As was the custom, Luigi was the first to arrive at the classroom. He had to admit that it was strange not having Bowser by his side, but he had a bigger concern right now.

He had already checked his phone six times that morning and it seemed that Bowie was still not responding to his messages from the day before. His fingers tapped on the desk, while his leg bounced slightly up and down.

Had he made him angry? That didn't even make sense, he hadn't talked to him since the incident when they slept together! He feared that was the reason.

"Good morning, my prince charming" Daisy arrived with two apple ice creams "I couldn't help but notice that you forgot to have dessert, so I came to eat it with you" she sat next to him.

"Bowie is missing, I haven't heard from him in three days and we used to say goodnight to each other every day. Do you think he's sick?" he asked worriedly.

"Hello to you too," she snorted. "Maybe he's just busy," she handed him her glass. "Thinking about someone 24 hours a day isn't healthy."

"I don't think only of him," he growled, "Now my strange 'friendship' relationship with Bowser invades my brain as well."

"Friendship?" She arched an eyebrow.

"Strange things are happening this semester. First Bowie, he's new and I didn't find him in the class for newcomers, his game has no name and sometimes he seems to know things that I haven't told him. And then there's Bowser, he's been acting weird to me; I mean why would he suddenly want to be my friend this semester?"

"It bothers you?"

"No, but you must admit it's strange."

"A little" she shrugged her shoulders "But I think you're overthinking it a lot" she said "Lu, eat your ice cream, it'll relax you" she took a spoonful and brought it to her friend's mouth.

He ate reluctantly. He had to admit that knowing that Bowser wouldn't attend the meeting that day reassured him in part, but he still felt somewhat incomplete when he felt the empty space next to him.

Little by little the room filled up, but his absence continued to bother Luigi. And he hated to realize it; the koopa wasn't important in his life, or at least not personally, but he had a strange urge to want to see him; as if only then could he have a full day.

"You're weird again," Mario spoke.

"My day is weird, again," he replied discouraged. He felt a chill as he felt the eyes of all the koopalings on him "Haven't you felt lately that everyone sees you?"

"Luigi, we are two of the most famous faces in the world, it is normal that they see you all the time."

"I guess," he sighed as he looked at nothing. It seemed more and more clear to him that he and his brother lived in very different realities.

He glanced around him; suddenly everything seemed to be as before. Noise everywhere, people laughing, the sun shining, but Luigi felt lonely.

"How punctual is everyone" Miyamoto entered with a cup of coffee and dark circles under his eyes that made him look as if he hadn't slept in weeks "Sorry about my appearance" he yawned "Yesterday I had a late meeting with Bowser to update him on the next few days in the that he won't be able to join us."

"Wouldn't you rather go rest?" Daisy raised her hand.

"I'd appreciate your concern, but I know it's because you want the day off."

"In part," she smiled.

"You've always been a smart girl," he chuckled, "But I'm afraid you won't be able to get away with it today. We're sure the game will be a hit "he sat at his desk "And we're thinking what easter eggs we can throw in, alternate costumes, you know, the usual."

The chestnut hurried to be the first to raise her hand.

"Let me guess, Daisy, you want to be a playable character."

"I've already resigned myself that this semester won't happen either, so no. I wanted to ask for Mr. L."

"Why are you doing this to me?" her friend yelled.

"I'm doing it for me, to be honest. You look very cute in that outfit. Any villain would like to look as sexy as you" she looked at him coquettishly.

"Daisy," he blushed.

"Miyamoto, I'm asking you for whatever you want," she begged. "I need to see him like that again. The fans would go crazy. Do you have any idea how many fanarts there are?"

"Why do you watch fanarts?" Mario looked at her.

"Daisy, we've already talked about it, you're not going to get out of there well," Peach said.

"But there are cute drawings, especially of my Lu" she hugged her friend by his shoulders.

"It will be taken into consideration, honey," the professor interrupted the discussion.

"Doesn't my opinion count? I don't want to run that track again" Luigi said.

"You've got fans, kid. I'm sorry," he replied.

The koopalings couldn't help but feel missed by Luigi. They couldn't understand what part of him it was that Bowser could be attracted to.

The guy was pretty average in their eyes; His personality? It was almost nil. So? How charming could he be for his brother to be so attached to him?

The boy's cell phone rang suddenly.

He took it instantly, hoping it was Bowie. However, it was not so; if not an unknown number.

"I'll be right back," he got up and left the room. "Hello?"

"Hello? Good morning, Luigi?"

"Umm, yeah, who's this?"

