Hello again. I suppose I should warn you that I am terrible about updating. It's part of the reason I haven't posted a story on any account of mine in a long, long time. I get a story idea, but after a bit the inspiration dries up. I'm hoping I can actually complete a long chapter based story for once. So bare with me. I can't promise a regular posting schedule, so hang in there.

Chapter 2: Worrying

The next morning, the door to Luigi's bedroom was closed and his shoes were beside the front door. Mario gave a small sigh of relief. It was unusual for Luigi to be out late at night without letting his twin know where he was. Due to Luigi's phasmophobia, the taller man was rarely out after sundown. Mario had been half afraid something had taken Luigi, but with nothing to prove his fears there hadn't been much he could do. It took a lot of weight off his shoulders to know his brother was home safe and sound.

'We just got back from one adventure,' Mario thought to himself, able to joke now that he knew Luigi wasn't in danger. 'I would hate to have to set out again after only a single day home!'

The plumber stretched and cracked his back. Although it had been over a complete day since he and Luigi had returned home, Mario didn't feel rested. He had spent almost sun-up till sun-down with Peach, and while that had been pleasant in its own right, walking around the castle and discussing the state of the Kingdom all day wasn't quite relaxing. He was looking forwards to doing nothing but eating and lounging around the house.

He headed to the kitchen in order to whip up breakfast. He opened the fridge, only to realize that no one had gone grocery shopping yet. He sighed. "So much for being lazy today," he grumbled. He closed the fridge and glanced around the kitchen. Thankfully Peach had sent him home with a box of sweets and pastries, so breakfast was saved. He or Luigi would have to go to the store before lunch, however. Thankfully coffee was still plentiful. He got a pot brewing and began to lay out pastries on a plate. By the time he had gotten everything ready it was already late morning. He shook his head. Normally he didn't sleep this late, but he felt he deserved the extra rest today. For Luigi, on the other hand, this was about as long as Mario ever let him stay in bed.

"Hey, fratello!" he called up the stairs. "Come get coffee before it's cold!" He made a quick detour outside to collect the morning newspaper before going back to the kitchen. He sat down at the table, grabbed a muffin, and began reading the front page of the paper. He had finished reading the main article – a piece about the new town hall project– before he realized his brother had not joined him. Mario rolled his eyes. He got up and went over to the bottom of the stairs again.

"Luigi!" he yelled. "Get your lazy butt out of bed!" He waited a moment, trying to listen for sounds of stirring. Nothing. "He could sleep through an earthquake," he muttered as he climbed the stairs. He walked down the hall and pounded on his brother's door. "Bro! Time to get up!" A faint rustling could be heard through the wood. Mario knocked again. "Come on. Breakfast à la The Royal Kitchens awaits."

"I'm up," came a groggy voice through the door.

Mario chuckled. "I'll believe it when I see you downstairs." He gave the door one last rap before going back to the kitchen. This time he managed to finish a cinnamon bun before his brother had appeared. "Luiiiigiii!" he sang out loudly.

"I'm here," the man in question grumbled. Mario grinned as his twin shuffled into the kitchen, wearing only a white t-shirt and boxers, and mindlessly poured himself a mug of coffee. It wasn't until the man sat down across from him that Mario got a good look at his brother.

"Mama mia!" he said. "You look worse now than when we got home!" Mario was shocked by his brother's appearance. Stress lines and tension riddled his brother's face. Dark bags hung heavy under his red, puffy eyes. His mustache, normally groomed to vain perfection, was in disarray and accompanied by the shadow of stubble. "Are you okay?"

Luigi nodded. "I'm alright. Just didn't sleep well."

Mario frowned at him. "You must have been out late last night. What time did you get back?"

The taller man sipped his coffee. "I'm not sure. Maybe around twelve?"

Mario did a small double take. "AM?"

Luigi rolled his eyes in response. "No. PM, I haven't actually gotten back yet. You're just talking to a hallucination."

His brother flicked a crumb at him, grinning in victory when it stuck in Luigi's mustache. His brother rolled his eyes and brushed the crumb away. "Smartass. What in the world were you doing out so late?"

"I went for a walk, lost track of time," Luigi admitted. "I didn't notice how long I'd been gone till it started to get dark. It was a long trek back after that."

Mario raised an eyebrow at him. "Figured you be tired of walking around in the dark after the past two weeks."

"Like I said, I wasn't paying attention." Luigi grabbed his own pastry. "How're Peach and the Kingdom?"

"Fine," Mario said. He saw right through his brother's attempt to change the subject. "Peach said the most trouble anyone's run into is with the new town hall."

"Construction not going well?"

"No. There have been some issues with the foundation. It's not holding up as well as it's meant to. Now," Mario studied Luigi over his coffee, "stop stalling. What's up?"

Luigi shrugged and mumbled around his mouthful of cinnamon bun. "Nuhffin…"

"Uh-huh," the older twin said skeptically. "Want to try again?"

Sapphire eyes looked anywhere but their counterparts, a sure sign that Luigi was hiding something. "I just had a lot on my mind, ok?"

"Like what?"

Luigi's brow lowered in frustration. "Did I ever tell you how annoying you are?"

"Many times," Mario said with a smile. The grin faded into a look of concern. "Bro, it gets dark at ten. Whatever's on your mind, it must have really messed with you for you to end up having to spend two hours walking home after sunset!"

Luigi flinched away at Mario's logic. He hesitated a moment before speaking softly. "Daisy came by yesterday."

"Did something happen between you two?" Mario asked cautiously.

