Short Mari Story to Go With Commission

*BEEP*

"Hi, my dears!! It's your mom!"

"And your dad."

"We're just calling in to let you both know that we'll be back by tomorrow afternoon!!! Our flight back is pretty early on, so we should be in Faraway by two or three o' clock in the afternoon."

"Mari, there's a few ribeyes in the freezer, go ahead and thaw 'em out so you two have something to eat for dinner. Breakfast, you two are capable enough. Whether it's eggs, pancakes, bacon....."

"ANYWAYS! You two better not get into any trouble! Oh, and if you need anything, Kel and Henr- I mean Hero *aha* are just down the street! You know their home number in case you need to call, but just in case it should be on a sticky note on the fridge."

"You better not have that boy over!!!"

"Hush! Anyways, love you two! See you soon!!!"

*BEEP*


It was a hot, hot weekend in Faraway Town. Summer had just begun, though it didn't exactly feel like it for Sunny. The young boy had been practicing like mad for the upcoming recital he was participating in with his sister; her on piano, him on his beloved violin. At least, he loved it most of the time. He was still learning, and just wasn't the best at it. Sweet Mari, however, was a perfectionist at heart. And despite her typically being caring and affectionate, sometimes...

"Sunny, come on! It's really not that hard!" Mari sighed, exasperated, standing up from her seated position atop the staircase. "I just don't understand, you haven't improved on that part in over a week!!"

Sunny stopped playing, staring at her with silence, his mouth slightly poised for breath. He was never much of a speaker, and tended to only do so if it was necessary. Something that also, despite her understanding nature, came to annoy Mari every now and then.

"Don't look at me like that! UGH! I just feel like you're not even trying! Do you want us to look stupid in front of everyone?!" Mari's eyes were filled with a mild anger, something that hardly came over her around the others.

Sunny stared back, face flush with emotion. Embarrassment, guilt, and a tinge of anger himself. He was trying! It's just hard! Why didn't she see that? A silent rage built inside of him, something overwhelming as she vented her frustrations in front of him. He began to shake with his anger, his body trembling before her. Anger that he did not know how to control. Something that could lead to very bad places, until....

Mari noticed his trembling, and stopped, sighing and putting her palm to the side of her head, before taking a step closer. "Sunny, I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of that. I'm just very stressed, I don't want anyone to make fun of you, and I don't want dad to be disappointed. You know how he is. I know you're trying, you're doing a good job! We'll practice more tomorrow, let's just stop for the day."

Sunny's anger began to fade, mostly, as his sister pulled him into a quick embrace, and a ruffle of his thick black hair. She pulled away, taking the instrument from his hands before walking down the steps.

"I'll put these in the side room and then start working on dinner, okay?" Mari flashed him a soft smile as she made her way down the steps. Although most of his emotions had subsided after a deep breath or two, Sunny still felt, at the very least, mildly irritated by his sister's upset. He headed back to their shared room to read in silence, quietly thinking in his solace.

Dinner had passed quietly. Mari, just like her boyfriend, was an undeniable natural-born chef. Steaks cooked perfectly medium, with a side of steamed broccoli. The two of them shared their meal, then watched a bit of Orange Joe's Wacky Adventures, as was their nightly tradition, before turning in. The two of them made their way up the stairs, taking turns changing in privacy into their pajamas, before crawling into bed.

"Night, Sunny. Sleep tight, little brother." Mari said with a yawn, before, almost comically, passing out in her bed. Sunny was not far behind, as he drifted off into his dreams, where he recalled an old memory...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(ONE YEAR AGO)

"Aww, no fair!!" Kel exclaimed with a pout. The two of them lay on their stomachs along the floor of Kel & Hero's living room, playing the new Super Jash Bros game. Mari was never too good at video games, but Kel was seemingly worse, always losing to her.

"HA HA! Kel, you stink at this!" Aubrey sat on the couch behind him, kicking her legs in ecstacy seeing Kel lose. She just loved to antagonize him.

"Grrr, shut it Aubrey! One more time, Mari! I'm sure I've got it this time!!" Kel selected his character once more, grumbling.

"Oo-kay, one more time Kel! No promises you won't get whooped, though." Mari gave him a sly grin. However, Kel had his own secret weapon: his brotherly alliance. Hero sat just behind Mari on the couch, her legs swaying in the air in front of him. The two brothers locked eyes, and with Kel's acknowledgement, a secret pact among brothers had been made: Guarantee Kel a win.

The two were both nearing the final moments of their battle, Kel and Mari each having one life left, when the operation was entering its full swing. Hero gave Sunny, who sat between the two floor rivals, a tap on the shoulder.

"Psst, Sunny! Go sit on Mari! And push her ankles into my lap! Trust me!" Hero whispered with an evil smile plastering his face. Sunny, confused, followed his request. He exited his fetal sit, before flopping over onto his older sister, sitting on the back of her thighs.

"Sunny! Why are you climbing on me?!"

He acted quickly, grabbing her ankles, pushing them right between both of Hero's knees, which, due to the weight of Sunny and the clasp of Hero's muscular legs against her ankles, locked them in place.

"What are you two doing?! Hey!!!"

Mari's slender, soft, bare feet faced the ceiling, and the two boys. They were trapped, though not motionless as she attempted to push out of the situation. Hero chuckled. "Sorry, Mar, but you know how brotherly pacts are. Sunny, tickle her feet!"

