Lumiose was a city filled with and designed for tourists. Trees lined cobblestone roads virtually untouched by automobiles, water-filled trenches cut symmetrical lines through the middle of streets, and blue-and-white taxis idled, waiting in the distance as Japanese newlyweds and droves of old ladies in pink overlooked them in favor of a tranquil walk through the city. Some people wandered into the ubiquitous cafes and restaurants, while others made reservations at hotels or lined up in front of the Galette Stand for their obligatory Kalosian dessert. Force of habit saw backpackers mingling in beds of grass under the shadows of trees in a way that the obscured October sun no longer necessitated, and more shadowed yet were the punks and roughnecks in the narrow alleyways, establishing and challenging and quarreling over arbitrary territorial lines.
 
They all painted a backdrop familiar enough that it went virtually ignored as Viol turned off of Centrico Plaza and onto Vernal Avenue. He raised his head to look at the buildings crowding the skyline, not quite as tall as in Castelia but much more plentiful, and delightfully colorful. Red flowers sprung from window boxes, urban horticulture perfected. Viol reminded himself that his Enigma Berry trees needed to be weeded soon if he wanted them to produce enough for the Global Wonder Trade event that would be taking place later that night.
 
In the mean time, he walked past blue cafes and red grooming saloons, dull cornflower naturopathic medicine shops and jewelers, to get to the black entrance he was searching for. A sign hanging outside the door proclaimed it the entrance to a clothing store, whilst a far-too-modern-looking fluorescent bulletin glowed the store's name.
 
Boutique Couture.
 
It was the most expensive clothing store in Kalos by far, and highly selective. Viol thought that probably meant it was the best one. Perhaps more importantly, there wasn't much chance he'd run into anyone he knew; other than him, only his sister had gained access to it, and she'd already purchased all the female clothing options ages ago. Just as he'd purchased all the male options.
 
The helpful staff, a young blonde in a form-fitting black skirt suit, greeted him with a polite bow and a thick French accent. "It's nice to see you again, Monsieur Viol. Is there anything I can help you with today?"
 
His hackles raised immediately and before he could stop himself he responded with a defensive, "N-no!"
 
"Ah." She took it in stride. Her smile didn't fade even as surprise saw her eyebrows climbing her forehead. "I apologize if I've offended you. Please take your time and tell me if you need anything."
 
Were she not a lowly, nameless NPC, he might have apologized, but because she wasn't he just pushed away fleeting wisps of guilt and embarrassment before continuing past the woman, hands shoved deep in the pockets of his jeans. There was a well-lit display of shoes in the center of the room that he feigned interest in for a moment, avoiding the mechanical stare of who he assumed must have been the boyfriend of the girl next to him. Boots could look nice, he decided, but they weren't quite right for a ball.
 
So he continued on, footsteps harsh against the mellow, earthy-colored tiling. As he approached his target in the back of the boutique the floor softened to brown carpeting, but it did little to calm his growing nerves. Anxiety twisted his stomach as he let his eyes scan the female outfits on display. There were never more than a few available at a time in any of the Kalosian boutiques, but the ones at Lumiose were more or less the best put together. One featured a blue, double-breasted waistcoat and matching pair of pants, a red tie and starched white button-up shirt completing the look, but it wasn't quite what Viol was looking for. To the left of it stood a mannequin with a black purse and a beige trench coat dress that looked pretty nice, but...
 
Viol moved on. He didn't want to be confused for a streaker or pervert.
 
While not a dress, the last outfit was better, anyway. A skirt and blouse combo might have been a bit informal for such an occasion as a ball, but the colors blended together well enough that he might not have known that they were separate pieces were it not for the hefty price tags. The blouse was billowy and black with a red underbust vest, perfect for accentuating cleavage while still looking classy, while the excess black fabric and white bow effectively served to hide a lack thereof. The cherry red of the underbust matched the red of the pleated kilt skirt perfectly, and without the four white buttons the skirt's plaid might have been obtrusive, but with them he thought it looked quite nice.
 
Although he would never admit it, Viol liked to think he was somewhat fashion-forward. He could rarely muster the courage to wear them himself, but he loved going through his sister's clothes and putting together outfits, the cuter the better. Sometimes deciding which top went best with which bottom or which purse matched which dress just right took him a considerable amount of time, but other times the outfits just seemed to click together as effortlessly as plus and minus Klink.
 
