The Bros had retreated to the Peach Dome's main entrance, and they were currently seated on a nearby bench, Mario still in Luigi's arms. As the man in red leaned his head against Luigi's chest, listening to his heartbeat, the contact only served to make him more distraught. His head spun, his stomach curdled, and he couldn't comprehend why Luigi was comforting him or why he could even stand to be around him.

One of the employees hurried over with a few bottles of water and Gatorade, which Luigi accepted with a wan smile. Then, the employee retreated, leaving the Bros to some much-needed privacy.

"Hey," Luigi said softly as Mario trembled slightly between his arms. "It's okay, Mario. It's okay."

"No, it's not," Mario managed to say.

"Did I make you upset?" asked Luigi. "Do you—do you want me to leave?"

In response, Mario grabbed Luigi's overall straps and pulled him closer.

"It's—it's not you. It's—me…" That was all Mario could get out before his wrenching sobs broke loose. He just buried his face into his lil' bro's shirt and sobbed painfully.

"Just let it go—just let it go…" Luigi softly encouraged.

He slipped a hand under Mario's cap and threaded his fingers through the soft, chocolate brown locks, whispering comforting words into his ear. All the while, Mario clung to Luigi like a life raft, releasing the guilt and remorse he'd held inside him for days.

"Luigi, I…" he hiccupped. "I don't deserve you!"

"Hey," said Luigi. "Don't say that…"

"Well, it's true! I don't deserve to have you as a brother! All I do is take and take and take and take, and you just give and give and give and give—even after the trouble I've put you through! I'm a s—y brother! A really s—y brother!"

"No, you're not," Luigi told him. "You've made mistakes, but you've acknowledged them. I think you're an excellent brother."

Mario choked out another sob. "I can never understand you, Luigi," he said. "While we were playing that match, you really came through for me. DK and Yoshi sent out some far-reaching shots, shots that I couldn't get to because of my limited range, and yet there you were, covering the corners of the net and returning the trickier shots. From start to finish, you had my back. Even after what I did to you. And I wanna know—why?"

"Mario—look at me. Look at me," Luigi softly commanded.

Mario gazed into his brother's face.

"When you stepped on my foot after I won the singles bracket and laughed about it, you can bet that I was upset," said Luigi. "I was hurt and angry, and I had to get out of there before I lashed out and did something I'd regret later. For the rest of that day and the next, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I was wired, and I spent the next few days engaged in some sort of physical activity, sweating it out in the cardio area at the gym and dancing for hours in my room. I just wanted to know how you could do that. But I wasn't gonna give up on you so easily. When I learned that you'd called for a press conference, I was willing to listen to what you had to say. And then—you said you were gonna forfeit the final match, and I couldn't let you do that. I just couldn't!

"In spite of what you did and in spite of how betrayed it made me feel—it didn't matter anymore. You never give up on anything, Mario, and I wasn't about to watch you give up on this tennis match. We're brothers, for better or worse, and we made a vow to always have each other's back, no matter what."

"I've done an awful job keeping to that vow, though," Mario said softly. "I'm just stunned you haven't even considered bailing on me after all the times I treated you like [bleep]."

"Didn't you hear anything I just said? I'd never bail on you, and I'd never abandon you. Doing so would put the entire MK at risk, don't you get it? Mario…" Luigi took a deep breath. "You have kept to that vow. Each time you cheered me up, boosted my confidence or stood up for me, you were keeping to that vow. Sure, we fight sometimes, but don't all siblings do so? What matters is that we ultimately cool off, make up and put it behind us. And that's what I'm doing right now—putting that incident at the final singles match behind me."

Luigi kissed Mario's forehead and held him even closer. "No matter how angry or upset I am with you, I'll always be there for you. I'll always come to your aid. Nobody will hurt you as long as I'm around. A certain someone found out the hard way almost three years ago."

"I can't thank you enough for what you did for me that night," said Mario, "but I can't help but feel responsible each time a nightmare screams you awake, you know?"

"It wasn't your fault," said Luigi.

"And it wasn't yours," added Mario. "We were both played for fools, and the only one at fault was him. But you beat him, Luigi. You beat him. You had every reason in the world to leave me to my fate, and yet you marched in there anyway and fought to your near-death for me. I thought the experience would help me reshuffle my priorities, but I guess I was wrong.

"Luigi, I—I've taken you for granted. I've left you behind during most of my adventures. I haven't really stopped to tell you how much I love you, or to thank you for the times you've put your life on the line for me. But I swear to you—that ends here and now. I'm gonna treat you better and give you credit where it's due. And whenever you're better at something, I'll never fly into a jealous rage again."

"I know," said Luigi.

"But still—how were you able to play alongside me today, even while you were thinking about my actions that afternoon? That puzzles and perplexes me more than anything else."

"I don't hold grudges, Bro," Luigi said quietly. "Holding grudges is—ludicrous in my eyes. The moments when we fight or disagree are the moments when we need each other more than ever."

Mario gave a shaky sigh. "I wasn't thinking that afternoon, when I stepped on your foot," he said. "Something ugly took over me, and I just—acted. I angered not only you but also a lot of people. I could feel Daisy's eyes on me earlier, along with yours, practically chewing me up."

