Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Six months, one week and three days ago, your brother had disappeared without a trace.

It happened a couple weeks after your latest adventure to stop Bowser and his evil plots, this time travelling as far as to outer space to help the protector of the cosmos, Rosalina, stop the Koopa King from creating a new galaxy to conquer the entire universe with.

After that whole ordeal was over, the lives of those residing in the Mushroom Kingdom was once again at peace, eternally grateful for the hero who time and time again had saved their princess from Bowser’s dreadful clutches and ensured the safety of not only their kingdom, but also their whole world and the universe as they knew it.

With this assurance came also the safety of your younger twin brother Luigi, who you had to rescue on multiple occasions during your travels throughout the cosmos, saving him from a haunted house in Ghostly Galaxy, getting him down from a rooftop in Good Egg Galaxy, so on so forth.

In the end, you were just happy that he was safe and sound when the adventure was finally over, both of you returning home to the cottage just outside Toad Town to finally rest until the next time the world needed saving from the Mario Brothers.

Those weeks before it happened had been relatively calm. No Bowser trying to kidnap the princess, no Boos trying to seek revenge on your brother for that time when he rescued you in a haunted mansion, no villains old or new bothering you, Luigi or the general public.

Then one fateful day, he was gone. Just like that. No messages, no traces or clues of his whereabouts, no nothing.

That day of his sudden disappearance had been like all the other calm, peaceful days before that. There was nothing out of the ordinary that forebode what was to come. There was only you and your brother discussing plans for the day over breakfast, assisting the inhabitants of Toad Town with mundane tasks and visiting the Princess over at her castle for lunch.

Everything had been fine, great even, and you could tell from the expression on your brother’s face that day that he had enjoyed it too, despite his periodic social insecurities with people, familiar or not, and the few moments of clumsiness that tended to linger on his worried mind for too long.

Despite it all, the day should have ended on a good note like it usually did, with you and him spending the rest of the evening eating dinner together, doing the chores, playing board games or watching TV until it was time to say each other’s goodnights and go to bed.

Instead it never really ended, as the dinner you were supposed to make together never got further than your brother exclaiming a missing ingredient that was crucial to the recipe he had found in your mother’s old cooking book, deciding to quickly run to the grocery store in town before it closed for the night for the sake of that one, special meal that he had never cooked before and wanted to make together with his twin.

It wasn’t until 2 hours had gone by that you started to worry, and decided to go look for him, thinking that maybe he had just met up with a friend on the way home or was helping a citizen in trouble.

A brisk walk through the path leading to Toad Town had decreased the chances of those two options having taken place.

But a simple question to the cashier, who at the time was almost finished closing down the store for the night, had proven that Luigi hadn’t even reached his destination to begin with.

And that’s when you knew that something bad must’ve happened to your brother. Why else would he just vanish like this without telling anybody, no less his own brother?

Upon this realization, you had immediately started searching all throughout the town and the neighboring forest circling around your home, holding on to the hope that your brother was just fine, that he was perfectly capable of handling whatever dangers that may had occurred during your absence, that no matter what happens, you would find your brother sooner or later, injured or not.

When the sun began to rise upon the horizon, signaling the early morning hours with birds chirping in the trees and no positive results of your endless investigation, you decided to give Bowser’s castle a try, estimating that maybe the Koopa King had kidnapped Luigi out of spite for interfering with his previous villainous plans.

But when you finally got there after asking Yoshi for a ride to his territory, your building trepidation for your brother’s safety was once again washed with dread as Bowser only looked at you in utter confusion and annoyance at your sudden arrival in his throne room.

Once you had explored the whole castle, with or without permission to do so, in the hope that Bowser was just bluffing his bewilderment to throw you off, you could dismally confirm that the acrimonious king was telling the truth when he said that he had no idea where ‘Green Stash’ was.

It wasn’t until then that you decided to file a missing person report, just to make the chances of finding him higher once the papers spread throughout both the Mushroom Kingdom and the neighboring countries, such as Sarasaland and Beanbean Kingdom.

Word soon got out about the green-clad plumber’s disappearance, which lead to many friendly Toads, Koopas, Goombas and the like giving you their condolences and wishing for your brother’s return home, although many of them didn’t really know who Luigi was or how important he really is to both you and the kingdom he served and protected alongside their famous hero.

The Mushroom and Flower Princesses had of course also heard of the dreary news, and so the former had requested for your presence at the castle, mainly to discuss the possible whereabouts of your brother and to assemble a search party at your disposal, but also to give you a comforting pat on the back and speak words of uncertain hope, reassuring you like all the others did, as if the words themselves were enough to give you alleviation and encouragement to not worry of the dangers that could’ve befallen your brother.

The latter had done relatively the same, in her own brash and adamant manner, telling you to stop moping around and to channel your worries into your determination to find Luigi, clearly wanting to assist in your quest and throw her royal duties as a princess aside for his sake.

You had to concede that it was somewhat heartwarming to hear how much Daisy really cared for your brother, despite their relationship being nothing more but playful flirting and partnering in sports and competitions. It was clear from the beginning that they both had come to respect and admire each other’s personality and abilities, and over time come to care for each other more than they would care to admit.

So, with Princess Peach’s loyal guards and the resolute tomboy on your side, you lead the impromptu group throughout as many countries as you could cross, searching even the most perilous of areas that more often than not risked the lives of the guards who served the Mushroom Kingdom, to their grumbling dismay.

They gave up looking for your brother sooner than you would’ve expected, but you had simply ignored their resignation and left them to their own devices, determination fueling you and Daisy’s mind and body to find the person you both had lost, no matter how grueling and bleak your search ended up being.

You interrogated villains of the past, asked villagers all across the kingdoms for any information about the lost plumber, searching high above the sky and low below the undergrounds.

But Sarasaland couldn’t be without its Princess’ rule forever, and so Daisy had to withdraw from your quest as well, wishing you the best of luck, but feeling dispirited for having to prioritize her royal affairs before her missing friend.

You didn’t blame her for having to return to her position as royalty. She oversaw an entire kingdom after all, and running away from her job to personally search for a missing person was never going to work out in the long run.

The same could be said for you, as your home had to deal with the consequences of your frequent absence in your unyielding investigation, seeing as the inhabitants pretty much relied on you being around to prevent crimes and repair broken pipes most of the time.

