#evil ler

The next day: 

Luigi and Mario were riding in the car, heading over to their parents for dinner after work. Despite the fact that they had moved out already, their Mom and Dad still wanted them over for dinner as often as they could. When they managed to settle on weekday nights as ‘dinner nights with family’, they were happy to compromise. 

“That old cat was really cute at that last place.” Mario said. 

Luigi smiled. “Yeah…He was very mellow. And loved people. I could tell.” Luigi added. 

“I loved that he’d just chill out near the sink while we worked.” Mario added, laughing. “Also, the fact that he kept rubbing against your leg?” Mario included. 

Luigi giggled. “I always did prefer cats.” Luigi admitted, remembering the little purring sound the old cat made as he rubbed against his leg. It was really cute. The cat would even let him pet his ears and neck for a few moments. 

“But the fact that he almost tripped you too?” Mario added with a laugh. 

“I should’ve been looking where I was going, honestly. I’m not used to quiet animals.” Luigi admitted. 

Mario shook his head. “Always trying to give them the benefit of the doubt.” Mario muttered. “It’s funny that you’re scared of dogs, but not scared of cats. You’re the opposite of most people.” Mario added. 

Luigi shrugged his shoulders in response. “Guess that makes me unique?” 

Mario chuckled as he turned the wheel. “Guess so.” 

Mario and Luigi drove up into the driveway, and made sure to lock the door. They didn’t want any of their equipment being stolen while they were inside, after all. Mario put the keys into his overalls and knocked on the door before entering. “Now Luigi…” Mario poked his brother’s phone inside the pocket. “I want you to stay off the phone while we’re here.” Mario told him. 

Luigi rolled his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Mario…I know that. I’m not 16 anymore.” Luigi reminded him. 

“Don’t think I didn’t notice you poking around on it after dinner yesterday. No phone, at all.” Mario ordered. 

Luigi widened his eyes, before biting his lip and looking down. “Okay…” He mumbled. 

Mario chuckled. “We don’t want those stories about puppies making you red before I do.” Mario reminded him. 

Luigi looked up and at Mario with shock and slight horror. “W-What?!” 

Mario laughed and elbowed him. “Nothing, nothing. Just teasing you.” Mario said before the door opened. 

“Mario! Luigi!” She pulled them both into a big hug. 

“Hello Mama.” Mario said, hugging her back.  

Luigi hugged her back as well, just glad to enjoy her touch and company for these few seconds. They soon let go and she brought them in. “Dinner’s almost ready.” She told them. “I’m making your favorite!” She told them. 

“Lasagna?” Mario asked. 

“That’s right!” She replied. 

“Yes!!” Mario cheered, throwing his hands in the air. “Thank you!” Mario reacted. 

She cut up the lasagna and put it onto plates for them, while Luigi placed the Caesar salad and the tongs onto the table. Their Uncle Tony was sitting with his wife and kid, while their Uncle Arthur was sitting beside the boys. 

“Did work go well for you two?” Their mom asked. 

Mario shrugged his shoulders. “Still getting the usual quick jobs, but I’m not complaining.” Mario admitted. 

“There was a sweet old couple that tipped us $20 today, which was nice.” Luigi replied. 

“$40 altogether, $20 for each of us!” Mario reacted with shock. “I insisted that we didn’t need it-”

“But…” Luigi elbowed Mario. “I told the lady that we appreciate the gesture.” Luigi finished, pulling out the $20 bill. 

Mario chuckled and pointed to the little heart that was on Luigi’s bill. “She even added a little heart on Luigi’s bill.” Mario teased. 

Luigi tilted his head before looking at the bill and widened his eyes. Sure enough, there was a little red filled-in heart on his $20 bill. Luigi smiled brightly. “Makes me not wanna spend it.” Luigi admitted before putting it back in his pocket. 

“Did she give you a peck on the cheek too?” Uncle Arthur asked with a laugh. 

Luigi looked down, slightly blushing. “No…” He mumbled. 

