Categories > Games > Mario > Bittersweet
Just as Dr. Toadley had said, the next few days turned out to be better than the last. Mario's morning sickness faded away eventually, though he was careful when approaching food at first. All the aching cramps he had gotten in his belly soon went away, but was soon met with new ones in his legs and lower back. And for the first time in a few weeks, he actually felt like getting out of his room and doing something.
The only problem with that was the fact that his belly was really starting to show. Whenever he walked down the halls, he would get odd looks from the rest of the Toads. Some simply looked and didn't give it a second thought, but others were pushy and kept asking him why he was getting rounder. One of them even went so far as to accuse him of having an eating disorder.
"You're not bulimic, are you?" the Toad had asked. "Because I saw how you would eat a lot one minute and then throw it up the next. I think you should see a doctor about that, my daughter once had that and it was awful and she had to be hospitalized and she had needles stuck in her arms and it took a long time for her to get better and..."
Mario didn't know what being a bulimic meant, but when he heard the part about getting hospitalized, he grew frightened. He ran away from the Toad and rushed to find Luigi.
"Luigi!" he said frantically as soon as he found his green-clad sibling. "There was this Toad who said I'm gonna get hospitalized because he said I was..." Mario tried to pronounce the word. "Bully-mic? He said I'm getting needles in my arms and I won't get outta the hospital for a long time and-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down, Mario!" Luigi quickly stopped him. "Bully-mic? What do you mean?"
The little wolf tried to remember what the Toad had said. "The Toad said he saw me eat a lot, then throw it up, and then he said I was gonna get hospitalized for that!"
Luigi put two and two together. "Oh, bulimic!" he said, understanding. Then he turned to Mario. "No, Mario, you're not bulimic. That Toad doesn't know you're pregnant, so he assumed all the throwing up in the first trimester was because you're doing it on purpose. Don't worry, you won't get hospitalized for anything."
"I won't...?" Mario asked, his heart starting to beat normally again.
"Nope, it'll be alright," Luigi reassured.
+++
These little panic attacks seemed to occur more often as the days passed on. If any Toad said anything to him that seemed wrong in the least, Mario would freak out and run away, no matter how trivial the matter seemed. Luigi noticed a change in this and talked to Peach about it, who agreed that something was shaking him up. But they decided not to go to Dr. Toadley's this time, as it didn't seem too serious to bother him with. These were obviously nothing more than typical mood swings that the little wolf was experiencing.
The two decided that it would be best if Mario was secluded from these questioning Toads and accusing eyes for a while to steady his nerves.
Maybe a certain trip to the castle gardens would help...
+++
"These flowers are really in bloom now," Peach commented, tipping the water can over a patch of young fire-colored lilies.
"Soon they'll grow up more and become Fire Flowers!" Mario replied.
Peach had invited Mario to tend the garden with her, something he had not done in quite a while. It felt refreshing to sit out here in the warm sun, tending to the blooming flowers that gave off sweet aromas and pretty sights. And she was glad that Mario seemed less shaken up, now that there was no one else to question him. He seemed plenty happy here in the gardens, tending to his beloved flowers with great care.
"And they'll be even more beautiful now that you're taking care of them," she continued, pointing at him.
Mario blushed a soft shade of red, then turned to a container full of flower pots filled with different types of flora. "Do you think we might be able to get these planted today?" he asked.
"Absolutely! In fact, I think there's a bare spot over there that could use some of your pretty flowers," Peach replied, pointing to some plain bulrushes in the corner. "And here, I've brought a spade to help." She turned and got a small silver spade out from her pocket. Instead of wearing her traditional pink dress, the princess had donned a white tank top and a pink low-cut shirt, along with some simple blue jeans. It felt freeing to wear these clothes, though she knew that if Toadsworth saw her, he'd get all flustered and lecture her about how princesses always needed to look regal and proper.
"Okie-dokie, let's go!" Mario said excitedly. He bent down to lift the container, but then Peach realized how heavy it must be. "No, honey, don't strain yourself, I'll get it," she said, stopping him. "Just grab the spade and head on over there and I'll join you in a bit."
"Are you sure?" Mario asked nervously. He didn't want to be a burden...
"Yes, I'll be fine, don't worry," Peach reassured, picking up the container. As she predicted, it was a bit heavy, but she knew it would be better if she carried it instead of him. Plus, she could handle it.
