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“Mario…I’ve kept this secret until now, but…”
“We all have, Toad…tell him…”
“I’m really a…a…we’re all really…”
“... monsters.”
Mario shot awake from deep slumber with a sharp gasp, and forgot where he was for a moment.
That moment felt like an eternity, trapped in a dark room enclosed with thorns, heart beating fast in terror. He’d been surrounded, surrounded by the enemy who he thought were his friends, where had they gone, did they retreat, were they hiding in the darkness waiting to ambush him, what could he do, he had no one to turn to, no one to trust, alone, all alone—
A soft twinkle broke through the oppressive silence…or was it a sob?
Finally, Mario took the next seemingly infinite moment to actually look past his own nose at where he was and—okay. Now he was remembering; a cozy rented room at the Nimbus Land Inn, carpeted by plush clouds and walled with sturdy vines that came with thorns naturally, as protection, not as a threat. Several huge, plush beds lined those walls, where he spotted, well, most of his crew sleeping peacefully.
Riiiiiight, right right. They spent most of yesterday storming the castle, dethroning Valentina, and reuniting sweet lil’ Mallow with his parents, so he was understandably spending the night with them. However, all the guest rooms were ill-prepared after the witch’s siege, so Mario’s party elected to stay at the inn once more and meet back with him in the morning.
With his heart rate slowing down, a relieved Mario ran a shaky hand through his hair. So, that was Mallow accounted for... One of the beds held—awww, yes, there was Peach curled up with Celeste, looking absolutely adorable. Another held Bowser, in all his massive entirety for once, and he seemed so comfortable and cozy that for a second, the thought of him being a monster was unthinkable, even with him being the most likely candidate. That was everyone, except for—
Another sound, this time a quiet moan of a cry, brought Mario’s gaze to the foot of his own bed, and his heart began beating faster again. A tiny figure with a large round head sat at the edge, facing away and slumped forward, diminutive shoulders wracked with sobbing. With features lost in the darkness, it took Mario an unreasonable amount of time to recognize him as their final party member.
Geno just…looked so small without his cape.
That sad thought was quickly drowned out by alarm bells ringing in his head, a lingering paranoia that told him, it’s a trap, it’s a clever trap, he’s going to turn around and reveal the hollow face of a Shaman like before and blast you with ice magic, don’t fall for his fake tears—
On cue, Geno’s head turned slightly, revealing his very real and very unique stardust tears that glittered as they slid down his cheeks. Even as he gingerly wiped them away, their smears still glimmered in the dark on his polished wooden skin.
Sincere concern got Mario to sit up fully, though innate fear tempered it and made his approach across the huge puffy bed slow and cautious. He watched the crying star a moment more than he would’ve liked, gulped nervously, then croaked out, “Geno?”
With a hiccup of a gasp, he seized up, then quickly swiveled back to meet Mario’s gaze, his painted eyes wide and wet with sparkling tears. They were glowing, too, and not the dreaded ochre of a shaman’s eyes, but the soft, reddish-pink glow that the plumber knew all too well, that he’d come to adore, that triggered only in the most oppressive darknesses.
Well, now Mario just felt silly. There were clearly no monsters in this comfy hotel room, only a beloved friend crying in the middle of the night at the foot of his bed.
“H—h-hey, hey…!” As Geno’s expression heartbreakingly withered and he turned away shamefully, Mario crossed the rest of the mattress to meet him, all fears from his dream , his dumb little dream, dashed in an instant. His hands found Geno’s, clunky powerful hands that hid away terrifying weapons, but were now trembling in his grip. “Hey, what’s-a goin’ on, what happened?”
Geno shook his head tightly, trying and failing to turn away. “I…s-sorry…” he sniveled haltingly, but before Mario could ask what for, he let out a quivering breath and tried again. “Sorry I, I woke you. I’m so sorry, Mario.”
