12/07/21 AN: I originally posted this to AO3 with it only being visible to those logged in. I was afraid to let anyone see this.
I'm not afraid anymore. I've made the story public on both platforms. All I ask is you heed the warnings given below and if you are uncomfortable with any of those topics to tread carefully or read something a bit more lighthearted. Thank you.
AN: Hoo boy, where to start with this.
I wrote this specifically to write something completely out of my comfort zone in order to actually test my boundaries since admittedly I've played things safe. This is the result of allowing myself to completely break free of those chains.
This story deals with themes of abuse, manipulation and attempted suicide.
And for those wondering who Haru is, he's the weird character from the Super Mario OVA: Super Mario Bros: The Great Mission to Save Princess Peach! I used his character in particular as no one in the fandom seems to like him and I didn't want to make Bowser a human as I'm already using a human Sonic in this story.
~Picking Up the Pieces~
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Sonic glanced up from his laptop and set it aside on the couch, making his way over to the door of his apartment. He took a cautionary glance through the peephole before unlocking the door and sadly sighing at his completely distraught friend, Mario, standing in the hallway.
"S-Sonic..." Mario hiccupped, blue eyes shimmering with fresh tears. "H-He broke up with me..." A fresh sob tore through him and Sonic winced. He placed a hand on Mario's shoulder and led him inside.
"D'you wanna talk about it?" Sonic asked, depositing Mario on the couch before briefly heading into the small kitchen to boil water for tea. He knew tea was a comfort drink for Mario and he certainly needed comfort at the moment.
Mario sniffled, looking down at the ground. Tears ran down his face leaving trails on his cheeks and Sonic wanted nothing more than to pummel the living daylights out of the asshole that made his best friend feel like this.
"Nothing makes sense!" Mario wailed, a fresh sob wracking through his body. "It makes no sense! We were flirting over text two hours ago! Then suddenly my depression is so bad he breaks up with me over it?"
Sonic froze, slowly turning to look at Mario. "He broke up with you... because your depression is allegedly getting worse?" For once in his life, had nothing to say - he was stunned. Firstly, he couldn't believe that somebody who claimed to love Mario had used his depression against him like that, and secondly, things about that seemed... off. Mario's depression had been steadily improving - everyone had noticed that. Sonic pursed his lips, thinking, as the kettle began to whistle. He poured the cup of tea for Mario and wandered back to the couch, setting it on the table in front of him and sitting next to him. Mario's eyes were red - he'd been crying for a while it seemed - and he was having a hard time forming coherent sentences through his sobs. Sonic lay an arm around Mario and let him get everything out of his system.
/~/
Mario had long since fallen asleep on the couch but Sonic was wide awake, pacing the living room with his phone in his hand contemplating on what to do.
He'd managed to contact Mario's brother Luigi to inform him of the situation. Luigi had - understandably - been disgusted about what had happened and promised to come by tomorrow to pick him up and let him stay with him and his fiancée Daisy. With that settled he was now attempting to calm himself down so he wouldn't contact Mario's ex and completely lay into him for what an absolute piece of shit he was.
He never liked Haru much to begin with. A little too stuck-up, a little too loud on his opinions of things, a little too...
Sonic didn't like using the term 'narcissistic' to describe people, but Haru fit that definition to a T. When Mario had first introduced them Sonic had been his usual self, ("'Nice meetin' the person who Mar fell for! I'm Sonic, Mar's told me so much about you!") and Haru had stuck up his nose, put on a fake smile and wiped his hand after he shook it.
Really subtle.
And as Sonic learned, very quickly, Haru loved talking about himself. ("All my exes want me back, can't blame them but they're all so crazy!" "Everyone at work just loves me." "I'm kind of a big deal, you know.")
Okay, maybe he hadn't said that last thing but his body language gave it all away. And Mario hung on his every word with shining eyes that made Sonic really uncomfortable. Mario wasn't like this, so for him to be acting so lovestruck to someone he hadn't been seeing long was a huge red flag.
