Love in the Oddest Places (bowuigi story)

Chapter 33: That's Amore!

Luigi continued his clandestine visits to Bowser over the next two days, slipping away when his brother was occupied or under the cloak of night. He took great care to remain discreet, adhering to Daisy's "orders," and his efforts seemed to go unnoticed by everyone... except for his brother. Mario could sense that something was afoot from a mile away; actually, he's been aware of Luigi's change in demeanor for a while now. The recent sneaking around just solidified his suspicions.

Mario guided Luigi back to their room, under the promise of treating his brother to lunch and a game of cards, which was true! He just omitted the interrogation part. It's fine. Luigi walked into the room and made a beeline for the prepared spread laid out for them. Mario was grateful for the cooks' help cuz' he wouldn't have been able to make this much food on his own.

"Is... is that fresh mozzarella?" Luigi asked, shaking him from his thoughts.

The scheming brother quickly grabbed a plate, fighting for his life to hide the smirk trying to surface on his face. Mario nodded. "You can't have caprese salad without fresh, homemade mozzarella," he responded.

"Just like Nonna would say," Luigi said innocently as he piled food on his plate. "Then she'd threaten to haunt us if we ever used the store bought stuff."

The brothers burst into laughter as they settled into nearby seats. Mario couldn't shake off the pang of guilt for keeping secrets from Luigi. Still, seeing his brother chuckling beside him, relishing the spread before them, he decided to cherish this moment of togetherness before delving into the truth. The red twin grabbed one of the provided bottles of ale. "Hey, Lu. You know what will make this better?" he asked. "Let's get some music going, bro!"

"Oh! Here," Luigi reached into his pocket and threw his phone at him, then grabbed a deck of cards on the table. "You pick something. I'll shuffled the cards."

Mario caught the phone with ease and scrolled through his brother's playlist, feverishly looking for a particular song. It was a vital part of the questioning! Plus, who doesn't love Dean Martin? Mario quickly found the song he was looking for and played it, allowing the smirk he'd been hiding to show. Luigi slowly stopped shuffling as the guitars and violins started to play. "Oh no.... Nononono." Ignoring his brother's reaction, Mario took a deep breath and began to sing.

"In Napoli where love is king.

When boy meets girl here's what they say.

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie

That's amore!

When the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine

That's amore!

Bells will ring, ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling

And you'll sing "Vita bella"

Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay

Like a gay tarantella."

Mario circled around Luigi's chair, a playful smirk dancing on his lips as he noticed his brother's attempt to hide within the furniture. While Luigi might have successfully deceived everyone else in Sarasaland, he couldn't fool Mario. The signs were unmistakable: Luigi had feelings for someone. According to their longstanding tradition, Mario was obligated to sing and celebrate the fact that his little brother had found someone to capture his heart.

"Please, stop," Luigi begged.

The older brother shook his head, a smile playing at the corners of his lips as he continued to dance and sing. He pretended to use the bottle in his hands as a microphone, his voice carrying the tune effortlessly. As Mario burst into another verse, Luigi couldn't contain himself. He curled into himself, a strange sound escaping him, somewhere between laughter and a sob.