Categories > Games > Mario > Bittersweet
He was gonna be a father.
A father.
Mr. L paced back and forth in the secludedness of his home. He was hyperventilating, but in his distress he didn't notice. A fierce headache throbbed in his head, so bad that he had to keep holding a hand against his temple. It kept pounding and pounding, making it hard to keep his train of thought on track.
How the hell was Mario even able to get pregnant?! He wasn't female; he didn't have any girl parts!
It was just...impossible!
Nonetheless, Mr. L should have known. It was painfully obvious. That abnormal bump in Mario's belly wasn't a tumor at all (he was stupid for thinking so). That was the baby! No wonder the princess got so stiff and Luigi got so defensive when the bump was mentioned.
His own flesh and blood.
He shook his head fervently, still feeling a painful throb in his head. He couldn't believe that male pregnancy was even remotely possible. He couldn't believe that one day, that child might walk up and call him...father.
Mr. L suddenly let out a choked sob. This was overwhelming him. "How could I have done that to Mario?" he asked himself. A tear slipped down his face, and he could feel its smooth frigidness. "I took him, I hurt him, I deflowered him on that cursed night! He had suffered all those months, and I never said so much as sorry! I never helped him!"
Those last words derailed his train of thought. Mr. L stopped pacing around, trying to concentrate. Something had struck in his mind.
He hadn't helped the little wolf at all since the baby had been conceived. In fact, Mr. L just pretty much traumatized Mario even further with every visit, the poor thing.
Was he just going to sit here and complain further while Mario still carried his child?
A new feeling of determination began to brew within him. "No. I cannot just sit here in self-pity. Not anymore," he said grimly. He wiped his eyes and cleared his throat, erasing all signs of weakness. "I don't know when the baby will be due, but no way in hell am I gonna miss that. I will be there with him. It is about time I took on the responsibility of being a father.
"And...it is about time I apologize."
+++
As soon as the clinic had opened at 9 AM, Luigi had immediately taken Mario back there. The red-clad sibling still winced in pain whenever the fetus kicked. The only good thing was that it didn't happen as often as before. But it was barely the start of the third trimester; was this normal?
Dr. Toadley had promptly started the monitor and taken a look at the baby. After a quick assessment, he confirmed that nothing was wrong with the child itself. The problem was that Mario's body had been straining itself for a while to make more room for the baby, who was now feeling cramped in the womb. Because of this, any brash movement within had been registered as pain. The doctor made a joke that the kid was feeling a tad cranky without room to wiggle in.
Unfortunately, Dr. Toadley could not prescribe any medicine to Mario, for he feared that anything too strong would harm the fetus. The purple-capped Toad did know that such medicines were widely available on Earth that would not be harmful, but sadly, none of those medicines were found here. The best he could do was give Mario was a bottle of 1-UP extract, and even then, it had to be taken sparingly, just a teaspoonful a day.
Even with his vast years of experience and medical training, Dr. Toadley had little experience with human pregnancies, and he knew that those were much different than Toads'. Along with the 1-UP extract, he recommended a few natural remedies, in hopes of easing the pain. But Dr. Toadley didn't have the heart to tell Mario that the pain wouldn't really go away until after delivery.
+++
It took about two days for Mario to completely come out of shock from the recent night episode. In that time, he spent a large amount of time in his room, deep in thought. All was quiet; he didn't quite feel like talking with anyone.
Afterward, however, Mario started feeling better. He started talking again, though only to Peach and Luigi at first. His cheery smile was not yet back, but things looked promising. He never spoke of the Mr. L incident with Peach and Luigi, though, and they didn't know if that was a good thing or not. They didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable, so they didn't bring the issue up either.
Finally, he went downstairs (despite the inevitable stares of the Toads) for breakfast one morning. Even though Harold was still there, his angry glare-ever present, Mario tried his best to ignore everything.
+++
"We haven't picked out a name," Mario said suddenly while eating with Luigi.
Luigi put down his spoon, realizing this too. "Oh, that's right. We haven't, huh?"
The elder sibling shook his head. "No. I know I said I didn't want to know the gender beforehand, but now...I don't know what we should name him or her." A shy blush appeared on his cheeks.
"Well, if you want, we can look up baby names on the Internet to see which names you like," Luigi said, smiling a bit. "I'll read the names and their meanings, and you tell me which ones you want."
A small smile finally blossomed on Mario's face. "Thank you, Weegee," he replied. "Hopefully, we can find something suitable."
Luigi nodded in content.
The two continued eating for a while until Mario spoke up again. "Do you ever wonder what he or she will look like?"
Luigi stopped eating again. "Yeah, I have, but not too much. Why? You wondering?"
"I've been thinking about it for the past few days," the little wolf replied in a soft, monotone voice. "Luigi...can I ask you something?"
This was the first time that he had brought up something from those tense days. Luigi couldn't help but lean in a little closer. "Yes?"
"I-I know we can't see everything on the...TV-screen thing, but...did you ever see the baby's eyes?" Mario asked, looking up at his brother. "I always wondered what his/her eyes might look like."
"No, I can't say I have. Before, the baby's eyes were undeveloped, and later on, he/she always kept them closed," Luigi replied.
Mario immediately leaned back. "Oh...o-okay then," he said, as if disappointed. "I'll guess we'll know when the baby is born." He resumed eating, with as half the energy as before.
Luigi didn't like the way his brother retreated into his shell. Something was upsetting him, and he bet it was more than just the baby's eyes.
