Finally! After two long years, I can finally bring this story to a close! Man, I'm sorry it took me so long to post up this epilogue, but finals were murder. Luckily, though, I passed all my classes and am quite happy with my grades. Thank you for asking.

Anyway, now presenting (fanfare) the epilogue to "Fibra"! Enjoy!

Mario was well aware of all the noise that surrounded their house, signaling the mass of people that chose to remain. But it was an occurrence he was quite used to dealing with. An assembly was always present and following him after he completed another adventure; people hoping for the chance to ask him questions about his travels, to take his picture, to get his autograph, or the like. And the hero had gotten quite good at ignoring them and going about his daily business. He would just have to wait until the crowd dwindled off, which usually took a few weeks depending on the victory that followed the deed.

But he couldn't help the smile that formed on his lips. After all, for the first time in so long, the people weren't gathered there for him.

A soft knock on the door drew him out of his thoughts. Looking towards it, he frowned a little. Despite the large gathering, most people never went past their front gates and onto the property. He wasn't sure why, but he never argued with them. Convincing himself that it wasn't important, Mario returned to cleaning the living room.

However, the tapping urgently persisted. With a small sigh, he hid the feather duster under the coffee table and went to the front door, cracking it open to quickly scan the front yard.

The only people he noticed was the crowd that remained behind the fence. Confusion filled him and prompted him to open the door wider, for he was certain that he heard someone knocking. Then he felt a gentle tug on his overalls, and he found himself looking down at two Toad children. The taller Toad shifted his weight from one foot to the other, an embarrassed expression on his face as he glanced back at the excited crowd behind him. But the small Toadette looked up at the man with a bright smile on her round face, carrying an assortment of colorful flowers in her tiny hands.

"Hi, Misser Mario!" the young girl chirped. She held up the bouquet as high as she could. "I gots these for Misser Luigi so he'd get better sooner! Do ya think he'll like 'em?"

Mario smiled as he accepted the flowers from her. "I'm sure he'll love them," he replied. "Thank you very much for bringing them."

"Okay, Sis, you gave 'em the flowers. Can we go now?" the Toad boy asked nervously, glancing back once again at the jealous crowd.

The Toadette's smile disappeared as she glanced at her older brother. "Oh…but…" She looked back up at Mario with a small pout on her lips.

The red-capped hero blinked, kneeling down in front of her. "What is it?" he asked gently. "Is something wrong?"

"Well…no…" Shyly she looked down at her feet as she began to play with her hands. "Is jus' that…see, my mommy jus' gots me a new a…o…attagraph book, like the one my brother gots…"

The Toad groaned softly. "Please don't do this now…" he whined.

The little girl ignored him and continued to fidget with her hands. "And…I was wond'rin'…if Misser Luigi would sign it…" She looked up at Mario again with wide hopeful eyes. "Is it okay?"

Mario bit his bottom lip, shaking his head and placing his hand on top of her white and pink hat. "I'm sorry, but Luigi needs his rest right now, and –"

"Mario?"

The red-capped hero didn't see the Toadette's expression brighten as he glanced over his shoulder, watching as his younger brother hobbled on his crutches into the living room. The younger plumber looked on with a curious face as he stopped by the couch, his sapphire eyes moving from Mario to the Toad children.

As Mario rose to stand, the two brothers watched each other for a silent moment. Then with a small smile, Luigi carefully made his way to the couch and sat with his broken leg propped on the arrangement of pillows. With an understanding smile of his own, the older brother shook his head before turning back to the Toad children, who watched the green-clad hero in questioning excitement.

Placing his hand back on the girl's head to get her attention, Mario handed the bouquet back to her. "Here," he said softly, nodding to his younger brother on the couch, "I think it'd be better if you gave these to him."

Her eyes widened slightly as she took the flowers from him. With a large smile, she then ran to where Luigi patiently sat. Her older brother, however, seemed unsure if he wanted to enter. But with gentle prodding from Mario, the Toad boy entered the house so Mario could close the door behind him.

As Luigi lifted the Toadette so she could sit on the edge of the couch, she eagerly presented the flowers to him. "Here Misser Luigi!" she stated proudly. "I picked these jus' for you so you'd feel better!"

