Author Notes - Guess who watched The Super Mario Bros Movie and was inspired to write a short story because of it! Seriously, that movie is freaking awesome. Maybe it's just kind of alright as a movie-movie, but as a MARIO movie...? I don't think I could've asked for anything better.

The best part of the movie was, without a doubt, the brotherly relationship between Mario and Luigi. The movie could've explored it more, but what we got was adorable and even a little sad at some points. And that brotherly relationship is what this story is all about. I kept it vague where this story takes place. That way, you can go by the movie continuity and imagine everyone as humans in Brooklyn. Or, you can go by Yoshi's Island continuity and we're in the Mushroom Kingdom getting bullied by Koopas or something.

As per all of my recent Super Mario fanfics, I'm writing Luigi as autistic. It's not really relevant to the story and it isn't directly mentioned, but it is heavily implied and how I'm writing him. I do this because I like to project onto him.

LUIGI'S GUARDIAN ANGEL

Luigi hated middle school.

Maybe he wasn't exactly unique in this regard, but it didn't make him feel any better.

It wasn't the school work or anything like that. No, that was the easy part. His grades were good and he understood the work, even if he had to teach himself more than the teachers did.

It was the other part of school that was hard.

'Com'on, Weegee. Let's-a go!'

Mario leapt over all five stairs that led to their school, bounding through the air like a superhero. He struck the landing with the grace and poise of a cat. A couple students walking by gave him a quick round of applause.

'I said, com'on, Weegee!' He said. 'Hurry up!'

Luigi stumbled out of the front doors after him, gripping on his backpack's straps like they'd slip off any moment. His gangly legs were practically tripping over themselves as he slowly walked down the stairs as carefully as he could. He was all limbs, and practically towered over his older brother.

Mario had turned twelve with grace. Luigi… did not, so his face was a bit of a mess. His cheeks turned red; some of the other students were looking at him. He just knew it.

'C-Coming, bro,' He said, in a quiet voice. 'Just give me a-'

But then, like every other day, he misplaced a step and tumbled forward. Mario immediately braced himself to help, but fortunately it was only the last step Luigi had missed this time. After stumbling around for a few seconds, he was able to recover without much problem.

'Oh, that was close,' Mario said. 'You gotta be more careful!'

'I… I try,' Luigi said, looking at the ground. 'But sometimes, you know, my legs just kinda-'

'Stop cooperating, I know. But still! If only five steps give you trouble, then… well, there's no hope for you.'

Luigi just rolled his eyes, not giving his brother the dignity of a response. After about twelve years of bonafide brotherly insults, they barely made an impact on him anymore. The brothers began walking home, with Mario leading as he always did. It didn't take long for him to start talking.

'Oh, did I tell ya?' He said. 'Rodney's invited me to a cool party this weekend! I bet it's gonna be awesome.'

Rodney… That name made Luigi cringe. Mario was part of that guy's friend group, but he never understood why. Every time Luigi happened across one of those kids by himself, it never ended well.

Luigi frowned. 'W-Was I invited?'

'Uh… Rodney and the others never mentioned you. Would you even want to go?'

'No. B-But it would've been nice to be invited.'

The more that he thought about it, the more that Luigi realised that he had never been invited to anything. No birthday parties. No gaming sessions. No trips to the movies. Nothing. He didn't want to think about it, because he knew what those thoughts would do to him on the inside, but he couldn't help it.

Never invited. Never remembered.

He sniffled.

Mario stopped and turned around. 'You okay there, Weegee?'

'I'm fine…' Luigi replied, trying to sound like he meant it. 'Must be my allergies or something.'

A lie, but not too far off. Luigi had always been the sickly one, afflicted with numerous allergies and prone to catching every bug imaginable. The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that Mario had won a lottery that had him bankrupt. Mario was healthier, didn't trip over himself constantly, had far more friends…

'Well, in that case, we better get ya home!' Mario said, smiling. 'That way, Mama can spoil you.'

Luigi chuckled; there was always that. Mama loved them both, but she always spoiled him. The thought of Mama wrapping her arms around him and feeding him with favourite pasta (with extra mushrooms!) was enough to make him smile.

All that goodwill vanished when he heard a voice yelling out.

'Hey, Mario!'

The voice came from behind them, but he didn't need to turn around to know who it was. He'd recognise that rough voice anywhere.

'Oh, Rodney!' Mario said, waving to him. 'Ciao!'

Luigi's heart began to race. Mario may have been there, but it still made every nerve in his body fire up in a panic. Why here? Why now?

Rodney may have been a year older but he wasn't even that big; just your average looking kid. Certainly not what most people would think of when they heard the word 'bully'. His little sister, Tammy (only about a year younger), didn't look like much of a bully herself, but Luigi didn't really like her either.

