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flamigoat · 25 days ago

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Peaches 💖🍑👑 - A Far Off Future AU Fanfic

Themes: Friendship, Romance, Humor, Angst, Hurt Comfort

Relationships: Mareach (Mario x Princess Peach), Raypeach (Rabbid Peach x Rayman), and Luaisy (Luigi x Daisy <—Mentioned)

Content Warnings: Pregnancy, going into labor/ giving birth (not explicitly described)

Context: Far Off Future AU (The distant future and continued story of my Phantom Roommates AU for Mario Rabbids) + There are some Rabbid biology and fused Rabbid memory headcanons in this.

Plot Summary: Mario and Princess Peach are expecting twins!! Rabbid Peach is acting as her companion during the pregnancy. When the Princess goes into labor early, it’s up to Peaches (Rabbid Peach) to help her!

Find the fanfic underneath the cut:

Rabbid Peach had never expected to be chosen as her friend, Princess Peach’s companion during her pregnancy. I mean, sure, she maybe had experience in the Rabbid colony she was originally from, but for a human? It was unheard of! She couldn’t even remember that part anyway.

Was it really a good idea to trust her with this?

Though the cheerful smile of her princess was enough to melt her worries away. It was an honor to do this for her. It meant she trusted her deeply, making Peaches feel, ugh, embarrassingly bubbly on the inside.

Bwahaha! Oh it absolutely took everything she had not to burst into tears of joy upon learning her friend was pregnant. Mario would make a wonderful father to Princess Peach’s child. Possibly children! Yeesh, hopefully, humans weren’t like Rabbids in that department.

Anyways, she stayed by her princess’s side, preparing their baby rooms, putting together maternity photoshoots, etc. It all had to be perfect and Rabbid Peach was eager to do it. Anything to make the couple’s shoulders lighter until their babies came. It turns out, they were expecting twins!! Oh my Stars, how exciting!

Sure, some days were more stressful than others. Peaches was lucky her partner Rayman was there with her through it. She’d always be able to come home to him and vent. He’d always provide her a listening ear and offer all the sweet cuddles in the world. Seeing his pretty, goofy smile every day was delightful, having a partner like him by her side. He always loved making him laugh so she could see it. She never thought she’d have a relationship like this.

Flash forward to now and the pair of friends sat together on the balcony overlooking the palace gardens, enjoying their favorite cup of tea. Rabbid Peach was on her phone, scrolling through all the pictures filled with memories of her friend’s pregnancy. She documented every moment, even if she had to cover it up as just wanting to take selfies. She knew how much Princess Peach would love to look back at them, especially when she was due so soon. Only the calming clinks of teacups and the tapping of Rabbid Peach’s fingers on her phone screen broke their silence. Enjoying a peaceful day with her best friend like this, was nice.

The rabbid’s attention drew back to her friend, when their eyes made contact it earned a huff of amusement from her. The princess hummed in response, continuing to sew little decorations into her ever-growing scrapbook. It was filled with pictures of her friends, tidbits of notes depicting how her day went, what she ate, and who she spent time with. Most importantly, telling her babies how excited all their aunties and uncles were to meet them. They were all one big family. A gigantic family of heroes. That warmed Rabbid Peach’s heart immensely to witness.

Looking at her now, her stomach was swollen, visibly pregnant. Wow. How fast time had flown by. The royal doctors knew she was going to be due soon, so she was confined inside the castle walls for now. It was heart-wrenching, watching her friend sink deeply into the dread of boredom. The princess had always hated being treated like she was made of glass. At least the little distractions Rabbid Peach put together were helping. Well, she hoped they were anyway.

Hmph. Now that she thought about it… Bowser hadn’t even tried to kidnap her in a long time. You’d think he would, especially considering she was way more vulnerable now than before. The entirety of the Mushroom Kingdom had been on edge about it, but every day there was a scare for one, he’d never come. Maybe he’d moved on? Or maybe he got the knowledge that it wouldn’t be cool to kidnap somebody pregnant? Heh! Whatever would get through that turtle’s thick skull. It is a lot quieter this way. More peaceful, a nice change of pace for the princess and her subjects.

“Hey, Rabbid Peach? Can I inquire you about something?”, Princess Peach spoke softly, a strangely serious tone to her voice.

“Bwahh! Sure thing! I told you Peach, you can just call me Peachy or Peaches. No need to be formal, we’re friends, remember? Besties! It’s okay!”

Her friend giggled at her, face crinkling with joy. Good. It was nice to let her friend loosen up now and then. Peaches couldn’t imagine what image it’d take to run a country constantly with no breaks in between. She would’ve gone crazy by now if she was in the princess’s place.

