Fox and the Hound

[Luna]

[Refs]

There it was, an age old spark relit in the boy’s eyes. Something about it felt nostalgic. She wouldn’t openly admit it, but she kind of missed seeing that look. It brought her back to when they were kids and doing this. Though, right now, she was also remembering she had a music box in her hands and she was carrying it with her while Luke was showing off his stuff.

“Huhhhh so your costume this year’s going to be that elaborate to start so early in the year?”, she asked. She seemed more than interested in what he was brewing, just like old times. Any response she had wasn’t sarcastic, even if the wording vaguely seemed it. The tone was more than enough that she was treating it like some live museum of some sort, fascinated by what the exhibit was for the day. Then he brought out the boxes.

Fuck’s sake Luke. Man’s got more inspiration than he should probably be dealing with. His ideas were constantly branching and bouncing from one thing to the next. It was impressive, and Luna had no idea how he kept up with it. The dick air cannon caught Luna’s attention. She’d love to have a shot of it on Ty herself. “Hear me out, gummy dicks. Like the candy. Ammo should be like, a whole ass bag. So we can tell him to eat a bag of dicks.” The faunus had an incredibly smug expression. She might get kicked out of the music store, but it’d be worth it. Louise or Callahan's expression would be priceless.

When he started to list ideas, it started to get really obvious that he was just starting a new list of things like a mad scientist. “Hey.” She started while he was still rambling. “Luke.” He was still going. She stepped over and put a hand on his shoulder. Almost as if on cue, there was a knock on the door. “....Pizza’s here.”

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    Gummy dicks? Telling Ty to eat a bag of dicks? He liked it. Luke grinned as he jotted down that idea. Could fire it out like confetti. The young man laughed, his cheeks flushed ever so slightly. It was... really nice being able to talk about this stuff with Luna again. The white-haired faunus was as interested as ever, and it made his heart flutter a bit. Luke started putting back the boxes. Each had their own place, an organization method that only really worked for him. 

    "I have little party poppers that can fire foam dicks and dick confetti if you wanna take them to punk Ty with. You know, while I get the Cock-Rifle worked out." He laughed. It was a warm, genuine laugh. An uncommon treat. But it showed that the dark haired boy was genuinely happy for once. Also an uncommon treat. 

    A rarity, even. 

    His rambling was cut short by a shoulder tap and knock on the door. The boy perked up and grinned. "Bangarang. Time to eat, then." He said, patting Luna's shoulder. The techie left Luna back in the work room as he met the man at the door. A right that was allowed to her and only her. Everyone else would be booted out the second Luke left. It was a sign of trust that hadn't even been extended to Io, of all people. Granted, Io teased the techie like an older brother, so fear of having things broken was justified in Luke's mind. It was less "I don't know you, therefore I don't trust you." more "I know you're an icon of chaos, please do not break my shit you thick-skulled fuckhead." Which, coincidentally, was something Luke actually said to Io back in the day.

    Beneath the clutter and constantly running machinery, something stood out. On the desk was a small picture frame. It stuck out by virtue of the fact that it didn't glow and wasn't sparking with electricity, but also because of the amount of care that it was shown despite obvious age. The space around it was tended to neatly, and there wasn't even a single scratch or mark upon it. Not even a speck of dust rested upon it. 

    There was no way it wouldn't be familiar to Luna. Especially seeing as she was featured prominently in it. The photo was of their small little friend group. Io with his arm wrapped around Luke's grumpy shoulders. Luke, with his hair spikier as if to match his abrasive personality. Ty, squatting on a box with his bat on one shoulder, sat next to Luna. On the opposite end, the familiar red-headed Zack stood with his ever calm, ever quiet smile. 

    Zack had been an odd one in the group. The basis of Luke's friendship with him started with sarcastic insults traded between one another. They never actually fought, but every day like clockwork, the two boys would pass each other and trade some sort of snarky quip. It was only inevitable that one day they wound up talking to one another, though it wasn't clear who started talking to whom. Luke was adamant that it was Zack that initially invited him to grab a bite to eat, while the redheaded young man claimed that Luke was the one to broach the topic first. 

    Their friendship had been good, however. Anything that Luke couldn't talk to Luna about, the young punk went to Zack for. Where as Ty and Luke got into routine wrestling matches over some stupid joke or another, and Luna had a habit of dumping Luke into trashbins over jokes, the relationship between the angry techie and the calm redhead was never physical. 

    It'd been good for Luke, and was one of the key factors that helped the dark-haired boy calm down and level out. Zack had also been the one to accidentally introduce Aila to him, though no one really knew the problems that would come from her at the time. 