A shy smile spread over the plumber's face as he accepted the bouquet. "Thank you," he said softly. "Did you pick these all by yourself?"

The Toadette nodded vigorously. "Uh-huh! Mama said she was gonna help me, but I wan'ed to do it by myself. And I did! I didn' need help from nobody, even when a giant bee tried to take the flowers from me!"

The Toad boy rolled his eyes, muttering something about lies and crybabies. But his comments went unnoticed by his sister, who plucked one white flower from the bunch. "Mama said I should get diff'rent kinds a' flowers, so I tried t' do that." She held the white flower up to Luigi. "But I mos'ly picked these kind, 'cuz I heard you like daisies the best, don'cha?"

Luigi felt the warm flush on his cheeks as Mario tried to suppress a snicker. Taking the daisy from her, the green-clad hero arranged it back with the other flowers. "Yes, I suppose so," he finally replied, avoiding his brother's teasing gaze.

The Toadette beamed, satisfied with herself. But her smile faded as she looked at the man's cast. "Does your leg still hurt, Misser Luigi?" she asked, turning back to him.

Luigi shook his head. "Not so much anymore. It still hurts sometimes, but it's getting better."

"How much longer do ya hafta wear the cast?"

He quickly went over the days in his head. "About three or so more weeks."

The Toadette gaped at him. "But tha's gonna take forever!"

Luigi couldn't help but laugh a little. "Three weeks isn't too long. I'm sure it'll pass by sooner than you think."

The look on her face clearly showed she didn't believe him, but she said nothing else as she looked back at the cast, noting all the colored writings scrawled on the plaster. "What're all these?" she asked.

"Those were written by other people who came to visit me. They all thought it'd be nice to sign my cast."

She turned back to him eagerly. "Can I sign your cast too?"

With a small smile, Luigi then pointed to the coffee table where different colored pens were already waiting to be used. Hopping off the couch, the Toadette went to the table and scanned the colors, trying to decide which color to use. Then with a grin, she grabbed the green pen and went back to the couch. "I dunno how t' spell yet," she confessed, "so is it okay if I draw instead?"

When the man nodded, she quickly went to work drawing her picture on a blank spot of plaster. With as much concentration as a child could muster, she concentrated on creating the best picture she'd ever draw, using her free hand to keep it a secret from Luigi. After another moment, she pulled back and smiled happily at her work.

Luigi sat up to look at the two green figures that now decorated his cast. The larger figure wore what appeared to be a green cap with a white circle in the center, while the smaller figure wore a large white mushroom hat with green spots everywhere.

"I know I'm s'pposed ta have pink spots insteada green ones," the Toadette said as she pointed to her drawings, "but I like the green ones better, 'cuz green's my fav'rite color."

"Is that so?" the plumber asked, still looking at the drawings; he'd heard that statement quite often recently.

"Yup yup! I even wan'ed a green hat 'n' stuff, but Mama said I couldn'…" The girl pouted slightly as she placed the pen back on the coffee table.

Thinking for a moment, Luigi then slowly removed his emerald cap and placed it on top of the girl's mushroom hat. "Here," he said with a smile, "you can borrow mine for a while."

The Toadette gasped as she felt the added weight of the cap atop her head. "Really?!" she asked, looking up at him.

"Well, I'll need it back sometime. But you can borrow it for now."

"Wow! You're the bestest, Misser Luigi!"

The man didn't reply, but the embarrassed smile on his face remained.

Leaning against the couch's armrest and watching the scene before him, Mario then looked at the small Toadette. "Hey," he suddenly spoke up, "didn't you want to ask Luigi something else?"

The girl looked up at the red-clad plumber with a puzzled expression. Then her eyes lit up with understanding. "Oh yeah!" she replied as she pulled out a small white book from her pink vest. Looking back at Luigi and holding up the book to him, she said, "Here Misser Luigi!"

"What is it?" the taller man asked as he took the book from her.

"It's a attagraph book! Mama jus' buyed me a brand new one, jus' like the one my brother gots! I haven' used it yet, 'cuz I wan'ed you t' be the first one t' sign it!"

