Chapter 2 I Want a Normal Day

One Week Earlier…

Luigi yawned, almost collapsing into his bowl of cereal. Sunbeams came in through the kitchen window, lighting everything up in the most pleasing way possible. Well, pleasing for someone who wasn't dog-tired. Considering that Luigi hadn't had the best night or even the best day the day before, his whole body screamed at him, shrieked at him, threatened him. The thought of his bed was front and center in his mind. Oh, how he longed to return to it. Sunset and bedtime couldn't come soon enough.

Especially so because it was eight o'clock in the morning. Deciding that he needed to take action to ensure that he didn't pass out, Luigi took one more bite of his Fire Flower Flakes and went over to the coffee maker. His eyelids drooping, he opened it up and spooned the coffee mix in. One spoonful, two spoonfuls, three… oh wow, the urge to yawn was so strong. Could coffee make even a dent in this sleepiness?

"Morning, Lou."

Luigi turned to see Mario coming into the kitchen. Unlike Luigi, he looked wide awake. He smiled, his eyes glittering as he fixed some cereal of his own.

Luigi smiled at him. "Morning, Mario." He resumed shoveling the coffee mix into the coffee maker. Six spoonfuls, seven spoonfuls, and finally, eight. He closed the coffee maker and pressed the button to get it brewing. Taking deep breaths, he watched as the coffee dripped down into the pot. Behind him, he heard Mario eating some Fire Flower Flakes. Crunch crunch crunch. It was so rhythmic, so relaxing. Luigi knew he couldn't listen to it for that much longer, as anything relaxing would be the straw that broke the camel's back.

He took a seat across from Mario, rubbing his eyes as he did. "What are your plans for today?" Conversation would be the perfect way to stay awake.

Mario smiled as he took another bite. "Well, Peach and I decided that we're going to go mini-golfing today." He stirred his cinnamony cereal. "We discovered this new course when we were coming back from Bowser's Castle a few weeks ago. We've been wanting to try it for a while, but for one reason or another, we kept pushing it back." He grinned from ear to ear. "Now we have no more excuses; we're FINALLY going to try it!"

Luigi smiled. "That's great. I'm so happy for you!" He took a bite of his own cereal (it had gotten a little soggy, but it was still good overall). "Make sure that you get some holes-in-one for me, okay?"

Mario smirked. "I don't think I can." Luigi snickered and lifted his head to look at him, but Mario silenced him before he could get started. "I know, I know. 'You're the face of Mario Golf, Mario! You put ninety-five percent of other players in the Mushroom Kingdom to shame!'" Mario pointed his spoon at Luigi. "For your information, mini-golf and regular golf are COMPLETELY different. There's more gimmicks with mini-golf; in regular golf, it's just a straight shot to the hole." He snickered. "There's no such thing as a straight shot in mini-golf. You have tunnels to deal with, as well as slides! When was the last time you saw a slide in regular golf?"

Luigi giggled. "Never."

"Yeah. Exactly." Mario took another bite. "So, this isn't going to go as smoothly as you're probably thinking. It's going to be fun, no doubt about that, but I'll be lucky if I even get an eagle, let alone a hole-in-one.

Luigi laughed and took another bite, relishing in the fact that the cinnamon from the Fire Flower Flakes was starting to add flavor to the milk. "If you say so."

"I only say so because I KNOW so!" Mario laughed before looking Luigi in the eye. "What about you? Anything you have on your schedule for the day?"

Luigi slowly pulled his spoon out of his mouth. "Honestly?" He looked down into his cereal. "I just want to have a normal day." He yawned, covering his mouth as he did. "I don't want any surprises. I just want a normal, mundane time. No troubles, no running around not knowing which way is up, nothing."

Mario frowned. "Yesterday was a little too hectic for you, huh?"

Luigi sighed. "Yeah." That was the reason why he was so out of it this morning. He had run around all over the Mushroom Kingdom for most of the day. Why? Well, it mostly had to do with Professor E Gadd. Luigi had volunteered to help him collect equipment for a new experiment that he wanted to conduct. He wanted this set of gears from this store, this special type of goop out of a cave on the Mushroom Kingdom's southern border. It had been chaos, absolute chaos. The fact that Luigi had managed to get all the items E Gadd requested over the course of just one day was a miracle. What made it even worse was that Luigi had trouble sleeping last night too, so even though his mind wanted nothing more than to recuperate after yesterday, his body just wouldn't allow it. He blamed his insomnia.

"I get you." Mario chuckled. "Sometimes, when I come back from the rescue missions, I want nothing more than to have a normal day too." He leaned back in his chair, smiling as he aimed his gaze into the distance. "I think it's a good thing, honestly; the tiredness I mean. It means that you've accomplished a lot the day before. It means that you put yourself to good use and made it so that everyone is happy." He looked back at his brother. "It's a very rewarding feeling, don't you agree?"