Mario rolled his eyes. “He saves those kisses for his Mama.” Mario added. 

Luigi widened his eyes and smiled awkwardly as a mix of laughter and coo’s filled the dinner table. Mama walked over, and gave Luigi a peck on the cheek. “I love you too, Luigi.” She said, cupping his cheek. Luigi held her hand for a moment, before she let go and went back to eating. And though Luigi was a grown man, he always seemed to really miss his mother’s loving touch. 

“Luigi’s always been like his mother.” Their Papa said. “Even looks a lot like her too.” He added. 

Mario smiled as he looked at his Dad. “He’s a lot like you too, Dad. In more ways than one.” Mario added. 

Luigi bit his lip as he knew exactly what Mario was referring to. 

“How so?” Papa asked. 

Mario let out a laugh. “Now let me just get myself comfy and tell you the story of how Luigi utterly destroyed me last night.” Mario said. 

Luigi groaned and took a swig of water, before wiping his mouth and mentally preparing himself for the embarrassment he’s been anxiously waiting all day for. 

“Sounds like something to be proud of! I’m surprised Luigi isn’t gonna be the one telling the story.” their Papa said.

“I…” Luigi scratched the back of his head. “I didn’t think it was such a big deal, but…” Luigi admitted. “He insisted…” Luigi added. 

Mario laughed and started to tell the story. He spent a bit of time explaining how the videogame worked, and how they were being extra competitive because of this fact. Luigi helped out with the explanation a bit, which helped Mario out a lot. Then, Mario started to explain the boss fight. “We were in the middle of fighting the boss. I was annoyed because Luigi was winning, and I didn’t want him to.” Mario explained. 

“Mario was being a sore loser.” Luigi added bluntly. 

“OOoohoho! Did Luigi finally get his win?!” Tony asked. 

Luigi rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Nope…In the middle of the fight, my controller stopped working, and Mario ended up getting just enough points to beat me.” Luigi explained. 

“Aww, that’s a shame.” Tony replied. 

“Do you need a new controller?” Mama asked. 

“Nope, thankfully. Turns out SOMEONE UNPLUGGED MY CONTROLLER MID-GAME!” Luigi said, looking at Mario with slight anger in his eyes. 

“BAHAHA! That sounds exactly like something your Papa would’ve done!” Arthur reacted. 

“Hey! I NEVER unplugged any of your controllers! We didn’t even HAVE controllers to unplug!” Papa reacted. 

“But he did cheat a fair few times during competitive games.” Tony added. 

Mario laughed and just listened to them. “Yeah, well…I was being a sore loser.” Mario admitted, scratching his forehead. “But the only reason I admit that now, is because Luigi made sure I regretted doing that.” Mario said. 

“Yeah…” Luigi added awkwardly. 

“What did you do?” Arthur asked. 

“I uh…Did what Dad always used to do when we were young…” Luigi mumbled a bit. 

Their Papa pointed to Luigi with his fork. “Which thing?” He asked before putting a piece of lasagna in his mouth. “I did plenty of things, so you gotta be specific.” He said, his mouth partly full. 

“Ya know…Y-You’d turn in-into the e-evil tickle monster and…tickle us?” Luigi attempted to explain. 

Mario pushed Luigi’s shoulder. “Dude scared me half to death! Gave me the most evil look I’ve ever seen from him, and then just about killed me by tickling my feet!” Mario explained. “I’m surprised I didn’t pass out!” Mario added.

Their Papa chuckled and swallowed his mouthful of lasagna. “It’s been years and years since that particular monster came out.” Their Papa mentioned. 

The table all laughed at them. 

“Did you seriously do that?!” Arthur asked Luigi. 

“I find it hard to believe, honestly.” Tony added, using a toothpick. “We were just talking about how soft and motherly Luigi is. And you’re telling us he dropped all of that last night?” Tony asked. 

“YES!” Mario replied, sounding somewhat angry. “I’m not kidding! It scared me, and I think he even scared himself by the end too!” Mario added. 