'You're still coming to my party, right?' Rodney asked. 'Cos it's gonna be the coolest party on the block.'

'Oh yeah!' Tammy said. 'We're gonna bring the house down!'

Mario nodded. 'Wouldn't miss it for the world.'

Luigi's grip on his backpack straps tightened, and he found himself slinking away without really noticing. It never made sense to him: why were these two so much nicer to Mario than him? Any hope he had of getting out of this situation undetected was dashed when he heard Rodney snickering.

'What are ya doin' hanging out with him?' He asked.

Mario must not have noticed the mocking tone, for he answered genuinely, 'Oh, him? He's my little brother, Luigi! Younger by just five minutes. I guess you haven't met him yet.'

Rodney and Tammy exploded into laughter, their chuckles ladled with a cruelty that Mario did not miss this time. His smile fell. Meanwhile, Luigi's cheeks turned bright red and his stomach churned.

'He's your brother? Oh, that's hysterical!' Rodney said, hardly able to breathe. 'That little dweeb? A kid as cool as you has the world's biggest dork as a brother!'

'Wow. I feel bad for you,' Tammy said. 'He really drags you down, huh? Must be hard living with a clumsy anchor like him.'

Luigi tried to ignore their words, to follow Mama's advice and to deny them what they wanted. But no matter how hard he tried, those words wouldn't leave him alone. He turned away from them, so they wouldn't see the tears gathering in his eyes.

'Aw, he's crying!' Rodney said. 'What a little wuss. He can't handle just a few bad words?'

Tammy pointed as she looked at Mario. 'Are you sure that he's your brother? He's just a dumb weirdo!'

Luigi didn't want them to see him crying, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. Once those emotions started flowing, there was no way to stop them. He gripped onto the straps for dear life. They were right. They were all right. If only he wasn't such a clumsy crybaby.

'HEY!'

Mario shouted loudly enough to yank him out of his thoughts, a task normally impossible. The red-clad plumber stood between Luigi and these bullies, holding his arms out like he was a shield.

'Don't you dare say that about my little bro!' He yelled. 'That's my brother you're talking about.'

'M-M-Mario…' Luigi murmured, hardly able to speak through his sobs. 'D-Don't do this. They're… t-they're your friends.'

'Not anymore!'

Rodney paid no attention to Mario, simply pushing him aside like it was just a gate. Unfortunately, most people in the school towered over Mario; height was the only thing Luigi had over him.

'I mean, look at this kid!' Rodney said. 'He's lanky as hell, has no muscle to speak of, and-'

Suddenly, without a warning, he slammed his hands together and created a terrifying smack that sounded more like thunder crashing. Luigi leapt into the air and scampered away like a frightened puppy, whimpering like one too. If a train struck him right now…

'He's such a wimp!' Tammy said, laughing out loud. 'I bet he's scared of his own shadow!'

'I bet he's adopted,' Rodney said, laughing so hard that he was crying. 'And what a bad decision! Of all the kids you've could've gotten, you have this cowardly, spineless, idiot of a-'

'I said, DON'T SAY THAT ABOUT MY BROTHER!'

In a split second - almost faster than Luigi could blink - Mario delivered a punch directly into Rodney's stomach. The big kid let out a cry of pain and doubled over onto the ground, clutching his stomach and seething through his gritted teeth.

'Roddy!' Tammy cried - her laughter had come to a dead stop.

She rushed to her big brother's side, staring up at Mario in horror. For just a moment, she gave him a nasty glare.

'You did this just to defend your pathetic little brother?' She demanded. 'And for what? You-'

She stopped when Mario raised his fist at her.

'Your brother may be afraid to hit a girl, but I'm not!' He said. 'And if you say anything more about my little brother, you're going to get it!'

'Wait!' Rodney said, barely able to speak. 'Don't… don't hurt her. We'll leave, I promise.'

His face was crunched up in pain, but he could still deliver a stink eye to the boy who brought him down. The initial impact of pain had subsided, but the lingering agony remained. Luigi could've sworn there were tears coming to his eyes, though Luigi didn't blame him for that one bit.

'Forget about 'im, Tammy,' Rodney said, whole body twitching. 'He ain't worth it. If he's gonna hang out with that loser, well… he's too far gone.'

And, with that, they finally left. They walked away - or limped away, in Rodney's case - without daring to look back.

'And good riddance!' Mario yelled. 'Hope ya don't come back!' He sighed in relief. 'Good, they're gone. Isn't that right, Weeg-?'

Any satisfaction and enjoyment he got from stopping his brother's tormentors stopped when he turned around. Luigi didn't want to, but he had lost all emotional control. His whole body shook and trembled with each shaky breath, which escaped from him as choked sobs.

'Aw, Weegee!' Mario said. 'It's alright. Those jerks are gone now. Just let it all out.'

