Toadette's Story: Book 1

Chapter 67 - Let the Games Continue

It had been no more than two months, but with the whirlwind of events that has happened in such short time after meeting the royals, it felt like it had been ages since I’d last seen this character. So, this was her traditional dress, huh? I could only assume so, given how similar it looked to Peach’s. But, as I should’ve known, this couldn’t be Princess Daisy without her showing off her feet. Her giant, shiny feet. She had them resting on a table across from the rock wall, slowly wiggling her toes at us.

“Never seen your face at one of these things before, Toadette. What’s that about?”

“Complicated reasons.”

“Damn, and here I was hoping I could avoid you, Daisy,” Captain Toad bemoaned.

“You know her?” I asked.

“I’ve got stories that’ll make you shiver worse than the one involving this girl in the jungle,” he growled, pointing to a grinning Minh T. “I will let the poison run its course through your whole body next time, jackass.”

“So not one of you has changed.” Daisy clapped her soles together, creating a symphony of wet noises. “First and foremost, Toadette, this Tina girl—”

“She prefers Ace.”

“Yeah, so from what I’m getting, there’s this whole crazy situation with Tina. I can get her out of here on my leave, but I’m not always keen on bringing people with criminal records into Sarasaland, so let’s hope for your sake that she’s got some wicked tennis skills.”

“Don’t think an arrest counts as a criminal record, but—”

“And as a sign of appreciation for me even going through with this, I want my feet licked.”

“Not in public.”

“Yes, in public.” She spread her toes wide. “Don’t tell me you’re back to being a cry-baby after all we’ve been through together.”

“Come on, Toadette, thank her,” Minh T. encouraged, pushing my face towards Daisy’s left foot.

Just being a few centimetres from the sole, yuck, it smelt like absolute garbage. And I could see that it was about as dirty as garbage, with several grimy specks littering it from top to bottom. Ew, there was one giant smudge of filth on the royal’s heel. Trying to back up wasn’t working; Minh T.’s weight was keeping me down.

“I can’t lick this thing…” I groaned.

“I know if Peach had you doing this, she’d let you take the easy way out.” Daisy pushed her foot until it was flat against my face. “You’re a big girl, now act like one. Stick that tongue out.”

“Yeah, dumb-dumb, get this over with before I end up puking,” Captain Toad said.

With Daisy’s foot musk overwhelming my nose, it was getting unbearable being in this position. So I opened my mouth and made her foot wetter than it already was. I dragged my tongue along her arch, cringing as this gunk clung to my tongue. Even on the ball of her foot, there was a thick, greasy blot of grime that took several sucks to finally loosen up. When I felt it slither down my throat, I opened my eyes to see the princess with a finger on her lips.

Despite the intense pressure she applied to me, it was such a soft expression in contrast to anything Peach had given me recently. So much so that I was able to look at her while sucking out the sweat from between her toes. And believe me, there was loads of sweat to suck out of Daisy’s feet. Even as I moved onto the right one, I was stunned at just how much excess water was dripping into my mouth. It was as if her feet were two humongous watermelons, endlessly pumping out liquid to quench a thirsty soul. Of course, said soul would need to be cool with the tangy, salty flavour, along with the pungent aroma of aged vinegar.

“Just took a little encouragement,” Daisy sighed as I licked the grime from under her toe ring. “Compared to when I first met you, you’re actually handling the dirt better.”

“I’d say she’s gotten more used to it,” Minh T. said. “We’ve been through a crazy lot after the whole Shy Guy mess. Speaking of, princess, how are they?”

“You can ask them yourselves if you see them.”

“They’re here?”

“A literal last-minute arrangement, but with what I heard about this Tina girl, I decided some extra security would be needed.” She tapped on my lips with her big toe, slowly inching me backwards. “Perfect, Toadette. Now—”

I continued kissing the bottom of her foot, to her confusion. Though, she didn’t impede me from getting some more licks in before continuing.

“Done,” I said, wiping my mouth and swallowing what remained of the gunk chunks.

“Well then… You three are heading to some water game?”

“That’s the plan.”

“How about adding a fourth member to the party?”

“I’m not even sure what I wanna do.” I pulled the map from Minh T.’s hands. “I only had two people in mind… I’d rather not be in any pool-type thing considering my dress.”

“Eh, you got panties and a bra, just strip to that.” Minh T. flipped her hair back. “I’m thinking the Board Walk will be fun.”