Luigi nodded. “I didn’t realize how much I was killing Mario until I heard him wheeze and go silent.” Luigi admitted. He bit his lip. “Sorry about that again, Mario.” Luigi whispered. 

Mario rolled his eyes and tweaked his side. “I told you, you’re fine.” Mario replied. 

Luigi squeaked and slapped Mario’s hand in response. “MArio!” Luigi yelled, narrowing his eyes at him. 

“Boys, really?” Mama asked. 

Papa placed his hand on his wife’s hand. “Hold on, I wanna see this.” Mario narrowed his eyes back. “Whatcha gonna do? Cower away?” Mario asked with a smirk. “Cryyy?” Mario teased. 

Papa smiled a bit as he saw what Mario was doing.

Luigi brought his face closer to his brother. “You really don’t learn…Do you?” Luigi asked in a warning voice. 

Mario smirked. “You think I’m scared, Mr. Giggles?” Mario asked. 

“Get his belly!” Arthur cheered. 

“I’d go for the armpits, if I were you.” Tony added. 

Luigi picked up Mario and flipped him around so Mario’s back was against his chest. Luigi hugged Mario close to himself and started tweaking his sides and belly first. “WahAHAHA! WAHAIT-” Mario yelled, pulling on Luigi’s arms to get out. 

But Luigi started skittering, scratching, even squeezing his sides for a bit. “You wanted it sooo bad? Congratulations! You’re getting it now in front of everyone.” Luigi declared. 

“AAHAHAHAHA GAHAHAHA!” Mario laughed, closing his eyes and already blushing up a storm. “Look who’s the blushy, giggly mess now?” Luigi teased, his voice going slowly and more smoothly. 

While Mario was laughing his head off and kicking his feet wildly, both their Uncles had started cheering Luigi on with the words “GO LUIGI GO!” and “TICKLE FIGHT! TICKLE FIGHT!”. Even their aunt was giggling as she watched. Though Mama wasn’t very impressed with the boys, Papa’s smile had grown bigger with pride. And seeing this, somewhat changed Mama’s reaction…at least a little bit. 

“LUIHIHIGIHIHI, IHIHI SWEHEHEHEAR TO GOHOHOD!” Mario yelled. 

“Just keep on digging your own grave, big bro.” Luigi teased. 

“IHIHI’LL KIHIHILL YOHOHOU!” Mario shouted. 

“Oh you’ll KILL me?” Luigi asked. “Are you really trying to make me show off my evil side?” Luigi asked. 

“It’s working, isn’t it?!” Arthur asked. 

“Go for his belly button! That’s one of the worst spots!” Tony told him. 

“They’re twins, Arthur. He already knows that.” Papa clapped back. 

“Hmmm…” Luigi thought for a moment. “I just might…” 

“LUIHIGI NO! LEHEHEAVE MYHYHY BEHEHELLY BUHUTTON ALOHOHOHOHONE!” Mario begged. 

“Okay Luigi, I think we get it. You’re an evil tickler now can we please get back-” Mama attempted to defuse the situation. “Let the man have the upper hand for once in his life.” Papa told him. “Now tell me, Luigi:” Papa smirked and leaned his cheek on his own fist. “What was my strategy for tickling Mario’s belly button back in the day?” He asked. 

Luigi smiled brightly as he started drawing a spiral around his belly button. “Liiiike-” He put his finger into Mario’s belly button right before saying the word “This.”. 

Mario screeched, wheezed and went silent. Luigi chuckled and repeated it one more time, for good measure. Mario wheezed and covered his mouth, just wiggling around and laughing silently at this point. 

Luigi quickly took this as a sign to stop. He placed Mario down onto the chair, and gave Mario his glass of water. 

“Here you go, Mario.” Luigi said. 

Mario took it and gulped some water down. “Hooo boy…Th…*huff*...Thank you…” Mario mumbled. 

“Sorry.” Luigi mumbled softly, feeling slightly bad. 

Mario couldn’t help the laugh that left his mouth. “Stop- Stop apologizing! You’re fine!” Mario told him. 

