(A/N: Now we've made it to Chapter 2. What's going to happen now? I'll start it now so you can find out.)
Princess Peach had returned to the Mushroom Kingdom two days ago, but Mario had yet to come back. Luigi was starting to worry about his older brother. He knew that Mario was quite capable of holding his own against enemies (except a bunch of vengeful Boos), but what could have happened to him?
On that nice, sunny morning, Luigi sat down at the table and was just about to eat his breakfast of eggs and toast when he heard his green smartphone ringing in his pocket. To his surprise, Peach was calling him.
"Hello?" Luigi answered.
"Luigi, it's me, Princess Peach." Peach replied.
"Principessa! Princess! What's going on?" Luigi asked, feeling concerned.
"I want you to know that I saw Mario's airship land right outside of my castle a minute ago!" Peach said.
"What? My brother's got his own airship? Since when?" Luigi asked.
"He didn't tell you?" Peach asked.
"No. In fact, he hasn't told me much of anything since that day Bowser captured you." Luigi said.
"Oh... Well, it's a long, complicated story, and I'm sure Mario will tell it to you in due time because I saw him disembark and start heading in the direction of your mansion." Peach said. She sounded a little upset. She was kind of hoping Mario would come to her castle and talk to her. She would've gone after him, but she decided maybe it would be best to give him some space before then.
"Okie-dokie. Grazie. Thanks for telling me, Peach." Luigi said.
"You're welcome, Luigi." Peach said.
Luigi ended the call, ate his breakfast, and fixed some eggs and toast for Mario to eat when he got back to the mansion. He also hoped Mario would be willing to talk when he came home and saw the nice breakfast Luigi made for him.
As Luigi had said to the princess, Mario hadn't spoken to him since that day he left to go see Peach, only to later text him and tell him that Peach had been kidnapped by Bowser and he needed to save her. Then he came right home after that adventure, rather than staying at the castle like he usually did. He didn't speak to Luigi then, hinting that not all was well.
The day after that, Mario only left Luigi a note, saying he was going to the castle... only to later text him to say that Peach was gone and he needed to find her. Well, maybe this would be the turning point, because Luigi was getting very worried about Mario. It wasn't like his brother to not speak with him for so long.
When Luigi saw Mario coming down the path, he ran to the door and was right there to greet him when he arrived.
"Hey, bro!" Luigi greeted his brother.
Polterpup, hearing his master call out to Mario, ran over, barking happily at the sight of his master's brother.
Much to Luigi's annoyance and concern, Mario didn't say anything to him. He didn't even talk to the puppy.
"I, uh... I fixed you something to eat." Luigi said, not sure what to say to get his brother to speak up.
So Mario walked to the kitchen and sat down at the table to eat. He ate hungrily but he did not notice what he ate. When he finished, he retreated to his bedroom, where he stayed for the rest of the day.
Luigi had no idea what was bugging Mario. Did he have laryngitis, strep throat, or had someone stolen his voice? It couldn't be something he had said or done. He wondered about it all day long, but no answer sounded right.
"Sono davvero preoccupato per lui. I'm really worried about him." Luigi said to his puppy, who licked his face to try and reassure him. So Luigi figured that perhaps Mario would talk to him when he was good and ready.
Later that night, Luigi had taken a shower and got dressed in his green pajamas. He had dropped off his clothes, towel, and washcloth in the laundry room, and now he was walking along the upstairs hallway, making his way to his room when he thought he heard something from Mario's room. The younger plumber put his ear close to the door and listened.
Inside the room, Mario was dressed in his red pajamas and sitting on his bed while playing his red Rickenbacker guitar. He was also singing a Beatles song as he played his musical instrument. And Mario also looked and sounded very sad. It worried Cappy, who was floating next to the plumber in his Bonneter form. He hated seeing Mario this upset, and wanted to comfort him.
It surprised Luigi to hear Mario singing while playing his guitar. That ruled out his thoughts from earlier, but then why had Mario been giving him the silent treatment? There had to be a reason for it.
Luigi then recognized the song Mario was playing and singing. It was "Oh! Darling" by the Beatles, and he never heard Mario play or sing that one before. He didn't know that Mario knew it. He also detected sadness in Mario's voice as he sang. He had assumed that something was really wrong when Mario came home after the adventure, and hearing him singing and playing this song proved it.
At that moment, Mario had reached the first bridge of the song, and he really did sound upset as he sang the first half. During the second half of the bridge, Luigi could hear Mario's voice beginning to break, which worried him greatly. On the last word of the bridge, Mario finally broke down and just started bawling his eyes out, unable to sing anymore.