“How’s that work?”

“Such a sheltered child,” Captain Toad remarked, rubbing my cap.

As we headed in that direction, they explained how this game worked to me. We’d have to walk across a skinny board suspended 25 metres above a pool filled with actual water, while holding a stick that would eventually have floaties thrown onto it to mess with our balance. But there was more. One person would be on the board, and three in the water would use water guns to try and knock them off. If that person fell into the water, they lost; and if they were out, they’d better hope they weren’t ticklish, especially with wet feet.

Winning this was a challenge for most, and as a result, the prize was said to be something very good. Although, stubbornly, none of them would share it with me.

Changing didn’t take long. As Minh T. said, panties and a bra were fine. Wasn’t like we were showing more skin than the shirtless dudes out here, including Captain Toad with his unimpressive chest.

“Surprised you weren’t overheating back there with two layers of pants on,” I said, pointing to his swimming trunks.

“You talk about trekking through a desert. Again, I’ve done everything you’ve done and more.”

“For some people, the more clothes the better.” Daisy emerged from the bathroom, barefoot and in a proper bathing suit that covered much of her torso. Every step she took was loud and pronounced. “You’d be shocked how many in Sarasaland wear jeans, Toadette.”

“The girl thinks she knows everything, but she’s only just getting started.”

“Don’t get all big-headed,” I said. “I’ve been in that Dry Dry Desert before last month, and Minh T. remembers all the little cactus bits I had to pluck out of her, doesn’t she?”

“We don’t talk about that. We will not talk about that.”

“Heh. Alright, who wants to be the solo one in this game?”

“I do!” Captain Toad stepped forward. “I’ll show you losers how it’s done. Not like I’ve ever lost this since I was a boy.”

“Never mind, keep being big-headed.” Under my calm expression was a twisted desire to make him lose hard. “Know what? Just for all that boasting, I want something extra if you lose.”

“I’ll humour you.”

“You said you wanted to kiss Minh T.’s ass back there, right?” I swung my hips, smiling. “If we knock you into that water, you’re gonna pucker up in front of everyone out here and give me a grand smooch on my butt.”

Minh T. and Daisy had completely different degrees of surprised expressions, with the princess bursting out in laughter.

“I see that, even under Peach’s roof, you’ve developed your own Daisy side. Awesome.”

“Either that or it’s the magic of alcohol at play,” Minh T. commented.

Captain Toad couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Not gonna happen, Toadette.”

It felt like we waited forever, but once it was our go, we girls took our plunge into the water. So long as I didn’t go under the surface, my glasses would stay spotless, and that was all I needed. Come on, captain, start walking so that I can knock your ass down!

“Hello, my people,” he boasted, taking the first step onto the board. “You already know how this is going to end, so you might as well start clapping.”

And they did, shockingly, watching with anticipation as he walked forward. Placing foot in front of foot, he didn’t miss a beat. It would suck if a dangerous girl happened to have a gun in her hands, right? I aimed right at the side of his head.

Out gushed the water. While I was occupied with his side, Minh T. and Daisy fired at him straight from the front. Damn, why was he still going forward? Even when I got him right in the head, all the bastard would do was shut one eye, his smile unwavering as he marched onward. Crossing the five-metre point, a referee tossed a life preserver onto the pole he held, which should’ve made the Toad lean to the right. But no! Was this Toad some sort of physics-defying god?

“Don’t you see I’m invincible,” he chuckled. “I could do this in my sleep.”

“Don’t get cocky,” I yelled, aiming at his chest now. Minh T. pointed her gun directly at his groin (how classy), and Daisy relentlessly fired off bursts at his legs. She showed an amazing level of agility in the water compared to us Toads, not only moving as swiftly as a shark but also having pinpoint accuracy.

“You Toads are supposed to be like jelly! You’re not made of steel!”

Adding insult to injury, he held up his middle finger as he continued uninterrupted. Now he was crossing the ten-metre point, and with two life preservers on the pole, he was treating it like a weightlifter would.

“Hate to say it, but yeah, I’ve never seen him lose before,” Minh T. said, scooping water into her gun.

“You also never reached the top of that rock wall, right?” My gaze stayed focused on his bare feet. “Lesson: ‘never’ doesn’t apply to today.”

