Well, I have made another fanfic. I'm pretty embarrassed about this one simply because it is based on the Mario Kart universe...it seems a bit silly and childish to me, but I grew up playing those games so of course I would want to write about them, right? Anyway, this was just swimming around in my head for awhile and it wouldn't leave me alone unless I attempted to put it into words, so here it is! Please review!

The roar of the crowd was deafening. The smell of oil grease and fresh tar permeated the air. Princess Peach looked around and noticed Mario and the rest of the gang revving their engines. When Mario glanced up at her she smirked at him. His moustache twitched with his own answering smirk. She brought her eyes to the front, focusing on the task at hand.

3…

She gripped the steering wheel firmly.

2…

Her teeth scraped across her bottom lip in anxiousness.

1…

Her foot hovered above the gas pedal.

GO!

And off they went. In a blur of bright colors and dust all the racers whipped forward at incredible speeds. Peach frantically turned her wheel to avoid Yoshi barreling towards her. Yoshi's quirky little laugh reached her ears as he sped in front of her. Narrowing her eyes she grabbed a mystery box. Mushroom. Nice. Grabbing the mushroom and eating it, Peach's mini-beast was thrust forward into the back of his car.

Uwhahahaha!

Yoshi spun uncontrollably out of the way. Once he was out of her field of vision he was of no consequence to her. Peach checked where she was in the line-up. 3rd place. Not bad, but not good enough. The rest of the race went by with her frantically trying to get up to first place. She was in first for a while, but those damn blue turtle shells seemed to only pop up when SHE was winning.

The second lap was done and over with in a blink of an eye. She started to worry when she got knocked back to 7th place with that lightning strike and barrage of turtle shells. When it rains it pours apparently. Waluigi, Daisy, and Dry Bones all bumped into her and propelled her into the air. But she quickly got back to second with a nicely timed golden mushroom.

By now it was the third lap and there was a definite gap between her and the rest of the group. It was just her, Mario, and the finish line. It was a constant battle to see who would get the upper hand. Peach was NOT going to go easy on him just because he's saved her from Bowser before. This was a race to see who the best is, and she was determined to win.

Mario glanced at Peach. He had to admit that he didn't think she would make it this far. The princess just didn't give up. At first glance one would assume that she was just some frivolous princess who was self-absorbed, but there seems to be more to the plucky girl than meets the eye. Mario focused once more on the race and shook such thoughts away. He wasn't going to go easy on her just because she was a princess.

The finish line was getting closer and closer now. Peach seemed to be just a hair in front of Mario. Narrowing his eyebrows he rammed his bullet bike into the side of her mini-beast.

Woah! Peach cried out in surprise. She steadied her car, not allowing it to spin out of control. Crap. That's just perfect. Mario was going to win and be the big shot. Again. When all seemed lost the most beautiful sound to ever reach Peach's ears came flying through the air. A streak of blue swirled above their heads and came crashing down on Mario.

Wawawawa!

Peach held back to avoid the explosion, and quickly accelerated. A victorious grin spread across her lips. She didn't even spare the plumber a glance as she flew by his defeated form. As soon as she crossed the finish line she let out a big cry of triumph.

YES!

Up on the platform standing tall and proud was Princess Peach holding her well-earned first place trophy, Mario stood next to her with his silver, second place prize, and Donkey Kong stood on her other side with his modest third place trophy. Everyone cheered and cheered. Confetti rained down from the sky above. The crowds seemed so pleased as if they themselves had been the ones to win.

This was definitely a day to remember, thought Peach. She glanced at Mario to see his reaction, and he gave her a twitch of his mustache, a smile on his lips. He didn't seem to mind that she had beaten him, and she was glad. She just wanted to prove that she wasn't some damsel in distress all the time. She was good at other things besides baking and being pretty.

Now she was a first place racer. She beamed out at all the people gathered there. Proud of herself for what seemed like the very first time in her life.

Later that night Peach threw together a party in celebration. Everyone from the race was there. She didn't want to gloat or anything. She just felt so happy that she wanted to share it with her friends.

Everyone was gathered in the gardens behind her castle. It was a late night pool party. Even though it was night time the air was still warm since it was summer. The lightning bugs were out in abundance and gave the grounds a beautiful ambience with their glow. The flowers in the garden gave off a sweet smell that was pleasing to the senses. There was a long table full to the brim with wonderful food. It was a feast. Turkey, chicken, chips, dip, mashed potatoes, salad, rolls, meatballs, pigs in a blanket, shrimp, lobster, spaghetti, egg rolls, cupcakes, cookies, strawberries covered in chocolate, ice cream, tacos, brownies, etc. It was a smorgasbord of food. Most of it was going to be consumed by Bowser and Donkey Kong anyway, but she just wanted to be prepared.

Everyone had congregated in the pool and a game of volleyball had broken out. There was a net over the pool and Wario wanted it to be guys versus girls. Peach and Daisy looked at each other and pouted.