He brought up concerns of course, but Mario assured him that everything was fine. Even when he'd panic text Sonic asking if he was overreacting to certain things Haru would say he always assured him everything was fine, they were in love, they were moving in together and they were going to adopt dogs...
Sonic's grip on his phone tightened. Mario may have been in love, but Haru wasn't. The way he talked to Mario made his blood boil - constantly putting him down and almost controlling the way he acted out in public. Now, Sonic teased Mario a lot - it was the nature of their friendship - but Mario teased back and there was always a mutual understanding that neither of them meant any malice with their words. With how Mario went silent whenever Haru made a quip it was clear that his words had struck a nerve.
And then there was Haru's issue with him. Haru saw him as a threat which, okay, fair enough. He and Mario had been friends since middle school and their closeness and teasing could easily be mistaken for flirting to an outsider. And, okay, maybe Sonic's feelings for Mario were more than friendship but he would never attempt to interfere with any relationship of Mario's. He wasn't that type of person. But Haru had made it clear that Sonic was under high suspicion and Sonic had distanced himself a bit so he wouldn't be the cause of any arguments.
(Even though he found it pretty suspicious how Haru could hang out with all those girls he claimed were "just friends". Double standards at it's finest.)
Mario whimpered from his spot on the couch and Sonic turned towards him in concern. He could see his form shaking and his heart twisted realizing he was crying again. He strode over and crouched next to the couch, sympathetically rubbing Mario's shoulder.
/~/
Luigi and Daisy picked Mario up early in the morning. Mario didn't say much, fresh tears shimmered in his eyes and he kept his eyes downcast. He managed out a "thank you" to Sonic who only shook his head - no need to thank him. He did what he knew was right.
Luigi also thanked Sonic for taking care of his brother - relieved that Mario had the sense to go somewhere he would be safe. Daisy assured Sonic they would be in touch with him and gave him a knowing smile - she'd always thought Haru was a creep and her and Sonic had bonded strongly over that mutual hatred.
Sonic watched the car until it was out of sight and headed back to his apartment, flopping down on the couch and letting out a loud sigh. He blankly stared at the wall for a moment before he reached for his phone and after a moment of hesitation clicked on the dating app he'd installed during a fleeting moment of loneliness. Both he and Daisy had had their suspicions that Haru hadn't deleted his profile after he began dating Mario. Now seemed like a good time to check if that theory was correct.
Anticipating that this could take awhile, Sonic turned on some music for background noise and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. Ignoring the sick feeling in his stomach he began his search.
The last time he'd used this particular service he'd actually managed to score a couple of coffee dates with a cute brooding law major who hadn't quite left his emo stage. It hadn't gone anywhere outside a couple of kisses - neither of them were interested in hookups and had no romantic chemistry - but they still occasionally texted as they'd bonded as friends. After that Sonic had written off the app as all he heard from others was horror stories of bad dates and attempted kidnappings. Not something he was interested in personally, he liked being alive.
Minutes turned into hours and Sonic was beginning to think that maybe Haru had been honest about something. He checked the time - almost time for him to go to his job - but he still had a few more minutes. He tried filtering the results again and after a few more swipes his heart sunk.
'Bastard.'
Sonic took a screenshot and closed the app, hatred seeping into his veins. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and considered his options. Showing Mario probably wasn't in his best interest right now, but Luigi and Daisy should at least know what he'd managed to find. He sent a message to Daisy with the screenshot (Don't show Mario this. Found this a few minutes ago. Let Luigi know.) and tried to push the entire issue out of his mind as he got ready for work.
/~/
Luigi and Daisy had reacted with understandable disgust when they saw Sonic's message. He wasn't able to check his messages until his break but Daisy had spewed off several colourful words to describe Haru and Luigi had expressed regret over not steering Mario away from Haru sooner.
'I don't think any of us could convince Mario otherwise.' Sonic sent. 'In fact, our disapproval could have made him want Haru more.'