Against better judgement, I dove under the water. Yes, my glasses were bound to become blurry, but I only had one plan to take him down. He might’ve had heavy resistance in most places on his body, but just a few minutes ago, what was it that was having him squirm?

“Here goes!” I steadied my aim at the bottoms of his feet and unleashed my ammo. The water struck the sides of his soles, some of it spraying up and between his toes.

“Hey!” He looked down, gasping as he saw me in front of him waving with my glasses hanging out my mouth.

He reached the 15-metre point, still standing strong. Time to hit him with as much firepower as I could! In addition to squirting at his toes—aiming between so that it’d hit those ever-so-vulnerable spots—I lay on my back and kicked backwards to send water into the air. What remained of Captain Toad’s smile slowly broke with each step, and when the third life preserver landed on his pole, there was a shriek, and Captain Toad was no more.

“What was that!?” a man in the crowd asked. “Is he actually out!?”

“That girl with the pink cap really knocked him down!”

Captain Toad rose out the water, gasping for air as a new round of applause came. Hehehe, how I loved that they were celebrating the ones who had to work far harder. Seriously, walking along the board seemed like the easier of the two roles.

“And that right there is why I wish I’d snatched up Toadette before Peach,” Daisy said. “Girl always thinks quickly on her feet.”

“I always did admire that about her,” Minh T. said, rubbing my bare shoulder.

“You guys know what happens now,” the announcer yelled to the crowd. “Say it with me… Tickle that loser!”

“Tickle that loser!”

“What!?” Captain Toad’s eyes widened.

“Here I come,” I sang, approaching him like a mermaid ready to send him to his watery grave.

And all at once, we launched ourselves at him. Daisy held onto his body, while Minh T. and I went to town tickling his feet. They gave us a whole 30 seconds to work with, and I enjoyed the hell out of every bit. Hearing his high-pitched squeals for mercy was like music to me, and seeing his toes engage in their freestyle dance? Yum… After all that bragging he had done, this was the cherry on top of the satisfaction sundae. By the time the timer had reached zero, now look who had a tomato-red face.

“The movies are a little accurate,” I said under my breath, finally letting him gain some relief. “The baddest, hardest boys all have some soft side. Even physically.”

“And now, Captain Toad, I believe you and Toadette had a deal,” Minh T. said, slowly squeezing my butt cheek.

Ooh… I never felt so naughty before, but this had my heart racing. Feeling his embarrassed lips smooch my rear, right where my panties were getting tight, had me in a giggling fit. The audience was a riot, tears streaming as they watched the spectacle. Once he had backed up, just as a little playful touch, I knocked my butt into his face one more time before swimming away. Hope it tasted good for him…

But just before I could pull myself out the water, I was dragged back down. Captain Toad had me against a wall, staring at me with a frown.

“What? Got something to say, Mister Loser?”

In one move, he took the water gun from me and cocked it. “You’re dead,” he said with a smirk. “We’ll have a second ass-kisser in a few minutes.”

“Hmph. Go all out,” I said, letting him marvel again at this white butt as I climbed out the pool. “Treat me like I’m your biggest enemy.”

Now would be my turn to walk across the board, and the audience was fired up.

Okay… While I’d walked on planks before, I’d never gone across one so skinny as this. And combined with the pole in my hands, I was trembling. However, all I needed to do was believe in myself. With that thought in my head, I took the first step and strutted along the board. It was a firm one, so if I fell, nobody would be able to blame this wood. No, it’d be because of the life preservers that’d shift my balance or the three villains that were determined to see my downfall.

They were already hitting me, and all three of them were now targeting one area: the bottoms of my feet. Just because Captain Toad was super sensitive there didn’t mean I wasn’t as well. Every shot on my feet sent a shiver through my whole body, even if I didn’t initially slow down. Once I got to the five-metre point, and a life preserver made me lean to the right, that was when I knew I was in desperate need of a strategy.

“I might’ve lost my crown,” Captain Toad yelled, “but I can still get revenge!”

I kept moving ahead until I reached the ten-metre point. Then, as the life preserver on the opposite side balanced the weight, I backed up. It was a risky move since the extra weight could’ve forced me into the water. But I kept my chest pushed out and, with the three people below me baffled, I took five giant steps forward, approaching the 15-metre mark. And to guarantee that they wouldn’t make me lose balance, I’d lift a leg to make their target smaller. Another huge gamble.

