Work Text
Salvatore knocked on the front door of the last place he had on his list, the jobs he had taken today were more..tame, given that he had his two boys with him, though it was a client he'd had before so it wouldn't be difficult. He held a small twin baby carrier where both Mario and Luigi sat, looking up at him. He smiled down at them, he loved his sons more than anything this world had to offer, and he was always looking for more time to spend with them.He greeted the man at the door as he explained the issue to Salvatore, and soon enough, Salvatore found himself walking down into the mostly unused backroom where the restaurants plumbing was located. "lo farò il più in fretta possibile, signore! (I'll get this done as soon as I can sir!)"The man nodded and called down "grazie! (Thank you!)"Salvatore set the carrier down along with his two bags, one with his tools, and one with baby supplies, watching the twins stare at all the colorful pipes that lined the walls in the well lit room. It was quick to make him laugh. Though he got to work fixing the various leaks that were first to catch his eye, he failed to notice Mario and Luigi begin to wiggle around in their carrier, until they were freed from the seat belt and climbed out of the carrier. Mario cooed as a green pipe infront of him caught his eye, and without thinking much of it, Luigi followed suit. He climbed in after his brother, and by the time Salvatore turned his head to check on the two upon finishing...they had vanished, the last thing he heard were their echoing giggles dissappearing down the pipe.Salvatore cried out and stuck his head into the pipe, his whole body had started shaking "MARIO! LUIGI!" he screamed, tears flooding his eyes. He should have known better, he turned around for a minute and they had vanished, he should have been checking more frequently.. Where did this pipe lead? He was afraid to even think, maybe an irrigation system? They could drown! "MAMA MIA!" He cried, panicking quickly. Should he call Donna? The police??? What was he going to do!?He paced around for a minute, he had forgotten his cell phone, so calling Donna was no longer an option..Maybe they were alright! It was a decently sized pipe! But that was both a good at bad thing...A rumble that sounded like...thunder? Emitted from the pipe, making him jolt down to look at the pipe, he didnt hesitate as he quickly took a deep breath and pushed himself into the pipe. He was determined to rescue his boys.Salvatore had hit his head at the bottom as soon as he reached the end of the pipe, though the last thing he had seen before his vision was enveloped by darkness was..light?Where was he?When he awoke, he sat up and looked around. He was in..some type of forest? But that didn't make any sense! He was in his clients restaurant just a minute ago! Wasn't he? Now that he thought about it, he had blacked out uppn hitting the ground and was unsure how much time had actually passed."Yoshi!" A voice cried cheerfully, and when Salvatore turned his head, he saw a figure approaching him. He searched around for his only weapon, which was..well, his wrench. More dark figures emerged from around him until he was surrounded"Who are you people!? Where are-!?...huh?" Salvatore blinked, when the figures finally came into view from the woods, they weren't..people at all, in fact, they were giant lizards, some type of dinosaurs. That was impossible! Dinosaurs were extinct!Then again, this whole place looked different, the trees and plants here were nothing like he had seen back home.."Yoshi!" An blue one gasped, and they all began pointing at him and speaking to each other, were they going to eat him? Well most animals certainly would have done it by now. An indigo Yoshi with orange shoes stepped forward, handing out what looked like some sort of apple towards Salvatore with a kind smile.They were..friendly. he couldn't be more relieved.Salvatore grabbed its hands, making the creature flinch slightly and drop the fruit, but it looked down at him with a sorrowful look."per favore aiutami, ti prego, mio figlio è caduto nel tubo sono sceso, li ho persi e so che è tutta colpa mia ma per favore...(please help me, i beg of you, my sons fell down the pipe i came down, i lost them and i know its all my fault but please...)" Salvatore pleaded, his hands trembling, tears flooding his eyes "sono solo bambini, per favore, sono i miei unici figli. sono gemelli, indossano cappelli come i miei, uno rosso e uno verde. si chiamano Mario e Luigi..(they're just babies, please, they are my only sons. they're twins, they're wearing hats just like mine, one red and one green. they're names are Mario and Luigi..)"The Yoshi looked saddened as he listened to Salvatore, catching bits and pieces of what the man was saying, while the other Yoshi's stared with the same confusion, but when the indigo one turned and began speaking their native language, they all seemed saddened.The indigo Yoshi thought for a moment before grabbing Salvatore's hat and putting it on his back.At first, Salvatore wanted to grab his hat back, but then, he realized that...this creature was trying to tell him something. He walked around with the hat on his back, before putting up two fingers after picking up a green leaf from the floor, then pointing into the distance once more and baring his teeth with a growl.GreenSalvatore gasped, these Yoshi's have seen his boys! But..where had they gone? Had someone taken them?Salvatore stood and nodded "I understand, but ehh.." he paused "where did they go? Did they go find Luigi?" If he was being honest, he feared what the answer would be, and when the being nodded, Salvatore felt his legs grow weak before he fainted completely, falling onto his back with a groan.He heard panicked yells come from the Yoshi's as they gathered around him.Someone had taken his sons...
