A/N: And finally, here's the last chapter! I'm pretty happy with how this story turned out, especially since I don't often do multi-chapter stories. It was fun to write. Thanks to those who reviewed and anyone else who's been reading Stockholm Syndrome!

The creation of this story was inspired by a few other Mario fanfics (most of them from my favourites list) that I re-read recently. I wanted to mention them in case anyone wants to check them out (they're great stories!):

Brotherly Tension by Luigi 4ever

Misunderstanding by TheWubber5

Let's Talk by Crazee Canadia

Luigi sighed, absently turning the pages of the book he was reading. It wasn't a sigh of frustration, but rather contentment. It had been a long day, and now he was quite happy to sit back in his armchair at home and do nothing except read. Mario wasn't home yet – he was at Peach's castle, supposedly enjoying a date with the princess.

Mario had been noticeably hesitant about spending time with Luigi lately, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why. He still felt guilty over what he'd done to his brother, knowing he had failed him when it mattered most. And it would probably be a long time – weeks, maybe months – before he could let go of that guilt completely.

Luigi thought back to the moment when they'd all gotten home. Upon their escape from Bowser's castle, he, Mario and Daisy had mutually decided to stay in the brothers' house before telling Peach everything. The princess was either going to be annoyed that Mario and Daisy had left without telling her, or tearfully overjoyed that the three of them were all unharmed. Nobody was sure what her reaction would be, so they decided it was safer to avoid the confrontation for now.

Almost as soon as the front door had closed behind them, Mario had seized him in a frantic hug that nearly knocked the air out of his lungs. Daisy had laughed, but it sounded a little nervous. Luigi had just stood there, waiting. Then, at last, Mario pulled back and looked him in the eyes, and proceeded to give his brother the most long-winded and awkward (yet heartfelt) apology he had ever heard in his life.

Mario had eventually explained – with Daisy's help – that he had truly wanted to rescue Luigi, but had felt an obligation to stay with Peach and support her, especially considering Daisy had been captured as well and the two princesses were close friends. She had been devastated by the loss and Mario couldn't bear the idea of leaving her.

Luigi hadn't been surprised to learn that Daisy had helped plan the rescue mission for him. Out of everyone he knew, she had always been the one most willing to put herself in danger for him, to risk herself for his sake. She was brave, perhaps even braver than Mario. He'd always had a feeling that she would try to save him.

Nonetheless, he'd accepted Mario's apology. Any remnants of anger he felt towards his brother were rapidly fading as they all settled back into normal everyday life once again. He needed his brother, and he knew that Mario needed him too. Besides... it had been worth it to see the look of intense relief that flooded Mario's face when his apology was accepted.

They had told Peach the next morning. To everyone's surprise, she had immediately burst into tears upon seeing Luigi and hugged him even more forcefully than Mario had, all the while begging for his forgiveness. She had not been able to sacrifice her kingdom for his sake and Luigi understood that. He'd accepted her apology as well.

After that, everything went back to normal – except for a few things.

Daisy kept her word, and refused to let Luigi sink back into his previous life as Mario's shadow. Upon learning that Bowser had given him combat training and he was now a strong fighter in his own right, she had asked Peach to give him a place in her royal army. Now he was the commander of a small group of Toad and Koopa warriors.

His days were quickly overtaken by training and leading his battalion on missions, but he didn't mind. It gave him something to do, and he finally felt like he had a purpose in the world beyond being Mario's brother. And whenever he had free time, he would spend it with Daisy, going for walks through town or simply sitting in front of the fireplace together, enjoying each other's company.

It was a life he'd never expected to be given, and he appreciated every moment of it, but... something felt wrong.

He couldn't forget that Bowser was the entire reason why all of this had happened in the first place. It was thanks to Bowser that he had become a stronger person. It was thanks to Bowser that Mario had been forced to realise how important Luigi was to him and the two brothers' relationship had strengthened as a result.

Isn't it ironic that him kidnapping me led to this? he thought, smiling slightly as he set his book down. Gazing thoughtfully out of the window, he wondered what Bowser was doing right now. Was the Koopa King in a rage over losing him, or had he already forgotten that Luigi was ever there?

He was surprised by how much it hurt to think of Bowser forgetting him. It was insane to feel the way he did towards the cruel King. Bowser had injured, kidnapped and imprisoned him, tried to use him as a bargaining chip against his friends, and insulted him more times than he cared to count. Yet...

He sighed, and this time it wasn't so contented. Why do I care about him? he thought. He probably didn't care about me at all. Sure, he was... almost nice to me sometimes, but that was as far as it went. Oh, who am I kidding? He was WAY nicer to me than he needed to be. I always thought there was something weird about that.