“What are you even doing?” Daisy asked, now aiming for my belly button.

“Eventually you can’t expect logic from her,” Captain Toad growled. “Just fall!”

He splashed water so high into the air that it hit the pole. At this point, I was like a still statue, waiting for everything to end. But then he sent another splash into the air, followed by another one. At this rate, I had eight more metres to cross, and I didn’t dare let him have the victory of my lips on his ass.

Like a maniac, I ran across the board. That’s right. I fucking ran across the thin wood, all the while dealing with the additional weight of a fourth life preserver. Four metres, three metres, two metres…

“It ain’t over, Toadette,” Minh T. sang, spraying a stream of water at my glasses. Not only did much of it get in my eyes, but it completely threw off my balance. Gritting my teeth, I took slower steps in the one direction. I walked, I walked, I walked, I…

“Huh?” The pole was lifted from my hands. When I lifted my glasses, everyone was suddenly looking right at me. Just two seconds later, they rushed over, all hooting and hollering. It was surreal to be lifted off the ground like some hero, but at the same time, I wasn’t about to complain. They had me feeling like I’d done something incredible, when all I did was walk across a skinny board like a ditz.

“It appears Captain Toad’s revenge is going to have to wait,” the announcer said. “Toadette, you got something you wanna say?”

“I wanna… I want…” I burped so loudly into the microphone that it startled me. “I’m so much stronger than that baby.”

“Lies! She’s just got drunk magic working on her side!”

“Someone’s got sour grapes,” a passing Lakitu hummed.

For my reward, they gave me a large bottle. Huh. Kind of underwhelming. That was until Minh T. said, “Red Essence.” At that moment, I was giddy with excitement, chugging the whole thing down. I wasn’t normally the type to try and kill myself with alcohol, but after this victory, I wanted to continue that sensation of being on top of the world. I was pretty much the queen of the Star Festival, right? And at least I was sweet enough to give her a little sip of it, along with the loser boy and rich princess.

“Am I gonna be a superhero now?” I asked, stumbling into my dress. “This stuff’s supposed to make you like some all-powerful wizard.”

“How about 10% wizard?” Minh T. carefully set it in her bag. “It makes it impossible for you to get seriously hurt, at least while it’s in your body. That’s it.”

“Really? Alright, let’s see…” I bashed my head hard against the bathroom wall, cracking up at the tingly feeling. Daisy was so quick to grab me.

“Note to self: hide all the drinks from you if you’re ever in Sarasaland.”

“This was fun, princess,” Minh T. said, taking me in her arms. “But I’ve got her from here.”

“Please. Put a leash on her.”

“Alright, let’s go—”

“Nuh-uh!” I broke free from Minh T.’s grasp and got on all fours. Daisy let out a shriek as soon as I poked my head under her dress, but I think having my tongue on her feet got her to stop. She was completely still now, letting me get a better taste of these sweaty things. Mmm… They might’ve smelt horrible, but they sure had a rich taste. I even squeezed my tongue inside her heels to taste more of that Daisy sweat. Hehehe. One kiss… No, two kisses… No… No!

Minh T. was pulling me back to the light! What the hell was she doing!?

“Come on, Toadette, we’re going.”

“I wanna…” I blinked twice. “Can I please taste her feet again? They’re so beautiful!”

I was growing sick of how Minh T. kept staring at me like I was crazy. The girl who’d be in love with licking all sorts of nasty feet wouldn’t allow me to taste some sweaty soles? Hmph.

Daisy snickered, blushing completely. “I’ll invite you to Sarasaland someday, how about that? You can suck my feet then. Might even have some juicy corns for you.”

“I just wanna…”

“You can lick my feet, Toadette,” Minh T. said. And down I went, sucking on the tops of her feet and motorboating the hell out of them.

“I think your little foot kink is rubbing off on her big time,” Daisy said to Minh T., which finally got my brain to become a little less dumb. “Keep at it.”

“Will do,” Minh T. said, dragging me out the bathroom. “You know, Toadette—”

“Is this girl okay?” Right outside the bathroom was someone else who wanted to take my attention. However, being linked by blood, he had more of a right to do so than anyone else. “She was swaying like a Pokey in a sandstorm in that pool.”

Minh T. put a hand in front of me. “She’s a little drunk.”

DT, looking oh-so-adorable and terrifying with this vibrant face paint on, clearly didn’t believe a word out of Minh T.’s mouth. He ignored her and grabbed my hand.

