Goombella never would have thought that the town of Rogueport would be the place she would make her home. At best, she had figured it to be a stopping point for her research. But after her adventure with Mario, she had found herself drawn there—first for academic reasons, but more and more to stay in contact with her friends. When she finally packed up and moved into a small, tidy apartment on the west side, it just seemed like the natural culmination of a series of life events.

She still did research, of course, but there was more to life than just that. What was life if you didn’t make time for friends?

Goombella made visits to Petalburg to meet with Koops and Koopie Koo and met with the Yoshi whenever she made her way to Glitzburg to watch the fights. She had a regular twice-a-month meetup with Bobbery as well, the two of them swilling cola down at Podley’s.

But in the end, what really served as the height of Goombella’s social scene were her girl’s night outs. She had them regularly, with Ms. Mowz, Vivian, and Flurrie all in attendance. In truth, though, having all four of them there was rare. Ms. Mowz was frequently off gallivanting to ‘acquire’ more badges, and Flurrie was often away touring with her theater company. This left Vivian as the only reliable companion—which was fine with Goombella. She got along swimmingly with the shy, sweet witch.

Tonight, the two of them were down in the subterranean bar underneath Rogueport. Though known as a cola joint, it served stronger stuff if you knew what to ask for.

“Really, I think Mario could stand to visit more often,” Goombella said, her cheeks pleasantly burning from drink. “He’s a sweetheart and send emails often, but would it kill him to drop in for a hello? We saved the world together!”

Vivian swirled her glass, which was down to little more than dregs. “He’s busy rescuing Peach all the time, and they’re… happy together,” she said with a sigh. “I don’t hold it against him.”

Goombella eyed her friend with sympathy. There was a sad, quiet wistfulness to Vivian’s words, and she knew that pain all too well.

Normally she would have kept that to herself. But maybe it was the buzz talking, but her lips started loosening up. “Yeah, I carried a torch for him too,” she said, leaning her chin morosely on the table. “Didn’t know why I thought it would go anywhere. Him and Peach are famous, y’know? A guy doesn’t move mountains the way he does for someone he’s just friends with.”

Vivian sighed in communal sadness, the sound that of a woman comforting a rival who had failed just as she had. “I suppose that’s true,” the witch said, and she finished her glass off before tugging down her coral-striped hat. “Just wish I had someone to move mountains for me.”

Even in her alcohol-induced haze, Goombella could recognize the start of a sadness spiral when she heard one. “Hey, c’mon,” she said, nudging Viviant good-naturedly. “You’ll find a nice guy out there somewhere.”

Vivian’s laugh was tinkling and pleasant, like chimes in the wind. She really was pretty. “Or a girl, maybe,” she said. “I’m not actually that choosy.”

Goombella slurped down the last of her drink and hiccupped good-naturedly. “Oh, you too?” she said happily. “Small world! I don’t really care what someone has downstairs so much as they’re nice, y’know?”

The two of them ordered another round and, when they were done, staggered their way to the pipe leading to Twilight Town, where Vivian lived with her sisters. Rogueport’s underbelly was seedy, but the two of them were well-known as the heroes of the town and as rough-and-tumble fighters besides. All the ruffians knew to avoid them, sloshed or not.

Before she hopped in the pipe, Vivian turned and waved farewell at Goombella. Goombas didn’t have arms, so she couldn’t exactly return it, but Goombella replied with her customary wink.

And was that her, or did Vivian blush before going down that pipe?

Still buzzed, Goombella shook her head. She’s cute, she thought. She’ll find someone someday.

---

Five days later, her Mailbox SP buzzed, and she picked it up. It was Vivian.

“Hey Goombella?” she asked. “Could I maybe… crash at your place for a couple of days?”

“Yeah, what’s going on?” Goombella said, suddenly worried.

Vivian sighed. “It’s my sisters. They’ve… acted much nicer than they used to since all that nonsense with the Crystal Stars went down, but they never actually apologized for any of it—or for how they treated me.” Vivian’s voice took on an edge on that last statement. Goombella sympathized; some jerks thought that a girl had to have certain bits on her, and from what she’d known, Vivian’s sisters had bullied her for that reason. “Marilyn apologized right away, but Beldam… won’t.” Vivian sounded frustrated.

“Are you safe?” Goombella asked.

“Oh yes. Beldam’s power broke with the Shadow Queen’s, and all she basically has left anymore is mean words—and those stopped working on me a while ago. But I don’t see a reason to hang around someone who doesn’t see what they did as wrong.”

“Yeah, you can come by,” Goombella said. “I’ll wait for you at the pipe.”

After picking up Vivian, Goombella treated her to a day on the town, hitting up the best Rogueport had to offer (admittedly not much, but they had fun nonetheless.)

