Work Text:
Mr. Puzzles sighed in exhaustion as he sipped his coffee, the heated liquid slipping through his vent as he stared at a blank piece of paper in front of him. God forbid he use an actual computer for his work, he hated how complicated they were. He preferred pen and paper for his scripts, but even then, using stationary had it's challenges.
The piece of paper in front of him was blank, with only a single title above the lines he was meant to write on: Parody Title. He was supposed to put the name of a parody there, but the blank space was bothering him so much, he filled it in while he continued to think of ideas.
He was having a writers block. He couldn't think of any good parodies to write and use the SMG4 crew in. Disney parodies? He would get sued into the ground. Universal parodies? Despicable Mr. Puzzles did horribly. Netflix parodies? That was a last resort, those shows were already terrible. The lack of productivity he was experiencing was driving him insane...
Then he heard a door open and shut, as well as the familiar clacking of boots on the hardwood floors.
"TV man, I'm here!" Mario announced, peeking into Puzzles's office with a goofy grin. Mr. Puzzles smiled as he turned to the Italian, setting down his mug of coffee as he stood up. "Hello, Mario. How are you this afternoon?" He asked, sauntering over to the Italian and hugging him, leaning down to his height and loosely wrapping his long arms around Mario, pulling him close. Mario returned the hug gleefully, bouncing up and down as he squeezed the adware.
When the two finally pulled away, Mario took in his lovers appearance.
And he looked terrible.
Mr. Puzzles's antennae were crooked and leaning downward, his bowtie was untied and was just a floppy piece of cloth on his shirt, and his clothes were ragged and wrinkled to hell. His expression was also cartoonishly tired. Mario's giddy smile quickly flipped to worry as he processed his boyfriends appearance.
"Are you okay?" He finally asked, pulling the untied cloth from Puzzle's shirt. Puzzles flinched, but relaxed, wrapping both of his hands around Mario's. "I'm alright, love. Just a bit stressed."
"What's wrong?" The Italian pressed, looking behind Mr. Puzzles to see the blank paper. Puzzles sighed and shrugged. "Writer's block, hun."
"What's that?"
"It's basically when a person doesn't have any ideas for a story... It's what I have right now."
"Oh. Do you need ideas?"
"Desperately." Puzzles stood up and walked back to the desk, taking the paper and staring at it mistfully. Mario's gaze wandered from the paper to more of the desk, and that's when he noticed the coffee mug. Upon lifting it from the desktop and peeking inside, he noticed it was almost empty.
"Have you gotten any sleep at all?" Mario asked worriedly, placing the mug back onto the desk. Puzzles sighed and shook his head, setting the paper back down. Mario blinked as he frowned, realizing what was going on.
He's overworking again...
"Have you had anything to eat at all?" He asked, taking Puzzles's hand in his own. Puzzles avoided eye contact as he continued to stare at the paper on the desk. "No..." He answered, muttering.
"Not even a snack?"
"Mmm." He shook his head. Mario frowned, squeezing his hand. Of course he wouldn't eat. He was always so engrossed in his work that he'd completely skip meals to get something done. God knows how exhausted he was before he met Mario...
"I won't stand for this." Mario stated bluntly, pulling Mr. Puzzles with him as he walked to the kitchen. Puzzles, confused, tried to wrest his hand from his grip, but failed. Mario was holding on tight. "What are you doing, hun?"
"Making you something to eat. You can't keep doing this, mi amor!" Mario pushed him into a chair at the table, forcing the adware to sit down. Puzzles began to fret, his hands quivering as he tried to sit still. "Mario, you don't have to do this-"
"Nonsense. I'm not gonna stand around and let you destroy yourself like this. Mario is gonna play chef for you!" He pointed a wooden spoon at the cyborg, his expression determined. Puzzles, flattered, finally relaxed in his seat, leaning against the back of the chair.
Soon, the kitchen and dining room were filled with the delicious smell of spaghetti.
Upon placing a plate of fresh pasta in front of the adware, Mario sat across from him and crossed his arms on the table, resting his head in the crook of his elbows as he watched Puzzles eat his cooking. So far, he wasn't satisfied with how small the bites he were eating were. "You gotta eat more than that, love." He urged, tapping the table. Puzzles simply smiled at his request and continued eating, though his bites were a little larger than before.
After what felt like hours, the cyborg finally finished, gently nudging the plate towards the Italian with a smile. Mario looked up at him worriedly.
"How do you feel now?"
"A lot better, thank you..." Puzzles answered, still smiling. He did look like he had more energy, but his hands were still quivering, and his screen still had that tired expression. Mario began to piece together the parts and realized that Puzzles hadn't slept either.
"Do you need a nap?" He asked bluntly, following Mr. Puzzles out of the kitchen and into the living room. Puzzles chuckled nervously, tugging at his shirt as he tried to smooth out the wrinkles. "Uhm..."
Before he could answer, a yawn escaped his speakers. Mario frowned as his brow furrowed in frustration. Puzzles smiled nervously as they both looked at each other.
"You haven't slept at all, have you?"
"Nope." Mario let out a deep sigh, taking the cyborgs hand again and leading him to the bedroom, paying no attention to the office they passed. Upon arriving, Mario let go of his hand and jumped onto the mattress, patting the spot next to him. Puzzles's screen turned a rosy red.
"Uhm, Mario, what are you-"
"We're gonna take a nap together. No excuses." He answered firmly, patting the mattress. Puzzles's screen only burned brighter, you could hear his fans whirring as he desperately tried to cool down, but Mario was persistent. Nothing Puzzles could do or say could get the Italian to leave him alone.
With a defeated sigh, Puzzles sauntered to the bed and laid down beside Mario, his screen beginning to glitch as he struggled to remain awake. Mario, happy that his plan worked, wrapped himself around the adware like a koala, hugging him tightly. Puzzles smiled, his screen showing a faint overlay of static.
"It's just a nap, mi amor. If you wake up before me, you can keep working."
"Okay..." Puzzles murmured, his screen dimming as he fell asleep. Mario crawled upwards and pecked a kiss on the cyborg's vent, grinning widely. Finally, Puzzles's screen flipped to darkness, signaling that he finally fell asleep. Mario soon followed, snuggling against the adware and pressing his cheek against his chest. Before he fell asleep, he felt a pair of arms envelop him and squeeze him gently before relaxing once again.