The Toadette handed Luigi the pen from the coffee table, and the man carefully opened the book and flipped through the crisp blank pages before turning back to the first page and carefully signing his name. The green ink appeared dark against the white sheet, but it brightened as the ink slowly dried. Making sure the signature was completely dry, he handed the book back to the eager girl.

Snatching the book back from him, the Toadette hugged it to her and looked up at him happily. "Thank you, thank you, thank you sooooooo much, Misser Luigi!"

Luigi smiled, but his attention was drawn to the Toad boy who stood off to the side; he held his hands behind his back and kept his eyes on his foot while he drew patterns across the floor. Watching him for a moment, the green-clad man then said softly, "Is anything wrong?"

The boy shook his head, though never looked up.

"Are you all right?"

A small nod.

The Toadette looked at her brother curiously, then smiled and skipped over to him. "C'mon, Big Brother!" she said, giving him a gentle push towards Luigi. "It's okay! You can ask 'im!"

The Toad glared at her before looking bashfully at Luigi. From behind his back, he pulled out a small blue book and held it up to the plumber.

With a soft laugh, Luigi took the blue book and opened the tattered cover. The autograph book definitely had gotten a lot of use; signatures filled most of the pages that were either bent or close to falling out. But in the back he found a clean page where he signed his name and allowed the ink to dry before giving the book back to its owner.

Perking up, the boy took the book and tucked it away in his vest. "Thanks," he said. Then turning to his sister, he added, "C'mon, Squirt. Time to go home."

She looked up at him and pouted. "Awwwww!" she whined. "Do we gotsta?"

"We've already been gone longer than we thought. Mom's gotta be wonderin' where we are by now."

The pout never left her face, but she nodded glumly. "Okay…" Tilting her head forward, she caught the green cap as it slid off her head and held it up to Luigi. "We gotsta get goin', Misser Luigi."

The man nodded, taking back his cap and setting it on his head. "Just be careful on your way home, okay?"

"We will," the boy responded, opening the front door and allowing the noise from the crowd to be heard.

The Toadette hesitated, unwilling to depart. Looking up at Luigi, she asked shyly, "After you get your cast off, and if I stand in the way way front…will I be able to see you from your big float?"

"I think you should be able to," the green-clad plumber replied.

She glanced at her brother, who waited for her at the door. Turning back to Luigi, she asked, "Will you see me?"

Debating his answer for a moment, the man said, "I'll make sure to look for you, okay?"

She smiled, seemingly satisfied with the response. Carefully climbing up on the couch, she gave Luigi a quick hug before jumping back down. "If you see me, promise to wave, okay?"

Luigi laughed a little. "I promise."

She beamed happily. "Okay! Bye Misser Luigi!" She hurried after her brother, and the two Toad children disappeared out the door. When they were gone, the green-clad plumber sighed softly.

Closing the door, Mario then disappeared into the kitchen and returned just as quickly, holding a glass vase filled with water. "You should be resting," he accused, though his tone remained gentle as he held the vase to his younger brother.

Luigi just shrugged, rearranging the flowers before sliding them into the container. "I planned on taking a quick nap, but I couldn't sleep. Then I felt the need to stretch a little."

Mario placed the vase in the center of the coffee table and retrieved his feather duster. "Interesting how you always feel the need to stretch when people happen to be at the door."

The younger plumber didn't respond, suddenly very interested in the ink markings on his cast. Mario shook his head a little, though he held a small smile on his face. Having had a lot of practice after Mario returned from an adventure, Luigi easily learned how to avoid the throng of people who wanted his attention during the weeks after returning from the hospital (though had some trouble adjusting to the fact that they all wanted to see him instead of Mario). However, the green-clad hero didn't mind the occasional visitor in the house, and especially had a soft spot for young children. He wasn't too fond of the reporters who constantly flashed pictures and bombarded him with questions about his venture, but he enjoyed talking with people about any other topic. And any child who stopped by always asked to sign his cast, which was why Luigi eventually had pens ready for the kids to use.