The conversation continued for a bit after Sonic got home, Daisy had made sure Mario had eaten something while Luigi was at class and distracted him with cat videos that managed to get a small smile out of him. Still, both Luigi and Daisy expressed their concerns about Mario's behavior which Sonic mirrored - it was normal to be crushed after a breakup but Sonic had seen firsthand how broken Mario was. And this mood hadn't improved even slightly, he was still the empty shell that had shown up at Sonic's door the night before. He had barely talked to Luigi and Daisy about it either which was even more concerning.
Daisy had to leave for her nighttime job which left Luigi and Sonic to talk with each other for a while. After a few more messages about the situation Luigi sent something that quite frankly shocked Sonic.
'I always wanted you and Mario to date.'
'Really? Why?'
'You two have been inseparable since seventh grade. And even though my brother is oblivious to it I can tell you have a crush.'
Sonic snort-laughed at that. Mario was pretty dense when it came to romance, there was no denying that.
'He doesn't need a love confession on his plate right now,' Sonic replied. 'But if he needs me, I'll be there. Just let me know.'
'Of course.'
Sonic set the phone aside and finished off the rest of the fries he bought on the way home which had long since gone cold. He had class in the morning, and he figured it was best to at least attempt to get a bit of sleep.
/~/
The phone rang a little past two in the morning, and Sonic knew exactly what the call was about before he even looked at the caller ID. Phone calls in the middle of the night were nothing but bad news and Luigi sobbing out that Sonic needed to get to the hospital - quickly - was enough to confirm everything. Sonic haphazardly threw on whatever clothes he could find - old band shirt and sweatpants? Why not? - and sat for five agonizingly long minutes waiting for the cab to arrive.
Sonic shoved more money than he owed at the cab driver - he could care less about change in the moment - and practically ran into the emergency room waiting area, frantically glancing around for Luigi. He finally found him hunched in a chair quietly sobbing - poor guy was still in his pajamas - and the moment their eyes connected Luigi brought him into a bone-crushing hug.
"H-He left to go t-t-t-to the bathroom," Luigi stuttered out. "A-A-And he was in there f-f-for a long time, so I went to check..." Luigi broke into hysterics and Sonic deposited him into a seat again. It was then he noticed the blood on Luigi's hands and clothes. Mario's blood. He resisted the urge to vomit. Luigi didn't seem to care as he kept his eyes on the floor. "There were so many cuts." he confessed in a small voice. Sonic closed his eyes in grief. There was nothing more to say about that.
"Where's Daisy?" Sonic eventually asked. Luigi sniffled.
"She'll be here as soon as she can. Her boss let her go early since this is a family emergency."
The two sat in silence for what felt like an eternity, reality truly sinking in after the adrenaline high wore off. Sonic buried his face in his hands, realizing in that moment that he was trembling. He just couldn't believe that this is what finally pushed Mario to his breaking point, and he was outright pissed at Haru for what he had caused.
"Luigi? Sonic?"
Sonic glanced up at Daisy who approached them, eyes wet with tears as she embraced her fiancé. Luigi filled Daisy in on everything that had happened while Sonic resumed his activity of staring at the floor. He didn't know what to do - he was numb. Completely, totally numb.
"Family of Mario?"
A deep voice caused Sonic to look up again at a doctor that stood in front of them waiting patiently. Luigi was the first to stand.
"S-Si, he's my brother..."
The doctor glanced at Sonic and Daisy. "And they are?"
"She's my fiancée," Luigi explained. "And he's Mario's best friend."
"Right, right," the doctor mumbled to himself. "We've stitched up Mario's wounds, thankfully he didn't hit an artery but there was still a loss of blood. We've transferred him to the recovery ward and are going to keep him for a couple days to monitor his condition. Now, I do have a few questions to ask about Mario's behavior if you don't mind."
Sonic allowed Luigi to answer the questions about Mario - they were brothers after all - until Luigi asked about Mario's behavior the night before. Sonic explained how Mario had shown up completely distraught and hadn't stopped crying the whole night. The doctor nodded and wrote down some notes on his clipboard before informing them that they could go and visit Mario if they wished.
