Best Days We'll Never Know

A Face-to-Face vs. A Voicemail

"Well look at you two!" their mother praises as they come out in their cap and overalls outfits.

"We wanted to stand out!" Mario explains. "Now we do!"

Luigi's not so sure, as he tugs at his too tight overall straps, but before he can speak up, Mario's phone goes off.

"Scuse us, Ma." Mario says apologetically, before gesturing for Luigi to follow him back into their room.

"Hello?" Mario says into the phone, shrugging at Luigi. "Yes, this is the Super Mario Brothers." He grins at Luigi. " What? " he gasps, then pulls the phone away to look at something on his phone.

Then he gasps again, "Lu, look!"

Luigi comes over, and then he's gasping too.

"We got into the Faire???"

"We did!" Mario screeches, before remembering he's still on the phone, and puts it back to his ear. "Yes, we will absolutely be there and handle the booth setup ourselves. See you there."

Then he hangs up and wastes no time hugging Luigi.

"Make way for the Super Mario Brothers!"

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The brothers are on the couch watching TV together when Luigi's phone goes off.

Curious, they mute the TV as Luigi puts it on speaker.

"Hello?"

"Hi, this is the coordinator for the New York Maker's Faire. Is this Luigi Mario? "

Both brother's eyes go wide but only Luigi replies, "Yes it is."

"This call is to inform you that your physical rehabilitation exoskeleton, the HydroMech, has been nominated for a National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research Award. "

Luigi's mouth drops right open as the voice on the phone keeps talking.

" Results will be posted after the Faire. Congratulations. "

Then they hang up, which means the brothers can hug and scream as loud as they want.

"You did it!" Mario screams, grabbing Luigi pressing their foreheads together. "Like I always knew you would."

" We did it." Luigi corrects, squeezing Mario's arm. "Like we always will."

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"Sounds like you're doing really well." Pauline says when she next visits.

"We are." Mario agrees, then adds. "Actually, that's not all. We've been asked to speak on a panel with Irene Masterson and Lydia Donovan."

Pauline gasps, "Your idols?"

"Uh huh." Mario smiles. "Luigi's so excited, he hasn't talked about anything else."

"Oh my gosh." Pauline grabs him in a hug. "That is amazing!"

It's a second before they register that maybe hugging isn't the best idea, so Mario tries to cut the tension,

"Yeah, it's...great. It's like we're finally getting our shot right when we were sure it was over for us."

"No kidding." Pauline agrees. "I'm gonna be there. I promise. In fact I'm trying to see if I can't set up a voter's sign-up booth at the Faire. Let's see if we can be there at the same time."

Mario lights up, "You have your own booth at the Faire too?"

Pauline shrugs, "Hopefully."

"I would love to see you in your element." Mario praises. "See what our future mayor is gonna look like."

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"Hey, Pauline." Mario says to Pauline's voicemail, with Luigi giving a silent thumbs up. "I really wanted to say this to you, and not your voicemail, but...it is what it is."

He moves to sit on the couch, "I'm just calling to let you know Luigi and I's prototype got into the New York Maker's Faire, and we're ecstatic. Since Luigi's already gonna be there, you're the only one who can come close to understanding how big a deal this is. So this is me sending you a personal invitation."

Then he hangs up, but right as he does,

"Mario! Come see!"

At Luigi's call, Mario stands up, the voicemail forgotten for a second as he tracks down his little brother.

And gasps.

"Whaddaya think?"

"You grew a mustache!" Mario cheers, grabbing him in a hug. "Think I should grow one too?"

"You like it that much?" Luigi says hopefully.

"You kidding?" Mario laughs. "Why wouldn't I wanna look just like my hero?"

Luigi's eyes go glassy at that, so Mario kisses his forehead, then rushes off.

"Now to grow it out before the Faire!"