A father.
Mr. L paced back and forth in the secludedness of his home. He was hyperventilating, but in his distress he didn't notice. A fierce headache throbbed in his head, so bad that he had to keep holding a hand against his temple. It kept pounding and pounding, making it hard to keep his train of thought on track.
How the hell was Mario even able to get pregnant?! He wasn't female; he didn't have any girl parts!
It was just...impossible!
Nonetheless, Mr. L should have known. It was painfully obvious. That abnormal bump in Mario's belly wasn't a tumor at all (he was stupid for thinking so). That was the baby! No wonder the princess got so stiff and Luigi got so defensive when the bump was mentioned.
His own flesh and blood.
He shook his head fervently, still feeling a painful throb in his head. He couldn't believe that male pregnancy was even remotely possible. He couldn't believe that one day, that child might walk up and call him...father.
Mr. L suddenly let out a choked sob. This was overwhelming him. "How could I have done that to Mario?" he asked himself. A tear slipped down his face, and he could feel its smooth frigidness. "I took him, I hurt him, I deflowered him on that cursed night! He had suffered all those months, and I never said so much as sorry! I never helped him!"
Those last words derailed his train of thought. Mr. L stopped pacing around, trying to concentrate. Something had struck in his mind.
He hadn't helped the little wolf at all since the baby had been conceived. In fact, Mr. L just pretty much traumatized Mario even further with every visit, the poor thing.
Was he just going to sit here and complain further while Mario still carried his child?
A new feeling of determination began to brew within him. "No. I cannot just sit here in self-pity. Not anymore," he said grimly. He wiped his eyes and cleared his throat, erasing all signs of weakness. "I don't know when the baby will be due, but no way in hell am I gonna miss that. I will be there with him. It is about time I took on the responsibility of being a father.
"And...it is about time I apologize."
+++
As soon as the clinic had opened at 9 AM, Luigi had immediately taken Mario back there. The red-clad sibling still winced in pain whenever the fetus kicked. The only good thing was that it didn't happen as often as before. But it was barely the start of the third trimester; was this normal?
Dr. Toadley had promptly started the monitor and taken a look at the baby. After a quick assessment, he confirmed that nothing was wrong with the child itself. The problem was that Mario's body had been straining itself for a while to make more room for the baby, who was now feeling cramped in the womb. Because of this, any brash movement within had been registered as pain. The doctor made a joke that the kid was feeling a tad cranky without room to wiggle in.
Unfortunately, Dr. Toadley could not prescribe any medicine to Mario, for he feared that anything too strong would harm the fetus. The purple-capped Toad did know that such medicines were widely available on Earth that would not be harmful, but sadly, none of those medicines were found here. The best he could do was give Mario was a bottle of 1-UP extract, and even then, it had to be taken sparingly, just a teaspoonful a day.
Even with his vast years of experience and medical training, Dr. Toadley had little experience with human pregnancies, and he knew that those were much different than Toads'. Along with the 1-UP extract, he recommended a few natural remedies, in hopes of easing the pain. But Dr. Toadley didn't have the heart to tell Mario that the pain wouldn't really go away until after delivery.
+++
It took about two days for Mario to completely come out of shock from the recent night episode. In that time, he spent a large amount of time in his room, deep in thought. All was quiet; he didn't quite feel like talking with anyone.
Afterward, however, Mario started feeling better. He started talking again, though only to Peach and Luigi at first. His cheery smile was not yet back, but things looked promising. He never spoke of the Mr. L incident with Peach and Luigi, though, and they didn't know if that was a good thing or not. They didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable, so they didn't bring the issue up either.
Finally, he went downstairs (despite the inevitable stares of the Toads) for breakfast one morning. Even though Harold was still there, his angry glare-ever present, Mario tried his best to ignore everything.
+++
"We haven't picked out a name," Mario said suddenly while eating with Luigi.
Luigi put down his spoon, realizing this too. "Oh, that's right. We haven't, huh?"
The elder sibling shook his head. "No. I know I said I didn't want to know the gender beforehand, but now...I don't know what we should name him or her." A shy blush appeared on his cheeks.
"Well, if you want, we can look up baby names on the Internet to see which names you like," Luigi said, smiling a bit. "I'll read the names and their meanings, and you tell me which ones you want."
A small smile finally blossomed on Mario's face. "Thank you, Weegee," he replied. "Hopefully, we can find something suitable."
Luigi nodded in content.
The two continued eating for a while until Mario spoke up again. "Do you ever wonder what he or she will look like?"
Luigi stopped eating again. "Yeah, I have, but not too much. Why? You wondering?"
"I've been thinking about it for the past few days," the little wolf replied in a soft, monotone voice. "Luigi...can I ask you something?"
This was the first time that he had brought up something from those tense days. Luigi couldn't help but lean in a little closer. "Yes?"
"I-I know we can't see everything on the...TV-screen thing, but...did you ever see the baby's eyes?" Mario asked, looking up at his brother. "I always wondered what his/her eyes might look like."
"No, I can't say I have. Before, the baby's eyes were undeveloped, and later on, he/she always kept them closed," Luigi replied.
Mario immediately leaned back. "Oh...o-okay then," he said, as if disappointed. "I'll guess we'll know when the baby is born." He resumed eating, with as half the energy as before.
Luigi didn't like the way his brother retreated into his shell. Something was upsetting him, and he bet it was more than just the baby's eyes.
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