Super Mario World with Natsuki!

>it is a late Saturday night, and you're whittling away the hours playing retro games
>feeling lonely, you text Natsuki and ask if she wants to come over, expecting it to amount to nothing
>she at first thinks your joking, since she can't imagine leaving her house at an hour like this, but you convince her you're serious
>she is extremely hesitant but eventually agrees
>you sneak out of your window and trudge off to her house which isn't too far away
>the walk is nice and you feel a strange warm excitement fill yourself when you think about reuniting with her
>you keep your eyes on the rain-soaked road ahead and march through the night until you're at her house
>to your pleasant surprise, she's sitting at the end of the street, her arms around her legs, looking at something on her dimly lit phone
>its hard to miss her with the frilly pink hair, and you notice she's still in her pajamas too
>you didnt expect her to dress in anything nice at an hour like this but its still kind of funny and nice to see her this way
>she looks up and her face looks distressed and pale, but when that familiar smile emerges, she seems to relax a little bit
>you doing alright Natsuki?
>she nods and gives you a forced smile and walks past you, quick to leave her neighborhood
>once you've gotten a reasonable distance away, she tells you about how she knocked over a book on the shelf as she was leaving out her front door
>she mentions how ninja-like it was, the way she grabbed it a split second before it hit the floor, and you find yourselves laughing about it which relieves the tension some
>at some point a man in his forties yells out something in the night and Natsuki makes a strange high-pitched animal sound and grabs hold of you, thinking its her father close behind
>once you and Natsuki realize its just a neighbor yelling at his dog, you two settle down, but she still holds your arm tight
>its awkward the way she's holding your forearm, but you don't say anything about it because even though you'll never admit it out loud, it feels nice that she considers you a kind of protective person
>you reach your house and conversation dies down; she holds your forearm all the way until you sneak through the window
>you manage to sneak in silently, and she looks terrified all the while
>it isn't until you shut the window that she looks relieved and happy enough to smile once more
>Natsuki takes a wild look around your room until her eye magnetizes to the menu screen of Super Mario World
>the classic menu music is playing just above a whisper, and it soundtracks the mood of the night well
>"I know this game" she says, trying to look passive but failing
>you can tell she's a huge fan, and its not hard to pick up that she's also a fan because of how cute the game's aesthetic is
>you didn't expect to be playing Super Mario World with Natsuki (you kind of expected to just talk for a few hours and maybe read Parfait Girls with a flashlight) but because of her enamored expression you slowly realize that is probably how the night will play out
>you ask her if she wants to play and her wide eyes meet yours
>she nods and says "I used to play this on a Gameboy when I was a kid!"
>you are proud to have the game on the original SNES, even if your parents bought it for you as a Christmas present
>eventually you get around to playing Super Mario World with Natsuki
>the hours tick away as you race through pipes, find secrets, talk about memories playing video games, talk about things you love and things you hate, and traversing Mario's super world
>by four in the morning, you are on the last level
>its not too complicated of a level but the pressure is on
>you get to the final boss, knock off the three stages and once Princess Peach begins hovering down from the floating Clown Car Natsuki gives you a loud and firm high five
>you watch the credits roll by in silence and it isnt until a few minutes pass that you realize Natsuki has her hand on your hand
>you feel tempted to look but as corny as it is decide to act like you don't notice it, and she is none the wiser
>eventually the credits end and THE END sits in the middle of the black screen
>ironically enough, it seems like its probably the end of your time with Natsuki
>she tells you she should probably head out
>the warmth of your bed is incredibly enticing, but she asks you to walk her home so you try to push the feeling of tiredness away and head out the window with her
>you head off into the night once more, and because of how cold it is she holds onto your arm again
>you stare at the sunrise in the distance, and you both wordlessly acknowledge in a simple passive way how beautiful it is
>eventually you reach her house and you watch until she's inside
>she gives you a wave before she leaves and you notice she's blushing pretty hard
>you wave back and smile and head back home
>with what little energy you try to clean up the room some and then drop into your bed
>you leave the Super Mario World on your TV because it reminds you of her
>you think about her warm smile and all the fun conversations, and look forward to plenty of more great memories to be made ahead
>and on that note, you feel yourself fading into sleep, and you hope Natsuki is drifting to sleep in her own warm bed, not to far away

THE END