Chapter Text
Mario stepped out of the mushroom house while Luigi cleaned up dinner. The night air was quiet and cool as he crossed the yard and checked the mailbox. Most of it was junk: flyers, ads, the usual, but one envelope made him stop.
A letter from Brooklyn. It was addressed to both of them. To Mario and Luigi. In a very familiar handwriting. He knew immediately who sent this, and not just because they didn’t know too many people from Brooklyn.
“Lu, check this out,” Mario called as he came back inside. “Our family wants to visit. Says they miss us.”
Luigi appeared from the kitchen, rubbing his eyes. “Miss us? We were just there, like… a week ago.” He flopped onto the couch, obviously tired of the day's work. “What is it? Do they wanna do another dinner thing in Brooklyn?”
“Nope. They wanna come here.” Mario held up the letter. “See where we live. Check in.”
Luigi froze. “All of them?” he asked slowly, “Like. Everyone?” Suddenly he felt less tired and more aware of the situation.
Mario winced, unsure. “I’m guessing, yeah. And if we don’t answer soon, they’ll probably show up anyway.”
Luigi groaned and dropped his face into his hands. “Of course they will. Ma treats privacy like a suggestion.”
“They’ve never even been to the Mushroom Kingdom before though,” Luigi said, his voice rising. “What if they don’t like it? Or worse….What if they think it’s unsafe?”
“It’s that the whole point of them coming to see where we live? To see if it’s safe or to see it in general?” Mario countered.
“But still!” Luigi went on, “what if they think this is stupid, unsafe and don’t like it! These are genuine questions!”
Mario could tell now more than before that his brother was stressed. Sure having the family like they did was hard, but they’d gone through things like this before. It was their family's way of showing that they cared. Even if it seemed overprotective or invasive.
Mario sat beside him. “Weeg, relax. They wanna come, so they come. What’s the worst that could happen? Their family.”
“You always say that,” Luigi shot back.
Mario chuckled. “Luigi, you’ve fought Bowser. You’ve helped save this kingdom from a lava doomed invasion. And you’re scared Ma and dad won’t approve of some mushrooms?”
“Facing Bowser and facing Ma when she’s disappointed are two very different things!” Luigi snapped. “Bowser doesn’t judge our life choices, or tell us that our house is messy!”
Mario opened his mouth—then smirked. “Speaking of Bowser… hope he’s still behaving in that little cage.”
Luigi’s head snapped up. “Oh my gosh… You’re right! What if he escapes while they’re here?! What if something happens to them?” Luigi put one hand to the side of his face. “What if they get kidnapped and put into a cage hung above a big giant lava pit!”
Mario sighed, half-laughing. “Okay, okay—calm down. I was kidding. I didn’t mean to make you worry more bro, I’m sorry.”
Luigi crossed his arms. “Not funny. But I accept your aplogy..” He stared at the floor. “I just don’t want them thinking this place is ridiculous.”
“It kinda is,” Mario said, shrugging. But he wasn’t wrong. The place they lived in was a complete picture book in real life.
Luigi shot him a look. “We’re used to the weirdness. They aren’t. We know where it’s safe, where it’s not. They don’t.” He stood, pacing. “What if they freak out over the Toads? Or a Goomba? I was scared of all these tiny creatures when we decided to live here!”
Mario watched him spiral, searching for the right words. He couldn’t exactly make the Mushroom Kingdom… less like itself, but he had to try and help his brother. Somehow.
“They’ll be okay,” Mario said gently. “We’ll be there.”
Luigi exhaled. “Maybe… maybe you’re right. It’s just-”
“But what?” Mario nudged him.
Luigi stopped pacing. “Where are they all gonna sleep?”
Mario blinked. Almost surprised at how rational that question sounded. They didn’t have enough bedrooms in the house they lived in. Especially not enough for a big family.
“Uh, Okay. Yeah. That’s a problem.” Mario sighed.
“What if,” he said slowly, brightening, “we ask Peach if we can all stay at the castle for a bit? Full Mushroom Kingdom experience.”
Luigi grimaced. “You ask. I hate asking.”
Mario grinned. “She’s our friend. The worst she can say is no.”
Luigi hesitated, then nodded. “Fine. I’ll send the letter back. I’ll tell them to come, even if the letter was a warning and not an ask.”
Mario laughed at his brother's last remark. “Come on Luigi. We’re both tired, let’s go to bed.”
______________________________________
The castle was quieter than usual, the halls echoing softly as Mario walked to the princesses office. By now, after living there for so long, he no longer needed an escort. He knew where she would be at the hour. When he opened the door, Peach was standing near a table covered in neatly stacked papers, her crown catching the light as she turned to greet him.
“Mario!” she said warmly, setting the papers aside and running up to hug him. After a beat she pulled back, “What brings you here today?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh, actually, I wanted to ask you something.”
Peach tilted her head, already listening.
“Our family from Brooklyn wants to visit,” Mario explained. “They’ve never been to the Mushroom Kingdom before, and… well, Luigi’s a little nervous.” That was putting it lightly, but Peach didn’t need to know that.
The princess’s face immediately softened. “Oh! That’s wonderful to hear, but do you have enough room for that in the mushroom house you're in?”
“That’s why I’m here.. To ask a favor.”
But Mario could even finish bracing himself, her soft, velvet-like voice filled the room. “Yes! Of course, your family is always welcome in the castle, Mario. I would love to meet them as well.”