“Sor-” Luigi covered his mouth. 

Mario and the rest of the table laughed, while Luigi covered his eyes in embarrassment all over again. “Alright. Tickle fight is over.” Mama said, sitting down and grabbing her fork again. 

Mario wiped his forehead as he grabbed his fork again. “Oh!” Mario started, poking Luigi’s arm. “What was it you told me after last night’s fiasco again?” Mario asked as he grabbed some lasagna with his fork.

Luigi chuckled. “I said that “I learned from the best”.” Luigi replied. 

While Arthur and Tony were rolling their eyes and teasing Luigi for his ‘corny’ answer, Mama giggled and kissed her husband’s cheek. “He really did.” Mama added, poking her husband’s side. 

He jumped slightly and waved his finger. “No no no.” He warned with a smirk. 

Mama giggled and went back to eating. 

“But there’s one more quiz Luigi must pass in order to fully confirm he’s the new tickle monster in the family.” Papa said. 

Luigi bit his lip and nodded his head. “Okay.” Luigi replied. 

“Which way do you tickle the toes?” His father asked. “The big toe to the pinky?” He asked. “Or the pinky to the big toe?” 

Mario blushed and groaned, shielding his face with his hand. “Papaaa…” Luigi laughed at Mario’s reaction before looking at their Papa. “The pinky to the big toe, obviously.” Luigi replied. “The big toe’s the most ticklish out of all of them!” Luigi added. 

Papa slammed his hand on the table, shaking the table a bit. “THAT’S MY BOY!” He declared, laughing. “Pinky ALWAYS goes first! See Mama? He learns!” Papa added. 

Mama giggled. “He also remembers well.” Mama added. “The boy loved it so much…He wouldn’t stop bugging you until you brought out the tickle monster one last time before bed.” Mama added. 

Luigi widened his eyes and covered his eyes. “Ohno- I forgot I did that…” Luigi mumbled. 

“Oho yeah! Mario would just run into both their room to hide, while Luigi would keep yelling “Again! Again! Again!”.” Papa added, changing his voice into a little kid’s voice with a slight Italian accent mixed in. 

Luigi placed his head on his hands, attempting to hide his face while the rest of the table was laughing at him. Even Mario was poking him, and laughing at him. Though the pokes made him jump, they only made him blush even more. The only little solitude he could possibly think of that would help him in this situation…was those stories. And unfortunately…he promised his brother he was going to keep the phone off. 

As soon as the boys hopped into their car and closed the door, Luigi and Mario both let out a sigh of relief. 

“Mama mia…” Mario let out. “I love our famiglia, but I am exhausted.” Mario told him. 

Luigi scratched his own forehead as he looked at Mario. “Do you want me to-a drive?” Luigi asked. 

Mario looked at Luigi with exhaustion just dripping from his eyes. “Will you?” Mario asked softly. 

Luigi shrugged his shoulders and nodded. “Sure! I don’t mind driving.” Luigi replied. 

Mario chuckled and opened the car door. “I know you don’t mind, but still…You’re not tired?” Mario asked as he closed the door. 

Luigi hopped out as well and walked past his brother to the driver's side. “Not-a really, no.” Luigi replied. “I could still go another couple hours.” Luigi admitted as he hopped into the driver's seat and closed the door. 

Mario laughed as he closed the passenger side door. “Well, maybe I’m tired because someone couldn’t keep their paws off me for a night.” Mario teased. 

Luigi groaned in pain as he held his forehead. “Did you mean to word it like we’re a gay couple?” Luigi asked. 

Mario laughed and covered his mouth. “No no, that’s-” Mario doubled over, wheezing before clapping his hands a couple times. “-That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” Mario reacted. 

Luigi rolled his eyes and started the car. “Then what did you mean, oh tired one?” Luigi asked. 

Mario poked his side. “You couldn’t go one hour without tickling me.” Mario explained. 

