Broken Pieces, Mended Hearts

Hello everyone! Here's a new story! I got the idea two days ago while I was writing the final chapter for "The Crystal Kingdom Redux". This story takes place after my other stories "Iggy's First Kiss Remake" and "Iggy's First Date", but before "A New Baby Redux". I don't think this will be that good, but I wanted to get the idea out of my head.

Now, before you read this, there's a trigger/content warning because this story mentions abuse. So if you're uncomfortable with that, you can skip this story.

Disclaimer: I only own my FCs!

"And... done!" Iggy set down his pencil with a sigh. "Finally! Now I can rest!"

Iggy was currently in his room and had finally finished his history homework. Since he misplaced his notes, his girlfriend Ginger let him borrow hers. He was so lucky that both of their schools were teaching the same lesson. After putting his homework in his backpack, Iggy decided to lay in his bed and relax. He then pulled out his phone and scrolled through it.

He smiled to himself as he opened his photos app. The first photo that his eyes landed on was a recent photo that he took with Ginger. They took the picture while at a fair in the Magma Kingdom, a kingdom near the Koopa Kingdom ruled by his aunt Clawdeen and uncle Langston. She used to live in the Magma Kingdom, but her parents moved to the Koopa Kingdom a few months ago because her dad got a new job. Iggy was happy about that, since he and Ginger could hang out and spend time together more.

Iggy and his friend Tiana dated for a couple of months when they were thirteen, but grew apart and decided to remain friends. After that, Tiana met a boy named Drake and started dating him and Iggy was introduced to Ginger by his cousin Ken. As the two got to know each other, Ginger asked Iggy out on a date and he accepted. Now fifteen, they've been together ever since and loved each other so much.

Even though Iggy and Ginger had some issues in their relationship, Iggy believed that she was a nice person and he really cared about her. He looked at another photo of them, this one he asked his older brother Ludwig to take while the three of them were in the lab. Ginger had her long, wavy pink hair pulled back in a ponytail and wore safety goggles. Iggy chuckled to himself. She was already beautiful, but he always thought that Ginger looked prettier with her hair done up in a ponytail.

Iggy turned his attention to the notes on his desk. He smiled again, feeling grateful that Ginger let him borrow them. He sat up and grabbed the papers.

"I should give them back to her."

Iggy got to his feet and left his room.

Iggy waved to some Koopas who were outside as he strolled through the town. Today was a lovely day, and everyone was grinning. Iggy smiled, seeing a few Goombas walking out of the stores and Koopa Troopas jogging. His smile widened when he saw a beige-colored house with a gray roof. He was almost at Ginger's house. As he walked closer, he saw that the blue car that her parents drove wasn't there.

Iggy shrugged. "Maybe they stepped out for a bit."

He approached and knocked on the white door. He stood there for a minute, looking at the pink flowers in the ground. Then he heard the door opening and turned around. When it finally did, Iggy stared at the person on the other side, confused. He saw a large Bombshell Dragon Koopa with four spiky tufts of red hair staring back at him, his eyes wide.

"P-Prince Iggy?!" He said.

Iggy gave him a long look. Who was he? He wasn't one of Ginger's cousins. She introduced him to her family at their family reunion last year. Was he a new friend? Wait... was that lipstick all over his face?

"Andrew, I told you I was going to answer the d—Iggy?!"

Iggy looked at his girlfriend when she stood next to the other Koopa, who was presumably named Andrew. Her long hair was a little messy and her blue eyes widened in terror. Iggy also noticed that she wasn't wearing her yellow bands around her wrists. Ginger adjusted her magenta-colored glasses and looked at Iggy.

"Ginger... what's going on?" Iggy finally said something.

"I uh..." Andrew chuckled nervously. "I should go."

Iggy and Ginger watched as Andrew rushed out of the house. Iggy looked back at his girlfriend, who was now trembling a bit.

"Iggy, I can explain!" She started.

Iggy asked slowly, "Ginger, who was that?"

"W-What are you doing here, Iggy?" She asked, trying to change the subject.

Iggy handed her the papers. "I was returning your notes." He sighed and shook his head. "I can't believe this..."

