#rip mario

"Thanks for inviting me, Mario!"

"Heh... the pleasure issa mine... princess."

Peach smiled and shook her head, "I told you, honey-bunny... you don't need to be so formal with me."

Mario blushed as he ushered her inside, brushing his hand against hers as a muted apology. 

"I... uh... gotta some food in the fridge... i-iffa you're hungry," he muttered, unable to properly look into her beautiful sapphire blue eyes. "It's-a... just some leftovers from-a last night. Um... all I gotta do issa heat it up an-"

He was swiftly silenced when he felt Peach place a finger on his lips with a "shhhh."

"That would be lovely." she smiled, kissing his nose.

Mario gulped, feeling his heart race. The things this lady did to him...

Before he could embarrass himself further, he quickly excused himself to the kitchen to take a breather.

Although he and Peach had been together for years, he still felt the same way he did when first meeting her on that fateful day when he and Luigi wound up in the Mushroom Kingdom. Even now, he couldn't stop his heart racing or the sweat falling down his face if she even smiled at him. Mario often teased his little brother for being so smitten with the Sarasaland princess, but he knew how hypocritical that was. And how could he not?

He loved his princess very much, something he couldn't deny. He relished every chance he got to spend time with her, even if he just stood around mindlessly. These days, it seemed harder to do. He constantly had jobs from the many townsfolk, and Peach was often caught up with her royal duties. Heck, the only reason he got to invite her over was because Luigi offered to run some errands (so he said), and it was a slow day in the kingdom.

These thoughts occupied Mario's mind as he reheated the bolognese Luigi had made last night in the oven. All the while, he tried thinking of something he could do to keep her entertained.

"Let's-a see," he muttered, watching the timer tick down. "We could play... nah... we already did-a that last time. Maybe... no, thatta ended badly..."

"Mario?"

Mario jumped, hearing Peach's voice chime in through the kitchen archway.

"Gesù Cristo!" he exclaimed. "Don't-a scare me like thatta!"

"Sorry!" Peach laughed. "I was just wondering why you were talking to yourself here."

"Umm..." Mario blushed again.

Peach giggled sweetly and played with the tips of his mustache, "You're so adorable, you know that? I wish I could hold you forever..."

"Ah hah... i-issa that so?"

"Mhm. I mean it with all my heart, darling. I'm so glad that you..."

Peach suddenly trailed off as she looked past Mario, her eyes widening in fascination.

"Wh-what? What's-a wrong?"

"Those... flowers. They're beautiful!"

Peach stepped past Mario and peered out the kitchen window to gaze at the rainbow bed of flowers in the backyard. Now noticing what she was doing, Mario chuckled, "Those are Lu's. He planted those-a back in the spring... I'mma surprised they're-a still fresh and-a growing!"

"They're beautiful! He certainly has a talent, hm?"

Mario beamed. The only thing he treasured more than Peach herself was her mentioning his baby brother, his second favorite person.

"Oh... I'd give anything to have a gorgeous garden like this one..." Peach sighed, staring longingly outside.

Mario frowned.

"Wha...? But... don't-a you...?"

"Hm? Oh! Oh, that one... yes, that is a garden... but I never grew anything there. My toads did. Toadsworth never let me do anything to it..."

"Huh?! Why?!"

"It wasn't appropriate for a princess to do... plus, I had to know how to be a princess... and do princess things," she frowned. "Sometimes, it feels like that's all I know how to do..."

"Don't-a say that, Peachy!" Mario perked up, placing a gentle hand on her back. "You're so much-a more than a princess. You're-a brave fighter, a great dress-maker, a talented chef..."

He trailed off, noticing her paying no heed. Evidently, this wasn't working...

"Hm... tell you what. How-a 'bout we look at the garden up close? It-a might make-a you feel better."

Finally, Peach seemed to perk up as she turned to face him, "I would love that...!"

***

"My... it's even more lovely out here!"

Peach bent down to sniff one of the amaryllis flowers amongst the others, taking in its sweet scent.

"Glad ta hear. I'll-a be sure ta tell Weeg-a you thought so."