    The front door shut, and Luke called out from the kitchen. "Time to eat!"  The boy could be heard as he shuffled around and set out plates for the two of them. A small tune faintly heard coming off his lips as he hummed. 

[Luna]

[Refs]

After a few moments of registering the number of dick-related itemsthe boy had in store, Luna gave Luke a concerningly smug grin. “You like dick, don’t you Luke?” Finally, a man of culture. He certainly did have a collection of phallic like objects and threw them in peoples’ (Ty’s) faces when the opportunity presented itself. See, now if Luke tried to throw that back at her, she wouldn’t object. That’s what made it all the funnier for her.

Luna looked around. The clutter in the room was familiar, a hoard within a den of what some would call junk waiting to be used. Oh how the Skaven would see this as some tiny treasure trove. Despite the familiar clutter, there was also just the essence of new stuff decorating the clutter. It was refreshing, kind of like a nostalgia that was recreated. A renaissance? The irony of glowing things not taking away from a dim spot in the room caught Luna’s attention and she went over to the desk. She figured this would have the most glowy shit but she guessed it was so dim solely because Luke wasn’t working right now.

She picked up the picture with her free hand, eyes scanning over the image of their old circle. “What a fucking dweeb.”, she muttered under her breath. How did the idiot still have this image after leaving like he did? She thought he left everything behind when he ran. She snapped back into reality and placed the picture back onto his desk and walked out of the lab. The den. The lair. She didn’t know what the fuck he called it.

“Neat, I’ll grab a bite after…” She held up the music box as a gesture. Girl was literally carrying it around this whole time and now she could put it away. Luna went into a room that was made to be hers. When she had the gold, she’d buy one of those huge cushion things to use as a bed. The really big fluffy ones that were super plush. But that was something for another day. She placed the music box on a side table next to her bed, setting it somewhere where it wouldn’t be knocked off and also where it would be noticed easily. After that, she came back out, straightening her hair. Hair was so high maintenance, but damn if she didn’t rock it long. She took a plate from him and grabbed a slice. After she sat down, Luna took a bite, wondering if she should say what she’s thinking or not. Boy didn’t hum happily like that since the day he first got laid from what she could remember. “You know…” She swallowed a bite. “Haven’t seen you this happy since like forever ago.” That was a polite way of putting it without digging into baggage.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    Unaware of Luna's ponderings, Luke had already loaded his plate up. A few slices and a handful of the poppers. The punk had already crunched down on a couple of the spicy treats, and enjoyed their crisp, cheesy goodness. It certainly helped that the pizza was damn good as well. For a new place, their food was shockingly high quality for the price. Always were hit and miss, especially when it came to cheesy poppers. Either they weren't spicy enough, weren't crisp enough, didn't have enough cheese, so on and so on. That wasn't a problem, though. 

    Looking up from his food, the young man watched Luna wander into his old bedroom to drop off the music box. The apartment was single bedroom. Ok, technically two but the second was turned into his work room. When the young woman moved in, Luke gave up his room for her. It didn't matter much to him, since he found himself passing out at his work desk more often than not anyways. And if he didn't pass out there, then the couch was just as comfortable. 

    It was an easy move. His bedroom had been painfully sparse. A dresser, some photos, a night stand with a lamp, a bed, and a painting on the wall. All the tech-head had to do was take his clothes out and fuck off. Everything else could stay without harming anything. Though, he did take a few of the photo's that had once been atop his dresser. 

    The few that remained were much the same as the one in his work room. The ones up at the front were pictures of Luke with either Ty, Luna, Zack, or some combination of the two. Most of the personal ones were taken and stowed away. The few that were left behind gathered a thin layer of dust, placed further back or toppled backwards. Out of sight just enough that Luke missed them on the first pass. 

    One showed a younger Luke. way, way before he'd ever met the lost boys. His hair was neatly combed, and he'd been forced into a child-sized pair of formal clothes. As the silver eyes stared into the camera, it felt as if the dead gaze was looking out even further. A note was written on the lower right corner. Don't forget where you started. Another picture next to it was from a bit later on. A slightly older child, with longer, messier hair. Oversized boots, just slightly too big, a pair of welding goggles atop his head. The child's face was dirty, and the picture was slightly crooked. The smile, however, was genuine. 

    There were many different reasons why the young punk kept those pictures. Why he kept all of them, in fact. Memories. Motivation. Nostalgia. Reminders. Each one brimmed with sentimentality. Luke was a complex beast, when it came down to it. 

