Work Text:
"You know, is this actual wood or like, weird mushroom wood?"
Mario wipes some sweat off his brow and turns toward Luigi, who is kneeling on his section of the roof of the building they're helping fix. While the damage to the mushroom kingdom wasn't as bad as the damage to Brooklyn, Mario still felt a bit guilty. He had, after all, caused quite a bit of damage while fighting his way toward Bowser's airship, so he had offered to help in the rebuilding process. Luigi, of course, had followed without question.
Mario frowned and looked at the piece of wood he was currently hammering into place. Now that he looked at it, it did feel a bit weird.
"Um, I'm not sure honestly," Mario replied scratching his head and momentarily knocking his hat askew. Yet another thing to ask about later.
He heard a knocking sound and turned back to see his brother had an almost comically concentrated expression on his face as he studied the plank. Mario snorted softly to himself and smiled as he watched his brother puzzle over the strange material from this different world.
Then Luigi looked up and saw Mario watching him and he hunched slightly in on himself, the picture of embarrassment as he gave Mario a defensive look.
"What? Why're you staring at me?"
Mario's smile widened and his gaze grew teasing as he replied, "I'm not staring at you."
Luigi frowned indignantly.
"Yes you were!"
"No I wasn't."
"You were!"
"Weren't."
Luigi groaned and slapped both his hands over his face before dragging them down and giving Mario the most world weary expression he had ever seen.
Mario lost it. He ignored Luigi's protests as he leaned forward and tried to get his wheezing laughs under control. Man he'd missed this. Just bantering with his brother without a care in the world.
A hammer sailed past him, a good three feet off course, and Mario managed to stop his laughter with a final gasping wheeze as he looked back up at Luigi, who had a look of mild horror on his face with his hand half outstretched, proving that he'd thrown the hammer.
"Ah! Mario, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to throw it that close, I-"
"Dude what are you talking about? That was like three feet away from me," Mario interrupted, still chuckling slightly as he wiped a tear away and sat back a bit.
Luigi frowned.
"That's still too close, I shouldn't have thrown it."
"Hey, you weren't actually aiming for me, and you didn't hit me so I literally don't care," Mario reassured his anxious brother, and Luigi seemed to relax a bit at that.
Then Luigi glanced over where the hammer had fallen near the edge of the roof and he groaned.
"Man, why'd I have to throw it? Now it's all the way over there."
Mario snorted again and Luigi gave him a slightly hopeful glance.
"You think you could pass it to me?"
Mario raised an eyebrow at him before turning slightly to look at the hammer.
"I don't know Lu. It's pretty far," he said with exaggerated skepticism, trying to hide his smile, "I just . . can't. . . reach it," he leaned a bit and pretended to stretch as far as he could for the hammer, but fell comically short of reaching it.
"Oh come on, I know you can reach farther than that!" Luigi exclaimed, and Mario could hear the frustration in his voice.
Mario flopped onto his side and pathetically reached for the hammer before dropping his arm down on the, previously deemed strange, wood he'd already nailed in place.
"I just don't think I can. It's so far," he said as he draped his other arm over his eyes as dramatically as possible.
"You're ridiculous," Luigi grumbled, and Mario heard him getting to his feet before stomping over. He removed his arm and looked up at Luigi with a grin, only to yelp as Luigi nudged his side with his foot.
"Hey, you threw it, it's only fair you go get it," Mario teased as he sat up and turned toward his brother, who was bending down next to the edge to pick up his hammer.
Luigi straightened up, and he tossed the hammer lightly into the air. It spun once before landing in his palm, and Luigi smirked and put a hand on his hip in a pose that was probably supposed to look heroic.
Mario clapped as slowly and sarcastically as possible, and Luigi rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at him.
"Wow, real mature," Mario teased, and Luigi huffed and started to walk back toward his work area.
"I'll have you know that I— ah— " Luigi's response was cut off as his foot suddenly slipped on the wood and he fell forward, the hammer clattering out of his grip once again.
Mario was scrambling to get to his feet before he'd even processed what was going on, but he was too slow and he watched in horror as Luigi slipped backward and went right over the edge of the roof.