“Wha—oh! No, no no, you didn’t! Honest!” the plumber insisted, his hand drawing up to rest on Geno’s back in comfort. He’d finally gotten used to the touch of his hard wooden surface being warm with life, but here he could feel the power of the star within the puppet, thrumming gently in his chest. The thought of Geno’s very soul beating just beneath his fingertips sent Mario’s heart rate right back up, for completely different reasons.
Boy, he sure hoped his blush wasn’t too obvious in the dark. Mario coughed, and continued, “I, uh. Had a bad dream. That’s what woke me up, not-a you.”
Geno regarded him with a weak, yet empathetic stare, then accepted that with a resigned nod before looking away, back down at the hands in his lap.
A realization brought an ache upon Mario’s heart, now. “...I’d wager you had one too, huh?”
The marionette’s distant, wooden eyes slid shut, and he nodded again with an unhappy grunt.
“Aw, geez…” Mario sighed deeply, scooting closer to pat his back more firmly. He also noted the strange amount of give the pillowy mattress had under that movement, and as he gripped the edge of the silky sheets, it dawned on him. “Heyyyy…do you think-a the Dream Cushion had something to do with it?”
The innkeeper had really pushed for the upgrade earlier. After witnessing Mallow finally getting to meet his loving parents, Mario was in too good of a mood to let the guy down, even if he wasn’t even remotely clear on what set the Dream Cushion apart from the standard beds. Settling in, he figured it was just a higher-quality mattress; it definitely felt good on his back after a long day of castle brawling. Then, knowing of his adorable affinity with soft things, he invited Geno to join him tonight, an offer accepted in good nature. Delightfully, the doll sank into the cushion, ‘it feels like a dream,’ he’d said, which honestly cinched his assumption.
But now, he was deeply regretting it as Geno rubbed at his face tiredly. “It’s chock full of magic, Mario, of course it did.”
“Oh…” Mario kicked his feet a bit until his brow furrowed, a playful frustration brewing as he huffed, “Well, sheesh! What a ripoff! I’m-a gonna have a talk with that guy in the morning, I didn’t spend the extra coins on nightmares!”
Geno sputtered into his own hands, and Mario couldn’t help but flash a victorious grin as the star descended into low, worn out chuckles. Up this close, he could hear the twinkles that lingered after each chortle, making his heart swell.
Pretty much everything about Geno made his heart swell, and getting him to laugh was the best one. Or was it the way his little nutcracker grin brought stars to the eyes that were now regarding him so fondly? Uh oh. Uh oh.
“H’okay!” Mario puffed out, hopping onto the floor with a flourish made clumsy by his rampant emotions. “I think I’m gonna go take a walk, get-a some fresh air after all this…sweating.”
A starry snicker. “Gross.”
Mario granted him an amused pout. “You comin’ with me, or not-a?”
He wasn’t sure where such a brisk invitation came from, and it properly caught Geno off guard, but man, Mario couldn’t help it. It felt like such a natural progression!
There wouldn’t even be a chance to feel bad about it, because the doll considered it for all of a few seconds before, “Y’know what? Sure.”
The pair ambled about the room quietly, Mario slipping into his shoes as Geno reached for his cape hanging off the headboard. It was his newer Fuzzy Cape, a bright cheery yellow with a red collar, but its best feature was the fluffy fleece lining inside. Geno deeply appreciated it, even right now as he threw it on and pulled it close to himself with a happy little wiggle.
Cute. Cute.
After clasping it into place, he looked up at Mario and grew puzzled. “...you’re not getting changed?”
“Huh? Oh.” The blushing plumber brushed at his striped pajamas coolly. “Nahhhh. No one’s-a gonna be out there this late anyways.”
“I was thinking about the cold, actually.”
“It’ll be fiiiiiiiine.” Was he a bit too lazy to change into his Fuzzy Shirt? Maybe. Did he suddenly feel weird about changing in front of Geno, even though he’d done it several times before? Absolutely. Was he going to ignore Geno’s knowing smirk and prod him out the door insistently while the cheeky star-warrior chuckled the whole way? Yes, yes he was.