    Back out in the kitchen, the young man was scribbling on a bit of napkin, free hand holding a pizza. The tune was familiarly unfamiliar. Something that just popped into his head occasionally, but never had the same notes as the last time he hummed it. Part memory, part mood. It was a good litmus test for how he was holding up mentally. The more notes and higher they rose in pitch, the happier he was. 

    So he was in a particularly good mood right now. 

    Perking up, the young man turned toward Luna mid-bite. His silver gaze studied the girl out from under that soft, raven colored hair. He bit down and chewed thoughtfully, both on the food and on the faunus's words. "Hmm..." It has been a bit since I've felt like this, hasn't it? The boy mused. He flashed Luna a genuine smile. 

    "It's been a hot minute since we've spent time like this," He stated. "It's nice. You know, being around you, enjoying ourselves like this." The young man returned to the napkin and started tapping the pen idly. When he spoke, there was a genuine thoughtfulness to his tone. "You're still my best friend. You're good company."

[Luna]

[Refs]

She guessed that was fair enough, but something felt too chipper. This wasn’t day one of them reuniting. She’d been there for a bit now and they’ve definitely hung out since she started to stay. But it wasn’t like this. Luna caught the boy’s grin and quickly looked towards the TV, though it did nothing to hide a blush on her cheeks. She nibbled on her slice, keeping a front that her attention was on the TV while the techie was fiddling around on a napkin.

She felt like she knew the answer deep down, but she had every excuse to believe that wasn’t the case. They knew each other well. Sure, they still had their own secrets from each other and it would probably stay that way. They knew each other’s good and bad sides. But surely the bad sides would mean that he didn’t have interest in her right? Then again they stuck it through the thick and thin and still somehow are on this level with each other.

In other news, the pizza was great. For a new shop, they knew how to make ‘zza. Luna savored the flavour a bit, everything tasted fresh. Probably fresh from the market for the day, if anything. Maybe she’d have to grab a proper look at the menu to see what else they had and try something new. She took another bite. Cheese was perfectly soft and melty, the toppings blended perfectly together. It was delicious.

Man, pizza was a really good distraction from the potential idea that Luke had a thing for Luna.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    Good Pizza. Good Company. Luke finished off his third slice of pizza. It being a small helped him blow through it faster than Luna, but his appetite was just as non-existent as when they were younger. The poppers were already gone. Even if Luke wanted to save them for last, they were just way too good to not blast through. Next time he was going to have to try out their fries. If those held up as well as the rest of the food, then Luke found his new favorite pizza joint. 

    Something buzzed in his pocket, and the techie pulled out his res-link, a smooth piece of glass-like crystal, created via technomancy to function as a way for anyone to communicate with one another without the use of spells. Perfect for people who didn't have the right affinity or didn't have any affinity at all. Like Luke. His res-link had a case on it, a forward facing dog skull painted in white upon the black surface. Teal colored binary circled around the skull, and were illuminated by the magic of the device. 

    Come to think of it, he might have a shirt styled similarly laying somewhere around here. 

    A chuckle welled up in Luke's throat as a grin tugged at his features. "Ty got dressed up by Louise. Apparently she put him in some pretty gaudy clothes compared to what he normally wears." On the screen was a picture of Tyler. His new jacket and pants made him look as though he were just pulled out of a really bad cyberpunk story. Luke laughed as he showed it to Luna. "It really doesn't work with him, does it?"

    Tyler had a skaterpunk aesthetic, and it worked well with him. The problem was it was pretty plain. Anything more complex than a graphic t-shirt felt out of place when put on him. Luke shook his head as he pulled the phone back, single gloved hand tapping away at the surface. "Bet you anything I could rock that look. Just gotta ditch the pants, go for something better. Speaking of pants though, I'm thinking about rocking those chains that go on the belt loops. Saw this blue-haired kid rocking one and I always thought they were cool. Highkey wanna try it out."

    Finally, finally, the boy finished scribbling on the napkin. It was packed full of different notes, ideas, numbers, and sketches. From a distance, it looked more black than white, just from all the pen ink. Luke folded the sheet up and pocketed it, looking towards Luna with a small smile. "How's your pizza by the way, cus mine is fucking amazing. Next time I should get you to try the garlic bread crust." That sort of thing was deceptively easy to fuck up. Either you put on too much or didn't put on enough. Sometimes the fuckers salted it and just made it borderline inedible. That was partly the reason why he got it for himself and not Luna. Luke didn't want to spoil her 'zza because some shithead didn't know how to portion stuff. Another point for this place. 

