A/N: Merry Christmas, everyone! Just like in New Brotherhood, I want to thank everyone for your support when I needed it.
Distance is back with an actual chapter this time. And even though this one is much shorter than the first four, I prefer to save the most important part for the next upload. I also want to thank everyone who either followed, favorited, reviewed, and/or read the story up to this point. One person in particular, animegamefanatic, actually has a story titled 'Mario x Peach: Unresolved Tension' on their FFN account, which is one of the few stories that inspired me to write this. I just wanted to give them my special thanks. And now, we're over 50 reviews, 31 favorites, 26 followers, and 2,600+ hits! So far, I haven't gotten any complaints about Pauline's role in the last chapter, and I'm happy to hear that a lot of you liked her.
Finally, I changed the poll by adding an extra option and allowing everyone to vote for a second answer. Feel free to go to my profile and find the question at the top of the page. Other than that, I hope you enjoy this one.
Disclaimer: Plot events from Super Mario Odyssey are found here. Please leave to avoid spoilers. I don't own anything related to Mario.
"One of the biggest mistakes you could make is to cause the woman you love to feel like she can't talk to you."
~Amari Soul
Chapter 5: The Truth Still Hurts
The Odyssey continued its smooth-sailing ride back to the Mushroom Kingdom. The ship already passed the Cap Kingdom and continued its journey over the water. The moonlight reflected off the calming waves. Some nearby seagulls flew by, chirping loudly. The noise woke up the plumber who was snoozing in one of the chairs with the red Mushroom pillow and a soft blanket. He rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms out, his mouth agape as he let out a long yawn.
"What time is it?" Mario said to himself. He took a peek at the wall clock in front of him. "8 o'clock, huh? I wonder if they're still decorating the castle at this point." He lowered his head, gazing down at his lap. "I can definitely bet Peach is worried sick about me. Luigi probably is, too. I'll have to make it up to both of them later."
It took another twenty minutes before the Odyssey finally returned to the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario stepped outside and guided the ship to his backyard. He waited for the ramp to fold out before he stepped off. After locking it up, he walked around to reach the front porch. He was about to grab the house key from his pocket until he was caught off guard by the door opening.
"Mario?"
"Oh, Luigi! I... I didn't expect you to be here."
His younger brother gave him a questionable, yet stern, look. "And I didn't expect you to be gone for the whole day."
Mario frowned. "I know, Weege. Listen, I'm very sorry I didn't come to the castle to help out. I didn't mean to break my promise with you."
"Well, I did get your letter in the kitchen. At least you gave me some sort of message. I just didn't know where you went or why you had to leave."
"Luigi," he reached back to scratch his head, looking down at the wooden floor. "There's something I have to tell you. I'm not going to lie to you like before." Luigi raised an eyebrow, giving him the signal to continue. "About what happened this morning, when you asked me if something was wrong with me and I kept denying you, the truth is... I was not feeling myself lately. Or at all for the past year."
The man in green slouched his shoulders. Some of the pent-up anger brushed away. "Do you want to come inside and talk about it?"
"Yes. That'll be fine. I still have to talk to Peach today. I just hope I'm not too late."
Luigi let his brother inside and told him to take a seat in the living room. He walked over to the kitchen and brewed some tea. He carefully carried the drinks over to the couch, handing Mario his favorite red mug.
"Grazie."
"Prego, Mario," he took a sip before setting his cup down. "So, answer this first to me, Mario. Why did you not come to the castle today?"
Holding his mug in his hands, he took a deep breath as he thought about what he wanted to say. "I flew to the Cap Kingdom to visit Cappy."
"You did?" Luigi received a nod. "I mean, I guess it's nice to see him because you haven't been with each other since your worldwide adventure. Did you talk to him about the Smash tournament?"
"Actually, no. I didn't."
Luigi was confused. "Then, what did you discuss about?"
"About what's wrong with me. I also went to the Metro Kingdom and spoke with Pauline about the same thing."
"You did?"
"Mm-hmm. Both of them helped me a little with my problems. Yet, I've been on edge with everything that I've done in the past."
"What's the matter?"
Mario set his mug down and slouched back on the couch. "I don't know if you have ever noticed, but I've been avoiding Peach a lot for the past year."
"Frankly, I do know all about that."
Mario looked at him with a bit of surprise. "You do?"
Luigi nodded. "And so does Peach." Mario turned away after he mentioned her name. "In fact, when I told her that you seemed a little odd this morning, Peach said that you haven't been seeing her a lot, and you hardly talked or spent time together frequently. I know you two are very close and all, and people kept saying that you two are like an item, but recently that hasn't been the case. Not only that, but she told me that she's quite sorrowful and hurt about it. Are you doing this on purpose?"
Mario had no choice but to be honest. Lying wasn't going to make this situation better. "Yes, Luigi. It's all true. I've been avoiding Peach a whole lot, including today."
"But why, Mario? Did you ever think that Peach's feelings are hurt because of this?"
"I do, fratello. It's just... I was scared to see her face. I was afraid to talk to her. I couldn't bring myself to engage in a conversation unless it's for a few seconds. But I kept pushing her away, and I don't mean to hurt her like that."
"Then why do you keep doing it?"
Mario resisted forming in his eyes. "Because I broke her heart before all this happened."
"Huh? What do you mean, bro?"
