Chapter Text
Star-Streaked Love In A Paper World
Koopatrol x Rosalina Fanfiction
Crackship
“WAKE UP, YOU GOOD FOR-NOTHINGS!” Commander Alexandra shouted.
Reimund sat up from his bed, with his hands on his ears, trying to recover from his commander’s rude wake-up call. Other Koopas already began climbing out of their beds, stretching and yawning, getting ready for the early morning. Or at least, Reimund thinks it’s morning. It’s hard to tell in the deep underbelly of Bowser’s Castle, in the barracks where light doesn’t seem to ever reach.
Reimund let his hands off his ears, lazily replying, “Morning Commander……”
The commander ignored Reimund, continuing to bark orders.
“DON’T FORGET IT’S LAUNDRY DAY EVERYONE!” she continued. “I BETTER SEE FOLDED SHEETS WHEN I GET BACK IN 10 MINUTES!” And with that, Commander Alexandra marched out of the room with a brisk pace.
Finally back to his senses, Reimund slid out of his bed and began to fold the sheets, placing them carefully on top of the mattress. Laundry day already Reimund thought, finally placing the last sheet on top on the bed. It has only been 3 months since Reimund joined the ranks of the Koopatrol, and he is already sick of it.
He thought he had proved himself in the training academy, being in the top graduating class and all that. He thought maybe all his hard work would pay off and he would be one of the top commanders of the Koopa brigade. That was what he thought he would be doing right now. Instead, he was stuck being the bodyguard/babysitter to Bowser’s son, Bowser Jr. A position that he has deemed “HIS WORST NIGHTMARE”.
The young prince and heir to the throne is just as rotten as his dad (also very spoiled). Although the boy is said to have softened over the years, he still is quite a handful. The first day Reimund was tasked with his position, Reimund basically became his slave. Jr never wanted to do anything himself, and made Reimund do it for him, putting Reimund in rather unfortunate situations. Jr. found particular pleasure in putting Reimund in embarrassing situations, leaving Reimund to become an even bigger outcast amongst his peers.
“Why me…?” Reimund thought, sliding on his special spiked shell armor. He already stood out due to his appearance, and the position he had in the Koopatrol made it even worse. He wanted to make his parents proud since both of them were once proud commanders in Bowser’s army. They already know about his position in the Koopatrol through letters, and they’ve been telling him it’ll get better. But sometimes, he questions if that’s true.
Nonetheless, he sighed, and put on his gloves, he had to be prepared for whatever hell awaited him. He closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and stood firmly. Ready for the commander to return from well….whatever she does during those 10 minutes. Oh yeah, he was gonna be ready this time. One day, he will be great and powerful koopa leader, like he always dreamed of. And no whiny child, or anything will stand in his way. For he is not only powerful and incredibly handsome, he is the most fearless Koopa ev-
“HEY REIMUND!” a voice shouted near him.
Reimund yelped, snapping out of his self-indulging trance. He immediately turned his head to the direction of where the voice was coming from. “Conrad, I told you not to startle me during my morning meditation!” Reimund said, his face flushed red, somehow thinking his thoughts could’ve been heard by anyone close enough.
“Oops, sorry about that, I keep on forgetting about your morning meditation, which in actuality is just you pep-talking yourself.” Conrad chuckled.
“It’s okay, I’m just glad you haven’t told anyone else about my “pep-talks”.” Reimund replied, blush replaced with a slightly annoyed scowl. Conrad is Reimund’s best friend, having known each other since well….since they hatched out of their eggs. While Reimund was more reserved, Conrad was boisterous, always cheerful, a real go-getter. His spotted red and white shell and green eyes made him stand out even more, amongst the handful of common colored Koopas. Not not mention he’s a Paratroopa, granting him the ability to fly wherever he pleases. And right now, he’s flown right into the Koopatrol barracks.
“Don’t worry, your secrets are safe with me! That’s what friends are for, right?” Conrad responded, a smile spread across his face.
Reimund sighed, having regained his composure. “Any particular reason why you’re so happy this morning.” He asked.
“Your birthday is today, remember?” Conrad said. “I was wondering if you wanted to do anything special with me and the gang tonight”. Conrad’s head tilted, waiting for a response.