"WHA?!"

Sunny watched as Hero took no hesitation, his fingers immediately descending upon her vulnerable feet. His technique was immaculate, unbearable, and frankly, downright cruel. He had quite a bit of experience tickling his girlfriend, much to her dismay. Sunny looked on in surprise and curiosity as he felt his sister immediately begin to buck as Hero's long fingers made contact with her arches.

"HerOOOOOOOOHAHAHAHAHAHANOOOO!!!" Mari immediately lost her composure, hardly able to keep her hands wrapped around the controller as her concentration was demolished, looking at Kel who had the biggest grin on his face. However, Aubrey, who sat behind him, was not going to let her faux big sister go down without a fight. "Oh no you don't, Kel!" Aubrey jumped onto his back, pillow in hand, ready to wrestle the controller from him to protect Mari's impeccable win streak. The two began their near-daily brawl, both virtual fighters ceasing any and all realistic progress in their fight.

At first, Sunny couldn't do much but stare. He had never really tickled his older sister. Usually because any and all attempts to do so typically resulted with him being pinned and tickled until he signed his life over to her, him slumping to the ground in exhaustion as she touted her victories. But he knew she was very ticklish, just out of his Tickle War weight class so to speak. But here she was, completely helpless. Her well-pampered feet scrunched and splayed, crossing and kicking within their limited abilities as Hero's fingers terrorized them. Something bubbled inside of him, but before he knew what it meant, he joined in. His smaller fingers reaching just past her heels, right to her arches. The poor girl erupted underneath him, fighting even harder now that four hands attacked her feet.

"GUHUHUHUHUYS PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEEEAASEEEEE!!!" But mercy would not befall her just yet. Not as Hero began his ultimate attack. His fingers moved to her toes, his sharp nails digging right into the stems, wiggling frantically while holding them tight. Sunny now had full reign over her soles, his fingers spidering across their gentle surface with reckless abandon. A tinge of pink brushed his cheeks, while a deep red stained hers.

"NAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAT MYTOHOHOHOHOOESSSSS!!!! HEHEHEHEHEHEHEROOHOHOOOOO!!!!"

Mari had fully dropped her controller, attempting to contort her body in such a way that would free her from this waking nightmare. Kel, on the other end, had trumped Aubrey, albeit with battle scars to show for it. He sat atop her, controller in hand, pushing Mari's character off of the level, once and for all giving him the win.

"OH-OH-OOOOOHHHHHH!!! BROTHERLY PAAAAAACT!" Kel jumped off of his rival, leaping into the air with regained pride and triumph. Despite his cheap win, he still felt the need to gloat. Upon his victory, Hero released both his death-toe grip and his leg clasp around her ankles, which subsequently led to Sunny being launched off of his sister. He landed onto Aubrey, protecting his head but causing her mild discomfort from yet a second body landing on her in the span of 30 seconds. Mari spent the next 5 minutes holding her bare feet, scolding both her brother and boyfriend for the war crime they just committed. Hero struggled to do much but laugh and try to calm her down, and Sunny was left wondering why he felt so strange.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunny woke up in the dead of night with a sudden urge to use the bathroom. He rolled over, groggily, to view his clock, which displayed 1:18am. Tiptoeing, he made his way to the door, and to the neighboring bathroom, pondering his dream. As he washed his hands, he had remembered the day that occurred just one year ago. Ever since that odd incident, he found himself staring in places he typically would not stare. Like when they were at the beach, and a woman would be laying on her towel trying to tan, something about her legs, her... Well, he wouldn't be staring for long, as either someone drew his attention elsewhere, aside from the occasional time Mari would CATCH him staring at their feet. Though she wouldn't call too much attention to it.

"What are you doing, silly goose! Whaddya staring at over there?" Mari would giggle, looking down at him. He was always embarrassed whenever she would notice, though she didn't seem to care. Still though, what an odd thing for him to think about. And that day, when he felt like his older sister, strong and perfect as she was, was brought to nothing but a puddle of laughter. A blush and a rush of excitement floated through his body as he found his own way of getting 'even' with her. But first, his plan needed equipment. First raiding the bathroom, then the downstairs supply closet, he grabbed his essentials.

Slowly opening the door to their bedroom once more, he caught a glimpse of Mari in the light of the moon that passed through the window. She was sound asleep, face down on her pillow, covered loosely by her top sheet. Sunny slowly approached the foot of his sister's bed, taking a shallow breath before considering his plan over again within his head. Gently, he lifted the blankets, just enough to reveal her slender bare feet. They twitched at the breeze that came from lifting the covers, though did not stir her. They were taken care of to the exact same degree as Mari treated the rest of the things around her. She got pedicures every few weeks, a choice fueled by her mother who often did the same. Her toes were painted black, often fitting her usual color choices of black and purple. They were not too long, but not stubby either, with each pad shaping a round bubble. They were adorable. He reached out, a single stroke of his finger across the surface of her sole. It cutely curled in response, each of the wrinkles on her feet telling a story of how ticklish their surface must be, before relaxing once more with her skin returning to its natural position. He had never before found himself this close to her feet, alone and without anything else to prevent him. Her slow, rhythmic breathing encouraging him to continue. He couldn't figure out why, he was just enamored by them in this moment.

Sunny held his breath as he was to begin his revenge plan. Hopefully she wouldn't be TOO mad at him after this.