"Honey, please—"

Iggy cut her off. "First you made flirty comments to Roy. I thought you were joking, so I let it slide. Then, I saw you in the library with that Paratroopa, and you said he was an old friend." Iggy chuckled dryly. "And I believed you!" Ginger tried to talk, but Iggy stopped her. "And now, I come to your house to find some guy in there with you! With your lipstick all over his face! I don't even wanna know what was going on!"

Ginger gasped. "I don't like what you're implying!"

Iggy turned away from her. "Don't call me."

"Iggy, wait..."

"It's over! Goodbye, Ginger!" Iggy exclaimed as he walked away from her house, leaving Ginger frowning.

"Oh my God, Iggy, I'm so sorry!" Ken, Iggy's younger cousin, said. He and Iggy were currently on a video call and Iggy told him what happened. "If I had known she was like that, I would've never introduced you guys. I thought she was sweet."

Iggy sighed and gave him a smile. "Don't worry, Ken. It's not your fault."

Ken asked him, "Are you gonna be ok?"

"Yeah. I think so."

Ken grinned. "Well, I'm sure you'll find someone way better."

Iggy's smile fell. "I don't think so."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Ken asked.

Iggy sighed again. "Even if I move on from this, I don't know if I wanna date again."

Ken frowned. "Aw, Iggster. Don't think like that! There's so many girls out there!"

"I guess, but..." Iggy let out a third sigh. "I don't know."

After talking for a few more minutes, the two cousins said goodbye and hung up. Iggy went through his photos again, finding all of the photos he had of him and Ginger together. He frowned and held back tears as he looked at a single photo of her. Iggy remembered when they first met. Along with her pink hair and magenta glasses, she had a pink shell with white rings around the spikes and wore pink shoes. Iggy chuckled at the time, seeing that she loved the color pink, just like his mother and sister.

Iggy scowled and began deleting all of the photos with Ginger in them. After a few minutes, he placed his phone on the nightstand and closed his eyes. Then, his phone rang. Iggy opened his eyes and picked up the phone, raising an eyebrow.

"Tiana?" Iggy answered the call and put the phone to his ear. "Hi, Tia!"

"H-Hey, Iggy..."

Huh? She sounded so... scared.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"I... I..." Tiana sighed. "N-No, I'm not."

Iggy sat up, growing more concerned. "What's wrong?"

Despite taking a deep breath, Tiana was unable to calm down. "I... I'm at that playground near Koopamart. I-I can't get a hold of my parents, and you were the next person I could think of!" Tiana began to cry. "C-Can you and your brothers hurry and come over before he comes back? I don't know if you're with Ginger right now, but I need help."

"N-No! I broke up with her an hour ago. We can come." Iggy replied.

Tiana softly gasped. "Y-You broke up? Why?"

"That doesn't matter right now. I'm getting them and we'll be there in no time! You wanna stay on the phone with me?"

Tiana let out a shaky breath. "Please..."

Iggy rushed out of his room and ran to look for his older brothers.

"Y-You all didn't have to come..." Tiana whispered, but loud enough for Iggy and Wendy to hear.

"Oh, yes we did! Look at what that monster did to you!" Wendy said, gesturing towards Tiana's black eye (Iggy frowned when he first saw it).

"B-But I told Iggy to bring the guys! What if you got hurt, Wendy?" Tiana asked as she looked at her.

Wendy replied, "I can fight! Plus, I'm with my brothers, so Drake wouldn't dare hit me!"

As they made their way to Tiana's house, everyone remained silent. Then, Tiana nervously looked at everyone.

"Thank you for helping me." She laughed nervously and said, "I guess you all scared him off."

"Why did Drake even hit you?" Iggy asked her.

"Who cares why he did it! He shouldn't have done it at all!" Wendy replied. She stood in front of Tiana and put her hands on her shoulders. "Tiana," She looked in her eye, "Do not, I repeat, DO NOT get back together with him! Do you hear me?"

"Wendy..."

"Do you hear me?" She repeated.

After a few seconds, Tiana sighed and responded, "I... I hear you."

They soon reached Tiana's house. As she unlocked the door, Iggy spoke up.