That’s right, my birthday IS today! Reimund thought. He has been so busy worrying about Bowser Jr. and his future, that he completely forgot about it. He was around the same age as Mushroom Kingdom’s secondary hero, Luigi. Though he was the same age as the younger brother, Reimund sort of aspired to be like the more like Mushroom Kingdom’s main man. The legendary hero himself, Mario (though he wasn’t really able to admit that in front of everyone else).
As odd as it may seem, Mario was the reason Reimund wanted to join the Koopatrol in the first place. Sure, his parents being part of the army at one point, plus Conrad wanting to be part of the Koopatrol helped in Reimund’s decision in joining the koopa army, but Mario remained biggest deciding factor. Reimund had looked up to Mario ever since the he was a kid. Despite only being about a year apart, Mario had already gone on a few adventures before he could even walk, more than Reimund had in his entire life!
He joined the Koopatrol not only to get stronger, but also to adventure out into the world, just as his hero does. This is of course, not what happened…
“I hadn’t really thought about it.” Reimund shrugged.
“Well, we have to do something! You’re turning 22!” Conrad exclaimed. “Let’s try to come up with something during breakfast with everyone else!”
And with that, Conrad turned and headed out of the barracks, most likely to the cafeteria. Reimund looked at the pile of folded laundry on his bed, and then his hand mirror sitting on the small table next to his bed, peering into it to see his reflection. The darkened armor covered every inch of his body, except for his blue eyes. He was suited up, ready for whatever awaited him today.
Well, at least I have something to look forward to today Reimund thought, as he walked out of the barracks, heading to the cafeteria, where Conrad and his friends were probably waiting. As he walked, he thought about his parents. Are they going to send me a birthday letter? I should really visit them soon. These thoughts flooded his head as he made his way through the hallways. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was homesick.
He and his parents have been communicating with letters ever since he joined the academy. He visited them from time to time since then, but hasn’t seen them since he entered the Koopatrol. In the last letter, which he received around a month ago, his mother had mentioned that his father’s leg surgery had been a success, and was steadily recovering. His mom had also started a baking business in her free time, mentioning how she had just gotten her 100th customer a few days before she wrote the letter. He desperately wanted to know how they were doing.
He made a left around a corner, closing in on the cafeteria entrance. Since it’s my birthday, maybe I can ask the commander if I can visit my parents this coming weekend He thought to himself. She might say no, but it can’t hurt try. He kept this thought in the back of his mind as he walked into the cafeteria. He looked around, and spotted Conrad, waving to him at a nearly empty table nearby. Reimund waved back with a smile, and got in the serving line to get his breakfast.
When he finally got his food, he found his way to the table and sat down next to Conrad. He was kinda peeved that the cafeteria was already out of bacon, looking down at his ham replacements. “You snooze you lose, Reimund~” a snarky, high pitched voice chirped. Reimund looked up, and a purple Bom-omb with a blond ponytail stared back, munching on a piece of bacon.
“Hey Grace…you’re up bright and early today.” Reimund sighed. Reimund has known Grace since his academy days. She’s a bit of a show-off, seeing as she’s amazing when it comes to stealth. She can calmly sneak-up to an opponent and BAM- she explodes when they least expect it. The good news is that Bom-ombs can recover from their detonation a few seconds after, so she doesn’t like….die or anything like that. Also, allegedly her father is said to have once travelled by Mario’s side.
“Us Bom-ombs have to get up early. Our legs are smaller and we have no hands, we need more time to get ready. I gotta get up extra early if I want to get the good food!” she replied.
“That’s true, all the good stuff is gone before we get here most of the time, and we have normal sized legs and hands! Maybe we should start getting up earlier too.” Conrad said, biting into his eggs.
“The commander would probably think we’re doing some early training, and watch us until we start doing push-ups or something.” Reimund rebutted.
“You’re probably right!” Conrad chuckled in response.
At that moment, someone else came to the table, sitting right beside Grace. “Gah, I overslept again.” they said. “Man, I had to do 70 jump-ups before Commander Lloyd finally let me go!”. The voice in question originated from a rather grumpy looking Goomba, with an old looking scar in between his eyes.
You always oversleep Reimund thought. This Goomba’s name is Hunter, and boy does Reimund know him. They met back when Reimund was around 12 years old, and Hunter had quite a reputation at that point. He always got in trouble for bonking people on the head, he was also very reckless. However, he is one of the smartest people Reimund knows. He is similar to Grace, where his mother is said to have travelled with Mario….well except in this case, people know it’s true.