As the unofficial knight of the Mushroom Kingdom, you served those who needed your help when it was necessary, but dedicated the rest of your free time to find answers to your questions, the endless hunt draining you of energy and hope as no progress towards your goal was ever made.

This was all so different from all the other times Luigi had disappeared. At least during those times, you always had a lead to his whereabouts, allies who aided in your rescue and some ridiculously good fortune on your side.

But this time was different. This time had no trails for you to follow, no clues or hunches as to where your brother could be, no enemies threatening you with his life in their hands or trying to stop you from whatever diabolical scheme they were trying to accomplish.

This time, it was as if he had just stopped existing without a trace left behind. The only proof of him ever being born into this world being you and your friends’ memories of him, your shared bedroom with his dust-collecting belongings and furniture, which will make him go on a mad cleaning-spree once he sees the condition you’ve left it in since his disappearance.

If he ever sees it again.

Days became weeks, weeks became months, and months became feelings of frustration and hopelessness that you stubbornly ignored and never wanted to acknowledge, became worried glances and whispers between funguses and bean people, sleepless nights and desperate words begging you to stop this mindless hunt and finally rest for once. Meaningless speeches of doubtful reassurances that failed to deliver their true message.

In the end, words were just words, and actions spoke louder of hope and perseverance than any speech the Princess or anyone else could tell you as they persistently tried to reach out to you, their faith in your brother’s return diminishing for each day that goes by with no reports of his sighting.

It was hard to keep up your own confidence when everybody else started caving in to their despondency over Luigi’s fate. In this kind of situation, it’s easy to just give in to the worst possible scenarios your mind conjures up when a person you love suddenly vanishes out of the blue.

But you weren’t one of those people. You refused to ever accept defeat as long as you were still standing, as long as there was still a possibility of your brother being alive, waiting to be found by the one person who has always looked out for him, who always rescued him whenever he was in peril and called for help.

