A/N: *slaps roof of chapter* this bad boy can fit so many parallels and repeating events inside her —
Later in the day, Kamek was surrounded by stacks of books, squinting at the pages of a yellowed tome. "Oh, it's you," he said at Mario's greeting. He gestured over to a stack of books. "While you're here, could you make yourself useful and grab me that blue book over there? It's got silver and gold trim."
Mario spotted what Kamek needed easily, higher up between stacks of books. He pulled it out without a second thought, which was a shame because him doing so caused the rest of the books to fall over on top of him, sending him to the ground. Kamek laughed himself into a coughing fit as Mario struggled to get back on his feet.
"Oh, that was unexpectedly hilarious," he wheezed, wiping a tear from his eye.
At least someone was having fun.
Mario had come here for a reason, though, and it was to tell Kamek Luigi was almost finished making dinner.
Kamek shut his book with a snap (and a wince). "I don't suppose whatever he's cooked is absolutely smothered in pasta sauce?"
Mario chuckled. It probably was, but it would surely taste good regardless.
"I'll have to be the judge of that," Kamek replied, getting out of his chair. A bit shakily, Mario noticed, reaching over to steady him.
"Don't touch me," Kamek snapped, swatting Mario's hands away. "I'm not an invalid."
Maybe not, but he still looked like he would be knocked over by the next stiff breeze, so Mario couldn't help but hover in concern as they walked to the kitchen.
"Why are you heroes always like this," he grumbled, glaring at his feet. "What's next, are you going to try to carry me?"
Well, now that he mentioned it...Mario spread his arms in invitation.
"Wh —?! I wasn't serious!" Kamek walked faster. Mario laughed, chasing after him.
The rest of the evening passed uneventfully. The three of them had dinner (which Kamek admitted wasn't the worst meal he'd ever eaten, to Luigi's delight), and afterwards, Kamek returned to his research. Mario and Luigi helped where they could, ferrying books to and from Kamek up until night fell.
Luigi yawned. "I'm beat," he groaned, stretching his arms up high. "I think it might be time to hit the hay."
Mario agreed, closing his book and leaning back in his chair. They could pick things back up tomorrow.
"You two go on," Kamek told them, nose buried in a scroll. "I just need to chase this one last lead." In the absence of a response, he looked up to find Mario and Luigi both frowning at him. "I won't be long," he reassured them, making a shooing motion with his hands. "Go off to bed, you two."
Mario continued to frown at him. If any of them needed to go to bed, it was Kamek; he wouldn't be surprised if he'd earned himself a headache, with the hours and hours of reading he'd done today.
Luigi pursed his lips. "...Well, as long as you promise to go to bed soon, yeah? You're still not feeling well, you know."
"I promise. I promise," Kamek smiled obligingly. Something about it didn't feel genuine. But it satisfied Luigi, at least, and he threw a 'goodnight!' in their direction as he left the library. Despite his reluctance, Mario waved goodnight as well and followed him, leaving Kamek by himself, poring over texts by candlelight.
The next morning, Mario was again at the stove making breakfast. But instead of having Kamek's quiet company while he was cooking, he was left alone to try and figure out how to operate the coffee machine. He got it working just as Luigi drifted in, yawning, with Kamek right behind him, wrapped in a blanket with bags under his eyes. Did they wake up at the same time? How odd.
Kamek made a beeline for the coffeemaker and watched it pour the coffee into the coffee pot. He remained motionless even after the machine was finished.
Mario's disbelieving stare shifted from Kamek to Luigi. Did Kamek...fall asleep standing up? Luigi shrugged, poking Kamek's shoulder.
Kamek jumped, dropping his blanket. "Huh? What?" He scowled at Luigi. "What do you want?"
Luigi frowned right back, picking the blanket off the floor. "Uh, you doin' okay?"
Kamek snatched the blanket from Luigi, wrapping it tightly around himself. "I'm fine," he said, his assurance punctuated by a sneeze. He grabbed for the coffee pot, the liquid inside sloshing dangerously as he carried it.
Wanting to prevent an accident waiting to happen, Luigi pulled the coffee pot out of Kamek's grip; to that, Kamek growled, clawing at Luigi's arm to get at it.