"Thank you... and also tell him to look after his garden a bit more often, too!"

"Hm? I... whaddo you...?"

"Well... look. It looks like some of these haven't been tended to in some time... there's weeds all over the place."

Confused, Mario took a closer peek. Sure enough, there were, indeed, weeds growing amongst the flowers. From a distance, they simply resembled typical flowers. Once pointed out, however, they became quite obvious... and ugly.

"Huh... I guess-a you're right. We've-a been so caught up with-a work that I guess he hasn't-a had much time to check in on 'em..."

"You sure it's not because of... that flower?"

"Pardon?"

Peach gave him a look, "Daisy."

"Oh... flow... yeah! Uh... maybe? I mean... he does-a spend a lotta time writing her letters these-a days..."

"Aw... well, that is precious. I suppose I can't be too hard on him. You know... I think those two make such a cute couple!"

"Heh, I guess. I'mma just glad Weeg found someone who actually treats-a him nice... not another-a Chris." 

Mario scowled.

"Bad boyfriend?"

"Nope... crush. Broke hissa heart in high school. Weeg wassa miserable for months."

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that."

"It... it is what it is. Eh, but I don't-a wanna get inta it more. That's-a his business."

"Right. My lips are sealed then," Peach said, standing up. "So, do you have any tools?"

"Come again?"

"I'm going to weed the garden."

"Wh... now?!"

"But of course! It's less work on Luigi... and besides, it's troubling me."

"I... guess that's-a true. But even then, I dunno where Weeg keeps-a the tools."

"Oh," Peach then looked down at her hands. "I suppose I could use my hands then."

"Your hands...?"

"Mhm. I'm not afraid of a little dirt, you know."

"Well... go at it-a, I guess."

That was all it took for Peach to get right to work. Without too much hesitation, she set her sights on a particularly nasty weed growing between the lilies. Mario's eyes widened at the sight of his girlfriend ripping it out without trouble. And just as quickly as it happened, she got to work on the others. 

It was a remarkable sight for Mario: an elegant, proper lady casually weeding the flowers as though she'd done it many times before... all while in a dress and heels, no less! Usually, the girls Mario knew would flinch at the mere thought of dirt.

This, though? He didn't hate it. Quite the opposite, really...

That is until he caught a petunia fly over his head from the garden.

"Uh... okay, Peachy?" he asked, taking a step towards her. "I think-a that's enough now."

However, Peach was too far into her work.

In a sudden burst of speed, she began ripping more weeds and flowers out like a weed-eater! Seemingly, she appeared to be too invested in her glorious battle against the weeds. So much so, that she almost tuned out anything and everything outside it!

"Peachy, that's enough!" Mario said, now starting to panic.

Just like before, Peach paid no heed to him. She simply continued with her battle, slaying the disgusting weed invaders with her mighty grip and strong will. Not a weed stood a chance. Not one!

Neither did the casualties.

"Peach! Calm-a down!" Mario cried, seeing the flowers, dirt, and roots soar over his head at a now-rapid pace.

But it was no use.

***

Peach sighed as she finished up with the last few "weeds" before getting to her feet.

"Goodness... that was fun!" she exclaimed, smiling broadly.

Mario, meanwhile, stood rooted to his spot, staring at the ruined garden and his dirt-covered girlfriend before him

'Weeg is gonna kill me...'

"Oh my...! Look at the time!" Peach gasped, looking towards the sky, which changed from a cloudless blue to a now a tinted pink. "I suppose I should go now. Royal duty calls, you know."

She then stepped away from the massacre she created and stood before her boyfriend. 

"This was nice, honey-bunny. We should do it again sometime!"

She then planted a soft kiss on his nose before cheerfully skipping away, leaving Mario conflicted.

As she made her way to the front, she noticed Luigi coming home, his hands full of groceries.

"Good evening, Luigi!" she called.

"Oh... um... h-hi princess...!"

"Good to see you! Sorry, I can't stay long and chat. I have to head back to the castle."

"I u-understand. Hey... why are you... c-c-covered in dirt?"