You refused to give up on your brother, no matter the costs you may have to pay in order to bring him back home where he belongs.

~~~~~~

Six months, one week and almost four days after his disappearance, you had been sitting at the kitchen table in your lonesome home, forcing breakfast down your throat despite the loss of appetite over the last few weeks, mindlessly tugging at a loose thread in your overalls that needed fixing from all that blind searching through mother nature’s differing climates.

You had no idea how to sew clothes. Luigi was pretty good at it though. He could’ve probably fixed it for you if you asked…

Sighing deeply, you had tried to focus on whatever was written in the newspaper lying on the table, hoping that some good news would come around for once to keep you distracted from your own intrusive thoughts.

But instead of being distracted by the words written down in front of you, you had been distracted by a sound emitting from the hallway, a noise you hadn’t expected to hear so early in the morning when everybody should be getting up from their beds and have a peaceful breakfast in their own separate homes.

There had been someone, or something, lightly wiggling the front door’s handle for a moment, as if whatever was outside that door expected it to be unlocked for anyone to enter.

Silence had followed, until three weak knocks could barely be heard echoing through your quiet home.

Nothing but the tick-tock from the grand-father clock placed in the hallway accompanied the silence that once again followed.

With a confused frown, you had risen from your seat to answer the odd call from your front door, assuming that the visitor had to be Peach, or someone else you may have known who knocked in such a dainty manner.

Though that didn’t explain why the person outside had tried to open the door first before knocking. Being the polite and kind princess that she is, Peach wouldn’t try to enter someone’s home without asking for permission first, even if said home belonged to a close friend of hers.

It was in moments like these that you really wished whoever had built this house had installed a peep-hole…

You could had chosen to look through the window surveying the front porch to see who it was, but by the time that thought had entered your mind, you were already standing in front of the door waiting to be opened.

You had simply unlocked the door and slowly let it creak open, curiously anticipating whoever or whatever would be standing on the veranda this early in the day.

But the moment you had caught a glimpse, you had frozen in place, mouth agape in shock as the door fully revealed the dreadful sight before you, staring into the eyes of the one person you had least expected to see, the one person you had thought was being held captive in a place far-away that he couldn’t escape from on his own, waiting in fear to be rescued by the hero who always stood by his side and never failed him.

It wasn’t just the fact that he was standing right there, the fact that he was still alive and had finally come home that had shocked you to the point where your body was petrified to the ground, feeling like you were choking on your own breath and blinking your eyes fervently in disbelief, afraid that what you were seeing wasn’t real, that this was all some kind of cruel prank or an intense fever dream bleeding into reality.

It was the state of your brother that had kept your growing distress alive. It was the way he hunched in on himself as if he was going to break apart, trying to hold the pieces together. It was his shaking arms clutching each other like a lifeline, the foreign and dirty clothes that covered his alarmingly skinny body, the long, messy hair that hasn’t seen a pair of scissors for months and the once trimmed and well-kept mustache that was nothing like its former glory.

And then there was that smile. That nervous little smile of his that grew more genuine the longer he gazed at you, his bloodshot and weary eyes brimming with tears of relief and joy as he breathed slowly and evenly, restraining himself from completely breaking down right then and there.

Time seemed to have stopped as no one made a single move or sound, the two of you just staring each other down in a raging mix of emotions no one knew what to do with.

You didn’t know how long you had been standing there until he finally took the initiative to speak.

With a raspy, tearful voice, your brother spoke for the first time in over half a year.

“I’m home.”

Chapter Text

It’s funny how some people act whenever they reunite with a loved one who has been missing for a long period of time, only for said person to be scolded by their raging and overly-emotional friends or family members for worrying them, even if it was unintentional.

But that’s understandable, isn’t it? Emotions can always get the better of you in distressful situations, especially in missing person scenarios where the victim is actually found and returned to a home that may have lost hope, that may have thought that their loved one was gone for good.

And that’s almost exactly what this predicament was mirroring. Except this time, the victim, who had seemingly vanished without a trace left behind, just suddenly appears on the front porch of his and his brother’s home, looking like he’s been through hell and back with his filthy clothes and the look of utter exhaustion present in his teary eyes.

With the initial shock and relief of Luigi’s return came the frantic questioning.

‘Where have you been?!’, ‘What happened to you?!’, ‘Who did this to you?!’, Questions upon questions seemingly hitting their victim harder than you intended to, avoiding eye-contact and shying away from your hesitant hands wanting to hug the one person they thought they had lost, to affirm that this was real, that it was all so very real and not just a cruel dream fabricated by your deranged imagination.

But you restrained yourself from touching him, afraid of harming whatever injuries could be hiding under the clothes that wasn’t his, that couldn’t be his, because the day he disappeared, he had been wearing his regular plumber outfit like he always did, always accompanied by the trademark hat that wasn’t sitting on his head like it’s supposed to.

Whatever the reason to his new outfit was, you eventually realized that questioning your distressed brother wasn’t going to bring you any answers, not when he was still trying his damnedest to restrain himself from crying, looking like he was going to have a meltdown at any given moment.

So you tried to just talk to him. Telling him softly and reassuringly to come inside, keeping in mind not to touch him without his permission, in case it would somehow worsen his clearly unstable state.

As he vainly suppressed his tears and finally stepped inside, you knew from the way he moved that he was indeed injured somewhere. But it was hard figuring out the source of said injury, as he didn’t limp like he had broken or strained anything from the legs down.

Before you could think of any other potential injuries on his body, your brother had already shuffled over to the couch in the living room, taking his time to slowly lower his bum onto the cushions, his facial expression failing to hide the clear discomfort he was feeling from just sitting down.

You tried not to think too much about it, transiently surmising that maybe he had hit his tailbone and hadn’t been able to get it treated.

Speaking of getting treated.

“I’ll call the doctor.” You spoke up quietly, turning around towards the hallway were the telephone was-

“No!”

You stopped in your tracks, shocked to hear your brother’s yell after so long of being alone in the deathly silence surrounding the house. Your house that was once filled with the sound of music from the stereo your brother turned on whenever he did household-chores, or the smell of Italian sauce cooking in the kitchen, or the occasional sound of water flooding the old pipe drains that still needs to be replaced with newer ones.

You turned around to meet his fearful eyes watching you in desperation, only for him to quickly glance anywhere else but at you once your eyes met, his hands firmly clenching the couch cushions as a tense silence followed.

“P-Please don’t… I-I’m fine, really, just… I don’t want anyone t-to…”

He trailed off, seemingly uncertain of how to explain his objection. Whatever the reason was behind it, it didn’t sit well with you to have him deny treatment when he obviously needed it.

“Luigi…” You began, unsure of how you could persuade someone who looked so uncomfortable and anxious in your proximity, when your very own brother almost looked like he was afraid of you, afraid of what might happen if you found out what happened to him. “… I know you’re injured. I could tell from the way you walked in and sat down on the couch…”