"I'm Kamek" answered the old man on the other end of the line "Uhm, I know it's something sudden, but I'd like to ask you a favor."

In Bowser's castle, everything was in chaos. Although the koopa had to admit that he was much calmer than he expected; especially in the case of a territory negotiation with King Boo and King Bob-omb, which turned out to be too explosive in this kind of situations. If he was lucky, he could return to Fungwarry the next morning.

"Is everything alright?" Luigi asked.

"Something like that, Bowser and I had to retire on business."

"Oh yes, he told me about it the other day."

"We think we can return soon, but we're not sure if we'll be able to go look after the koopalings tonight. Do you think you could go check on them? It would just be feeding them and putting them to bed."

"Excuse me?"

"I know it's weird, but we know that Miyamoto hasn't been sleeping well and besides him, you're the most responsible person we know."

"Thank you? Uhm, I think I could join them for the afternoon, as soon as we get out of the meeting."

"Great! We owe you a big one, thanks" he hung up on him before giggling.

"Kamek, we're taking a fifteen minute break. Do you want to go get something to eat?" Bowser appeared behind him.

His gaze looked lost, as if his body had gone on autopilot.

"Yesterday you didn't sleep at all, right?" he scolded him.

"I was nervous that I couldn't make it to the koopalings tonight and I couldn't sleep," he confessed with a yawn.

"You should relax. Take this time to get some sleep, I've already arranged the matter with the children."

"I told you I didn't want to bring in Miyamoto, I'm sure that man is living off energy drinks right now," he frowned.

"It wasn't him, don't worry" he made a mischievous smile.

"So?"

"Luigi," he said without much interest.

"What!?" he yelled.

"He's a good boy, I'm sure he can handle them."

"That's not what worries me and you know it! It's obvious that he'll be good with kids, he's adorable, but do you realize that the more time he spends with them, the faster he'll figure everything out?" He looked at him.

"Maybe that's for the best, don't you think?"

"Not even a little!"

"Bowser," he stood to attention. "You needed someone to take care of those children, and now we have someone responsible to keep an eye on them. So, as legal guardian, I order you to relax and go to sleep even for five minutes."

"I'm of legal age now, you can't give me orders" he frowned.

Kamek immobilized him with his wand and laid him down in an armchair "Rest" he left.

The minor snorted as he felt his cell phone vibrate. He held it in fear of seeing a message from Luigi to Bowie, but in the end he found something that made him feel even more nervous.

Ludwig: How is Luigi going to take care of us?

Wendy: We just left the meeting and he came up to us to escort us to our bedroom.

Wendy: I'm already fifteen, I don't need a babysitter.

Iggy: Can we tie him up and pretend to take care of us?

Bowser: Definitely not.

Lemmy: He better not touch my stuff.

Larry: Can he play video games?

Morton: Who cares about that?

Larry: I want a new rival.

Roy: You couldn't beat Morton and me.

Larry: That's why I want another one.

Ludwig: Stop talking stupid.

Junior: When will you come back?

Bowser: I'll try to be with you tomorrow morning.

Bowser: In the meantime, please be nice to him.

Bowser: It will only be one night.

Ludwig: Well, he better not get used to coming here.

Wendy grunted.

"This is all incredible," she said. "The oldest of us is sixteen and they still send us a babysitter," she crossed her arms.

"And it's not even Miyamoto, I really like him" Lemmy crossed his arms.

"I want to hit him. Him and Bowser," Roy spoke.

"We should do it when he's distracted," Morton seconded.

"Hey, you do know I can hear you, right?" the human behind them spoke.

The children looked at him.

"Keep your eyes open," they said in unison.

"Okay, I'm not too comfortable with this either, okay?" he crouched down to their level "But it will only be for today."

"What are you up to with our brother?" Ludwig asked suddenly. "You have never been close and now he even asks you for favors."

"I don't even know," he scratched the back of his neck, "But he asked me and he's been nice to me these past few weeks, so I want to help him.

"Is that it or you don't know how to say no?" he arched an eyebrow.

He swallowed. "Why don't you show me where your bedroom is?"

The koopaling exchanged mischievous glances.

"We'll be happy to guide you," Wendy smiled. "We'll just have to go through the villains' common room. Nothing weird, just zombies, vampires, and plenty of ghosts."

"Ghosts?" Luigi felt a chill.

"Oh yeah, lots of ghosts. Some of them release ectoplasm that makes your clothes sticky."

"And others like to possess humans and torture them," Ludwig joined.

"That's enough!" Larry yelled. "For things like this, we villains are treated badly. Don't worry, Luigi, the ghosts can be rude, joking and release ectoplasm; but they will never possess someone without prior study and the person's consent."