“My apologies, Peachy~. Is that better, dearie?”, the normally proper princess stuck her tongue out at her. The rabbid shot back a playfully annoyed look towards her friend, “Yep!”, her voice making a popping sound after the pronunciation of the p to emphasize her point. “So what’d you wanna talk about?”, amusement purred out of her throat.

Oh. This could be good. Some gossip the princess heard among her workers. Oooo! Maybe some drama from the other kingdoms?!? She had been hearing a certain green plumber she knew had been seen out with the princess of Sarasaland. Rabbid Peach sipped her tea eagerly, trying to prepare her throat for a long session of juicy conversation. She’d need it. They could and have talked for hours before.

“Do you ever think you’ll want children?”, Peach purred out casually, earning a sudden coughing fit from her friend in surprise. Rabbid Peach choked on the half swig of her tea, battering her chest with a closed paw. Okay, she was not expecting that!!

Then guilt hit her at her reaction when she saw the worry-stricken expression of her human friend across from her. The princess reached out to her, shooting upwards from her chair to lean over to the rabbid. It was crazy how tall her counterpart was compared to her. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Peaches!! Are you alright, darling?”, her voice quaking with panic. Oh no. She didn’t want to stress her friend out! Ugh! Stupid body! Stop choking!!

“Yes.”, Rabbid Peach wheezed out, voice coming out strained and shrill. After clearing her throat, she turned to her friend, blinking away the tear pricking at her eye. “S’okay, princess. Sorry, I just uh, wasn’t expecting that question.”.

Princess Peach frowned slightly at her friend, a red flush of embarrassment pooling on her cheeks. “Oh Stars! I knew it was too sudden of a question to ask! Sorry if that was improper. I was just…curious is all.”. The princess slumped back into her chair, desperately wiggling around to find a comfortable position to sit that accommodated her pregnant belly. Oh no, she did upset her friend. Augh! C’mon Peachy, you can fix this!

“No, no, no!! It’s not improper or anything! Um. Just, what brought this on?”

“Well… you looked so happy caring for me during the past few months. Truly, I am grateful for all your help! It looks like it’s a natural thing for you, caring for pregnancies. So I figured, maybe you would like children of your own one day. That is all!”

Rabbid Peach’s eye twitched. Wow. Okay. She really could read her like a book, huh? Ah well! Maybe she could change the subject? Peaches leaned back into her chair, quickly trying to turn on her phone. In her nervousness, she fumbled uselessly against the buttons to unlock it. Not subtle at a girl!! She replied casually to cover it up, “Awww! Thanks! Welp! I’m happy to know all my hard work has been appreciated, princess.”.

“It’s Peach, not Princess. We’re, hehe, ‘besties’, remember? Looks like you are dodging the question, my dear.”, the princess gave her a wink. Dang it! She got her there. Oh well, it’d be nice to talk about it. No use in bottling things up. That’d be taking a page out of Rayman’s book. Bwahaha! Peach is right, she’d get nowhere with that mindset.

With a deep sigh, the rabbid relaxed, giving Peach an friendly, yet annoyed look. How dare she know me so well?!?!, Peaches thought. “Urghhh… fine! I don’t know! I hadn’t thought about it until I started helping with your pregnancy. Plus, me and Ray might not even be able to have kids! We’re two different species after all. That must be hard, right? Sides’, he might not even want a family with me anyways.”.

Princess Peach’s posture straightened defensively as if the rabbid had said something horridly offensive to her. She said, “Nonsense!! I think you two would make the most adorable family!”, enthusiasm clear in her voice. Peaches blushed, fur bristling from the compliment. Their family would be adorable?!?! Awww! Did she really think that? That made her so happy, embarrassingly so.

Then the princess leaned towards her counterpart, giving her a sly smile, and raising a brow. Peach moved her hand up to her face, covering the side of her mouth, as if she was about to say something positively scandalous. “Do not think I have not noticed the… ahem, looks he has been giving you as of late. Hehehe. Reminds me of the way Mario would glance at me when he was thinking about proposing! Who knows? You might have a ring on your finger in a bit!”. The princess giggled as if she recalled a fond memory, presumably of Mario. Wait. What was that?!?!? Does she think Rayman will propose to her?!?!

Peaches’s ears flushed beet red. Oh. OH. That’s the weird looks Rayman’s been giving her meant?!?!? That soft, enchanting look in his eyes… lidded in happiness, face flushed with warmth as his gorgeous brown eyes gazed at her.