He was also fighting the itch in his fingers that wanted so badly to reach out and hold his hand. Too much, Mario, too much.
As expected, the streets of Nimbus Land had nary a soul besides the two of them, the cloudy pavement illuminated by soft moonlight from above. Even the castle plaza, once filled to the brim with noisy gossipers, was left empty and eerily quiet, except for tiny ice crystals crunching under their boots, the leftover debris from their epic battle with Valentina.
There was also her discarded martini glass, cracked along the rim and broken in half at the stem. Mario, naturally, picked up the remnants of the glass, held it in an exaggerated pose, and parroted her haughty laugh near perfectly. Geno doubled over with laughter this time; yup, that was the best, for sure.
The pair came to rest on the steps of the royal bus station, an ideal spot to kick back and stargaze. "I shouldn't be surprised this is the clearest I've seen them," Geno idly commented in a wistful tone. "They still don't feel much closer, though. Funny how that works."
"Yyyyy-yy-yyy-y-yeah."
As Mario tried and failed to keep his teeth from chattering, Geno brought his gaze down, gave his shivering form a look over, then full-on smirked. The way he leaned his whole body into it, just to make sure his incredulity was crystal clear, made the plumber want to drop through the clouds and plummet back down to earth. "Are you cold, Mario."
"Nnnnnnnnnno. "
"I told you."
Mario curled inward, remorseful at how poorly his thin pajamas kept his inner heat in. Shaky, unintelligible grumbles were all he could manage as a response.
"Is that so." The puppet sat up with a sardonic sigh. "You're ridiculous," he lightheartedly accused as he unhooked the clasps on his cape. Oh no, was he seriously about to offer it?? Come onnnnnn, that was so unfairly adorable!
"Hhhhhhey no wait, you don't gotta, you'll get cold inste— oh."
Well. Now there was half a cape draped over his shoulders, sharing the cozy warm fleece with his dear little star. Of course, that meant they were huddled close together now, shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip. Of course.
"I'll get what, now?" Oooooh. Oh, that cheeky little jerk knew exactly what he was doing.
Mario huffed out a groan, even as he eased into the warmth of the cape. "...worst. You're the worst-a."
"Heh. You love it."
"You know I do."
It fell out his mouth before he could stop it, and the force of his sweet vengeance bloomed in cherrywood red across Geno's face. Mario idly remembered when he first discovered the star could blush at all, he felt like he had unlocked a secret of the universe.
It was the doll's turn to huff in embarrassment, clearing his throat. "So. Nightmares. Man, do they suck."
A masterful deflection. He was lucky Mario actually wanted to bring it up, so it wouldn't fester in his silly brain for too long. "They sure-a do,” he lamented, looking over at him cautiously. “...you wanna talk about it?”
Normally, trying to get a read on his wooden face was difficult, but Mario marveled at the pure progression of emotions that played out across Geno’s features, clear as the night sky above; his painted eyes widened and nutcracker mouth gawked in a very brief panic at the corner he’d backed himself into, breaking eye contact to stare at his shoes. He seemed mortified at first, but his petrified expression quickly gave way to something more pensive, mouth pressing thin as his own thoughts danced across his twinkling eyes, before settling on something clearly sad, his eyelids growing heavy, mouth now tight and almost trembling.
Despite it all, Mario just couldn’t help watching in amazement. He was very sure Geno’s face didn’t have this much range when he first arrived down on earth. Was it yielding at last, as he got more used to this body? Or was he just more in touch with his emotions in general? It was hard to say, really. But, at the very least, it was making this a little easier to adapt to.
“If it-a helps…” he spoke up, regaining Geno’s attention. “I could tell you mine first.”
The marionette frowned. "I mean, if you want…"
"I do! That's-a why I offered." Mario shifted a bit under the cape, pretending to get more comfortable as Geno so very obviously watched him, waiting with anticipation for him to begin. “It was such a stupid dream, though.”