[Luna]

[Refs]

“Real shit? Let me see!”, Luna wouldn’t miss an opportunity to see Ty gussied up in something stupid. The moment she saw, there was a stifled snort to try to contain her amusement as to how out of place he looked.

“The last thing Ty should wear is something that isn’t a graphic tee and jeans.” What a nerd. As for Luke, she figured he could rock some things more than Ty. Chains though? Listen, the only chains he’d rock would be ones that would keep him in- Well, Luna wouldn’t know. She hadn’t done that with him before. Bet he- Noooo, he wouldn’t even. Not with her. They were just friends. Yeah. Friends.

“Pizza’s great!”, she said, still trying to mask a multitude of conflicting thoughts. “You can have a slice, just don’t like, inhale the whole thing.” You know, like what he did to those poor, poor poppers. They never stood a chance. She seemed to be blissfully unaware of his Mister- Erm, Misses President game for food. He knew he was particular about how food was prepped, even the oiliest and greasiest food had to be set right or else it was actual garbage. She didn’t seem to mind it though, that was just Luke being Luke. “Thank fuck I’m not like a vampire, huh?” Not to say all vampires were allergic to garlic, but there was some kind of book trope about it. Maybe the dude who wrote that series just really fucking hated garlic.
 

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    "Right??? Seeing Ty without that shit makes me feel like I've walked into an alternate reality." Luke checked himself briefly, jokingly checking to make sure he hadn't suddenly swapped to Ty's attire. No sudden appearance of a baseball cap, so it was all good. The personal check-over was enough of a distraction for the punk that he didn't realize how utterly filthy and perverse Luna was getting over there. This was supposed  to be a wholesome (yet slightly awkward) hang out sesh between two close (totally not into one another) friends.

    Naughty!

    Oblivious to what sort of chains the white-haired faunus would rather slap the boy into, Luke mused over exactly how he would attach them to maximize the cool factor. Probably this loop... tooo... His fingers tugged on one loop, then moved back towards another ... this one. The young man nodded. A half-eaten slice of pizza still hung in his free hand, and the tech-head took small bites every so often. All things properly considered, the boy hadn't actually eaten all that much and it already seemed as though he was full. 

    Humming, he finished the final piece of the night and left for the sink. Gloves off, water warm, scrub clean, dry, gloves back on. It was a ritual that Luna no doubt saw many times over their long relati- friendship. Something so practiced that it was virtually second nature now. Silver eyes watched the water swirl down the pipe, absentminded clouds shrouding the thoughts behind them. He got this way when there was a lot on his mind. 
    
    No matter what, he always tried to brute force the solutions to things. Even when they were problems inside his own head. It worked when he was fighting. Worked when he was coding. Worked when he was fucking with some old piece of tech. The jury was still out on how well that worked. On one hand, he was still alive. On the other, that was an absolutely atrocious way to measure success.

    The movie ended a while ago, leaving behind its soundtrack playing through the credits. Luke broke the silence with a clap on his hands. "Grab your coat, let's take a walk and enjoy the night while it's still young, ye?" His grin was genuine. At least something in his mind worked itself to a proper conclusion. 

    Luke shrugged off his sleeveless hoodie while passing Luna. His tank-tops never hid anything, the muscles in his shoulders visible as he swung the cloth over one his back. He wasn't big by any stretch. Not a body builder, not a behemoth. But the muscles the young techie had were far from a vanity project. Every time he hit the punching bag, it was a confession of his own anger. Even though Luna's presence brought him some semblance of peace, the anger still remained, and it was written in every detail of Luke's body. His hound-like glare. His calloused and scarred knuckles. The way he walked, talked, and carried himself.

    Like nothing scared him. Always on guard. Always ready to fight. To fall back in and hurt someone. Something. His head was always held high. Eyes always forwards. Always scanning, moving before he moved his head. Calm. Confident. Almost boastful in his self assuredness. He laughed. He joked. He teased. He hurt people. 

    Those hands that had created so much, also brought so much destruction. Violence. Countless broken bones and broken bodies. Back in The City, it was a part of daily life. Luke, though, never hid the fact that he loved it. Fighting and getting into fights. Provoking people bigger and meaner looking. It took his kind of tenacity to survive, and in the suffocating depths of Blackmarsh, he swam. It gave him the strength to surface for air. 

    To leave.

    Even in Hurricane Keep, the boy still had the same tenacity. The same anger. He'd never lied about it or tried to hide it, but even in places where living was good and life was kind, the punk still wanted to fight. To hurt someone. To pour his anger and hate into something that made him feel alive. It was the same air as a gladiator. Something so intimately tied to who he was, so brutally part of his nature that no matter where he went, he couldn't escape it. 

