you went to the ghosts’ galaxy and found Luigi was imprisoned by them?”
“Don’t tell them that story!” Luigi protested.
“Tell them that story!” Daisy exclaimed.
“Okay, okay! I’ll tell you all the story about Luigi being captured by Boos in space… after I tell you the story of how he literally sent me a letter, while stuck in a tree, telling me to come get him because was too scared of the bugs.”
“Nooo! Mario!”
“Then I’ll tell the story about Waluigi getting lost in Coconut Mall!”
“What!? Rosalina, no!”
“What about Daisy getting us both lost on her own cruiser? Remember, during the Double Dash tournament?”
“Peach! Not that one!”
“What? You never made me promise not to.”
“…Right.”
“Okay, so the Luigi stuck in a tree story goes like this…”
And as everyone ate their dinner, conversation dissolved into embarrassing stories about each other, with relative protest from the subject of said story and laughter from the rest of the group. And as the night went on, Mario realized that Luigi was barely nervous at all. In fact, he was having a wonderful time! And so was he!
Waluigi and Rosalina had fast established themselves as a wonderful couple—it was like a mixture of him and Peach, and Luigi and Daisy. And it was clear that they cared about each other very much, even though Rosalina’s retelling of the Waluigi lost in the mall story was pretty funny, and had him getting red as a tomato.
And finally, when everyone was finished eating, including dessert, Mario was extremely satisfied with the way everything had gone. He’d eaten delicious food, his brother looked just as content as he felt, he hadn’t embarrassed himself (too badly), and everyone around looked happy as could be.
This triple date was the best thing he’d ever thought of!
“So… who’s paying the bill?”
Everyone raised their hands at once.
“I’ll pay for it,” Peach decided. “I brought my wallet, anyway.”
“But Peach, it was my idea!” Mario protested.
“Did you bring your wallet?” Waluigi asked.
“Of course, I-” Mario stuffed his hands into his pockets to find that he had, in fact, forgotten his wallet back at the hotel room.
“…I forgot my wallet.”
Peach laughed, taking out her own. “Don’t worry. I have plenty for all of us.”
“Thanks, Peach,” Rosalina said.
“Next time, I can pay!” Daisy exclaimed.
“Next time?” Luigi asked.
“Of course! If you guys want a next time, I mean.”
“I’d love to get together like this again!” Rosalina exclaimed.
Waluigi grinned and nodded. “This was actually really fun.”
“It was!” Peach agreed as a Pianta came by with the bill, which she took and quickly paid.
“Next time we all see each other we should do this again,” Daisy said.
“It’s guaranteed at this point. I had an awesome time,” Waluigi agreed.
Mario and Luigi voiced their agreement.
Once the bill was paid in full, everyone finally got to their feet again and made their way to the front of the restaurant.
“Our hotel’s just a walk down the street,” Waluigi explained, pointing in the opposite direction of the way Mario and the other three needed to go.
“Then I guess this is where we say goodbye,” Mario said.
Peach and Daisy quickly hugged Rosalina, expressing their sentiments. Meanwhile, Mario, Luigi, and Waluigi stood near each other in awkward silence.
“Uh… nice to see you, Waluigi,” Luigi said.
“Yeah, I didn’t think you were anything but a cheat,” Mario added.
“Mario!”
“Eh, relax, I am a cheat.”
The two brothers stared at him.
“But I’m a decent guy the other half of the time. I wouldn’t lie to Rosalina.”
“I trust that.”
“Waluigi, it’s time to go now,” Rosalina said.
“Okay. See ya, Mario Bros.”
“You too!” Daisy called as he and Rosalina made their down the street. The two waved back at them before turning to talk to each other, bright smiles on their faces.
Luigi gave his brother a grin. “Mario! I’m not anxious anymore!” He whispered to him.
“I’m glad,” he whispered back.
“We should do another triple date again!” Peach exclaimed as their made their way towards the bus to Sirena Hotel.
“And maybe a couple double dates, too,” Mario agreed.
“Of course, there’s no reason we can’t have single dates between ourselves,” Daisy pointed out.
Luigi blinked. “You mean… just you and me?” His cheeks reddened.
“Of course! I really like you a lot, Luigi. Or have you not notified?”
“Oh, no, I-I did. Actually, I feel the same way!”
“Awesome!”
Mario caught Luigi’s eye and gave him a wink. If he needed a pep talk before the date, then he was perfectly willing to give him one.
He then turned to Peach, who smiled affectionately at him, and his heart became full of love and content.
Luigi and Daisy were becoming the couple they deserved to be. Rosalina had found love in a very unexpected place, but Waluigi had clearly fallen for her as she’d fallen for him. And he and Peach had had a wonderful time!
Despite its ups and downs (if you could even call them downs, amazing as the night had been), this had been the best triple date ever.