He stiffened, his nervous expression watching the floor silently, as if trying to ignore the situation would make it go away.

You let out a tired sigh, trying not to make it sound like a disappointed one as you pinched your eyes with your right hand, debating on what to say next.

“…If you’re not letting the doctor have a look at you, then I will have to do it instead.” You continued, folding your arms in an authoritative manner to get the point across. “We can’t just ignore your injuries and act like nothing happened bro.”

He visibly winced at that, quickly glancing up towards you only to lower his head again and fiddle with the couch cushions with his trembling hands.

You waited patiently in silence to let him decide the few options that he had.

“…C-could you treat me instead?” He answered nervously, still staring intently at the floor and gripping the couch like a lifeline.

You relaxed your tense stature, feeling relieved that he had chosen you over the doctor. Maybe by seeing his wounds, it would be easier for you to figure out what exactly happened to him, maybe you could even get him to open up a bit, comforting and reassuring him of his safety now that he’s finally home.

“Sure thing.” You replied, giving him a small, encouraging smile as you turned towards the hallway again. “I’m just gonna get the supplies in the bathroom. Stay here, okay?”

You didn’t wait for him to answer as you entered the hallway and made your way towards the bathroom, a scowl promptly presenting itself as your mind raced with apprehension and concern over your brother.

What happened to him? Was he kidnapped? Has he been held captive somewhere for all this time? Did he escape? But then why wouldn’t he try to call for you? How did he end up outside your porch? Why is he injured? Who hurt him? Where did he get those dirty clothes? Why is he so scared? What is he afraid of?

Your mind wouldn’t stop asking all these unanswered questions, only resulting in making you more and more afflicted with the current mess your brother was suffering through. As you finally reached your destination and started rummaging through the cabinets for the medical kit, you couldn’t help but think about what could’ve been, what you could have done to prevent all of this from ever happening.

What if you hadn’t let him go to the grocery store alone that fateful night? What if you had searched just a little harder? What if you could’ve found him if you had just searched on your own?

You shook your head to get rid of those intrusive thoughts. You had to prioritize Luigi now. Your thoughts and feelings didn’t matter in this. All you could do for now was to take care of the one person you had promised yourself to protect.

Finding the medical kit and sorting through all the things you could need for the procedure, You left the bathroom and re-entered the living room to find your brother in the same position as before, only now he was leaning his body listlessly against the couch with a dazed look on his face, unfocused eyes staring down at his lap, telling you that he was completely lost to the world around him.

Catching you of guard to see him so… lifeless, you stood still at the door frame and just stared for a moment, hoping that your presence would rouse him out of his stupor.

After a couple seconds proving that he clearly wasn’t going to snap out of the trance on his own, you gently coughed to get his attention, which was enough for him to suddenly jerk upright at the sound, his confused expression looking up to find you smiling at him tentatively.

“Let’s start with your head first, okay?” You said gently as you approached him, setting down the medical kit beside him as you waited for his approval to begin.

He glanced uncertainly at you for a moment, fidgeting with his hands on his lap before finally answering you with a brief nod.

Sitting down on the other side of the couch, you lifted your hands slowly as to not startle him, reaching for his messy hair gently to examine his scalp for any bumps or bruises.

At the touch of your fingertips, he tensed up a bit, keeping his head lowered towards his shivering hands laying on his lap in silence.

Taking his reticence as a sign to continue, you lightly brushed through his hair, making sure not to accidently tug any tangled knots.

It wasn’t until know that you realized how long his hair has grown since you last saw him. Normally, he would keep his haircut short, similar to yours, but you assumed that he most likely hadn’t been able to for one reason or another.

Then again, if he hasn’t cut his hair in over half a year, shouldn’t it have been much longer by now?

And what about his facial hair? His mustache looked like it had been shaved recently, looking smaller and more ruffled than before he disappeared. He must’ve shaved his beard too at some point, as it also would’ve grown out by the time he returned home. But all that was there on his chin was thick stubble.

“I-I read the newspapers…” Luigi suddenly spoke, breaking the tense silence you hadn’t noticed was there, too occupied thinking about the mystery that was your brother’s coiffure. “…About my disappearance… and you looking for me.”

You paused, recalling the missing person ads you had requested to be published in the newspapers all over the kingdom and the neighboring ones, about the articles that told of your failures to find him time and time again, how the Princess and the inhabitants of Toad Town had started losing hope of him ever returning…

You failed him. He must have been waiting so long for you to save him. But you never did.

You clenched your eyes shut for a moment, taking a deep breath as you tried to think of a good answer to his comment.

“…You did?” You eventually asked, mentally slapping yourself for responding with such a stupid question. Good job trying to keep up the conversation.

“Yeah…” He replied quietly, his body seeming to relax a little to your touch, mindlessly picking at his scratched nails that looked to be infected. “He would let me read them every now and then… and I got to listen to the news on the radio he gave me…”

You stiffened, catching his last sentence with a growing uneasiness as you looked at him confusedly.

“Who?”

It was as if he hadn’t realized what he had just said before your brother was suddenly completely still, a horrified expression hiding itself behind the long bangs of his hair as he held his breath in anticipation, fearing your reaction to his apparent slip-up.

You weren’t sure if trying to probe him was the best idea at the moment, but that one sentence only made you ask yourself more concerning questions. Who was this ‘He’ your brother spoke of? Was it a friend you didn’t know of? Was it his abductor?

Instead you stayed silent, letting him calm down as you finished looking through his scalp that contained no injuries to treat. He eventually found the courage to slowly lift his head towards you, probably wondering what you were to do next.

“Can I take a look at your face?” You asked softly, disregarding the previous question in favor of getting his wounds treated first.

He glanced up and down between you and the floor, compelling himself to take a deep breath before he nodded firmly. With arms held stiffly by his sides, he slowly faced you with an ambivalent look in his weary eyes.

He wouldn’t be looking so scared and broken if you had just found him in time.

“It’s okay bro, I’m not going to hurt you.” You reassured him, looking deeply into his eyes as you gave him an encouraging smile. “Just tell me if you need me to stop, alright?”

He held you gaze for a moment, as if to make sure that you spoke the truth and that he could trust you, before he ultimately nodded again. He took in deep breaths trying to relax and closed his eyes, prepared for you to do your work.

Checking that he was indeed ready, you slowly approached his face with your hands, ensuring that you were gentle when moving his face this way and that.

“Could you…” You began after minutes of examination, finding what looked like a scar on his lower lip, presumably the result of a cut, and a small bruise on his forehead. “Could you at least tell me where you have been all this time? I got worried sick looking for you…”

You knew asking your brother that with a worried, sad puppy-like expression was low, even for you. But at this point you couldn’t just take his silence as an answer to everything. You needed to know what had happened to him in order to help him, and if the only way to do so was to gently probe the right places to get him to talk, then so be it.

Luigi once again froze at your inquiry, his eyes clenching shut tightly and his hands once again fiddling with the couch cushions in a nervous habit. From the way he vainly tried to hunch over, it almost seemed like he was ashamed of himself. Ashamed of confessing whatever it is he has been going through.

You are partly at fault for this.

