After his brother's head was dislodged from the Ghost Portificationizer and he'd managed to stop laughing and crying, Luigi rushed towards Mario and embraced him in a bone crushing hug, practically lifting the red clad plumber off his feet.
"I'm glad you're okay," he muttered, finally letting go. Mario gave a small chuckle and nudged him.
"Thanks to you," he pointed out. Luigi sheepishly shrugged as The Professor walked forwards and nodded vehemently in agreement.
"See? I knew you could do it," the old man said, clenching his hand into a triumphant fist before glancing over at a nearby clock. "Oyamaa! It's three in the morning already? You youngsters must be exhausted! Alby, be a good lad and help me set up a place to sleep for the both of them."
"Pops, they could just sleep in our beds," Alby offered, gesturing behind them. "You can sleep on the mat, I'll sleep on the floor."
"You're sure?" Gadd asked, giving a grunt at Alby's nod. "Right then. You set up the mat, I'll make the beds."
With that, he scurried off, leaving Alby with the brothers. Alby pointed in the distance, gently nudging Luigi's shoulder.
"There's chamomile and mushroom tea and sandwiches in the kitchen over there," they suggested. "You guys can help yourselves, okay?"
After getting two nods in response, they hurried off to set up The Professor's mat, giving the Mario Bros. some alone time. Luigi walked over to the aforementioned 'kitchen', looking around a bit before he entered the little nook. The kitchen was a small, portable stove with an old steaming kettle on top, and in the corner, was a large black pot, and a rice cooker. A tiny sink with some plates was across that, and there were several stools for sitting, not a table in sight.
"You sit," Luigi said, pulling up a stool for his brother. Mario obeyed without protest, giving a weary sigh when he was able to finally sit down for a spell. He took off his cap and ran his fingers through his hair, watching his younger brother fumble around the kitchen, looking for a mug and a plate to put his sandwich on. Finally, when it was ready, he handed it over with a trembling hand.
"Thanks, bro," Mario mumbled, taking it quickly and digging in. He raised an eyebrow at Luigi as the green clad plumber wearily leaned against the sink. "You're not gonna eat?"
Luigi shrugged and shook his head tiredly, stifling a yawn behind his palm.
"Ate earlier," he replied tiredly, giving a sigh and letting his eyes droop. Mario hummed in response, taking a sip of tea once he finished eating his sandwich. Almost instantly, his eyes lit up, and he blinked a few times in surprise, gazing down at his mug in astonishment.
"Mama mia," he breathed. "That's wonderful.."
"It's Super Mushroom Tea," Luigi explained. "Alby makes it."
"So that's their name," Mario mumbled. "Alby."
He was struck with curiosity. Who was Alby, really? Why did they live with The Professor in Boo Woods, of all places? Were they a boy or a girl? Questions spun around in his mind, but they were all tossed aside once he noticed Luigi's fingers, still vibrating with exhaustion.
"Aw, Weege," he said, offering his mug. "You're shaking- here, have some."
To his frustration, the younger brother shook his head stubbornly, pushing his mug back at him.
"It's just nerves," Luigi muttered, shaking his head. "I'm fine-"
"Luigi, non farti di dirti di nuovo," Mario interrupted firmly, shoving the mug into Luigi's hands and giving him a stern look. Luigi sighed and rolled his eyes, giving a half stifled whine and taking a few sips. Admittedly, it did make him feel better- less shaky, less anxious, a little sleepier.. He handed the mug back to Mario carefully, who quickly downed the rest just as Alby walked in, wringing their hands. They were dressed in a white cropped tanktop that ended just above their belly button and blue shorts, toes wiggling nervously in blue and white striped socks, hair messy and hat-less.
"The beds and stuff are ready, if you guys want," they muttered, gesturing. "Just down there, take a right. The Professor and I will be in the main room, if you need us. Night, guys. See you tomorrow- and get some good rest, you deserve it."
With a small wave and a weary smile, they turned and walked off, leaving the Mario Bros. to their own devices. Mario yawned and stretched, standing and putting his plate and mug in the sink.
"Well," he mumbled. "I'm ready for bed- you?"
"D...definitely," yawned Luigi, trailing after him as they wandered down a tiny hall that lead to a small room. It was full of books, and scattered notes and diagrams, and the only furniture on it was two simple mattresses, one decked out in blue, the other in gray and white. A teeny lamp sat in the middle, giving off a dim light. Luigi flopped onto the blue bed, since it was closer, and Mario chuckled as he made his way over to the white one, sliding his shoes off and taking off his cap.
"Buona notte, Luigi," he mumbled, quickly sliding under the covers, and watching as Luigi did the same, already half asleep.
"Buona notte, Mario," the younger brother replied, eyes already closed. Mario sighed in content and switched the lamp off, letting sleep come to him.
The next day, Luigi awoke with a yawn so massive it brought tears to his eyes. Grumbling and rubbing at his face, he sat up and blinked in surprise. There was no sunlight streaming through the window to greet him- there was no window to begin with! In fact, the room he was in was quite dark. He glanced down at his blankets and tilted his head. Blue? Where was-... Oh, right. Everything slowly came back to him, and he sighed, standing and giving a final stretch before slipping his shoes back on, plopping his cap onto his head. He heard faint noises in the distance, and assumed it was The Professor as he walked down the small hallway.
As he entered the main room, however, he realized he was wrong. The Professor was still bundled up in blankets, snoring away, and there was a pile of neatly folded blankets a few ways away from him, which meant..
"G'morning," Alby called quietly from the kitchen, waving a gloved hand at the green clad plumber. They were fully dressed, slouched over the sink as they added water to a large container. Luigi waved in return and walked over, standing just outside the tiny kitchen.