"Ah—you know Daisy," said Luigi. "She just wants to look out for me. And in time, she'll cool off. Just—don't push it, okay?"

"Okay."

A beat passed between them.

Then—

"Luigi—my Bro! I—I'm so sorry!" Mario exclaimed, fresh tears welling up in his eyes. "I'm sorry I stepped on your foot like that! I'm sorry I spoiled your victory and trashed your special moment! I acted like a fool, a narcissist and a bully!"

Luigi just held his bro silently, listening.

"You've got to believe me, Lil' Bro—I was trying my d—ndest to be happy for you! I could tell that your mind, your heart, your body and your soul was into that match! But—like I said—my jealousy won out! In my mind, I have a reputation to uphold—my reputation as the MK's main symbol of hope, the one who's always an ace at everything, including sports! But by convincing myself of that, I've damaged my most important relationship, and that's my relationship with you! I close my eyes, and I keep seeing the look on your face—and it's a look I hope I'll never see again!"

Bitterly, Mario wept.

"I'm sorry too, Mario," Luigi said after a while.

Shocked, Mario jerked his head up. "What in the Inferno for?" he demanded.

"Fuming over always coming in second," said Luigi. "Barely anyone remembers my name, but I've realized that it doesn't matter. All that matters is that I help you save the day and save the Princess. Each time I get you out of a tight spot during a rescue mission makes me feel good."

"Oh, Luigi…"

"And—maybe we should share the blame for how the awards ceremony turned out. It was supposed to be a friendly match-up, but then I decided to play aggressively, and I guess that made you decide to play aggressively. Because all I was thinking was that for once, I had a shot, and I wasn't gonna throw it away. I was just as selfish as you that afternoon, and everything turned into a big mess because of it. I'm sorry, Bro…"

"There's nothing to apologize for, Luigi," said Mario. "I don't blame you for playing aggressively. I knew it was bound to happen, given the other side of our relationship. It was me who sent it spiraling out of control, and I'll take full responsibility."

"Listen to me," said Luigi. "We have our own thing, and it works."

Mario thought it over. "Yeah," he said finally. "Yeah, it does, doesn't it?"

"We're a team," Luigi went on, "and whether it's a sporting event, a fighting tournament or a life-or-death battle against that turtle, we always get the job done because we work so well together. Ti amo, Mario. Nothing's gonna change that."

"Luigi—can you ever forgive me?"

"Yes," Luigi replied, unhesitatingly and with strong conviction. "Yes, I can. But there's someone you have to forgive, Bro—yourself."

"It's gonna be hard."

"It's always hard," said Luigi, "but it's certainly doable."

Mario allowed himself to sink into his baby bro's arms and released a deep, shuddering sigh. "I hate it when we're on the outs," he said.

"Me, too," Luigi replied.

The last of Luigi's anger began to evaporate, and the burden of guilt simultaneously eased itself from Mario's back.

They remained on that bench in silence, entwined in each other's arms.

When Mario had sufficiently calmed down, he spoke up yet again.

"I—I think I learned something from all of this," he said.

Luigi smiled his sunny smile at him. "What's that?" he asked.

Mario wiped his tears and straightened. "Hold that thought for a second," he said.

"You're ready to go back?"

"Yeah. I feel a lot better now," said Mario.

Both Bros took a few deep swigs of Gatorade before striding back into the Peach Dome, hand in hand.

…

Relief rippled throughout the stands when the spectators saw the duo arrive.

"Sorry about that, everyone," said Mario. "Luigi and I just had some private stuff we needed to work out. As you recall, I didn't take his victory over me in the singles bracket well. At all."

Murmurs.

"I just want you all to know how sorry I am for acting that way. I hurt not only my brother, but also all of you, and I set a negative example for the young children who see me as a role model. There was no excuse for me to trample my brother's hard-earned moment, and I've spent the succeeding days wishing I could take it all back. I hope that with time, we can all pick ourselves up and heal from that incident.

"However—there's no denying that we've learned something important from this mess. Playing tennis isn't for competition. It's for bringing your family and friends in to have fun. This is never about trophies. After all, do you think a gold trophy is more important than your brother standing next to you?"*

Peach was the first person to applaud. She was joined by Luigi, Toadsworth, Yoshi, DK, the Toad retainers and finally the majority of the spectators. Daisy was applauding, as well, albeit her applause was slow and reluctant, and her face was still stony. She'd agreed not to raise the roof over Mario's actions, and nothing else.

The awards ceremony continued as usual. Mario and Luigi picked up their trophy and stood for photos with Toadsworth and the two Princesses. Then, they each took a Sharpie pen and signed their names on a television camera lens.

Once the ceremony was concluded, Mario dashed forward and jumped into Luigi's arms, wrapping his legs around his bro's waist as they hugged deeply and tenderly. The applause swelled as they whispered affectionate words to each other in Italian. Their brotherly bond had encountered a heavy storm, and it wasn't the first, neither would it be the last. But by the grace of God, their bond had held firm, and the Bros had emerged from this storm stronger than ever.

*All credit for this moral goes to nintendoscript15, whose story, "A Twisted Tennis Tournament", partially inspired this story. It was used with permission.

Please R&R. The next chapter wraps this whole thing up.