BLT, With Some Extra L on the Side

[Luna]

[Refs]

Luna hoped that Ty actually showed up. Since that date with Luke, things have been slightly awkward between the two, namely because Luke was still trying to give himself excuses over it. She walked into The Triangle. Thankfully this was on her day off so she could take the time to talk to Ty. It was likely The Bartender was going to be involved for a number of reasons, but she didn't seem to particularly mind if he had some kind of input.

She was happy to see Ty sitting at a barstool and the Bartender at the counter conversing with him. That was just perfect for her. She came over and stole a seat next to Ty. "What's good fuckass.", she said. Hopefully that wasn't going to get some kind of punishment even if she wasn't on shift. "Anyways. You're probably wondering why I kinda asked you to come here out of the blue." She laced her fingers over each other for a moment. "Luke took me out on a date a bit ago." And before she could give Ty any chance to react, she continued after a quick inhale. "But he's a massive fucking idiot and has been denying it's a date this whole time.", she huffed.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    When Luna walked in, Ty and The Bartender had been having a pleasant little chat. Mostly some business stuff. Two owners talking about their respective customers and employees, how things were going. That was quickly overtaken by Luna as soon as she showed up. Though, to be fair, Ty was used to that. The young punk slowly shifted in his seat and sipped on the bright red drink he'd been given. A cherry soda, nothing special. 

    After the short explanation, there was nothing but silence. The Bartender stared at Luna as he quietly cleaned his glass, while Ty kept staring at her as he sipped on his soda. Exchanging a glance, The Bartender motioned to Ty in a wordless "After you." 

    "Yeah we know."  He began, casually leaning down onto the counter. The capped young man set the drink down and let his chin rest in his hand. Luna was a good friend, a great person to hang out with. Luke was a good guy to have your back in a fight, and loyal to a fault. But by the gods were they both so fucking stupid. "Luke's been ranting to me nonstop about how it wasn't, and for the past decade or so both of you have been denying that you guys even had a crush on one another to begin with." 

    Another long sip.

    "So are you finally admitting you like him and you wanna go out with him?" Even behind the shadows of his cap, there was no doubt that his expression was placid and calm. Probably with hints of amusement. Hell, not that long ago Luna'd nearly killed him over him talking about her potentially liking the black-haired techie, and now here she was. Oh the sweet validation.

    Ty looked towards the bartender. "I mean..." then back to Luna. "...the fact that you're coming here wanting help with that fact kinda... insinuates that pretty heavily already, right?" Back to the bartender. Back to Luna. "Otherwise, if you didn't actually like him, Luke denying that you guys went out on a date wouldn't actually be a bad thing now would it?" 

    While The Bartender was contented with letting Tyler lead the show, it was obvious that the punk wasn't the only one thinking these thoughts. Even if The Bartender was an older gentleman, he still took a bit of interest in gossip and shenanigans such as this. One of the few things that actually amused him still. It was so nice seeing two awkward young folk madly in love and unable to confront it. 

    Meanwhile Ty had seen several seasons of this show and was ready for the finale now.

    The young batter's words weren't teasing. If anything, they seemed more curious. After being walloped one too many times, Ty was hesitant about pushing it too hard. Right now it felt like he was probing, testing the line to see if this was something they could finally discuss, or if Luna was just looking for an excuse to deny it all.

    "If you're admitting it though, then we might have an idea on how to help with that." 

[Luna]

[Refs]

Luna shot a glance at Ty. “I didn’t have a crush on him. Especially not for ten freakin’ years.”, she snapped back. Denial still lingered. “Anyways.”, Luna responded before Ty could poke further, almost threatening that she was actually going to snap him like a wafer. “I feel like he’s denying his own feelings and shit and I need help making him realise it was a date and that he’s avoiding his emotions.”

The way she said it made it sound like this wasn’t the first time Luke was avoiding certain feelings he had before. Not necessarily the crush on her per se, but any mushy feeling seemed to be something he consciously tried to avoid while subconsciously acting on it.

She wasn’t denying that she did in fact like Luke. She only just came to that realisation during the date, even if the man was a massive fucking idiot. Luna would claim that he was her massive fucking idiot. And no one was going to take him from her, not this time.

[Sparky]

    

[Refs]

    Ty turned back to The Bartender with a shrug. "Your turn." With a sigh, the man set down the glass he was cleaning and turned to look fully at Luna, his one eye studying hers. As always, it felt as though he was seeing right through her. That he knew her. And that he knew she was denying everything just like she claimed Luke was doing. "Luna, dear." The tone he took immediately got his daughter to poke his head out from the back, wide-eyed in concern. As if she was the one about to get a talking to. Seeing that the fatherly tone wasn't directed at her, she immediately ducked back in. 

    "You're in love with the boy, aren't you?" Wow, he was really gunning right for the throat. No fucking mercy what-so-ever, not even sugar coating it with "like" or "like-like." The man didn't move and neither did Ty. Both expression remained the same. This was an interrogation now Luna. And there was no way in hell that she would snap at Bartender of all people, now would she? Especially not when he was mentoring her.