It had always been obvious to him that Bowser craved company. It was so strange. He was constantly surrounded by minions and his advisor, Kamek, was rarely far from his side, yet he had seemed... lonely. Like a person who wants friends but doesn't know how to make any. Despite this, Luigi hesitated to believe that Bowser wanted to be friends with him. It just seemed so ridiculous.

Suddenly, he was jerked out of his musings by a rapping noise at the window. Frowning, he got up and walked over. To his surprise, he could see the shape of Parakarry the mailman through the distorted glass.

He opened the window. 'Hey Parakarry, what's up?'

'Sorry, no time to chat!' the mailman said, his voice businesslike as usual. He rummaged in his bag and withdrew a letter, which he handed to Luigi through the window. 'I've got a lot to do. By the way, that letter came from Bowser's castle, so... be careful. I don't know what might be inside it.'

Luigi, who had been staring at the letter, stiffened. He looked up quickly to ask Parakarry a question, but the mailman had already taken off into the sky with a vigorous flapping of feathered wings.

He scratched his head. 'Hmm...' Without taking his eyes off the letter, he walked back to his armchair and tore it open. Inside was a thick sheet of paper covered in neat, narrow handwriting. There was no way such handwriting could have belonged to Bowser, and he felt some of the eagerness drain out of him.

He started reading anyway, and once he got past the first few lines, a smile had formed on his face.

Hey, Green,

I hope this letter reaches you OK. I haven't sent a real letter in... years, I think. Anyway, I'm not actually writing this. I'm narrating it, and Kamek is doing the writing for me. Just 'cuz I hate writing things.

I should probably get to the point, shouldn't I? Well, I know you've gone back home and you're not my minion anymore and you've probably got other things to do, but... urgh, how do I say this?!

It's really quiet here in the castle without you. I guess I got way too accustomed to you being around, because now you're gone, I have no idea what to do with myself anymore. I wanted to launch an attack on Peach's castle, but my army's too depleted to do that right now, so consider yourself lucky. What was I saying again...? Oh yeah, I just wanted to say that it's really boring here without you. And... urgh, I know we're enemies, kind of, but I wanted to ask if you... Oh, dammit! Kamek, write this stupid letter for me, I don't care anymore!

(Kamek here! I think what King Bowser is trying to say is that he misses your company very much. He liked you, Luigi – though I hardly think I need to tell you that. You spent enough time with him to notice.

So, the point of this letter is... if you ever wish to write to us, or even come over to the castle for a visit, you'll be very welcome to. I hate to say it, but King Bowser is probably going to destroy something soon if he doesn't hear from you. The poor Koopa is very agitated, you know. He's even ADMITTED to me that he considers you a friend! Isn't that wonderful? Well, it's wonderful coming from Lord Bowser, at least.

So, Luigi, please do write back as soon as possible. I'm sure King Bowser would love to talk to you again. Oh, and he's promised not to kidnap or harm Daisy in any way, plus I'm currently trying to convince him to give up on attacking the Mushroom Kingdom. So you shouldn't need to worry about that anymore.

I hope you're well. Extend my polite greetings to Mario and Daisy.)

Regards, Lord Bowser (and Kamek)

'Hey, what are you reading?' a curious voice spoke up behind him, making him jump. Still smiling, he turned to see Daisy standing there. She had obviously been reading the letter over his shoulder but was trying to pretend she hadn't.

Luigi gave it to her. 'It's from Bowser,' he said simply.

She scanned the letter again, her expression thoughtful. Then she looked at him. 'So, are you going to write back or what?'

He raised an eyebrow. 'You seem surprisingly OK with this...'

Daisy let out a quiet laugh, and moved to sit beside him on his armchair. 'Sweetie, I don't know everything that happened while you were in Bowser's castle. All I really know is that you went in terrified and came out stronger than I've ever seen you. Not to mention you stood up against Bowser to protect us, and he wanted you to stay with him for some reason... it wasn't hard to put the pieces together. Something happened between you and Bowser.'

Luigi nodded sheepishly, taking off his cap to run a hand through his hair. 'I guess you could say that.'

'So, do you consider him a friend?' Daisy asked as she scanned the letter again.

'Y-yeah, kind of. We spent a lot of time together... and it's because of him that I was able to become a better fighter. I wouldn't be in Peach's army now if it wasn't for him.'

'He helped you to escape Mario's shadow.'

Luigi nodded wryly. 'I'm sure that wasn't what he intended in the beginning... but that's how things turned out in the end.'

'So, are you gonna write back?' Daisy asked, handing the letter back to him. There was a faint smile on her face, and he knew that she would support him no matter what choice he made. A surge of love filled his chest at the thought. A little tentatively, he snuggled into her side and felt her arm immediately wrap around him in response, warm and comfortable. He read the letter through one last time, a decision already fixing itself in his mind even as he relaxed sleepily against her.

'Can you hand me that pen?'