“...if it was bad enough to wake you up, I doubt it.” Parts of his frown shifted just enough to convey concern, and Mario exhaled a bashful puff of breath that visibly hovered between their faces in the nippy late-night air.
“So! We were all at an inn, right?” The plumber threw out casually, getting a nod in return. “All of us were-a getting settled in for the night, and for whatever reason Toad was-a there with us?”
Geno cocked his head curiously, tapping his chin in thought. “Toad, Toad…he was the head attendant at the castle, right?”
“That’s the one! I guess in my dream he was-a tagging along with us?” Mario made a show of shrugging. “Weird, I know. Anyways, I was already getting in bed when he hopped up to join-a me, all enthusiastic as usual...but then he suddenly wasn’t.”
Mario could tell out of his peripheral that Geno was leaning in closer; whether it was in suspense, or the plumber’s voice dropped too low to hear, it was hard to tell. “He went quiet, sat-a right in front of me…and said he had a secret he’d been keeping from me…”
He drew a deep breath and expelled it in a long woosh, fluttering the edges of his mustache. Geno watched him, quiet, waiting. “And then the rest of you surrounded the bed and… I don’t remember if you-a tried to talk or not, I think maybe? But Toad was the only one I heard.”
“What did he say?”
“He, uh. He didn’t get to say anything, really.” Mario tried for a weak smile. It didn’t work very well. Worry set in the finely-cut lines on Geno’s face, and his fingers crept over Mario’s knee, nudging at his hand. His smile a little realer, he let go of his own hands and laced his fingers through Geno’s, drawing comfort from the warm wooden joints. “You all just…changed, instead.”
“Sounds unpleasant,” Geno said softly, and Mario let out a huff of not-quite laughter.
“Yeah. Yeah, you could-a say that. Turns out it-a really, really, really sucks to watch your friends all turn into monsters around you.” He shivered, though whether that was the lingering memory of the nightmare or the cold air was definitely a toss-up. Though considering…
Toad, melting into a ghastly Greaper. Mallow’s bright, intelligent eyes going dead and lifeless as a giant trident appeared in his hand, completing his shift into a Jawful. Bowser, breaking and cracking into a million little pieces that each sprouted horrible wings until there was nothing left of the Koopa King, just a Gorgon left to devour him whole. Peach — his poor, beautiful Peach, wasting away into the skeletal shape of a Remo Con, right next to Geno, whose cape swallowed him whole until he was nothing more than a Shaman.
I’m gonna go with the cold air, Mario decided firmly, pressing up against Geno’s shoulder with another shudder, and pretended very hard that he wasn’t lying to himself. It was almost true, anyway.
“...I told you it was stupid.”
“It’s not.” Geno squeezed his hand and let his head drop onto Mario’s shoulder. Papery curls brushed against Mario’s cheek, and Mario closed his eyes as the indescribable scent of sparkling stars tickled his nose. “There’s nothing stupid about it.”
He snorted. “You’re-a sure about that? It’s not like you’re actually a monster.”
“No, none of us are monsters,” Geno said, soft and soothing. A pause. Then, with some dry humor, “Though Bowser might be. Jury’s still out on that one.”
Mario snickered, and Geno squeezed his hand again. “Dreams don’t have to be real to hurt us,” the star said quietly. “I’ve had some whoppers since coming here, dream cushion totally optional. Sometimes I don’t even remember them and they still bother me.”
“...Since coming here?” Mario wondered, then winced at himself. “Right, you didn’t sleep up there. I guess that means no dreams, huh?”
“No dreams,” Geno confirmed. Idly his fingers began to move along Mario’s knuckles, tracing up and down his thumb, and the plumber shivered for an entirely different reason as warmth spread from the spot. “Definitely a shock, let me tell you.”
“I’ll bet…” Mario felt like there was something more profound and comforting to say here, but he was clearly much too distracted. He brought his thumb up, pressing its soft pad against a treen fingertip, and the tiny smile that tugged at Geno’s nutcracker mouth made his belly do flips and loop-de-loops.