"Lu!" Mario cried in shock before he lunged forward, falling onto his stomach and reaching out over the edge toward his brother. He caught Luigi's wrist, and the force of his brother jerking to a stop nearly pulled him off the roof after him, but he dug his shoes in and managed to pull them both to a stop.
"I've gotcha," Mario gasped as he tightened his grip.
Luigi looked up and Mario froze at the look on his brother's face. Luigi's eyes were wide with fear, and they almost seemed to be looking through him at something Mario couldn't see.
And then everything changed. The ground, which before hadn't actually been that far away considering this building was made for the very short toads, was no longer just a road below, but instead bubbling lava. Mario's breath hitched as everything seemed to darken and he almost felt the heat and heard the popping and hissing noises of the molten rock.
He yanked Luigi upward with more strength than he thought he possessed, his arms aching at the sudden strain which he ignored as he scrambled backward on the roof. He had a death grip on his brother's arm, and he could feel how much Luigi's hand was shaking as he dragged his brother back up and over the edge onto the flat rooftop.
Mario scrambled away from the edge, hardly breathing, and he could hear Luigi hyperventilating next to him as he sat up. Mario blinked rapidly and everything snapped back to reality. There was no lava. It was a bright and sunny day and the road below them was made of warm pale red brick and not burning orange lava.
Mario was confused as he tried to get his breathing and heart rate under control. Then he glanced over at Luigi and saw that his brother still had that terrified look on his face, with his eyes staring a million miles away. He was shaking violently, and Mario shook himself before gently grabbing Luigi's shoulder.
"Hey, h-hey Lu it's ok," he started, and his brother jumped and made eye contact with him. And Mario felt another jolt of fear shoot up his spine. His brother shouldn't be this afraid. Something was wrong, something was wrong.
Mario was yanking Luigi into a hug before he was sure what he was doing, and Luigi flinched before leaning against him heavily. He was trembling so hard Mario was afraid that his brother would shake himself to pieces, and he tightened his grip. He was probably holding his brother too tightly, but Mario wasn't thinking straight.
Everything was flashing between reality and heat and fire and he couldn't breathe and he couldn't tell if it was because he was freaking out or if smoke really was choking his lungs.
Mario closed his eyes and buried his face in Luigi's shoulder.
"I've got you. I've got you, Lu. I've got you," he repeated over and over, hardly louder than a whisper as he forced himself to breathe and hoped that his brother would follow his lead because Luigi's desperate gasps couldn't possibly be giving him enough oxygen.
Mario ignored their surroundings and only focused on his brother. His mind wasn't working properly right now, so he focused on the only thing he was certain was real.
Eventually Mario's heart stopped hammering in his chest, and his breathing started to even out. Luigi's breathing evened out in sync with his, and his brother slowly stopped shaking. As Mario calmed down he started to feel slightly embarrassed. He wasn't entirely sure what had just happened, but he knew he had definitely overreacted. He loosened his grip on Luigi, worried that he'd given his brother bruises from how tightly he'd been squeezing him.
Luigi took a deep breath before sighing, and he and Mario pulled out of the hug at the same time.
They made eye contact, and Mario frowned as he saw how exhausted Luigi looked suddenly.
"You ok?" Mario asked softly, keeping his hands on Luigi's shoulders.
Luigi swallowed and nodded before he glanced to the side at the edge of the roof and the long abandoned hammer.
"Y-yeah. Heh, sorry I don't—I just. . . The last time I fell—" Luigi broke off and squeezed his eyes shut before rubbing his face and shaking his head slightly, like he was trying to shake off bad thoughts. Or bad memories. Because Mario knew exactly what he was talking about. The lava. And Mario saving him at the last second.
"Yeah," Mario nearly whispered. He'd remembered that too. Luigi looked back at him, and his expression changed to one of empathy as he seemed to understand that Mario had felt the same.
Wordlessly Luigi leaned forward and Mario closed his eyes as their foreheads pressed together. For a moment they both just breathed together, dispelling the last swirls of fear.
