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"What's taking you so long, dear?" Nyota leaned against the wall next to the fitting room in the almost empty clothing store, listening to Christine's unhappy muttering. "You want me to get you a different size?"
"No, no. This one's fine."
"But?"
Christine sighed deeply and Nyota suspected that she was currently inspecting herself in the mirrors inside the cubicle. She had been in there for almost ten minutes trying on a single piece of clothing and Nyota slowly but surely became impatient.
"I'm not sure what to think of this. Maybe I should try a dress instead."
"You want to go swimming wearing a dress?", Nyota huffed amusedly and took a step towards the curtain. "Can I come in?"
After a few seconds of hesitation Christine murmured a "Come in" and Nyota peeked through the curtain, meeting her wife's eyes through the mirror placed right in front of her. To be fair, she didn't look happy at all.
She had her arms crossed, trying to hide the part of her belly that wasn't covered by the high-waisted bikini bottom and kept an eye on Nyota who had a long close look at her. The cherry red bikini was as revealing as one would expect a bikini to be but she didn't see what problem Christine could have with it.
"You look wonderful," Nyota uttered her thoughts aloud and stepped into the fitting room, pulling the curtain closed behind her.
"Don't you think I'm too old to wear a bikini?", Christine asked, fiddling with the seam of the bottom.
"You're hardly 60, of course not."
Nyota furrowed her brows and shook her head as she reached for Christine's arms to unfold them. More or less voluntarily she followed her silent request and clenched her teeth when she saw her exposed body in the mirror. Her form was far from what she had looked like years ago. The infamous domestic bliss had caused her to gain weight and even though Nyota didn't seem to bother — she had gained weight herself but was much more confident about it — she couldn't imagine going out in public only wearing this breath of nothing.
"See?"
"All I see is excess skin and wrinkles," she answered bitterly and frowned when she heard Nyota's ineptly cheerful laugh. Warm hands closed around hers and she could feel soft lips brushing over her shoulder. A look down to their feet confirmed that Nyota was standing on her tiptoes.
"And I see my wife who looks as beautiful as ever."
"So, do you like this one, or..?", Nyota asked softly after a few seconds of mutual silence and placed her chin on Christine's shoulder, wrapping her arms around her while still holding on to her hands. Sighing, Christine leaned her head against Nyota's black curls and looked at their reflection.
"I think I'm too old for it. ..Do you?"
"Well, it compliments your boobs quite nicely," she chuckled and bit her lip when Christine gave her a stern look through the mirror. "Hey, we're married, I'm allowed to say that."
Christine tried to uphold her serious expression but Nyota's bright smile turned out to be more contagious than expected.
"That's not what I asked," she said smiling, averting her gaze from her wife back to the item in question. "Are you sure I could walk around in public like this?"
"Why not?"
"I could get weird looks."
"The only weird looks you'll get will be from women who wish to look as hot as you."
"'Hot'? You think that's the right word for this wrinkly mess?", Christine asked skeptically and let go of Nyota's hand to gesture towards her body.
"I do," she smiled and placed another gentle kiss on her wife's exposed shoulder. "And if it's of any comfort: I don't look any better. Have you seen my cellulitis?"
"That's not—"
"..We could try to scare the other beach goers away with our old wizened bodies, what do you think?"
Christine clicked her tongue but in the end couldn't suppress a cheeky smile.
"Stop being silly."
"You're the one being silly. You like it, you wear it. Stop worrying about others."
"..I guess you're right." Letting out a defeated sigh, Christine nodded and let her eyes wander one last time. She was still not entirely convinced but she felt much more content with herself than before. Even if she couldn't feel perfectly comfortable around strangers dressed like this, she could always feel safe around Nyota and what else did she need really?
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