Work Text:
Their house was in ruins, furniture broken and flames dotting the scorched floor, growing in intensity the longer they burned. Mario stood in the center of it, eyes wide with alarm and breathing erratic. He heard a shout of pain from deeper in the house and he jolted as he recognized it.
Luigi.
He stumbled forward, kicking aside some of the debris in his path as he hurried toward their bedroom. The doorway was completely smashed, leaving a wide gaping hole in its place, and what he saw inside made his heart stop.
Bowser stood there, hunched over because of the ceiling but still towering over Mario, his back turned to him. But the large koopa must have heard him approach because he began to turn. Every instinct in Mario's body was screaming at him to run, but he felt rooted in place, unable to move or even breathe.
He saw Bowser's eyes first, glowing red in the smoky gloom, filled with hate, but also a malicious glee that filled Mario with dread.
"Ah, took you long enough," Bowser grinned, his fangs flashing, "Was wondering if you would even show up."
And then Mario noticed his brother. Luigi was gripped in one of Bowser's massive clawed hands. He was struggling weakly, but when he saw Mario look his way he gasped out, "Mario! Run!"
Mario shook his head almost imperceptibly, refusing to even think about leaving his brother behind. His mind was racing as he tried to figure out what to do, but it couldn't think of anything.
Bowser laughed, and the sound seemed to reverberate through Mario's chest, almost making him step back before he stopped himself.
"What do you want?" Mario finally asked, proud of himself for keeping his voice steady.
"I want you to suffer," Bowser growled the last word, stalking closer to lean his face right into Mario's space. Mario stood his ground and refused to flinch even though it felt like all of his insides were rearranging themselves. "You took everything away from me. So, I'm going to return the favor."
Before Mario could reply, before he could do anything , Bowser drew back and raised Luigi higher, shifting his grip so that his claws were resting point first on Luigi's chest.
"Wait—!" Mario cried, reaching forward with one hand, but it was too late.
Bowser stabbed his claws into Luigi's chest and Mario gasped and doubled over slightly, feeling as though the claws had gone through him. Luigi made a choked noise before Bowser threw him down at Mario's feet.
Mario dropped to his knees next to his brother, everything else fading away as he focused on the strangled gasps Luigi was making. Mario half lifted Luigi into his lap, and he shuddered as he saw the holes in his brother's chest, all of them leaking blood and staining his shirt and overalls.
No, no this wasn't happening. This wasn't happening.
Luigi made another choked noise, and Mario looked into his face. Blood was running from the corner of Luigi's mouth, and he seemed to be trying to say something to Mario. His eyes were wide with fear, and Mario wanted to speak, he wanted to comfort his brother, but the words were stuck in his throat. Luigi made one last gurgling noise, before his eyes glazed over and he went slack in Mario's arms.
The barrier preventing him from speaking broke.
"Luigi? Luigi no. No, don't do this," he gasped, shaking his brother slightly as panic and despair began to fill his chest. Luigi's eyes were no longer looking at him. They would never look at anything again.
"No, no please," Mario cried, before he leaned forward, pressing his forehead into his brother's neck as he felt sobs building in his throat. It felt like his world was crumbling around him.
And then he heard Bowser's laughter, and remembered the koopa in front of him. He looked up, vision blurred from the tears in his eyes, and saw the monster looming over him.
He seemed to grow in size, towering over him and blotting out the entire world. He opened his mouth, and Mario didn't try to move as he watched the blast of fire head his way.
Mario jolted awake with a strangled gasp, his heart hammering in his throat as he struggled with the sheets wrapped around him. His hand slipped off the edge of his bed, and that jolted him enough out of his panicked haze that he paused in his struggles and blinked, looking around as he continued to heave in lungfuls of air.
He was in their room. Well, their new room in their new house. Not everything was unpacked yet, and boxes were strewn around the room, some open to show the contents half emptied.
Mario blinked a few times as he took in reality, but then the dream once again hit him full force and his breath hitched. His head snapped over to Luigi's bed, desperate to see that his brother was alright, but his heart seemed to stop as he saw empty sheets. His brother wasn't there.
Mario was tumbling out of bed and stumbling toward the door before he had even processed what he was doing. He had to find Luigi. He had to know his brother was ok.
He yanked the door open and immediately saw light coming from the kitchen down the hallway. He hurried forward, and he paused in the doorway.
Luigi was standing in the kitchen, leaning against the counter and looking away from him, holding his green mug in one hand with a tired expression.
But then, as if Luigi could sense his presence, he glanced over, and his eyes widened as he saw Mario. Mario realized that he was still panting like he'd run a marathon, and he probably looked a little insane standing in the doorway, eyes blown wide with fear.
Luigi's face grew concerned as he turned toward Mario.
"What's wrong?" He asked, a small hint of panic entering his own voice.
Mario rushed at him immediately, and Luigi only had time to set his cup aside on the counter and open his arms before Mario crashed into him. Mario gripped the back of Luigi's oversized sleep shirt in shaking fists as he buried his face in his brother's chest. Luigi wrapped his arms around him in return, and he placed one hand on the back of his head protectively.
Mario saw another flash of his brother dying in his dream and he choked on his next breath before he turned his head to instead rest his ear on Luigi's chest. He relaxed ever so slightly as he listened to his brother's heartbeat, which was slightly faster than normal. Probably because Mario had freaked him out. Mario grimaced as he felt guilty about that, but he still found himself unable to breathe properly.