Minutes later, the two moved to the empty bulrushes with the flowers and tools. Peach dug the holes with her spade, while Mario carefully removed the flowers from the pot and placed them in the holes. Then, after moving the dirt back on them, he took the watering can and sprinkled some water on the newly planted flowers.
This continued until every flower was in its new home, their beauty making up for the plainness of the bulrushes.
"Wow, you really know how to light up the place, huh, Mario?" Peach complimented, amazed by how beautiful the flora looked among the bulrushes. "They look wonderful."
Mario blushed red again and smiled. "Th-Thanks..."
Feeling her throat parched, Peach spoke again. "Hey, you want some lemonade? With this sun beating down on us all morning, I could use some refreshments."
"Yeah, I could go for a glass..." Mario consented.
Peach smiled and stood up. "I'll be right back. I'm gonna go make the lemonade, okay?" she said.
"Okay," Mario replied.
The princess smiled again and turned, heading for the castle doors.
+++
A few minutes earlier...
Mr. L was walking through the streets of Toad Town, near the castle. Everyone who saw him panicked and ran away, since they all knew how dangerous he could be when provoked.
But he didn't pay any attention to the fleeing Toads. There were too many things on his mind.
Ever since that one morning when he had woken up in his bed, entirely unclothed, he had been in some kind of blank state; all that Booquila had erased the memories of that past night. The last thing he remembered was drinking the bottle of alcohol after putting Mario to bed, and he was fretting that he might have done something harmful to the little wolf. He would have gone up to him sooner, but he had been scared of what might happen, which was rare, considering Mr. L didn't feel these types of emotions often.
"Maybe I did do something to him..." he kept thinking. "Maybe that's why I haven't seen him at the Field of Paper Flowers in a month."
After thinking about it for many days, Mr. L finally decided that if something had indeed happened and Mario didn't want to see him anymore, he would accept that, though the thought of leaving Mario permanently was enough to depress him.
Now here he was, walking home from the supermarket with a few groceries in his arms. He had not seen Mario in a month now, so he decided that the little wolf must not want anything to do with him anymore. He cast one last look at the castle before turning back to face the forest...
...Then a rabbit hopped right in front of him.
"What the...?" Mr. L asked himself out of spite. He looked at the white, sparkly bunny, who stared right back at him with black, glittery eyes. The two stayed still for a while, waiting to see what the other would do. Neither Mr. L nor the rabbit moved from their position for at least five minutes.
When the rabbit took a step forward, the black-clad figure suddenly felt inclined to speak.
"Um...hi?" he said awkwardly.
Suddenly, the rabbit leapt up and pounced on Mr. L, throwing him off balance. The two crashed to the floor and all the contents flew out of the bags, including his keys. The white bunny instantly grabbed the keys and bounded off towards the castle gardens.
"Hey! Those are mine, give them back!" Mr. L shouted as soon as he realized what happened. He jumped to his feet and chased the rabbit, forgetting about the groceries at the moment.
The rabbit ignored him and kept bounding towards the castle gardens with the keys in its mouth, hopping easily over the boundary bushes that served as the perimeter. Unfortunately, Mr. L did not have such jumping abilities, so he had to crash through the bushes. He emerged from the plants, covered in loose leaves and twigs. Meanwhile, the rabbit simply kept hopping through the gardens, the keys making a jingling sound from its mouth.
The black-clad figure chased the hopping animal all throughout the tall bushes designed to look like a labyrinth. Whenever Mr. L lost sight of the rabbit, he would stop and wait to hear for the jingling of keys to sound before he made a move.
This continued for a few minutes until Mr. L saw the rabbit a few feet away from him. Its back was turned away, but the exit to the labyrinth-like bushes was right there in front of it. If it got away, he would never be able to catch up.
With a mad burst of speed, Mr. L dove forward and grabbed the pesky rabbit off the ground. "Haha, gotcha!" he said triumphantly. He snatched the keys back and dropped the white bunny, who simply bounded away, having enough fun for one afternoon.
"Let that teach you...not to mess with the Green Thunder!" Mr. L called after the rabbit, panting from exhaustion. He put the keys back in his pocket, trying to catch his breath.
