mario was never out and open about his feelings. ANYONE who knew him knew that, definitely. sometimes, though, that can be a bad thing. like how mario was acting now. luigi couldn't help it - he didn't want to think about how weird mario was acting... with his pale skin and bags under his eyes..-
no. luigi, stop. you gotta focus on your cooking.
he let out a small sigh when he heard mario start his way down the stairs, forcing a smile onto his face as he put the pancakes onto the plate. the green brother finished and put the syrup over mario's pancakes, and made his way into the living room, seeing mario sitting on the couch.
blankly looking down at the ground.
luigi sighed, slowly putting mario's plate down on the living room table and sat beside him, gently poking him. "b-b..bro?" he softly said, getting a surprised yelp in response. "oh.. thanks, bro." mario said, taking the plate and cutting off a small piece of pancake with his fork and putting it in his mouth.
luigi smiled and pulled mario close, grabbing the tv remote and turning to his brother. "so, whatcha wanna watch?" he asked, and mario swallowed the pancake in his mouth before speaking. "uh.. a comedy? or a drama?" he said, and luigi nodded. personally, luigi was a horror fan (ironic, he knows), but drama was pretty good too. luigi started looking through the drama section, finding a movie and starting it.
after awhile, luigi looked over at mario and frowned when he noticed he barely ate a thing. a bit of his pancake, and one of the bacon. that was it. luigi gently turned to mario and spoke. "hey, bro..? can you try to eat a bit more?" he asked gently, and mario shrugged. "meh. im not that hungry." he replied. luigi was about to argue but didn't - his bro was really stubborn, no denying it.
"im gonna throw this away and then run to the bathroom." mario said. luigi frowned, but nodded. he walked to the kitchen and threw away the plate, then he made his way upstairs to the bathroom. luigi sighed, letting the depressing thoughts fill his mind again. god, he was so concerned. he just wanted mario to be happy.
luigi had mentioned to the princess, mario's girlfriend, about his odd behavior and peach was as concerned as he was, saying she noticed. peach would try to get what's wrong out of mario, but nothing she did worked. his dull eyes.. mario's soft, gentle voice turning into something more.. hurt..
he snapped out of it when he noticed mario wasn't back yet.
maybe he should check on him.
luigi stood and walked to the stairs, walking upstairs and going to the bathroom, knocking on the door. no response. he was about to knock again when he heard mario's voice. "mhm?" "oh, uh.. you okay in there, bro? you've been in there awhile.." luigi asked, and there was a slight pause, the sound of soft shuffling coming from the other side.
"are you sure..?" luigi asked, slowly making his hand moved towards the doorknob. he turned it and it was locked. weird. mario and luigi never locked the doors, in case of bowser emergencies or something important happening. "bro..?" "y..yeah, ill be out in a second."
and sure enough, a few seconds after, the door opened. luigi looked at mario, and frowned, noticing he was way more pale than he was. "are you sure you're alright?" luigi asked one more time, getting a nod in response. "yep! let's finish the movie." mario said, forcing a smile and walking out the bathroom, and down the stairs. luigi sighed, and followed him.
mario sat back down on the couch, and luigi sat beside him, looking at mario, not noticing he was staring. he didn't mean to - so many things and concerns about him ran through his mind. he remembered when they were kids and never hid anything from each other. but as they grew, mario became more defensive about his feelings, and hid his true feelings behind a facade. like he was doing now.
when they were kids, every time luigi would fall and hurt himself, mario would be right there for him. mario was the one who helped luigi with his first girlfriend before daisy, in highschool. when luigi would cry, mario would be luigi's shoulder to cry on-
"hey, weeg, the movie's over."
that's what cut luigi out of his thoughts, mario's slightly concerned face looking at luigi's. luigi sighed and took the remote, and forced a smile. "well, now i was thinking that we could do some baking, and watch another movie later." he said, and mario paused, then shrugged. "oh.. sure. baking is fun." he said, and the green brother smiled, helping mario up.
they walked into the kitchen and mario took out some cake batter and the ingredients, and luigi smiled. "i can put on the icing.." he softly said, and mario turned to his younger sibling, and nodded, a smile on his face.
a genuine one.
luigi would kill to see that smile everyday.
"this is.. chocolate cake. you alright with that?" mario asked, and luigi spoke. "of course! i love chocolate cake!" "heh, i know you do." he said, and luigi came over and helped him get out the pans to make it. "bro? how is you and peach?" luigi asked him, and mario got a dreamy look onto his face. "great..! she's so beautiful.. and kind.. and wonderful.." he said, and luigi smiled, ruffling mario's hair.
"so, how's you and daisy?"
"we're going pretty well. she's a bit over the top, but i still love her."
mario smiled, letting out a small giggle. "really? she doesn't seem that bad.." luigi almost immediately responded, "she's not! just a bit excitable, is all." "sureeee.."
after awhile though, the genuine feeling of goodness mario felt slowly slipped back into dark thoughts. he kept it hidden though, and it seemed like he was actually tricking luigi. the heat of the kitchen made mario feel suffocated. he wanted to get away.
and he couldn't get rid of the terrible feeling of dread he felt.