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Daisy laughed, clapping her hands together. “Okay, one more time. How is it you become a Boo?”
Luigi glanced around, trying not to meet Rosalina’s terrifying gaze while avoiding Daisy’s. “You just decide not to die. The way he explained it was that when you’re dying, you just don’t. You pull back on it, and if you do it right then you snap back in.”
“Why do Boos scare people?” Rosalina asked, gently leaning back in her chair.
Luigi shrugged, trying to pretend her coolness wasn’t inexplicably scary. “Well, if you were a Boo what would you do? Heh.”
Daisy pecked Rosalina on the cheek. “I mean, you can pretty much float through walls, fly, turn invisible, posses objects-”
“Please stop,” Luigi shuddered. “Not that I don’t like your girlfriend, but she is super scary. I can’t deal with knowing the infinite powers she possesses.”
Rosalina’s lips turned faintly up. “Says the man with the King Boo wrapped around his finger.”
He found himself chuckling slightly at that. “Eh. I wouldn’t go so far.”
Daisy leaned across the table to stare at Luigi. “Listen, L. I may not know much about Boos, but I do know a lot about you. You have a penchant for breaking up with guys who creep too close too slowly, and you’ve been seeing this guy for a bit now. It only makes sense that something is different. Plus, I’ve been seeing a lot more benevolent Boos about than before. Even the dock’s Boo has stopped hiding in fish barrels.”
Luigi smiled. “His name is Thaba. I hear he used to be a toad on the high seas, until Black Cap got him and his crew. Then he-”
“You’re avoiding the question,” Daisy sing-songed.
“You didn’t ask me a question,” he responded, yawning. “And it’s starting to get really warm out. I should get going soon.”
Daisy rolled her eyes. “Dear, would you run and get Pauline? I’m ready for a rematch on yesterday’s badminton game.”
“Whatever you say, petals,” Rosalina shook her head fondly, drifting off down the cruiser to wherever the three of them stayed when they weren’t in Toad Town.
Daisy scooched her chair around to Luigi, grabbing his arm. “Listen to me, Luigi. Whatever this is, it’s working for you. However you and that guy worked it out is none of my business, but I do know it’s been good for you both. Whatever this thing is that’s holding you back from really blowing him away, let it go. It’ll work out. I can promise you that.”
Luigi sighed. “I just don’t know. I wouldn’t be able to handle it if we warred again. I can’t do that, and I can’t ask him to not fulfill his duty to his people.”
Daisy smiled, patting his hand. “Trust me, Peach and I aren’t looking for a fight, and neither are our usual foes, your King Boo included. If anyone picks a fight, there won’t be any heartbreak over it. We wouldn’t do that to you or your brother, not after all this time.”
Luigi shrugged. “There’s no guarantee, though.”
Daisy frowned. “We’ll be doing our best, Luigi. And things are better than ever in the kingdoms. I don’t know what else to tell you.”
“That’s okay, Princess. I’ll work this out somehow,” He muttered, standing up.
“It was good seeing you, L,” she smiled, giving him a quick hug. “See you soon?”
“Yea, soon,” He nodded, heading for the dock. He ignored her troubled stare, and began the journey back to his home. It wouldn’t take long to reach the mansion, but he had a bit to think about while he went.
Unfortunately, he reached home much sooner than he had anticipated. He had been lost in thought, hoping desperately to get over this… thing in his head.
His dog, Zero, was excited to see him when he returned. The cheerful pup managed to clear his head for a while and then he was getting ready for Boo’s arrival. Boo certainly didn’t have to eat, being dead and all, but that didn’t mean he didn’t appreciate the effort he put into it. So Luigi cooked, a skill he had become surprisingly good at over time.
When Boo arrived, it was suddenly and without warning. Every electric light in the dining room clicked off, pitching them into low candle light.
“Prepared this time, then?” he laughed.
Luigi snapped his fingers with a flourish. “Yeah, I did. I’ve gotten used to you snapping off all my lights.”
“So, how was your day?”
“Visited Daisy and Rosalina.”
“I heard.”
“Then why did ya ask?”
Boo blinked at him. “I didn’t set out to spy, I just hear a lot. Boo communicating is rather instantaneous when it needs to be.”
He nodded back. “Oh. I- we should talk.”
Boo snorted slightly, but assented. “I suppose we should.”
“I- you already know what I’m going to ask you about, don’t you?”
“I do.”
“Well?” He shuffled slightly.
“Ask me anyway,” Boo said. “I won’t answer a question I haven’t been asked.”
“What- what would you do if you needed to go to war? With my- with our friends?”
Boo stared pensively for a moment. “I understand your fear, you know. I thought quite a bit about this when we first called our truce, and when my closest ally became friendly with his biggest enemy. I know why you’re scared. You don’t know what you would do, you don’t know how you would live with the decision if it cost you everything. I made my choice already. Partially for my people, but partially for you. It would cost me far too much to fight them. My former ally would not side with me, so there’s no chance I could win. And I would lose you. I can’t have that. I can’t.
“So, with my promise, all I ask of you is this: trust me. Trust me to keep my word, to value you more than anything war could bring. You don’t have to think of what you would do if it happened, you just have to have faith in me and all of your friends.”
Luigi nodded, slightly teary. “Oh.”
Boo smiled at him, patting his arm. “Yes. I know.”