Chapter Text
"There! All done!"
Mario wipes his hands on his overalls, grinning triumphantly at the finished sandcastle. It took a while but it was absolutely worth it - it's even bigger than the one Luigi built earlier.
Mario looks over his shoulder, scanning for the bully from before but she's nowhere to be seen. She's one of the older kids, probably around eight or nine years old. Earlier, she stomped on Luigi's sandcastle, the castle he's been working on ever since they got to the playground earlier this afternoon.
Mario was only a few feet away, always making sure he could see Luigi out of the corner of his eye. He sprang into action as soon as the girl came to a stop in front of the sandcastle, her teeth showing as she grinned down at Luigi.
Mario unfortunately wasn't fast enough to stop her from destroying the castle but it did flick a very familiar switch within his mind and his vision turned red.
He was on the girl in a flash, effectively shoving her into the sand, jumping off of her back and in front of Luigi, arms stretched out and a death glare on his face. She immediately started bawling and calling for her mom but she'd seen the whole thing so Mario didn't get in trouble.
Not that it would've mattered. Nobody gets away with mistreating his little brother as long as he's around. And he's always around.
Mario pulls two little flags out of his pocket - one deep red, the other bright green - and pushes one of them into the sand on top of the highest tower.
He turns, holding the green flag out to Luigi. "Time to claim our castle, Lu!"
Luigi's eyes are sparkling like crystals as he turns his head, looking at Mario before his gaze drops to the flag. The tiniest little smile pulls at his lips as he takes it, putting it right next to Mario's flag while Mario's chest flutters.
"It's so pretty", Luigi whispers, in absolute awe as he's looking at their castle and Mario's heart does a summersault.
"Yeah." He's still looking at Luigi as he replies. "Pretty."
He imagines them living in an actual castle, like in the movies Luigi likes so much, where the pretty princess gets rescued by the handsome prince and they live happily ever after.
Mario finds himself just looking at his brother, like he does so often. He has long eye lashes, beautifully framing his bright blue eyes, his lips are soft and his smile lights up every room, his skin is smooth to the touch and his cheeks flush real cutely when he's embarrassed, which happens a lot.
Luigi is prettier than any of the princesses on TV, Mario thinks.
Luigi turns to look at Mario, his fingers tugging at one of his overall straps, still smiling. "Thank you, Mario."
His voice pulls Mario away from his thoughts and he reaches out, pulling at Luigi's hands and taking them in his own instead. "Don't thank me, Weegee, I love building sandcastles with you!"
Luigi shakes his head hard enough for his hat to slip over one of his eyes. "I don't mean that."
Mario untangles one of his hands to reach up and fix Luigi's hat. "Then what?"
Luigi's gaze drops to their intertwined fingers, avoiding eye contact. Mario is willing to bet that he's blushing and catches himself hoping that he's going to look up again so Mario can see.
"You always protect me." Luigi's tiny little thumb rubs over Mario's skin, making it tingle. "And rescue me from bad people. You're like a knight, or a superhero."
Mario blinks. Protecting Luigi comes as natural to him as breathing, it always has. Luigi is his little brother, protecting him is Mario's job - the best job in the world.
He never really thought about what Luigi's feelings on it looked like. Mario knows he appreciates it, and he definitely enjoys the attention that comes with it, always following Mario around everywhere, reaching for his hand or hugging him whenever he feels like it, sneaking into his bed at night after a nightmare. That's just their dynamic, it's how things were from the start and Mario never actually pondered upon it.
He does now, and he's not sure what it is but something about Luigi calling him a superhero makes his stomach feel weird.
Not in a bad way. It feels warm and fuzzy.
Mario thinks he likes that feeling.
He stands up straight, pushing out his chest and holding his head up high. "Uh-huh! A brave superhero protecting his pretty princess!"
He says it without thinking, heat rising to his cheeks as soon as the words slip from his lips. He means every single one of them and his confidence is not nearly shaken enough to take them back - he does however feel a nervous pinch in his stomach, awaiting Luigi's reaction.
Luigi's head snaps up and just as Mario suspected earlier, he is blushing, probably even darker now. However, there's a spark within his pretty eyes, happy and hopeful, shining with the same adoration he always looks at Mario with.
