(As Long as We're Together) Everything's Gonna Be Okay

Opening the Bros Floodgates, Not Waiting a Moment More!

Mario and Luigi have their arms wrapped around each other so tightly as they watch their commercial, and when it ends, Luigi breaks the silence first by laughing.

"Wow! You were great!" Mario praises, smacking Luigi's cap to knock it into his eyes.

"I was great? Are you kidding me?" Luigi replies, jabbing at Mario's stomach. "You were great!"

"I am so glad we spent our life savings on this commercial." Mario gestures to the TV.

"That is not a commercial." Luigi admonishes, pinching his fingers together for emphasis. "That. Is. Cinema!"

The memory only barely ends as Mr. L turns around, and Mario's there.

"Stars, of course you show up right at this possible second." Mr. L mutters. "Why?"

"Do you even know where you are?" Mario lifts one hand to point behind him, and when Mr. L looks, he sees the last thing he was expecting. "You have got to be kidding." He says as he sees Mario's house in plain view, even as dark as it is.

"Are you okay?" Mario asks, making Mr. L turn back around and nod. "No, you're not. You're shaking like a leaf, and you've been crying."

"No I haven't." Mr. L denies instantly, not caring how obvious the lie is.

"What're you doing here?" Mario asks gently. "Aren't you supposed to be Mimi's best man at her wedding right about now?"

"Had to leave unexpectedly." Mr. L manages. "Just needed to stop and smell the roses."

"At a wedding covered in flowers?" Mario asks.

"Okay, sorry I don't pay attention to flowers, but I'm just a little..." Mr. L stops himself, shaking his head. "I'm having a panic attack or something. I'm just gonna go home."

He starts to go, but Mario holds out an arm to stop him without touching him. "Come on, that takes forever on foot when you're not like this. Just come inside."

Truthfully, Mr. L really doesn't feel like wandering aimlessly, hoping he makes it home, so he just nods and lets Mario lead him inside before closing the front door.

"Better?" Mario asks Mr. L, where he's situated on his couch with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders as he sips a glass of cold water.

Mr. L sets the glass down on the coffee table, leaning back against the couch and pointedly not looking at Mario or anyone else.

"Lu, just tell me enough so I don't have to drag you to the hospital."

"I'm fine." Mr. L says, voice utterly drained. "You can go to bed, I'll just...slip out before you wake up in the morning."

Mario is too smart for that, instead sitting himself next to him, looking at Mr. L even as his little brother still refuses to reciprocate.

"Weegee..." Mario pushes gently. "I know this means nothing to you right now, but I've had our entire lives to learn every single one of your tells. And when you're acting like this, that means there's something serious going on." Mr. L still won't look at him, so Mario adds, "I've never let you get away with keeping it from me before, and I'm not starting now."

Mario reaches out an arm, and when Mr. L doesn't pull away, Mario rests it on his shoulder, "So why don't you make this time easy on yourself and just tell me? What's wrong?"

If the memories are any indication, Mr. L knows Mario's claims aren't bogus, so after sniffing once, he finally lifts his head, looks right at Mario, and just says it.