Hunter’s mother is none other than the famous archeologist, Goombella. Now, it might seem weird considering the ages between him and his mom, considering Mario was fully grown when he traveled with Goombella. The thing is, Goombas, Koopas….they all age differently. Goombas are fully grown in about 4 years, and begin to age normally after that. Koopas have a pretty normal lifespan, Bom-ombs…..they’re manufactured, so they are fully grown upon creation. Maybe it’s through years of Bowser using Goombas for a large portion of his army that Goombas age quicker? is a thought Reimund often had when thinking about it.
“Maybe if you listened to Lloyd’s wake up call after the fifth time he’s told you to get up, you wouldn’t have to.” Grace bitterly replied.
Hunter scoffed “We have to get up at 6am! Who is awake at the time?!”
Reimund replied “People who are in any army.”
Hunter pouted, and bit into his hash browns. Conrad continued the conversation “You guys know what today is right.”. Reimund glanced at Conrad while biting into an apple.
“No…? Anything special we’re supposed to be aware of?” Grace asked quizzically.
“IT’S REIMUND’S BIRTHDAY! How could you not know!” Conrad practically shouted in surprise at Grace’s response.
“Conrad, it’s not that big of a deal. Grace has only know me for a year, of course she wouldn’t know.” Reimund responded. “Also quiet down, your making a scene.”. He said this, noticing the many faces nearby looking in their direction. Once again, Conrad is very boisterous, and is know for overreacting. “But yes, today is my birthday. Sorry I forgot to tell you.”.
“It’s fine.” Grace said. “Honestly now I’m just wondering what we should do for it.”.
“Yo-you guys don’t have to do anything, it’s 22! Most people just get a card, that’ll be fine with me!” Reimund said, a bit flustered. He didn’t want to bother his friends, making them put something together last minute.
“No, we gotta do something! You always gotta do something on your birthday, regardless of the age.” Hunter stated.
“That’s right!” Grace added. “Maybe me can do something tonight.”
“Yeah, I was thinking we should all go to the flower field nearby!” Conrad said excitedly.
Before Reimund had a chance to stop them, Reimund’s friends already began to put together a plan the celebrate his birthday. Reimund sighed, then a shadow was cast from behind him.
“Today’s your birthday, huh?” A voice behind him said.
Reimund recognized this voice, a shiver going through his body. He should know this voice, he’s become very familiar with it. It was the same voice that woke him up this morning. Reimund swallowed sharply and turned to face them. “He-hey Commander Alexandra, you’re here early.” he spoke, slight fear in his voice.
Alexandra’s face remained in a permanent frown as she responded “The morning meeting wrapped up quickly this morning. Just the same thing as usual.”. Her unamused expression slightly changed to one of questioning “Are your thinking of visiting your parents soon?”.
Reimund looked shocked at the question. Did she read my mind or something! he thought.“Well…I….I…yes. How did you know I was gonna ask that?” responding as calmly as he could.
Alexandra responded “Most of my soldiers ask to see their parents on or around their birthday. It’s the perfect time to catch up with them.”.
Reimund eyes brightened slightly at that response. Maybe I can finally talk to my parents face-to-face! he thought. He can get a break from the hell that was babysitting that brat of a prince! “Can I commander? Can I go and see my parents this week?” he asked with hope in his eyes.
Alexandra face shifted back to her permanent frown. No…he knew what was coming. “Unfortunately, due to your position, you don’t have time to see your parents.” she coldly said. No way…”Bowser Jr. is quite a troublesome boy, not just anybody can take care of him all day.” Don’t say it…. “That’s why only you can take care of him, you’re the only one that can handle him everyday.” NO, DON’T SAY THAT!
Reimund was in complete shock, unable to respond to her. Alexandra, clearly not noticing Reimund’s distress, continued to speak. “Take pride in what you do Reimund.” She said. “It may not seem like much, but you’re helping raise the future king of the (hopefully) whole Mushroom Kingdom.”. She patted him on the shoulder, Reimund still stuck in shock. “Maybe if you do well enough, you’ll get to see your parents next year.”.
With those words, she turned around and strolled off, leaving Reimund stuck in his current mental state.