Hola, fellow Mario fans! First off, allow me to introduce myself. I am Butterfly, avid Paper Mario fanatic since 2001. :) Please don't expect anything grand or epic to come out of this fic, this is really just a side project I'm doing for fun... and because I adore the Paper Mario partners with a burning passion that has engulfed my soul.

*Ahem* Sorry about that. ^^" Anyway, I apologize immensely about the slight OOC-ness, but keep in mind this story is supposed to take place a few years after the original story ended so the characters have matured a tad. :) I sincerely hope you enjoy it, and constructive feedback is always appreciated!

Disclaimer: I do not own Paper Mario nor any of its characters or other trademarks.

"Goombario, the mail's here! And it's for you!"

I prance into the living room, clutching a letter in between my teeth. (Hey, when you're born without hands, you gotta learn to improvise.) When Goombario doesn't respond from his spot on the couch, I take a closer look at the envelope and let out an impressed whistle. "Wow, it must be from someone important- the address is written in cursive and they put 'Mister' before your name."

My brother finally acknowledges my presence with a grunt, his eyes never leaving the television screen. He insists on watching the news twenty-four-seven because he wants to be "in the know about what's going on in the Mushroom Kingdom," but personally I just think he likes seeing the pretty weather girl.

I wait a few more seconds, and finally he turns, a pleading look in his eyes. "Open it for me, will ya sis?"

I roll my eyes. "Lazy pants," I mutter under my breath, but my curiosity gets the best of me and I tear the envelope open. After quickly scanning its contents, my eyes light up with excitement.

"Ohmistars, Goombario, you got invited to a dance!" I squeal.

He nearly falls off the couch in shock. "WhowhatwhenwherewhyHOW?" he cries, scrambling to my side so he can see for himself. "A dance?"

His stunned expression is priceless, and I decide now is the perfect opportunity to go all "pesky little sister" on him. "Yeah, you know Goombario, a dance," I draw the last word out for emphasis. "Where you, you know, slow dance and stuff. With girls."

He gets that dopey look on his face, the one that always appears whenever the opposite sex is mentioned. Gulping, he stutters, "W-what girls?"

"Oh, you know, the usual." I shrug and begin to rattle off names. "Bow, Sushi, Watt, Bombette..."

Bingo. Goombario's mouth drops open and his tongue lolls out like he's in the presence of Princess Peach or something. "Bombette's gonna be there? How do you know?"

"Well, it is a partner reunion, so I'm assuming she's gonna show up with the rest of your friends."

Finally Goombario's senses catch up with him. "Wait a second! Let me see that letter." Before I can respond he snatches it from my grasp and reads it for himself.

You've been cordially invited to

~Lady Bow's 17th Birthday Dance/ Annual Partner Reunion~

Hello, friends! I figured since we do one of these reunion thingies every year, why not make this one on the birthday of yours truly? ;) Your presence is my gift! The memories you take home from this night will haunt you forever... literally!

~Bow

P.S. Dates are a must, so best of luck finding one before tomorrow! Teehee!

P.P.S. Bootler says: The men must ask the ladies! If I find out otherwise, there will be consequences... ETERNAL ones.

(Ugh, sorry 'bout that guys... He's so old-fashioned sometimes.)

Goombario's eyes nearly pop out of his head. "Tomorrow?" he squeaks. "I only have a day to find a date? This is nuts!"

I peer over his shoulder at the invitation. "Wow, would you look at that!" I exclaim in mock surprise. "So who are you gonna take?"

He glares at me and hides his eyes under his ratty blue baseball cap. "Why should I tell you?" he mutters darkly.

"Well, I'll take that answer to mean that you don't know who you want to take, so I'll narrow your options down for you then," I say dryly. "Obviously I'm not one of them for various reasons, the number one being: 'Uhm, EW?'" I stick my tongue out in disgust, then continue. "Cousin Goombella's on an archaeological expedition in Dry Dry Desert with what's-his-name, so she's out. Mama won't step foot near Forever Forest, much less Boo Mansion, and same with Gooma, so they're both out too. Uh-oh... looks like you're gonna have to go with someone unrelated to you for once."

You know those bright red turrets Peach has on the top of her castle? Yeah, well those are comparable to what the color of my brother's cheeks were at that moment. "Of course I'm not gonna ask someone related to me to go, you dummy!" he sputters angrily. "If you must know, I have someone else in mind!"

I grin evilly. My dastardly plan is working perfectly. "Oh, really? If so, then tell me this, Goomromeo- who is it and how do you plan on asking her?"

He wets his lips and looks away. "That part... I'm still figuring out."

He goes off to mope in his bedroom, and I roll my eyes and make my way over to our telephone. After a few minutes of intense concentration, I give up on remembering my boyfriend's number and resort to asking my grandmother. There's a lot that she lacks in memory-wise, but she's always had a knack for remembering telephone numbers and she never makes fun of me for it like Mama does.

After Gooma recites the number to me along with a kind suggestion to start writing things down, I dial the buttons (yes, with my tongue) and wait while the phone rings on the other end. Finally I'm greeted with a sleepy-sounding "Hello?"

"Hiya, Kooper!" I exclaim cheerfully. "It's Goombaria. Listen, my brother needs help with something. Did you get the invite to Bow's party today?"

"Yeah! Sounds like it's gonna be a blast!" He pauses. "Oh, uh, speaking of which... I mean, I figure it's kind of implied, since you know, we're together and all, but, uh, I was wondering..."

"Yes sweetie, I'll be your date to the dance," I interrupt him, a little impatiently. My boyfriend's a professional when it comes to beating around the bush.

"Awesome." I can hear the relief in Kooper's voice, and it makes me grin. He's such a cutie pie. "So what does Goombario need help with?"

I come right out with it. "Well, you see, he's had this little tiny baby crush on Bombette since the day they met, and I can tell he wants to ask her to the dance tomorrow night. But you know how my brother is with girls..." I cringe as I remember the Petal Meadows incident. That poor, poor Dayzee. "...so I figured you could help him with the whole asking part. You are the most romantic guy I know, after all." Memories of our one-year anniversary picnic lunch on Shooting Star summit flash through my mind, and I giggle involuntarily.

Kooper whispers something to himself on the other end. It sounds like "I knew he liked her!", but I could be mistaken. His triumphant tone quickly changes to one of complete seriousness. "Listen Goombaria, I have to go now to help my neighbor out with a Fuzzy problem he's been having. Meet me outside of Toad Town at two and we'll talk about it then, okay?"

"Sounds good," I reply. "Love you, babe."

"I love you too!"

I hang up the phone and smile to myself. Hey, what can I say? I am a girl after all. And seeing as I'm dating my brother's best friend, it only seems natural that he should date mine. He just needs a little extra push, that's all. And I have no problem with giving that to him...

...or recruiting a little help along the way.