"I can stay here with you until your family comes back if you want. In case Drake decides to come here."

Tiana smiled at him. "Yeah. Thanks."

Tiana thanked everyone again, said goodbye, and she and Iggy walked inside of her house. They went to the living room and sat down on the couch. The two friends were quiet for a moment. Tiana stared at the floor and Iggy glanced around the room. Iggy was the first to break the silence.

"I'm sorry."

Tiana looked up at him. "For what?"

Iggy replied, "For what you had to deal with. You shouldn't have had to go through that!"

"I... it's fine."

Iggy's eyes got big. "Fine? It's not fine! He shouldn't have done that to you!" Iggy sat closer to her. "Is this the first time he's done this?"

Iggy didn't get a response.

"Tia...? Is this the first time that Drake put his hands on you?" Iggy asked.

Tiana sighed. "...It's the first time that he punched me."

Iggy frowned. "What else did he do?"

"He... he slapped me one time. I'm still surprised that my glasses didn't break when they hit the floor." Tiana rubbed her arm. "He pushed me a few times. Most of the time, he'd just yell at me or call me fat, stupid, and ugly."

When Iggy noticed that she was beginning to cry, he held her close. Tiana hugged him tight as she sobbed. Iggy rubbed her back, doing his best to calm her down.

"It's going to be alright, Tia. He won't hurt you anymore. Not while I'm here."

Tiana calmed down after a couple of minutes. They let go of each other and Tiana gave him a small smile.

"Thank you, Iggy."

Iggy returned the smile. "No problem!"

Tiana then frowned. "So, um... you and Ginger broke up, huh?"

Iggy's smile faded. "Yeah..." He looked at his feet. "I went to her house to give her her notes back, and... a guy was there with her."

"A guy? You mean...?" Tiana frowned as she watched Iggy nod. "Oh, Iggy. I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine."

This time, Tiana's eyes widened. "Iggy! Getting cheated on isn't fine! It's horrible!" She hugged him. "That kind of betrayal shouldn't happen to anyone. Especially not you!"

Iggy smiled and hugged her back. Once they pulled away, Tiana looked at Iggy.

"This is gonna sound so bad, but I'm glad you broke up with Ginger."

Iggy blinked. "Really? Why?"

Tiana sighed. "Well... Ginger would always bully me and call me names. Especially when you weren't in the room."

Iggy gasped. "Are you serious?" After Tiana nodded, Iggy replied, "Aw, Tia. If you had told me that, I would've broken up with her sooner!"

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah!" Iggy said. "You're my best friend and I hate it when you get bullied!"

Tiana's face flushed slightly. Iggy leaned back and thought to himself. Then, he grinned.

Iggy looked at her and said, "Hey, you know what? We should do something fun!"

Tiana looked at him again. "Really?"

Iggy nodded. "Of course! I think doing something together will help us feel a little better and take our minds off of everything!"

Tiana thought about it for a minute. It's been awhile since she and Iggy did anything together. Maybe he was right. Doing a fun activity together could work!

"Y'know what, Iggy? You're right!" She smiled at him. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well," Iggy adjusted his glasses. "There's gonna be a kart race in the Magma Kingdom next weekend. We can go and watch it together if you want."

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot about it!" Tiana smiled brightly. "That definitely sounds fun!"

"Great!" They then heard the front door opening. "Oh, I guess your family's back." Iggy placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you ready to tell them?"

Tiana took a deep breath. "I guess so."

The day of the kart race finally arrived and everyone made it to the Magma Kingdom. Ludwig, Roy, and Wendy were racing today, so the rest of their family got to watch and cheer them on. Tiana sat with the royal Koopa family as she waited for Iggy to return. Finally, Iggy returned, carrying some popcorn and two sodas. Tiana gasped, seeing him carrying everything.

"Iggy! You didn't have to carry everything! I could've helped carry something."

"It's alright, Tia. I was fine." Iggy said as he sat down. He handed Tiana her soda and sat the popcorn between them.

