Chapter Text
The door felt heavy after everything. The knob was hard to turn, and his keys struggled to stay between his fingertips. Under his arm was a lone slab- the copy of Super Mario Bros 3 he wished for. Pushing open the door offered him a face full of fresh air, and surely the same for the brother that was tailing behind him. Walking into the house was nothing short of relief after a long, hard day. Mario quickly walked by him, brushing by his arm by accident surely, and beelining it for the couch. Flopping face first onto the cushion, he let out a long groan. Luigi couldn't help but laugh under his breath. Gosh, he wanted to do the same thing so badly, but he knew in his heart of hearts he couldn't just yet. He has a few more things he needs to do before he completely passes out. And the first one started with the kitchen.
“Eh, Mario?” Luigi called to him, already heading the opposite way. “What would you prefer? Lasagna, Fettucini, Baked Ziti, or Spaghetti?” An arm shot up, a single thumb poking in the air. Luigi let out a sigh. Of course. “Or would just leftovers be okay?” That thumb still stayed proudly in the air, signaling that Luigi’s first task was completely unneeded entirely. He walked out of the entrance of the kitchen back to the couch, where Mario was taking up 3/4ths of it. He sat down on the last remaining cushion, allowing himself to sink into the furniture and let out the same satisfied groan Mario had done just moments prior. The copy of Super Mario Bros 3. Was still in hand, but it was dangerously close to slipping out.
“Good wish, Bro.” Mario’s voice was muffled by the plush of the couch. His head rolled so that he was no longer making out with the cushion, and his hat fell off his head. “I’m not getting off this couch until Tomorrow .”
“Bro, it’s 4pm , we’ll have to eat eventually .” Luigi chuckled out. “Besides, don’t you want to play Super Mario Bros. 3 with me? We’ll have to get the SNES out from under one of our beds! I don’t think either of us remember which one we shoved it under.”
“Yours.” Mario mumbled, shifting his entire weight uncomfortably around the springs of the couch. “We didn’t take the SNES down until after we bought the WiiU, that damned console… We didn’t go through all our old scratched discs at that point so we shoved them under my bed.” Mario sat up, only to flop backwards with enough force to topple the couch over. Luckily Luigi was there to act as the counterbalance. “But can’t that wait for tomorrow? I’m exhausted .”
“Haha, sure Bro. It can wait.” Luigi allowed his eyes to close, feeling his back sink deep into the plush. His body was tired. He was tired. Surely he deserved to rest his eyes next to his brother. That is all he wanted to do, really.
So he did.
~❤️💚💛💚❤️~
When Luigi snapped awake on that couch, his counterbalance was gone. There was no red hat cast onto the floor lazily anymore. Sitting up, Luigi found his cartridge of Super Mario Bros. 3 and a sticky note where his brother used to be, and complete darkness in the house. What time was it? When did he fall asleep? Where is Mario? He reached for the cartridge, the neon-colored paper just barely bright enough for him to read the dark words on top of it. Be back whenever, off to Rogueport! Rogueport? But, what about Super Mario Bros. 3? Weren’t they going to play it together? He found his frown weighing even more when he noticed a small crack of light coming from another room, the yellow tint hinting at it originated from the fridge.
Oh….
Left behind again .
Well, that’s okay. Mario probably had better things to do anyway, right? Rogueport probably needed saving or Peach Probably called him late last night because of some emergency that didn’t need him too, right? Just like always. Why stay behind and okay a video game with your Bro when there are adventures to have, stars to collect, and worlds to save right? New friends to make… not like your silly little brother who wants nothing more than to have an hour of your time, right? Luigi manages to push himself off the couch and trudge over to a switch, turning on the lights in the main room. He could finally see one of the clocks, hanging just above the old television. It was barely two in the morning.
With a heavy heart, he turned the light back off again. He took his cartridge and the sticky note with him as he went to his bedroom. On the way, he made sure to take a pit stop by the kitchen and close the fridge after his brother. Based on the container in the sink, he did eat some leftover spaghetti. At least he doesn’t have to worry about his brother being fed. Pushing himself into his room, he tossed the now-worthless cartridge onto his desk and face planted into his bed the same way Mario faceplanted into the couch. His first breath in was a ‘Heave’, and he had to ignore how tight his throat was beginning to feel. His exhale was shaky and emotional, hardly worth being called a ‘Ho’.
