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The SMG4 gang found themselves in a baseball field, outfits well-fitted and hands ready to catch. They were going against the Anti-Cast, joined by Toad and corrupted Peach, and this time run by none other than Marty.
The stadium was filled by various background characters and NPCs, half of them cheering for them and the other half cheering for their enemies, both clearly maked by the colors blue and red respectively.
At least the crew members’ signature colors were still present in each of their long shorts, underpants, striped shirts and caps.
SMG4 grimaced as their rival audience cheered after seeing Belle run past all four bases, securing them a point. That’s their third one so far.
His team had been doing great starting the game, with two point scored by Saiko and Boopkins. How had the small green creature done it? Who knew.
Now they were on their 5th turn of nine total, meaning they had to start locking in again if they didn’t want to lose the game. As the Anti-Cast celebrated, SMG4 pulled his team together for a quick talk.
“C’mon guys, we have to do better! For now, just focus on catching all the baseballs coming your way to make sure they get 3 outs, okay?!” Four whisper-yelled as they formed a closed circle.
Some players in their team like Tari and Meggy looked determined, while others like SMG3 and Mario looked disinterested in the game.
“When can Mario have his spaghetti?” Mario asked nonchalantly as he was practically falling asleep from boredom. SMG4 slapped his forehead in frustration.
“Did you forget that if we lose, Marty will take over MY CHANNEL?! THERE’S NO TIME FOR SPAGHETTI, MARIO!” Four yelled, then took a deep breath and continued, “Look, if we win which we HAVE TO, I’ll get you some spaghetti, okay?”
Mario instantly grinned, finally looking to become a promising player in their team. Three saw this and tried to take advantage of the situation.
“If Mario will get spaghetti, what will I get?” SMG3 asked with a mischievous grin, hoping to get a little extra for helping out.
SMG4 saw right through him with a deadpan. “If you help us win, you get to continue being a MAIN CHARACTER IN THE CHANNEL. NOW LET’S GO TEAM!”
Three gruffed as the gang split up again and made their way back to their positions. SMG4, SMG3 and Bob stood at the back of the field while Mario, Meggy, Tari, Boopkins, Luigi and Saiko stayed at the front with the Anti-Cast. Melony was on the sidelines, napping peacefully.
“Alright, let’s do this,” Meggy muttered to herself as she threw the ball at Whimpu, who weakly hit it with a bat. Boopkins managed to grab it from the ground and throw it at Luigi before he could make it to first base.
Second out. One more and they’ll be able to score points again.
Anti-Shroomy stepped onto the home plate, bat in hand. Meggy threw the ball which was quickly caught in Saiko’s baseball glove. She threw it back. They tried again, but Anti-Shroomy still didn't hit it.
SMG4 could kinda see the commotion going on a good distance away from him. He was lucky his hat gave him enough protection from the beating sun above them. Then he saw it first before he heard it.
The sound of the bat hitting the baseball followed after the ball flew high in the air. His eyes instantly locked onto the object as he ran towards it, quickly calculating where it would land.
Four moved forwards when he felt himself slam into someone harshly, throwing him a little off balance but not before he could compose himself and catch the ball on his hand.
Half the stadium cheered, and once he was sure that it was their turn now, he looked down to see who he had bumped into.
He saw SMG3 on the ground, his uniform stuck with dirt from where he had fallen. The man was rubbing his head gently with one of his eyes closed. He glared up at the blue meme guardian. “I was gonna GET that, SMG4.”
Four instantly felt guilty. He threw out his hand before he realized and mumbled, “Oh shit, I’m so sorry Three- I didn't see you. Are you okay?”
After a moment of hesitation, SMG3 placed his hand on SMG4’s and allowed himself to get pulled up by Four. “Yeah, I’m okay. Just a little …hurt.”
Just when Three was about to place proper pressure on his feet, his left foot instantly gave out and he stumbled sideways before he was quickly caught by his own hands and Four.
SMG4 didn't even think about the placement of his hands- he just wanted to make sure SMG3 didn't fall over again. …Which is what led them to have Four grabbing Three by the waist while Three had his hands firmly placed on Four’s shoulders.
Then both of them heard a very familiar melody ring through the stadium’s speakers. The drums followed by the taunting saxophone. It was Careless Whisper, loud and clear as they held onto each other.
The usually dull TV screens were now filled with video recordings of what had just happened with stupid lovey dovey GIFs mocking them. The crowd went crazy.
The worst part was… THEY COULDN’T EVEN JUST LET GO OF ONE ANOTHER. SMG4 WAS TOO NICE TO LET SMG3 GET HURT AGAIN AFTER CAUSING HIS INJURIES HIMSELF.
“Uhhh,” Four muttered to himself as he finally looked back at Three, finding his face beet red. The man’s red eyes appeared unable to look at his blue ones.
“I’ll just.. take you to the bench, okay?” SMG4 suggested lightly, gently letting go of SMG3 to readjust his hold on him to a bridal style carry. It seemed best for their situation.
Their supporters lost it.
“Yeah, good idea,” Three mumbled back, trying to regain his composure without much success. He could feel the warmth radiating from his cheeks, even more as he pulled his cap down all the way down to cover his face from the world.
Soon enough, the game continued as normal with Mario on the home plate and their friends nearby. SMG4 tuned it out as he made his way to the dugout of their team, placing SMG3 down in one of the chairs.
“There you go. How do you feel?” Four asked as he slowly let go of his meme guardian partner. He quickly grabbed a water bottle and handed it to Three.
“Just feel a little pain on my foot, I guess. And thanks,” SMG3 sighed as he grabbed the bottle and drank a reasonable amount of water.
“Do you think you’ll be able to continue playing?” SMG4 asked with genuine concern in his eyes. It threw Three off a little as his stomach twisted at the attention.
“I don't think so, Four. But, I’m sure you guys got it,” SMG3 reassured kindly, “You should go back with the others.”
“No!” SMG4 exclaimed in denial before clearing his throat and adding, “I mean- I- I’ll stay with you for now. Y'know, for pushing you and getting you hurt. Is that okay?”
Three thought about it for a moment. The scrub did hurt him so now he has a perfect excuse to be left alone and not participate at all in the game, buuut…
He liked Four’s company too much to shoo him away like that.
“Yeah, it’s okay.”
The two meme guardians spent a good five minutes talking with each other before SMG4 had to get back out there to swing the bat.
In the end, the SMG4 crew managed to win by one point in their last turn, securing their victory and Four’s YouTube channel. They had won.
And SMG3 found himself just a little more in love with SMG4 now.