"Mario!" Luigi hissed, fending off Kamek with his other hand. "Help!"
Maneuvering around the pair, Mario fished a mug out from the cabinets and held it out for Luigi to fill. Mario waved it in front of Kamek's face. Thankfully, Kamek took the cup, leaving Luigi be. He knocked back the coffee in a few gulps and swept out of the room.
"Wait, aren't you going to have breakfast?" Luigi called after him. He was ignored. "Hm...maybe he wasn't hungry?"
Mario furrowed his brow in worry.
Hours later, Mario was still thinking about how Kamek had skipped breakfast and decided to bring him an early lunch. So he hovered at the table in the library, holding a plate of sandwiches and watching Kamek read. He'd had the impulse to remain quietly standing there until Kamek noticed him, but minutes had gone by and Kamek was still hunched over his book, rubbing at the space between his eyes as if he was trying to get at something underneath his skull. When Mario finally decided to make his presence known with the clunk of the plate against the wooden table, Kamek visibly started, almost dropping his book.
"How are you both sneaking up on me today?" Kamek wondered aloud. His gaze lingered on the sandwiches. "Are those for me? Thanks, but I'm not hungry."
"..."
"...Alright, alright, stop looking at me like that." Rolling his eyes, Kamek took a sandwich from the top of the pile and nibbled on it.
Meanwhile, Mario grabbed a pile of parchment to put back on the shelves; as soon as he left Kamek's sight he heard Kamek's sneezes echoing around the room. Mario had been under no illusion Kamek would be back to 100% after his stint in the snow two days ago, but he seemed to at least be getting better yesterday. Today, though, he looked almost as bad as when he and Luigi first dragged him out of the cold. Mario had hoped Kamek would take care of himself (mostly because trying to force him to do so felt weird on a level Mario couldn't describe, as an archenemy and as someone that much younger), but evidently he wasn't. And if that was the case, then despite Mario's feelings about it maybe it was time to stage an intervention. This idea solidified as Mario returned to Kamek, as his condition had deteriorated even in the ten minutes Mario spent amongst the shelves. He'd abandoned the sandwiches completely and was slumped over with his eyes pinched shut, hardly even trying to hide his sniffles anymore.
Mario took the chance to approach Kamek and put a palm to his forehead. It was alarmingly warm to the touch.
"Of course it's warm," Kamek mumbled, leaning into Mario's hand. "You're the one with firebrand; you're running warm."
...Right.
Mario hefted Kamek out of his chair with little resistance, supporting the wizard's weight with an arm around his shoulders. This close, Mario could feel Kamek shivering, even though he radiated heat. "Of course my immune system is failing me now," he heard Kamek sigh, head lolling. Mario could argue Kamek's recent self-sabotage was truly to blame, but now was hardly the time for semantics. Kamek wouldn't have appreciated that response anyway, both because of how he never liked to admit to making a mistake and because he'd fallen fully unconscious. Mario had to half-carry, half-drag Kamek down the hall toward the living room, where he figured it would be the easiest to warm him up because of the fireplace.
Mario's trek caught the attention of Luigi, who helped Mario carry Kamek the remaining distance to the living room and sit him on the recliner. Luigi placed his own hand on Kamek's forehead.
"Mamma Mia," he breathed. "Hey Bro, does this house have a first-aid kit somewhere?"
There was one in the bathroom, Mario remembered, and he rushed to get it. He re-entered the room to find the recliner reclined and moved closer to the fireplace. He also found Kamek struggling to get up from said recliner, and Luigi bodily preventing him from doing so.
"Hey, easy now," Luigi was saying, "you shouldn't be moving around so much!"
"Don't be ridiculous," Kamek slurred, batting at Luigi's hands. "This is nothing; I need to get back—" he sneezed, magic sparking in front of his face.
Mario could hardly believe Kamek thought himself fit to do much of anything in his current state. Yet the surprising amount of difficulty he and his brother had trying to wrestle Kamek back into the recliner spoke to the contrary.