Luigi jumped and pushed Mario’s hand away. “Don’t go around calling yourself the innocent one. You couldn’t go a single second without taunting me.” Luigi reminded him. “Yeah! Cause it’s fun to tease you!” Mario reacted. 

Luigi smiled as he turned himself around to look behind him, while pressing the gas lightly. “Well, maybe it’s fun to tickle you.” Luigi teased. 

Mario rolled his eyes. “Of course it’s fun to tickle me.” Mario muttered. “Tickling others is always fun.” 

Luigi changed the stick to Drive, before letting the steering wheel turn itself forward. “Well that, and you’re very cute and tickle-able.” Luigi told him with a smirk. Mario looked at Luigi out of the corner of his eye, refusing to look at his brother for fear of making his blush more visible. Then, he poked Luigi’s side. “Right back at you.” Mario shot back. 

Luigi widened his eyes and jumped, before attempting to slap his hand away. But the dude was trying to hit him without looking, and was missing every slap attempt. All the while, his face was heating up red already from just the comment and the poke alone. 

Mario laughed as he kept going around his brother’s hand and poking his brother’s exposed right side occasionally. Luigi kept driving one-handed, trying to hit Mario’s hand with his free right hand to stop him. But you could only do so much when you’re trying to focus on the road while your stupid older brother keeps poking you.

“Mario, I’m driving!” Luigi spat at him, looking at him out of the corner of his eye for a moment before looking forward at the road. 

“And I’m getting my revenge!” Mario declared. “No biggie.” He added. 

“Now is NOT the time-” Luigi finally managed to land a slap on the back of Mario’s hand. 

Mario pulled his hand back, yelping in pain, before looking at Luigi. Mario then smirked and started poking him with both his hands this time! “How well can you drive when being tickled?” Mario asked, poking his side and his belly. 

Luigi growled and tightened his diaphragm in an attempt to lessen the tickles while he drove. But everytime he had to breathe, the tickling would worsen and make him curl up enough to skew his line of vision. He should NOT be driving like this! 

Luigi finally flipped on the right turning signal, before pulling over. Somehow, the man managed to park the car without hitting the curb, while Mario only kept on poking his stupid sides. With the car put into park, Luigi turned over and began to physically play-fight with his brother. “STOP IT! You’re driving me INSANE!” Luigi argued. 

“Annoying, isn’t it?” Mario asked with a smirk. 

“VERY annoying.” Luigi warned, genuinely angry at this point. 

Mario giggled a bit. “Do you need me to stop?” Mario asked. 

“YES!” Luigi shot back. 

“Okay, okay! Ihi’ll stop!” Mario reacted, holding up his arms in arrest. 

Luigi softened his expression and let Mario’s hands go. He turned to the front of the seat, and repositioned himself. “Can’t the revenge wait until we get home? Or…ya know…Tomorrow?” Luigi asked. 

Mario raised an eyebrow. “Well which would you rather?” Mario asked. 

Luigi widened his eyes and looked forward. “I…You want me to have a say?” Luigi asked, looking at Mario out of the corner of his eye. 

Mario chuckled. “It’s your doom. You might as well have a say in your own doom.” Mario teased. 

Luigi could feel his stupid cheeks betraying him again. He began to stutter and look everywhere except directly at Mario. “Sh-Shut up.” Luigi muttered, pushing Mario’s shoulder. 

Mario laughed loudly at his blushy younger brother. “You’re so easily embarrassed!” Mario laughed. 

“Yeah? W-Well, you’re no different!” Luigi attempted to argue. 

“I can sense your confidence.” Mario said sarcastically. 

“More confidence than you have with Peach.” Luigi argued. 

Mario looked at Luigi with shock. “Hey! What does Peach have to do with this?!” Mario argued. 

“It is blatantly clear you like her, Mario. I know how you act around girls.” Luigi told him. 

“How do I act?” Mario asked, narrowing his eyes. 

“You get all competitive and smug. You act like you’re SuCh A tOuGh GuY.” Luigi exaggerated. 

“I do not.” Mario mumbled. 