“Here,” Goombella said that evening, “I’ll take the couch, you can crash on the bed.”

“Oh! I really don’t want—”

“I’m good,” Goombella cut in, flopping on it. “Really, I’ve roughed it way worse than this on some digs of mine.” Vivian blushed but demurred.

A few nights later, it was time for their girl’s night out, but…

“Mowz is out of town again,” Goombella said with a sigh, checking her Mailbox SP. “And Flurrie just cancelled with hugs and kisses, she’s got a new audition tonight.” She glanced up, her frown replaced with a smile. “But the two of us can still enjoy each other’s company!”

“That we can,” Vivian said with a giggle.

They spent the night trying out new accessories and buying very little in the end, but they had a blast from start to finish regardless. When Vivian had thrown on a straw hat that clashed horribly with her hair, asking “how’s it look?”, Goombella had giggled and told her that her normal hat was impeccable.

“You have the best taste,” she’d added, and Vivian had laughed and pecked her on the cheek playfully.

That night, as Vivian dozed away on the bed, Goombella was curled up on the couch, cheeks burning. That kiss… it was nothing, just a little peck between galpals, right? She shouldn’t read into it.

So why had her heart picked up racing at that touch? Why had it refused to stop?

Don’t be silly, Goombella thought to herself. You’re just friends. That’s all.

Still, something had changed. Over the next few days, as she and Vivian spent time together, Goombella felt herself laughing more, blushing more, feeling like… like she had felt around Mario, back in the day.

And that scared her. She’d been burned before, after all.

Inevitably, it happened. Vivian told her that her older sister had reached out and ‘very grudgingly’ offered a lean apology for her past behavior.

“It’s not ideal,” Vivian said, sighing, “but it’s a start.” And so with complex feelings, Goombella had watched her pack up and prepare to head back to Twilight Town the following morning.

As Vivian headed up to the pipe, she turned to wave goodbye—and was it just Goombella, or did she see some measure of regret on the witch’s face?

“Wait!” she called out.

‘Wait?’ What do you mean, ‘wait’? What are you doing? Goombella! Girl! Get it together! She’s going home!

But the goomba ignored her protesting mind. “You don’t look… happy. Are you sure you want to go back there?”

“I mean, they’re…” Vivian trailed off, looking uncertain. Goombella knew what she had to say. They’re family, but what did that mean when your family was like Beldam? Even apologetic, it didn’t seem like much.

Vivian sighed, looking down. “I mean, just… where else do I belong?”

“H-Here! In Rogueport!” Goombella said. “Nobody in Rogueport cares about anything, and you’re a local hero! You’d do great here!”

Vivian looked away shyly. “But where would I stay? I can’t just keep imposing on you…”

“You’re not! I-Imposing!” Goombella felt a humongous blush coloring her cheeks; was she really doing this? “I… I w-want you to… uh… What I’m saying is, I. Want you, to. Um. Stay. If you want?”

Vivian just looked at her for a moment—then another—Goombella started wondering if she’d messed up big-time and lost another friend—and then suddenly the cute witch started bawling and she rushed in to hold Goombella tight, saying “thank you, thank you, oh thank you…”

And somehow Goombella was crying too.

---

The night afterwards, as they prepared to go to bed, Vivian called after her. “Goombella, I had a question.”

“Yeah?” she answered from the other room.

“When you said you wanted me to stay… what did you mean by it?”

Goombella’s cheeks started to burn again. “Just that, you know. We’re friends.”

When Vivian’s voice rose again, it was with a playful, inquisitive lilt: “Is that… all you want us to be?”

If she’d been blushing before, now Goombella was hot sauce red. She turned to find Vivian staring coyly at her.

“I…” she stammered out. “I mean… I…”

Vivan made her way over. “When was it? What made it change?” she asked.

“That night we went hat shopping,” Goombella admitted. “You kissed me on the cheek.”

Vivian stared at her for a moment before laughing richly. “That’s all? A little kiss on the cheek? I wonder… how would you react if I kissed you on the lips?”

“Well, I—” Goombella began, only to cut off, because…

Vivian leaned in and pressed her lips to Goombella’s and everything just melted.

Vivian’s lips were so… they were so soft… Goombella kissed back, her breath shallow, her heart racing. It was a chaste kiss, ultimately, just a brushing of the lips, but it felt so very intimate, so right, she just…

She didn’t want it to ever end.

So when Vivian broke it off she damn near whimpered as she looked at her and Vivian just laughed and swept up Goombella into her arms and kissed her again and—

And things never really stopped getting better after that.