"I'm not —! I have to —! You infernal —!" Kamek threw his arm out in a fit of desperation, magic sparking at his fingertips. Mario and Luigi flinched backwards, but they hardly needed to — whatever spell Kamek was meaning to cast fizzled away the moment it left his grasp. Kamek's energy all but disappeared with it; he collapsed against Mario with a stifled cry that preceded an ugly bout of coughing, Mario's hand knocking Kamek's hat off his head in a clumsily instinctive attempt to soothe. He and Luigi shared a worried look above Kamek's shaking frame.
As Kamek's coughs died down, Luigi carefully tugged Kamek's hat back onto his head. "Come on, you can take a bit of a break, can't ya?" he said in a low voice. "Just leave things to us; we'll have you feeling better in no time!"
Kamek exhaled, breath hitching, but otherwise didn't respond. He did, however, finally let Mario and Luigi gently maneuver him back to laying down.
Mario and Luigi busied themselves with laying out the contents of the first-aid kit to see what was useful, giving Kamek the space to surreptitiously wipe at the tears that had gathered in his eyes. Mario picked up the thermometer and gave it to Kamek, who placed it under his tongue with a scowl that resembled more of a pout.
When the thermometer beeped, Luigi pulled it from Kamek's mouth to read the number. He whistled lowly. "Are Koopas supposed to be able to run this warm?"
Mario, curious, glanced at the number. He balked.
"Ngh..." Kamek glared at them both through half-lidded eyes.
As Kamek dozed off, Mario filled Luigi in about what had happened in the library. Of everything Mario detailed, Luigi latched on to the part about Kamek not having eaten all day.
"Oh, that won't do," he said, hands on his hips, "You know, I was wondering about what to make for lunch anyway — how 'bout some mushroom soup? I think I saw the ingredients for it."
Mario flashed a thumbs up. Luigi copied the motion and disappeared into the kitchen. Mario studied Kamek's face, which was still pulled into a grimace even in the throes of sleep. He found himself wishing he'd intervened sooner; then maybe Kamek wouldn't have scared him half to death earlier. But at least they could help him now. He fussed with the blankets and sighed.
The soup was ready in short order, and Mario shook Kamek awake apologetically. Grumbling, Kamek sat up for Luigi to place a tray with a fresh bowl of mushroom soup in his lap. The steam wafted up from the bowl, and Kamek inhaled it as best he could., but he wasn't inclined to do much else aside from staring at the soup with an air of misery. He must not even have enough energy to eat, right now...
Before the morose silence stretched on for too long, Luigi decided to take matters into his own hands and scooped up a spoonful of soup, holding it out in front of Kamek's face. It spoke volumes to how tired Kamek was when he opened his mouth and let Luigi feed him without hesitation or complaint.
Mario left them to it while he finally got around to stoking the fire. He also circled back to the library for the plate of sandwiches and retrieved a bowl full of water and a washcloth from the bathroom. By the time he came back, Kamek was sleeping again, his bowl of soup only half-empty. Mario and Luigi finished it off with the rest of the sandwiches.
In the hours after lunch, the brothers settled in the living room. The fire roared bright and warm. Mario paged through a fiction book he found in the library. Luigi fiddled with an old radio he had found tucked away in a closet. Kamek slept, a damp washcloth resting on his head. His temperature hadn't gone down.
With a spark, the radio burst to life, blaring an old jazz tune Mario was too startled to identify. Luigi scrambled to lower the volume, wide-eyed, and Kamek moaned, roused by the noise. The pair held their breath as Kamek shifted and thankfully fell back to sleep.
Luigi turned the radio over in his hands, fiddling with the knobs and buttons. "...It's weird to see him so quiet," he mused.
Mario hummed, patting Luigi's shoulder.
"You're right, Bro." Luigi perked up. He set the radio down, leaving it set to a news station. "It's not like some measly sickness will keep him down for long! You always know what to say!" He hopped up from the couch. "I think I'm gonna start on dinner. Any requests?"
Mario shook his head. Luigi adjusted the cloth on Kamek's forehead as he left for the kitchen, leaving Mario with Kamek's labored breathing and the drone of a weather forecast, which announced that the unusual blizzard conditions were far from over.