Okay!! Nope! Nope! Nope!! Oh, Stars she was too sober to think about that!! Redirect the conversation to kids! Yeah! That’ll be easier to talk about. Maintaining her composure, Rabbid Peach leaned into the table, “Oh wow! Hehe! Awww, thank you! Huh, I wonder what our kids even look like? They’d probably be a hybrid species, I guess.”

To Rabbid Peach’s surprise, her friend gasped in pure excitement. “Oh! I know!! I know!! We could draw some possibilities of what they’d look like! It would be a delightful time!”.

The rabbid then watched as her pregnant counterpart excitedly waddled to the nearest drawer, sifting through her coloring supplies. On the way, the princess rambled about the possibile combinations of what the rabbid and thingamajig species could create. Would they have rabbid ears or no ears? What could their hair look like? Would they be limbless or have limbs? Oh! Maybe half of the limbs would be connected and the other half was not? So on and so forth as she rummaged through the drawers, picking out similar colors to the couple.

Peaches, hung on every word, imagining the possibilities along with her friend. According to her imagination, they’d be so adorable! She was picturing a girl, she’d probably look a lot like Rayman! Maybe with her hair color? Also, wavy, like hers, and have beautiful brown eyes like her father. Oh, she’d be wonderful! As she daydreamed, Peaches got up to grab some papers from the lower shelves, running her paws across fancy pastel and white paper. Hmmm? What papers should they use?

Maybe she could ask Peach? It was her idea, after all. So she began to turn to her friend, papers in paw, presenting them to her playfully. “So…y’wanna use the fancy papers or-”.

“AUGH!!”

A cry of agony erupted from her friend, sharp and sudden. As if it was laced with intense confused shock. Out of concern, Peaches whipped around to see her friend, dropping all the papers she had in her paws if she needed to catch her. What if something happened?!?! Was she hurt?!?

There she saw her dear friend, clutching her stomach. The princess’s teeth were gritted, clutching onto the drawer with her other hand. Then she breathed out a shaky breath, a pained expression on her face as she turned to look at her rabbid counterpart. “I- I’m fine, honey. I think it was just the babies kicking, o- or something.”. The princess raised herself, turning to face her body towards Rabbid Peach to reassure her she was okay. “Whew!! These troublemakers sure gave me a start! Looks like they have the strength of their parents, hmmm?”, she laughed nervously after she spoke.

Then the princess flinched again, sucking in a breath of pain. Her grip slipped off the drawer, causing her to lose her balance. Peaches shouted, “Woah!! Hey, hey, hey!!”, as she dove to her friend’s side. In an instant, Rabbid Peach caught her in her arms, holding her away the ground, making sure her belly did not make contact with the floor. Peach used the rabbid to stabilize herself, lifting herself off her shoulders.

Peaches couldn’t focus on her friend’s frantic mumblings of apologies. She had more things to worry about other than thanks!! Something was wrong with her friend!! Maybe she should get a doctor, one of the royal ones. Yes, that’d be the closest!! Okay, okay, then where should she go to get one? What would be the nearest room to here?

Her mind raced frantically as she helped to keep Peach upright. The fabric of her poofy maternity dress pressed against her fur. To her surprise, she felt a wet sensation against her. It made the fur on her leg damp, an uncomfortable sensation. She turned to look at the spot and-

Oh.

The princess’s water broke.

Oh @#$*.

Peach began to realize too, her breaths quickening with worry. “D-darling, I think that was my water. D- does that mean?”, the princess said shakily, tightly gripping onto the sleeves on Rabbid Peach’s shoulders in an attempt to ground herself. Peaches sucked in a deep breath, yikes, how should she deliver the news? “Okay, be calm, be calm. Casual. Cool about it. You don’t want her to freak out do you?”, Peaches thinks.

“Yeah… hon, I think the- “

The rabbid was cut off by the panic-filled voice of her friend, “The- the babies!! Gasp! They’re coming!! Oh Stars!! Oh Stars!!”. The princess held her friend close to her, awkwardly with her pregnant belly in the way. She held her tight as if she could crush her like a grape. Peaches didn’t know if it was from the pain of her contractions or out of sheer stress. It felt like it was the latter, her breathing becoming more rapid and her voice hoarse with terror.

Gently, Rabbid Peach rubbed her friend’s back, pawing at it in comforting circles. The way her friend had always liked it when the soreness of her pregnancy kicked in. “Hey! Hey…It’s gonna be okay, honey. Just take some breaths with me, like the doctors showed us, alright?”, the Rabbid cooed at her friend. To her relief, Peach followed her command taking a deep, shaky breath before exhaling. The human loosened her strong grip on her friend, clinging to the fabric of her blouse as she pulled away.