"Well, that reassures me... Partly" he formed a nervous smile.

"You don't have to listen to those idiots. The reason they keep hiring us babysitters is because they don't like taking care of Junior and me, they dug their own grave."

"Right, Junior" he looked around, looking for the smallest of the koopas "Where did he go!?"

"He walks slowly," he pointed behind them. "He barely comes."

"Besides, he's afraid of you," Wendy blurted out.

"Oh, you don't have to, I promise I won't hurt you" he looked at the boy "Do you want me to pick you up?" he bent down, but the boy backed off "You don't have many words, right?" he laughed.

"He doesn't owe you anything," Wendy growled and then picked up the minor. "Let's just hurry, I want to end this quickly."

Luigi let out a heavy sigh. Part of him was tempted to run, but if what Larry said was true, he'd hate that he couldn't comply with what Kamek asked. After all, being friends with Bowser wasn't something that seemed bad to him and somehow he had to admit that he enjoyed his company. Although they had only formally conversed once; but with that one occasion, the boy had already felt some connection that made him feel comfortable with the koopa.

The villains' common room was seriously different from the others Luigi had visited before. It even looked worse.

He wrinkled his nose at a smell that he could only compare to that of a corpse.

"How can someone live like this?" he whispered to himself.

"Here you don't live, you survive," Morton replied. "Be careful where you step, the managers always forget to clean this area and the floor is sticky."

"Also open your eyes wide, some like to sleep on the floor and they won't like it if you step on them" Roy mentioned.

"Why do they sleep there?"

"Because it's cooler," they answered.

The older one raised an eyebrow and followed them until they finally reached the room. What impressed him most was the realization of the size of the place. If they told him that at least a quarter of the place was the territory of Bowser and the koopalings, he wouldn't be surprised.

They had their own private living room and kitchen. In addition to eight rooms for each one.

Junior jumped out of Wendy's arms to play with some action figures. Meanwhile, the others hurried to lock themselves in their rooms.

Luigi looked around. He wasn't sure what the limits of what he could do, so he decided to just stay in the room.

After a few minutes, he heard one of the doors open again.

"Do you know how to play video games?" Larry appeared in front of him.

"I'm part of one, it would be weird if I didn't." He smiled at him.

"You want to play with me?" he moved a console to him excitedly "I have a lot: Overcooked, stardew valley, left 4 dead 2; I also have competitive ones. I don't know which ones you like. I like all of them!"

He laughed, "We can play whatever you want."

"Really!?" His eyes shone. "My brothers almost don't like to play with me. And Bowser is very bad, because his hands are very big and the buttons are small" he sat next to him.

"Really?" he looked at him. "Well, then maybe you'd like to play with me. I have little fingers." He showed him his hand.

"Because humans have many advantages" he put on the game "I would like to be one."

"But being a koopa also has many good things. They are more resistant and strong."

"And what good is that if no other child wants to play with me?" he grimaced. "I would like to have a magical crown, like Bowser's! With it, he can be human whenever he wants"

"Magic crown?" He frowned.

"Miyamoto gave it to him when he turned twenty-four. He is now free to go out into the world without being singled out or afraid of."

"I had no idea such a thing existed."

"It's something private, he's afraid that if someone else finds out they'll discriminate against him anyway..." he stopped suddenly "Oh no, I told you," he yelled, "Promise you won't tell anyone.

"Don't worry, I never would," he murmured, "and you don't have crowns?"

"They are somewhat dangerous," he explained. "Their prolonged use gives you headaches and dizziness. Or at least that's what happens with Bowser, with us we don't know what could happen."

Luigi was about to respond, but a shout interrupted him.

"Iggy, you're dead!" Wendy came out, slamming her bedroom door.

"You have no proof of anything" the aforementioned peeked out.

"You're the only one who eats gum sauce in this place. Why is my bow all sticky?"

"I don't know, maybe because you don't clean your bald head well." He stuck out his tongue at her.

"Enough! I'm tired of being a lady," she approached to hit him.

"Try if you can, witch!" He locked himself in his room again.

"DON'T BE A COWARD AND OPEN THE DOOR!" She knocked on the door.

"Wendy, calm down" Luigi went to her "What happened to your bow? I can help you clean it up."

"And what are you going to know?" She looked at him.

"My best friend is a sugar addict who spends her time getting dirty, I think I can handle it." He held out his hand.

The girl reluctantly pushed the bow towards him.

"Okay, I know how to fix this," he nodded, "I'll try to talk to Iggy anyway."

