Just a little thingy for Laurie's birthday in a few hours. (Having a different timezone doesn't help for shit.) I'm sorry if it's not good, cause it's not. But I hope it makes your smile or... something. Idk. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Enjoy, I guess.

Also, keep an eye open for the definitely-not-self-referential gay joke. ;)

oOo

A soft knocking sounded on Luigi's door, causing the young man to looking up from his book momentarily. "Come in," he called, flipping a page as the door creaked open.

Mario cleanly stepped inside, glancing around the room. "Hi, bro," he drawled softly, gently shutting the door behind him. Luigi smiled at him in reply, but continued to read. "Didn't you hear the door?"

Luigi perked up at this, cocking his head to the side. "What?"

"Someone was at the door, asking for you. He said something about needing your help. I told him to wait while I got you—"

At this, Luigi practically flew off the bed, grabbing his cap from his coatrack before bolting towards the front door. Mario swiftly dodged him, smiling gently.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry! I'm coming—" Luigi grasped the doorknob as he arrived, throwing open the door to reveal a small, blue-capped, and out of breath Toad. "Oh... h—hi, Buck! What brings you here?"

Luigi remembered Buckenberry, a spunky blue Toad, from a rescue mission that he and Mario had gone on a while back. Nothing out of the ordinary happened that day, aside from it being the first time Buckenberry and his brother, Alagold, had ever met the Marios.

Buck gasped for air before speaking. "Thank... goodness... Goldie... so stupid... pipes... burst... Need... h—help..."

"...Your pipes? Sure. Let me get my tools." Luigi strode into the living room, grabbing his toolbox off the shelf, then lumbered back to the entryway. The toolbox weighed him down heavily, but he refused to show it, if he could help it at all. "Okay, let's go."

Buck nodded. "Perfect. Thank you so much for helping!" He seemed to have regained his breath, and could speak coherently again. "I'll lead the way." He began skipping down the path, Luigi following him closely.

"No problem," Luigi grunted, struggling to keep the toolbox in his hands. "Glad to... hngh... be of... s—service!"

Buck turned around and looked at Luigi, though he was silent, but didn't stop walking. Luigi didn't seem to notice, being too preoccupied by two things. The first was, obviously, the toolbox, but the second was a bit more pressing, at least in Luigi's opinion.

The question plagued his mind. Why exactly did Buck call on Luigi to do this plumbing job? Mario was already at the door when he arrived, and there was nothing that Luigi could do that his brother couldn't. Besides, Mario was a swift and nifty worker. He could fix a pipe faster than a Koopa could kidnap a princess. (Luigi scolded himself for using such a cynical metaphor.) Needless to say, it baffled the man in green as to why the Toad would specifically request him alone, rather than just Mario, or even the both of them.

Before he really realized it, Luigi had blanked out in thought, and didn't notice when they'd arrived at Buckenberry's house. It was a tiny cottage on the outskirts of Toad Town, with no noteworthy features on the exterior. Buck had to literally slap Luigi back into reality, as the man hadn't responded to the blue Toad's yelling. "HEY! LUIGI! Don't zone out on me, man!"

"Ack!" Luigi sputtered when he realized what he had done. "S—sorry! Um... right, so, uh... Wh—where's the broken pipe?"

Buck smiled, taking Luigi aback for a moment, before bolting to the back of the house. "This way!" he called, disappearing from view.

"H—hey!" Luigi yelped, dragging his toolbox along as he waddled in the direction the Toad had gone. "Wait! Buck!" Buck, however, had not responded, and Luigi groaned, knowing that this could very well take a while. He plopped the metal box onto the grass, pausing to catch his breath. He'd need it if he was going to do a decent job today.

"Luigi! Come on!" a distant voice yelled.

"Sorry! I'm coming!" Luigi hollered, sighing as he grabbed the box again. "Where'd you go?!"

"Inside! Come on!"

Lugging the box onto the patio, Luigi shoved the back door open with his shoulder, sweating buckets. He whirled around, noting that he was in Buck's kitchen. "Buck? Where are you?"

Strangely, the only answer the plumber received was silence. All the blinds were shut, as well, and there was no sign of Buck. Instantly regretting the fact that he didn't have his Poltergust with him, Luigi cautiously stepped forward, leaving his toolbox at the front door in case he needed to defend himself.

"Hello...?"

Luigi hadn't really really expected a relpy when he called out for someone. He also hadn't expected a spiky, monstrous form to suddenly leap from behind the stairwell, emitting a low growl. Luigi squealed, backing towards the closed door (which had somehow been locked while his back was turned—good grief, his luck was terrible). The monster lumbered towards Luigi, reaching his scaly, clawed hand past the quaking plumber to flick the light switch on.