(A/N: Forgive me if you think it's OOC for Mario to be crying like this, but you'll find out why he's feeling like this if you keep on reading.)
Luigi was very alarmed when he heard that. He knew that something really bad must have happened to have Mario feeling upset enough to cry like that. He ran downstairs to the kitchen and quickly prepared a mug of peppermint-flavored hot chocolate for his brother. When it was ready, he carried the red mug upstairs, and softly knocked on Mario's door.
In Mario's room, the sad plumber had put away his guitar and was sitting at the edge of the bed with his knees drawn up to his chest. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, indicating that he was still feeling very sad. Cappy had flown to the tissue box on the dresser and handed Mario some tissues to dry his eyes. But when they heard the knock at the door, Mario picked up his head, and Cappy quickly turned back into Mario's trademark cap and landed neatly on the pillow.
"Who... who is it?" Mario asked, trying to make his voice sound normal.
"It's-a me, Luigi. May I come in, bro?" Luigi asked, hoping Mario would give him a reply.
"Credo di si. I-I guess so..." Mario replied.
Luigi entered the room to see his brother sitting on the bed, looking very sad and sorry for himself. It worried the younger plumber to see Mario like this.
"Cosa c'è che non va, fratello? What's wrong, bro?" Luigi asked in concern as he walked over to the bed.
"Nothing..." Mario replied, not looking at Luigi.
"That's a lie, and we both know it, Mario. I heard you singing a sad Beatles song a few minutes ago, and you're not looking at me. You always avoid looking at me whenever you're lying." Luigi said as he sat down next to Mario.
"Grazie per averlo notato... Thanks for noticing..." Mario said sarcastically as he turned to look at Luigi.
Luigi felt bad when he saw that Mario's eyes were red and puffy from crying.
"So that's why he was didn't want to look at me. Poor Mario..." Luigi thought, but then he asked his brother, "What's got you feeling so down, bro? Talk to me. It's-a not like you to feel this way."
"I... I-I screwed up b-bad, Luigi. R-really bad... Everything... c-came apart at the s-seams... because of m-me... I'll n-never... forgive myself for... for th-this!" Mario said, burying his face in his hands and crying again.
"What did you do, Mario? You can tell me." Luigi said.
"N-no, I can't. Wh-what I did... was s-stupid... A-and you're going to... h-hate me for it..." Mario wept, sounding even more upset.
"I won't hate you, Mario. I could never hate my own brother, even if he did something really stupid. Now are you sure you can't tell me? Not even for some hot cocoa?" Luigi asked, holding the mug right under Mario's nose.
Mario looked at the mug. And he caught the scent of chocolate and peppermint. Odd he hadn't noticed it when Luigi walked in. He must have been really out of it to not smell the cocoa right away.
"O-okie-dokie." Mario said, taking the mug from his brother and wrapping his hands around it.
"Something bad happened during that adventure of yours, Mario, and I want to know what. And drink that cocoa; it might help you feel a little better." Luigi said.
Mario took a small sip of the cocoa, and after taking a moment to pull himself together, he said, "Well, I... I guess I'd better start from the very beginning."
"That's the best place to start." Luigi smiled.
"Okay. Bowser's airship was hovering over Peach's Castle when I arrived, and sure enough, the idiot Koopa was already holding Peach captive on his airship." Mario began.
"Well, that's not surprising at all." Luigi said. He kind of expected that.
"It isn't. But I never did tell you what his plan was this time around. It wasn't just another routine kidnapping like you might have thought, like I was expecting. Oh no, this was far worse than one of those..." Mario continued.
"Mario, I got the idea that something bad had happened when you came home right after the rescue mission instead of staying at Peach's Castle like you usually do." Luigi said.
"Right. Something did go wrong, and do you know why? That's because Bowser was planning to... to m-marry Peach! By force!" Mario said.
Luigi was not amused when he heard this.
"Sul serio?! Seriously?! When is Bowser ever going to get it through that thick skull of his that Peach hates his guts too much to marry him, whether or not he's trying to force her?!" Luigi asked.
"A better question is: when is Bowser going to realize that I absolutely refuse to let him marry Peach?!" Mario said.
"Mai. Never." both brothers replied at the same time. Luigi couldn't help smiling at that, and Mario, for a fraction of a second, gave his brother a half-smile. It made Luigi feel good to see that.