“TT, you coming, or do I gotta force you?”

“Where?”

“Just… It’s a surprise. Drunkies don’t need to ask questions.”

“I’m not letting her out my sight,” Minh T. said, trying to catch up to DT and myself. “Dane T., be careful with her!”

DT, managing to zoom miles ahead of me, even while he held one of my hands, took me to this game I was already familiar with. I mean, I was the one who helped try it out just a couple of days ago. But interestingly, it wasn’t Princess Peach with her monstrously sized feet that were exposed and ready for the decorations. Nope! It was my mom in one of these chairs.

“Oh, TT, you look so… So…”

“Wasted?” DT filled in, releasing my arm and having me regain my balance on my own.

“I love your dress.”

“Recycled straight from prom,” I said, rubbing my face.

“You went to prom?” She smiled wide. “Wait, you actually went?”

“Duh. I only had one chance.”

“You’ll get another when it’s my time,” DT said, chuckling. “So this event works—”

“We already know, trust us,” Minh T. said, rubbing both of our caps. “Now, Penelope’s probably in another spot, so I’m gonna be the judge. You two are gonna make your mom’s feet as tasty as possible, got it?”

“This is gonna be a literal piece of cake,” I said.

“Oh, no it’s not. Like I’m gonna let you make something better.”

“DT, you can’t even bake.”

“How would you know?”

“I can already see where this is going,” Mommy said, sighing. “And I’m bracing myself.”

Minh T. pulled out her phone. “Ten minutes, you two. Starting… Now! Go, go, go!”

“Left foot is mine, right foot is yours,” DT said, slapping my shoulder as he rushed for ingredients. And I was right behind on his heels.

Speed didn’t matter for this battle. It was all about who could make our mom’s feet the tastiest in the world. Just like when we had practised on Peach, there was a dizzying array of ingredients at our disposal. Some of these options had me scratching my head, though. Who was gonna sprinkle some garlic onto feet? Blech! Instead of making something sour, I settled for some chocolate spread, some sugar, some strawberries and a medley of sweet toppings. DT could make whatever trash he wanted, but I aimed to craft something truly delectable for Mommy.

As I glided the soft blade over her feet, she couldn’t help but squirm with laughter. And then, when I thrust it between her toes, she held onto the seat for dear mercy. I refused to let up, choosing instead to apply far more pressure as I slathered her feet in the brown goodness.

It really was like painting a foot, only with chocolate in place of paint.

Once her sole was adequately covered, I started to sprinkle some sugar onto them. My mouth was watering, but this foot wasn’t mine to taste. Minh T., fortunately, wasn’t a very picky girl when it came to sweets. After the sugar came some coloured sprinkles. Then after the sprinkles came a little bit of cinnamon, which 100% made my mom’s foot smell better by default. And now, as the timer got smaller, I was placing one strawberry in between each of her toes. She must’ve felt like she was in a spa when they put those spacers between the long digits.

“Time’s up,” Minh T. said, pushing us both out of the way. “Let’s see what we’ve… Hmm…”

“Hmm” was right. What DT had come up on our mom’s left foot was quite stark from mine. He didn’t opt for any type of chocolate theming, instead opting for what looked like a sugar cookie style: a chunkier yet harder spread with softer sprinkles and little in the way of extra fluff. It was simple, but it caught the eye.

And it was the foot Minh T. gravitated to first, taking one lick up. My mom gritted her teeth, snickering.

“Don’t look grossed out,” DT said. “I worked hard on that.”

“It’s not my fault this girl is licking so— Ahahaha!”

Minh T. had her mouth all over the right foot now, scooping out the strawberries I’d carefully slotted between the toes. As she chewed them, she looked me in my eyes, as if to express how much she adored these activities where she could hide her fetish in plain sight. A satisfied moan escaped her lips as she rose.

“It’s closer than you’d think.”

“Really?” I glared at her. “Really now?”

She kept us on the edge for so many seconds, I was ready to just slap an answer out of her.

“Dane T.”

“What!?” I shrieked, gripping my cap.

“Not like you were that far behind. They’re both pretty tasty, but I think he knows his way around crafting sweets a little more than you do, Toadette.”

“I warned you,” the boy said with a smug look. “Should’ve learnt to cook.”

“I do…” It was the initial job I was going for before being hired as Peach’s foot bitch.