    It was a good thing he at least tried to be a good guy. If he hadn't been so loyal or devoted to his friends, or maybe if Io's influence hadn't been enough, there was a not-so-small chance he would have found his home in The City's Cage. Fighting. Flaunting. Bleeding. Maybe even dying, all for the chance to get a breath of air in The City's suffocating embrace. 

    Luke hid it all beneath a slightly heavier jacket. Unsurprisingly black in coloration, with white fur around the collar. He looked good in it but as he pulled up the sleeves a bit, it still had a noticeably feral edge to it. The young techie tossed Luna a balled up bundle of soft wool. Amethyst purple, like her eyes. Unfolded, it was obviously a scarf. But not something factory made, or something bought out of even a mom-and-pop-shop. Handmade. Unashamedly spoiling the young woman, Luke had very clearly just given Luna two gifts tonight.

    For his part, the young man pulled a bandana around his neck instead of a scarf. Still had to follow the rule of cool no matter the season. Less to show off, more because it made him feel good. Made him like himself more, and boosted his confidence. And by the gods he was going to need it. Otherwise the second he realized what he was doing, the poor bastard was going to lose his mind. 

[Luna]

[Refs]

What was with Luke? First they get some ‘zza like it’s the first time they saw each other in ages and while she was still working on a slice, man’s already telling her to put on a coat for a night walk. She squinted at him for a moment, trying to figure out what he was up to while a bit of cheese bridged from the slice of pizza to her mouth. Of course, she’d figure he was polite enough to at least let her finish her slice.

When she finished her bit, she placed her plate in the sink and filled it with water so the sauce and oils didn’t stick on the surface. Whatever he was planning was a mystery, though it’d be clear as day to anyone else what was going on. She listed what the possibilities were in her mind, and then reason why it wasn’t that. Someone’s birthday? Wasn’t someone she knew. Certainly not hers or Luke’s. Even if it was a birthday party, there was no cake and no one else around. Okay, there was some cake, but that was off limits.

Could be a welcoming party, but even then it was super belated. They’ve been roommates too long for that to really apply. There was also what some people did called ‘friendeversaries’ but really. Look at Luke and tell her he was the kind to do something like that on his own. Was it a reunion? If that was so, Ty and Callamans would be there, they weren’t. She discarded the idea of a date, Luke wouldn’t. He wasn’t that into her. Sure, the boy would defend her with his life but she was the mother fucking princess of the lost boys tribe, all of them would probably do something like that anyways. Yeah, totally wasn’t because he was into her. That’s crazy talk.

She shook her head and pulled on a jacket, leaving it unzipped so it only really covered her arms and back. She followed him out, despite the good mood, something clicked in her brainspace. Was he taking her out for a spar? To let out some of that angry steam in that kettle-head of his? That made sense. Avalon was super peaceful compared to Blackmarsh. What fights did break were nothing like back there. Guards actually did shit when people were caught, most fights were just baby balled fists compared to the rioting city where people either had a new scar with a new story or a loss of a life because they didn’t have enough fight in them.

She caught something flying her way, catching it and nodding a thanks while wrapping it around. It was a kind gesture, but it wasn’t that cold. At least it wasn’t too warm for scarves either. The air outside had a crispiness to it. There was a soft and sharp chill in it, but it wasn’t anything that felt like it stole the heat from out of you. It was refreshing if anything compared to the air of Blackmarsh. Suffocating, stuffy. There was a heavy feel in the air, and she was sure some of that was drugs, but most of that was the mood. There was an air there of danger, of containment. Here, things at least felt a bit lighter. “So…” She started after a few minutes. “Pick a fight with anyone lately?”, she asked, staring at the boy’s bandaged hands.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    With the snow crunching underfoot and his breath coming out in visible puffs of mist, Luke was reminded of one of the better parts of winter; The sense of calm. There was a stillness that winter always held, as though life itself had slowed to a crawl. It gave time for peace. For recollection. Certainly he could care less about the cold, the young man hated the nippy feeling at his nose. Even a light breeze stung his face. Luke let out a slow, drawn out exhale. Watched the mist rise up and dissipate. 

    The stars were beautiful tonight. 

    It was a sight he never would have seen back in The City. Even the air tasted cleaner. Tasted like freedom. Luke shuffled his hands in his pockets and drank it all in. If I could burn that city down... I would. His silver gaze lidded slightly as he watched the ground in front of him. With how dense the smog was around The City, it was a miracle the sky didn't simply ignite with a single strike of a match. 
   
