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It had been a day since Mario and the others returned home from Sonic's world.
Mario woke up at sunrise exhausted from the last battle. He tried sitting up but plopped back down onto his bed. Trying again gave him the same result. He could hear light snoring from the bed next to him. Even Luigi was drained and sleeping through the sunrise. Which came as a brief surprise to him, but then again, Luigi was becoming more of a sleepyhead day by day.
"...Weegee?" Mario asked.
"Hmm...?"
Luigi's eyes cracked open in response.
"Hey, Lu..." the other man began. "Not like you to sleep in right now."
"I should make breakfast..." Luigi told himself. "But I'm sleepy, Mario..."
"I'm sleepier," Mario said with an amused smile.
They remained in bed with a comfortable silence hanging over them. It felt good to be back home after another adventure.
"Y'know..." Luigi began. "I was...dreaming about Mina and Gina."
"The bambine?" Mario asked him. "I was thinking about them, too..."
"You think they're okay?" Luigi questioned, feeling his eyelids growing heavy. "They've been through a lot..."
"They're good kids..." Mario assured him, also feeling drowsiness close in on him. "They'll be fine..."
"I bet their Papa and Mama were worried sick..."
"Yeah, but they're safe now. I know it..."
Mario turned over to face his brother while Luigi did the same.
"We never did get a lazy day to ourselves," Mario noted.
"Last time we tried, we woke up at sunrise again," the green-clad man recalled.
The red-clad man just sighed and snuggled under the covers.
"Today's gonna be different, fratello," Mario mumbled. "I know it..."
Luigi just chuckled and enjoyed the silence. Once Mario began to snore, Luigi yawned and settled in. They slept soundly and peacefully this morning with nothing bothering them this time around.
"Mail call!"
A few days after the brothers had a lazy morning to themselves, they had recovered their energy and were starting the day. Upon hearing a familiar voice outside their house, Luigi opened the door and fetched a letter in their mailbox. The person who sent the letter confused him at first, but then he recognized two names in blue ink. Luigi smiled upon realizing who sent the letter and hurried back inside.
"Hey, Bro!" the green-clad man called out. "We got a letter from Mina and Gina's Papa!"
Mario gasped and quickly made his way downstairs to meet him.
"How did he get our address?" Mario asked with surprise and confusion.
"I don't know, but let's see what the letter says," Luigi stated.
Luigi opened the envelope to reveal a picture of Mina and Gina in their human forms along with two Star Sprites in human form green and yellow in clothing color. The two Star Sprites were older than the Spirits and they were hugging their daughters in a happy family photo. There was also a letter inside the envelope written in neat handwriting. Luigi cleared his throat.
Dear Mario and Luigi,
My name is Startreuse, and I'm the proud father of Mina and Gina. Thank you for protecting and watching over our daughters while we were searching for them. They're a handful, but my wife and I love them dearly.
I can't help but feel Mina and Gina have grown up a little while you were with them in another world. They've been helping around the house more and practice their magic more diligently. They still give Starlow some grief, but it's not as apparent as before their adventure. If you're wondering how I was able to send this to you, the girls had to bug Starlow for your home address.
They told us a lot about you both, Princess Peach, and Princess Daisy. They said they love you all and want to continue to be friends in the future. They want to go on another adventure one day. For now, they're happy to be home with us. Get this: they said they want to be strong and heroic like you both one day. You two are better role-models than I initially thought. I told them that if they want that, they need to keep up their studies and hold on to their good hearts.
Again, we cannot thank you enough for everything you've done. Enclosed is a picture of us taken a couple of days after we reunited. They want you to keep us in your memory. This sentiment we agreed with.
With love and gratitude from all our hearts,
-Startreuse, Starigold, Mina, and Gina
With smiles on their faces, the brothers put the picture of them in a frame and set it nearby a photo of themselves together on the nightstand.