Mario sat up from his bed and stretched his arms, the clock beside his bed reading close to three in the morning. He didn't usually get up this early, but it was Christmas. Over the years, it had become a tradition for the two brothers to wake up at unreasonable hours. Ever since they were kids, they'd be sneaking into each other's rooms, excited for what the morning would bring. They still continued the tradition, even as adults, although now it was less about being excited for what the morning would bring and more about just being together and bringing back those memories.

Or, they had every year prior. Mario patiently waited for Luigi to come, but the sound of footsteps outside of his door couldn't be heard. The man in red watched, hoping for his door to quietly creak open so he could be greeting with Luigi's soft voice saying, "Mario, it's Christmas."

After thirty minutes, Mario got out of bed to check on his brother. It was early, so he very well could have been asleep. That wasn't it, though, and he knew it.

"Luigi?" he asked, quietly sneaking down the hall to his brother's room. He used the back of his fist to quietly knock twice on the man in green's door, although he didn't need to. It was slightly cracked open. The rule with the house was open doors could be entered whenever, but closed doors required a knock. Still, Mario usually knocked, even on open doors.

After a moment, he slowly pushed the door open, expecting to see Luigi buried in a mess of blankets and pillows, as he had been every morning since he had gotten his heart back. At first, he was having a hard time adjusting to having it back, but over the past few days, he had gotten better. It had been just about a week since everything was solved.

Well, not everything. Mario had some news, actually, but was planning on waiting until the morning came to share it.

"Hey, bro," Luigi breathed, keeping his gaze on the open window. The breeze slowly pushed the door back to its barely cracked open position behind Mario after the man in red stepped inside.

"You're awake," Mario said, walking over and sitting down next to Luigi, who was situated on his bed, facing the sky.

"Yeah," Luigi breathed, turning his gaze from star to star. "Sorry... I was about to come over."

"Don't be," Mario said. "I don't know why we always go to my room. Your window has a much better view of the sky.

The man in green nodded, shifting closer to the window so his reflection wouldn't obscure the view of the stars so much. He could see Rigel, the brightest star in the constellation Orion, located in the hunter's leg. Up on Orion's right shoulder, Betelgeuse was shimmering not quite as brightly. Rigel was far prettier in his eyes because it glowed blue, but it was still hard not to appreciate the fiery red light that came from Betelgeuse. Especially since it could supernova at any moment.

"Did you sleep?" Mario asked.

Luigi nodded. He had slept a little. Less than usual, but not by much. With all the emotions and thoughts whirling around inside of him, it was hard to find the peace needed to fall into that state of darkness. Not that he was avoiding the darkness. Maybe it was the fact that he desperately wanted to fall asleep with ease each night that was preventing him from doing it.

He wondered if the darkness that took control of each person as they fell asleep was the same darkness Dimentio was lost in now. What would that make dreams, then? Was Dimentio trapped in a dream? Was it a good one?  Did that mean his mind was still alive? What would happen if he stopped dreaming? Would that be the end? Would he wake up then, or would the emptiness claim him? 

Did he dream the same things Luigi dreamed every night he fell asleep without a heart? The man in green hadn't thought of it much before, but every time he closed his eyes, he felt himself go back to that place he started in. The place with the thin blanket. The place is filled with missing items that were never found. It was a place where all the stars were organized like a grid, none shining brighter than the rest. There was no Rigel, no supernovas, no black holes, and no constellations. 

"I'm sorry," Luigi breathed upon hearing Mario let out a faint sigh from beside him. "I'm ruining Christmas, aren't I?"

"No, no," Mario said, giving his brother a short side hug, something he would do often. His voice was soft and kind, as it always was. It seemed Mario was still treating him like he was fragile, even with his heart back. "You could never ruin anything."

I ruined Dimentio, Luigi wanted to say, but he kept his mouth shut.

"I think I want to go back," Luigi breathed. "Before the sun rises. Just to check."

Mario hadn't let him head back to the rotting lodge ever since they left Dimentio there. He didn't want Luigi to get more emotional. He read somewhere that the best way to move on was to stop looking at it, to stop visiting graves, to just live life. He wasn't sure if he liked that method because it felt like it wasn't allowing time to grieve and find closure, but he still decided to try it out with Luigi. He just wanted to be a good brother, although now it was harder and harder to tell what was good and what was bad. 

But, it was Christmas. This wasn't exactly the kind of Christmas present he wanted to give, but the least he could do was let his brother do as he wished. He was an adult, after all. 

"Can you be back by eight?" Mario asked. In years past, they'd always head to the living room and sit by the tree at eight in the morning so Christmas could officially start. 

Luigi gave a brief nod, then stood up without another word, grabbing his scarf and jacket. He didn't bother to change out of his sleepwear. No one would see him anyway. Besides, his pajamas were more comfy than his regular clothes. 

As he walked outside, the starlight seemed to reflect off the snow. The world was full of reflections. Sometimes, it felt like everything was simply a reflection. The sea was a reflection of the sky and the sky of the sea. The river reflected the air, whose damp leaves reflected the river. He watched the world with eyes that reflected everything he saw back into the world. 

Dimentio had a mirror hall back in Castle Bleck. Luigi had seen it when he was not himself, but someone else. He didn't like to think of that time often because thinking of it cut deep. It reminded him that he was nothing more than a person who others could use. Not just in Castle Bleck, but everywhere he went. He was Mario's sidekick, and while he didn't mind, he still would never be the main character. He was just part of other people's stories. 