But even with his improving condition, Luigi still had a long way to recover, and people visiting him only tired him out.

"At this rate," Mario spoke aloud as he started dusting again, "it's going to take longer than three weeks for you to get better. And we can't keep postponing the parade."

Luigi groaned softly. "Is the parade really necessary?"

"Peach and the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom seem to think so. Besides, there are so many people who are looking forward to it. You don't want to disappoint them all, do you?"

The younger brother sighed. The parade was meant to be a surprise for him, but Daisy had felt like sharing the news despite Peach's protests. While he had been unconscious in the hospital, many citizens thought it would be a good idea to throw him a celebration in appreciation for saving the kingdom from Bowser and requested it from Peach. Thinking it over, he shouldn't have been too surprised; it was a common practice, and Mario often had celebrations held in his honor. But he still felt a parade was a bit extravagant. Yet Peach insisted on it, and somehow he had agreed to it.

Luckily for him, though, the doctor was adamant that Luigi be fully recuperated before any parade took place. And he didn't mind waiting until his injuries were gone (no matter how long that took).

Still…he did promise that little girl that he'd look for her at the parade…

Suddenly Luigi was drawn out of his thoughts as a strange scent tickled his nose. "What's that smell?" he asked.

As Mario turned to look at him curiously, he caught sight of the trail of black smoke that floated in from the kitchen. "Mama Mia!" he exclaimed, dropping the feather duster and dashing into the other room.

Watching him go, Luigi sighed again. In normal circumstances, Mario was an excellent cook. But because he insisted on handling all the chores while Luigi take it easy and rest, the red-clad plumber didn't pay as much attention to the kitchen as he should have. And as he glanced around the living room, the taller man frowned; while he appreciated his brother's concern and effort, he couldn't wait to get back to cleaning.

A knock on the door called his attention. Glancing towards the kitchen, Luigi then turned back to the door. "Come in," he called.

The door opened as a familiar figure stepped inside, carrying a basket in one gloved hand. Though the dark hood concealed the face, it did little to hide the orange dress underneath.

Luigi sat up in surprise. "Daisy?"

Pulling back the hood, the princess shook out her auburn hair. "Hey Luigi!" she said with a smile.

He watched her with a small frown. "What are you doing here?"

Placing the basket on the coffee table, she sat next to him on the edge of the couch. "I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd drop by," she replied innocently.

Luigi looked at her suspiciously. "You snuck out of your castle again, didn't you?"

"Maybe…" she replied slowly. Then, with a small pout fixed on her lips, she added, "But so what? You almost sound like you don't want me here."

His expression softened. "I…I-I didn't say that…" he stammered, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was just –"

Leaning forward, she placed a gentle kiss on his cheek to quiet him down. "I was just kidding," she said, hiding a laugh as Luigi blushed deeply. "I just wanted to come and see how you were feeling, that's all."

He smiled a little. "I'm doing all right, really."

"You're sure?" the princess pressed, raising a curious eyebrow.

"I'm sure," Luigi insisted. "I'm really fine. I mean, I am still recovering, but I'll be okay. You don't have to keep worrying about me."

She pursed her lips into a thin line. Normally Daisy wasn't the worrying type, but it was hard not to be when it came to Luigi, especially after recent events. She knew well that he was going to be fine and there was no need to fret over it, but she found that she couldn't help herself no matter how many times he told her he'd be all right.

Because they never told him just how close they had been to losing him.

If she wanted to be honest with herself, she would have to admit that her constant visits were more for her own peace of mind than anything else. She would drop by just to see him; just to make sure that he was actually there and she wasn't just dreaming he was awake, like she had during the weeks he was comatose in the hospital. And she knew how silly she was being…but she didn't really care.

Besides, she liked visiting Luigi. And no one was going to keep her from doing so.

"Daisy?" she heard Luigi ask softly. "Are you okay?"

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she smiled at him and placed another kiss on his cheek. His blush returned, but he looked at her with wondering eyes. "What was that for?"

She just smirked, flipping back her auburn hair. "Because I felt like it," she teased.

