We've Never Been Apart This Long

The Meet-Up May Be Short, But It's Still Sweet!

"Okay." Mimi says upon finding the Darklands section of Peach's library. "We'll start with every known property Bowser owns, see if we can find a plausible place his son would be living at."

Luigi nods absently, but he doesn't move from his spot, staring blankly at nothing.

"L." Mimi says louder, startling him. "Look, I know being separated from your brother like this has to hurt, so if needed, lean on your connection with him to get through this."

Luigi pauses, having not thought of that before, then nods slowly.

"You think you're on your own with all this, but you're not." Mimi says. "Close your eyes. Reach out to him. I'll bet anything it'll make his day."

"Hope you're right." Luigi says, obliging for a moment.

Mario?

There's nothing, for a moment, then he feels it, like it was waiting for him to reach out, all this time.

Shock, relief, warmth, and of course love. Always love.

Luigi lets out a breath, then focuses on sending the same right back, and he feels the warmth spread in his chest almost immediately.

"See? Nothing to it." Mimi says. "Doesn't matter how many times your brother has to face Bowser, with you by his side, the big lug never stood a chance."

"Not so sure this time." Luigi admits, even as he's still feeling his brother's warmth through the bond.

"Funny how not one Toad in town was willing to sell anything to us." Bowser growls as he, Mario and Peach walk back to the clown car. "In fact the moment they saw us, it's like all the shops closed instantaneously."

"I told you, they said there's been reports of a lot of looters lately." Mario says, rubbing his chest.

"Sure there has." Bowser rolls his eyes.

"Hey, don't stick around here because of us. We'll see if we can track the looters down, you just go meet up with Wario at the castle or something."

"Not so fast." Bowser snarls. "I'm not leaving my wife's side for one second. Alone, in a town full of looters? What kind of husband would that make me?"

Mario's phone goes off, and he rolls his eyes. "Oh stars. Yes, I'm scouring every shop to look for the exact color pink shurikens you're after.", then looks at Bowser. "Crazy, huh? Your kids apparently have very specific tastes."

"Better than you, apparently." Bowser shrugs it off.

"They're your kids." Mario reminds him as they keep walking. "Are they all like that?"

"I told you, no one's willing to do for them what I am." Bowser snaps.

"And now they're all spoiled brats." Mario says offhandedly. "What about Junior? What happened to him?"

"None of your business." Bowser roars as they finally reach the clown car.

"Why doesn't he live at the castle?" Peach asks.

Now Bowser turns completely around to glare at them both. "Why do you keep asking me about my kids?"

Mario holds up his hands in surrender, "Hey, don't yell at me. I was just curious, since you moved all your other kids in there, why not Junior too?"

"There's your first mistake." Bowser turns around, hopping in. "Thinking your curiosity is going to get you anywhere with me except extra minion work."

Mario feels the warmth in his chest burn for a moment, and as he clutches it, he sees Luigi heading towards an open field.

"Fine, don't talk to me." Mario says on the fly. "I'm gonna go see if someone can't describe what the looters looked like. I'll be back."

He takes Peach by the arm and leads her away before Bowser can argue.

"Weegee?"

Luigi barely turns in time before he's wrapped up in Mario's arms, hugging him tight.

"We can't stay long." Mario apologizes as Luigi pulls away to hug Peach. "Bowser's tightening the leash on us."

"Hey, you know what? I don't care." At their confused look, Luigi laughs. "I came over here to tell you about a new lead."

They both light up, but Mario begs first, "Don't keep us in suspense!"

"I reached out to Mimi, and she's gonna help us track down Bowser Jr. Now we just have to wait before he turns up somewhere."

They all hug once more, then go their separate ways.