The race began two minutes later. Wendy was currently in first place and her whole family loudly cheered for her, annoying a few people around them. Tiana giggled at them and drank some of her soda. Roy slipped on a banana peel and Mario and Daisy drove past him. Ludwig threw a red shell at Rosalina, making it to fifth place. Tian reached inside the popcorn bucket and felt a hand instead of the popcorn.

She and Iggy looked at each other, and then down at the popcorn. Their hands were touching. Iggy and Tiana blushed and pulled their hands back.

"Sorry..." Iggy smiled sheepishly.

"I-It's ok." Tiana replied.

The two kept watching the race while eating some of their popcorn.

The four rounds finally ended and Wendy won, Ludwig coming in second place, and Roy in fifth. As the Koopa family congratulated his siblings, Iggy and Tiana stood near the entrance.

"I had a really good time today, Iggy!" Tiana smiled at him.

"I knew you would!" He said. "We should hang out more often. I feel like we haven't done that in a long time."

"It does seem like it." Tiana adjusted her glasses. "I know! Maybe we can go to the museum! I love looking at the different paintings and sculptures!" She giggled.

Hearing her giggle made Iggy's heart flutter. He was a little confused, but pushed that feeling away.

"Yeah, that'd be great!"

As the months passed, Iggy and Tiana's friendship grew stronger. They were so much closer than ever and they had a lot of fun together. Lately though, Iggy has been noticing something different about himself. Any time he ever thought about Tiana or texted her, his heart would race or his face would get warm. He was starting to wonder. Was he...?

"Iggy!" He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard his cousin Sharon's voice.

His family was visiting their aunt and uncle today at their castle and all of the kids were in the game room playing video games, reading, or resting. Iggy looked at his cousin, who was standing in front of him.

"Yeah, Sherry?" He responded.

Sharon pushed her black and purple locs out of her face and sat next to her older cousin. "What's on your mind?"

"A lot of stuff." Iggy replied.

Sharon grinned teasingly. "Thinking about getting a girlfriend?"

Iggy softly gasped and his cheeks turned pink. "Wha?! Sharon, I'm not really thinking about that right now..."

"Aw, c'mon, Iggy! You gotta give love a second chance!" Sandra, his older cousin, said. "Funnily enough, I wrote a story last year about a guy that went through something similar to what you did!"

"Really?" Iggy asked, a little intruiged. "What happened in your story?"

Sandra smiled. "Well, after reconnecting with his ex, he realized that he was still in love with her and she felt the same." She giggled. "They got back together at the end of the story!"

Roy shook his head. "Sandy and her mushy love stories..."

Iggy ignored his brother's comment. "That sounds like a great story, Sandy. I just..." Iggy sighed.

"Iggy," Sharon gave him a warm smile. "I think you should be with someone who'll make you happy. Maybe not right now, but you'll find the one."

"Wow." Iggy smiled at her. "You really think so?"

Sharon smirked. "Of course!"

"Oh! Is there anyone who you'd like to date?" Sandra asked him.

One girl came to mind, making Iggy blush. Along with Sandra and Sharon, a few of the other kids noticed his reddening face and playfully grinned.

"Oooh, there is someone! Who is it?" Larry said.

"Yeah!" John added, "Is she cute?"

The rest of his family began to ask him so many questions. Thankfully, Iggy saw his aunt and uncle entering the game room.

"Dinner's almost ready, everyone!" Clawdeen said to them.

"What are we having, Mom?" Ken asked.

Langston replied, "Grilled Blooper."

"Alright! I love that!" Talisa cheered.

Clawdeen let out a soft gasp as Langston picked her up and held her in his arms. He gave her a kiss, making most of the kids groan or make disgusted faces. Iggy was one of the few who didn't have that reaction. Instead, he smiled. He started to imagine himself holding Tiana in his arms and kissing her.

"Wait. Why did I just...?" Iggy blinked. "I... Maybe I still..."

"Well, you guys come down to the dining hall in five minutes, ok?" Langston said.

The kids replied saying either "ok" or "alright." Once Langston and Clawdeen were gone, Iggy still had a smile on his face. Even though he'd get grossed out at times like the others, Iggy liked that his aunt and uncle had a healthy and loving relationship. Unlike his parents, who did love each other, but his father also had feelings for a certain blonde princess. Maybe dating again wouldn't be so bad. Maybe he'll be in a relationship similar to Clawdeen's and Langston's.