Before the green-clad man could form an answer, she looked at his injured leg. "Oh…this one's new," she said, touching the green drawing of the man and the Toadette.

"Just got it right before you came."

She nodded, looking over the colorful writings that splashed the white plaster. "So how does it feel being the hero?" she asked, looking back at the man.

"It's…a little embarrassing, really," he replied honestly. "I don't really like the attention too much, and I can't wait for things to get back to normal."

Daisy smiled. Luigi had never been one for fame and recognition. He much preferred things quiet and simple. "How much longer do you think it'll last?"

The man shrugged a little. "I'm not sure. Until something else exciting happens, I guess…or maybe at least until after the parade."

"Probably," she replied. Feeling the need to do something, she reached up and snatched Luigi's cap off his head, placing it on top of her own. "What do you think you're going to do after everything's settled down again?"

He shrugged again, deciding not to mention how the princess made even his hat look good. "I'm not sure. I'll most likely just get back to doing things around here."

"Yeah? No plans for another adventure?"

"No…" Luigi replied softly. A small smile suddenly crossed his face. "Well, not right away…but maybe someday I'll be brave enough to have another one."

Watching him for a moment, Daisy then gently took his hand. "You're brave enough," she assured him. "You've always been brave enough. You just needed a chance to see it for yourself."

He looked at her, a little surprised before smiling shyly in appreciation and averting his eyes. "I…guess so," he said noncommittally.

"You'll see," she continued. "I bet you're going to have a lot of great adventures, now that you know what you're capable of." With a grin, she added, "And I'm gonna be with you too!"

Luigi looked up at her. "What?"

"Well, Peach was always with Mario on his adventures. So if you're going to go on a quest, I should come too."

"Peach was usually the reason for Mario's adventures," he corrected. "And that's because he was rescuing her after she was kidnapped."

She waved him off with her hand. "So we'll change the details a little. The point is, a princess is a key element to the journey. If you're going on an adventure, then I'll have to come with you!"

Luigi didn't have a chance to answer as Mario finally returned from the kitchen, his denim overalls covered with black smudges. Looking over at him, Daisy blinked. "Another disaster in the kitchen, Mario?" she asked.

The older brother didn't seem surprised by her presence. Instead, he answered calmly, "At least the garbage disposal is eating well lately."

She laughed. "Well, that's okay. I brought some lunch with me, just in case."

"Y'know Daisy," Mario said, smirking as he removed his soiled gloves and stuck them in his back pocket, "you come by so often, you might as well just stay here for awhile. Luigi would probably get better faster if you do."

"Mario!" Luigi sputtered, his cheeks burning.

Daisy laughed again. "Sounds tempting," she replied with mock consideration, "but I can't, unfortunately. Too much responsibility at home, and blah, blah, blah."

The shorter plumber shrugged. "Well, that's too bad. I'm sure Luigi would have loved it."

"Mario, why don't you get stuff from the kitchen so we can try some of the food Daisy brought us?" the younger brother suggested with a glare.

Mario and Daisy exchanged mischievous glances. "Sure," the older brother replied. "Staying for lunch, Princess?"

The brunette rose to her feet, presenting him with a playful curtsey. "I would love to," she said with a laugh.

With a mock bow, Mario ducked back into the kitchen. But he could still see the two in the living room, and he watched as Daisy removed the green cap and handed it back to Luigi, who took it with an embarrassed pout. The princess laughed, leaning forward and whispering something to him which caused him to blush deeper and her to laugh harder.

The red-clad plumber smiled as he watched the two of them. Even with the bashful expression, he could see the happy light in his brother's eyes as he and Daisy continued to converse. After everything Luigi went through in Bowser's castle, it was nice to see him so happy. And Mario promised that he would do whatever he could to help his brother stay happy.

Luigi deserved that much at least.

The End

Tadah! There it is! What did you think? I hope I ended the story all right.

Thanks to all you fabulous reviewers who read the story and tolerated my lack of inspiration and updates. I couldn't have finished this story without you! Give yourself a pat on the back!

Even though this finishes up my first ever Mario story, I hope that it won't be my last. But we shall have to see, won't we?

Anyway, thanks again to you all!