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“Are you gonna go up?” Olimar asked Louie, face leaning on his fist. It was karaoke night at the bar, and Olimar had convinced Louie to join him.
“Mm, no.” Louie said flatly, stirring the straw around in his drink.
This hardly surprised Olimar. Louie was hardly a chatter-box, so he couldn’t imagine he’d be privy to the idea of singing in front of a crowd. Olimar was fine with this. If anything, it made him happy that he was one of the few who Louie saved his words for. Although, he still would love to hear the man sing.
He chuckled a bit at this, turning from Louie to the stage. Seemed like there nobody waiting to go up after whoever was currently singing.
“I’m gonna go.” He smiled back at the other Hocotatian
Louie, seeming a bit disappointed, nodded and gave him a thumbs up as he rose from the bar they had been seated at.
The song finished fairly quickly, and soon enough he was on the stage. He hadn’t quite decided on a song yet, though he was feeling a romantic vibe- probably no thanks to Louie’s presence.
Louie..
With that, he had an idea. Connecting is KoppaiPhone to the speaker, he knew what to do.
It was a song that Louie recognized- I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend by Hot Freaks. Admittedly not what he’d expect Olimar to sing, but he didn’t care much. He enjoyed the sound of his voice, and was able to tune out everything around him for a bit.
Until Olimar changed one of the lyrics. Louie didn’t have them memorized, but he did remember that it was a heterosexual song. Specifically with the line “you can be my girlfriend”.
When Olimar got there however, it was changed to boyfriend. This deliberate change is what made Louie realize this wasn’t just a random song he chose for fun- there was some kind of meaning. A romantic one.
He couldn’t help but imagine the idea that Olimar was singing about him- surely not the case, but still. The thought made him blush. Even if he knew it wasn’t true.
He spent the rest of the song just staring up at Olimar. Occasionally they’d make eye contact, prompting Louie to turn away like he hadn’t been staring.
When Olimar returned to his seat, he seemed to turn to Louie expectantly.
“Good job.” He mumbled, face still a little red
“Thanks, Lou.” He chuckled a bit
Lou.
Okay so maybe now his hopes were up. The explicitly gay love song combined with the sudden nickname had to make him wonder if he had been singing about him.
He wanted to ask. At least vaguely, something like “who was that about?”, but as usual, words failed him. He desperately wanted to make some kind of move though. Just to try.
His eyes wandered from Olimar to the now empty stage. The idea of singing in front of a crowd made him sick, but not nearly as sick as being honest with his emotions. Gulping, he silently got up from the bar and walked to the stage.
Olimar was pleasantly surprised by this. While hopeful, he really hadn’t expected Louie to bite the bullet and go up on stage. Once he had seemingly chosen a song, he glanced back at Olimar, who gave him a thumbs up. Louie took a deep breath as he began Sweet Tooth by Cavetown.
Olimar didn’t recognize the song, but understood the meaning quite fast. It was a love song.
Oh.
Olimar’s face flushed all kinds of shades of red, questioning if Louie had the same intentions as him. Olimar had been dropping hints about his crush for a while now, though he never expected Louie to do the same.
Do the same? Who’s he kidding, it’s Louie. He probably just had a confidence boost, and the song means nothing. Louie of all people would never make his romantic feelings known.
And then he looked at him. During the second chorus, he realized that his gaze lingered on Olimar. Oh stars. Okay, maybe this was a mutual situation. Throughout the rest of the song, Olimar found himself staring at Louie. His eyes stayed fixed on the man as he walked back to his seat, before he snapped his gaze away as Louie returned.
“Uh- that was really nice Louie.” He smiled, trying to break the tension a bit “Good job.”
Louie nodded and mumbled a thanks, before looking down and fidgeting with his hands.
“So, what got you to change your mind?” Olimar asked innocently
“Uh.. dunno.” Louie blushed “..liked your’s.” He mumbled after a moment
“Thank you.” He smiled, slowly grabbing the other man’s hand “That means a lot, Louie.”
Louie froze up, glancing down at their hands. Slowly, he moved his to have its palm facing up, and Olimar interlocked their fingers.
The two sat in silence, both knowing where this was going, but both too scared to speak up first. Eventually, Olimar squeezed his hand and turned to face him fully.
“Erm.. Louie, I..” he began, fidgeting with the collar of his shirt with his free hand. “Wh.. what made you choose that song?” He asked, chickening out of his original confession
“Uh..” Louie mumbled looking down, seeming really stressed
“Sorry, I know you don’t like talking much-“
Olimar quickly added “I just..” he paused.
“..Can I try something?” He asked nervously “and just- tell me if you don’t like it.”
Louie looked a little surprised for a moment, before nodding. Olimar took a deep breath as he removed his hand from Louie’s and moved both up to grab his cheeks. Before he could do anything else though, Louie leaned in and kissed him.
Just a peck, but the sentiment was still there.
“Oh stars.” Olimar said happily, placing a hand on his own cheek, while Louie just sat, face red and eyes wide open.
“Uh- was that fine?” Louie asked nervously
Olimar smiled “it was great.” He said happily, before going in for another kiss.