Before Mario could even think of asking about some of those nightmares, especially the one that left him sobbing at the foot of the bed, the puppet began thinking out loud, his twinkling eyes briefly searching for the right words to say. “...I think…it’s not that you’re afraid we’ll turn into monsters. Because you know we won’t.” He came back to meet Mario’s gaze steadily. “It’s that you’re afraid you’ll be left alone when you need us the most.”
Another deflection. That’s okay. Mario made a show of blowing out another cloud of hot breath, as if he’d been punched in the chest. “Hoooo. Wow, ” he whistled. “Sheesh, yeah, you-a nailed it.”
Geno almost looked sorry he did. “...for what it’s worth…” he tried again, moving his free hand to rest on the small of Mario’s back under the warm confines of his cape. “I don’t think that’s something you have to worry about.”
A warmth he couldn’t quite put into words washed over Mario like a gentle wave as the star-warrior continued, a lovely lightness lifting up his voice. “You’ve left…the most lasting and positive impact on this world and its people that most of us have ever seen. From up there, I mean.” He nodded his head up towards the starry skies, his home. “And I’ve always wondered how you managed to do it, to touch that many lives that thoroughly.
“Then…I had the greatest pleasure of getting to meet you, and travel with you.” This close, and this enraptured, Mario could feel the heat blooming from Geno’s face. “I watched you save all those people, and turn half of our enemies into friends. I saw your strong will, your kind heart, your unwavering loyalty to those you care about, and all those wishes we get for your success, for your good health, for all your dreams to come true…they all make sense to me, now.”
In the midst of some of the sweetest things ever said to him in his entire life, Mario’s gaze locked onto Geno’s. Those painted eyes, full of life and spirit and wonder and all the strength of the cosmos, met him so easily, so comfortably, as if they’d known each other for years. Decades. Eons.
The spell lingered between them, well after words trailed off, and only broke with a sheepish sputter of a laugh from the star, which even then was still very much endearing. “Wow, sorry, I got really sappy there. I guess what I’m trying to say is, you’ve pretty much got the whole kingdom in your corner. And…” A passing thought got him to pause, a series of concerning emotions dashed away with a woody smile. “...there’s always going to be someone there fighting beside you. I know it.”
Mario absolutely could not help himself. With a gleeful little bubble of a giggle, he threw his arms around Geno’s tiny form and pulled him into a tight hug, gaining a grunt of surprise, then a hearty laugh for his trouble. The doll’s hands hovered in place for a moment, unsure of what to do before settling on his back with a few comforting pats. It was some kind of miracle that the cape didn’t fall off their shoulders, their warm embrace engulfed by warmer-still fleece.
When Mario didn’t pull back right away, Geno inevitably eased into the gesture, sighing faintly into the plumber’s shoulder. Then, something within him shifted, and his short arms squeezed tighter, and his body curled impossibly closer, to the point where Mario wasn’t entirely sure who this hug was for anymore.
It became clear when Geno murmured, “Guess it’s my turn, huh.”
With great reluctance, Mario finally pulled back, feeling all that much colder instantly. “...You know you don’t-a have to, right?”
“I think I do, actually,” he countered, attempting a weak smirk. “Only fair, right? Just, give me a second.”
Mario would give him as many as he needed, watching the puppet breathe in, out, his carved chest mildly creaking with each breath as he tried to calm his nerves. Mario would also give him a returned favor, now resting his hand on the small of Geno’s back, and he really hoped that warm point contact helped the star as much as it helped him earlier.
Geno gave no outward sign that it did, and yet… “...I was running down a path.”
He breathed in, out, once more, very slightly easing back into Mario’s touch, before continuing. “I don’t…remember a lot of the details.” His mouth went thin, barely noticeable, but Mario noticed everything, every little change of demeanor. “It was dark, I know that much. I think the ground was made of metal, my footsteps were echoing something fierce.” His fingertips pressed crookedly across his knee. “And I was alone. I realized I was trying to find you and the others.”
