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[He's right, and she knows he is. There's no price on anything. Nobody is restricting what they take.

And yet, immediately, she shakes her head, and her tone is matter-of-fact.]

I couldn't do that.

[Only the one. Even that, she thinks, is probably too much, but she's not strong enough to refuse.

... He thinks this one looks nice on her, and she carefully lowers it from her neck and looks down at it adoringly.]

... So this one's plenty! It has to be this one.

[ Her hesitance must stem from something in her past. She limits herself too much. She's afraid of something. There's a part of him that wishes she wasn't. But he doesn't push it. These things cannot be forced. He would know. ]

Alright. Let's look for earrings now.

[ She'd been excited about that, at least. He goes over to the store counter to look for clip-on backings. ]

[Earrings!! She perks right up again, carefully resting the necklace down on the display counter so that she can go snoop on the earrings too.]

Wowwww... they're all so delicate! These are what you mean by the clip-on ones, right?

[She holds a pair of dangly ones up, clearly fascinated by the thought.]

That's so clever!

[ He finds the extra backings and pulls them out. Hm, it shouldn't be too hard to swap them if needed.

But Altria's already found something, and he looks at what she has. Simple, and they match the necklace she's picked out. He nods approvingly. ]

That's a good choice. It'll work with what we have.

You think so?

[YAYYY she picked out something that matches! She's not totally hopeless at this!

Carefully, she clips them onto her ears, and then whips her head around to look for a mirror to peer into.]

... !! I really like them! [You've liked everything, Altria.]

[ He has a feeling she won't want to search for more, so he doesn't bother looking. Instead, he watches her peer into the mirror with excitement, tilting her head this way and that to get a better look at the earrings clipped onto her ears. ]

Do the clips bother you?

[ He knows the clips have to apply a good amount of force to stay on, so they can be irritating to some. ]

They feel a little strange...

[She's never had anything clipped onto her ears, after all. But really, compared to what she's been through--]

But I feel fine! Honestly, I barely feel anything at all, so I think these should be great!

[ He knows she won't want to look more, but— ]

Anything else catch your eye?

[He's right, of course. She looks around the store, a brief glimpse, and then shakes her head quickly. Hasn't she already gotten to have enough of a wonderful day, with wonderful things?]

I think I'm okay. I'm really excited...! Now I have a whole outfit for the gala... [Heheheh.] Maybe I won't stick out after all!

[ He raises an amused eyebrow at her. ]

You plan on going in with no makeup?

[Oh god.

Makeup.]

M-maybe that would be for the better...! I really wouldn't even know where to start with that sort of thing! [And surely he doesn't know? Why would he know?

So maybe they should just leave that alone and settle on this...!]

[ Though one might suspect the red eyeliner on his face to be makeup, they are in fact a part of his natural appearance, because he is a puppet and his appearance was intentional design. So she's right in that he doesn't know anything about makeup. But it doesn't look too hard to learn, really, so he was willing to try if she wanted to try.

He peers at her again, staring especially at her face. Hm... well, she's more than pretty enough to go without makeup. ]

Alright. Guess I can leave the rest to you then.

[ He's done his job. More than done his job, really, now that he thinks about it, and so he tilts his hat over his face, realizing he's been far too enthusiastic about this whole thing. ]

We don't need to be here any longer. Let's go.

[She can feel the way that his stare lingers on her face. She wants to play this off as cool and suave and in control (things she has not been this whole montage), but, well--

She can't. She can feel the way her cheeks heat up the longer he inspects her.

... But in the end, he just agrees, and she breathes out a slow, quiet sigh of relief. Whew.

Maybe someday she could tackle makeup, but today she's already been overwhelmed by so many wonderful things with him--so this seems like plenty.]

Okayyyyy! [Brightly and cheerfully, relaxing as they turn away from the shops.]

--Oh! You've been so busy helping me, I forgot to ask. Does that mean you're already all set for the gala?

[ It's at this question that he pauses for a moment—and then continues on. ]

I wasn't planning on dressing up.

[ This sort of stuff wasn't his thing. He figured he'd just show up, handle food like Kaveh asked, and then leave the moment his duties were over. ]

[...?

She tilts her head, expression curious.]

Really? But you're going through all of this work to help me! And you're cooking, too, right? [She saw it on Ghost's sticky notes!!]

So, um... I thought you were going to be there for a little while.

That's the only reason I'm going. I have no intention of joining the festivities, so what reason do I have to dress for it?

[ There's something odd in her tone of voice, so he stops walking and turns to get a better look at her. ]

...You wanted to see me all dressed up and fancy?

Well, yeah, of course!

[Duh!!]

Isn't it more fun if we get to go together and enjoy it? Besides... I want you to have fun there too!

[ Fun. A party full of people isn't exactly his idea of fun, but—what is? He has fun fighting, but that was it, wasn't it? He begrudgingly put up with many other things, and did more out of curiosity or some compelling motivation, but it wasn't fun for the sake of fun. He always had a goal in mind when he acted.

He's never really done anything just for the fun of it, now that he thinks about it. ]

...I don't like crowds and loud environments.

[ He's not trying to get out of it—he can already tell he'll acquiesce to Altria's desires, but... this is true about him too. He doesn't like crowds, and he's never liked any parties he's attended before. ]

I don't either.

[She admits that much easily, arms linked behind herself quietly as she faces him. Parties, crowds, loud places--they've always been places where she felt like everyone was watching her and judging her.

But...]

You still helped me pick out things so that I can go, though. And... I want to go, even if it's a little scary and daunting to think about. I don't really know what it's going to be like, but I'm sure... I'm sure it would be a lot more fun if you came too.

[She won't push too hard if he really refuses; she gets it, and doesn't want to force her own preferences on him. But... she'll at least be honest with him first.]

[ She wants to go despite her reservations, and him going would only make the experience more enjoyable for her. If only so she could have fun, he'll agree to it. He just has to put up with some rowdy people, that's all. ]

It's just a few people who want to eat food and party. Nothing scary about that.

[ She can just relax. He's certain she'll enjoy it, based on what he knows of her so far. ]

I'll go. Dressed up and all.

[ Now he actually has to get an outfit together, doesn't he? He doesn't really like what he's seen of formal outfits in the mall so far... he might have to make some modifications. ]

[The way he responds, she starts to think he's moving towards that refusal--but then, to her surprise, he instead immediately follows it up by agreeing.

Oh. Oh!! Ohhhh! She brightens immediately like the sun peeking through parting crowds, relief and joy in equal parts in her expression.]

Yay, yay, yaaay! I'm so glad! Do you need to find an outfit? Oh, but I guess you probably don't need my help since you were the one who helped me, ha ha!

[ Her beaming face is far too much, and he averts his eyes for a moment. ]

I can search by myself.

[ Then a teasing smirk graces his face. ]

You'll have to wait until the gala to see, but you can imagine in the meantime.

Ima--

[It hadn't even crossed her mind until he said it. But now he has, and it makes her think about it.

Him, all dressed up and in a suit?

... Wait. No. Imagining it is--

That's embarrassing and he knows it.]

Wh-wh-wh-what are you trying to say?! Don't be ridiculous! I'm not gonna imagine that! Why would I!

[ He's not ignorant of his own beauty, though he rarely opts to use it besides appearing as a friendly face. The smirk widens—she's way too easy. ]

Oh, I thought that's why you wanted me to dress up. Don't you consider me attractive?

[ She's already admitted as much back in the fairy tale scenario, even though she was talking about him in a princess dress at the time. ]

WHAT?! I do not!

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