This was one such time. Viol could feel it. This outfit was the one.
 
There was only one small problem.
 
As he made his way to the changing room, doing his best to expel an aggressively casual aura, he was stopped by the blonde NPC. Just as he knew he would be. And exactly in accordance with his first trip to the boutique, in which he very innocently had attempted to purchase a manly pair of Mary Janes, she said, "Ah, Monsieur Viol, the men's clothing is located on the second floor."
 
"I know that!" Again, Viol spoke louder than he meant to, and he regretted it as NPC eyes turned towards him. He made sure to quiet his voice before continuing, "I-I'm not... here for the men's clothes."
 
He could see the woman's coding churning, but ultimately it seemed to be meaningless as she settled on a response. "My apologies, but if you could please use the fitting room located on the second floor..."
 
It was a situation that Viol had anticipated and even tried to prepare himself for, but he had grievously overestimated his ability to keep a level head, and as the heat rose to his face he found himself forcing his way past her with a proclamation of, "I'm a Pokemon Master! I can do whatever I want!"
 
Once in the fitting room, Viol swung around on his heel and shut the curtains with a flourish and the desperate clatter of plastic hangars sliding across a metal pole. He panted softly, sweat prickling under the boutique's spotlights, held the curtains closed, and waited. Under the curtain, he could see the NPC woman's high heeled feet pacing back and forth for a moment. All the adrenaline coursing through him was silly, since he had Tentaquil waiting in its ball just in case, but he still felt his breath catch in his lungs when the woman paused right in front of him.
 
A few seconds ticked by at a standstill.
 
Viol's free hand twitched toward the Pokeball at his waist, then wrapped around it white-knuckled as the woman finally took a step.
 
He would fill the whole store with blood vomit if he had to.
 
But the shoes were soon out of eyeshot. As the sound of heels on tile met his ears, he opened the curtains just enough to peak out, and sighed relief at the sight of the shopkeeper's retreat. When it didn't appear to be a ruse to lower his guard, he closed the gap and took a step back, letting go of his Pokeball and using his pants to wipe the clamminess from his hands.
 
Hopefully now he'd be able to get dressed in peace.
 
---
 
There weren't a lot of people that Vanille had to talk about dresses. It seemed that most female tans either didn't prioritize their appearance, or they were more concerned with taking their clothes off than picking them out. There were guys that could help her, she guessed, but /a/lex had never been entirely fond of her or her brother, and she was genuinely afraid to find out what the /fa/ggots had to say about her. A quick narrowing of options found Vanille in /c/laire's room, sitting on the corner of the bed and kicking her legs idly.
 
"So, were you thinking something like this?" Claire asked as she fought her way out of a closet jam-packed more sequins and frills than Vanille had ever seen in one place before. In her right hand was a bubblegum pink gown, all shimmering silk and tulle, and in her left was a plastic crown speckled with glittering red glass rubies. She followed Vanille's gaze to it and gave a triumphant smile. "I know you didn't say anything about a crown, but you can't wear a gown without one and this one's really pretty. Not my prettiest, but it matches the gown and it's still super pretty, right?"
 
"Y-yeah, but..." Vanille trailed off as a bit of Claire's gusto drained, but she waited for her to continue. "It's pretty. It's beautiful. I'm just, you know... I-I just want to look a little more adult is all." And more accurately, although she couldn't have been grudged to say it, she didn't want to show up looking like some kid playing dress-up. She needed something that would woo him.
 
"But princesses ARE adult," she insisted. "Besides, Teej likes princesses, right? Saving them and stuff."
 
"It's not going to be much of an adventure if I just get kidnapped and he has to come rescue me." Even if it seemed a little romantic at first, considering it for any amount of time led to the realization that it would mostly be boring and not nearly as romantic as tag-teaming against hordes of ogres and droves of dragons. And plus, she wasn't sure that she could trust Viol alone with him, even though she was pretty sure that Teej was more interested in her, and her brother was nowhere near confident enough to try and pull a move anyway.
 
Vanille scanned the many posters and wall scrolls adorning Claire's room as she mulled. Hundreds of pairs of cute eyes sparkled back at her from them, along with one sunken and dull pair, the majority of which were dressed in their school uniforms. There wasn't a whole lot of inspiration there; the last thing she needed was to give him yet another reminder that she was underage. In second place were magical girl outfits, though. Perhaps something more like that would be better. If she remembered right, special clothes like that meant something in RPGs, and she thought she'd make a decent special attacker... All she needed was a life orb. Surely Viol wouldn't mind playing the cleric. He could even dress as a Mega Audino. It was perfect.
 