Breathe in, out. A bit shaky, this time, but he kept his composure steady. A bit too steady, if Mario was being honest. “I heard a heavy, rhythmic clanging sound, first. Like…a hammer striking an anvil...and then I heard your voices, crying out for help.”
Geno brought his gaze up, though it was a thousand miles away, lost in the darkness of his recollection instead of the night sky. The celestial glimmer in his eyes had grown dim, and Mario was beginning to grow concerned. “And there you all were, you, Mario, and Mallow and Bowser and Peach and Celeste—each trapped in your own cages, just out of reach. And just past that…at the end of the path was this huge, hulking figure, wrapped in shadow, only lit up by the flames of the forge behind him…”
Smithy? Mario idly wondered, keeping the thought to himself. They knew surprisingly little about their great adversary, but a blacksmith, creating weapons in a great forge…that made a worrying amount of sense. What kind of a dream was this?
“...and then…just as I was about to move in and rescue all of you…” Mario shook himself and focused back on Geno—oh. Oh, god. The doll body had grown stiff, its mouth shifting robotically with flat words, and worst of all, its matte-painted eyes had lost all of their charming glow. The utter vacancy of stars in those eyes terrified Mario more than his nightmares ever could.
“—the clanging stopped. And then he laughed. And laughed.”
Mario didn’t like this at all, not one bit. It was his turn to squeeze Geno’s hand, hoping to get some kind of reaction out of him to break his sudden monotone, something, any thing. “Hey. Heyyyyy. Earth to Geno, haha—!”
Minutely, his shoulders hitched, and Mario briefly considered that a win before he creaked out, “...it was his laugh.”
“...whose laugh?”
“His laugh, Mario—” He startled when those eyes suddenly snapped back to him. Thankfully, they had sparked back to life, but the stars reflecting in them were…different. Older. Ancient. “The same laugh he tormented me with throughout that entire battle. The laugh that echoed on even after I threw him into the abyss.”
It took all of Mario’s courage not to look away. Something told him he had to remain steady, even as he knew now that he was locking eyes not with his dearest, down-to-earth friend, but with Nova, the first star-warrior, who faced down an evil far greater than the hero’s wildest imaginations.
“...o-oh. The dark star. Right-a.”
With an audible, clacking blink of his eyes, the spell was broken, the stars losing their sharp points and fading into their typical friendly shape. Remembering himself, Geno shuddered, turning away and holding his heavy head in his hand with a labored sigh. “Y-yeah. Yeah. Him.”
An ache snagged at Mario’s chest as he watched the star struggle to rebuild his composure, wooden textures grinding together as he grimaced and rubbed his temple. He tried squeezing his hand again, and at least this time Geno squeezed back.
Time to pivot. “...was that it?” he asked gently. “Did the dream end-a there?”
“Stars, I wish.” Geno went rigid again for a beat, then let out a frustrated groan at his own accidental play-on words. A sputtering chortle escaped Mario before he could hold it back. “Shut up. No, it didn’t end there. One second he was laughing that horrible laugh, and the next I was dead.”
“Whoa. What?”
“I don’t know, man!” Finally, he defaulted back to his animated gestures, sweeping his arm wide and knocking the cloak clean off his own shoulder. Gingerly, he pulled it back on. “I mean like. I think I was crushed. Like, with a giant sledgehammer or something.”
“Geeeeez. ” Mario winced in sympathy. It felt much easier, reacting to this instead of…whatever that was earlier.
Geno kept a grip on his cape, pulling it closer. “Yeah, it was bad. I felt the body splinter and snap and everything, it sucked. ” He let out another deep sigh. “But even with all that…past all the pain, and the fear, and everything, the one thing that stuck in my head when I woke up was that I—”
His eyes threatened to go dull again, but he shut them tight instead. “—I let everyone down.”