“Alright. This is official. The babies will be delivered today since she’s having pretty strong contractions. That’s cool! Unexpected, but we can work with this! Just get her to a safe place. Yeah! A safe spot to relax while you get the doctors, Mario, and all our friends here.”, Rabbid Peach thought, mind running a mile a minute.

This has to go well. She needed it to go well. Anything to ease her friend’s worries. Peaches moved to hold Peach’s hand, a strong, firm, comforting grip. The Princess held it back, continuing her breathing exercises. Her eyes pinched shut, fingers tightening around her friend’s paw. Maybe in an attempt to comfort herself.

Okay. Looks like Peaches will just have to lead her out. That’s okay! We’ve got this. So the Rabbid led her friend slowly out the door, alerting the Rabbid and Toad guards outside the room that the babies were coming.

Quickly, the Rabbid guards scampered off down the hallway, searching for the doctors and spreading the news. Peaches could feel her friend’s hand shaking. She seemed terrified, stumbling awkwardly as she walked. The Toad guards surrounded their princess, keeping her steady along with Peaches after their leader teetered a bit on her feet.

Rabbid Peach could hear the sounds of quiet, repressed sobs coming from her. It broke her heart, to see her friend in so much pain. Sure, she’d helped her counterpart with injuries in battles before. Horrible battles. This time was different though. This time, she couldn’t do anything to help her no magic, no healing, nothing! That thought frustrated her to no end.

Her friend’s tight squeeze on her paw broke her out of her spiraling thoughts. Ugh! Enough thinking about yourself! Think about your friend! Peach! She’s the one that needs help right now, not you! You still can help her! Just calm down, and comfort her dummy!!

“Okay. So the babies are coming. That’s okay! Everything is gonna be okay, hon! Now, just sit back, try to relax, and focus on not having the babies right this second. Got it?”, Peaches reassured her friend, rubbing her hand as they walked towards the delivery room, guards following closely behind. Luckily, it was close, just down the hallway. They just had to make it!! They can do this!

“Y- yeah! We can do this. I just… *phew* really need to sit down!”, Peach replied, teeth gritted in a forced, hopefully less stress-filled smile. Rabbid Peach winced when her friend suddenly squeezed her paw in a bone-breaking grip. Yeouch!! That must’ve been a bad contraction, Stars that hurt!!

Still, the Rabbid held strong for her Princess, biting her lip to prevent any noises of pain from escaping. Peach didn’t need any more stress right now. Slowly, the group led the princess to the delivery room bed, the doctors guided her away good!! That’s perfect! Okay, now what?

A sudden pang of dread hit her.

She was missing something. It was important, but AUGH!! What could it be?!?

…

Oh shoot.

Mario is nowhere near here right now.

=====================================

Mario felt the hot flare of a fireball barely streaking past him as he ducked behind the rubble of the entrance to Bowser’s castle. At least, he thought it missed him until he smelt the burning of his precious hat. Quickly he tore the hat off his head, throwing it to the ground and stomping out the flames in frustration. Oh please, of all the days Bowser had to try to take over the Mushroom Kingdom, of course now was the day! After all these months, now was the time? Seriously?!?!

Taking a breath, Mario accessed his surroundings, he had to make sure the citizens, now his subjects technically, were safe. As the Toads and Rabbids fleed around him, they remained scared, but physically unharmed. No horrid damage to buildings either, at least nothing they couldn’t fix.

So that meant…

Sigh… This was personal. Bowser was always the petty sort after all.

Bowser boomed out in a triumphant cry “HEAR ME CITIZENS OF THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM!! Today is the day, your RIDICULOUS PLUMBER HERO FALLS!!! BOW DOWN TO THE MIGHT OF THE NEW KOOPA-RABBID EMPIRE!! GRAHAHAHA!!”. His hovering clown car teetered loosely under his massive weight, standing a foot on it like a podium as he gloated his so-called victory.

Mario huffed in annoyance at the sound of the clown car’s cannon charging up another blast. Collecting himself, he reached into his satchel, pulling out his old reliable cape. His timing had to be perfect for this to work. And by the stars, he’d make it work.

The canon screeched as the flames charged, the plumber had about five seconds until it fired. He steels his courage as he counted down, blocking out Bowsers taunts being barraged at him. He stood up, concealing his cape behind the rubble so the turtle could not see it. Oh Stars, now its 3 seconds.

2, Mario decides to glare at the King of the Koopas, almost a look of disappointment. To think days like these would be over by now.