Flipping himself over to his side, his arms curled up towards his torso to keep warm. He noticed his hat had fallen to the floor, the same way Mario’s did before he fell asleep last night. Yesterday? Last evening? Gah! Who even knows any more! All Luigi knows is that he feels useless and insecure and like his brother doesn’t even want to be near him anymore! Maybe he’s sick of Luigi after the Cap Challenge. Was he being overbearing? Should he have let Mario go off on his own more? Or… was he upset that Luigi won? It doesn’t feel like winning if your brother is mad at you for it. Maybe he shouldn’t have let the professor put his name into the hall of fame first. Mario did win that final battle, after all… he lets his eyes close, the stinging behind his eyes finally about to win when-
A rumble.
Two rumbles.
LOTS OF RUMBLES!!!!!
Luigi fumbled to sit up. He dug his hand into his back pocket to find himself getting a phone call on his cell. It was from a number he had saved. Bowser . Bowser? What could he want at this hour. Luigi picked up the phone, bringing it up to his ear. “Ah, hello?”
“GREENIE!!!!” His loud voice boomed in his ear, forcing Luigi to move his phone away from his face. Well. That knocked any and all sleepiness out of the poor Italian. No way he can go back to bed now. “You didn’t tell me that you went and won the whole thing!” Oh, yeah. He did forget to tell Bowser. But to be fair, he did try to steal all his Power Stars and use him like a puppet. “Good on you for showing Mario who’s boss!”
“Oh, uh, gee… thanks Bowser…” Luigi tried to sound happy, but it just wasn’t coming out. “Why are you calling me this early in the morning?”
“Because I just found out!” He boomed back like it was the most obvious statement in the world. “Kamel just told me about it because apparently he was a part of the final gauntlet and didn’t tell me!” Luigi resisted the urge to snicker at that. “Well, and I wanted to say another thing to you.” Luigi stays quiet so that Bowser could speak his mind, but no more words come through the phone.
The pause lasts a moment, then two, then three. “…Bowser? What did you want to-“
“Look, I’m sorry, okay? There! I said it!” Oh! That certainly was unexpected. “Using you the way I did was pretty scummy, especially since you were nice enough to explain the game and actually show me some pretty good strategies. So there. My conscience is clear.” His conscience? So it was worrying him? Luigi found a small smile starting to form at the corners of his lips. The Bowser? The proud and mighty koopa king? Apologizing to him?! He kinda felt honored. “Can you say something already?!”
“Oh! Um, yeah!” Luigi bashfully laughed. “Sorry, I just never expected you to apologize for, well, anything! It’s so not like you.”
“Yeah, well, deal with it!” He could practically see the embarrassed face of Bowser in his head, turning away and stomping a large foot upon the ground in his flusteredness. “Actually….” Once again, Bowser trails off. Luigi tries to give him space to find something to say, but he knows this song and dance. All he does is open his mouth and Bowser continues. “Tomorrow! Meet me at Cloud Cap! At sunset! Do not be late!”
“Cloud cap?” Luigi inquires, but before he could get any confirmation about anything at all, the other line has already hung up. Huh. That was weird. Does he feel that bad about what happened that he wants to meet up and talk about it in person?
Luigi stared at the now blank screen of his phone, reflecting nothing but himself in its faint glow. He was smiling. Despite it all. Okay. Okay! Tomorrow! Or, well, today. Did he mean today or did he mean tomorrow? Well, he might as well go just to make sure. He didn’t dare think of what Bowser would do to him if he missed out on… whatever this was. Luigi stood up, walking over to his desk. He set his phone right next to his copy of Super Mario Bros. 3, stating for a moment before ultimately deciding that yeah, it’s okay. This is okay. Then he looks down at himself. He’s still in his normal overalls. He should at least change out of them before he tries to get a little bit more sleep, right?
A change is just a quick few unbuttons away, along with a replacement shirt and some new boxers. Nearly taking his clothes and putting them into the hamper he keeps in his closet, now he could get some real sleep and not back-achy couch sleep. And, he actually has something to look forward too. Even with Mario gone. Ditching him for Rogueport. Sure, he went once. That’s where he met most of his friends he named his captures after for this challenge. As homage. And he recalled seeing Mario with some friends back there too. Why go back to Rogueport so suddenly? No. No! Luigi refuses to let this torment him! He’s got something planned for tomorrow! Er, later today! And that’s enough to look forward to, even if it’s not what was originally wanted!
Luigi laid back down on the bed. He was on his side, just like he was before his phone started to ring. His throat no longer wanted to close up and his eyes didn’t feel nearly as stingy. He let his eyelids shut, and it was okay.
Everything’s okay.