"Grambi-damnit, Buck," Bowser hollered, whirling around and snatching a terrified Buck from behind the sofa. "We TOLD you that he's jumpy! Don't be an ass!"

"There goes the surprise, then," Daisy sighed from the entryway, emerging from the closet with a giddy Peasley. "Sorry, Luigi."

Alagold carefully opened the door leading to the basement, cocking his head slightly as he looked around. "Is he here?"

Bowser sighed deeply, grasping the bridge of his snout. "I'm surrounded by idiots," he sighed, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I resent that!" Peasley laughed airily, skipping over to Luigi and pinching his cheek. Meanwhile, Daisy went over to Peach to help her out of a nearby laundry hamper. "Nonetheless, I admit that this could've gone better. Darling, we're sorry. Toads are truly incompetent."

Luigi, who had been frozen in utter confusion for a few minutes, finally snapped out of his stupor. "Was this... a surprise for me?"

"But of course!" the bean prince replied, grasping Luigi's hand and leading him towards the sofa. "It's your birthday today, is it not?"

The plumber was silent for a moment as he sat down with Peasley, studying all the faces around him. "You guys remembered?" Luigi whispered, a lopsided grin appearing on his paled and sweaty face.

"Sure we did!" Alagold piped, hopping onto the couch next to Luigi. "And this was gonna be an awesome surprise party, but... I guess it didn't work out that way..."

Luigi wasn't listening, however, as he was busy grinning like a fool, bringing his hands to his face in utter disbelief. "You... you remembered..."

Bowser, who was busy lecturing Buck a few feet away, paused his rant and came up to Luigi, putting his hand on the other's head. "Happy birthday, Luigi," he grinned, playfully ruffling the young man's hair.

"You remembered!" Luigi suddenly squealed, leaping over the back of the couch to embrace Bowser in a massive hug. "I can't believe you guys! Thank you so much!"

Bowser laughed, returning the hug before Luigi hopped off him to hug Alagold and Peasley. He went around the room, hugging every individual in the area while gigging and muttering ecstatic 'thank you's.

However, the hugfest was soon interrupted by a loud knock. The door opened, and a moustachioed face peered inside. "Am I late?" Mario joked, stepping through the doorway. In his hands, he has grasping a small box, wrapped in green paper and tied off with a blue ribbon. "Happy birthday, Weegie. Hope you like your present."

"A present?!" Luigi gasped, now overwhelmed. "Grambi, Mario, you shouldn't have..."

"Just open it!" Daisy snapped, sitting cross-legged on the floor by Luigi's feet. Mario lumbered in and plopped the present onto Luigi's lap.

"Actually..." Mario paused, turning to the others. "Could I... have a few moments alone with him? Please?"

Daisy pouted, crossing her arms. "Damn it! I wanted to see!"

"Come on, guys," Peach giggled, dragging Daisy outside. "We still need to cut the cake."

As the others filed outside, Mario sat in the spot where Peasley was moments ago. Luigi slowly began peeling the ribbons off the box and removed the lid, staring dumbly at the item inside.

"Mario..." Luigi cautiously reached inside, pulling out an oval-cut sapphire suspended by a silver chain. The gem glittered in the light, slowly turning as it dangled from Luigi's hand. "Mario... how did you...?"

"Before we closed the pipe, I..." Mario paused, taking a deep breath. Though Luigi wasn't sure, he suspected that Mario was fighting back tears. The elder brother was referring about the pipe that once lead to Brooklyn, their hometown. The brothers had closed it off a few months ago to ensure that their father, a brutally abusive man, couldn't follow them into the Mushroom Kingdom. "...I'm sorry, I should've old you before. But I snuck into our father's home while he was gone."

Luigi froze, staring into Mario's eyes with a faint look of horror. "He could've killed you!" The younger brother suddenly latched onto Mario tightly, choking on a sob. "You... you could've gotten yourself killed! Why would you—"

"He had so much of Madre's life, Luigi," Mario muttered, holding onto his brother equally firmly. "He had photos, belongings... He had all that she left behind. You deserve more of her legacy than that bastard."

"Malleo..." Luigi began crying fully, holding the necklace close to his chest... "I... I..."

"Madre would've wanted you to have it, fratello," Mario cooed, rubbing Luigi's back softly. "Trust me."

"Th—thank you, Malleo..." Luigi sniffled, smiling into Mario's shoulder.

Mario chuckled quietly in reply, continuing to hug his little brother. "Happy birthday, Weegie. Now..." He stood up, grasping Luigi's hand and leading him towards the door. "How about some of that cake, hmm?" Luigi nodded meekly in reply, wiping a remaining tear from his cheek. He held onto Mario the whole way there.

Yeah. Cake would be nice.