    For his part, Tyler shut up and stayed out of it, sipping on his soda as he watched it all go down. Pushing his attempt was just going to get his shit pushed in, and today he really didn't feel like being knocked unconscious. Again. It was plain for anyone to see that the two had a thing for one another. Ty saw it, Bartender saw it, Louise saw it, Cal knew it all along. Hell, Io, rest his soul, knew it the day it became a thing. 

    So it was nice to actually see their relationship finally starting to progress. 

    The problem was actually getting one of the damn idiots to admit to it. Fine, she wasn't going to admit it to Ty. Whatever. But they weren't going to help the girl out until she came clean about it. The two men were in total agreement about that part. Clearing his throat, The Bartender continued. "You mention him denying his own feelings, and wanting to make him realize that. Are you sure he's the only one here?" 

    It was so gentle compared to his normal personality. Typically he was professional, calm, collected. Right now, though there was still that air of calculation flickering about him, he was much... warmer. Softer. More, well, fatherly.

    So this is what Izzy was raised under. 

    "What Tyler said is correct." He went on, sliding Luna a glass of water. "If you're coming clean about this and being honest with yourself, then yes. We can help you with Luke's denial issues. Well. It's more Tyler and my dear Izzy's plan, but I did sign off on it. So I suppose I am, in a sense, a partner in crime in this situation." 

    The Bartender as a partner in crime. Ty kinda liked the sound of that. The young punk finished off his soda and leaned back in his seat once again. Waited for the white-haired faunus to respond. The boy had waited years for this, he wanted to hear her say it. 

[Luna]

[Refs]

Ty may have been right but he sounded like an absolute shitter when he said it. At least the Bartender was putting it down gently. “I’m not denying anything.”, she huffed before taking the glass of water and drinking it. Okay, drinking was putting it nicely. She fucking slammed that glass. Luna wasn’t going to open the gateway by asking how everyone and their mother knew about her crush on Luke and vice versa.

“I don’t know how to make him actually confront his feelings unless it was from, like, an argument he’s totally wrong about that doesn’t involve him personally.” Of course, an occasion like this was rarer than a chance of Luna suddenly having rainbow coloured skin so of course she wouldn’t know how to make Luke face his own feelings. She could only really manage to acknowledge her own.

The faunus finished the glass quickly and placed it down on the table as if she didn’t just chug that in two gulps. “What were you guys planning anyways?” How anyone could plan anything about this was beyond her but she was all ears to see if it would work or if it was something worthwhile.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    "Well, I mean, first things first. Have you though of maybe... confessing to him first?" Ty looked between the Bartender and Luna. "Let's be real here. Luke is denser than a brick of concrete. If he's not confronting it, it's probably cus he thinks you won't like him back and that'll ruin the friendship or whatever. I mean. Look at his one and only previous relationship. I can get him, him of all people being skittish about admitting to being in love, especially when you can't even do so yourself."

    Out of everything that was known about Luke, the one thing everyone in the Lost Boys knew the best was his trust issues. The guy did not, in any way shape or form, trust easy. And when something actually wounded him, that wasn't something that healed over quickly. Hell, it took Luna's stubborn ass constantly hounding Luke for weeks before the guy let her in the first time around. And it took Ty's snarky ass even longer because truthfully, he just wasn't as cute. 

    Or because the first few times they interacted they nearly killed one another but that's besides the point.

    With a sigh, Ty looked over to The Bartender. The man simply shrugged. Looks like he's leaving the duty of being murdered up to me. Gods I hope she doesn't slaughter me for this plan. Clearing his throat, the capped crusader looked back to Luna. "So, alright, let's continue the real train and actually start talking about the plan. Now, to preface this- this wasn't all me, a big part came from Izzy, and Bartender here just signed off on most of it. So please don't kill me if you don't like it..."

    Taking a deep breath, Ty continued. "...So... we all pretty much know what he's into by now. 'Thick thighs, thigh highs,' you. Aside from the obvious, we also know he's got a bit of a thing for... you know, different outfits. Which, as a guy, I can completely understand. Cute dresses or whatever on a cute girl is enough to make a man's heart stop. Soooo, you're a mischievous little gremli- I mean angel- please don't hurt me- and we also all know you love fucking with Luke as much as possible." The young man waved his hand idly in the air, trying to find the words as best as possible to not get slaughtered in the streets and served up as next week's daily special. With another deep inhale, he continued on.

    "So seeing as you're probably not going to be the one to confess to him, why not take what you know best and fuck with him as much as you can until he absolutely cannot deny the fact that he's head over heels for you. You know. Take the things he likes the most, slap them on the person he likes the most- I.e. You- and really crank the dumbass tech-head's brain until he's on his hands and knees begging for you be his one and only." As he finished the plan he and Izzy concocted, the one thought running through Tyler's brain on repeat was the phrase; Don't kill me, don't kill me, don't kill me, don't kill me, don't kill me, don't kill me, don't kill me. "Or, you know, take the less convoluted option and tell him you love him first."