Mario took another sip of cocoa, then continued his story, leaving nothing out. This also meant that Luigi was going to meet Cappy. Luigi freaked out when he realized who Cappy was and what he really looked like, but when he found out that Cappy was really friendly and helped Mario a lot during the rescue mission, he visibly relaxed.
Mario had finished his beverage by the time he reached the part about the dramatic escape from the Underground Moon Caverns.
"I was able to really admire Peach's beauty by then. Oh, Luigi, she looked so exquisite in that white dress, even though it was stolen and she was wearing it to marry someone she can't stand." Mario said. A dreamy look came over his face as he thought about how lovely the Princess looked in the Lochlady Dress.
"I bet she looked like un angelo, an angel." Luigi said.
"She did." Mario replied.
Luigi realized that Mario didn't tell him that he can't really say things like that about Peach because Peach wasn't his girlfriend, and he had her cousin, Daisy. What had happened to make Mario keep quiet about it this time?
"Mario... were you... by chance... thinking of... you-know-what?" Luigi asked.
"Sì. While Cappy and Tiara were celebrating their reunion, I was approaching her, fully intending to ask her la grande domanda, the big question." Mario said.
"And when Tiara and I noticed, we were both hoping that Peach would say 'yes' when he did it." Cappy said to Luigi.
"Believe me, I would have done the same thing as you and your sister if I had been there. And I know Peach would've said 'yes'." Luigi smiled at the Bonneter before turning back to his brother to ask, "Did you do it?"
"No. I was stopped." Mario replied.
"Stopped?! What stopped you?" Luigi asked.
"I'll give you one guess." Mario said.
It didn't take Luigi long to figure out what might have happened.
"Oh no... He didn't..." Luigi said.
"Yes, Luigi, he did. Bowser somehow regained consciousness, pushed me down and out of the way, and offered Peach the Soirée Bouquet in a last-ditch attempt to propose." Mario said.
"Apetta un minuto. Wait a minute. Peach would never accept anything from Bowser, no matter how amazing it was..." Luigi said.
"È quello che pensavo. That's what I thought. But when he did that, I saw that she looked at him. Can you believe it?" Mario asked.
"Mario, I hate to tell you this, but Peach always looks at Bowser, However, it's-a not like she has a choice..." Luigi started.
"No, Luigi. You know that's not what I mean. She gave him that look. Like this." Mario said. Then he demonstrated that look. Mario made his eyes big and batted them at his brother in a flirtatious way, like Peach and Daisy would. Luigi recognized that look right away.
"Oh, no she didn't!" Luigi gasped.
"She did! And I was so afraid that Peach was going to... well... you know...!" Mario said.
"What did you do?" Luigi asked.
"I acted fast. I grabbed a Rocket Flower and tried proposing to Peach with that." Mario replied.
"What happened next?" Luigi asked.
"Before I could even get out one word of the question that was still on my lips, Bowser smacked me in the head and tried shoving me away while forcing his stupid stolen bouquet in Peach's face. He still doesn't seem to realize that forcing a girl to marry him isn't the best way to help him get her to like him any better. Especially when the girl is una principessa, a princess." Mario said.
"Peach didn't really accept his bouquet, did she?" Luigi asked, starting to feel bad.
"No, she didn't. And that's because I... I..." Mario was on the verge of tears as the memory started to come back.
"Mario...?" Luigi said, worried about his brother.
"Mario was doing the same thing Bowser was doing. Both guys were shoving flowers into Peach's face." Cappy began, sensing that Mario was losing it.
"Oh no..." Luigi said, realizing where this was going.
"Yeah, the worst thing in the world happened when they did that. Peach got really mad, and she demanded 'Enough!'. And because she didn't exactly specify from whom she'd had enough, it means that Peach not only turned down Bowser, but Mario, too." Cappy explained.
And when Mario heard that, he immediately broke down sobbing again, feeling the same pain he felt the moment it happened.
"Oh, Mario..." Luigi gasped, pulling Mario into his arms and hugging him, rubbing his back in an attempt to comfort him. He hated to see his older brother like this. The only times Mario got this upset were when nightmares about being turned into a painting by that vengeful King Boo plagued him.
"I was an... an idiota, Luigi! I... I-I ruined everything... between us!" Mario sobbed into his brother's pajama shirt.
"You're blaming yourself, bro? I was just planning on blaming the whole thing on Bowser..." Luigi began.
"Well, don't! He's not the one... who got his... his heart smashed!" Mario wailed.
"Heart smashed?! Mama-mia, you really were serious about marrying Peach, weren't you, Mario?!" Luigi asked, shocked as he held Mario at arm's length. Luigi knew that Mario really loved Peach, but he had no idea that his older brother considered her the woman he wanted to spend the rest of eternity with!