Luigi guffawed before looking at Mario. “I believe some of your exact words from yesterday were ‘Don’t even think about it’ and ‘You messed with the wrong plumber’.” Luigi joked. 

“I was fending for myself! Am I not allowed to fend for myself?!” Mario asked. 

“She is 5 foot 11, Mario. You’re 5 foot freaking 1!” Luigi reacted. 

“SO WHAT?!” Mario yelled. “SHE-” Luigi paused for a moment, before sitting back, closing his eyes, and taking in a big breath. He breathed out. “All I’m saying is…When are you gonna ask her out?” Luigi asked him with a tiny smirk. 

Mario widened his eyes and blinked. He could feel his own face start to flush a slight red as he struggled to think. “B-But-” 

Luigi let out a laugh as he saw the blush. “I knew it! I knew it, I could sense it the whole time.” Luigi elbowed him a bit. “Mario has a cruuuush~” Luigi teased. 

“The more you keep talking, the more you’re gonna get it.” Mario warned. 

Luigi chuckled. “I thought I had a say in when I was being tickled?” Luigi asked with a smug grin on his face. 

“Keep going, and I may forfeit your privileges.” Mario warned. 

Luigi rolled his eyes. “You forfeit my privileges, and I may just tell Peach aaaaall your ticklish spots.” Luigi teased. 

Mario widened his eyes and covered his own middle with blatant fear. “You-You wouldn’t…” Mario muttered. 

Luigi looked forward at the road with a smug little grin on his face. “Choose wisely, Mario.” Luigi warned softly. 

Mario narrowed his eyes at him. “You don’t…” Mario looked forward at the road and hunched over almost in a pouty position. “You don’t even know all my ticklish spots.” Mario muttered. 

Luigi raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Are you sure about-a that, Mario?” Luigi asked. 

“Y-Yeah. You can’t possibly name all of them.” Mario said back. 

Luigi cleared his throat before looking at Mario and freeing his own right hand. “Sides and ribs are a good spot for starters. But I believe Peach already knows those spots.” Luigi started, making hand gestures as he talked. 

“WHA-” Mario dropped his hands to his sides and dropped his jaw in shock. 

“Armpits are a good idea too, though. However, nothing comes even close to how ticklish your feet are.” Luigi explained. 

“I-” Mario shouted, unable to think straight. “The feet are a STUPID ticklish spot, specifically the toes! And don’t get me STARTED on the big toe! Good lord, that spot could kill you in a minute tops.” Luigi explained. “But if the toes are just too resistant, one could always go for your arch or heels.” Luigi explained next. “Those work well too.” Luigi added with a smirk. 

“LUIGI-” Mario growled and looked down, covering his face. 

“Another super ticklish spot happens to be your belly button. Though it’s a bit hard to reach that spot on most days, thanks to the overalls.” Luigi added with a laugh. 

Mario let out a whine and muttered some Italian curse words under his breath. 

Luigi parked the car in the usual spot right beside the pipe that led to the mushroom kingdom. “Oh! And who could possibly forget to mention the neck!” Luigi added. “Specifically the right side and the jawline, which I’m sure Peach would find absolutely adorable, by the way.” Luigi teased. 

Mario waited impatiently for Luigi to finish his stupid infodump. “Are you DONE?” Mario asked. 

Luigi giggled and placed his hand on his chin. “I think so…Though I believe there’s one other spot I’m missing…” Luigi thought for a moment. 

Mario uncovered his eyes and looked at Luigi. “AHA!” Mario declared, pointing to him. “So you DON’T know all of them!” Mario reacted. 

Luigi raised his eyebrows and snapped his fingers. “OH! OH!” Luigi declared, suddenly remembering the spot. But before he could get it out, Mario covered up Luigi’s mouth. 

Luigi widened his eyes and yelped in surprise, before looking at Mario with slight shock. But seeing Mario’s red, embarrassed face…for some reason…helped give Luigi the small bit of confidence he needed to continue this brutal tease-fest. 