“If there’s something you’re both definitely skilled at, it’s making me laugh.” Mommy did look out of breath.

“Well get ready to continue being breathless,” I said, spinning to Minh T. “Lick them.”

“Hmm?”

“You deaf? Lick her feet.”

“I was thinking you or your brother would want a go at that considering, you know, you were the ones playing.”

“We’ll get to have fun, too.” I threw DT into a chair to our mother’s right, then I leaned in one on her left. I undid my heels for the umpteenth time, letting out a sigh of relief as I wiggled my free toes. Now, with my soles exposed for Minh T. to gawk at, I pointed. “Wet our feet.”

“TT, what are you doing now?” Mommy asked.

“Enjoying myself, that’s what. DT, shoes off! Now!”

“Shocked I didn’t see this coming…”

And now, to Minh T.’s astonishment, she had a total of six feet in front of her. Two were covered in sweets, two were fresh and two were sweaty. What a buffet for her, don’t you think? She looked around, then back at us.

“Now this is gonna look weird.”

“No, it won’t,” I said, curling my toes. “As far as onlookers know, DT and I might have sugar sprinkled on our soles. Tongue out.”

“Okay,” she said, getting on her knees and rolling her eyes. Oh, she couldn’t fool me. I knew she was just keeping up the ruse of not having a total crush for feet in front of my mother and brother. Deep down, this bitch’s panties were getting wetter than an ocean.

Ah… It felt so amazing to have her tongue gliding over the tops of my feet, then between my toes, and finally sucking on my big toe… Mmm… I couldn’t stop wiggling them all around, endlessly squirming my body in this chair. Did Mommy realise I was secretly getting turned on? DT certainly did. This boy never imagined that his trusty big sister would turn into such a dirty toe-loving freak, ready to touch herself the moment another cute girl’s tongue was cleaning her feet.

“Yeah, suck those toes, babe!” I said, wiggling my toes in Minh T.’s mouth. I then looked to the other two. “Hey, feel free to use her. I want us relaxing together.”

“This is a relaxing time for you?” Mommy asked. But DT, shrugging, snapped his fingers and had Minh T. crawling towards his feet. When the boy’s bare soles covered her face, the girl shivered, letting out a warm moan.

She automatically started to suck on his toes, and in the process, DT got a nice foot massage. His heels were getting squeezed and everything, and as a bonus, he was wearing sneakers this whole time. So Minh T. was getting a decent amount of shoe grime and sweat to satiate her sickening mind. Damn, she was really in love with his toes, going deep in between them.

“Oh!” Once Mommy made that noise, I grabbed her hand. She just had to get used to the slimy nature of the tongue on the soles. And when it came to these two gigantic feet, Minh T. was in paradise, licking her lips every time the chocolate or cookie bits clung to her face. I inched closer, keeping my feet pushed against her cap while she worshipped my mom’s feet. And DT, taking after his amazing big sister, did the same. There was a slight air of discomfort with him, but he was so good at masking it that you’d believe he was into getting his feet licked just as much as I was.

“Better Minh T. down there than me,” he said. “I’d die under TT’s smelly feet.”

“Don’t act like yours are much better,” I said.

“Clearly Minh T. is stronger than you both because, for such an odd activity, she is handling this like a real pro.” Mommy wrapped her arms around both of us, giving us kisses as Minh T. had licked all the sweetness out of her feet. And now, she was just sucking and massaging and licking and sniffing and kissing all our feet at random. That’s all the girl could do; she was like a tiny Cheep Cheep surrounded by six Big Berthas.

With her face lost under my arches, she fluttered her tongue so rapidly that I squeaked in joy.

“Right now, Dane T.’s feet definitely smell the most like cheese,” she panted, stroking the boy’s ebony-painted toes. “But all three of you have feet as soft as silk. It’s like burying my face in a pile of laundry.”

And she took a big whiff of our six feet piled onto each other, causing us all to fall into laughter. Mommy sighed with a smirk, rubbing my back along with DT’s as the scene played out.

“Suck my mom’s pinkie toe,” I commanded, trying to guide Minh T.’s head with my feet.

“Yeah,” DT egged on, “suck it real good.”

“Mommy, make her really suck your feet! Take advantage of her.”