"That's not fair! There are only two of us!"

Wario just snickered to himself. He turned to his brother who was reclining in a lounge chair on the deck of the pool.

"Oi! Bro! What are ya doin over there! Git in the pool so we can win this game!"

Waluigi didn't seem like he was ready to move from his comfortable spot in the chair. "Why would I do that when the view from up here is much more enjoyable" He winked at Daisy and Peach.

The two princesses blushed and crossed their arms over their chests, suddenly very aware of the skin they were showing in their swimsuits.

"Ew Waluigi! Don't be a pervert!" Daisy yelled.

He grinned from ear to ear and simply responded with his eyes roaming all over her form from top to bottom. His left hand twiddled his crooked mustache. Daisy shivered.

Luigi balled his hands into tight fists at the scene. His face turned red and steam seemed to shoot from his ears. He stomped his way under the net to the other side of the pool next to Daisy. Gritting his teeth he grabbed Daisy's hand.

"Lets-a get outta here princess. You don-a need this-a creep a-starin' at you like dat." Daisy could tell Luigi was mad by the way his Italian accent was much more prominent than usual. She nodded and the two made their way out of the pool and to a more secluded area where Waluigi couldn't look at her with those lustful eyes.

"B-but wait! Don't leave me here Daisy!" Peach shouted desperately.

Daisy threw an 'I'm sorry' look over her shoulder, but continued to walk off with Luigi. She took one last glance at Waluigi only to find him staring at her backside. She quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself. He looked up at her face and she childishly stuck her tongue out at him before disappearing around the corner.

When her best friend left her there with all the guys Peach sort of deflated. Pouting she turned around to everyone else. They seemed to want to play marco polo instead to Wario's dismay, so everything seemed okay.

Peach got out of the pool and went to the refreshment table. She scooped herself a glass of punch.

"So, nice party huh?" an Italian voice drawled in her ear.

Peach turned around and smiled.

"It's okay Luigi. You don't have to get so mad on my behalf."

Daisy placed her hands on Luigi's shoulders. His face was still red, but he seemed to be calming down.

"No princess. I don't like the way he looked at you. He was dirtying you with his eyes. I have to protect you."

Daisy's eyes softened. Sometimes Luigi really was the best. Mario may be the favored brother, but she truly preferred Luigi's quieter demeanor. He was kind and sensitive, but he could be fierce when he wanted to. It was rare that he ever raised his voice, but when he did it made you take him that much more seriously.

"Well, he's not here now." She said. "It's just you, and me." She was very aware that she was still in her bathing suit with a towel wrapped around her shoulders, and he was in his green swimming trunks. His bare chest pale in the starlight, the lights and shadows playing tricks on her eyes. He had a wiry sort of frame. He was tall and thin, muscular where it counted but not in an obvious sort of way. She always did love a man who was taller than her. Mario was so short she didn't know how Peach could stand having to bend over to kiss him. Since they had both previously been in the pool, tiny rivulets of water trickled down their bodies making them shiver.

"Yes" he said. "It's just the two of us".

"Is it?" Peach asked. "I just wanted to have some fun with my friends after the race. That race was such a blast that I didn't want it to end". Just remembering earlier that day made Peach beam from the inside.

Mario smiled. "You did good princess. I honestly didn't expect it."

Peach looked at him, searching his expression. He didn't seem to mean that in a bad way.

"Well, thanks. You weren't too shabby yourself". Peach elbowed him in the arm playfully.

Mario grinned and gave her a triumphant 'V' for victory with is fingers.

"Don't get too complacent up there in first place! Next race I'm taking that spot back!"

She gave him a wide grin in return.

"You're on Mustache Man!"

"Mustache man?" he asked amused. The two burst out laughing at their own quirky brand of humor.

While Peach was still laughing Mario noticed her hair getting tangled in her ponytail. He reached up and undid the hair tie from her golden locks. By then she had calmed and was staring at him curiously. When he handed her the hair tie she placed it around her wrist. Still confused, she tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow at him.

Mario's cheeks warmed to a light pinkish hue. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Well, I uh just like your hair down that's all."

Peach looked at the yellow strands of hair and ran her hands through it. Her own cheeks took on a light dusting of pink.

"Oh." was all she said.

Mario didn't know what to make of that, so at first he thought he had offended her somehow but when she looked up at him with the sweetest smile he knew he hadn't.

And then she took his hand and wound it through hers. He stared dumbly at their conjoined digits. The couple stood, holding hands completely oblivious to the rest of the party goers. And somewhere else in the gardens another couple stood completely oblivious as well.

The four of them would never know about how Yoshi accidentally pooped in the pool. But everyone else did.

So, how was it? Lame? Stupid? Silly? I sure hope not, but I will never know unless you tell me! Reviewing is always helpful! :3