A/N: This one is loosely based on the Cliffhangers minigame from Mario Party 4, but it's not necessary to have played that to understand the scenario. Mario, Daisy, Luigi and Yoshi were climbing a snowy mountain together, and Daisy and Luigi got caught in a storm and have to take shelter in a nearby cave.

(Also, to the guest reviewer who requested if I could write something with Mario and Pauline - I'll see what I can do! Pauline is not a character I've written before and I don't really know anything about her, but if the inspiration strikes, I might try something.)

Title: Cliffhangers

Characters: Daisy, Luigi

Genre: Friendship / Romance / Hurt/comfort?

Rating: K+

Warnings: None

Daisy gasped involuntarily as a sharp blast of icy wind crashed over her, leaving flecks of damp snow on her jacket. She'd dressed appropriately for the expedition, but no-one had anticipated the weather taking quite the severe turn it did.

Shivering, she ducked back into the low-ceilinged cave that was their only refuge. Snow had begun to pile up around the entrance, but further inside, it was sheltered from the elements. Thank the Stars it had been here at all.

'It's no use, Luigi!' she yelled, because the wind was howling loud enough to render normal speech damn near impossible. 'I can't see the others at all.'

An indistinct mumble was the only response. In the dim light, Daisy could just barely make out Luigi's form sitting against the cave wall, his silhouette broken up by the thick coat and woollen scarf he was wearing. Hurrying over, she eased herself down on her knees beside him, wincing slightly as sharp rock edge dug into her shin. His blue eyes lifted to meet hers.

'B-but they'll come and look for us, right? I-I mean, they already know we're missing, so—' He was stammering from a combination of cold and fear.

Daisy let a small sigh escape her. She hated the thought of worrying him even more, but she suspected it was better to just be honest; Luigi could sense a lie coming from a mile away. 'Sweetie, you know there's a freakin' gigantic storm happening right now. The only reason we got stuck here was because we decided to keep climbing after Mario and Yoshi had already given up. They won't be able to get up here to help us until the storm blows over.'

She saw uneasiness flash through the backs of his eyes, hidden quickly. 'Well… a-at least we'll be safe in here. Nothing will happen,' he said bravely.

She nodded, relieved that he was taking it so well. 'Yep. So we just have to sit tight and wait.' She reached out to the backpack that she'd dumped on the cave floor a while ago, and produced a half-empty flask of hot chocolate. 'Here, have some of this. There's plenty. And I'll check your leg for you.'

'You don't have to,' he replied as he took the warm flask from her. 'It's not that bad.'

She rolled her eyes. 'Weegee, I heard when you hit your leg on that bit of rock. And the wind was so loud that I shouldn't have been able to hear anything. Just let me have a quick look.'

He eyed her silently as she worked to ease off his snow-drenched boot as gently as possible. Rolling up the bottom of his overalls, she drew in a sympathetic breath upon uncovering the damage. Thick blue-black bruising had spread up his ankle and a little bit higher, showing where he'd struck it against the protruding rock outside. It wasn't pretty.

'I don't think anything's broken,' she said. 'You're lucky, I guess.'

Luigi was pulling the cap off the flask to take a sip. He passed it back to her when he was done, and remarked, 'Mhm… I guess so. Though, what we did back there was kind of stupid.' A small shudder ran through his body. 'We're lucky to be alive at all.'

Daisy pushed aside the sudden, unexpected flare of guilt that hit her. She had been the one who suggested they keep climbing after the weather turned bad, and while Luigi hadn't protested, she could tell he was beginning to regret their hasty decision. There was no place for recklessness in mountain climbing; one foolhardy move could've resulted in both of their deaths.

She took a sip of hot chocolate and let the silence stretch out for a minute or so. Then she said, 'Yeah, sorry about that… I know it was me who suggested it, and it was a stupid idea. We could've gotten really badly hurt, or killed. If you blame me for this, I wouldn't mind in the slightest.' She gave him a crooked, strangely sad, grin.

'No! Never,' Luigi insisted. Daisy lifted an eyebrow at him, and he averted his gaze. 'W-well… OK, I think it was a bit of a silly idea, but I wouldn't be angry at you for that. It was just a mistake. Besides, I don't remember myself putting up that much of an argument.'

'No, you didn't.' She scooted over to sit right beside him, leaning her back against the cool cave wall. 'But that's how it is with you – you don't make a big fuss about things, you just get on with it. You're too nice to tell people who stupid their ideas are.' She trailed off thoughtfully, and Luigi fidgeted, not sure whether to be more flattered or discomforted by her analysation of his character.

'I…' he began.'

'…And that's one of the things I love about you,' she finished.

Instantly, Luigi went into a violent coughing fit, choking on his saliva. Eventually, with the help of Daisy thumping him on the back, he regained enough control to look up at her through watering eyes.

'Y-you can't just say things like that,' he gasped.

She grinned wickedly. She and Luigi weren't an official couple yet, even though they'd been on several informal 'dates' and everyone they knew was making jokes about their supposed relationship. She loved him, more than she'd ever expected to on that day two years ago when Peach had teasingly suggested that they'd make a nice couple. Sometimes she would drop hints, just for fun, but Luigi was much too shy to say anything about it. She knew they would both say it eventually; it was just a matter of patience.

'So, how do you feel? Are you warm enough?' she asked, changing the subject – much to his obvious relief.

'Y-yes, I'm fine,' he replied, nodding quickly and adjusting his thick scarf around his neck just to be sure.

'Mhm, that's a shame. It would've been nice to have to snuggle together for warmth…' She tried to hold back her laughter while he spluttered incoherently.

They waited out the hours together while the storm battered the mountainside and the wind howled like a dozen wolves outside their cave.