Still trying to calm his beating heart, he headed towards the exit. He was thinking about how he was gonna get back to the groceries he had dropped when he noticed something flicker out of the corner of his eye. When Mr. L turned to look, he gasped and stopped in his tracks, all thoughts on groceries and rabbits forgotten.
It was Mario.
The only problem with that was the fact that his belly was really starting to show. Whenever he walked down the halls, he would get odd looks from the rest of the Toads. Some simply looked and didn't give it a second thought, but others were pushy and kept asking him why he was getting rounder. One of them even went so far as to accuse him of having an eating disorder.
"You're not bulimic, are you?" the Toad had asked. "Because I saw how you would eat a lot one minute and then throw it up the next. I think you should see a doctor about that, my daughter once had that and it was awful and she had to be hospitalized and she had needles stuck in her arms and it took a long time for her to get better and..."
Mario didn't know what being a bulimic meant, but when he heard the part about getting hospitalized, he grew frightened. He ran away from the Toad and rushed to find Luigi.
"Luigi!" he said frantically as soon as he found his green-clad sibling. "There was this Toad who said I'm gonna get hospitalized because he said I was..." Mario tried to pronounce the word. "Bully-mic? He said I'm getting needles in my arms and I won't get outta the hospital for a long time and-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down, Mario!" Luigi quickly stopped him. "Bully-mic? What do you mean?"
The little wolf tried to remember what the Toad had said. "The Toad said he saw me eat a lot, then throw it up, and then he said I was gonna get hospitalized for that!"
Luigi put two and two together. "Oh, bulimic!" he said, understanding. Then he turned to Mario. "No, Mario, you're not bulimic. That Toad doesn't know you're pregnant, so he assumed all the throwing up in the first trimester was because you're doing it on purpose. Don't worry, you won't get hospitalized for anything."
"I won't...?" Mario asked, his heart starting to beat normally again.
"Nope, it'll be alright," Luigi reassured.
+++
These little panic attacks seemed to occur more often as the days passed on. If any Toad said anything to him that seemed wrong in the least, Mario would freak out and run away, no matter how trivial the matter seemed. Luigi noticed a change in this and talked to Peach about it, who agreed that something was shaking him up. But they decided not to go to Dr. Toadley's this time, as it didn't seem too serious to bother him with. These were obviously nothing more than typical mood swings that the little wolf was experiencing.
The two decided that it would be best if Mario was secluded from these questioning Toads and accusing eyes for a while to steady his nerves.
Maybe a certain trip to the castle gardens would help...
+++
"These flowers are really in bloom now," Peach commented, tipping the water can over a patch of young fire-colored lilies.
"Soon they'll grow up more and become Fire Flowers!" Mario replied.
Peach had invited Mario to tend the garden with her, something he had not done in quite a while. It felt refreshing to sit out here in the warm sun, tending to the blooming flowers that gave off sweet aromas and pretty sights. And she was glad that Mario seemed less shaken up, now that there was no one else to question him. He seemed plenty happy here in the gardens, tending to his beloved flowers with great care.
"And they'll be even more beautiful now that you're taking care of them," she continued, pointing at him.
Mario blushed a soft shade of red, then turned to a container full of flower pots filled with different types of flora. "Do you think we might be able to get these planted today?" he asked.
"Absolutely! In fact, I think there's a bare spot over there that could use some of your pretty flowers," Peach replied, pointing to some plain bulrushes in the corner. "And here, I've brought a spade to help." She turned and got a small silver spade out from her pocket. Instead of wearing her traditional pink dress, the princess had donned a white tank top and a pink low-cut shirt, along with some simple blue jeans. It felt freeing to wear these clothes, though she knew that if Toadsworth saw her, he'd get all flustered and lecture her about how princesses always needed to look regal and proper.
"Okie-dokie, let's go!" Mario said excitedly. He bent down to lift the container, but then Peach realized how heavy it must be. "No, honey, don't strain yourself, I'll get it," she said, stopping him. "Just grab the spade and head on over there and I'll join you in a bit."
"Are you sure?" Mario asked nervously. He didn't want to be a burden...
"Yes, I'll be fine, don't worry," Peach reassured, picking up the container. As she predicted, it was a bit heavy, but she knew it would be better if she carried it instead of him. Plus, she could handle it.
Minutes later, the two moved to the empty bulrushes with the flowers and tools. Peach dug the holes with her spade, while Mario carefully removed the flowers from the pot and placed them in the holes. Then, after moving the dirt back on them, he took the watering can and sprinkled some water on the newly planted flowers.