You waited unabatingly for him to decide his response, still lightly holding onto his face to look for anything you’ve missed.

You then noticed that there were faded blemishes around his throat, looking like they had been there for a good while before they started healing over time.

If you didn’t know any better, you would think that those discolored blotches kind of looked like-

“I-I was…kidnapped.” Your brother suddenly answered meekly, still keeping his eyes shut tightly and shivering nervously. “A-and held captive somewhere… s-somewhere far away from the Mushroom Kingdom…”

You glanced towards his face, taking note of the blemishes on his throat for later, cogitating on this new information presented to you.

“I see…” You replied faintly, failing at coming up with anything more to say, and leaned back to face him again. “I’m done with your face now… Can I look at your upper body?”

Opening his eyes to return staring down at his lap, he absently tugged at his grimy button-up shirt, looking increasingly self-conscious about letting you inspect his body, even if it was purely out of concern for any wounds that might be hiding under his attire.

Considering, before this whole disappearance-incident took place, Luigi usually wouldn’t have much problem with being examined by you or a doctor the few times he got injured from fighting Bowser, or any other villain for that matter. Sure, he would be shy about it, but not to such an extent where he looked like he was going to break down if you over-stepped his boundaries by just a smidge.

You could have stopped this from ever happening.

He was breathing deeply, inhaling and exhaling evenly before slowly buttoning down the shirt with shaky fingertips, turning his head to the side in embarrassment.

With his shirt off, you carefully assessed your brother’s arms, back and chest as swiftly as possible to lessen his chagrin quandary. You found faded bruises and scars here and there, but nothing that needed much treatment.

Looking over his ribcage, you found that there was a large discoloration right over his lowest left rib, as if someone or something had hit him there hard enough to leave a nasty contusion, maybe even a broken rib. From your discernment, the wound looked to be fairly old, and had somehow healed on its own over time.

“Did you break a rib?” You asked, lightly tracing your fingers along his rib to make sure that it wasn’t disjointed, earning you a stiffened body and a surprised hitch of his breath.

“A-a while back… I-It’s completely healed now though…” He replied, urging himself to not cower under your scrutiny, focusing his gaze on something else of interest in your living room.

“Looks like it.” You responded, backing away from him again to give him some space. He promptly reached out for the discarded shirt and put it on again, hunching in on himself to pick at his unevenly cut nails once more.

“Alright, now I just need to look at your legs and feet…” You began, gingerly hoping that the next checkup was going to be easier on both brothers’ part. “Can you take of your shoes and pants for me?”

His reaction to your request was more or less the same as all the other times, but it still hurt to see your own brother quiver so anxiously in front of you, his face paling and eyes briefly flashing with fear before he forced himself to calm down, taking deep breaths for the umpteenth time and bending over to untie his shoe laces.

It took a while for him to finish undressing, as he was still hiding some kind of injury located around his bum that seemed to hinder his movements. And if you tried to offer him help, he would freeze up and tensely reject it, clearly uncomfortable with being touched while taking his clothes off.

It bewildered you significantly considering how well he had actually handled being touched until now, but you tried not to think too much of it, only caring about adhering to whatever Luigi needed to feel safe around you.

When he was finally done, pants and shoes neatly stacked beside him on the couch with only shirt and boxers on, he continued the same routine of staring off into the distance with a nervous expression on his face, tense arms held by his sides and legs trembling like he was ready to run away at the smallest trigger.

You tried to be quick about it like last time, skimming over his legs and feet without touching him, letting him move his limbs on his own accord instead after your instructions.

You thought about one of the major questions you had that couldn’t just go unanswered, but should presumably be easier for your brother to answer than the previous ones you’ve asked.

“How did you manage to escape?” you asked softly, kneeling on the floor to get a better look at his feet. His legs had similar bruises and scars like the ones on his upper body, and the same went for his feet, although his toes looked almost purple in color, supposedly a result of the body being under-nourished and unable to keep up the blood-flow in his feet.

“I…” He started, a small, worried frown forming on his face as he cogitated on how to answer. He clenched and unclenched his toes absentmindedly, showing to your minor relief that he could still move them around like normal.

“I… a-attacked the guy who kidnapped me… and drove away with his car…”

You looked up at him in surprise, a part of you feeling unabashedly proud that he had managed to rescue himself for once, but also some part feeling perplexed about his last words…

“So… you drove all the way back home?” You continued asking, trying to figure out even more questions that popped up in your head as a result.

“N-not exactly…” He continued, appearing more and more nervous at your questioning and unintentional staring, keeping his own gaze down to his lap. “I-I drove for a while without knowing w-where I was going… u-until the fuel was gone. A-after that I just asked people for directions and w-walked the rest of the way home…”

You stared incredulously at him, A tsunami of befuddled questions, thoughts and feelings washing over you with such intensity, your mind not being able to fathom your brother’s choice of actions taken in such a serious situation.

“Is that how you ended up outside our porch? Did you seriously think that trying to get home on your own, injured and clearly traumatized, was a good idea?! What if you had died out there?! Why didn’t you call me?! Why didn’t you ask anyone for help?!” You snapped at him, not realizing how angry and disappointed you sounded, completely ignoring the fact that approaching him with such accusatory questions was only going to make things worse.

But somehow, you just couldn’t help but feel hurt and betrayed, like Luigi didn’t think you would save him back there, as if he couldn’t rely on you getting him home, as if trying to call you for help would be pointless.

It’s because you didn’t save him this time around.

He was shaking violently now, his wide, bloodshot eyes tearing up in a mixture of emotions you couldn’t read, his breath turning hysterical as he caved in on himself in shame and fear.

He can’t trust you anymore because you didn’t save him this time like you’re supposed to.

You immediately backed down, shocked at your own display of acrimony, lowering your head in shame and guilt, wishing you could undo what you just did, to just hug and comfort him like you always do those few times you’ve ended up hurting his feelings. But this time isn’t like one of those times.

He’s sad and scared because of you, because you lashed out at him like a snotty little brat.

“B-because I wanted to save myself for once…”

You froze, daring yourself to look up at the one person you never meant to hurt but did anyways, watching confusedly at the pure grief tearing your brother apart.

“Y-you’ve always c-come to my rescue, a-always s-saved me without complaint… I-I just didn’t w-want to be a b-burden anymore… I j-just wanted to be brave f-for once, t-to feel like I’ve accomplished something for m-myself…”

You failed him. He won’t be relying on you anymore. You didn’t keep your promise.

Every word he uttered was like a stab to the chest, a searing guilt tearing into your heart to suffocate you, to make you repent for your failures, for the things you’ve done and haven’t done, for the things you should’ve done to prevent all of this.

“I-I’m sorry… I’m s-so sorry…”

He kept weeping, repeating apologies over and over as he curled in on himself, hugging his legs and swinging his body back and forth like a frightened child.

You failed him.

You didn’t notice the sudden tears trailing down your cheeks, the only thing holding your attention being the pounding and throbbing urge to hold him, to tell him how sorry you are for everything, to tell him that he has nothing to be sorry for, to make rid of all the pain and suffering he’s been through-

It felt like ages before you finally had the courage to approach him, your mind desperately trying to come up with the right words to say as you slowly walked up to him, not daring to touch him without his permission.