---

The others in their little group all noticed, one by one. They went everywhere together, smiling and laughing at each other, teasing each other. Ms. Mowz picked up on it immediately and ribbed them, and Bobbery figured it out instantly as well. Koopie Koo deduced it on their next trip to Petalburg and spilled the beans to Koops immediately. Flurrie and the Yoshi both took a bit longer because of their schedules, but eventually they cottoned on too.

Everyone was happy for them, and nobody more so than the two women themselves.

Goombella stopped sleeping on the couch. There wasn’t really any need. Vivian teased her about getting another bed, but Goombella had growled “don’t even think about it.” They spent most nights cuddling.

Most.

They were both adults and both had needs, and it didn’t take long before they both accepted cuddling didn’t really cut it all the time.

Vivian’s cock was long and slender, and the first time she saw it, Goombella’s eyes had widened, the witch lifting her skirt and blushing shyly at her. “We don’t have to…” Vivian had said stutteringly. “If you don’t want…”

Goombella had shut her off by taking the whole front half of it in her mouth, cutting her girlfriend off and making Vivian sag back with a ragged, moaning sigh.

Goombella wasn’t exactly a virgin, but she wasn’t practiced at this either. Still, as she rolled her tongue around Vivian’s member, hearing the witch shudder and moan with bliss, she felt a surge of pride. Looks like she had some skill. Bobbing her head back and forth, she slurped lewdly around the witch’s cock, stroking its undershaft with her tongue and feeling the other woman tremble with delight. The goomba wriggled down to get as much in her as she could, going slow as Vivan’s cock pushed through her mouth to squeeeeeeeeze into the back of her throat. Fighting down her gag reflex, Goombella held there for a moment, both women breathing heavily through their noses.

A light, delicate touch settled on the back of her head. “Goombella,” Vivian said gently, “do you mind… if I…?”

Goombella mmmrrphmed an affirmation for her girlfriend to go ahead, and Vivian smiled and started fucking her throat.

Eyes fluttering, Goombella knelt there in front of her girlfriend’s cock, moaning and quivering with delight as she felt Vivian sliiiiiiiiiiide up and down, the dragging sensation heaven against her tongue and throat. Vivian was going soft and gentle to avoid giving Goombella more than she could handle, keeping her hand on her head to avoid Goombella moving, and eventually the goomba mustered the nerve to squeeze around Vivian as she was deepthroating her.

The reaction was immediate, Vivian’s voice squealing high and her hand trembling on Goombella’s head.

“Oh, it’s… it’s…” Vivian moaned. Goombella responded by enticing her even more, with more squeezes, more activity, until finally—

Vivian grunted, spurting into her, and Goombella swallowed every last drop.

Heaving for breath, Vivian slid her deflating member out of Goombella, pausing to wipe the glistening tip on her girlfriend’s tongue. Afterwards, the two of them settled into a blissful cuddle session in the afterglow.

“I wouldn’t mind going a little harder next time,” Goombella murmured, half-sleepy. “If you’re okay with it.”

“You sure?” asked Vivian.

Giggling, Goombella rolled over and gave her a fluffy kiss. “Very.”

---

And so, a week later, they did.

Both of Vivian’s hands rested on what passed for Goombella’s hips; the goomba leaned over, her tongue lolling and her blonde hair splaying everywhere as she was taken from behind.

Her hole was tight, and Vivian moaned whenever Goombella squeezed around her, the witch’s cock trembling appreciatively. “Goombella,” Vivian moaned as she continued fucking her. “Goom… bella… I…”

“…love you,” Goombella finished for her, eyes half-lidded, chin resting on the mattress as her girlfriend fucked her into the dirt. At the sound of it, Vivian sobbed with delight and with bliss, fucking her even harder, every push and stroke of her cock making Goombella’s tight little pussy sing with delight.

This was what she wanted. Was what she lived for. Vivian was more than just someone to fuck every now and then. She was a good friend—a kind-hearted, spirited young woman whom Goombella had watched blossom from a meek follower to someone confident, who had stood by her side when they’d faced down the likes of the Shadow Queen.

Back then, both of them had only had eyes for Mario. Would either of them have believed it if you told them where they ended up? Partners in the most intimate sense?

Vivian grunted again, slamming even deeper, her cock pulsing. Goombella’s face felt flush with delight and arousal. She was ready—she so desperately wanted this. She loved every second of it.

One particularly luscious stroke made her sob as she came, her pussy fluttering and dancing around Vivian’s cock, and the shadowy witch gasped and grunted and hilted in her, her cock pulsing and jetting Goombella full of cum.

Both of them were positively swooning with bliss.

Afterwards, the two of them cuddling again, Vivian murmured: “Do you mean it? D’you love me?”

Her hair still messy, Goombella raised head from cuddling her and smiled. “I meant every second.”

And as the two of them slipped back into slumber, Goombella couldn’t help but think—life for the two of them was looking happier than ever.