"PEACHES!" Daisy yells upon marching into the castle, not caring in the least about Peach's disdain for the nickname. "Why am I only just now hearing about Luigi being in the hospital? Is he okay?"
When she says nothing, Daisy gets angry, "Say he's okay right now! "
"Believe me, nothing would make me happier." Peach says in calm resignation, which makes Daisy's face fall drastically.
"A celebration?" Mario repeats. "For what?"
"Mario, come on." Luigi admonishes. "I seem to remember very clearly that before all this end of the world doom and gloom, we were about to celebrate a very big anniversary. And I wanna do it now."
As understanding dawns on Mario's face, his eyes get glassy. "Weegee, knowing our business is thriving is the only celebration I need. If you're trying to make up for missing it--"
"No way." Luigi shakes his head. "I've been so excited, Mario. I want everyone, especially our family, to know that the Super Mario, Hero of the Mushroom Kingdom and Brooklyn, was my personal hero and business partner first before he was ever thrown into the spotlight, and that hasn't changed."
Mario's outright crying again, but Luigi won't stop.
"There's no one I love more than you, and I never will. Even if I pass away in my sleep or turn into a Lovecraftian monster, so help me, that will be my legacy."
Luigi pulls Mario in for a forehead touch this time, "So, Mario Mario...." They snicker for a moment, before Luigi gets serious again. "Whaddaya say?"
Mario laughs, "Is this an invitation or a marriage proposal?"
Luigi whines, "Marioooooo..."
"Yes, yes, a thousand times yes." Mario says quickly, pulling him in for a hug.
"There's nothing anyone can do to stop it?" Daisy demands in disbelief, once Peach has filled her in.
"We think Dimentio planted it in his brain when he sent him to the Underwhere, not accounting for Nastasia's hypnosis working a little too well." Peach explains. "It's been in his head this whole time, and we didn't know until now. That's why he's in the hospital now."
"If you know what's wrong, then you know how to fix it!" Daisy says logically.
"They can't get rid of it without knowing what exactly Dimentio did, and he's dead now." Peach explains.
"There has to be someone!" Daisy shouts. "Anyone!"
"Everyone's losing sleep trying to find someone, but we've come up short." Peach says. "And now Luigi's lucky for whatever time he has left."
"Which is the equivalent of what? Hours? Days?" Daisy pushes. "I was busy with all these stupid princess duties, I couldn't even find time to be here to support my boyfriend! Or his brother!"
"But you still made it." Peach says, trying to comfort her. "Don't spiral yet. He's still alive, and I know he'd be happy to see you."
When they finally pull away from the hug, Mario speaks first. "Stars, 'I love you' doesn't even come close to everything I feel, Weegee."
"Me neither." Luigi agrees.
Mario notices something on one of the tables, "What's this?", and goes to pick it up. "You've been writing in your journal again? Thought you gave up on it cause you didn't want me to read it."
"I did." Luigi confirms. "But I wanted you to find this. You know, after..."
"Can I read it now?" Mario asks.
Luigi nods. "Go for it."
Mario opens to a page, and reads, "'I forgot about our bond for so long. When Mario nearly broke it and gave me the kick in the pants I'd needed to finally remember everything, all I could think was, This is what was missing, all this time. This isn't just my adventure, or Mario's. It's ours, as the Super Mario Brothers. Before everything before I lost everything that made me who I am, I used to think this little diary was all I had that was mine. That as long as I had my private words that no one else would ever see, that would be enough, because no one could ever take that away from me. I was an idiot. These thoughts aren't just mine, and really, they never were. We don't have to share everything, but why shouldn't we want to? Not just the things that make us laugh or smile, but the moments that make us cry or angry.'"
Here, Mario has to stop, to wipe his eyes and a breath, but before he can continue, Luigi takes it back to read it himself, "'Our bond, the one that's always connected us since we were born, has seen us through everything. And I promise, that in every second I have left, be it just a few, or a million, I'll love you more than I did the one before it, and more in the ones that come after it. That is ours, and will always be enough, and no one will ever take that away from us.'"
Mario doesn't want to say anything, but he still tries, "That was beautiful, Weegee."
"Thanks. I wrote it for the biggest pain in the butt I've ever known." Luigi grins, jabbing Mario in the gut. "And I'm about to celebrate our company's anniversary with him. No one's taking that away either, if it's the last thing I do. Whaddaya say we tell our family?"
Mario squeezes Luigi's hand, but nods in agreement.
YOU ARE READING
At Least Your Brother's Not Gonna Die Because of You!
FanfictionSequel to We've Never Been Apart This Long This is it. No tricks, no getting out of it. It's not the way Luigi ever thought he would die, but he doesn't regret the life he's lived. If only Mario could see it that way.
