Chapter Text
He should have known that today was going to be a hectic, awful, no good, stressful bad day. He should have known the second his older (by three minutes) brother burst through his bedroom door-reeking of alpha rage and panic-and all but yanked him out his comfortable nest.
"We gotta go Weegee! He took her, that bastard!" His brother all but growled out.
Of course Luigi knew what Mario was talking about; it was Bowser, he had taken the princess yet again and now the two brothers would have to go and save her. Luigi couldn't help but feel sympathy for Peach, it seemed like every month now his fellow omega was being taken hostage by the huge alpha Koopa. It had to be tiring because it sure was tiring to go and save her every time, not that he minded of course! It was just-
"Mario, you know my heat is almost here. Do I have to go? " He knew the answer, knew how his already stubborn brother acted, went into that 'I have to save mate' alpha mode (even though he was still just courting Princess Peach, really he just wished they would hurry up and tie the knot. Pun very much intended!) there was no getting through to him. So that's why when Mario said:
"So is Peach's!"
Luigi knew he wouldn't be able to go back to the warmth of his nest.
The sunrise in the Mushroom Kingdom was always so beautiful to watch, the way the morning dew clung to flowers and blades of grass, the songs of birds a soft background noise that really added to the magic of the fantasyland come to life. Luigi wished he could enjoy it, Luigi wished Bowser hadn't kidnapped the Princess at the ass-crack of dawn! If he wasn't so scared of the huge, monstrous dragon turtle he would tell him off, give the alpha a piece of his mind! But he was afraid and who could blame him? Alphas (minus Mario) were already super intimidating, then you go and make one like nine feet tall and give them scales and spikes and fire-breathing it was just insane!
Luigi was surprised he even followed his brother this time around, his already bad nerves were even worse with his heat coming in the next week or so, he knew he stunk of scared, panicked omega. And so did Mario judging by the comforting scent he was trying to put out but it wouldn't work! The only thing that would make Luigi feel better is his nest which is back home, and they were almost to the Darklands, almost at the Koopa castle or was it a fortress? He's never seen any other Kingdoms fly around and- it doesn't matter- they're almost there and Luigi can't stop the whimper that leaves his mouth and the shaking of hands.
"It's okay, Luigi, just like always I'll go in first, clear out the way then you sneak in and free Peach! Simple! " his big bro smiled at him and he returned it with a smaller, more hesitant one.
The taller man let out a small 'oof' as his brother pulled him into a tight hug, scenting him in the process. Luigi breathed in his brother's calming scent of roasted coffee and cinnamon along with that spicy note all alphas seemed to share. He pulled back and gave his brother a nod and like that, Mario was off, a power-up was already in his hand as he burst through the front door. Oh how he wished he could be more like his brother or even more like Princess Peach, confident and unafraid.
Luigi waited, at least 20 minutes before going in, he winced slightly at the sight of knocked out Koopa troopas, most of them still hiding in their shells. He felt bad for them, they were just following orders after all but he didn't let himself dwell for too long as he took off to where he knew the Princess was, at this point he knew the route like the back of his hand. He knew that in the time it took him to get to Peach, then back to the throne room (where every fight took place for some reason. Couldn't they switch it up?) Bowser would be defeated and Mario would stand victorious, blah blah blah.
He couldn't stop himself from jumping and the startled yelp that left his mouth as an enraged roar bounced off the castle walls. That meant the fight had started and just on time Luigi made it to the pink doors of the room Bowser had made for keeping Princess Peach, he pushed the doors open and smiled as Peach jumped up and made her way over to him.
"OH Luigi! I'm so glad to see you, are you alright?" The blonde woman said, pulling back to look over her dearest friend.
"Sí, now lets-a go. Mario should be done kicking Bowser's butt." He gently grabbed her hand and pulled her along.
The two rushed down the large staircase and took multiple weaving turns through the maze-like corridors of the castle as they made their way to the throne room. There were a few Koopa troopas that tried to stop them but it was nothing the two omegas couldn't handle.
It was the soft sound of whimpering that caused Luigi to stop and look back. Peach had stopped and looked back at him with concern.
"Is everything alright Luigi?" She asked walking closer to the slightly shorter male. Luigi didn't look at the Princess, eyes darting around to see where the noise came from. He nodded mindlessly.
"Go to Mario, I'll make sure no one is coming from behind." He finally looked at the Princess.
"Are you sure? I mean I know our heats are close together, you know too much stress could cause it to come early." Her voice filled with worry.
"Which is why you need to get to Mario and get out, who knows how those two would react if you went into heat right now. Your safety matters more Princess." He said while handling her a flame flower power-up. Princess Peach had wanted to say something but stopped herself, Luigi was right, she had an entire kingdom to look after and really didn't want what was already a very violent battle between Mario and Bowser to get even worse because she went into heat earlier than expected.