“Fratello… Mi dispiace.”

He stopped his movements, hesitantly lifting his head to glance up at you in bewilderment.

“Mi dispiace non averti potuto salvare… Ho cercato dappertutto per te… ma non riuscivo a trovarti.”

His shivering lessened, wide, teary eyes looking worriedly at you as you spoke.

“Mi sei mancato fratello, mi sei mancato così tanto…”

The tears wouldn’t stop pouring out, but at least he didn’t look as scared anymore. He looked rather concerned for some reason.

“Avrei dovuto provare di più, avrei dovuto cercare di più.”

He suddenly reached out to you, holding his arms out wide to welcome you in, looking desperate for a hug.

You readily accepted the invitation, carefully sitting down beside him in a gentle embrace, soaking in the warmth and contentment you had missed for so long.

You wanted to completely lose yourself in this, to forget everything that had happened and just pretend like this was all a result of an intense quarrel between the two of you. But you couldn’t do that just yet, not when arguably the worst question of all was still plaguing your mind, threatening to take your brother away from you again, to hurt him all over again, maybe even going as far as to end his life.

“Luigi…” You began, rubbing his back soothingly as he let it all out, his trembling hands gripping your damp shirt in a desperate hold. “…Where is he now? The man who kidnapped you?”

Unsurprisingly, this only made him cry harder, but you soon realized exactly why when you heard his dreadful answer.

“H-he’s d-dead… I-I k-killed him…”

You stopped, a dreadful shiver shooting through your spine like lightning, fruitlessly wishing that you had just heard him wrong.

But it was real. It was just as real as the sobbing mess clinging to you in absolute anguish, as real as the dampness of tears on your cheeks, as real as all those months of futile searching, of sleepless nights and empty words of hope.

“I-I didn’t m-mean to… H-he j-just wouldn’t s-stop…”

You hugged him tightly, feeling nothing but sympathy and sorrow for a victim who never asked for this, never asked to be kidnapped and abused by a total stranger who Luigi had never wronged. You didn’t blame him for making such a rash decision in that kind of situation, especially when it was supposedly in self-defense.

For all you knew, it could have been either him or your brother lying dead in a ditch right now.

You would never admit it, but a certain part of you was glad that whoever had hurt your brother was gone for good. That man would never hurt your brother or anyone else ever again, and knowing that was a huge relief in on itself.

“Shhh, it’s okay bro, I don’t blame you for it one bit.” You whispered tenderly, patting his back reassuringly as you made a slow rocking motion to calm him down. “It’ll be alright, you’re safe now.”

You weren’t sure if he actually heard you whispering words of comfort to him, but he eventually seemed to regain his composure somewhat, taking deep breaths and trying to dry his own tears as the both of you just sat there bundled together on the couch for god-knows how long.

You didn’t realize how long time had actually passed until you heard the signature ding-dong of the grand-father clock in the hallway, signaling that it was now twelve in the afternoon.

By this time, your brother had already passed out from exhaustion, his curled-up body leaning heavily onto you with a peaceful look on his face.

You continued sitting there for a while, not wanting to disturb his much-needed sleep, feeling for once an immense gratitude and joy that Luigi was finally home and safe, even if said person had to pay a hefty price to get here safely, with some mental and physical scars to accompany it.

You looked down at his calm expression, absentmindedly stroking his hair as you thought about what was going to happen next. You still had a lot of questions to be answered, details you needed to figure out, and secrets that your brother was still keeping from you, like what actually happened during those six months of confinement, or the injury he was still hiding on his lower body.

But for now, you supposed that slacking off for the rest of the day was the better option for the both of you.

For now, you were just glad that your dearly-missed brother was finally home.

Chapter Text

You knew, from the very moment your brother woke up from his impromptu nap in your arms, weary eyes looking up at you with brief apprehension, until they shifted to a mixed expression of relief and melancholy, that things would never be the same again.

You knew things would never be the same when Luigi finally took the much-needed shower he hadn’t gotten for months, when he teared up at seeing his plumber outfit for the first time in so long laying neatly on his bed for him to change into, when he saw the food you had prepared on the dinner table with such hungry desire, wolfing it all down like an animal after only living on whatever that man had fed him, on whatever your brother could find in the wild once he finally managed to escape.

You knew things would never be the same when night came, and you woke up to the sound of your brother trying to stifle his sobs after waking up from a nightmare, hugging his knees in a fetal position and begging you not to touch him.

You knew things would never be the same, even if your brother seemed to try his hardest to pretend that everything was fine, that the past horrible events had never occurred, giving you reassuring smiles that failed to hide the obvious trauma haunting his mind and soul when he involuntarily slips away from your touch, keeping his distance from you, avoiding eye-contact and fiddling his bandaged fingers on his clothes in a re-occurring, nervous habit.

You knew things would never be the same, that all this stress, this tension that reflexively occurs between you two, the hidden boundaries that separate you from each other, the secrets, the silence, the guilt, it was all going to be tearing you down bit by bit no matter how head-fast and strong everybody makes you out to be.

You knew things wouldn’t be easy, that getting Luigi the help he needed to recover was going to be a challenge in on its own, but you’d be damned if you wouldn’t rise to it for his sake, no matter the trials and tribulations that would entail.

Because that was the only thing that mattered in all of this. His safety, his health, his life always mattered, but even more so now than ever before.

“Why are you so nervous about calling our friends? They’ve been worried sick about you too, you know…”

He stood a couple feet away from you and the phone receiver in your hand, his hair cut short and what was left of his mustache trimmed to the best of his ability, anxious eyes looking down on his twiddling fingers in the ever-repeating, strained silence.

With a new day ahead of you both, it was only conspicuous to be calling your friends about the good news of Luigi’s return… as good as it was to return home emotionally unstable and walking like a crippled person.

But even with this in mind, it confused you to see your brother so uncomfortable with the idea of interacting with people outside of your home, especially with the princesses who had tried their very best to find him, until they finally lost hope.

But maybe being imprisoned from the world for so long did that to a person, made them less social and more introverted out of some incomprehensible fear. Maybe he was self-conscious about letting them see him in this state, afraid that they would figure out what happened to him, maybe even reject him, even though the very thought of the princesses ever feeling any kind of abhorrence towards him was ridiculous in your mind.

“I-I know, it’s just…” Luigi eventually replied in a hushed voice, clearly insecure about explaining his reluctance to you. He kept his gaze lowered to the knitted socks on his feet, a precaution to keep his toes from turning purple and numb, as he returned to his reticence once more.

It hurt immensely to know that, whatever that man had done to your brother, it had inflicted enough damage to make him wary and skittish even in your presence. Even though you were certain that he knew he could trust you, that you would never treat him any less even if you knew all of his darkest secrets, it hurt to know that you weren’t the same source of safety and comfort to him anymore like you used to be.

You sighed softly, cogitating on how to accommodate to his boundaries.

“… They don’t have to come over if you don’t want them to, but we should at least call them to let them know you’re alright.” You advised, hoping that he would be willing to talk to his friends through the phone instead of speaking to them upfront. “Either way, keeping them in the dark about you is definitely not an option.”