1, Bowser grins back at the hero, with a cocky grin. Not that he’d be smiling after this.

NOW!

The canon fired another ginormous ball of fire at him. The plumber could feel the white-hot heat blaring onto his skin. There was no time for fear, only action. So, with a simple flick of his cape, Mario deflected it right back at Bowser.

The ball collided with the Koopa’s vehicle, causing him to be launched straight into the fountain in the center of the plaza they fought in. With a loud crunch, Boswer’s body flung into the Princess Peach statue atop it, splitting it in half. As if in slow motion, his body went limp with defeat, sliding into the shallow waters below, causing waves to splash over the sides of the fountain.

Mario huffed a sigh of victory at the sight, taking in his frenemy’s defeat. While he knew he probably shouldn’t, he always felt a sense of pride one-upping the King before him. It had been months since their last fight, and Mario was pleased that he still had that sense of fight in him.

Dusting off his hands performatively, as if he was taking out the trash, Mario waved to the citizens around him that the fight was over, telling them to return to their daily lives and he and the Princess would make efforts to fix the buildings later. Finally, he took a moment to turn around to glance at Bowser, checking to see if he was alright. Sure, they fought, but he wouldn’t want him to drown or anything if he was unconcious!

What he found, had him holding back a chuckle with a hand. The massive turtle’s snout was just above the water as he laid on his belly, giving the red plumber a frustrated glare. A lily pad with a delicate flower on it was flopped between his horns, like a hat, the water boiling over with steam as fire burned within the Koopa’s body. He looked ridiculous to say the least. Bowser was always a sore loser, especially when it came to losing to Mario.

Bowser trudged through the water with a snort, smoke billowing out of his snout. “I WANT A REMATCH, PLUMBER! THIS ISN’T OVER YET!!”.

Mario smiled smugly, at him. Oh he seemed pissed off! Fine, he was still itching for a fight. Preparing a fighting stance, he braced himself, “Bring it on! I could-a do this all da-!”.

VRRRR VRRR VRRR VRR!!

He could feel the vibration of his phone in his pocket. Sighing, he held out a hand to Bowser, signaling him to wait. The turtle stopped in his tracks, looking at Mario in confusion.

“You need to take that?”

“Yeah, it’s from Peach.”

“Ah, I gotcha. You guys doing well? How’s the pregnancy going?”

“Good, good! They are doing great. I’ll catch up with you about it sometime, maybe over a game of golf?”

“Sure thing. Can I say hi to her?”

“Mmmmm… yeah. I guess that’s-a okay! I’ll put it on speaker.”

“Cool.”

The odd pair sat down on the crumbling rubble of the fountain, excitedly answering the call. Mario could feel Bowser bump against his side as shimmied in his seat, giddy to talk to Princess Peach.

“Hiya Princess-!“

“WHERE ARE YOU RIGHT NOW MARIO?!?! PEACH IS IN LABOR!!”, the two were met with Rabbid Peach screaming at them.

The smile fell quickly on Mario’s face into a look of sheer horror. Looking over to his frenemy, his eyes went wide in surprise. Standing up, the plumber began to pace with his phone in hand, “Peaches! You can’t-a be serious, she wasn’t supposed to be due until a few weeks!”.

“Well she is now!! Peach needs you, so you better get your A$# over here NOW!!”

“I- Peaches I’m so far away right now!! Is she-a okay?!? Can they try to-a stall it or something? I don’t know!!”

“Yes, she’s okay. Yes, she’s safe. Yes, she’s with the doctors and NO they can’t stall it!! Just- figure something out!! STARS, I need to call the others- oh and Bowser, you get over here too! By-.”

The call cut off before she could even say bye. Mario was filled with dread for his wife. She was going through labor, without him to support her!! They had been planning out what to do about this for months! How could he slip up now, today of all days?!?!

Mario’s breaths began to quicken, feeling his heart beat uncomfortably fast. He needed to get to her- but how?!? How could he get to her all the way across the Mushroom Kingdom?!?!

His panicked thoughts were halted by Bowser’s massive hand on his shoulder. Stoically, the turtle said, “I know how we can get there.”. Picking the plumber up, he faced him towards the fountain, the clown car crashed into the stone pathway of the plaza, propellers still turning.

With a mutual nod of agreement, they raced towards the tattered vehicle.

=====================================

Rabbid Peach paced the hall outside the delivery room’s door. Her heart felt like it was beating a mile a minute, feeling her forehead clench with stress.

She called everyone. Luigi, Daisy, all of their friends were coming over, but out of all of them, of course it had to be the father of the babies being delivered right now that was missing!