Nodding she took the power-up. "Promise you'll be careful?"
Luigi smiled and hugged her "Will do, Princess." The two scented each other, bussing their cheeks together before pulling away. Luigi waited for Peach to run down the hall before he turned around in search of whoever or whatever was whimpering.
Okay, so maybe letting Peach go on without him was stupid. What if this is what the enemy wanted? What if it was a trap? Luigi could feel his heart beat start to pick up, underneath his gloves his hands began to sweat and he could feel his legs start to tremble slightly.
"H-hello…Is-uh..Is anyone there?" He called out scanning the seemingly empty hall. He wasn't really paying attention the first time he ran through but this hallway was an absolute mess! The wine red carpet and even the walls had tire (?) marks on them. There were multiple broken vases and paintings strewn upon the ground, and not to mention the scorch marks everywhere! A hanging piece of tapestry was still smoldering lightly.
The tall omega was brought out of his wandering by another soft but pained whimper, his head quickly snapped towards a familiar object.
It was Junior's clown car. So that meant- Luigi could feel his heart sink all the way down past his stomach and to the floor. He quickly and pushed with all his might to flip the fallen vehicle over onto its side, underneath the little Koopaling layed painting harshly. Luigi looked him over and didn't see any major injuries, just minor scrapes and bruises. He reached out to touch the Koopa prince but pulled back when the child let out a pathetic growl.
"G-get away from me!" He tried to shoot off a fireball but failed and coughed out smoke and ashes that died before they even hit the floor.
"I-I'm not going to hurt you bambino. I just want to help" Luigi said softly as if talking to a wounded animal.
"But you're -cough- you're Mario's brother! You guys always hurt us!" Junior tried to push himself up but his short arms gave out causing him to fall back to the ground. Luigi rushed to catch him but yanked his hands back with a yelp. It felt like he stuck his hand in a fire, why was the prince so hot?
"I'm not going to hurt you." The green clad man said firmly, hoping his scent was calm and comforting because at this point his omega instincts were kicking into overdrive! (He had to help the cub koopaling!)
It did the trick as the young turtle dragon's body relaxed, Luigi moved slowly and pulled a red mushroom from his pocket and fed it to Junior the best he could. He watched as the bruises faded away and the panting stopped. He waited a moment and waited to put his hand to the young one's head. Still warm (which he hoped was his normal temperature) but no longer burning (literally) up. Letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding, Luigi looked down at Junior.
"What happened ragzzino?"
A brief moment of silence.
"I was tryna stop your stupid brother from taking Mama Peach away again! I ended up overusing my flames…" He looked away, a small pout on his lips and cheeks flushing slightly.
"I'm sorry." Luigi said simply running his fingers gently through a fiery mane. He smiled softly when he heard a soft purr escape the small prince. "I know you and your siblings are trying to help your Padre; you are all very brave and strong."
"Of course we are! The strongest!"
A smile graced mustached lips and he nodded along with the child. He always tried to go easy on the Koopas, especially the Koopalings. He hated fighting and only did so because that's just what was expected of him; Luigi the sidekick. If Mario fought then so did he, that didn't mean he liked it. He'd rather be home cooking, or gardening, or reading or cleaning or literally anything else that didn't involve fighting. His hand stopped the soothing petting motion as both he and Junior looked up as the walls of the castle shook, that meant the fight between human and Koopa was almost over. Luigi had to go, he had to but…his instincts just couldn't let him leave a cub ('my cub!' His inner omega chimed in. Great he imprinted on one of the most dangerous beings in this realm child).
So he scoped Junior up; the Koopaling was heavier than expected, and started to back track to where he just came from.
"Where are we going?"
"I can't just leave you here, and I don't know where your room is so I'm taking you the the Princess's room."
The rest of the walk was mostly silent, Junior sounded like an over grown house cat, occasionally letting out small chirps when Luigi ran his hand through red hair. It was cute and his inner omega definitely saw this kid as his, Luigi knew the feeling would probably fade after his heat but right now he just wanted to build a big nest and fill it with food and whatever toys Junior likes to play with. They reached Peach's room (cell) and he put Junior down, Luigi felt his heart squeeze at the whine the cub (Koopaling!) let out.
'Focus Luigi. '
As quickly as he could Luigi went around the room grabbing every pillow and blanket he could find, even pulling bathrobes from the closet and went to work building a nest. It wouldn't be his best work since he had to rush but it would have to do. Once finished he stepped back, it looked fine though he wished he could scent every last piece of fabric so everyone knows this is his nest, his Koopaling (cub) and you better not mess with either unless you want an angry momma omega after you!