Her eyes lingered on a poster of a girl in a low-cut blue and pink dress, a swirling staff clenched in her hand and what looked like a visored compromise between a witch's hat and a helmet on her head. Blue boots and fingerless gloves with multicolored gemstones and a healthy bit of leg exposed. Even if Vanille didn't necessarily have the cleavage, she thought she could pull it off.
 
Yes, that was right, she could!
 
It was an invigorating thought. A smile burst across her face as she leaped off of the bed and sped to the poster. "Something like this! I want to wear something like this!"
 
Claire tilted her head as she scanned the poster. "Cosplay?"
 
"Huh?"
 
"If you want to cosplay the Dark Magician Girl, maybe it'd be better to talk to /cgl/-chan about it."
 
"Dark Magician Girl?" Vanille wasn't sure what that was, but it didn't sound like a Pokemon. "No, I don't want to cosplay anyone, I just want something that'll boost my special attack. I-I mean my magic. Or, uh... Mana?"
 
"Ooooh. Why didn't you say so in the first place, silly?" Claire asked as she turned to begin the process of putting the dress she'd picked out back in its place. Vanille winced as the girl nearly tripped over a shoe.
 
"Do you have something that can do that?"
 
"Nope! Or at least, I don't think so. I don't know about those things. Maybe I should call nee-san and see what she has to say?"
 
"I don't really have the best relationship with, uh, nee-san." Vanille sighed. "I wanted it to be a surprise, but maybe I should just see what Teej has to say after all..."
 
Claire gasped as she bounced out of the closet. "Call him! Call him, call him, call him! I need a dress, too! We can all go clothes shopping together!"
 
So Vanille took out the Holo Caster she'd been keeping concealed under her shirt since the Xtransceiver had been rendered obsolete. Capable of transmitting holograms between two parties, it was the best technology to come out of Kalos since the Ability Capsule, and almost enough to redeem Lysander of his colossal faggotry. Almost. Unbeknownst to Viol, she'd given one to Teej the other day. They hadn't had enough time alone to make sure he knew how to use it, but she didn't think it was too hard to figure out how to accept a call.
 
She'd just finished dialing when she hesitated, though. She looked to Claire sheepishly. "I-is my hair alright? I don't look weird, do I?"
 
"Just as weird as normal!" Claire quipped.
 
"W-wait, I usually look weird?!"
 
"Just call him already!"
 
Vanille's face set with dejection, but before long she muttered, "fine," under her breath and sent the call through. Her fingers tapped against her thigh nervously to the sound of the Holo Caster's chiming, and she counted the rings with mounting anxiety.
 
One.
 
This was the first time she'd called him. She was so nervous.
 
Two.
 
She didn't really look weird, did she? Maybe she should hang up after all and call later.
 
Three.
 
What if Teej couldn't figure out how to answer? Or what if he didn't hear it? Or was busy?
 
What if he didn't want to talk to her?
 
What if--
 
Vanille jumped as a flat tone emanated from the device, and she couldn't hold back a quick, joyous laugh. The call went through!
 
The hologram that blinked into place in front of her wasn't quite as she expected, though. A bloody mound of bodies that looked something like a pile of Throh and Sawk without the karategi met her eyes, and Claire let out a short scream, quickly looking away.
 
"Wr-wrong number!" she said, but Vanille knew better.
 
"Uhh... Teej? You there?"
 
"Yeah."
 
"Is this a bad time?" Vanille asked.
 
"No, I was just finishing some stuff up, actually. How do you work this thing? You're not showing up at all."
 
Vanille tried to stifle a giggle and was unsuccessful. "Try turning it around."
 
"But then the camera won't be pointed at me."
 
"You mean that big round thing?"
 
"Yeah."
 
"That's not the camera, that's the projector."
 
"Huh?"
 
Vanille stayed silent as the muffled sound of jostling came through the speakers and the image of dead bodies flickered away to be replaced with a 3D replica of her favorite person in the world.
 
"Oh, you're right, it's working," he said, blinking surprise, and his eyes were just so beautiful and...
 