    When Luna spoke, the boy perked up. His eyes studied her expression for a moment, attempting to decipher why that even came up. As far as he knew, she didn't exactly give much of a shit about his fights. Hell, Luke had even gone as far as hiding the fact that he'd been in The Cage from the woman. "Eh? Nah not really. Few verbal spats, nothing that could really be considered a knuckle duster. People in this city are either too soft or are just more bark then bite. 'Sides, the guard keep it pretty boring here anyways."

    Luke shrugged. "I still got my punching bag to pummel." To emphasize his point, Luke made a few jabs in the air. His strikes were still just as quick, just as honed, as when they were younger. Though age and his continued training had obviously lent more weight and power behind each strike. 

    The young man shook his hand slightly. Just feeling the tendons and bone working beneath the skin, beneath the glove. It was hard to forget the feeling of it connecting with someone else. Meat and bone giving way under solid strikes. A rush of adrenaline. A sense of victory. Luke huffed and shoved his fists back into his pockets. On one hand, this was the life Io wanted Luke to have. Away from constant fighting, able to settle in and put his real skills to better work. 

    At the other side of the street, a group of friends were laughing together. Making jokes and jabs about something Luke couldn't quite hear. "I remember when we were like that. You, Ty, Zack, and I." Luke mused. "Ty and I would always mess with you, you would always beat us up. Zack pulled us up. Rest and reset. Even through the shit of The City, it was like we were in our own little world. Clyde and Lili would even sometimes join us in our adventures. Shit was good." 

    There was a pause as he looked over to Luna. A faint shimmer flashed in his silver eyes, though he quickly blinked it away. Not tears, but something... deeper. Something Luke denied so quickly that it didn't even have time to bloom. He turned away.
    
    "Missed that shit. Ok, maybe not the getting my ass handed to my by someone wearing cat panties, but everything else about it was nice." Even now those memories lingered with him. He could still feel them. Ty bouncing right in front of them, arms spread wide like he was untouchable. Clyde ducking forwards and pestering Lili. Zack's warm laughter, coming right from behind Luna. Ahead of them, always waiting, always welcoming, was Io. Luke blinked and the memory faded from his vision. A chuckle welled in Luke's throat, growing into laughter. "Fuuuck me, I'm a sentimental shithead now, aren't I?" 

    It was one of those nights. The touchy-feely nights. Those gross ass nights. That's the problem with the world being so peaceful. When summer comes, I'm, taking everyone to the fucking beach. Up ahead, the shopping district was a little busier. Not by much, given the weather and the time, but there were a good few groups and couples here and there. 

    Luke ducked towards one of the clothing shops, peering in towards some of the clothing on display. Unsurprisingly, it was all his kind of aesthetic. A few cool looking shirts in there grabbed his attention, but he was obviously debating with himself on whether or not to go inside. 

[Luna]

[Refs]

Luke’s reply managed to get a small snort out of Luna. That seemed about right. This place was taken care of far better than Blackmarsh. She seemed to be taking in the change of scenery just as much as he was, stars reflecting in her amethyst eyes. Her ears were pointed forwards and up, heat keeping them from turning cold and fur hiding any blush from frost nibbling away at it.

It just didn’t feel real after all the time they spent in Blackmarsh. Even out there in the wilds, the air felt less suffocating, and she could see an endless stretch of glittering dots over an inky blackness whereas the city they hailed from was dense with a sickly green-brown fog. The air was sweet, some of the aromas of various things were scattered in Avalon. Fresh baked breads, soups, slow cooked meats, smoke from woodfire, perfumes, you name it. It accented the crispy air from morning to evening and at night, it was the simpler scent of woodfire smoke and winter air sent through the winds.

Luna looked at the group and the huffed, scarf hiding a blush on her cheeks that only grew redder under the blush she already had from the cold. “I’d still beat your asses for your shit.”, she said hottily. Whose to say that couldn’t still be them? It seemed almost like they were starting to regroup again, they’d just be a little older and potentially a little wiser. Potentially. Aaaaand there was any loss of hope for that potential. Luna quickly whipped her arm back. “You really want to pull that shit now?”, she growled. But after a couple moments, she put her hands back into her pockets and let out a laugh. She missed it as much as he did. Despite the city, they still managed to have fun with each other. That was a completely different sense of freedom they probably could never have there again. “But seriously, bring that up again and I’ll turn you into a snowman.”