"You know, Iggy," Sharon spoke up again, "To me, you seemed a lot happier with Tiana than Ginger."

"I did?" He asked.

Sharon nodded. "I mean, you were pretty happy with Ginger, but not as much as you were when you and Tiana were dating. I dunno. Maybe it's just my imagination."

Five minutes went by and one by one, the children left the game room. Iggy was the last to leave. He stared at the floor as he followed the others, thinking about what Sharon said.

Sitting on a park bench, Iggy let out a sigh. Two weeks have passed since he visited the rest of his family in the Magma Kingdom and he thought about everything that was said. He called Tiana and asked her to come to the park to talk. He looked around, admiring the trees around him. He began to whistle as he waited for his friend to arrive.

"Iggy!" The bespectacled Koopaling looked up and smiled as he saw her running up to him.

Once she made it, the two friends hugged and Tiana sat next to him.

"It feels great out here!" Tiana said, feeling the cool breeze of the wind.

Iggy smiled. "Yeah, it does."

Tiana turned to him and asked, "So, you wanted to talk about something?"

"Oh. Right. Uh..." Iggy blushed and glanced around the park.

"Iggy?" Tiana asked, "Is everything alright?"

Iggy inhaled deeply and looked at her. He could do this!

"Everything's fine." Iggy rubbed the back of his head. "Actually, I've been thinking a lot about... stuff."

Tiana giggled. "What kind of stuff?"

"The stuff we went through in our last relationships."

Tiana's smile faltered. "Oh..."

Iggy inhaled deeply. "We shouldn't have had to go through what we did. Especially not you. I..." Iggy cleared his throat. "We deserve to be with someone who'll never hurt us, you know, physically and emotionally."

"Yeah, we do." Tiana replied.

Iggy adjusted his glasses. "At first I didn't want to try dating again, but now? I wanna give it another shot." Iggy smiled again. "I want to have a relationship like my aunt and uncle have, not my parents."

Tiana gave him a smile. "That's great, Iggy. I hope you do find someone sweet."

Iggy chuckled. "Well, I have someone in mind that I wanna be with."

"Really? Who?" She asked.

Iggy's smile softened. "You."

Tiana gasped. Her? Did he mean...?

"Me?" Tiana blinked. "You want... you wanna be with me?"

Iggy nodded. "After hanging out with you a lot, I realized something." Iggy's cheeks were now slightly red. "I still love you, Tiana."

Tiana let out another gasp. "You do?" Tiana also began to blush when she saw Iggy nod. She looked away from him and responded, "Actually... I feel the same way about you too."

Iggy's heart skipped a beat. "Really?"

Tiana nodded, still looking away from him. The two stayed silent for two minutes. Finally, Iggy spoke.

"Hey, Tiana?" He started.

She looked back at him. "Yes, Iggy?"

"Would you... like to get back together?" He finally asked, making both of them blush.

"S-Seriously!? You really want to?" Tiana nervously looked away and back at him. "I-I dunno... I mean, I really do still love you, but... what if it doesn't work out again? What if we only date for a short while? What if—"

"Tia," Iggy placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled softly at her. "We won't know unless we try. Maybe giving us a second chance will be good."

"I..." Tiana thought about it for a bit. Maybe Iggy was right. She still cared about him, and he was a FAR better boyfriend to her than Drake. She looked at him and finally said, "I think you're right. Let's give us another chance."

"Great!" Iggy cheered.

Iggy's eyes widened as Tiana leaned in and gave him a kiss. He quickly relaxed and returned the kiss, his heart racing. After three seconds, the two pulled away and gazed at one another, blushing.

Iggy got to his feet and held out his hand. "Wanna come to the castle and watch some anime with me?"

Grinning, Tiana took his hand. "Sure!"

With their faces still red, Iggy and Tiana walked away from the bench and headed toward Bowser's castle, excited to get a second chance at love.

Like I said, I don't think this is that good, but I really wanted to write this. Maybe I'll rewrite this one day.