Ohhhh. That wasn’t new. Mario should’ve expected this would all lead to that. “Geno…”
“Can I just—Mario, can I be a bit selfish for a second?” The puppet turned himself back to face him, their knees pressing together as he reached out to grip both of Mario’s hands. The plumber forgot to grip back, only because he was gripped enough by the sudden, quiet desperation now tinting those huge eyes.
“I—yeah. Okay.”
“Please tell me I’m doing well enough,” he softly begged. “Please tell me I’m not a failure.”
A huge range of hot, powerful emotions surged out from his heart, and Mario took in a firm breath to keep himself from spilling it all out. He moved his hands up to clutch Geno’s arms, which clearly perplexed the doll as his bereft expression faltered.
Oh, he’d tell ‘em, alright. He’d tell ‘em that and so much more.
“You’re-a doing a fantastic job, Geno,” he said, steadfast and true. “And you’re not a failure.”
His wish fulfilled, Geno shut his eyes, as if internalizing his words, trying to make himself believe them. Mario knew he’d need a bit of help, there, as he reached over to lift his head back up by his chin.
“Look.” Mario locked eyes with him once more and silently rejoiced at their returning shine. His hand lingered on the rounded edge of Geno’s face, who gave no sign or movement to change that. “I’ve been all over this-a crazy kingdom. I’ve seen a lotta things and met a lotta people.” A tiny burst of warmth bloomed a smile across his face, curling his mustache. “And nothing’s come-a close to how incredible you are.”
He could feel the glowing heat in his fingertips as Geno’s face went flush. Sheepishly, he crooned, “Aw, Mario, c’mon…”
“Ahhhh, no no no, it’s-a my turn to gush about you!” Mario huffed, playfully flicking at his hair curls, which he took with a good-natured chuckle. “You’re a star, that’s already super cool by itself, but then you go and, not once, but twice, step up to fight and protect-a your home and everything you care about—that’s even cooler.”
“Sheeeeeeesh, dude.”
“You know I’m right!” Egged on by his adorably bashful reaction, Mario kept going, “Not-a to mention coming down here to save our world too…!” Here, he wavered, but only because he grew sentimental. “...and watching you grow to love this world, my world…that’s-a been really something special, y’know?”
A contemplative, yet serene look crossed his blushing face, and the star smiled to himself. “Love…yeah. Yeah.” Hearing the L-word in his beautiful tenor timbre made Mario nearly want to cry. He gradually nodded, and he looked back up with eyes that sparkled and twinkled with all the words he too was clearly trying to keep from falling out of his mouth. “If…if love makes you wanna fight even harder for it, then…yeah. That sounds about right.”
“It does that and so much more.” Mario’s heart was hammering in his chest. Was this conversation real? Was he still dreaming? He held fast, slightly shaking Geno by the arms. “And you are so, so strong, in so many ways, but you’re-a so goshdarn hard on yourself—!” The doll winced, but otherwise held his gaze, too stunned to be ashamed, it seemed. “But I love you so much and I wish there was-a something I could do or say that would make you see just how amazing you are!”
…welp. There was the L-word again, for real this time.
Mario's confession hovered in the air around them, like their own warm breaths in the cold night. If he wasn't so thoroughly gripped with anticipation, he might've found Geno's stupefied expression hilarious, his entire round head engulfed in cherrywood red.
His eyes, big and bright and beautiful as ever, lost focus and darted around, once again searching for the right words to say. Mario had just a few agonizing seconds where he came very close to regretting it.
And then, unbelievably, he said, "So…so, is this, uh. Is this the part where we kiss, because I have no idea what I'm—"
He was cut off by an utter squawk of a laugh. Mario might've been worried he'd just woken up the entire town, but then Geno too crumpled into snickers, and nothing else outside the confines of their cape mattered.
Somewhere in the midst of their giggle fit, their foreheads pressed together, and Mario basked in the star's warm glow as his chuckles lingered demurely. The twinkles tinting them continued after he quieted, and the plumber realized they were coming from the center of his chest. Was that his little starry heart, fluttering with glee as much as his own? Would he ever run out of marvels to be adored?