"S-sì! I was! I loved her so much, Luigi. She meant everything... everything to me! And now... now I've lost my everything... because I was being stupido!" Mario cried.
"How did Peach get home if she hates you?" Luigi asked.
"She was going to take mine... and Cappy's airship, the Odyssey... home." Mario began.
"Without you?!" Luigi asked. How did Mario ever get home in order to take it to look for Peach if that was the case?
"No. She called out to us... Bowser and me... to come with her... We... we both went for it... but I kicked Bowser... to keep him from... from coming along. Not that he needed to... He's got his... his own stupid ship... He can take it... to his own kingdom." Mario finished.
"Oh. Well, if Peach wanted you guys to come with her, then she couldn't be all that mad, right?" Luigi asked.
"No, Luigi. She was still pretty mad." Cappy replied.
"And I couldn't bring myself to talk to her... because I knew... I would bring up what happened... and ask if I was forgiven... and then she'd... sh-she'd shoot me down... and w-watch my broken heart... kill me." Mario sniffled.
"What happened the following day? Did you find out where Peach had gone?" Luigi asked.
"He did. I told him where she had disappeared to." Cappy replied.
"Peach and Tiara... they went on a... a n-new world tour... You know... to m-make up for the one that... that B-Bowser took them on..." Mario replied.
"And so you followed them to the different kingdoms?" Luigi guessed.
"S-sì. I did... To m-make sure Peach was s-safe... a-and happy. She was." Mario said.
"Didn't you work things out with her during the tour?" Luigi asked.
"No, Luigi... I still couldn't bring myself to... to talk to Peach. After what I did... what was the use? I wanted to... work things out... but she was having fun... and I dared not... ruin her fun by... by bringing up something... that would cause her happy mood to... come crashing down... like I want to see Bowser's stupid airship do." Mario said, hanging his head.
"I spoke with the girls, but I deliberately avoided the subjects of Honeylune Ridge and marriage, for I knew Peach didn't want to think about either of those. However, I couldn't talk with them for long at the Moon Kingdom because Mario saw the place where Peach turned him down, and I could see that moment playing out again in his mind's eye. I had to warp him to the Odyssey so he could cry in private." Cappy said.
"You didn't talk to Peach at all after everything?" Luigi asked.
"Nope. I was afraid to." Mario said.
"Bro, that's not going to help make things right, and you know it. We both know that while you can't take back what you did to Peach..." Luigi began.
"Lo so. I know..." Mario mumbled.
"You can still apologize to her, and you can mend your relationship by doing what you told me to do when I first fell for Daisy: you need to talk to her." Luigi finished.
"I don't know if Peach will let me talk to her. Not after I screwed up like I did." Mario said.
"Mario, I don't think Peach would try to prevent you from talking to her. She doesn't seem like the kind of woman who would do that sort of thing to the man who rescues her." Luigi said.
Mario was quiet for a moment, before letting out a sigh and saying, "You're right. She's not that kind of woman."
"And for all we know, Peach might be suspicious as to why you're not speaking to her. She's probably really upset about that, Mario." Luigi said.
"I... I didn't m-mean to... to upset her..." Mario said.
"So, go to the castle tomorrow, and when you get there, talk to Peach. Don't you still love her?" Luigi asked.
"I do. M-more than anything..." Mario replied.
"Well, then?" Luigi asked.
"Okay. I-I'll try." Mario said.
"No. Do, or do not. There is no try." Luigi said, quoting that line from Yoda in "The Empire Strikes Back".
"Okie-dokie. I will talk to Peach." Mario sighed.
"Quello è mio fratello. That's my bro." Luigi said, giving his brother a hug.
"Grazie. Thanks, Luigi." Mario said, returning the hug.
"Are you feeling any better?" Luigi asked a few minutes later after ending the hug.
"Just a little." Mario said.
"You'll feel a lot better once you talk to Peach." Luigi assured him.
"I hope so..." Mario sighed.
Then Luigi took the empty cocoa mug and left the room. With that, Mario got under the covers of his bed and turned out the lights, ready to turn in. Cappy laid down on the other side of the bed and made himself comfortable.
"Good night, Mario." Cappy said.
"Buona notte. Good night, Cappy." Mario replied, doing his best to try and get some sleep.
Will Mario succeed in getting back on the good side of the woman he loves? I hope you're not expecting me to tell you that now, because the only answer I'm going to give you is: stay tuned to find out!