Fandom: Super Mario Bros
Paring: None
Rating: G

Approval Not Needed
by Spug

The click of the fork against a plate of food that hadn't been touched yet caught Mario's attention.

Hat off at the table, the stout older brother looked up past his greasy bangs toward Luigi as he slurped a long string of spaghetti. The end of the noodle didn't make it into his mouth as Mario was well versed in his brothers expressions.

Staring down at his untouched food, Luigi's eyes were half hidden in the curtain of his own hair that was slightly less dirty than his brother's. His mustache twitched as he flurried his mouth in a nervous manner. Unconsciously expressing his anxiety.

Mario knew that look well.

He sat down his own fork; plopping an elbow on the table to prop his five-o'clock shadowed face into his palm and raised his brows at his younger brother. "Common Weegi outta with it."

"Well... You're-a not gonna like it.."

--

"...I -I have-a something to tell you-a Mario."

Luigi was standing in the doorway of the basement they were suppose to be fixing a leak in. Work had been overloaded this week and they'd been working their plumber butts off to keep up with demand. Word had gotten out that they were good at their craft -- Mario more so than Luigi, but the older brother had confidence in his younger -- and the calls had been coming in full force this winter. The cold had been freezing water and breaking pipes

"Did you-a find where the pipe has-a busted outside, Luigi?" Laying on his back next to a water cooler - Mario was busy taking out a section of piping that had be warped completely useless. There was grease on his hands and arms and his face was covered in sweat. When no answer to that question came, the older brother propped himself up on his elbow to look toward where Luigi was standing.

His brother hadn't moved from the door way. Work glove covered hands clutched together behind his back as he aimlessly kicked at the cement floor before him. Head was down allowing the bill of his plumber's cap to cover most of his face -- which was red. Teeth tugged down over his bottom lip.

"Bro?" Mario grunted as he sat up, barley missing banging his head on a low hanging pipe and set the wrench down.

"Um.."

Mario snorted in an amused manner and placed his greasy hands on the knees of his overalls. "Common Weegi, outta with it!"

"You're-a not gonna like it Mario." Luigi sounded miserable. "But I-a hava tell you. It's-a starting to drive me nuts."

Mario blinked a bit, reaching up to scratch at his chin. "I'm-a sure whatever you hava to-a tell me isn't that-a bad. Do you-a really need to do it here?"

"Yes." Luigi finally planted his foot firmly and looked over at his older brother. "Because I think-a I will loose my nerve again."

With a shake of his head Mario motioned Luigi to approach him with his other hand. "Well-a this pipes notta gonna fix itself anna we donna have all day, so you come tell me, okay?"

Luigi stayed where he was and lowered his head again. He flustered redder and coughed. "Well..."

"Common Weegie."

"O-Okey Dokey." Taking a deep breath the younger brother curled his hands together in front of him. "I can tell you-a this. Okay! Remember how-a you set-a me up with Belle Sempronio's little sister?"

Mario smiled. "Of course! She-a adores you."

"Yeaaah..." Luigi reached up to scratch the back of his neck. "I-a wanna called it off."

Taken aback, Mario actually stood up. "You-a wanna called it off? Thatta took me months to-a get Belle to agree to introduce the two-a you"

Luigi visually cringed. "I..I know.. anna imma sorry, Mario! But that's why I need to-a tell you something important."

Mario scowled slightly and crossed his thick arms. It wasn't so much that he was pissed; just highly confused. Belle's younger sister was a beautiful girl -- and she was well off. If plumbing didn't work out Luigi could always work for her father. "Whatta is wrong with her?"

"Oh she-a is very nice.. it's-a not her.. it's-a me, Mario.. It's just..." Swallowing the younger brother turned away and sighed, head dropping. "I'mma sorry -- I - I don't want you-a to be disappointed in-a me."

At this Mario's face softened. Shaking his own head he strode across the floor and reached out to place his big hand on Luigi's arm and turned the younger man toward him. Both hands going to grip his thinner taller brother's shoulders. "Weegi. I-a will never be disappointed in you. Imma not papa, okay? Please tell me."

His brother shook for a second with a deeper breath and then he raised his reddened face -- setting his jaw tight and winced his eyebrows. "Imma gay, Mario."

There was a moment of silence from the older plumber as his eyes went a little wide -- but in a single moment later he jerked his brother toward him and hugged him fiercely. A low laugh escaping his thick chest. "Oh bro -- that-a doesn't matter to-a me one bit."

Luigi let out a fluttered sigh of relive and buried his head into his brother's shoulder. Hands gripping into Mario's back. "Moi dio -- I-a was so worried you'd hate-a me!"

Mario just hugged him tighter. "I could-a never do that. Weegi -- no-a matter what path you-a take in life. So you dunna like girls -- thatta doesn't matter to me."

"Thank you-a Mario." Luigi hugged his brother back tight.

When they pulled apart, Luigi stepped back and resumed his rather bashful stance. "Okey dokey.. Imma glad I finally told-a you."

"It's fine Weegi. I'm glad you-a did." Mario turned back toward the pipe and picked up his wrench.

"Whatta should I-a do about Belle-a anna her sister?"

Mario smirked as he readjusted his hat. "I'll-a ask them iffa their older brother, Antonio is-a looking for a date."

His younger brother grinned shyly. "What iffa he turns out to-a be a jerk?"

"Thenna I beat him with a wrench, Okey-Dokey?" Mario winked and went back to fixing the pipe.

"Okey-Dokey." Luigi echoed. "I love-a you Bro."

"I love you-a too, Weegi -- now go-a find that broken pipe."

--

"Um..."

"Common Weegi."

Luigi sighed and put his hands together. "I've-a been putting of it off, butta need to really tell you-a this... anna know you-a really think he's-a pompous jerk but..."

Mario wavered his head back and forth then held his hand up to stop his brother from saying anything. "Look -- Weegi --- if you wanna go to Peasley's ball then you go right ahead..."

His younger brother looked shocked but relieved. "T-thank you Mario. I know-a you dunna like him so much; but I really do..."

"It's okay Weegi." Mario picked up his fork again and began to twirl Spaghetti onto it; grinning. "Just you-a let him know ifa- he's a jerk to you imma beat him over his-a sparkly head with-a pipe wrench."

"Okey-Dokey!"

Both brothers smiled at each other and then went back to their meal.

The End