That was okay, though. He was okay with being part of other stories so long as he could make a good impact. He didn't need recognition. He just needed to feel like a good person at the end of the day. Maybe that made him selfish. He couldn't really tell what defined selfishness anymore. Taking his heart back felt selfish, but at the same time, not taking it would have been selfish too because he'd be letting down his brother and everyone else who had ever cared about him, all because he didn't want the guilt of knowing he took a heart from someone and left them with nothing but emptiness. 

Before walking to the lodge, he went back to the ocean, where the violent waves crashed against the sharp, jagged rocks. They never rested, even on Christmas morning. The thin crescent moon and stars couldn't be seen through the violent splashing, but they were visible in the few calm puddles of seawater that sat atop the rocks, now far from the ocean as the tide had lowered.

Luigi found himself wishing for high tide. He wanted to feel the mist fall onto his face and soak his clothes, as it did before. He wanted that chill, the numbness that ate away at his fingertips. He wanted to bring Dimentio back so he could feel all those things. He wanted to share that feeling of being alive with him, just one more time.

The walk up to the lodge made the backs of his legs burn slightly. He could feel his heart rate quicken and he fell short of breath. Clearly, his cardiovascular health needed some improvement. Not that he cared all that much. A weekly morning jog being added to his schedule would surely fix that up. Plus, it would give him more time in the outside world again. He looked forward to seeing the spring flowers bloom - to hearing the birds sing and the bees buzz.

The sun had not risen, and it still wouldn't for a few hours. Luigi kept his phone close so he could keep track of the time and get back before eight rolled around, but all concepts of time seemed to vanish by the time he made it to that small glass door. 

"Dimentio," he said, his voice quiet. Even if Dimentio was alive and well, he most certainly wouldn't have heard. It didn't matter though. No matter how loud Luigi screamed, he'd never wake, so why bother speaking too loudly and straining his own voice?

Luigi could feel his own heart beating in the tips of his practically numb, gloveless fingers as he pressed his hand to the ice-cold glass. The pulse still didn't feel like his own. It felt like something he had stolen. 

He could feel tears start to sting the corners of his eyes, freezing his skin. 

"I'm okay," he could almost hear Dimentio say. 

As Luigi blinked, he could see the former jester in front of him, only for a fraction of a second every time he closed his eyes. He was standing not in the blank, practically empty room, but in a warm cabin with blue decorations spanning the room. "Please don't cry. I'm okay. I'm happy."

Luigi nodded, as if the voice was real, then leaned forward and pressed his forehead to the glass. Maybe he was as fragile as Mario had been treating him. He felt as though a gust of wind too strong could shatter him.

There was a moment of nothing, and then Luigi could almost feel his presence on the other side of the door as if Dimentio had walked up to the glass and placed his hand where Luigi was. In his mind, just a few inches of glass had separated them, yet their minds were really worlds apart.

"I'm okay," Dimentio repeated. 

Luigi felt himself meekly nod again, then bit his lip.

"I want you to live," whispered to the silent, still room.

Then, the presence he felt was gone. 

Luigi opened his eyes and pulled back, seeing his breath on the glass, making it foggy. 

He shook his head, then used the tip of his finger to write a small message in the fog, before turning away and returning home to his brother. 

Mario tried to make Christmas Morning what it was every year before. He acted as if nothing was wrong and showered Luigi with more gifts than he could count. There were some from Daisy, some from Peach, there were even a few sent over from Nastasia, Mimi, O'Chunks, and Blumiere. 

Luigi hadn't had time to get them anything. 

No, he couldn't blame time. He's had his heart back for a week now. He simply chose not to. 

Did that make him a bad person? He certainly felt so. 

Mario gave him a new telescope, this one decorated with golden stars painted on the sides. It came with a small note which read, "With love, from your brother." Short and sweet. Luigi was grateful that Mario didn't go full out in writing a super deep and meaningful note. It probably would have made him burst into tears, which he didn't want. He had cried enough tears already. 

"Oh, um, and there's an update on Dimentio's heart," Mario said after breakfast had been finished. 

Luigi nodded. He didn't jump up and ask if they found it. He still held onto hope, but he was tired of getting all excited only to be let down. Mario had updates practically every day, so it was a waste of energy to get excited.

"We know where it is," Mario smiled. 

Luigi stilled, then raised his gaze to his brother, wondering if he perhaps misheard. 

"You do?"

"Yeah, but don't get too excited yet," Mario breathed, holding up his hands. Luigi could see that he wasn't smiling, so there was clearly going to be some bad news. 

"What is it?"

"Well, it's lost within him," Mario breathed. "Blumiere and I talked to Merlon about the Chaos Heart and stuff, and according to the ancient, his heart is gone because the Chaos Heart took its place, but he can call it back to himself. Only if he has a reason to, though. And... the emptiness taking the place of his heart is going to put up quite a fight. It's a side effect of... everything that happened, or something. It's a bit confusing and I don't understand it as much as Blumiere does, but it's going to try to make him want to stay asleep until it's too late."

Luigi frowned, lowering one of his eyebrows. 

So, what? He was trapped in an illusion? Was that what Mario was saying? He was trapped in a world all within his mind, created by the Chaos Heart to take his consciousness further from reality until the darkness swallowed him whole? 

"So.... we can't do anything?" Luigi asked.

"Not exactly," Mario said. 

"What do we do?!" Luigi said, leaning forward. Whatever it was, he was prepared to do it. He didn't care how crazy or dangerous. He wanted Dimentio to live. 

"We can wait," Mario breathed. "And hope. And be there for him if he chooses to wake up."