Mario placed his hands on Luigi's shoulders and slowly pulled him aside. If anyone else attempted this, Luigi may have panicked more. But Mario's touch was soft, and the way he pushed him to a quiet spot felt like a helpful guide in the middle of a terrifying maze.

Luigi didn't want to cry. To give those jerks exactly what they wanted. But his emotions had run amok, and all he could do now was see it through. So, he allowed Mario to sit him down onto the soft grass. He brought his knees up to his chest and buried his face in his arms, trapped within his own spiralling feelings.

It felt nice to let it all out.

'Don't worry,' Mario said, talking quietly. 'I'm not going to leave. I'll be right here for you. And trust me. Those two jerks won't be messing with you anymore.'

Luigi lifted his head up to lean it against Mario's shoulder. It felt soft, not quite like a pillow and yet even nicer. Mario wrapped his arms around him, holding him so tight that you'd think Luigi's life depended on it.

'There's nothing wrong with crying, no matter what those jerks say about it. Yeah, maybe you cry a lot more than other people do, but that's okay. You're just more emotional. Nothing wrong with that. And if anyone tells you that there is, then they're wrong.'

It took a while before Luigi managed to work his way through all the tears. His tears hadn't totally stopped, but they slowly reduced to quiet snivelling and only the occasional drop of water. Even so, his face was still a soggy mess by the end of it. Mario couldn't help wincing when he got another look at his face. Luckily, Luigi always carried a small packet of tissues in his bag, so Mario fetched one to clean up his face. Just like Mama sometimes did.

'Think you're okay to go home now?' Mario asked, so quietly that Luigi could just barely hear him.

Luigi looked at him with wide reddened eyes for a moment, sniffled, then nodded.

Mario gave him a soft smile. 'Alright. Come on. Let's get you home so Mama can spoil you with your favourite pasta.'

'W-With extra m-mushrooms?' Luigi asked.

'With as many mushrooms as you want.'

The walk home seemed a little more peaceful now, even though Luigi still had a few more feelings he had to sort out. Mario watched him closely, more closely than he looked where he was going. Sometimes, his little brother did things that confused him. Acted in ways that no other kid he knew acted. Got emotional over just about everything, no matter how small it seemed to other people. And Mario wouldn't have him any other way.

And he would make sure the world knew that, whether it wanted to or not.

'M-Mario…'

Mario was so caught up in his own thoughts that he hardly even noticed that Luigi was speaking to him. It was rare for him to talk so soon after an emotional moment like that. Sometimes, he would even go silent for the rest of the day.

'You don't have to talk, Weegee,' Mario said, patting him on the shoulder. 'I'll tell Mama what happened, and then you can just sit in your room in silence for a while.'

'I… I wanna ask you something,' Luigi said, his voice practically a whisper.

'Oh. What's that?'

For a moment, Luigi averted eye contact. Another thing he did far more often than most of the other kids did. Many people had commented about it before, but Mario barely even noticed when he did it anymore.

'Am… am I adopted?' Luigi asked.

Mario stifled a laugh. 'Weegee, look at us. You're not adopted. And even if you were, why would that be a bad thing? Mama and Papa still love you, and you'd still be my li'l bro. Related by blood or not, nothing's going to change that.'

'Y-You're not ashamed of me, are you?'

This was one question that stopped Mario in his tracks. For another moment, Luigi was worried - no, petrified - that he had offended his brother.

'Hell no!' Mario replied. 'God, don't even think that about yourself. Nothing you do could ever make me ashamed to be your brother. Wanna know why? Because you're the best damn brother anyone could ever want. If those other people can't see it, then it's their fault. Awkward or not. Shy or not. Adopted or not. You're my little bro, and the world's gonna have to tear you out of my cold dead hands before anyone hurts you.'

'That… t-that's a little violent,' Luigi said, trembling. 'D-Do you have to be dead?'

Mario sighed. 'You… You really are the sweetest little idiot in the world. And I mean that as a compliment.'

'I-I know. You never mean to be mean. You're… y-you're too nice. R-R-Really nice.'

His vision started to blur again.

'Hey, no!' Mario said. 'Don't you start crying on me again. If you do, we're never getting home, and Mama's already gonna be worried sick about us. Now, let's get you home so you can have your extra-mushroom pasta.'

Luigi smiled the whole way home. All the struggles and all the bullying in the world was okay, if there was just one person in the world who would be there for him.

THE END

Author Notes - Definitely didn't project my own experiences in school onto Luigi. Nope. Never. Not even once.

Never understood why it's an insult when you tell someone they're adopted. Like... who cares? Hence why I had Mario point out that it wouldn't matter either way. I gave Rodney a little sister because, well, even the cruellest bully is still a person. Making him truly irredeemable is too cliché, so I wanted to show that he genuinely cares for his sister. Because... themes about big brothers or something.