"The rejection on the moon."
At first, Luigi didn't realize his point until it finally clicked in his mind. His eyes widened as he stared at his broken brother.
"Before Peach got kidnapped by Bowser last year, I wanted to take a step forward and ask for her hand in marriage. And after Cappy and I rescued her, I thought that it would be a nice occasion to propose to her since we were outside the wedding chapel. When Bowser interfered, my ego took over, resulting in Peach scolding me for my poor bearing. It was that moment when I felt like I lost my touch with her because I only cared about being with her forever. And that's not fair to her. That made me think; what would happen if I say or do something stupid like that again? She could rebuke me like the last time, of course. But my mind could only think of the worst possibilities because I screwed up so badly. That's why I haven't been talking to Peach like I used to. However, I eventually realized that avoiding her was not the best thing to do."
Suddenly, Luigi put two and two together. "Were you about to propose Peach with a ring?"
"I was," Mario blinked for a second. "Why do you ask that?"
Luigi swallowed a small bulge in his throat. He cautiously grabbed something from his overalls and showed it to Mario. His brother instantly knew what it was.
"W-Where did you get that?!"
"After Peach allowed me to go home early, I wanted to clean up the house. When I got to your room, I found this under your dresser. I couldn't help but take a quick peek."
Mario's face paled, frozen in place with so many emotions running through his head like before.
"You really wanted to marry Peach, huh?"
By then, Mario couldn't keep his tears at bay. He let them fall down once again, not caring that he was sniveling in front of his sibling.
Luigi's heart broke. Wanting to comfort him, he set down the ring box onto the coffee table and gently laid a hand on Mario's shoulder. He pulled him forward and held him tightly. He wrapped his arms around his body, rubbing his back as Mario laid his head on Luigi's shoulder. The red-clad man shivered in the embrace. Luigi tried to soothe him, whispering words in their native language into his ear. It seemed to work as Mario's shaking diminished.
"Shh, it's okay, Mario." Luigi remained quiet for a while. "Mi dispiace molto."
"No, Luigi. Sono io quello che dovrebbe scusarsi." Mario pulled away to look at his brother straight in the face. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you the truth. I'm sorry I kept this secret to myself as it only made me more mad and depressed. I tried to bottle up my emotions and pretend like everything is okay when it isn't. You're my brother, and the least I could've asked for was help from someone I trust with my heart. It only took me until now to talk about my feelings to you."
"Well, I'm here now. I'm here for you, big bro," he hugged Mario again. "And you have no reason to be sorry to me."
"Thanks, Weegie," he responded with a muffled accent.
"However, you need to apologize to the princess."
"I understand, Luigi. Deep down, I still have feelings for her. I just hope I haven't gone too far to the point where she doesn't respect me anymore. Plus, I promised Pauline I would try to see Peach as soon as I got back."
"Oh, I didn't mean to waste your time."
"No, Luigi. It's okay. I actually didn't mind talking to you. I kind of needed it. Thanks, bro."
"Nessun problema," Luigi patted his shoulder. (1)
He turned around and grabbed a tissue box from behind. He handed it to Mario who appreciated his kindness. After drying his eyes and blowing his nose, he started to feel better again. But Mario had that sinking feeling in his heart again. He knew that talking to Peach would be very awkward given the circumstances. He had a strong feeling that she will be upset no matter what. Nevertheless, he had to explain himself. He could deal with the consequences later. All that mattered was letting Peach know how sorry he was. And from what Pauline suggested, he wanted to properly ask her the one question he was dying to say exactly one year ago.
"You okay, bro?"
"A little," he genuinely replied. "I better get going now. And I need to take this as well," he grabbed the jewelry box. "You can pour away the tea. I'm not thirsty anymore."
"Okay. Listen, Mario. Just go up to her and be yourself like old times. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. You got this."
"I got this," he repeated softly.
"Good luck, Mario."
"Thanks, Luigi."
After the Mario Bros. shared one last hug, Mario breathed deeply before he started to make his way outside. Luigi remained at the front entrance of the house, watching him stroll towards the green pipe. Before he entered below, Mario waved goodbye while Luigi tipped his green cap to him. It was now or never. He was ready to talk to Princess Peach. He now had the courage to go up to her and apologize. What his heart was dreading was how she was going to react.
END OF CHAPTER
Spoilers: if you already voted in the poll, I should mention that the question had two answers. And if you guessed that something drastic would happen before Mario could see Peach, then you are technically correct! Luigi ends up finding of Mario's reasoning to why he left the Mushroom Kingdom and avoided Peach recurrently. But as for the second answer, that will come at a later time.
Until then, you can predict what you think will happen to Mario next time on Distance. Will he finally explain himself to the princess, or will he back out last second? Will he finally get to propose to Peach properly? And if so, will she accept?
As always, thanks for reading! Please leave a favorite/follow if you're enjoying this so far, review your thoughts down below, and tune in for Ch. 6 when it all goes down between Mario and Peach. This is TGN, signing off.
Post-Chapter Notes:
(1): I've explained a few of these phrases in my other stories, but I'll go ahead and translate them for anyone else, just in case.
Grazie- Thank you.
Prego- You're welcome.
Mi dispiace molto- I'm very sorry.
Sono io quello che dovrebbe scusarsi- I'm the one who should be apologizing.
Nessun problema- No problem.