Sonic could feel a growing sense of dread as the trio approached the room. He wasn't sure if he could face his best friend lying in a hospital bed for something so serious. He could tell Luigi and Daisy were struggling with the same thoughts as well as their pace began to slow as they approached the room. Giving each other worried glances they faced the sight in front of them.
Mario was asleep, which honestly may have been for the best as Sonic felt his heart sink at the state he was in. Both of his arms were bandaged tightly, but despite the efforts the doctors had made there was still a bit of blood seeping through the layers of cloth. Luigi sank into the chair closest to the bed and reached for his brothers hand, completely crestfallen. Daisy stood behind Luigi with a hand on his shoulder, forcing back tears. "Oh God..." she whispered.
"He was getting better." Sonic numbly muttered. He could remember the first time Mario had genuinely smiled in months after a long struggle of finding the right antidepressants. How he'd mused on not having suicidal thoughts for a few months and being far more open to joining in on group settings. And even though Sonic couldn't stand Haru, Mario had been so happy with him, commenting how he felt he had a reason to go on now.
And that son of a bitch had torn him down to stage one again.
"Sonic?" Luigi quietly asked, noticing how Sonic's expression had changed. Sonic took a deep breath to calm himself down. He couldn't lose it in the middle of a hospital.
"I-I think I need to get some fresh air."
Sonic made a move to leave the room before Daisy's hand grabbed his arm. He looked back into her concerned blue eyes.
"Don't do anything stupid," she pleaded. "We don't like him but he's not worth it."
"I'm not gonna fight him," Sonic assured. "But I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind."
Daisy reluctantly let go of Sonic's arm with a, "Just be careful." and Sonic made his way through the twisting hallways, down the stairs and into the parking lot of the hospital where he inhaled a few deep breaths of early morning air. It was four-thirty in the morning and still pretty dark out, but Sonic wasn't really concerned about getting jumped in a place with pretty high security. He held the phone in his hand for a moment, trying to come up with the correct words he was about to say. He had to keep his emotions in check.
This probably wouldn't work. He doubted Haru would care that Mario had wound up in the hospital because of him. But still...
Sonic took a deep breath.
He pressed talk.
And waited as the phone rang.
/~/
She was roused awake by Haru getting out of bed, taking his phone with him and heading into the living room. She tilted her head, confused, and quietly crept out of the bedroom to see what was going on.
"Who is this?" Haru almost demanded of the person he was talking to. She frowned from her hiding place that divided the hallway and living room. He could have been a bit nicer.
"Oh. You." Haru spat out rather snottily. "What do you want?"
It was then her heart began to quicken it's pace as the person on the phone began screaming so loud she could pick out bits of the conversation, but what disturbed her the most was, "-in the hospital right now! He slit his wrists because of you!"
She backed up a bit in fright. What frightened her even more was Haru's reaction to that statement.
"It's not my fault he attempted suicide. I told him his mental health was getting worse and he didn't believe me, so I needed to remove that kind of negativity in my life."
"You're despicable," the angered voice continued. "He loved you and this is how you repay him?"
Now her heart was pounding and her mouth went dry. Could... could this person be referring to Mario? But... but Mario had just been his roommate, right? His roommate who had a crush on him and couldn't handle rejection? That was what she'd been told after all, why would Haru lie? Unless...
Oh.
Oh no.
"What Mario does now is none of my concern," Haru brushed off the insult. "And I suggest you don't contact me again, or there will be consequences."
Haru swiftly hung up the phone and she decided she was done hiding and stepped into the living room. "Haru?" she asked in a quiet voice, causing him to whirl around to face her in shock.
"Oh, Peach! Uh... how much of that did you hear?"
"I heard enough," Peach answered flatly. "I think you need to start telling me the truth Haru. Did you cheat on Mario to be with me?"