Luigi paused again. "Kind of." When Mario didn't respond, Luigi continued. "We talked. Not much but… She… I mean we…" He wrung his hands in his lap. "I don't know if I can really tell you."

"Is she ok?" Mario asked.

An odd expression crossed Luigi's face. As well as he knew his brother, the older twin couldn't identify the emotion. "I think so. She not in any danger or anything like that."

After a moment, Mario put forth another question. "Did you two break up?"

"No." Luigi paused. "At least I don't think we did. But, then again, we never really made anything official either, so…"

Mario's eyebrows twitched in surprise. He hadn't known that. He thought the two of them had been dating for months and just never made any sort of announcement in order to avoid attention. "I'm sorry bro."

Luigi just shrugged. "I guess all I can really say is that our relationship isn't exactly heading where I thought it was."

The older twin got up from his chair and placed his hand firmly on Luigi's shoulder. "You know I'm here for you bro," he said softly. "You ever need to talk about it, I'm here to listen."

Luigi, unable to return the gesture from his seat, grasped at his brother's wrist. "Thanks, bro."

"You're very welcome. So, were you planning on running to the store?"

"Nope," Luigi said, glad Mario was the one to change the subject.

Mario pretended to pout. "But we don't have any food!"

"We have pastries."

"But we don't have anything for lunch! Or supper!"

"So go shopping."

"But I'm tired."

"So am I."

"I didn't get to rest yesterday."

"You got to flirt all day."

"Give me one good reason why I should go!"

"I cleaned."

Mario huffed out a breath in fake annoyance, ruffling his mustache. "Fine, send poor, little old me out into the world by myself."

"Uh-huh," Luigi said unsympathetically. "Don't forget the milk."

"I never do," Mario griped as he pulled on his shoes and hat.

"Yes you do," Luigi said with a grin.

"Whatever. Later Green Bean," Mario said as he walked out the door.

"See ya, Hot Head," the younger man managed to day before the front door shut.

Mario smiled at the parting banter. His face fell a little as he made his way down the path to the main road. Luigi put on a good act. He just hoped that whatever was eating at his brother would be put to rest before too long.

X.X.X.X.X

Luigi remained sitting at the table pretending to read the paper for several minutes. After a while he stood and made his way to peek out the front window. Mario was nowhere in sight. Luigi finally let his shoulders and face sag. He appreciated his brother's concern, almost as much as the fact that he let Luigi pretend he was ok for a little bit.

His stomach rumbled. Well, at least he was physically ok. He actually was quite hungry, having not eaten anything substantial since the previous morning. A quick trip back to the kitchen was made to grab a few more treats and his coffee before Luigi holed himself up in his room. As he sat down on his bed, he caught a glimpse of himself in his closet mirror. Mario was right, he did look terrible! A pale, haggard face stared back at him from the glass. "Oh, mama mia," he muttered. "What do am I to do?"

Even after all the time he'd spent sorting out his thoughts the previous day, he still didn't feel like Daisy's news had really sunk in. She was pregnant. With his child. He flopped down onto his back and covered his face with his hands. Stars above, he had gotten Daisy pregnant! Just one night had potentially changed both their lives. He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms. No matter how many times he said it to himself, it still felt like there was something missing. Shouldn't there be a moment when the world suddenly crashed onto his shoulders? He figured that at some point his eyes would open and he would feel an overwhelming moment of enlightenment in the face of this development. He took a deep breath and said it out loud, "Daisy is pregnant."

He waited. Nothing. No moment of clarity. No sudden crushing weight on his soul. Just the same dulled normality he had felt since the previous night. Maybe someday it would hit him. Perhaps when he actually had to start making changes.

The biggest thing to change would be his adventuring. Daisy was right; it had been a special circumstance when Baby Luigi and Baby Mario had joined them. Places like Bowser's Castle and the Forever Forest were no place for a child. He would have to stay home. It would be an end to his days of exploring with Mario. That wasn't too bad, Luigi supposed. He would miss it, but he would get used to it. At least he had a few stories tucked under his belt. Instead of going out into danger, he'd get to stay home in a safe, warm house and tell those stories to a hopefully eager listener. It would be hard letting Mario go off on his own again, but it would be just like old times. In years past he had stayed behind, to protect the home front and worry about his brother. He supposed staying behind again wouldn't really be all that different. Only this time he'd have someone else other than his brother to worry about.

Although speaking of Mario, it wouldn't be fair to bring him into Luigi's problems. The older brother shouldn't have to help raise a child that wasn't his. Perhaps Luigi could move out to the Mansion full time? The building had mostly gone unused in the years Luigi had owned it. Mostly he rented out the largest room for various functions throughout the year, with only occasional stays when he needed a break from his brother. It was a bit further away from Toad Town than he would like, but it had plenty of space. Other than a few living spaces and the event room, most of the rooms went unused. It would be easy to convert one into a nursery and play room. If nothing else, he was sure that his polterpup would enjoy having full time company. He smiled slightly as he imagined the ghostly canine chasing a small child around the building.

His smile faded along with the vision. "I'm getting ahead of myself," he whispered to the empty room. There was no guarantee that Daisy would go through with the pregnancy. If he was honest, there was hardly even a chance that she would. He knew that he had stated his bit, and nothing more would ever convince her one way or another. He could only wait for her decision.

X.X.X.X.X

Daisy stood on the balcony outside her bedroom suite and looked up at the night sky. The night wind blew gently around her, tugging at her nightgown and hair. She stood still, gazing at both the distant stars and the black voids between them. "Please," she whispered to them, the only ones she dared to ask. "What do I do?"

I like the idea that Luigi and Mario banter and bicker when it's just the two of them.