He swiftly faced forward with a very conflicted expression on his face, only to sigh deeply and lower his head in reluctant acceptance.

“A-alright, we’ll just call them, no biggie…” He tried to chuckle with a nervous smile, which came out more as a weak wheeze in your ears from how forced it was.

You gave him a reassuring smile before turning towards the rotary dial, promptly pressing and turning the right numbers as you prepared yourself for the bittersweet conversation to come.

It didn’t take long for one of the servants to pick up and pass the phone over to their highness once they knew who was calling.

“Greetings Mario, how are you doing?” A familiar voice answered in the receiver, somehow sounding both worried and relieved at the same time. “Is something the matter?”

You stayed quiet for a moment, trying to recall the last time the two of you had a normal conversation that didn’t include the shared misery over your brother’s fate, the empty words of reassurances that failed to comfort the other in their time of need, the loss of hope…

It seemed like those verbal exchanges weren’t going to go away anytime soon.

“Hello Princess.” You belatedly replied, trying your best to not sound so dejected by the situation, which was proving difficult with Luigi’s infectious anxiety and depression standing by. “I have some good news for you…”

You paused, deciding to keep things short and straightforward, just in case your brother would suddenly decide to back out from this and prolong the inevitable.

“Luigi is back home.”

Complete silence was your only response for an awkwardly long time, confusing you for the phone hanging up on you until you suddenly heard Peach’s voice again.

“What?” her astonished voice almost whispered on the other side of the line, only for it to rise in volume as the realization seemed to settle in. “He’s back?! How?! Is he alright?! What happened to him?!”

She was almost yelling into the phone at this point, being loud enough for Luigi to hear the worry and desperation emitting from the receiver in your hand, looking even more restless than before as he continued to fiddle with his clothes fervently.

“Calm down Princess, he’s alright, he’s standing here right beside me as we speak.” You assured her, hoping that he would handle talking to her despite the excitement on both people’s parts. “He’s still recovering and doesn’t feel comfortable having any visitors over right now, but we needed to at least let you be aware of his return.”

There was a short pause, before Peach eventually replied with even more intense questioning.

“What do you mean he doesn’t feel comfortable having visitors over?! He’s been gone for over half a year! Everybody’s been worried sick about him! I started to believe that he was-!”

She suddenly stopped, a quiet, choked sob buzzing through the phone line that pierced your heart even deeper with the ceaseless guilt, whishing that you could explain all of this to her, reassure and comfort her like she had done for you.

But answering all of these inquires was impossible for you to begin with without invading on your brother’s privacy in the process.

“I know it doesn’t make much sense to you right now, but Luigi really needs the privacy after what he’s been through…” You spoke up quietly, keeping a close eye on said person’s reactions to the conversation. He was currently looking terribly ashamed of himself, his trembling hands never refraining from his constant fidgeting. “He just wants to talk to you guys for a bit and let you know that he’s okay.”

You heard her sniffling and taking deep breaths through the receiver, supposedly trying to collect herself before she answered with a downcast, shaky voice.

“Please let me talk to him.”

You complied, carefully handing the phone over to your brother as you gave him an encouraging smile.

“I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.” You told him softly, waiting until he gave a short nod before leaving him be with his phone call.

“H-hi Princess…” was the last comprehensible words you heard as you entered the kitchen, the rest of the conversation only mumbling whispers to your ears as you decided to sit down at the kitchen table with a cup of tea and wait it all out.

It had only seemed like minutes had gone by when Luigi was suddenly at the doorframe with a much more relaxed expression on his face, his hands clasped together in a firm grip instead of the usual twiddling.

“U-um, she wants to talk to you again…” He said meekly, standing by as if he was waiting for permission to leave.

Mentally preparing yourself for the forthcoming discussion with her, you rose up from your seat, leaving your cup on the table to wash later, and approached your brother with another supportive smile.

“Thank you, bro. I’m proud of you.” You conveyed to him with as much genuine gratitude you could muster, raising your hand with the intention of giving him a friendly pat on the shoulder, before thinking better of it and awkwardly lowering it to your side again as you passed him by.

With an odd expression on his face that you weren’t sure how to interpret, he seemed to take your praise as his cue to leave as he nimbly walked away towards the living room, carefully sitting down on the couch and enveloping himself in the blanket you had advised him to wear to keep himself from getting cold.

Once you were sure he was out of earshot, you proceeded towards the telephone and lifted the handle to your ear, hearing the girl of your dreams blowing her nose and taking deep breaths on the other side.

“Hi again, Princess…” You spoke softly, uncertain of how to comfort someone when you had so few reassurances to give, when you knew so little of the events that Luigi had gone through, when the best part of all of this could very well be the source of sadness for another.

She coughed awkwardly away from the receiver, as if trying to downplay her previous loss of composure, before you heard her returning and taking a deep sigh.

“I’m just so happy that he’s back… After all this time of searching and praying…” She trailed off with a wistful voice, an ambience of unease still present between you two.

“I know…” Was all you could say, because you knew that however the conversation had gone between her and your brother, it was unlikely that he had given Peach much information about his situation, other than the sugarcoated reassurances of his mental and physical health. You knew that despite her politeness and respect for her friend, she would still want to know the unspoken truths, to know the cause of how this happened in the first place.

It frustrated you how useless you felt in a situation you could have prevented.

“I know I shouldn’t be putting my nose where it’s unwanted, but… He didn’t want to tell me anything about what happened to him… I just want to be able to help you two somehow.”

A melancholic smile grew on your face at those last words, feelings of appreciation and gratitude intertwining with the self-doubt and sorrow you wish you could ignore and forget.

“I appreciate your concern for us, I really do…” You replied, your small smile turning back into a straight line and eyebrows furrowing in worry as you contemplated on the best response. “And I would love for you to help, but he’s very reclusive and sensitive right now, and doesn’t want to talk about it… not even with me.”

A short silence followed before she quietly answered, “…I see.”, as if lost for words on what to say next.

“I only know some bits here and there…” You continued, discreetly looking over your shoulder towards the living room to find your brother still curled up in his blanket on the couch. “He was kidnapped and imprisoned somewhere, but managed to escape and get back home on his own…”

“Oh gosh…” You heard her whisper in apparent shock. “I thought you had finally found him, but…”

You clutched the handle harder without thinking, hoping that she didn’t hear the small creak it emanated.

She paused, letting out a tired sigh before continuing.

“I’m sorry. This must really be taking a toll on you both… But if there’s anything I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask. You two mean a lot to me, and I want to be there for you through thick and thin, no matter what.”

You smiled once again at her last words, feeling utterly blessed to have her support to the point where it was almost tearing too deep.

“Thank you, Princess. I promise I’ll call if we ever need help.” You replied wholeheartedly, twirling the phone cord between your fingers in deep thought. “You really mean a lot to us too.”

You swore you could almost feel the smile tugging at her lips on the other side, before another tense silence suddenly followed for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

“There’s just one more thing I need to know…” She eventually spoke up hesitantly, as if afraid of what the answer to her inquiry would be.

“…Who kidnapped him? And where are they now?”