Mario let out a small chuckle. He hadn’t really doubted her answer, Peach had always been like this, but it still eased something in his chest. “Thanks, Princess. I’m sure they’ll love meeting you too.”
“When will they be arriving?” Peach asked. “I’ll need to ask the guards to prepare guest rooms.”
Mario paused, a little nervous now. “Honestly? I don’t know.” He thought of the letter, of his mother’s tendency to treat plans as optional. “They might give notice… or they might just show up.”
Peach smiled, unfazed. “Then we’ll be ready either way.”
She folded her hands calmly. “It’s no problem, Mario. We’ll make sure everything is set up for them.”
Mario nodded, relief settling in fully now. “Thank you, Princess. Really.”
—————————————————————
Mario walked home, smiling and waving to a few Toads as he passed. When he pushed the door open to his house, he immediately saw Luigi who was absolutely pretending he hadn’t been waiting.
“It’s a yes,” Mario said. “The castle's got plenty of room, and Peach is happy to help.”
Luigi froze for half a second. “Oh. Great.” He cleared his throat. “That’s. yeah. That’s really good.”
Mario raised an eyebrow. “Is it? Hard to tell.”
Luigi exhaled, running a hand through his hair. “No, it is. It really is.” He hesitated. “I just… okay, I’m happy. I just wish they’d tell us when they’re coming.”
He glanced around the room, already distracted. “I’m gonna start cleaning. Not because it’s dirty or anything, I just-…! If they show up early and it’s a mess, Ma will notice, and-”
“Lu,” Mario cut in gently. Luigi was always anxious about their mothers opinion over anything.
Luigi stopped, shoulders slumping. “Sorry. I know. I’m overthinking.”
Mario watched him for a moment. He knew cleaning was Luigi’s go-to when his nerves got bad, even if he didn’t totally get why this scared him so much.
“It’ll be fine,” Mario said. “They could come tomorrow. Or next week. Either way, we’ll handle it.”
Luigi grimaced. “That’s the problem.” Mario laughed, not at him, but because of him as he walked to the kitchen to make food for lunch. Before Mario completely left the room he heard Luigi whisper to himself quietly. “I hate waiting. I’m gonna die.”
It earned another laugh from Mario.
————————————————————
The pipe activated, light shining from the top, and moments later it was chaos. Mario and Luigi decided to meet the family there at the warp pipe, being as welcoming as possible and helping with baggage. Which, surprisingly, there wasn't a lot of.
The first person out of the pipe was their father. Before him a few suitcases flew out the top. “Holy-” he paused, either in awe or in confusion.
“Hey dad!” Mario greeted, coming up to him, taking a few bags.
“I don’t think I’ve seen this many colors in my life..” He looked around some more, spotting lots of mushrooms and a beautiful and large castle.
Mario huffed a laugh, “yeah it’s great, isn’t it?”
“That’s one way to put it.”
It didn’t take long after their exchange before the rest of the family came out of the pipe as well. Mama Mario, Uncle Arthur, Aunt Marie, Uncle Tony and their cousin: Gianna.
When the bright shine from the sun of the Mushroom Kingdom hits their faces they squinted, looking around in awe the same way Papa Mario did.
“Ow, what kind of plumbing is this?!” Uncle Arthur was on the ground, pushing himself up and brushing himself off. He was the only one who fell. You could see Gianna smirking at her dad.
“Oh my boys! It’s so good to see you!” Mama Mario came up to hug Mario and Luigi both. Wrapping her arms around them in a very loving way. What was Luigi so worried about?
“Eh, what the heck is that?!” Uncle Tony spoke, pointing down at something that was walking by.
‘Oh yeah. That’s what I was worried about,’ Luigi thought, walking over in a sort of a rush to see what he was talking about.
“Is that a mushroom! Like a walking mushroom man?” He continued to freak, still pointing a steady finger at a Toad by passer.
“Yeah.. They're called Toads.” Luigi explained, “They are very friendly, don’t worry about them…And don’t step on them.”
“Stop pointing, it’s rude.” Aunt Marie pushed her brother-in-law's hand down.
“I didn’t know it had feelings!” Uncle Tony defended himself. The poor Toad walked faster away, obviously not wanting to get caught in whatever chaos was erupting.
‘Take me with you’ was all Luigi thought before grabbing a suitcase and heading over to Mario.
“Marco, your boys really do live in lala land!” Uncle Arthur laughed, not being unkind.
‘Ok, this is gonna be stressful..But I guess it wasn’t so bad.’’ Luigi thought again. Maybe he’d been overthinking this. Mario was probably right. Everything is going to be fine…
Speaking of Mario, Luigi looked back and he and their father were already walking. So he followed. Laying low between his family, making sure everyone was accounted for, even though Luigi was the worried and jumpy one right now.
No one seemed too confused, which confused Luigi even more. How could they not be? It took some time to get used to living in the Mushroom Kingdom for both Mario brothers.
Gianna was still on her phone, Marco was with his wife, Mia,- who was looking around slowly at everything. Not asking any questions like expected. Both uncles were walking behind with there hands in their pockets, trying to seem unimpressed. But they definitely have never seen anything like this before. Mario was nonchalant about pretty much everything. Even answering the question of “where are we gonna sleep” with a goofy smug,
“In the castle”.