Vanille's hand flew up to try and smooth out her hair. She didn't really look weird, did she?
 
"Anyway, what's up? Nothing's the matter... Right?"
 
"N-no! Everything's fine, it's just, uh. Claire and I--" She looked over to Claire who was still huddled up and hiding her eyes. "Claire, you can look now. Anyway, Claire and I were trying to figure out what we were going to wear for the ball, and... S-sorry, you probably think things like this are really boring, but I just thought that maybe you could help us... or something?"
 
His smile was apologetic. "I don't know a whole lot about dresses. Maybe if it was armor I'd be more help, but--"
 
"Th-that's just it. I want to go as a special attacker--I mean a magician girl. Wait, no, a mage. You know, so that we can fight together. I-I was thinking me and you could be physical and special sweepers, and Viol could be a healer. Or a tank. Or whatever."
 
"You want to go to the ball dressed in armor?"
 
Now that she heard it out loud, she realized it sounded a bit tacky and her heart sank. "I-I don't know. It was just, you know, an idea." Her cheeks burned and she could tell her voice was getting quieter, but she couldn't will it louder for the life of her. "I don't have to. I just thought it might be, you know..." She was practically whispering by then. "F-fun."
 
"What does Viol think?"
 
The response was automatic and put more oomph in her voice. "Who cares what Viol thinks?"
 
"He's not there?"
 
"It's just me and Claire."
 
"Where is she? I can't see her."
 
"Um." Vanille looked over to Claire and motioned her over. She hesitated before scampering to Vanille's side, her eyes barely leaving the hologram Teej.
 
"Is this like with Hatsune Miku?" she asked, voice awed.
 
"Like what?"
 
"You know, Miku. World-famous idol?" The only response Claire received was Vanille's blank stare, so she shook her head and said, "Jeez, you really don't know about anything except Pokegirls, do you?"
 
"Th-that's not true, I know about lots of things!" Vanille wrapped her free arm around herself defensively. "Just ask me anything about cloaca! I bet you can't stump me!"
 
She blinked. "What's a clowca?"
 
"You don't know? It's that organ that monotremes and marsupials use to--"
 
"Hey, you know what?" Teej asked, speedy as a Ninjask. "Armor sounds like a great idea."
 
It was a successful diversion. The sound of his voice sent the blood rushing back to Vanille's cheeks. "R-really? I mean, I'm glad! I-I mean, um, are you free to hang out?"
 
"Yeah. Where are you? I'll come right over."
 
The sensation was fluttery and Vanille felt light with it. "Clair's room."
 
"I'll be there in a few," he said.
 
---
 
Teej was skeptical. The bird was fairly large, a good four feet, and had a mean, sturdy look in his eyes, but... "Can he really support three people?"
 
"If a newborn Doduo can fly without wings, I think my lv 100 6IV EV-trained Talonflame isn't going to have any difficulty carrying a few people," Vanille said with a shrug. "And besides, he thinks he can do it, don't you?"
 
Red spots along the Talonflame's plume blazed and shot sparks as he stretched his wings, crying out in shrill affirmation. Teej did his best not to cringe at the feeling of the heat on his face.
 
"Are you sure it's safe to ride with those, uh..." What should he call them, furnace spots? "We won't get burned, will we?"
 
"Don't worry, there's only a 30% chance," Vanille said, a smirk in her voice. "Just kidding. He knows how to control himself."
 
"I don't see why we can't just take my skyship if we need to fly," he sighed, shaking his head.
 
"Do you know the way to Lumiose?"
 
"It can't be that hard to find."
 
"Look, this way's a lot faster, okay? You're just going to have to believe me." She stroked the Talonflame's neck idly and he nuzzled into her touches.
 
Teej was right in the middle of thinking how nice it must have been to be a Pokemon when Vanille asked, "So, are we ready to go?"
 
"Ready!" Claire said, rushing to the Talonflame and grabbing fistfuls of feathers. "Help me climb on!"
 
The Talonflame clicked his beak irritably at her, but Vanille was there in a flash, carefully untangling Claire's fingers from the plume and smoothing it out. "We don't, uh, climb on. It's more like we jump."
 
"I can't jump that high!"
 
"You can, trust me. Uh, it's hard to explain." She nodded to the Talonflame and backed Claire away enough that it could spread its wings and take off. "It'll come flying at us and we'll all need to jump on it."
 