"Don't bother, that kid never listens to anyone" he crossed his arms.

"But you are brothers, and brothers must respect each other"

"Since when?"

He paused. "Since forever?"

"How weird you are," she blurted out. "So?" She looked at the bow.

"Where do you clean your clothes?"

The children stared at him.

"We don't wear clothes," Wendy replied.

"Oh, right," Luigi swallowed. "Well, I think a little water and hand soap could do the trick as well" he smiled "Trust me, this will be better than it was before" he hurried to go to a sink.

The koopalings followed him curiously. Despite being nervous, Luigi seemed too calm in the koopa's bedroom.

And it was partly true, this whole situation helped him distract himself from his missing friend, but that couldn't undo the lump in his throat that he felt would end up suffocating him at any moment.

Crying wasn't something that intimidated the boy, but to cry for someone else... That would only show the power he was giving him over him.

"Here it is, you just have to wait for it to dry." He looked at the teenager.

"You're weird."

"You already told me a while ago," he laughed.

"But I can't understand you. You're popular, you must have much better things to do than be with us," she frowned. "Eating, games, parties...

"Those kinds of things aren't my style."

"You must be crazy! Do you know what I would give to be invited to just one meeting of the princesses? Even if it's only for five minutes. And you're friends with all of them."

"I wouldn't say friend...

"But you can talk to them" she insisted "What is it like to be with them? Are they as polite as in the movies or is it just acting?" she asked curious.

"Depends on who you talk to," he answered. "For example, if you want to learn manners, never ask Daisy.

"Going out with one must be very interesting," she sighed. "And if you two get married, you'll be a prince too, right?"

He heaved a heavy sigh, "First of all, Daisy is just my friend."

"What!?" Morton, Roy and Iggy suddenly left their rooms

"What gossip, mind your own business," Wendy scolded them.

"You can listen, I have no problem," said Luigi. And as soon as he released those words, all the koopalings, except Ludwig, sat around him "Okay," he murmured, "I know Daisy is my destiny and she's an amazing girl. But I just can't fall in love," he confessed, "It's weird. Because I love spending time with her and she has qualities that I love; however, as soon as I kiss her, everything seems to make no sense" he bit his lip "About the matter of the prince, technically I am; I mean, my grandmother it's the original Peach and she was a princess, but she gave up the throne for my grandfather. So now we're just commoners" he smiled "Our Peach and Daisy are just actresses who resemble those of past generations, but they're not real princesses." he explained before pausing "Didn't you know?" he frowned.

They denied.

"For a moment I did think that you married cousins or brothers," Iggy said.

"WHAT!? No! Not at all. Haven't you had a history class at the academy? Or an introduction to new generations advisory?"

"Villains have different classes" answered Wendy "Creation of weapons, management of black magic...

"My favorite is the dirty wrestling one!" Roy got excited "It's like wrestling, but without rules!"

"So you didn't know your ancestors?"

"They were our father and our uncles, right?" Lemmy said. "But we are still princes."

"Well, I guess it's because you guys didn't have to get married" Luigi looked at them.

"So half the princesses aren't really royal?" Wendy asked.

"It depends on the franchise," he replied.

"And why don't you go out with Daisy if she's destined for you? You should end up together anyway. Can't you just pretend you like her?" Larry chimed in.

"I could never do that to her."

"So, are you gay?" Roy and Morton looked at him.

"Lovely conclusion." He made a face.

"It's just weird; we see it all the time, when a hero doesn't love his destiny, he usually has affairs with some other heroine or princess, but being single?" Morton spoke.

"I like to see that as being a decent person."

"Okay, but if you could be with anyone regardless of your fate, who would it be?"

Luigi hated himself for not being able to stop Bowie from being the first thing on his mind. And everything got worse when his cheeks blushed without him realizing it.

"So there is someone!" they got excited.

"No," he turned away.

"You thought of a man, right? That's why you don't want to tell us," Morton teased him.

"No!" His blush increased.

"You definitely thought of a man," Wendy teased. "Is he cute?"

"I didn't think of anyone!"

"Is he a hero or ally?"

"It 's not a man!"

"Are you homophobic?" Iggy approached.

"Of course not! It's just... Ugh, okay, I did think of a man," the children laughed, "But that doesn't mean it's necessarily romantic!" he hastened to say, "We could live as friends. You know, in different beds, no kissing or shaking hands" they raised an eyebrow, "I don't like him! It's just...complicated."

"Uh-huh," they blurted out in unison.

"Well, I'm bored. Shall we play?" Larry said suddenly.

"Okay," the others followed.

Luigi breathed a sigh of relief.

