Luke's Diner, Saturday

[what_the_shock]

Yeah, so whatever was going on on the island today, Miguel was having none of it. Singing birds tried to follow him into the diner, and he slammed the door quickly.

Not that it helped much, because the staff were singing, too. The chef was singing about cooking, the dishwasher was singing about washing dishes, and the busboy was singing about waiting for his true love. They all made lovely harmonies together.

Miguel paused, then headed straight for the coffee pot. And wondered how well webbing might work as earplugs.

Today's Specials:
Salad
Coffee
"The very best stew in the kingdom!"

Luke's was...weird, but open.

Comments

[chef_chocobro]

No stone left unturned meant that Ignis and his glass shoe and fancy pillow and neat livery uniform were slipping into the diner next and taking a look around, before his eyes fell a bit dispondantly on the man behind the counter.

"Pardon me," he ventured, "I don't suppose you have any elligible maidens around here that may be missing a shoe as of quite recently?"

[what_the_shock]

Miguel looked at him. Miguel took a long drink of coffee. "Haven't seen any hopping maidens, no. Sorry."

"Oh!" exclaimed the busboy. "I lost my shoe this morning!" He all but danced over to Ignis.

"Since when?" Miguel asked.

"Since this morning, silly!"

[chef_chocobro]

"Ah." Ignis may have considered the busboy with more than a little bit of skepticism. "But you see, the maiden I am searching for lost this shoe," he gestured toward the shoe on the pillow, in case there was any doubt, "several night ago, at His Royal Highness Prince Noctis Caelum Lucis of the Kingdom of Lucis's ball, not this morning."

There was a reluctant pause.

"But I suppose it might not hurt to check. Would you be willing to try on this shoe...sir?"

He was certain His Highness was looking for a maiden, but His Highness did also say 'if the shoe fits...'

[what_the_shock]

"Oh." The busboy deflated a little, then perked back up when Ignis offered the shoe anyway. "Yes, please!"

He came over, but instead of immediately sticking his foot out, burst into a song about the shoe fitting and his longing for his love.

Miguel stared at the coffee pot and wondered if they had anything with more caffeine.

[chef_chocobro]

Ignis, meanwhile, was used to this sort of thing, and was very patient as the busboy sang out his very heart's song, spending the whole of it unperturbed and ready, kneeling beside a booth, prepared to give the shoe a fit as soon as the busboy was finished.

Honestly, he was a little surprised there hadn't been more singing prior to shoe fittings around here.

[what_the_shock]

At the end of his song, the busboy threw himself dramatically (but gracefully) down into the booth and smiled at Ignis.

Miguel gave up and just watched. If this was going to happen, he might as well see it.

In the background, the cook and dishwasher sang a chorus about being thankful for their wonderful friend, before leaning on the pass-through with dreamy looks on their faces as they watched, too.

[chef_chocobro]

And finally, with a swell of dramatic, breath-stopping music from...somewhere...Ignis finally lifted the delicate glass shoe to the busboy's significantly less-than-delicate foot, where it seemed to give the illusion that maybe, just maybe, it might actually fit, before...

It very decidedly didn't.

And Ignis's shoulders fell with almost as much disappointment as perhaps the busboy's might, not because he had any hopes that it would be the busboy, but just the fact that the quest must go on.

"Alas," he sighed, "it appears my search shall continue."

[what_the_shock]

The busboy heaved a huge sigh and hung his head. The cook and dishwasher rushed to his side, and all three sang a song about being disappointed.

"Thank you, kind sir," the busboy said to Ignis. "I shall have to keep looking for my True Love."

[chef_chocobro]

"I have no doubt," said Ignis, as he stood and rebalanced the shoe perfectly on the pillow after a moment to straighten his jacket, "that you shall find them eventually, just as I shall find the same for His Royal Highness!"

After all, that was how things always happened! Any disappointment met along the way only enriched the magic of the moment once it finally did!