She caught his gaze, found some clothes in there. She looked up at the sign and then back at the clothes for display. A goth store. Nice. She studied the boy’s face for several moments and then sighed, grabbing his arm and dragging him inside to get a better look at the inventory. It’s not like he was actually going to make a decision this century.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    "Hey maybe I keep mentioning it because I wanna-." Luke immediately cut himself off before he accidentally said the inside part out loud. You know. Like a dumbass. Oh I wanna see them again. Oh wow Luke, how fucking smart of you. That's totally something someone wants to hear. What a way to out your crush and make them hate you all at once. A slight pause. IF I had a crush. Denial was great. Quickly clearing his throat, the boy snapped out a quick recovery. "Yeah, nah, don't worry about it. I'll stop bringing it up. My bad." 

    Fucking whoops. 

    Hopefully being yanked into the store was enough of a change of scenery to also change the subject. Luke would rather her not pick that last statement apart and have his guts ripped out in front of him. The guy genuinely didn't want to know how she would react to him saying he wanted to see her panties again. Honestly, he'd probably want to die anyways. 

    Before Luna could even think of asking deeper into that, the techie was off looking at other clothes. Already a few shirts had piqued his interest and, as expected, a shiny metal chain found its way into the boy's grip as well. Look, shit was punk as fuck and he liked how it looked. While truthfully he wasn't actually going on a shopping spree, there were a couple shirt designs that stood out to him. One was a black t-shirt with a skull, digitized and made of scan-lines. Lacking a bottom jaw, the teeth seemed to almost drip down.

The other was, surprise surprise, a black tank top. The phrase "Barely Alive" was distorted in the center. An image of a white, bog-standard smiley face sat just below it. Only, it was worn and cracked looking, with a major one split down the middle and the eyes taking on a more grim look.
    
    So... not really a happy smile. 

    This was pretty much normal. Though Luke hadn't worn a true skull shirt for a while. Only thing that came close was his Rat shirt, but that was a rodent skull. Not a people skull. As he gathered up the items he snuck a few peeks at other stray items. Idly wondering what Luna would like, spotting some he thought she'd look cute in, other's she'd rock like a badass. Some that would fill a man's heart with fear. Not entirely an issue that needed to be solved there, though. Little less scary, actually, please and thank you. 

    When all was said and done, though, the young punk decided against getting anything for her. He'd already bought her dinner, threw on her favorite movie, took her out for a walk and made her a scarf. If he did anymore people might start thinking he had a thing for her. That would be a problem! Probably. Yeah, no, definitely a problem! She was his best friend, and he certainly, most definitely, one-hundred-percent, totally didn't have a crush on her. The girl would never even think of him that way either, that would be ridiculous.

    Right?

    With a new chain snapped onto his right hip and a bag in his gloved grip, the young man sought out Luna amongst the maze of clothing. "Hey dork, where'd you wander off too?" He called out, keeping the volume enough under yelling to not draw attention to himself. 

[Luna]

[Refs]

She raised a brow but it looked like he was going to take back whatever it was he was going to say. Not to jump to conclusions, but she had a feeling where that line was going and she wasn’t all too sure if she liked where that was going. She’d have to think about it. Maybe use it to fuck with him, sure, that would make it worth it but that’s if her guess was right. Oh well.

She followed Luke around the store until she found the racks lined with all sorts of accessories. Chains, collars, harnesses even. Wow this place got a little kinky. A quick scan around and it appeared to be more than your average gothic, emo, punk hybrid store. That was neat. Maybe she could fit Luke into a harn- No he’d fight her on that one. But fuck he’d look good in studded leather straps though. But then it’d probably make people wonder if he was an exhibitionist or something and gods know that the boy was too awkward to answer to that without throwing hands.

The collars caught her attention more though. Some with rounded studs, some with spikes, some lined with really long spikes and several times over. It went from your basic bitch to goddamn fucking extra. She might have to go to this store some more to see what else they had without so much of a time crunch. She moved to the apparel section of the store, looking at pants with belts laced all over so much it would make a mummy jealous of this beautiful dark and edgy fashion. Luna mouthed a quiet ‘wow’ as she admired the belts. Man she’d love to get these. Maybe another day.

Just like clockwork, her ears twitched as she heard Luke. Boy must have finished browsing the shop and probably bought something. She didn’t buy anything for herself yet. This was like a candy store, but if the candy store was edgy and full of leather and metals that would give normies a nightmare just from a glance. Luna came over, seeing a new shiny on Luke. “Of course you would, loser.”