"We need to wha--" Teej cut himself off as he watched the red and grey bird soar through the air. What had at first seemed like a trick of the light revealed itself to be no such thing as the Talonflame's body expanded and darkened to a navy blue. Its legs had disappeared entirely by the time it swerved around to descend on the three of them, and Vanille reached out to pull them all together.
 
"Ready, and..."
 
The bird was coming up behind them at breakneck speed. Teej twisted his head around to try and see it, but Vanille kept her eyes straight forward, her grip tightening as the sound of wind parting to powerful wings swiftly intensified.
 
"Jump!"
 
Teej did not hesitate. He jumped as far upward as his legs would allow, eyelids clenching tight as he waited for the impact his mind just couldn't convince his body wasn't going to happen. He flinched as something knocked against his feet, but a soft landing startled his eyes back open, and he found himself seated with each leg on either side of the bird, Vanille in front of him, and Clair giggling at the head. They continued accelerating rapidly, and just as Teej leaned forward to wrap his arms around Vanille, the surroundings went utterly dark. It was instant and total like a blink, and then the light returned all at once to reveal a vast urban sprawl.
 
He was given the opportunity to finally wrap his arms around her as they began plummeting downward to the cement, hardly pausing to decelerate as Vanille shouted, "We're going to have to jump again!"
 
"What?!" Jumping off a speeding bird was just about the last thing that Teej wanted to do, but Vanille ignored him in favor of hooking an arm around Claire.
 
And just as he was thinking she couldn't possibly be serious, she took in a long breath. "Now!"
 
Teej rolled for courage but almost hoped to fail the check. When he jumped, he wasn't entirely sure if it was the result of good or bad luck, but he clung to the hope that Vanille knew what she was doing. The Pallet twins were nothing if not good with Pokemon, even if they weren't so good competitively. He'd been in more dangerous situations than this before anyway, so there was really nothing to--
 
His feet touched the ground. He didn't stumble, didn't have to try and steady himself after the rapid change in inertia, just lighted on the ground. It was a gentle a landing as if he'd never ridden on a speeding, shapeshifting teleport-bird, and were he anyone else it might have taken him longer to get over it.
 
But because these sorts of things were common practice, he just exhaled deeply and shrugged it off. Claire was still staring at the ground as Vanille raised an arm to recall her Talonflame, and it returned to her Pokeball in a flash of red.
 
"That's how you usually get around?" he asked.
 
Vanille nodded. "If I've been there anyway."
 
"I wasn't expecting the teleportation." Or the shapeshifting, for that matter, but one thing at a time.
 
"Huh? That was Fly, not Teleport," she said, brow cocking with question.
 
"I know, but--"
 
"That was FUN!" Claire shouted suddenly, jumping and looking up with glimmering eyes. "Let's do it again! I wanna go longer next time! Hey, can we go to Floaroma? I hear it's sooooo pretty you could die!"
 
Vanille's smile was like an early summer day, in which the weather was warming and the rain had stopped, but the flowers were still in full bloom. "Floaroma's all the way back in Sinnoh," she said. "It's a little too far for Talonflame. We'll fly back when we're done shopping, though."
 
"Okaaay..." Although Claire drew out the word as if she were disappointed, her expression was anything but. "So which way to Boutique Couture? Do they really have the cutest clothes in all of Kalos?"
 
"Well, the boutique in Laverre is also pretty good, but..." She trailed off as she noticed Teej staring at her, looking away and reaching up to smooth out her hair. It was astounding how it stayed completely unjostled even after their flight. "I-it's a good start, anyway."
 
Her averted gaze cued Teej's own. He swallowed and reminded himself that, no matter how good she'd felt in his arms, she was still a good deal younger than him, and he had to maintain his calm.
 
"Lead the way," he said, to which she nodded.
 
"Y-yeah. This way."
 
Vanille turned to motion behind her, and the three of them proceeded to walk towards what appeared to be a life-sized replica of the Eiffel Tower, Claire chattering on about the sights all the while. As they approached the edifice, he realized that it was slightly off, though; not just the rounded path encircling it or the way the city seemed to grow out from it, but the center had been filled in, and it was much more a building than just a lattice. Hanging above the entrance was a yellow emblem that seemed to combine a bolt of electricity with a Pokeball, and the path through the park sprouting from each of the tower's four legs was marked with totems that read:
 
Lumiose City Pokemon Gym
Gym Leader: Clemont
The inventor lighting up the world.
 