"What? No, no, it's a huge misunderstanding! That was one of Mario's friends, he always overexaggerates everything. Besides, you know I've only ever had eyes for you." Haru made a move to embrace Peach but she stepped back, surprising Haru. "Come on Peach, don't be like this."
"Like what? Wanting my so-called boyfriend to be honest with me? I do find it rather odd you only ever wanted to meet up at my place. Now why would that be? And a suicide attempt over a rejection sounds like a bit of a stretch, don't you think?"
Peach turned heel and marched into the bedroom, grabbing her hoodie and tossing it on before grabbing her car keys from the nightside table. Haru watched with a blank expression on his face.
"Where are you going?"
"I'll tell you when you tell me the truth!" she shot back, slamming the door behind her as she scurried out of the apartment building and to her car, taking a moment to compose herself before putting the key in the ignition and pulling out of the parking space.
She barely knew Mario, but she felt she owned the poor man an apology at the very least. She was a bit afraid of confrontation from whoever was on the phone but she needed to know the truth, and that truth was at the hospital.
/~/
"-Alright prof, thanks for understandin'." Sonic hung up the phone and slid it back into his pocket before taking another sip of the cheap coffee from the hospitals cafeteria which had thankfully opened a few minutes prior. Sonic had made an effort to let his professor know what had happened and his professor was understanding in letting Sonic miss his class. So Sonic had taken it upon himself to get some food for himself, Daisy and Luigi since none of them were going to be leaving the hospital anytime soon. He leaned against a wall as he waited, not feeling particularly good about screaming like a lunatic at Haru but fuck, he needed to get his frustrations out of his system somehow.
The cafeteria worker placed the food on the counter and Sonic thanked her, drink tray in one hand and a bag of food in the other as he made his way to the elevator. Passing the help desk he heard a very interesting conversation and stopped in his tracks.
"-I'm not sure what his last name is, all I know is his name is Mario and his injuries were self-inflicted."
Sonic turned towards the unfamiliar woman, frowning. "How do you know Mario?" he asked suspiciously, the woman spinning around to face him.
"I-I don't, actually," she mumbled, staring down at the floor in embarrassment. "I-I just heard things about him, from Haru." Sonic stiffened at the mention of Haru's name as the woman continued, "He got a phone call not too long ago, I overheard and the person who phoned sounded so angry and I... I needed answers. So I came here hoping to get one."
Sonic studied the woman carefully, taking in her frightened expression. She looked on the verge of tears and Sonic sighed, motioning for her to follow him.
"I need to bring some food to my friends first and then we can talk, okay? I'm Sonic, the one on the phone. I'm sorry if I frightened you."
"Peach," the woman introduced herself. "And it's alright, if what I assume is true than he deserved every word of it."
Sonic raised an eyebrow but didn't say much as he led Peach to the room Mario was in, telling her to wait outside as he delivered the food to Luigi and Daisy. He filled the two in on the situation and while they seemed a bit hesitant they once again told Sonic to be careful. Sonic gave the still sleeping Mario a sad glance and assured he'd be back soon before reuniting with Peach in the hallway.
"Let's go back down to the cafeteria to talk, shall we?"
/~/
Sonic purchased a coffee for Peach - it looked like she could use a pick-me-up after all - and the two sat at a small table near the back of the cafeteria. Peach fiddled with the paper sleeve of the cup out of nervousness as she explained everything to Sonic - she'd been dating Haru for two months and as far as she'd been aware Haru had been single. Haru had made Mario out to be a clingy roommate who had a crush on him, something that made Sonic's blood boil. Yeah, no shit Mario had a crush on him considering he was his boyfriend.
Peach's voice quivered as she continued to explain the situation until her tears gave out and she began to openly sob prompting Sonic to hand her a few napkins. His heart hurt for this poor girl getting caught up in a situation she didn't deserve to be in. And things were about to get far worse as he remembered the screenshot from the dating website that showed he was clearly active.
He could see what remained of the illusion shatter as she studied the screenshot, shaking her head in disappointment and disgust. "I'm sorry," was all she managed to say. "I had no idea about any of this, I feel so ashamed and guilty."