Luigi considered this. "I… yeah, I suppose. I can at the very least see where you're coming from." He got up from the table, the scent of the coffee overpowering at this point. "And I do agree with you on some level. It's a very good sign." He frowned as he poured his go-go juice. "Doesn't change the fact that I have so much trouble holding my head up."

Mario got up from his chair. When he reached his brother, he patted him on the shoulder. Luigi turned to him, taking note of his expression. It was so warm, warmer than the coffee even. It was a look of understanding, of empathy. It did some interesting things to his heart as a result.

"Well… I hope you have the normal day you're looking for." He wrapped him in a hug. "If there's anyone who deserves a normal day after a trying day, it's you."

Luigi smiled. His heart melted in a puddle, his face growing warm. He was so lucky; the fact that he wound up with such an amazing and considerate brother was just… oh, it was the most awesome thing that had ever happened to him. He would follow Mario to the ends of the Earth. He would go out of his way to make sure that nothing and no one ever brought his older brother harm.

"Thanks, Mario." Luigi hugged him back, for a second forgetting that he was, in fact, tired. While caught up in his brother's embrace, his troubles didn't mean anything. He was just a very happy man, a man who could conquer anything that the day threw at him. Sure, he would still prefer if nothing eventful happened today, but even if it did, he could still deal with it.

"My pleasure, fratellino." Luigi smiled at that name. It meant "little brother" in Italian, and in Luigi's opinion, it was one of the most beautiful names in the world. And what was funny was that he used to HATE it when Mario called him that as a kid. He thought it was patronizing and mean, that it was Mario's way of making fun of him for being born last. He had despised it… but now, he was grateful for every single time Mario had called him by that nickname. It was endearing, it was cute, it was special. It showed off their bond, the fact that no matter what came their way, the two of them would have each other's backs.

"Well…" Mario gave him one more squeeze before finally letting him go. "I should probably get going." He walked over to the table and ate the rest of his cereal at lightning-fast speed. Luigi chuckled at the sight of this, and as Mario set his bowl down in the sink, he had to use all self-control to not burst into laughter. "Peach said she wanted me to be at the castle by eight-thirty this morning, which means I'm going to arrive at eight-twenty-five."

Luigi snorted. "Has it ever occurred to you that you don't have to arrive early EVERY time?"

Mario flashed him a smirk. "She's a princess, Lou. If there's anyone who deserves me arriving early, it's her." He made his way to the door. "I'll tell you how many holes-in-one I get when I get back this evening." He adjusted his hat. "Meanwhile, I want you to keep track of exactly how normal this day is so that you can tell me all about it. When you live in a world where you see and experience the extraordinary every day, the definitions of ordinary and extraordinary are reversed."

Luigi and Mario laughed together. "Yeah, that is very true." Luigi smiled. "Don't worry; I won't spare you any details."

"Good. Well… bye!"

With that, Mario left. That meant… oh man, Luigi had the house all to himself! He could do anything that came to his mind! He could read a book, he could clean… heck, if he wanted to, he could walk around the house naked! He of course wasn't going to, but it was an option since he was all by himself… nah, even when he had nobody watching him, Luigi was still a man of decency.

So, he finished his cereal, put the bowl in the sink, and picked his coffee cup back up. He took careful yet frequent sips of it, hoping to finish the drink before it got cold (lukewarm coffee was perhaps the nastiest thing in the universe, and Luigi won't let anyone tell him otherwise). The soothing yet bitter taste of a drink that could be considered necessary for his survival helped him feel good. Not necessarily energized; it would probably be a while before the effects of the caffeine really kicked in.

Oh well. While he waited for that, Luigi could just enjoy his time alone in the house. He made his way into the living room, still keeping his mug tightly gripped in hand. He let out a satisfied "ah" as he took a seat in his recliner. As he got snuggled in, he smiled. This recliner was the single greatest gift Mario had ever gotten him. He had never truly known what the term "relax" meant until he got this chair. It was incredible. He wouldn't mind doing nothing today if it meant that he got to spend twelve hours straight in this chair. Grinning, Luigi leaned back and put the footrest up. He closed his eyes when…

Bzzt!

Blinking, Luigi dug his phone out of his pocket. Who would be texting him so early in the morning? Was it Mario? Did he forget something in the house and needed Luigi to open the door? Huh; that would be really out of character for him if that was the case. Because of this, Luigi wasn't at all surprised to see the text wasn't from Mario. Instead, to his delight, it was from Daisy!

Hey Luigi! Wanna hang out?

Luigi smiled. Oh, Princess Daisy. The apple of his eye, the girl who made him feel alive in all the right ways. With her, every day was an adventure. Every outing was joyous and incredible. And sure, Luigi had expressed a desire to just have a normal day today. But… it was Daisy! How could he say no to Daisy?

I'll be right over! Grinning like a crook, Luigi bounced out of his chair and ran toward the door. It didn't matter what Daisy wanted to do today; he knew it was going to be fantastic!