Another shrill scream of pain erupted from her friend from behind the large door, along with the quiet reassurances of the doctors around the Princess. Rabbid Peach’s fur stood on end at the noise, bristling with worry.

Fine. If Mario wasn’t going to be there for her, she was!! Rabbid Peach shoved open the door, rushing over to her friend’s side. One doctor, a younger Toad, made noises of hesitaton at her action. “Wait! I’m pretty sure only family of the Princess can be here right now! I have to ask you to leave Miss… uh… Miss Rabbid.”

Just as Peaches was about to retort at the doctor, Princess Peach slammed her fist on the table beside her with a loud thump, causing all the people in the room to turn thier heads to her. To Rabbid Peach’s surprise, the Princess was shooting the doctor the nastiest glare she’d ever seen the her give. Clenching her teeth, the Princess spat out, “She IS family and she is STAYING here! That is an order from your Princess.”.

The toad gulped, sheepishly backing away from Peaches to continue tending to his Princess, “Y- Yes, your Majesty! Of course!”.

With a shaky breath, Princess Peach leaned back into the plush pillows of the maternity bed, pain returning to her once again, as if the high of her anger left her fast. It was heartbreaking seeing her friend look so… weak. The pain looked unbearable and Rabbid Peach found herself freezing, unsure of what to do to comfort her. She just wanted to take the pain far away from her friend, her family, but she couldn’t. The pained look of her friend gazing at her cleared away her thoughts.

“I-I can’t do it, Peachy. I can’t do this! I’m not ready. Mario’s not here, a- and- “, the Princess swallowed hard, tears streaming down her face as her lip quivered, weakly, her voice breaking as she whispered sharply, “I’m not ready to be a mother!”.

“I- I’m scared, darling.”, her voice broke as she sobbed weakly, clutching the bed’s railing in her hands. Gently, Peaches reached out to her counterpart, offering to hold her hand. The Princess accepted, gripping onto her paw firmly. A shudder of breath her friend’s body at the soft contact.

“You’re okay, Peach! You’ve got this. Just keep breathing, alright?”

“Okay, okay, huff… okay…”

Peaches didn’t know what caused it. Maybe it was the… strangely familiar look of pain and desperation in her friend’s voice. It was as if something snapped in, like a puzzle piece long missing fit perfectly into her brain.

She was flooded with memories. Her old colony, the warm, sweet smell of the Glade’s air. The soft touch of her mother’s paw as she walked alongside her. The rough texture of concrete against her feet as the colony met their new home. The smell of a once favorite food, far far away from this dimension.

Her sister’s sweet face as she held her kits for the first time.

Their proud smiles as she waved goodbye to them before entering that ever fateful washing machine.

It was weird how fast she acted. As if her body and mind were running on instinct. As if this situation was familiar, welcome, something that she had done once before. Many times before.

It was like, she couldn’t even think anymore. Just react. So she held the Princess’s hand soothingly, and spoke softly, at least, as soft as her normally harsh voice could manage.

“Hey, y’ wanna know why I knew so much about pregnancies?”

“W- Why?”

“Back in my old colony, my old home, I used to help Rabbids give birth. My mom, er- at least I think it was my mom, passed the position to me. So you’re in some really good hands right now!”

“Y-you actually remember that?”

“Bits and pieces sometimes, but all of the kits were super cute! You should’ve seen them, hon. They were real fuzzy, making such cute noises. Like yours will be soon!”

“Haha…hopefully not the fuzzy part…”

“Bwahaha! No, no, not the fuzzy part. Y’get what I mean though, right?”

“Mhm.”

“T- they’re called kits? Rabbids call their babies that?”

“Yup! Like little cute kittens.”

“Hehe! That’s…whew, that’s wonderful knowledge to have.”

“Adorable, huh?”

“Y- yeah. It is.”

“Y’know the cutest ones were when my nieces were born. Did I ever tell you I had a sister? I don’t know if I did.”

“N- no! You didn’t. C- can you tell me what she was like?”

“She was strong, like you. Her labor was tough, but she was tougher. Had a litter of six if I remember correctly! They were beautiful.”

“When she met them… h- how did she react?”

“It was the happiest I’d ever seen her. Her and her mate holding their kits. I was really happy for them. Proud. Like I’m proud of you now!”

“They’ll be beautiful, Peach. I just know it.”

“Thank you… Peaches.”

CRASHHHH!!!