"Maybe, maybe we should take a break," Luigi said after a while, and Mario snorted as he finally opened his eyes and pulled away.
"Yeah. That sounds like a good idea. I don't think the toads would mind," he replied. And, he thought as he stood and carefully pulled Luigi to his feet with him, I think we should both get back on solid ground for a bit. He glanced over the edge again nervously. It really wasn't that far of a fall. He could probably jump down and be totally fine. But the fear they'd both felt was very real. It was best not to risk it.
Mario kept a hand on Luigi's arm or back as they quickly gathered up their tools and used the ladder to get down. Mario went first and stood at the bottom as Luigi descended. He knew Luigi could get down fine, but he was still bracing himself to lunge forward if Luigi so much as stumbled on the rungs.
Mario went to the toad who appeared to be in charge of the work in this area to tell him about their impromptu break and the toad waved him away with a smile and a reassurance that it was fine, which made Mario feel a bit better.
He hurried back to Luigi, who had been gathering up a few tools while Mario talked to the toad. He was still messing with the tool bag, and Mario could see that his hands were shaking a bit.
"Come on," he said gently as he walked over, gesturing to the side with a slight jerk of his head. Luigi followed him immediately and they walked away down the path side by side.
They passed a few toads along the way, who waved or nodded greetings to them, which Mario returned out of politeness, but he didn't slow his pace. He just wanted to find somewhere quiet to breathe and process for a bit. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and glanced down to see Luigi wordlessly offering him his hand. Mario took it immediately, feeling a bit better as Luigi gently squeezed his hand and then started swinging their arms back and forth slightly between them.
They walked along the path until they had left buildings behind, and ended up on a hill overlooking Toad Town with a few giant mushrooms acting as shade. Mario glanced over at Luigi with a questioning look and Luigi glanced around before nodding. Wordlessly they both walked underneath a mushroom and sat down on the grass, leaning up against the stalk and each other and looking out at the view.
Neither of them spoke, both lost in their own thoughts. Mario focused on the gentle weight against his shoulder where his brother was leaning against him. He was still pretty shaken up by what they had just experienced. He'd never had reality just fade away like that before, and it scared him. He was rather sick of having this revelation by now, but he couldn't help the pang in his chest as he was reminded for what felt like the hundredth time at this point of just how close he has come to almost losing his brother forever. If he'd just been an inch too slow. . . Mario shuddered slightly and he felt Luigi lean into him a bit more.
He didn't think the fear and horror of that fact would go away any time soon. Or maybe even ever.
He glanced over at Luigi to see how his brother was doing in an effort to distract himself. Luigi was staring out over the view, but he had a glazed look in his eyes that Mario knew meant he wasn't really looking at anything. His brother's expression looked so lost, and Mario felt his heart break.
He moved, turning fully towards his brother, and the movement caught his brother's eye and seemed to snap him out of his thoughts as he turned to fully look at Mario, the glazed look leaving his eyes. He looked at Mario expectantly, neither of them speaking still. Mario wordlessly reached out, placing a hand on his brother's neck before gently guiding their foreheads together again.
He felt Luigi take a deeper breath and Mario closed his eyes and focused on breathing too. He felt Luigi's forehead and neck relax under his touch and he leaned into his brother a bit more.
Neither of them spoke. They didn't need to. The fact that the two of them were there and ok was enough.
After an unknown amount of time, they both pulled away, and Mario opened his eyes. Luigi looked much more relaxed and he smiled at Mario, who smiled back.
"Should we go back and help some more?" He asked softly, half reluctant to leave but knowing that they couldn't stay here forever.
Luigi nodded.
"Yeah, I'm ready."
Luigi stood first, and he held a hand out to Mario, who smiled and took it. Luigi tugged him to his feet, and once he was standing Mario immediately yanked his brother into a side hug. Luigi responded by slinging an arm around his shoulders and Mario relaxed again. This felt so natural, like they fit together perfectly, and so Mario didn't let go as they started walking back. Luigi laughed softly and jostled Mario playfully and Mario couldn't help but smile back.
Mario was ready to take on the world again, and both of them were calmer with the reminder that the other was there, and wasn't going anywhere.