Sonic shook his head. "None of this is your fault," he assured. "Haru purposely hid the fact he was seeing someone from you. And if his dating profile is any indication, the same thing probably would have happened to you eventually."
"Please, forward my deepest apologies to Mario," Peach instructed. "And thank you. If you hadn't of yelled at Haru I wouldn't have any idea of what had happened. And I suppose I need to re-evaluate who I deem dateable in the future."
"No need to thank me," Sonic said. "Just defending the honor of my best friend, that's all." he scribbled his number down on a napkin and slid it over to Peach. "If you ever need to talk, hit me up. Please, don't beat yourself up over this too much. You're a sweet girl, and you deserve so much better than that creep."
Peach hesitantly took the napkin and gave Sonic a strange look. Realizing how that could have been mistaken for flirting Sonic quickly added, "Not flirting, I'm gay."
That actually managed to get a small laugh out of Peach and she stood, giving Sonic a sad smile. "I'll keep what you said in mind," she mused. "I guess I'll see you around."
Sonic gave a wave and watched her disappear from sight. He stayed at the table for a moment to digest the information he'd been given before heading back up to Mario's room to inform Luigi and Daisy of what had happened.
/~/
For the second time in less than twenty-four hours Luigi and Daisy were disgusted by Haru's behavior, to the point where Sonic had to talk Luigi out of calling Haru and yelling at him himself. It was best to not poke the already aggravated bear even more.
While Daisy took Luigi for a walk to calm him down Sonic took the seat next to the bed and sadly gazed at Mario, reaching for his hand. He dreaded having to tell Mario everything he learned when he woke up, especially when he was already in a horrible place mentally. But he knew that Mario would probably ask about Haru and he couldn't lie to him. So all he could do was wait with bated breath, going over in his head how to word things.
He didn't have to wait long. Mario began to stir and his eyes fluttered open. He blinked a few times and glanced around, as if he was confused on where he was. When his gaze fell on his bandaged arms he pressed his lips into a thin line; Sonic could tell he was disappointed but whether it was in himself or that his attempt had failed was unclear. Finally Mario's gaze met Sonic's and he quickly averted his eyes in shame.
"Why am I here?" Mario finally mumbled out. Sonic braced himself, he had expected this sort of reaction.
"You're here because your brother loves you." Sonic answered in a gentle tone.
"I don't love me."
Sonic remained quiet, silently urging Mario into getting everything off his chest. It took a moment but he finally began to speak.
"He was my everything. I loved him so much, and then he just does this? What's the point in going on when he was the only reason I got out of bed every morning? I gave him everything..."
Mario broke down and Sonic squeezed his hand tighter, allowing the tears he'd been holding back himself to freely fall. "It's not your fault," Sonic sobbed out. "None of this is your fault. You were used. You have every right to be angry and upset. That bastard used your depression against you." Sonic paused, wiping the tears away from his eyes. "Luigi loves you. Daisy loves you. I love you. And we're gonna get you through this together."
"That's right." Daisy spoke up from the door, having returned with Luigi. Luigi immediately went to Mario's side and gently embraced his brother to not hurt his wounds. "The doctor said you're going to be here for a couple of days, and one of us will always be here with you."
Luigi and Sonic nodded in agreement. Sonic hesitated. "And once you're ready to hear it, we do have information about... you know who. But only when you're ready to hear it, okay?"
Mario's face darkened and he stared down at the sheets, gripping a handful of fabric. "I don't want to know. Not yet. Especially when..." Mario glanced at his bandaged wrists and looked away shamefully. Luigi, Daisy and Sonic shared concerned glances realizing that Mario was still having suicidal thoughts. Still though, the fact that he was aware of those thoughts and was actively trying to stop them it was a good sign.
"We're here for you bro," Luigi assured. "Always."
"Always." Daisy repeated. Sonic nodded as a sign of unity with his friends, reaching for Mario's hand and squeezing tight.
"We won't fail you."