His legs trembled suddenly as the spike of adrenaline he'd gotten began to wear off, leaving him exhausted. Luigi seemed to be able to feel this because he gently guided them both to the ground, still holding Mario as they knelt on the cold tile floor.
"You gotta breathe Mario," Luigi coaxed in a soft voice as he started to rub Mario's back, and Mario gulped in another choked breath and squeezed his eyes shut. Why couldn't he just breathe? His brother was right here and he was fine, so Mario should just calm down already!
Mario focused on Luigi's breathing and forced himself to copy it. His breathing finally began to even out, and with each deeper breath Mario began to feel more and more drained.
When he finally felt calm enough, he pulled away, and Luigi let him sit back, but kept a comforting hand on his shoulder. Mario took one last deep breath before letting it out in a sigh and rubbed at his face. He felt so tired.
"You ok?" Luigi asked, and Mario looked up to see that his expression was still concerned. Mario nodded, dropping sideways slightly to rest his shoulder against the cabinet next to them.
"Y-yeah. I, uh, I had a nightmare. And you weren't there so, uh . . . S-sorry for overreacting," Mario looked away. Now that he was calmer he was starting to feel embarrassed about how he'd acted. It was just a stupid dream. It wasn't real. He'd thought he had gotten over his nightmares. After the disaster of not sleeping for a few days after their adventure, Mario had had a few more scattered nightmares, but they had faded pretty quickly. Now this one had by far been the worst one yet. What had triggered it?
"It's ok," Luigi said softly, rubbing his shoulder, and Mario closed his eyes and tried to force the dream out of his head. Luigi was fine, it wasn't real.
"I just," Mario began, halting for a second before continuing, "I thought the nightmares stopped. Why. . . why are they back?"
He looked up at Luigi, and his brother looked like he was considering the question before he answered.
"Maybe it's cause we moved here."
Mario frowned. He wanted to protest. He wanted to live here. This place was amazing, and he had friends here, why would that trigger nightmares?
As if sensing his thoughts Luigi continued, "I'm not saying you don't want to live here, but like . . .maybe it just brought back bad memories? I uh, I wasn't in our room because I didn't even fall asleep."
Mario frowned, concern filling him.
"If you don't want to live here—" he began, feeling guilty that apparently his brother wasn't even able to sleep here, but Luigi cut him off.
"No, I do want to live here," Luigi said firmly, "I told you that before, I really do want to live here. But I guess, I guess we're just going to have to adjust a little bit. It's a big change after all. But—but we're together, so we'll get through it."
Luigi gave him a small smile and held his other hand out in front of them. Mario looked at it for a second before he took it, and Luigi immediately gave it a gentle squeeze. Mario took another deep breath as he processed Luigi's words. Half of him still wondered if moving here was a good idea. Maybe it had been too impulsive. Most everything Mario did was too impulsive. And whenever it went wrong Luigi was right there taking the fall with him.
Luigi seemed to sense his inner turmoil because he tilted his head in an attempt to make eye contact again.
"Hey, you know we're gonna be ok, right?"
Mario looked up into his brother's eyes uncertainly, and he saw hope in Luigi's expression. Luigi was optimistic about the future. Mario could be too.
He nodded.
"Yeah. Yeah we're gonna be ok," he said, managing a small smile, which Luigi returned.
Mario closed his eyes and took a few more deep breaths, dispelling the last of his nightmare and leaving himself tired. He tried to fight it, but ended up yawning.
Luigi laughed softly before he moved to get to his feet.
"We should probably try to get some sleep," he said with amusement as he gently tugged on Mario's hand to help him to his feet as well.
Luigi guided them to their bedroom, turning off the kitchen light as they left. Mario tightened his hold on Luigi's hand just a fraction, and he felt Luigi gently squeeze back.
When they entered their room they both paused in the doorway. Looking at his bed, Mario suddenly felt uneasy. He couldn't help but remember his nightmare again, and he found himself gripping Luigi's hand tighter. He . . . he didn't want to sleep alone tonight.
Luigi seemed to either feel the same or sense what Mario was feeling because he wordlessly pulled them both to Mario's bed. Mario climbed in first, and the moment Luigi was on the bed he yanked his brother into his arms. Luigi made a small noise of surprise before he laughed softly and returned the hug. Mario tucked Luigi's head under his chin and held him as protectively as he could. Luigi curled closer and rested his head on Mario's chest before relaxing.
"Night," he mumbled, and Mario whispered a goodnight back.
Luigi fell asleep quickly, something he always did when Mario was holding him. Mario listened to his brother's soft breathing and felt each time he inhaled and exhaled because of how close they were. He matched his breathing with Luigi's and felt himself calming down.
He widened his focus and became aware of the sounds of crickets chirping outside through their window. It was a bit strange not being able to hear the noise of a city outside after living in Brooklyn his whole life. Strange, but he found that he didn't mind the quiet and the new sounds.
Luigi shifted in his arms slightly, mumbling something incoherent in his sleep before going still again and Mario smiled and closed his eyes, letting himself fully relax.
His brother was here with him, and like he'd said before, they would adjust together. He could get used to this.
Everything would be alright as long as they were together.