______When Salvatore came to, he rubbed his eyes to focus his vision before taking in his surroundings.. he was laying against a tree surrounded by the same fruit the indigo Yoshi had offered him before, and he was still in that same forest. How long had he been out for? His back was screaming at him in pain.A pink Yoshi and a red Yoshi rushed over to check on him upon seeing that he'd woken home, they tugged at his arms "I am okay, i-i am okay.." he reassured.Such kind creatures, they didn't know who he was, and yet were willing to help him out, he had come and disturbed their lives and yet...they were more than happy to help him and offer him food.The pink Yoshi smiled brightly and pointed into the distance when a few more Yoshi's approached him as he stood. It was reassuring to see the Indigo one once more, only now he stood beside a green one. They stood to the side, and revealed two small babies on their backs. Mario sat on the green Yoshi's back, while Luigi sat on the indigo ones.Salvatore cried out in pure joy as he scooped up his sons and held them closely, making them giggle and cling to him quickly. "oh grazie al cielo ero così preoccupata, voi due non sapete quanto sono felice di vedervi entrambi... vi amo così tanto..(oh thank goodness i was so worried, you two don't know how happy i am to see you both...i love you both so much...)" Salvatore spoke, tears subconsciously streaming down his cheeks. He glanced at the Yoshi's as they danced around in victory, happy they were able to reunite the boys with their father. "I am..forever thankful for this, thank you all.."The indigo and green Yoshi's approached them with a smile and pulled back the bush behind Salvatore, revealing the large green pipe the three had come in from."Grazie.." Salvatore spoke softly, the two nodded and gave the man a brief hug, the other Yoshi's surrounding them with cheerful cries.The indigo Yoshi suddenly gasped and sprinted past the other yoshis, confusing Salvatore for a moment before he quickly returned with..Salvatore's wrench, the one he had come here with. The man smiled and shook his head, making the indigo yoshi tilt his head in slight confusion."You keep it, as a sort of..memory, and it is the least i can do, you can..show me again when i come back to see you all again.." Salvatore replied, watching him smile and glance down at the wrench in his hands. "Th-thank you, all of you, i..won't forget this"They all leaped up and cheered once more, watching Salvatore hold his sons to his chest as he disappeared down the pipe. And when he emerged, he glanced back instantly..only this time, the large green pipe was gone, and he was back in his client's backroom. With a groan, he put the boys back in the carrier, picked up his bags, recieved his pay from his client, and rushed out of that restaurant faster than he had ever run in his life.
______When Salvatore returned home, Donna was pacing around the kitchen, her bag was on the table, it appeared she was just as worried as he had been moments ago. Salvatore set his bags down beside hers, kicked the door closed ever so carefully, as to not startle Mario and Luigi, before setting the carrier down with an exhausted whine. Donna gasped upon spotting them and approached him, quickly hugging him tightly before glancing down at the twins that sat in the carrier, picking them up."Where have you guys been? The sun's almost set completely, it's almost dark out! I've been calling you forever! Only to find that you left your phone here!" Donna panicked, picking up the twins with a relieved sigh."I'm sorry" Salvatore apologized "some stuff happened, and..I had to...." was he going to tell her the truth? He didn't want her to freak out, that, and he doubted that she would believe him.. "how you say um..work overtime, but the boys had fun!"Salvatore was getting extremely nervous at the look on his wife's face, he even started sweating and trembling slightly, before he felt his whole body relax as her face softened in an empathetic smile."So..work was tough today?" Donna asked, pecking his lips as she rocked the babies.Salvatore blinked, looking up at her, then to their children, they looked tired too. Then, he felt laughter bubble up inside him, and he burst out laughing. Donna was confused, but the laughter grew contagious as she laughed too. "Tough-" he lifted her up and spun her around, making her yelp in surprise "is very much a...ehh..""Understatement?" Donna grinned slyly, watching his cheeks redden.Finally, things were back to normal..."Yes" Salvatore chuckled "I love you, all three of you, you know that?""Of course, we don't doubt it" Donna replied, kissing his hand "we love you too.."If only she knew the kind of day he had...