After his latest defeat. Peach had rejected him, Mario had humiliated him (again), and he was sulking in his massive castle, grumbling about it all. That was when he noticed something—Luigi, the green one, the nervous one, was there.

Captured, of course. Chained up in the dungeon, awaiting rescue.

Bowser stomped down to the cells, expecting to bask in Luigi’s fear, but instead, he found the plumber sitting on the cold stone floor, humming softly to himself. When Luigi noticed Bowser, he flinched at first but then offered a small, hesitant smile.

“Uh… hi?” Luigi greeted nervously.

Bowser blinked. He had expected screaming, trembling, begging—but not this. “You’re… not afraid of me?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

Luigi swallowed hard. “Well, I mean… you did kidnap me. And your claws look very, uh, sharp. But, uh… you seem like you’re having a rough time.”

Bowser growled. “What?”

“I mean you’re mumbling to yourself. And—uh, not that it’s my business—but you kinda look like you could use a hug.”

Bowser stared. Was this guy insane? A hug? Him? The King of the Koopas? But… no one had ever said that to him before. No one had ever looked at him with something other than fear or disdain.

Bowser took a step closer. Luigi gulped but didn’t move away.

“Why aren’t you terrified of me?” Bowser asked, crossing his arms.

Luigi chuckled nervously. “I mean, I am, a little. But you’re not, like… all bad, right? You care about your people. You have a great singing voice. And I dunno… I think you just want someone to appreciate you.”

Bowser felt something stir in his chest—a warmth-but not the fiery kind. It was unfamiliar. Strange.

His crush on Peach? It suddenly felt so… forced. Like something he had convinced himself he needed. But standing here, looking at Luigi—this awkward, kind-hearted, utterly weird small green plumber —Bowser felt something real.

Bowser stomped away.

But the warmth in his chest didn’t go away. The next day, he found himself checking in on Luigi again. And the next. And the next.