Best Days We'll Never Know

Broken Bones vs. Broken Hearts

Upon pulling up to the hotel, Mario checks the room number and makes his way up.

When he finds it, he knocks, and she immediately opens it.

"Hey there!"

"Who knew it would take you this long to get me to a hotel room?" Mario jokes as she pulls him in for a hug.

"I got an invite to a mini reunion party." Pauline tells him when they're seated in the hotel restaurant.

"Yeah?"

"Mhm." Pauline says, sipping her drink. "You gonna go?"

"Kind of have to. Luigi would never forgive me if I blew his chance to rekindle something with Destiny del Vacchio."

"Oh this I have to see." Pauline laughs. "Count me in."

"Awesome." Mario says, then says. "Thanks for inviting me. I really needed a break from the Wrecking Crew."

"Thanks for still wanting to come." Pauline replies. "Seriously, you had me doubting if we were still friends. But any time we're in the same part of the world, reach out and we'll do something, got it?"

"Thanks for that." Mario stands up. "I'm going back for more. You want anything?"

At the shake of Pauline's head, Mario heads back to the buffet by himself, where he promptly drops it into someone's chest.

"Hey watch where you--" the girl in front of him says, but Mario's already apologizing,

"Oh no, are you--"

"Oh gosh, don't worry about it." The girl says suddenly, grabbing a napkin and dabbing at her nametag, that spells out Trish. "Probably should stop wearing this old thing for this exact reason."

"Let me buy you a drink to make up for it?" Mario offers.

"Sorry, did I say old thing?" Trish says. "I meant priceless thing." But when Mario steps away to walk towards the bar, she stops him.

"Hey, I was kidding. You really don't have to--"

"I know I don't have to." Mario responds smoothly. "I want to." And as he walks away, he tosses a, "Once again: sorry!" over his shoulder.

Once he finally comes back to his table with Pauline, he says, "I sincerely can't even fantasize about my life at Cornell anymore."

"Seriously?" Pauline asks incredulously. "Didn't you and Luigi put all your hopes and dreams into getting into Cornell?"

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Mario asks exasperatedly. "Yes, we did, but now that I'm here with you, surrounded by Cornell alumni, this place just ain't for me."

Pauline shrugs, "Then it all worked out for the best. You and Luigi became plumbers anyway, and now you're professional blue-collar workers."

"Yeah, we did, didn't we?" Mario smiles.

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"I said we found a place!" Mario says loudly into his phone, where he's talking to Pauline through video call.

"Sorry--I--can't." Pauline says as the video keeps cutting out.

"Pauline? You there?" Mario asks.

"I miss you already." Pauline says, clearly unable to hear him.

"I miss you more," Mario says anyway, then tries again, "I'm trying to tell you we found an apartment; I sent it to--."

"Mario, I can't hear anything you're saying." Pauline cuts him off.
"It's got a perfect spot we can build a workbench, for me and Weegee's projects." Mario goes on. "Did you hear me?"