An explosion at the other side of the door. In an instant, Peaches stood protectively infront of her friend, trying to shield her from any intruders that might come her way. It felt as if the world went silent as everyone stared in shock at the door. The door slowly creaked open revealing…

Mario and Bowser?!??!?

The pair stumbled out from behind the door, covered in tiny bits of rubble, dirt, and ash from seemingly an explosion, the creaking of the broken propellers on Bowser’s totaled clown car behind them. Mario and Peach stared at eachother, eyes glimmering with relief as their faces filled out with giddy love upon finding eachother again. Mario rushed to his wife’s side. The Princess pulled him into a hug, covering his chubby face with kisses.

“Where have you been my love? The babies are coming you know!!”

Mario turned to look back towards Bowser, who kicked a piece a rubble and looked awkwardly away from the couple. “I… had a bit of a fight with Bowser. He gave me a ride here though!”. The plumber gave his wife a thumbs up and a chuckle, as if that would try to make the situation better.

Rabbid Peach couldn’t help but stare dumbfoundedly at the massive turtle, as soon as Bowser met her gaze, he quickly looked away, seeming ashamed.

Softly, the Princess raised her voice, “Thank you, Bowser, for bringing my husband here. It really means a lot to me…”. It seemed genuine and sweet, as she stared up at Bowser with gratitude. The Koopa King blushed slightly and turned away her gaze, smoke billowing out of his nose.

“It was no problem, Princess…”, Bowser mumbled as he walked away from the pair, leaving the room.

The labor continued, Mario and Rabbid Peach supporting Princess Peach through every push. Everything was going well, she was in pain, but calming down. Baby A slipped out without any more problems. Peaches caught a glimpse of how happy Mario looked as he held his son in his arms. Joyful tears dripped onto the cloth the baby was swaddled in. Okay, first one done. Now, it was time to fight through Baby B’s delivery.

Without Mario to hold his wife’s hand, the Princess chose to tighten her grip on her Rabbid friend’s paw. It felt like her bones could crack from the tension. It took everything in her not to flinch in pain in her grasp, her expression fighting to remain cool and collected. Surely the Princess was going through worse, so she chose to toughen it out.

“One last push Princess!! Baby B is almost out. Keep pushing!!”

With one last push and scream of effort from the Princess, the second baby was out. It was over. They did it!! They actually did it!!

Relief overcame everyone in the room at the sound of the final baby’s cries. It was a beautiful baby girl. Gently, the young Toad doctor carried the infant to place into her mother’s arms. After swaddling up the baby in a pink, decorated blanket Peach and Peaches made, the princess cradled her baby in her arms. Happy tears streaming down her face.

The first baby, the boy, was also handed to her by Mario, now wrapped in a green blanket Peaches had made, little stitchings of powerups decorating it. Everyone in the room was sobbing, especially Mario, mustache drenched in his tears. His teary, puffy, immensely happy expression made his wife giggle at him.

With a nod to Mario, Rabbid Peach and Mario went to hug Princess Peach, taking in this sweet, priceless moment with her.

=====================================

After a beat of silence, Peaches spoke up, asking “So, what are you guys gonna name them?”.

With a relaxed sigh, Princess Peach responded, “For the boy…we decided on Lu. Heh, after Luigi, of course. For the girl, well…”. The Princess paused, smiling warmly, as if she was thinking about a cherished memory.

Looking back at her friend, Princess Peach finished her sentence, with the biggest smile on her face the Rabbid had ever seen, “Peaches. Peaches for the girl. That will be her name.”.

Rabbid Peach was taken aback. Peaches? No way. She must’ve misheard. The stress of the day weighing on her must be making her brain all foggy. They wouldn’t do that, would they? That’s her name! That’d be stupid. Having another Peaches around.

Wait…. Aha! That’s it!

“Ohhhh! Like Peach Jr., right?”

Mario chuckled, before gesturing with a hand toward Rabbid Peach, “No. She means Peaches. Like-a you.”.

“P- Peaches?!? Y- you’re gonna make this so confusing, hon. I’m already Peaches. Like, we all agreed on this.”

With an unladylike snort, the Princess replied with pride, “I know that, darling.”.

“Uh, yeah! Of course you know that. Then why-.”

Mario scoffed, cutting off the Rabbid’s rebuttal. How rude!! You know I’m right!! Peaches? Seriously?!? There’s already two people with the same name here! It was so much of a problem, they had to do nicknames to differentiate them! Peaches is her name! She claimed it!! So why was she going to name-

Wait.

WAIT A SECOND!!

Her quick dose of anger was extinguished. Not a trace left of fire within her. Only a mixture of confusion, shock, and a hint of the warm embrace of happiness. She was touched. Tears pricking at her eyes as her face scrunched up, ugly with raw emotion.