Luigi looked at the hand that was on his mouth, and narrowed his eyes. Mario’s self-defense act had been a huge mistake. And the best part? Mario didn’t even realize it yet. 

With a swift inhale, Luigi blew a raspberry on Mario’s hand. 

“eeEEEHEEK!” Mario pulled his hand back, squeezing his hand into a fist as he grew a wobbly smile and let out a few giggles. 

“Your palms!” Luigi declared, his mouth free to verbally tease him all he wants. “Though, that’s probably the strangest ticklish spot out of all of them.” Luigi replied. 

Mario looked over at Luigi for only a few seconds…before showing Luigi the most evil little smile he could muster. It was here that Luigi began to realize…that he may have just screwed up big time. 

Mario kicked his own passenger door open, and hopped out of the van. Closing the door, Mario marched his chubby little legs over to the drivers side, and opened the door. Because Luigi was still leaning against the door, Luigi ended up falling backwards out of the car. Luigi felt instant relief the moment he felt hands rather than pavement. But his relief quickly turned to fear when he saw Mario holding him bridal style. 

“WAH! M-Mario, can we pleASE TALK ABOUT-” Luigi shrieked as he was blatantly dropped right into the green pipe by his brother. 

Mario wiped off his hands, and turned around to look at the van. He decided to take a couple extra seconds to make sure that the keys were grabbed and the van was locked. Putting both the keys and his phone back into his pocket, Mario jumped into the pipe right after his brother. 

Having lived in the Mushroom kingdom for months now, Mario was used to the long slide that led to and from the Mushroom Kingdom. It was fun, and certainly felt like a wild tube slide made for adults. Mario looked forward and saw Luigi flying down the pipe in front of him. Mario brought his own hands to his sides, and allowed himself to go down faster. 

Luigi popped out of the pipe first and landed onto the grass. Mario popped out next, landing right beside him…Quite convenient placing considering the tickle fight that was about to start. 

Mario quickly crawled up to Luigi and started absolutely destroying his brother with tickles. “While we’re on the topic of embarrassing ticklish spots, Maybe I should start specifying every cute little ticklish spot on YOU!” Mario declared. 

“eEEEHEHEHEHEEE! MAHAHARIO PLEASE NOHOHOHO!” Luigi begged, trying super hard to stop his brother. 

“Now where do I even start…” Mario muttered. “Well for starters, I’ll start with the #1 cutest little ticklish spot on you: Your ears.” Mario teased, fluttering his fingers very gently on the back part of his right ear. 

Luigi snorted right away and blushed a dark red, as squeaky giggles started to leave his lungs. “EEEheeheeheehee! *snort* Nohohooo! *snort* Leeheeave my eeeheeheears alohohone!” Luigi reacted. 

“I think the funniest part is when your blush is so dark and spreading so fast, it even begins to cover theeee…” Mario gently traced his fingers right over to the top of his vulnerable ear. “Top of your ears!” Mario finished. 

Luigi snorted and tilted his head towards the tickling hand. The man just kept snorting occasionally and giggling up a storm at this point. “eeEEHEHEEHEE!” Luigi squeezed his eyes shut as he attempted to get Mario’s hands away from his fragile, tickly ears. 

Keyword here is ‘attempted’. 

“Ihit’s like your ears have flashing lights that tell people “TICKLE ME! TICKLE ME!”. It’s so funny!” Mario explained, letting out a few laughs of his own. 

Luigi covered up his face in pure embarrassment. Though he knew that teasing him the way he did would get him in trouble, Luigi still could NOT predict a lee mood to come on so quickly. It was like Luigi did a full 180 in a matter of minutes! 

“Tickle tickle tickle tickle tickle~!” Mario teased before tickling Luigi’s completely vulnerable left ear. 

Luigi let out a glass-shattering squeal. “eEEEHEHEEEEE! *snort* NAHAhaha- *snort*!!” Luigi covered his face with both his hands. “MM MMHMHMHM- *snort* -HMHMHM!” Luigi whined through his palms. 