"I'm a princess?" He asks with a shy little giggle that sets Mario's heart on fire. The pinch in his stomach is gone, his chest swells with the usual confidence as he tugs at their intertwined fingers and pulls Luigi closer.
"My princess! The prettiest of them all!" He confirms, nodding fiercely, his own hat slipping down, definitely diminishing the newly established superhero aura.
Luigi doesn't seem bothered in the slightest. He giggles again, fixing Mario's hat like Mario did his earlier, his hands coming to rest on Mario's heated cheeks. "I like that."
Mario beams at him, his own arms wrapping around Luigi's middle. "Me too."
They bump their noses against each other, the voices of the other children around them tuned out completely as they bask in the comfort and safety of each other's company.
Until -
Mario's arms tighten around Luigi, startling him enough to make him shriek. "Oh no! The evil dragon is coming to take you away! Come, my princess!"
Mario grabs Luigi's hand and pulls him with, looking over his shoulder with a grin. Luigi is blinking rapidly before starting to giggle again, following Mario through the entire playground as he punches the air with his free hand, fending off the imaginary dragon, their own laughter ringing in their ears.
They're both out of breath when they stop behind the slide, panting, still grasping each other's hand. Mario wipes his forehead, looking around the corner before nodding proudly.
"I beat him up so bad, he's too tired to follow us anymore. You're safe now, my princess!"
When Mario is about to turn back around, he feels something very soft brush against his cheek. He sucks in a breath, his skin heating up and his heart skipping a beat when he realizes that it's Luigi's lips.
"My hero." Luigi whispers as he pulls away, cheeks beet red and gaze fixed downward, always anxious fingers pulling at each other.
Mario blinks rapidly. He looks at his bashful little brother for a long moment before getting an idea that makes his stomach feel all warm and fuzzy like it did earlier.
Standing up straight again, Mario tries his best to look as confident as he usually feels, pointedly ignoring the rapid beating of his heart. "You know, I kinda saved you twice so..."
Luigi lifts his head again. Mario leans his face forward, wordlessly pointing at his cheek.
Luigi giggles again, leaning forward, about to press another little peck to Mario's cheek -
- only for his lips to meet Mario's instead, who turned his head at just the right moment.
"Mario!" Luigi shrieks as pulls away, his face resembling a tomato, tiny little fists pressed against his cheeks in embarrassment.
Mario's lips are tingling and so is the rest of his body. They've kissed on the lips before, they used to all the time when they were toddlers. But somehow that was different, the memories of that time are blurry. They're more aware of each other and the world around them now. Something has changed, even if Mario isn't sure what.
Either way, Mario is grinning, his chest swelling. He's very pleased with himself. "What? The princess always kisses the hero on the mouth!"
"I know but...you could've...you should've...you can't just..!"
Luigi pulls his hat down over his eyes with a frustrated little whine, as he always does when the words he wants to say refuse to come out the way he wants them to.
Mario chuckles and reaches out, gently prying Luigi's hands off of his hat and pushing it up again. "Is my princess mad at me now?" He asks, not concerned in the slightest. He knows Luigi well enough to be able to tell if he's actually mad - even though he can't remember a single time Luigi was ever mad, let alone at Mario.
Luigi blinks at him before dropping his gaze to somewhere on Mario's chest. "Meanie..."
Mario purses his lips in a pout. Luigi sighs in defeat, his hands coming up to play with the buttons on Mario's overalls. "You're lucky you saved me from a dragon."
Before Mario can reply, Luigi's lips are on his again. It lasts barely a second but it still catches him off guard, his entire face heating up once more.
It's Luigi's turn to grin at him now. "Now we're even, Super Mario."
That warm, fuzzy feeling inside his stomach becomes stronger at having Luigi call him that. He's lost for words for a long moment, until he realizes something.
"Wait, we're not!" He lets go of Luigi to hold his hands up, counting with his fingers. "I saved you twice and I got three kisses. It needs to be an even number! So that means -"
Mario makes grabby hands for Luigi, who immediately jumps backwards with a laugh, darting away, Mario right on his heels. "You still owe me one more, princess!"
"Earn it!"
"I already did! Get back here!"
They run around the entire playground again, Mario deadset on claiming that last kiss he's certain he's owed.