Right Incentive (ChipFic)

>Liby Loud took a deep breath as she stood outside the door to her brother Lyle's room.
>She liked to think that she was closer to him than most of her sisters. While Bobby loved sci-fi, and Lemy loved anything that he determined was ‘cool’, Lyle shared her interest in high fantasy: Lord of the Rings, Dungeons & Dragons, you name it.
>Once he had even spent hours helping her craft a D&D campaign… a rare moment of bonding that she would always cherish.
>She worried about Lyle; he was always so closed off from everyone else but Liena, Bed and their brothers. Still, things had gotten a little better now that he had a girlfriend… he was a lot less irritable as of late, and more open to suggestion.
>At least, she was betting on it.
>Liby cleared her throat and knocked on the door.
>"...It's open." came a bored reply.
>Liby turned the handle and opened the door, stepping inside. She saw her brother seated in a beanbag chair in the middle of reading a book. He peeked over at her for a brief moment before resuming his lazy reading. She noticed his hair was tied back; he seemed to be doing that a lot recently.
>"Hey little bro, whatcha reading?"
>"What do you want Liby?"
>Liby had expected him to be blunt. "Just wanted to see how my fantasy loving brother is doing. So c'mon, whatcha reading?"
>"A Game of Thrones."
>The first book in the Ice and Fire series, Liby had lent him that book weeks ago, she was happy he finally got started on it. "Like it so far?"
>"Yeah, pretty good. Ned Stark is a neat character, very likable."
>"Oh you sweet summer child." Liby looked downcast for a moment.
>"Huh?"
>"Nothing!" Liby perked back up in an instant and started walking over to Lyle's bed, taking a seat on it. "Sooooo... got any plans for next weekend?"
>"And here it is. I'm not going to the convention with you."
>"Oh c'mon! Lemy doesn't like this sort of thing and Bobby doesn't like crowds."
>"So I'm your last resort?"
>"No, you're my first choice, I haven't even asked the others. It'll be fun! I'm dressing up as Gandalf, got a fake beard and everything." She grinned.
>Lyle couldn't help but smile at the mental image of his sister in full wizard garb. "Maybe, I'll think about it."
>"Maybe you could cosplay too, you'd make a great Legolas."
>Lyle cast an irritated glance at his sister and she flinched back slightly "I'm not dressing up, I'm changing my answer back to no."
>"Lyle pleeease." Liby dropped to her knees and started shaking her brother's shoulders "There's a contest for best costume, and your hair and looks are perfect for this."
>Lyle shook off his sister with a grin "My hair is pretty amazing, as is the rest of me. But my answer is still no."
>Liby sat back on her heels and pouted "I just want to spend time with my little brother, you always push me away like this." She looked down at the ground.
>Lyle furrowed his brow as he felt guilt build up in his chest. He hated seeing Liby upset.
>But Lyle had sharp eyes, and he saw the corners of her mouth turn up slightly.
>"Ain't buying it, you faker." He resumed reading.
>Liby stood up with a huff "This isn't over mister, I've still got all week to win you over." She turned to leave, closing the door behind her as Lyle waved dismissively.

>Liby stepped out of Flip's and took a long slurp of her slushie. She ran ideas through her head, searching for a solution to the enigma that was her anti-social brother. He was clearly interested somewhat, he just needed the right incentive. He had to have a weakness.
>"Hi Liby!" the girl in question was suddenly pulled into a tight hug that made her back pop as she was lifted slightly off the ground.
>"Hello Gloom."
>Her brother's girlfriend, his kryptonite, the solution to her problems. If she could convince Gloom, Lyle would follow suit.
>"What are you up to?" Liby inquired.
>"Gonna go see Lyle, its nice out today I wanna see if he wants to go for a walk." Gloom beamed.
>Perfect.
>"I'm heading back home right now, walk with me, lets chat."
>"Ok!"
>As the duo walked down the sidewalk Liby did her best to outline her thoughts and prepare for any setbacks. Gloom was a sweet girl and should be easy enough to figure out. The dungeon master nodded to herself and took a slurp of her Flippy.
>"So Gloom, have you heard of the fantasy convention that's happening next week?"
>"Nope, sounds fun though. What's it like?"
>"Its a big gathering of people that enjoy fantasy stuff, y'know like Lord of the Rings."
>"Oooh I like Lord of the Rings, Return of the King is my favorite." Gloom smiled.
>(This should be easy) Liby grinned to herself.
>"Weeeelll I was wondering if you wanted to go with me?"
>"Is Lyle going?”
>"I asked. He, uh… said no.” Liby groaned.
>"Oh, no thank you then." Gloom kept smiling.
>Liby hung her head dejectedly for a moment before perking back up. She'd expected that, she still had an ace up her sleeve.
>"That's the thing, I really want him to go with me too. So I was wondering if you could help me convince him."
>”But… he doesn’t want to go, Liby.” Gloom said with a frown. “You can’t force him.”
>”Yeah, I guess…” Liby sighed. “Shame. I bet he would have made a great-“

>”IWANTYOUTODRESSASLEGOLAS!” Lyle yelped, practically tossing his book across the room in surprise as Gloom came flying through his door.
>"Gloom?! Wha-"
>"Please! I want to see you dress up like Legolas!" She dashed over and knelt in front of him, clutching his hands.
>Lyle was very confused, but it all came together when he noticed a smug looking Liby leaning against his door frame.
>He frowned at her, he knew what she was up to. He turned back to his girlfriend "Gloom I don't really wan-" he stopped dead in his tracks, Gloom was staring at him with those big eyes and he felt the fight leave him.
>"Please?" She asked quietly.
>Lyle sighed and hung his head in defeat "...Fine, I'll go." He lifted his eyes to hers "But you got to dress up too.'
>"Ok!" Gloom giggled happily as she dove into his chest for a hug.
>Lyle smiled softly as he returned the hug, before flicking an unamused gaze to his sister who looked even smugger as she casually strolled into the room.
>"Told you this wasn't over." Liby gave a cheeky grin "I already have a few ideas for Gloom. She could be Lady Galadriel, or Arwen. I think Arwen works best since she has the right hair colour. Just put some elf ears on her and we're go-"
>"I wanna be Gimli!"
>Liby nearly tripped over her own feet before finding her balance. She looked at the younger girl with a slack jawed expression "Gimli?"
>Lyle looked confused as well. Gloom just nodded "Arwen is super pretty, but Lyle isn't going as Aragorn. Gimli is Legolas' best friend so I wanna dress up as him instead." Gloom snuggled into Lyle's chest with a content smile "Plus I get an axe."
>Lyle grinned an hugged her tighter "Works for me."