Mario’s hand slipped up and around his shoulder to rest on his cheek, tilting it up, holding him, guiding him. Geno let out the tiniest sigh of content, leaning into his palm.
Well, now or never. Their gazes met one more time, before Mario leaned in and kissed his star.
Now, of course it was strange to press his lips against a flat slotted mouth, that much was a given. But that mattered little when the effect was the same; something inside him shone brightly at that contact and everything it meant, the mere notion of a goofy little plumber like him getting to fall for and kiss an ancient star spirit from above. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what was going through Geno’s head in this moment, but he could definitely feel the warmth radiating off of him growing softly, gently, like a heated blanket, and that had to be a good sign.
With the scent of carved oak and stardust enveloping his senses, Mario gracefully ended it with a tender smooch before pulling away. Geno blinked, very slowly, and his dazed stare full of thousands of twinkling stars left Mario breathless.
Then, the puppet wheezed, literally breathless. “...I forgot how to breathe for a second.”
Once again, Mario sputtered out a cackle, and the pair descended into a mess of laughter, together, like it was always meant to be. Geno leaned hard into their embrace, his self-consciousness clearly a thing of the past, and while holding his thrumming chest, Mario felt that same soft warmth spreading all over, peeking through the seams in a sublime glow, and he listened to those merry chuckles muffled in his own shoulder, and he felt like the luckiest guy in the universe.
As their tiny celebration grew quiet, they shared a long, blissful pause, where they remained firmly in each others’ arms, wrapped in fleece and heat and love. Mario gently rubbed at his back, to which Geno sighed once more, a chirpy, joyful little thing.
But, his curiosity insatiable, Mario eventually asked, “So…what’s on yer mind?”
“Heh,” Geno let out an amused titter, his hand idly tracing five-point stars on Mario’s back. “Admittedly? A lot.” He stopped only to grab at him again, squeezing tightly, and Mario’s heart soared. “But…sitting here, next to you…makes me feel like everything’s gonna be alright.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Finally, he pulled away, but he didn’t break contact, his hands gliding down Mario’s arms and wrists before gracefully folding their fingers together. “...is that what love is, too?”
“Uh-huh,” Mario nodded slowly. He vaguely remembered a conversation they shared a while back, discussing love; how stars, with such long existences, shared a different kind of bond with each other, a kind that formed over a length of time he could scarcely imagine, nothing near as fleeting or passionate as the love mortals shared.
Which is why it was so darn fascinating, watching Geno contemplate it as he mused aloud, “So…if love is that feeling of security…” He started tracing stars again, this time in Mario’s palm, as he continued his train of thought, “And it’s also the drive to fight harder for someone…is it also the need to watch that someone flourish?” The star’s eyes, with all their celestial brilliance, met his. “The desire for all their wishes to come true?”
Mario beamed brightly, and nodded again. “Isn’t it amazing?”
“Sure is, heh, wow.” He brought his hand up to hold his own blushing face, and let out a wheezy little laugh at himself. “Dang. I get it now. I get why it’s wished for so much.” As the plumber joined in his chuckles, their foreheads rested together once more. “And…you feel all those things for me, too?”
“You betcha,” Mario hummed, lightly nuzzling. “So, what do you-a think?”
Geno took a deep breath. “Honestly, it’s kinda terrifying. But…not in a bad way?” He made a funny little grunt. “I’m not making any sense, am I.”
“It’s exciting and new,” Mario offered. “Exhilarating. Like-a when you’re about to take a big ol’ jump into the unknown.”
“Can’t imagine you knowing anything about that. ” After another round of snickering, Geno added a tiny little, “Dork.”
“You love it.”
Geno’s eyes, peeking from under his curls, saw right through him, and the star gently met him halfway with, “You know I do.” And, just like that, Mario too felt that everything was gonna be alright.