Also posted on my Tumblr: 'intothemarioverse'

The distinct smell of seawater filled my lungs. The gentle hiss of the tide drawing in and seagulls squawking filled the air. I tossed myself over on my beach towel and gently opened my eyes. Almost instantaneously, with a yelp, I slapped a hand over them. The dazzling afternoon sunlight was too much to bear. I blinked a few times, rubbed my eyelids and slid upright on the towel.

After 'regaining consciousness' from my slumber, distant chattering and laughter from other beach-goers could be heard from all around. Laid in the golden sand in front of me was a lime-green bucket and spade. I chuckled lightly upon fixing my gaze on them. It seemed that no matter how old my little Bro and I were getting, it didn't stop him from enjoying the simple things in life.

"Bro."

I felt a small tap on my shoulder.

My younger brother slid down, messily, in front of me causing sand to fly up on my towel. I groaned in annoyance.

"Ugh, Luigi! Seriously, I'm using it to take naps!" I scolded him.

"Well, not anymore," he cheekily replied, his boyish sapphire eyes lit up as he grinned. His ruffled dark brown hair waved about in the summer breeze; his emerald brief swimming trunks rested up against his tanned skin.

I *mentally* facepalmed. Mama had told Luigi not to wear these trunks! They just weren't the right size for him. I won't go into detail but they showed... more than they were supposed to. As self-conscious as he was, I could not get around how he had no issue trotting around in the ill-fitting trunks.

"So, what do you wanna do, Bro?" I asked him, flashing a smile.

"Build a sandcastle!" he enthusiastically chirped.

Probably not a typical activity for fourteen-year-old boys but I will admit- I loved spending time with my little Bro. With him, I was able to be the young boy I still was. It was not something I could do at school. At school, I was a different Mario. Programmed to be fixated on appearance by dabbing copious amounts of gel on my hair, looking down on 'nerds' as well as giving them a hard time.

Through the eyes of the 'cool kids', Luigi was seen as a 'giant nerd'. He made decent grades and was 'very childish'.  Due his social anxiety, he had a fairly small group of friends. I secretly envied Luigi. Even though he was teased for being more emotional than most of the other guys and acting a bit younger than his age; he was resilient and didn't change himself to impress others.

"Sure!" I exclaimed cheerfully.

Luigi happily took up the bucket and spade, his eyes gleaming with delight.

"Did you bring any flags?" he squeaked.

"Yes, why would I forget?" I replied.

I lifted up my beach towel and slid out two small flags- one Italian, the other American that I had made at home using toothpicks. Gently placing them onto my brother's palm, I noticed a look of confusion forming on his face.

"What is this one?" he asked, gesturing to the U.S. flag.

"Oh that's the flag of the United States of America," I kindly pointed out.

"I knew that. I just forgot. I see that flag on the TV a lot," he replied, with a smug smile.

"Think you'd like to go there someday?" I asked my brother, watching as he carefully gathered sand into the bucket.

"W-well yeah... with y-you," Luigi responded, turning the pail over and gently tapping it with his spade.

"T-that's if you want to... I'm not as cool as everybody else," he slowly added, lifting up the bucket to reveal a compact mound of golden sand.

"Maybe you can travel the world with your best friends; like those guys from school."

He fixed his gaze on the sandcastle and didn't make eye contact with me.

My heart sank inside me.

This is what my school persona has made him think. I've swept my little Bro underneath the carpet just so I could conform with the standards set by other people. I wasn't 'cool' if I didn't dress, look and talked like them. It was an internal battle that I wanted to break free from. I risked getting teased for stepping down from being a 'cool kid'. It wasn't a lifestyle for me and I wanted to be true to who I was.

"I-I'm sorry Weegie," I sobbed, my voice quivering and squeaking a little bit.

Upon hearing this, my Bro immediately glanced up at me.

"M-Mario?" he whispered, astonished.

I bowed my head down, frantically wiping away tears and sniffing.

"Weegie, you're my best friend," I spoke, between sobs.

Luigi bit his lip and blinked at me in silence. He probably had no idea what to say and just wanted me to stop crying.

"I just haven't been showing you how much I truly care, Bro. Those guys are a bad influence on me."

"T-then why are you their friend?" Luigi replied, a slight scowl forming in his face.

"They made me feel like a nobody if I didn't play by their rules." I replied.

Luigi chuckled,

"Well, you will be a nobody if you go around not studying and drinking your life away!"

"I guess you're right about that, Weeg," I grinned, still fighting the last few tears coursing down my cheeks. I reached over and placed the U.S. flag on top of the sandcastle.

"I just want you to forgive me for being such a jerk. I made you feel bad for being you even though, lowkey, I was very insecure with myself." I apologised.

Luigi shifted over to me in the sand, looking up at me with his big blue eyes, with a sort of watery smile.

I let out a heavy sigh.

"You don't have to forgive me. The way I treated you was really nasty."

I sorrowfully stared down at my sandy bare knees.

Without warning, Luigi knelt up, stretched over and gave me a tight, huge hug. A wide smile grew across my face. I felt as the pent up frustration melted away. I was like a bird that had been set free from a cage. With my little Bro's acceptance, no-one else's really mattered to me.

This was the first step back into knowing what life was like just being regular ol' Mario.

When I felt like I was all alone, I would always remember I had Luigi.

We are always in it together, through thick and thin.

We may argue, we may fight; or steal each others' things, but...

Throughout life, Luigi has always been my best friend.

~Mario