This continued until every flower was in its new home, their beauty making up for the plainness of the bulrushes.
"Wow, you really know how to light up the place, huh, Mario?" Peach complimented, amazed by how beautiful the flora looked among the bulrushes. "They look wonderful."
Mario blushed red again and smiled. "Th-Thanks..."
Feeling her throat parched, Peach spoke again. "Hey, you want some lemonade? With this sun beating down on us all morning, I could use some refreshments."
"Yeah, I could go for a glass..." Mario consented.
Peach smiled and stood up. "I'll be right back. I'm gonna go make the lemonade, okay?" she said.
"Okay," Mario replied.
The princess smiled again and turned, heading for the castle doors.
+++
A few minutes earlier...
Mr. L was walking through the streets of Toad Town, near the castle. Everyone who saw him panicked and ran away, since they all knew how dangerous he could be when provoked.
But he didn't pay any attention to the fleeing Toads. There were too many things on his mind.
Ever since that one morning when he had woken up in his bed, entirely unclothed, he had been in some kind of blank state; all that Booquila had erased the memories of that past night. The last thing he remembered was drinking the bottle of alcohol after putting Mario to bed, and he was fretting that he might have done something harmful to the little wolf. He would have gone up to him sooner, but he had been scared of what might happen, which was rare, considering Mr. L didn't feel these types of emotions often.
"Maybe I did do something to him..." he kept thinking. "Maybe that's why I haven't seen him at the Field of Paper Flowers in a month."
After thinking about it for many days, Mr. L finally decided that if something had indeed happened and Mario didn't want to see him anymore, he would accept that, though the thought of leaving Mario permanently was enough to depress him.
Now here he was, walking home from the supermarket with a few groceries in his arms. He had not seen Mario in a month now, so he decided that the little wolf must not want anything to do with him anymore. He cast one last look at the castle before turning back to face the forest...
...Then a rabbit hopped right in front of him.
"What the...?" Mr. L asked himself out of spite. He looked at the white, sparkly bunny, who stared right back at him with black, glittery eyes. The two stayed still for a while, waiting to see what the other would do. Neither Mr. L nor the rabbit moved from their position for at least five minutes.
When the rabbit took a step forward, the black-clad figure suddenly felt inclined to speak.
"Um...hi?" he said awkwardly.
Suddenly, the rabbit leapt up and pounced on Mr. L, throwing him off balance. The two crashed to the floor and all the contents flew out of the bags, including his keys. The white bunny instantly grabbed the keys and bounded off towards the castle gardens.
"Hey! Those are mine, give them back!" Mr. L shouted as soon as he realized what happened. He jumped to his feet and chased the rabbit, forgetting about the groceries at the moment.
The rabbit ignored him and kept bounding towards the castle gardens with the keys in its mouth, hopping easily over the boundary bushes that served as the perimeter. Unfortunately, Mr. L did not have such jumping abilities, so he had to crash through the bushes. He emerged from the plants, covered in loose leaves and twigs. Meanwhile, the rabbit simply kept hopping through the gardens, the keys making a jingling sound from its mouth.
The black-clad figure chased the hopping animal all throughout the tall bushes designed to look like a labyrinth. Whenever Mr. L lost sight of the rabbit, he would stop and wait to hear for the jingling of keys to sound before he made a move.
This continued for a few minutes until Mr. L saw the rabbit a few feet away from him. Its back was turned away, but the exit to the labyrinth-like bushes was right there in front of it. If it got away, he would never be able to catch up.
With a mad burst of speed, Mr. L dove forward and grabbed the pesky rabbit off the ground. "Haha, gotcha!" he said triumphantly. He snatched the keys back and dropped the white bunny, who simply bounded away, having enough fun for one afternoon.
"Let that teach you...not to mess with the Green Thunder!" Mr. L called after the rabbit, panting from exhaustion. He put the keys back in his pocket, trying to catch his breath.
Still trying to calm his beating heart, he headed towards the exit. He was thinking about how he was gonna get back to the groceries he had dropped when he noticed something flicker out of the corner of his eye. When Mr. L turned to look, he gasped and stopped in his tracks, all thoughts on groceries and rabbits forgotten.
It was Mario.
Sign up to rate and review this story