#monsters?

(crossposted from bluesky)

Bowser is a builder and mechanic and used to be a pilot but stepped back once he became a single dad. He really wants to get back to it and has been designing custom cockpits for himself in his free time. But since he went on "hiatus" things have changed.

The trend now is for smaller mecha with higher maneuverability, and even though it doesn't actually make much difference, smaller pilots are more common now too. There's this unspoken idea of conserving weight (as if one person's weight matters in a ten-ton machine).

Mario and Luigi were pilots even before things shifted, and though Bowser knows this (he fought with them plenty of times) it still feels like they're emblematic of everything keeping him from getting back in the saddle.

And then there's a big battle, a disaster that takes out hundreds of mechs at once and injures half their pilots. Every mechanic who can hold a wrench is called in to assist in getting things back in action as soon as possible.

It's just Bowser's luck that he's assigned to Luigi.

He doesn't know him that well, didn't even recognize the name at first. Bowser has only fought with Luigi as his brother's backup. But he honestly respects him a little less than Mario, because every time he saw Luigi he was in a new mech. What kind of pilot isn't even loyal to his machine?

So Bowser gets to work determined to finish up fast and talk to Luigi as little as possible. But Luigi keeps hanging around despite his injuries, like he doesn't trust him, and when Bowser does try to talk to him (mostly to tell him to knock it off) Luigi scurries away like a frightened rabbit.

Soon, Bowser starts to notice strange things about Luigi's mech. It's had parts replaced throughout, whole systems sometimes, but the frame is old. Last gen. Early last gen. And while all mechs tend to be modified to suit their pilot, Luigi's is modded from head to toe. Almost entirely custom work.

Bowser finally manages to grab Luigi before he runs off one day and demands to know who his usual mechanic is.

"Oh, um... That... I forget his name. It should be on the sign-in sheet?"

Bowser glares at him.

"Okay, you promise you won't tell anyone?"

"Sure," Bowser says, with no intention of keeping it.

"I'm my usual mechanic," Luigi admits. "Mario's too, although we do the regular repair work together. It's against union rules because pilots are supposed to get a mandatory 12 hours of rest after every mission, but by the time we got into the union I'd already modded my suit so much that-"

"Wait wait wait wait," Bowser says. "You did that work? All those custom systems? The armor?"

"Yes...?"

"And the reason your mech always looks different is that you're always changing it?"

"Well, yeah, it's easier to try out new ideas on my own machine since I already understand how it works."

Bowser puts him down and walks away without another word. He has too much to think about and no idea how to process it.

Luigi is confused by the whole thing, but since Bowser doesn't report him to the union he tries not to worry about it.

A few days later Bowser notices Luigi watching him again, and snaps at him, "I'm just making repairs, I'm not going to fuck up your machine! I know how to work around mods!"

"I know!" Luigi says quickly. "That's why I asked for you, I know you used to modify your mech too."

"...You asked for me?"

Having his skills acknowledged like that is always nice, but this time it makes Bowser's heart clench. He refuses to think about it.

"Why do you keep staring at me then?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I'm just watching how you move."

Bowser's not sure if he should be offended or flattered. "How I MOVE?"

"The way your frame is, your posture, your gait... It's all different from a human's, so you'll need a different cockpit when you come back. I was just thinking about how I'd design it, you know, for fun."

He was being studied as a thought experiment, but Bowser can't bring himself to be angry.

"You're wasted here," Bowser says, as he gets back to work.

"What?"

"At this base. If we had you on my squad you'd be in R&D making millions."

"I've thought about it..." Luigi admits. "But I think if I couldn't get out there in my own machine, I'd go stir-crazy."

Bowser knows exactly what he means.

Suddenly Bowser turns back to him. "Please tell me you've patented all this."

"Um..."

"Has anyone else worked on your mech? Even for minor repairs?"

"Yes, sometimes."

Bowser swears. "Okay we might already be too late, but after I'm done here I'll get you some applications and talk you through it."

Luigi blinks, and then smiles at him, for the first time. "Thank you," he says, simply, and leaves Bowser to finish his work.

Bowser is left with his heart hammering against his chest and the brightness of that smile burned into his frontal lobe.