“Alright, alright,” she giggled. “Here, Minh T. suck on this.” She then proceeded to shove her whole meaty foot into Minh T.’s mouth. Minh T.’s mouth was flexible, as she showed when handling Peach’s foot, but even this foot seemed to give her a run for her money. Her eyes bulged as the drenched toes made their way down her throat. For ten straight seconds, she gargled them before my mom took it out.

“Gosh! Lemme snap a pic before I continue,” Minh T. laughed, her face dripping with sweat and spit. “I wanna save this moment.”

“One second,” I said, stretching over Mommy. “Gimme a kiss, DT. Let's balance this out.”

“Stay still, you’re gonna make me put my tongue in your mouth.”

And in a flash, his cheek was stained with my lipstick and vice versa. Then we both aimed for Mommy’s cheeks. Our brains must’ve been in total sync.

“I think we’re all ready now,” she announced, squeezing us tightly. “Smile, babies!”

SNAP!

***

It was almost nine. After bouncing from event to event, gorging myself on a delicious lunch, and, heh, even getting a taste of being breastfed again (thank you, Mommy), I was swaying back and forth like a swing, but thankfully, Minh T. was still around to keep me from falling over. Such a nice friend. She was following a bunch of other people in the same direction.

“Let’s get to the centre,” she said, rubbing my cheeks. “I love your drunk face.”

“I’m so glad I came here,” I mumbled, pinching myself to avoid falling asleep. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, but all this exciting interaction and socialising had me pooped. Meanwhile, Minh still looked like her battery was full of juice.

We left the cobblestone and headed onto the grassy centre. Man, the scale of this place would never cease to impress me. Thousands of people were on their knees around the protected throne in the dead middle. Built from star bits and climbing high into the air, sitting atop it was the main princess herself. Her dress wasn’t particularly special like I’d anticipated, but she looked like some sort of divine figure in the way she calmly watched her peasants mass around her.

“Don’t think we’ll find T. Ana and Dane T. in this mix,” Minh T. whispered. “But they’ve never not attended the big ending, so we might see ‘em again.”

That put a smile on my face as I got on my knees with Minh T. We waited some minutes later, simply looking into the sky before things started to simmer down. Peach cleared her throat, speaking into some microphone.

“Like every year before, I am overjoyed to witness the display of creative, love and joy during this festival,” she began. “It was at its max today. For that alone, please give yourselves a round of applause.”

We followed her instructions, myself beginning to awaken more and more as the crowd’s energy flowed into me.

“Now, as the comets and stars shine at their brightest, I implore you all to make your grandest wishes!”

From the sky, a shimmering pink object came down like some pixie dust. It resembled a crumpled ball of paper, only shinier and glowing. That was when Minh T. leaned closer to me, revealing that this was the good luck item she’d told me about. A star bit. Though it was too far for either of us to grab, I looked upward, and suddenly I was in a dream. Wow. The night sky had never looked so colourful as it did right now in Mushroom City. Dots of blue, yellow and violet danced among the typical white lights, and soon, star bits began to shower down, spreading their glow across the city and perhaps miles beyond.

“Are you making a wish?” I asked, rubbing Minh T.’s hand. She tightened our grip.

“Silently. I do it every year. But don’t worry; you’re always a part of them in some way.”

“I am?”

“My life is fine,” she whispered. “Sure, I could ask for more money to make things easier. But I’d rather use the wishing power I have on for you. Everything else can be handled on my own, Toadette.”

I was getting closer to her. Was it the drink or was it my nerves? At this point, who knew? But she looked so beautiful among all the vivid hues streaming past us.

Would this be the moment? With such an amazing backdrop, it was the perfect scene. But… No. Why would I let her gender stop me from doing this?

I pulled her into my face.

Her lips felt like the softest silk, reflecting what she had said about my feet. It was like I was in the embrace of an angel for an eternity, even though it was only three brief seconds. When I finally let her go, her mouth was left agape, and I could witness the heat rushing into her face. Maintaining eye contact with her was so difficult now. I only played with my fingers, still smiling, desperately searching for some words that’d explain my action.

So much happening right now… I just kissed my best friend, the star bits were falling around us, the comets were shooting through the sky… Wow. One of these comets was so giant, the perfect representation of a grand day.

“Toadette,” Minh T. whispered.

“Heh. Yes?”

“What the…? Toadette. Toadette!”

“What? What are you—”

An orange light smacked us in the face, followed by a deafening sonic boom.