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Ever since the start, he knew they wouldn’t be able to be on the same team.
From the first day SMG4 held out his hand to be shook in their first shared class together, SMG3 could tell that they were meant to be opposites, opponents. Their destinies were interlocked as enemies. Their connected hands temporarily dispelled these thoughts.
It complicated everything when SMG3 started falling for him.
His smile lit up a room, and it made 3’s heart rear with ugly jealousy and rage, he wanted that for himself, he wanted 4 to himself. All he felt was angry around him, berating him to try and avoid letting something slip.
They grew apart that first year of school, SMG4 being too busy being popular, and SMG3 being too stubborn to admit he needed help with these feelings. They graduated and went their separate ways. That pull of fate had a funny way of showing it cared, specifically through SMG3 hacking SMG4’s account.
It took him by surprise how different 4 looked. It had been years of course but 3 had no idea how to cope with it. It didn’t help that his former classmate was absolutely pissed, and didn’t recognize him at all. That stung more than any blow he was dealt that day, quickly running off to process what had happened, SMG4’s account forgotten entirely.
SMG3 had never hated being right so much in his life.
The years went by, and SMG3 found himself growing out of his fascination with the other. They saw each other only in passing, yet each time it happened 3’s heart still leapt into his throat. But as they saw each other less and less, SMG3 decided it would be a good idea to let bygones be bygones and start his own studio. He was pretty good at it, not nearly as successful as his counterpart, but he was happy.
Then SMG4 came crashing back into his life and destroyed everything he built.
Fate really had a bad sense of humor.
Among the wreckage, SMG3 stood. He knew this would happen too, deep down. SMG4 was saying something about him being evil, sick and twisted in his schemes.
That was the last straw.
SMG3 spat out all the hatred, all the anger building up over the years from his mouth like venom. He finished, and it was silent. It seemed that SMG4 finally remembered him as the quiet kid who sat in the back of class, giving him nervous glances as if he was waiting for a chance to speak with him.
4 placed his hand on 3’s shoulder, and 3 couldn’t tell if he wanted to lean into the touch or flinch away. He looked again to the rubble of his studio, and the heavy weight of knowing he couldn’t accept SMG4’s apology, that they couldn’t try again and be friends, be something more , settled in his stomach, a familiar feeling.
He walked off, with a promise of seeing his nemesis again soon.
His blood was boiling, so tired of trying to better himself when clearly the world wanted him to hurt people. So he did. But after SMG4 was deleted, SMG3 still had that sinking feeling in his gut. He couldn’t be SMG4, he was too different. He let himself be dragged to the Internet Graveyard willingly, finding peace with himself.
He became the Lord of the Internet Graveyard, king of all things forgotten, and for the first time since meeting SMG4, the heavy weight was gone. This, this , was what he was meant to do.
He doesn’t hate 4 anymore.
He still loves him though.
As if on cue, the universe once again dumps SMG4 into his lap with a corrupted meme on his heels, and SMG3 can’t find it in him to be mad.
A week later, SMG4 calls him, asking if he remembers who he was as a child. They can’t remember anything between the two of them, and SMG3 wonders if it has something to do with that feeling of connection. After asking the oldest entities of their world if they could help, it all goes bright.
They had met briefly as their pods landed, a memory repressed by both as they stumbled with their hands interlocked around the strange new world they found themselves in. SMG3 remembers the way SMG4 looked at him, cautious and unsure but still trusting in him. He does his best not to forget that memory again.
He doesn’t hear from him again until the 10th Year Anniversary Party SMG4 throws, when SMG4 calls him of his own volition again to invite him. SMG3 tries and fails to ignore the fluttering in his chest at the sentiment.
That sentiment is lost when they’re taken to the USB.
The rooms full of corpses make his brain shut down, unfamiliarity and fear forcing him back into old habits of being cruel as he tells SMG4 his friends are already dead. The weight is back again, almost crushing down on him now.
They walk through the Dark Web cautiously, side by side to find a way out of this mess. SMG4’s hand brushes his for a second, and SMG3 almost apologizes for what he said about his friends before Gary appears.
They walk forward and SMG4 comments on SMG3’s willingness to help him. He sputters and insults 4 plainly, and 4 responds by playfully ribbing back. 3 can’t feel the weight anymore, although his stomach is doing flips as SMG4 laughs.
They only get a few moments to call for help.
SMG3 remembers the pain of his very being ripped apart atom by atom, each line of code in his body becoming shorter and shorter as Mario stopped struggling. He remembers seeing 4 screaming in agony, watching his body fade away, untextured. It kept him up for weeks afterwards.
But he also remembers the way SMG4 looked after uncorrupting all the memes, his smile reaching his eyes as the sun started to set. SMG3 smiled back, and said something sappy as he walked back into the portal, barely catching a glimpse of the way 4’s eyes lit up.
It kept him going for weeks afterwards.
SMG3 finds them in the backrooms, and when they make eye contact, SMG3 almost rolls his eyes at how predictable this was.
They see one of SMG4’s friends standing before them, SMG3 doesn’t know him well enough but he’s sick of this. It’s obviously some sort of practical joke or something, and SMG3 would like to get left out of these sorts of wacky adventures when he can.
The way Axol’s hand grips SMG4’s arm doesn’t seem very funny to any of them. Neither does the way his face morphs into something horrific.
They navigate their way through the nightmare world of the USB with the help of SMG1 and SMG2. All thoughts of the potential doomsday and Zero are forgotten when Morshu links their hands together.
1 and 2 explain that they need to hold hands to save their universe, and SMG3 almost laughed at how ridiculous this was. It explained so much about how he felt a pull towards the other, why it felt so right when their hands connected, but there’s no time to process this.
He doesn’t need to as he and SMG4 create a light bridge and run towards the exit, feeling freer than he can ever remember.
The feeling stopped short at the sight of Mario floating before the castle, Zero using him as a conduit for a new world.
The struggle is long and straining, but they manage to destroy Zero. SMG3 watched Melony sob, grieving the loss of their love as energy fell like stars behind them. He wondered if he’d ever have to do something like that to SMG4. He quickly stopped wondering.
SMG3 and SMG4 soon started harnessing their powers, it got harder and harder to keep a lid on how he felt. As fate would have it, it didn’t take long for something to come up.
The revelation that Zero was not gone made his blood run cold. It seemed as if SMG3 couldn’t have anything good without the universe ripping out from under his feet.
SMG3 didn't know how to feel about being sympathetic towards Niles after hearing his backstory from SMG0.
SMG3 also didn’t know how to feel knowing they couldn’t save the two.
He’s wrapped up in 4’s arms, sleeping in the large pile of friends. They were all exhausted mentally and physically, and promptly gathered some blankets and pillows and spread them around on the carpeted floor of the aquarium room.
3 sighed, lazily content as he watched the fish swim in the blue glow of the room, safe and listening to 4’s heartbeat. SMG4 still didn’t know how he felt, but it could wait until the moment slipped away. Their hands were still held together, and if SMG3 focused he could feel the faint pulsing of energy between them.
SMG3 had never loved being right so much in his entire life.