He guessed it was a suitable enough lair for a boss, and wondered if this Clemont had been the final one, or at least the final one before heading to the game-ending bosses. What had those been called? The final four or something? That sounded wrong, and he couldn't remember if the number was actually supposed to be four or five. He'd have to make a note to ask Vanille about it later. And speaking of which...
 
"Where is Viol, anyway?"
 
Vanille stood up straighter. "I don't know. Grinding the league for money or something. Who cares?"
 
"Presumably him."
 
"What he doesn't know can't hurt him," she said, slowing her pace to walk beside him. "Besides, I like it better when it's just the two of us, don't you?" She linked her arms with him and batted her eyelashes shyly and dear lord have mercy.
 
Luckily, Claire piped up before he had to respond. "The three of us, you mean?" she asked
 
Vanille didn't respond, and the ensuing silence was chokingly uncomfortable. Teej looked around to try and find something to comment on without being too obvious about trying to change the subject, but everything sounded too artificial, even in his head, and he was grateful when they finally turned off the roundabout and onto a cobblestone street.
 
"It's just a little bit further," Vanille said, pressing against his arm as she pointed to a black entrance. "Right in there."
 
Claire cheered and revved to run straight in, but Vanille called, "W-wait! They won't let you in without me."
 
The girl looked back with a frown on her face. "Why?"
 
"They're pretty, uh, particular about their customers. They wouldn't even let me in until I'd beaten the league."
 
Claire groaned. "Then hurry!"
 
Vanille offered Teej a helpless glance before pulling him along towards the black shop, catching up with Claire only once they'd reached the entrance.
 
Walking through was another interesting experience. From the outside, Lumiose had appeared more homey and classical, despite the grand scale of the city, whereas the inside of the boutique was chic and distinctly modern. The tones were earthy, but spotlights shown bright from the ceiling, and everything from the clothes on display to the white couch resting inconspicuously against the far wall cut an impeccably sharp image.
 
A suited blonde woman stepped forward to approach them, looking first to Claire and asking, "How may I help you?" She took a breath as something flashed before her eyes, reminiscent of a check but also a bit off, and opened her mouth to speak again before Vanille cut her off.
 
"It's okay. They're with me."
 
The woman looked up to Vanille and again went through the process of the not-quite-check. By the time she had finished, the apology had drained from her face, replaced by what might have been relief. "Of course. It's wonderful to see you again, Mademoiselle Vanille. If there's anything I can assist you with, please don't hesitate--"
 
And a familiar voice sounded then as a set of yellow curtains opened in the corner of the room. "Hey, these shoes are a little small. Don't they come in any bigger sizes?"
 
It was one of those moments where your eyes aren't sure where to focus so they just kind of zone out. A second seemed to last a lifetime as he stared at the boy in the red plaid skirt and underbust, the white OTK socks with the single black stripe placed just right to draw his eyes to a pair of exposed thighs, the white felt hat topping a tangle of mousy hair. It was funny, Teej thought, this kid looked just like Viol. It was uncanny. Even down to the voice, and the way his eyes widened at the sight of the three of them, blood draining from his face.
 
The boy's mouth flapped pointlessly for a moment, unable to make a sound, until he finally found his voice with a roar. "I-I just heard that the ball had a cross-dressing theme! That's all!"
 
How funny, that sounded exactly like what Viol would say if he--
 
Oh.
 
The focus returned to Teej's eyes.
 
Oh, it was Viol.
 
Viol's eyes landed on Teej, and he realized he needed to stop staring. He had to look somewhere else.
 
But that damn black stripe drew his eyes and he was staring at Viol's thighs now. And had he been shaving them or--
 
Vanille was screaming, but Teej neither flinched nor looked at her, even as he felt the circulation to his arm start to cut off. "Viol, what are you doing, you fucking autist?! Go put your own clothes back on, now!"
 
"That's no way to speak in front of Claire..." Teej murmured.
 
"Why?" the girl in question asked. "I think he looks cute like that!"
 
"Don't tell me what to do, Vanille! I-I was going to take them off anyway! Because I HATE faggy stuff like this!" Viol glared at his sister, but inevitably turned back to Teej, and it was enough that Teej was able to break from those thighs and look back Viol's face, no longer pale with shock and now a deep shade of red. "And tell him to stop staring at me! P-pervert!"
 
