At Least Your Brother's Not Gonna Die Because of You!

The News is Spreading, and Thankfully It's Not all Bad

"I'll tell him." Mario says into his phone, then hangs up. "They're excited and can't wait to come."

"Peach told me everything!" Daisy bursts in with no warning. "Tell me it's not true. Please!"

Before either Mario brother can say anything, Daisy shushes them. "First one to say anything gets slugged. I am not about to let you get out of this relationship so easily, got it? Whatever I have to do, I'll do it."

"Okay, first, you have to hear me say I'm sorry for not telling you myself. That's all on me." Luigi says, then gestures for her to come closer. "Then you have to come closer so I can give you a hug."

She's on him in seconds, squeezing him tight. "How is this fair?"

"Shh, sweetheart." Luigi whispers in her ear. "It's gonna be okay. Don't move until you're good and ready."

Daisy proceeds to do just that, not moving as she just cries openly, while Luigi and Mario stare at each other over her shoulder, before she steps back.

"Ugh, crying." Daisy says as she wipes her eyes. "Who needs it? But I think I get a pass, given my boyfriend's on his deathbed."

"You get a pass because you're you." Mario replies.

"And that's what I love about you." Luigi adds.

"How am I supposed to be okay with this?" Daisy demands.

"Well for one, that's not the only news we need to catch you up on." Luigi says.

"Please don't joke." Daisy reprimands.

"I'm not." Luigi promises. "Mario and I are celebrating our company's anniversary."

That makes Daisy cry all over again. "You are????"

"And you know I can't say no to my little brother." Mario says with a smile.

"Just like that?" Daisy asks.

"Pretty much." Luigi nods.

"Yay!" Daisy cheers, pulling both brothers in for a hug.

"Mario threatened the woman that hurt Luigi," Giovanni repeats once Arthur and Tony tell him and Mia. "And she refused to save him?"

"She promised Mario she didn't do it." Arthur says. "But Mario seems convinced she knows something ."

"Of course she doesn't care if Luigi dies." Giovanni rolls his eyes. "If Luigi lives, that means he can point the finger at her for everything she's done to him."

"Well unless she's going to introduce herself to all of us, we don't really have a leg to stand on." Tony points out.

"I'd say we have several legs." Mia says. "Our legs."

"I hate seeing him like that." Daisy tells Peach.

"At least he's getting to rest for a moment." Peach tries to be optimistic.

"I know everyone now and again gets rotten lots in life." Daisy says. "But it was starting to feel like Luigi's life was finally getting back on track. And just when I make a reappearance, he's leaving for good. And I hate that I can't make this better for him."

"You know everyone's working their tails off to find a way to save him." Peach says. "But with Dimentio being dead and Nastasia not being exactly forthcoming about what she knew about him, hope is all we have."

"How did their family take it?" Daisy asks.

"About as well as you'd expect." Peach says simply. "Their uncles are devastated. And they still had to break it to their parents. They made it clear that we should've called sooner, and all I could tell them was Luigi asked me not to. And we were all just as shocked to hear what happened as they are. No one ever said it, but we all were ready for something to happen to Mario first. Never Luigi."

"Do you know when they'll be here?" Daisy asks.

"They'll be here as soon as the entire family is filled in." Peach assures.

"Now we can only pray that they get here before anything happens..." Daisy says thoughtfully.

"In the meantime, I think we should help the brothers plan their anniversary, don't you?" Peach smiles. "This might be the thing that gets us through it all."