    Ty looked back to The Bartender once the spiel was over, signaling for the old man to take up the reigns hopefully in time to save Ty from certain death. Clearing his throat, he looked down towards the white-haired faunus. 

    "I've taken part in my share of mischief growing up, so this isn't exactly outside my realm of expertise. Something most tend to forget is that I was one hell of a hellion in my youth. While I do run a very tight ship down here, it's also worth remembering that I also have an active night club running just upstairs. We are a place for adults first, after all. So, if that plan sounds like something you'd want to try, I will accommodate you. Izzy can either find or make the outfits you'd like to use to..." The Bartender pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment. With a sigh, he waved his hand back out towards Luna "...entice Luke."

    "Now you may be thinking-" Ty piped up "-Mr. Bartender, sir, why are you getting involved like this? Well the answer is-"

    "I'm a sucker for young love, and seeing the relationship between you and Mr. Eldon is a story much better than those in the library." A whimsical light flickered across the Bartender's expression. The man stared up and away, out towards nothing. "A young soul reuniting with her one true love, and finally finding the happiness they'd been denied in their youth. It's better than a soap opera."

    "As Izzy put it, her dad's a big softy when it comes to this sort of thing."

    "He really is!" Came Izzy's call from the back. 

    "See?"

[Luna]

[Refs]

While Ty’s recommendation was something Luna should do, did he really think that she would do something like that? And even if she did, Luke would probably crash so hard it would make a BSOD screen blush. He’d make up more excuses than the date night they had to justify that she was fucking with him. Like, she would eventually tell him but she had doubts saying so upfront out of nowhere.

She listened in on the idea. Ty thought he was treading on eggshells, but there was a look in her eye that would put a special kind of fear in. It wasn’t the kind of fear of ‘oh fuck, oh shit, I’m going to die’. Rather, it was more a look that made this angelic gremlin’s chaotic energy seep into the room and spread, washing over the nearby party in the conversation and maybe a few bodies nearby. She was into this plan.

Racking her memory, she had a very solid idea of the outfits she could wear to mess with him. She’d double check with the Bartender on if the clothes are appropriate of course, but it wasn’t anything that was going to be skimpy. She had taste. It just so happened that her tastes heavily overlapped with Luke’s. The only issue she could think of revolved around those offshoot creepy patrons seeing her in these outfits and trying to pull something on her. Not only would it warrant them getting kicked from the establishment, but if Luke was present, it would aggro the boy so hard they would need to put him on a collar and chain to the barstools.

After a long, and unnerving silence, in Ty’s case from Luna. She leaned in with a grin. “Oh we’re fucking doing this.”

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    While the speed at which Luna accepted the proposal was frightening, it was slightly dulled by the fact that she was taking the hard way. With a small sigh, the young batter shrugged his shoulders and stood up with a stretch. The Bartender, ever content and ever calm, gave the young man a polite nod. This was no longer Ty's show to run.

    "Welp, on that lovely note, I need to head on home. Keep me up to date on how it goes." A.K.A; Take pictures of Luke dying and send them Ty's way. Admittedly, while this was the hard way, it was also the funny way. If the young slugger was lucky, he could catch Luke turning into a tomato as Luna harassed his dumb ass. If he was the luckiest son of a bitch in the entire world, he'd maybe catch either of them confessing to one another. A completely unlikely event, but one that would finally pull a stupid, decade long cycle of stupidity and denial to a fitting close. "I'll catch you later Luna, proud of you for admitting you finally like Luke."

    As Ty waved his way out, it was the Bartender's turn to take the helm. Or, rather the Waitress's turn. "Seeing as this is the route you want to take, Luna, I believe Izzy dragged young Tyler out to look for potential outfits for you to use. Part of me wants to warn against letting her excitement get the better of you, but I'd rather not put a damper on your fun." The older gentleman nodded towards the young faunus, and stepped aside. In his place, Izzy beamed with her hands on her hips and a wicked look in her eye. 

    "You're gonna love the fine selection I've picked out for you. And if somehow you don't break that boy by the time we run out, I have a back up list. Call them the Big Guns." 

[Luna]

[Refs]

“Oh, you can fucking bet I will.”, Luna said. She didn’t care if this was the hard way. The important thing is, she was fucking with this man after years of him not being around and moreso for a previous relationship he had that was a dumpster fire from the start everyone else saw as clear as day. As he was leaving with that final line, Ty could feel a very dangerous glare from Luna’s eye, but it was only going to be left at that.

Luna shared the same expression Izzy had, they likely shared a brain cell in this. “I can’t wait to see what we got in store.” With Ty being dragged around, it was very likely they nailed any costume that would make Luke double- no triple- no quadruple over so hard that you think that man’s lifestyle was having a stroke nonstop. She had a moment of concern over any blood loss and then shrugged, this was Luke they were fucking with. He’d live. Probably.