You stayed silent, knowing that dismissing this question was a bad idea, even if you desperately wanted to. The truth would find a way to make itself known sooner or later, but that wouldn’t stop you from trying to conceal it as much as possible, for his sake.

“…A man who Luigi hasn’t told me the name of.” You answered, wishing that you could stop right then and there, to just go back to the happier times you used to spend together. “He’s not around anymore…”

Another awkward silence to the pile added.

“You mean he’s…” She trailed off, evidently taking your reticence as confirmation of her supposition. ”Oh.”

You clenched and unclenched the cord in your hand in trepidation, waiting for her to ask the cause of that person’s death, even though you wouldn’t dare to tell her the truth, never behind your brother’s back like that.

“…I presume that it would be for the best if I didn’t ask the cause of his passing?” She suddenly asked with unease, and you let out a deep breath you hadn’t even noticed holding in.

“Yeah, I’d appreciate that…” You sighed in alleviation, trusting that would be the last of her questioning for now.

“Again, I really am sorry. For everything…” She confessed, even though she shouldn’t be, even though she isn’t at fault for any of this.

If anything, you should be the one apologizing for being absent from everybody for so long, when your friends were just trying to help the best they could…

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Princess. You were always there for me whenever I wasn’t recklessly searching for him, and even then, you tried to reach out and talk some sense into me.” You asserted, feeling like an idiot for not taking her feelings into consideration during all those months of despondency. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I’m sorry for pushing you away the way I did. I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for you this time around, like you were for me.”

She hushed softly, as if consoling a remorseful child, as if with the knowledge and wisdom of someone with life-long experiences.

“It’s alright Mario. You are forgiven.” She assured with the gentlest of words, and like rejuvenating magic, you already felt like some of that lost confidence was returning to you.

“Thank you again. I’m really lucky to have you in my life, you know that?”

You didn’t realize how much you had missed hearing her giggle until now.

“You flatterer.” She teased jokingly, like this was just one of many, regular phone calls you used to have, that you wished you could be having again.

Something you had almost forgot finally came to mind, a task you simply didn’t feel like dealing with anymore, but had to be done before you could go and recline on the couch with nothing else to worry about but your brother.

“Actually, there is something I would like your help with. But only if you’re okay with it, of course.”

“Sure, anything to help.” She replied, eager to please.

“Me and Luigi were supposed to call Daisy too, but I don’t think either of us has the energy to do it right now. You know how riled up she can get in serious situations.” You began, glancing over at your brother for the umpteenth time, still in the same position as before. “I was just wondering if maybe you could call her for me? Just to let her know that Luigi’s alright. I’ll make sure to call her myself eventually though.”

“I can do that, no problem.” She answered sweetly. “But she’ll most likely try to contact you herself the moment she hears about his return.”

“I’ll be prepared for that, don’t worry.” You responded, feeling relieved that she accepted your request.

The Princess hummed, and the following silence was for once a calm, welcoming one that didn’t put you on edge.

“So…” She slowly spoke up in a soft voice, as if wanting to preserve the serenity between you two for as long as possible. “What are you guys going to do now?”

You paused, pondering on the next course of action you had to take.

“I’m going to make an appointment with a doctor for him. He’s still hiding something from me that he refuses to talk about, so I don’t really have much other choice.” You answered, hoping that your brother would cooperate with you on this decision.

“I understand.” She replied hopefully, deciding not to ask any further. “I wish him a good recovery, and I hope he’ll be ready to meet up soon. I’ve missed spending time with him an awful lot.”

“I hope so too, Princess.” You said with a fond smile, remembering the times where Peach would invite Luigi over to try out new dresses she bought or where given as a present to her. Ever since that cross-dressing incident with Bowletta and Fawful, your brother seemed to have found a liking to dresses, especially the fancier ones the Princesses wore.

This was strictly a secret between her and your brother, but it was only a matter of time until you found the custom-sized dresses in his wardrobe one day and put two and two together.

“I’ve missed spending time with you too, Mario. Call me again soon, okay?”

You blinked, having completely spaced out for a moment before you answered her reverently.

“I will, promise. See you, Princess.”

“See you.” She whispered, and the beeping sound of the phone hanging up followed.

You put down the receiver in deep thought, preparing yourself for whatever reaction Luigi would make once you informed him of your plans. You entered the living room and stood silently in front of the couch, realizing that your brother must’ve fallen asleep during your conversation with Peach, as he was listlessly hunching in on himself and leaning his head onto his folded arms, his blanket-covered body breathing deeply and evenly.

Restraining yourself from shaking his shoulder like you usually would’ve done, you lightly coughed, trying to rouse him awake by calling him instead. “Luigi? You awake?”

He suddenly jerked his head up, looking around disoriented and confused before his gaze fixated on you, a sheepish smile that didn’t quite reach his tired eyes forming on his face.

It seemed to you like a re-occuring thing for him to just fall asleep at random intervals, as if the smallest exertion, mental or physical, was just as exhausting as a full-time week of hard labor.

It was a confusing and worrying sight that you hoped was nothing more but the cause of nightmares, depression or anxiety. Not that those three options were any less alarming, but still… there was always the chance of there being other underlying causes.

“How are you feeling?” You asked him, keeping the sleeping-habits-issue in mind for later, slowly sitting down a couple inches away from him just in case.

He gave you an odd look that you couldn’t decipher before he stared down at the floor, rubbing his eyes as he tried to suppress a yawn. “I-I’m fine, just a little tired.”

You leaned your elbows against your knees, clasping your hands together firmly as you ruminated on the best way to approach him.

“That’s good… I asked Peach to call Daisy instead. Thought that you might be too tired to call her today too. She’s most likely going to call you once she knows though, just so you’re prepared for that.”

He took a deep sigh, presumably dreading the rowdy Princess’ affectionate, but intense, scolding and reunion. But behind his apprehensive exterior, you could tell there was some ounce of positive anticipation, as if despite the circumstances, some part of him still looked forward to seeing his friend after being gone for so long.

“That’s alright. I’ll be ready.” He replied in a steady voice, his fingers picking at a loose thread on the blanket absentmindedly.

You twiddled your thumbs, your mind racing back to the time when Luigi and Daisy had won one of the tennis tournaments together, and ended up in the newspapers with the nickname ‘Flower Power Couple’. Their reactions to seeing that the next day was absolutely priceless.

“Luigi.” You began, glancing over at said person with a sincere look. “I know that you don’t want to do this… but you need help from a professional. You’re still hiding things from me, but I don’t want to force you to tell me everything. And even if you did tell me everything, I can’t be your only source of help. At least not when it comes to physical injuries I have no experiences treating.”

You saw how he tensed up at your words, his hands clasping the blanket tightly and his head lowered so you couldn’t see his facial response.

“However, that won’t stop me from being there for you if you ever need me.” You continued, wanting to reach your hand out towards his, but urged yourself not to. “I just… I just want you to cooperate with me on this… For your sake.”

A heavy silence followed, the sound of the grandfather clock ticking away every tense second of fear that he would reject your entreaty.

He eventually took a deep breath, raising his head and timidly facing you with an expression of despondent admission.

“O-okay… I’ll try.”