Mario then pulled out that feather powerup from a couple days earlier, and started tickling his right ear with it. 

Luigi could’ve died from how embarrassed he was. Though the other tickle fights he had over the last couple days were great, this specific tickle fight quickly took the cake as his favorite. If it wasn’t evident enough, one of Luigi’s favorite spots to be tickled and teased is the ears. He knows it’s embarrassing. He knows what Mario is capable of doing. But he freaking LOVES IT! 

“So which ear tickles more? The right ear? Or the left one?” Mario asked curiously. 

Luigi giggled and shook his head. “Ihihihi dohohon’t knohohohow.” Luigi replied. 

“Do you need me to try it out?” Mario asked. 

Luigi uncovered his face momentarily. “Uhuhuhuhuhh…” Luigi struggled to reply. If he wasn’t so embarrassed about this little secret, he probably would’ve told Mario the truth right now in a heartbeat. But…with how the tickle community was often perceived, he knew it was going to be a lot harder than just straight-up admitting it. 

Luigi was thrown out of his thoughts the moment his left ear was tickled with the feather. “EEEHEEEK! Wahahahaha!” Luigi laughed, shaking his head left and right. Though this wouldn’t help Luigi in the slightest. In fact, shaking his head rapidly would only tickle his ear even more. 

“Too bad I only have 1 powerup feather…Two of them would be very useful right now.” Mario admitted. 

“Shuhuhushhhh!” Luigi ordered. 

“I feel like one would be plenty enough for the poor man.” Someone nearby said. 

Mario yelped and looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. Luigi had covered his mouth and squeaked in horror. He knew EXACTLY who this was, and he was WAY too embarrassed to even make eye contact with them. 

Mario scratched the back of his head as he looked at the person. “Princess, I…” Mario bit his lip, embarrassed. “How…how long have you been watching?” Mario asked. 

Peach giggled and crossed her arms. “Oh, about 15 minutes.” She replied. “There’s only one person I know who has a laugh as genuine and goofy as Luigi’s.” Peach told him.

As if it was even possible at this point, Luigi’s cheeks had started glowing an even darker shade of red. “……Eheh…oh.” Luigi mumbled, still quite tired from the giggles.  

Mario shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know if ‘goofy’ is the right word for it. Genuine certainly is, but not ‘goofy’.” Mario replied. 

Peach smiled and walked up to Luigi. “Hmm…” Peach looked down to Luigi, and offered him a hand. “Need help up?” Peach asked. 

Luigi smiled a bit and took her hand, getting up. “Thank you.” 

Mario smiled and looked at the two of them. “We should probably head inside. Did you want to come in, Peach?” Mario asked. 

Luigi smiled a bit and shook his head. He saw this coming a mile away. Peach smiled brightly and nodded her head. “I would love to!” she replied. 

Luigi walked up and opened the door for her, waving for her to come in. He closed the door when Peach went inside. “Very nice house. Small, but cute.” Peach said. 

Luigi chuckled. “I think the word you’re looking for is ‘quaint’.” Luigi said. 

Mario guffawed and looked at Luigi. “Where’d you pull that word out of?!” Mario asked. 

Luigi chuckled and scratched the back of his head. “My head.” Luigi replied. 

“You read too much.” Mario teased. 

Luigi rolled his eyes. “And you don’t read enough.” Luigi replied. 

Peach sat down at the table, thinking for a moment. “What does ‘quaint’ mean?” Peach asked. 

Luigi smiled. “Charming, pretty, unique.” Luigi replied. “It’s a word often used to describe old-fashioned buildings, or people who were out of the ordinary.” Luigi replied. “In a good way, I mean.” Luigi added. 

Peach nodded and watched as Luigi put down a mug of tea in front of her, with the tea bag still in. “Thank you.” Peach said, doctoring up her tea as she listened to the boys bicker and chat. None of them would end up going to bed until much later. And despite knowing they’re gonna wake up feeling slightly less rested the next morning, Mario and Luigi both agreed that it was going to be worth it.