"Morning," he greeted, eyeing Alby's actions curiously. "What're you making?"
"Well," Alby explained, setting the container on two stools. "We ran out of bread, and I wanted to make toast for breakfast, so.. I'm making bread."
Luigi peeked at the containers and his brows furrowed in confusion. Didn't you need things like eggs to make bread dough? Last time he checked, Alby and The Professor didn't own a refrigerator, so how..
"What?" Alby asked, tilting their head to the side. "You've never had instant bread before?"
"Instant bread?" Luigi echoed, nose wrinkling in bemusement. "What's that?"
"Exactly what it sounds like, silly," Alby chuckled, gesturing. "You just add water and wait."
"That's incredible," Luigi mumbled. "Say, do you need me to help you with anything?"
Alby waved his offer away with their hand and shook their head as they walked over to the sink, kettle in hand, and filled it up with water.
"All that's left is to make some breakfast tea," they stated, putting the kettle on the stove and turning on the burner. "Nothing I can't handle. Have a seat, if you want. There's… there's not much to do around here."
Luigi shrugged and sat down, watching as Alby sat across from him on the floor. The two sat in comfortable silence, which was broken when Alby spoke, peeking up at Luigi curiously.
"So I'm guessing you're the morning person?" they asked, smirking as Luigi gave a nod. "Yeah, me too. I let The Professor sleep in, and all. He gets mad at me for not waking him up, but gadzooks does he need it."
"Mario's the same way!" Luigi exclaimed, shaking his head in amusement.
"I'm what way?"
The two of them jumped, and sighed as Mario walked towards them, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and giving a bleary smile.
"Morning," he muttered, giving Luigi a poke in the back. "You should have woken me up."
"See what I mean?" Luigi chuckled at Alby, who nodded, eyes twinkling with mirth.
"I can't say I disagree with him.."
Three heads turned to see a half awake Professor trail in, cleaning his glasses on his shirt and squinting at the morning crowd.
"Gadzooks," Alby muttered, standing up and turning the whistling kettle off. "The gang's all here. I thought you guys would sleep in later. Well, there's tea, and… bread. I was gonna make toast, but.."
They trailed off with a sheepish shrug, giving a relieved smile when everyone waved their worries off. Alby promptly shoved a steaming mug into everyone's hand, and pushed the bread to the middle where everyone could take a piece. Comfortable silence reigned as everyone ate and drank to their heart's content. Soon, Mario spoke up, holding up his mug.
"What kind of tea is this?" he asked. "It tastes different than yesterday's."
"Oh, this is nettle," Alby replied, chewing on a bit of bread before continuing. "Good morning herb. Good herb in general, really."
"You seem to know a lot about the herbs and plants around here," Luigi commented. "I'm impressed."
Alby blushed and shook their head, motioning to The Professor.
"Aw, don't be. Pops over there taught me everything I know," they mumbled. Gadd held up a thin index finger and wagged it, clicking his tongue in response.
"Almost everything," he corrected, shaking his head. "Alby is a very brilliant individual, they just refuse to give themselves credit. Give credit when it's due, I say!"
"That sounds like a certain brother I know," Mario laughed, giving Luigi's shoulder a nudge, to which the green clad plumber responded by rolling his eyes in embarrassment and amusement.
"Anyway," Luigi mumbled, changing the subject quickly and looking around. "No offense, but...How do you two tell time down here? It's so dark."
"That's what clocks are invented for, sonny!" exclaimed The Professor, pointing to the analog clock on the desk in the main room.
"And cameras," Alby chimed in, gesturing to the monitor. "We have a few set up here and there- it's not a full, coordinated system yet, but it works just peachy."
"Peachy.. Peach!" Mario yelled, startling everyone as he stood in a hurry, glancing at Luigi with wide eyes. "Peach will be wondering where I am- where we are! And Daisy too! Mama mia, Toadsworth must be throwing a fit, and-"
"Hey, it's alright. Just ring them up on the GBH," Alby offered. "It's pretty universal, so it should contact all devices just fine."
"We.. don't have things like that in The Mushroom Kingdom," Luigi interrupted, standing up and putting his mug aside. "Peach and Toadsworth are pretty conservative when it comes to that sort of thing."
"No communication devices?" gawked The Professor. "How do you talk to one another? What if someone's in danger? Oyamaa, don't tell me you still live off of stone fireplaces-"
"No, no!" Mario exclaimed, shaking his head. "Sure, we have electricity, and stuff, but Peach and Toadsworth think that things like… phones, or digital gaming devices are.. Excessive. Besides, we're a pretty tight knit community, and the friendly Paratroopas are pretty quick in delivery, so.. We find we don't need those things."
"Well.. the closest thing to a messenger you're gonna get around here's a friendly Boo," Alby offered, shrugging. "But I don't think it would be very welcome.."
Mario agreed, sighing.
"I guess we'll have to make our way back, and see if we can flag down any friendly Paratroopas out there, or maybe find a feather, or a tanuki leaf," he muttered, motioning for Luigi to join him. "Grazie mille for everything you guys have done for us, really. But… we really have to get going."
The two scientists nodded in understanding, and Alby reached over to the stovetop, taking a few tea bags and gently plopping them into Luigi's palm.
"For you to take back," they explained, giving a small smile. Luigi nodded his thanks and pocketed them, waving goodbye to the two alongside his brother as they began to make their way towards the ladder.
"Stay safe, whippersnappers!" called The Professor, wagging a finger at the two as they ascended. "Stay out of trouble, for the most part!"
"Bye, Luigi," Alby said, giving a wave. "Bye, Mario. Good luck on your way home!"
"Arrivederci, you two!" Mario shouted from the top rung. "I'm sure we'll meet again!"
The four exchanged one last farewell wave before the hatch shut with a clang.