Love in the Oddest Places (bowuigi story)

Chapter 5: Decisions, decisions

The recovering man mustered a weak smile, "Hehe. Ciao, princess. I- I hope I didn't worry you too much," he said sheepishly.
              
Peach and Mario exchanged a look. The silence everyone emitted made Luigi's anxiety flare up. He noticed how exhausted the two looked. The princess' tired state makes more sense. She has a whole kingdom to care for, especially one in recovery. But his brother? Luigi has gotten sick before and Mario has never looked so distraught. He gets worried, yes, but never to such a degree.

"G-guy, you're starting to freak me out. What happened to me?" Luigi asked.
              
Mario sighed and took off his cap. The princess quietly dismissed her royal advisor and maid. She walked to his side. "Luigi, you had a terrible fever. You have been fighting it for a week," she replied.

Mario interlaced his hands. "You got really stressed after what happened," he started. "Weeg… We can't go home."
               
The words hit him like ice cold water. Luigi looked down, his breath hitched. Mario put a hand on his shoulder, followed shortly by Peach. Home… That's all he wanted to do. Luigi wanted to go home. To see the smiling faces of his friends, smell the familiar restaurant joints he frequented… He'd bring down the earth and sea just to sleep in his own bed again, in their tiny apartment near Park Slope. Luigi shakily looked up, "There's… there is nothing we can do?" he asked.

Peach gave him a teary-eyed look. "We are still currently searching for a way to return you home, but…" she looked away.

Mario ran a hand through his hair. "It's not looking good, Luigi."

"Wh-what about the pipe in the Darklands? Is that one also broken?" asked Luigi.

"They also investigated that one. It's also broken…" 
              
 The twins simultaneously sighed and buried their faces in their hands. The mushroom princess bowed her head in defeat. Luigi wanted to cry but he couldn't bring out the tears. Peach raised her hand, "There is something I wish to discuss with you."

Mario looked up. "What is it, Peach?"
"I… The reconstruction plans have been stymied for far too long. I'm sorry but I have temporarily shift my focus elsewhere," she said.
               
Mario and Luigi perked up at this, blue eyes hard as stone. The red plumber raised a hand. "You have nothing to apologize for! You've helped us more than enough, Peach." he said.

Luigi nodded in agreement. "Plus, you have an entire country to take care of," he added.

Mario gently took the princess' gloved hand. "We understand, princess. We'll be fine," he said.

"It'll take time, but we will be…"
                 
The princess touched the brooch on her gown and sighed. The one thing the brothers did not want to be was a burden or a nuisance. And as friends, they did not want to worry their friend. The brothers offered her words of encouragement, banishing the tears that threatened to spill. 
                 
After an unknown passing of time, Toadsworth entered the room and called for Peach. The princess excused herself. Now alone, the brothers once again exchanged a look of worry. They exhaled, feeling like they have aged ten years in the last few minutes. Luigi hugged himself, rubbing his forearms. "What're we going to do, Mario? I-I mean, I know we don't have a choice but…"

Mario shrugged his shoulders. "We just have to make the best of it, lil bro."

"The stress got me sick, right?"

"Yep."
                    
The man laid down again in his bed. That's certainly never happened before, but given the situation, it seemed appropriate. Luigi was tired of staying here. In this room, he means. He wants to do something productive, something to redeem himself from all the worry he caused. Luigi looked at his bro with steely determination. "W-what if… What i-if we helped them?"

Mario quirked an eyebrow. "Help them how?"

"Help them rebuild! I don't know, just do something rather than feel sorry for ourselves."

Mario stared at him for a moment. It was rare for Luigi to have such a sudden spark of emotion that isn't joy, fear, or anxiety. And it was especially strange considering he was just recovering. Mario sat at the foot of the bed, "Are you sure? You just woke up from a pretty bad fever, Luigi."

Luigi frowned slightly. "I know… but when I get better, I want to help them! They helped s-so it's only fair we return the favor."

Mario looked up, then smirked. "Yeah. You're right, Luigi! So what if we can't go home-"

"Too soon."

"Sorry. What I mean is, if we can't go home at the moment, let's use our time wisely."
                 
 And just like that, the brothers vowed to help the kingdom in any way they could, now and afterwards if they do stay here. Mario filled Luigi on the things he missed out, it was mostly just keeping everyone calm so he did not miss much; nevertheless, Luigi was grateful to be informed. When they were talking, his stomach grumbled, prompting Mario to leave and get him some well-deserved dinner. 
                  
Luigi sighed and waited in his now silent room, his mind travelling at a hundred miles an hour. But, he forced himself to slow down and breath. He already made himself sick, a panic attack would make things so much worse. So, he relaxed by looking out the window; the day has already passed. A week, huh? They've been here little over a week. He wonders if he will grow to love this place as much as he did with Earth.

He hoped so…

Thud.
                  
A tiny scaled hand came up from underneath his bed and placed a small red mushroom on his lap. Luigi blinked. Once, twice. Then he scrambled to the side. Who he has saw made the brightest smile crawl on his face. He was confused, very confused and slightly concerned. But mostly happy. He gently ruffled the bright red hair he was familiar with.

"Junior?
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Author's Note
Periodt, bitch, call me e̶p̶i̶l̶e̶p̶s̶y̶ Stephen King cuz I finished this entire thing on a two hour drive.

Anyway, this is the last chapter of 2022. I'll be going on a short hiatus and will be back soon.

Later gators. Happy New Year!🥳