Rebound search

Mario stood nervously in the bustling city of the mushroom kingdom, waiting for Mr Puzzles.

Last night, the TV man had texted him out of the blue, asking him if he was free the next day so they could make a start on helping Mario move on from his unrequited crush. Mario of course, didn't hesitate to agree. He had been wallowing in self pity the whole night, knowing that as he laid curled up in his bed, crying; the man who had unknowingly stolen his heart, was on a date. A date with someone who, in Mario's opinion, didn't deserve him.

But in a cruel twist of fate, Mr Puzzles, the man who agreed to help him move on was the exact same man whom he was trying to move on from!

Mario knew that what he was doing wasn't healthy. That if he wanted to get over Puzzles, it would probably be best to stay away from him so he didn't risk ruining his relationship with the man. But dammit, Mr Puzzles was like an addiction that Mario couldn't drop.

Mario yearned for his precious TV. He wanted nothing more than to be around him every second of every day. To smother him in affection and make sure he felt loved constantly. Mario's feelings for the man had been brewing for months now. To start with, it was nothing more than "If he asked me out, I wouldn't say no," but it didn't take long for it to snowball into a heap of new, confusing, scary emotions that Mario hated but also craved at the same time.

It was thrilling.

But Mario's world came crashing down the night that he and Mr Puzzles ran into Oneshot Wren at a bar. That night, Mario's nerves got the better of him. He couldn't make a move on Mr Puzzles and ultimately lost him to the smooth talking cowboy.

Even just thinking about that night made his heart clench.

Then, in a moment of drunken weakness, the Italian spilled his heart out to the TV. He cried to him about his unrequited love and how much these feelings were screwing with his heart. He confessed all of his woes whilst somehow managing to never directly say who he held feelings for. Although it was probably fairly obvious...

Mario doesn't know why he did it. It was probably nothing more than pity but Mr Puzzles swore that he would help Mario get over his feelings. That he would find someone better than the man he desired.

Mario, of course, had his doubts but with no other options, he accepted.

And that's what brought him here, waiting outside of some random coffee shop for Mr Puzzles. The TV hadn't yet said what his actual plan for helping Mario move on was so the Italian had no choice but to trust that he knew what he was doing.

The longer he waited, the more nervous he became. It had been almost a week since he last saw Mr Puzzles face to face. Sure, they had exchanged a few texts and pictures but nothing outside of that. Not to mention, the night before, Mr Puzzles went on his first date with Wren so Mario would probably have to hear about that.

Puzzles and Wren's date was all Mario could think about last night. He tried drowning his sorrows in spaghetti but he just couldn't keep his mind off of it! Puzzles had looked so damn good in the photos he sent him which left Mario filled with envy for Oneshot Wren. That cowboy had better treat him right...

As Mario was getting lost in his thoughts, he felt a hand fall on his shoulder, snapping him back into reality. He glanced over his shoulder and was met with Mr Puzzles projecting a smile onto his screen.

"Hello Mario! I'm really glad you agreed to come on such short notice." He said, cheerily.

The Italian's face flushed slightly at the contact as he pulled away, putting on a smile.