Wendy: Do we all agree that it is Bowser?

Lemmy: Definitely.

Roy: Morton and I say yes.

Larry: That's obvious.

Bowser: What are you talking about?

Wendy: nothing

Lemmy: Nothing

Roy: nOTHING

Morton: Nothing.

Iggy: Everything

Larry: Nothing

In the end, his afternoon as a babysitter was summed up in playing Mario Kart with the koopalings, who surprised him by being such good players; especially Larry.

At dinner time, he made them a meatloaf.

They were all already seated in the dining room; even Ludwig, who had barely left his bedroom; he served everyone a piece and then settled down in a chair next to Junior.

"Not there!" the boy yelled at him.

Luigi was surprised, the youngest of the koopas was known for being quite quiet, so the fact that he raised his voice scared him more than he expected.

"That's my mom's chair, I have to take care of it for when she comes back," he said.

The human looked at the others.

"Forgive him, he's schizophrenic again," Morton blurted out.

"He swears he sees dead people," Wendy whispered.

Luigi swallowed as he looked at Junior "Don't worry· he smiled at him "Sorry for bothering your mom, where can I sit so we can all be comfortable?"

The younger one thought about it for a moment "I think my brother won't get mad if you sit in his chair" he pointed to the head of the table.

"Okay," he sat down. "Here?"

The boy nodded with a smile.

The koopalings looked at the human out of the corner of their eyes, so it was their good heart that had captivated Bowser. They couldn't help but smile; except for Ludwig, who continued to mistrust the ally.

When everyone was done, they hurried to shower and get ready for bed. Luigi thought about whether he should leave as soon as everyone fell asleep or wait for Bowser to return. However, to his surprise, Junior approached him thus taking him out of his thoughts.

"Is everything okay?" He crouched down to level with him.

"Do you know stories?" he asked him.

"I know quite a few." He smiled at him.

"Do you know the one with the ugly duckling?"

"It is my favorite."

He got excited. "My mom used to tell me before I fell asleep. Will you read it to me?"

"I'd love to," he tossed his hair.

"I want to listen too!" Larry ran to his side.

And somehow, he again found himself surrounded by all the koopalings, including Ludwig.

"Okay, once upon a time...

The door swung open.

"I'm here" Bowser appeared "Is everything alright?"

His eyes met Luigi's and he could swear that at that moment, his heart stopped for a few seconds.

"Hi," the human told him.

"Hi," he murmured.

"Emm, well, I think it's time for me to go, kids," he tried to get up.

"No!" Junior stopped him, "You said you were going to tell me the story."

"I just don't want to bother anyone."

"Don't worry," Bowser said, "I have no problem if you stay."

"Okay," he smiled slightly, "Do you want to listen too?" He looked at him.

"I'd love to" he sat next to him.

"So, once upon a time, there were a couple of ducks...

For the koopas, it was a flashback to his past. Koopalings lost their parents at a very young age. Larry couldn't even meet them, so they quickly went to be cared for by his aunt, Bowser and Junior's mother, and if there was something they remembered very well, it was how every night, no matter how cold it was, she would gather them all around from the chimney of the castle to read them "The Ugly Duckling".

Some even had to admit that a lump formed in their throats as the story progressed.

"... The beautiful swan lived accompanied by the rest of his family and was happy without anyone else messing with him for being different. The end" concluded Luigi.

"What a horrible moral, if you're not beautiful, no one will ever love you," Wendy said suddenly.

"That's not true" replied Luigi as he carried a sleeping Junior "The point is that we all have a unique beauty both inside and out, but not everyone will always be able to see it. Besides that we are all different, but that doesn't mean something bad."

"I'm an ugly koopa and no one comes near me, that's bad."

"Wendy, you're beautiful" he smiled affectionately at her "And if someone isn't able to see that, it's because they aren't worth it" he caressed her cheek "Rest."

"Thank you, Luigi," she forced a smile as she went to her room.

The human sighed and went to put Junior to bed.

"I'm sorry you had to come at the last minute; I had no idea Kamek called you," Bowser followed.

"Don't worry, I had fun" he looked at him.

"I'm sure the children do too."

"I'm glad to hear that," he returned to the room, "and how did your meeting go?

"I think I prevented a war, so I guess I did well."

"It's strange how naturally you say it," he laughed.

"It is, isn't it?" He scratched the back of his neck.

"I think it's time for me to go," Luigi whispered. "I'm glad you're back, the classroom felt incomplete without you. Rest," he left.

The koopa felt his heart race. His day had been heavy, but that simple comment made him feel as if it had all been worth it.