After a gross sniffle, Peaches choked out, “You- You guys wanna name your daughter after me? Seriously? Like, for real?”.

Peaches stood there, dumbfounded, looking at her friends. They smiled warmly at her, eyes puffy from their crying. The soft coos of their babies as they snuggled up in their mother’s arms. Their names, Lu and… Peaches.

Named… after her.

Tears began welling up in her eyes, threatening to spill over. Her ears felt like they were on fire, overwhelmed with all the emotions she felt. She felt her face tense into what she was sure to be the ugliest form it could ever manage as the hot tears streamed down her cheeks.

The shock was just too much.

They were looking at her! Staring at her warmly with those stupid, genuine smiles on their faces!

She had to say something!!

“S- SHUT THE F@%# UP!! NO YOU GUYS AREN’T!!”

Laughter erupted from the couple along with the startled cries of their children at the loud noises. “P- Peaches! Dearie, do not curse in front of the babies!!”, Princess Peach said in between harsh laughter. She soothed her babies in a rocking motion, the biggest smile on her face.

From there, Rabbid Peach absolutely bawled her eyes out. The entirety of the heroes were slowly invited in, one at a time. She’ll never forget how much Bowser sobbed at the sight. Not with bitterness, like she expected, but pure happiness for the couple. Peaches left the room eventually, feeling the weight lift off her shoulders as soon as she began to exit, waving one last goodbye to the happy couple.

The Rabbid had no clue what overcame her in that room. The memories she had recovered were already blurry and fading fast. Though, whatever that was, she was thankful to relive them, even for just a moment. At least she knew at least a little bit about what her life, her family was like.

It felt like a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders. Letting out a satisfied sigh. Ah, she supposed it’s fine. The past is in the past and sides’-

Her family is here already. And, that’s enough, right?

Still, she was exhausted. It had already been a long day without the chaos of Peach’s sudden delivery. Peaches got there early in the morning to accompany her friend on her daily stroll, like she always did. Every day for almost nine months.

Nine whole months, huh? Wow. Time seemed to fly by so fast.

Y’know… now that this is over, she might actually miss this. Spending this much time with the Princess on the regular. The two learned a lot about each other over the pregnancy, good and bad. She wouldn’t trade that time she spent for anything. There were no regrets.

Rabbid Peach breathed out a sigh of relief as she finally was able to exit the delivery room. She felt so drained from the stress and craved even a second just to relax. To her surprise, her boyfriend Rayman was waiting outside the door, a goofy smile on his face, a cup of her favorite coffee in hand. “Hey, Peachy. Long day, huh? I got you your favorite coffee from the city!”.

“Oh you have no, idea.”, Peaches chuckled. The rabbid fell into his chest, taking in the familiarity of his smell. Pfft! Was he using her shampoo? Ah well, it smelled nice.

“Thanks hon.”, Peaches planted a tender kiss on his lips, pulling him close. He tasted sweet, a hint of caramel perhaps. Hm, I guess he might’ve gotten something at the coffee shop too. For a while, she held the kiss, pulling away as she delicately snatched the coffee out of his hand. She couldn’t help but giggle looking up at him, that dumb, lovestruck look on his face. “I missed you, Ray. Thanks for stopping by to pick me up.”.

“Heh! It’s uh- hehe… It’s no problem! I missed you too, sunshine.”, Rayman replied shyly, scratching a hand through his hair awkwardly. The poor guy had always felt shy about doing sappy stuff, but Peaches was proud to see it. He was trying his best and she found it adorable to she his flustered face every time she made a move towards him.

From there, they walked home towards the portal that would take them back to the Space Opera Network’s planet. From there, they could finally head home. Peaches was sure to pass out the moment she touched the bed they shared at thier apartment. As they quietly took in the gorgeous night sky among the beautiful scenery of the castle’s gardens, Rayman decided to strike up conversation again.

“Is the Princess okay?”

“Yeah. She’s okay. Just a stressful day is all. Better to leave them alone for now.”

“Wanna go get some takeout on the way home?”

“Oh you know I’d love to.”

Rayman bumped into her side playfully as they walked together, whisking a hand over to her waist to pull her closer to him. She leaned on him, cherishing the warmth of his hand and the plush softness of his hoodie. Being with him felt like home. He was perfect.

She… wanted to spend the rest of her life with this… beautifully goofy man. Raise a family with him. So, why not ask the question now?

“Hey, Ray?”

“Hm?”

“What do you think about… starting a family someday?”

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