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    As Luna approached, the young punk couldn't help but note where she came from, and her crippling lack of getting anything. "Look, I can't help the fact that it looks sick on me." He stated, swaying his hips to jingle the chain with a grin. Man, it was almost like he was tempting Luna to just stare at the punk's fine ass. He wasn't, not consciously, but hey, that boy's got some fuckin cake. "You're not gonna grab anything?" 
    
    Silver eyes darted up from Luna and back towards the section where she came from. A lot of the clothes back there were pretty damn nice, belts and all. Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it, don't do it. The young man sighed and looked back down towards the faunus. "Want me to get you something? There's no reason to hold off, y'know?" Gently nudging her with his elbow, Luke quirked a brow at her. They were there right now, in his mind, there was no reason to wait for some other day. 

    If someone were to actually ask Luke why he was doing this. Why tonight? Why was he putting in so much effort? He would not actually be able to answer it. Sure, deep down, the answer was there, but mentally he refused to accept it. So, the boy's brain instead shrugged it's shoulders and said "it's because I want to spend time with my old friend." Because yes, sure, that is a sensible answer, but was it really the answer?

    Survey says; I think the fuck not?

    They'd been close as could be back in the day, so it was easy to be in denial. Easy to make excuses and lock himself in a space where those thoughts couldn't reach him. Not enough for it to actually matter. Even when things did peak their heads out of the cracks, the anxiety came to crush them back down. 

    Anxiety. Huh. Funny, that was never a word that seemed to fit with Luke. The young manwas a bombastic, brazen bastard with enough manic energy to make a chaos mage blush. But after Aila, any real thoughts about romance or crush's had all but abandoned him. The idea of giving up his heart to someone again scared the boy. Filled his head with doubts. What if she doesn't like me back? What if it ruins our friendship? What if she hurts me too? What if-? What if-? What-if? 

    At some point he just started denying those feelings even existed in the first place. So tonight was just a friendly outing with a friend whom he cared for and hadn't seen in a long time. And because the girl was his friend, it made him want to spoil her and give her new shiny things. Good things. Things to make the faunus happy. That was the young punk's way of showing how much people meant to him. It was really the only way Luke knew how. The guy wasn't good at the whole "emotion" thing and he wasn't good at much aside from what he could do with his hands. Not like that.

    Sort of.

    Luke wasn't good at art, he wasn't an amazing cook, but he could sew and the young punk had enough creativity to come up with different things he could tinker with to make gifts for people. And in lieu of that, he had the funds to buy the shit his friends wanted. So it was good enough to make things work.

    With a sigh, the young man turned his gaze away and idly leaned over to bump shoulders. "Hey... I am glad you're back in my life homie. It's fuckin' bangarang getting to hang with you an' shit. Even if I didn't miss you hurting me..." silver eyes flicked down to look into hers "... I guess like... what I'm tryna say is I wanna make up for that lost time. Make up for those years where we couldn't hang out like we used to. Fuck I'm getting sappy again."
    
    Here were the nerves again. Luke, come on, it was just stated that you weren't good with words. Get your act together. "Just... go get the shit you like, even if you can't really afford it, I'll buy it for you, Luna. Shit's my treat. Whole night is. So, uh... fuck off or whatever. B-but not permanently, just to- you know what I mean." Well, good enough. If good enough was him being a red faced, angry gremlin in public. 

[Luna]

[Refs]

Of course it did Luke, you keep telling yourself that. Loser just wanted to be bound in chains and that gave Luna some ideas. Wait, no they weren’t an item. Come on Luna, find a kinky freak like yourself that you’d know you’d be down to sin with. And the options were…. Well, nevermind that.

Luna stopped and crossed her arms, and stared after Luke quizzically. He kept saying earlier about how this was her night, but what made it so special. Stars weren’t aligned for this kind of thing to happen out of nowhere. She didn’t just come to his place today either. She’s been here and settled for a bit now. It wasn’t her birthday. It wasn’t any kind of anniversary that she could think of, so what gives? Every last thing she could think of wasn’t the case except for one thing she kept on the back shelf on the sole basis of ‘that absolutely isn’t what’s happening right now what so ever.’

This was an awful lot of effort for making up for lost time. She just wasn’t buying it and as much as she would have liked to deny it, it was becoming blaringly close that the thing she kept saying “nahhh” to was actually what’s happening. “It’s not that I can’t afford it. I’d just rather get something on another day...”, she said. This was too much effort, too many instances of Luke simply being nice because she was an old pal of his. “Luke…” She started, but for some reason words became hard to say. A glimmer in her eyes seemed to show she noticed something after trying to fight it so hard for so long, even denying her own emotions. Though, even with that realisation, words were just suddenly not there anymore. Crazy how that works.