"I'm not staring," Teej said, but it was a lie and his eyes didn't leave Viol until a yellow curtain shutting made seeing him impossible.
 
He was only aware of the heat that had risen to his own cheeks when he blinked a few times and turned to Vanille, whose casual hold of his arm had turned into a vicegrip, and he rolled for a relaxed chuckle... 9d20. It came out forced. "I'm planning on using this arm later, you know."
 
Vanille jumped and looked up at him, watery-eyed and shit he'd messed up somehow, hadn't he?
 
"S-sorry," she said, loosening her arms and then hesitantly letting go of him. He wasn't going to lie and say he didn't appreciate the immediate warm feeling of fresh blood filling the asphyxiated blood cells, but the loss of contact felt like just that. A loss.
 
"You didn't have to let go," he said, feeling a tell-tale sqlching in his pockets. It was spreading like a plague. Teej did his best to ignore the spaghetti impeding him. "Just, uh, not quite so tight."
 
It wasn't the smoothest, but evidently enough so that a smile broke through, a ray of sunshine between a pair of emerald clouds. She sniffed and turned away, but he could tell from the curve of her cheek that the smile hadn't faded, and her arm linked once again with his.
 
"C-come on," she said. "Let's get out of here."
 
"Shouldn't we wait for, uh." Don't you dare think about what you just saw. Don't you dare make this anymore awkward than it already is. "F-for your brother?"
 
"N-no! I mean, he'll probably be a while, and the Laverre boutique probably has better clothes for Claire anyway, and he doesn't really like shopping anyway so we'd be doing him a favor, since you know how he's always going on about chaperoning and everything and he'd feel obligated to come too, even though he wouldn't want to, and he's already so embarrassed. W-we should just go. For his sake. Please?"
 
Teej wanted to believe it a convincing argument, but no matter how he tried to rationalize it abandoning Viol in a changing room didn't seem right. At the same time, though, and Vanille's voice was tinged with desperation that he just didn't know how to say no to.
 
Claire was, once again, his saving grace.
 
"But I wanted to look around here first!" she said. "And it's been so long since I saw Viol-nii-chan. Can't we all just play together? It'll be fun, I promise!"
 
"I think it'd be best if we gave Viol some space for now and came back later," Vanille said, but no one could say no to Clair.
 
She turned back and gave them most potently dejected look Teej had ever witnessed. Shoulders limp and eyes wide, voice weak and with just the right hint of whine to imply she was right at the edge. All she had to say was, "B-but... I wanted to."
 
It was a crippling blow, a blade stabbing right in the middle of the heart with a nice, hefty twist. Teej was bulled over instantly, and even Vanille's defenses crumbled in its wake.
 
"It's okay!" she said. "We'll come back, we'll just..."
 
Claire's lip trembled. Teej wasn't sure if she'd whimpered or if he'd just imagined it.
 
Whichever the case, it was the finishing blow, and Vanille sighed loudly. "Fine, I'm sorry, we can stay here. We can stay, okay, so don't be sad anymore! J-just, you know. Hurry."
 
The expression wiped from Claire's face as if it had never been there in the first place. Teej's irritation over having his heart so easily manipulated was vastly outweighed by his relief that they weren't going to have to deal with a crying Claire, genuine tears or crocodile.
 
"Thank you, Vanille-nee-chan! It'll be fun, you'll see!"
 
And with that, she was off looking at everything the store had to offer. Which wasn't a while lot, at it would seem the majority of the shoes and accessories weren't actually for sale but were decorative. When Viol emerged from the changing room, once again in his white pants and sleeveless red vest, he seemed no less flustered than before, arms folded tightly in front of himself. He refused to make eye contact even as he marched past the group, and Claire clung to the hem of his shirt.
 
"Where're you going?"
 
"Outside," he said.
 
Claire thought about this for a moment. "We're going to go to more boutiques after this! You wanna come, right?"
 
It only sounded like a question.
 
"S-sure. I mean, yeah. I'm the chaperon, so I. Yeah." He bit the corner of his mouth. "I'm just gonna wait outside."
 
Evidently that was permissible. Claire allowed him to leave with a deceptively sweet look on her face, and as she skipped by, she said in a sing-song voice, "I'm sure Viol-nii-chan will find the dress he's looking for at the next boutique!"