AN: Hey look, Steel wrote something for once that isn't shipping Mario and Sonic together! I mean, they're both still prominent in the story but... look, I'm not shipping them for once! I think that's something I should be proud of.

~Late Night Date~

At first glance, it would seem that Mario and Sonic were as different as night and day. While Mario tended to avoid the spotlight when he could, Sonic loved being the center of attention. Sonic was an energetic extrovert, and while Mario was by no means an introvert, he valued his peace and quiet, something Sonic didn't seem to place in high regards. Even their tastes in music were different, with Sonic favoring rock and roll while Mario preferred classical and jazz. It seemed like with so many differences there couldn't be any similarities.

Except there were. Both of them were well-renowned heroes in their respective worlds, and because of the adventures they'd gone through they'd both developed somewhat cynical viewpoints. This surprisingly made Mario one of the only residents in the Smash Mansion that could keep up with Sonic's sarcasm... and dish it right back out to him. Not only that, but a few of their adventures mirrored each others, not to mention the fact that they both seemed to like food just a little too much. With all this in mind it really wasn't that surprising when they pushed their bitter rivalry aside and became close friends instead, while still playfully teasing each other at any given moment.

Kind of like what they were doing right now. Sonic watched, amused, as Mario tore through his entire closet looking for something to wear on his date with Princess Peach. After about five minutes Sonic sighed, pointing to a red bow tie. "I think that one suits you."

"Are you sure?" Mario questioned. "I was thinking a normal tie would look a bit better."

"Nah, bow tie dude. Normal ties look weird."

"I wear a normal tie when I'm in my doctors outfit though." Mario pointed out, scooping up the assortment of straight ties and depositing them back in the drawer.

"Yeah, an' it looks weird."

Shooting Sonic a glare, Mario turned his attention back to his closet. "I don't know why I asked you to help me..." he muttered. "You don't even wear clothes!"

"Hey, I wear clothes sometimes!" Sonic defended, shaking his head at the two articles of clothing Mario held out in front of him. Placing them aside, Mario dug into his closet once again while he thought of a response.

"You never wear any pants though." Mario shot back. Sonic stuttered, realizing Mario actually had a point with that one.

"Well, uh..."

"Wow, no snarky comeback?" Mario teased, finally locating an item of clothing both him and Sonic agreed on. "I'm surprised, I thought you'd have something for that one."

"Oh, shut up an' go get changed!" Sonic huffed, Mario chuckling as he grabbed the items of clothing and headed into the bathroom to change while Sonic waited, folding his arms and tapping his foot out of habit. A few minutes later the door to the bathroom opened and Mario walked out, uncertainty on his face.

"Are you sure this looks fine?" he fretted, while Sonic nodded.

"Yeah, you're lookin' pretty sharp. Though honestly, I think you could've just shown up in your overalls an' she'd still go out with ya. This has been a long time comin', after all."

"I'm nervous." Mario quietly stuttered, tugging on the edge of his carmine suit. "Why am I so nervous about this?"

"'Cause," Sonic started with a smirk. "You really love her, that's why."

A deep blush formed on Mario's face as he looked down, a tiny smile on his face. Sonic laughed, playfully shoving Mario's shoulder. "You're so whipped!"

"I am not!" Mario cried, though his voice cracked and the blush on his face intensified, something that didn't go unnoticed by Sonic.

"Oh, you've got it bad." Sonic teased, much to Mario's chagrin.

"Because you're suddenly an expert on love," Mario huffed. "You've never even been on a date before!"

"No, but I have experienced the emotion, believe it or not." Sonic pointed out. Mario raised an eyebrow.

"Enlighten me. Who could you possibly have had a crush on without me knowing?"

"Ah, ah, ah," Sonic tutted, wagging a finger and giving Mario a sly look. "That's for me to know an' you to eventually find out. Now go on!" Sonic pushed Mario towards the door with enough force that it nearly sent Mario falling to the ground. "It's rude to keep a lady waitin', y'know."

"Alright, alright, I'm going!" Mario laughed. "And, uh, if I happen to come back late..."

"Don't worry, I got ya covered," Sonic winked. "I won't let ya get in trouble with Master Hand."

"Grazie," Mario thanked, relieved. "Don't wait up."

"Have fu~un!" Sonic sang as Mario rolled his eyes and disappeared out the door. Sonic smirked and exited the room a moment later, going to go find Mega Man and Pac-Man.

/~/

It was past midnight when the door to the mansion opened, waking Sonic from his slumber on the couch. Mega Man was in sleep mode next to him with his head on his shoulder, while Pac-Man was on the opposite end of the couch in a deep sleep.

"And where have you been, Mister?" Sonic asked in a joking tone as Mario came into view. Mario blushed and sat down on the armrest of the couch.

"I know the date went a little overtime..." Mario sighed. Sonic grinned.

"But didja have a good time?"

Mario blushed. "I did." he went to stand before something caught Sonic's eye.

"Hey Mar... was that bruise on your neck there before you left?" he slyly asked, quirking an eyeridge as a smirk crossed his face. Mario's face burned red and he quickly ducked out of Sonic's view, causing Sonic to chuckle and accidentally jar Mega Man out of sleep mode.

"What's going on?" he murmured sleepily as Mario exited the room.

"Oh nothing," Sonic snickered. "Love is in the air, that's all."