Junior just watched in amazement, Mama Peach had never made a nest for him, nor had he ever seen one so neat and pretty! His dad would try and make them for him and his siblings but they were always lopsided too many pillows on one side and not enough blankets. Maybe alphas just sucked at making a nest because none of his older siblings could and betas just didn't have the instincts to do it, but this nest that green Mar- Luigi just made for him was awesome! He squealed (shrieked) in excitement and ran over and climbed into the nest, it was so comfy and big and it was made in such a short amount of time. If Junior had his way he would stay here forever. He looked to the man that did this, that took care of him in only a way his family ever did and smiled brightly. "It's perfect!"
"Th-thank you, Junior. I wished I had more time..it's so sloppy and-" He was cut off.
"Shut up! If I say it's perfect then it's perfect! Dad can't even make a nest this good." Junior said as he grabbed an extra pillow and tossed it at Luigi.
Luigi yelped ducking out of the way "Okay! But, I have ta get going now" He didn't really know how long he spent building the nest but he knew the fight was over by this point and Mario and Peach would come looking for him. So, Luigi, not thinking and acting on instincts alone like had been for most of his interaction with the child, walked over to the nest and grabbed Junior and before the Prince could protest, started scenting him. This caused Junior to start up his purring again and this time Luigi allowed himself to do the same.
He forced himself to stop. "I really need to leave il mio bambino."
"No! You gotta stay, who else is gonna build an awesome nest like this? And you smell really good! Like flowers and cookies! " Junior said, clinging onto blue overalls. He had never heard his scent described that way before, usually people told him it was confusing, too sweet but very soft. Reluctantly, Luigi gently cupped the Koopa's face in his hands and with the softest omega voice he could muster said:
"You have to let go."
And so the young ruler did, tears at the corner of his little red eyes. Luigi wanted to comfort him, he really did but forced himself to turn around and run out the door. Hot tears rolled down his cheeks as felt like he was leaving his cub out in the wild to fend for itself, but that's not the case he reminded himself. Junior has a dad, a big strong alpha dad who apparently sucks at making a nest. Maybe it was an alpha thing because Mario's nests were never something to brag about, too many blankets on one side and not enough pillows on the other. Maybe it was because he was so hormonal or because he was just a sensitive person in general, Luigi wanted to go back, make a proper nest and just fuss over his little cub. He wanted to cook fresh meals and bring them back to the nest so they could eat and Luigi could just relax as he was held by big strong scaly arms. No! Nope! Bad Luigi! Don't think about your enemy like that! Even if he is a really good dad, and strong, strong enough to protect the nest and so big! Huge one might even say, wonder what else is - oops!
Luigi tripped and fell onto the carpeted floor, face red and head spinning. He should not be thinking about Bowser of all people that way! It felt borderline blasphemous if he was honest with himself. Bowser was a menace, a tyrant who kidnapped Princess Peach on multiple occasions! He was not someone Luigi should be daydreaming about, it was wrong so he would just blame it on his heat being close, yup. Bowser was one of the few alphas Luigi got to interact with so of course his inner omega had little to choose from. Mario was definitely out of the picture, not even in the same room as said picture. King Boo was big fat 'Hell No!' Donkey Kong already had a mate. Daisy? In the same room as Mario honestly. So that only left Bowser! (Wario and Waluigi were just not even a part of the equation and the alphas in the books he read didn't count either). So excuse him, he didn't have much to pick from. Oh how he wishes he never got out of bed this morning. Even if Bowser wasn't obsessed with Princess Peach he wouldn't want Luigi. He had fat in all the wrong places, and he was awkward and always nervous and just not the best looking. Even back in Brooklyn alphas would just try to sleep with him because he was an omega, not because they liked Luigi as a person; if he was a beta no one would look his way.
He let out a pathetic whine and buried his face into his arms. He didn't want to get up and would just wait for Mario to find him and drag him out by his scruff. Why was he so pathetic? He could feel his head start to throb in pain, as his gums started to itch. He instantly pushed himself up onto his hands and knees causing the headache to worsen and his vision to blur. He had definitely done what he shouldn't have and stressed himself out to start some of the beginnings of heat.
For the majority of time not in heat omegas have small fangs, barely bigger than betas, but a couple days before their heat an omegas fangs would start to elongate and come further out of their gums, a painful process that caused lots of headaches and a great contribution to why omegas were so cranky and unprincipled during heats. Alphas didn't have to go through this process as evolution had blessed them and their fangs were fully out all the time. Omegas fangs only grew out to help them penetrate an alphas thicker scruff that protected their necks.
Another reason for an omegas fangs growing would be for self defense or protection of a cub or litter though that happened almost immediately and caused lots of bleeding. An angry and scared omega was a dangerous thing. So while Luigi wanted to say it was because he imprinted on Junior but the Koopaling wasn't around and his fangs haven't fully extended. So that meant his heat was approaching much faster than he wanted. He had to get to Mario and Peach and leave this stupidly hot castle!