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“These should be the latest designs from my new line,” you made a motion with your hand, and a moment later, a robotic pink hand slid a rack of clothing through the pink curtains of your friend’s closet. The rack slowed to a stop, showcasing a multitude of different dresses lined up on it. Each one had a design that made it unique, and several hours of labor were put into it to make sure it perfectly encapsulated the concept you had in mind.
“I love it!” Barbie, your friend, excitedly ran up to the rack of clothing, admiring the designs. “You’ve really outdone yourself with this line.”
“It’d do me a great favor if you could wear these the next time you go out. It’d help promote the line,” you explained. You were aware of Barbie’s popularity within the fashion world. It would’ve been difficult not to, considering how everything she wore would be considered a trend the next day. “Of course, you’ll be paid for your assistance,” you added on.
“There’s no need! Just consider it as me doing a favor for a friend,” Barbie replied.
You couldn’t help the amused chuckle you let out, “I had a feeling you would say that.” You knelt, grabbing a small jewelry box from the shelf at the bottom of the clothing rack. Opening the box, you grabbed a pink brooch before closing it and placing it back on the shelf. You held it out to her, intending for her to take it.
“Ooh, it’s perfect! But… I don’t want you to feel like you have to pay me back for every favor.”
“Nonsense. I made the design specifically for you. It’d be a waste not to take it,” you continued, “You can imagine it as if I’m giving you another item to model.”
Barbie took the brooch out of your hands, “It’s so lovely. I’ve already got a matching outfit in mind for it!”
Suddenly, the familiar sight of your robotic metal-made friend extended down from the ceiling. His red ocular scanned the brooch that was held in Barbie’s hand, lighting it with a turquoise hue for a moment. “My superior central processing unit has determined that brooch mathematically goes perfectly with any ensemble.”
“Thank you. I try to be versatile,” you responded.
You weren’t at all surprised by his sudden appearance, having gotten used to Closet being around in your trips to Barbie’s Dreamhouse. In fact, he was kind enough to help push the rack of clothing for you as you walked to Barbie’s closet. You remember once you remarked how kind he’d been during your visits to Ken, and the bewildered expression he had at the information. You supposed he didn’t act that way normally, as Ken was eager to inform you of the many troubles Closet had caused in the past. To which, you found very amusing to listen to.
“Since you’re already here,” Closet spoke, as a wall of shelves in the background spun around to reveal a cafe, a plate of scones sitting on the table, “you should eat something. I baked them fresh this morning.” Another hand extended down from the ceiling and placed one of the scones separately on another plate, which appeared after a flipping mechanism on the table.
Usually, you hated moments that came to you unplanned or felt ‘unproductive’ to you. However, you always found these moments with Closet to be fulfilling in a way, even if most of them took away from hours that could be used working.
So you didn’t hesitate to take a seat down at the in-closet cafe. You could afford to take an unproductive break every once in a while.
Barbie was about to take a seat with you but was pulled away at the sound of a doorbell ringing throughout the dreamhouse. “Ooh! I think that’s Ken. We were planning a date today,” she turned to you, “Will you be okay? I’m sorry I can’t stick around for too long.”
You didn’t blame her for the overlap in schedule. You weren’t planning to stick around for longer than expected, so she must have as well.
“It’s fine. Closet’s keeping me company anyway,” you responded.
“Perfect! I’ll go wear one of your outfits before I head out!”
“Looks like everything’s working together efficiently, then,” you remarked, wanting Barbie not to feel too bad that she wasn’t able to stay around longer.
She walked out of her closet, leaving only Closet and you in the room.
You were the first to speak, “I’ve always wondered. How exactly do you ‘mathematically’ calculate if a design works well?”
“Trillions of terabytes of fashion knowledge is more than enough for me to determine appropriate apparel for each trend.”
“Hm. I’m curious. Have you ever evaluated my designs?”
You recalled once that in an incident where Closet’s evil button was activated, he had approached you asking to become a fashion designer duo, to ‘rule the fashion galaxy together’. You had declined his offer, but ever since then, you had been curious as to what he thought about your designs.
“I have. You have more than enough potential to become the greatest fashion designer ever. Out of the trillions of terabytes of fashion knowledge I carry, your designs outshine all those I’ve seen.”
You went silent for a moment, processing what Closet had said. “...Greatest fashion designer ever. Hm. That title sounds a bit lonely… Maybe we could share it.”
“World fashion domination? Together?” he asked.
“I don’t see why not,” a rare smile spread across your face, and you continued, “Actually, that reminds me.” You stood up from the cafe bar stool, approaching the clothing rack from earlier, and grabbing the jewelry box that lay on the bottom shelf. Carefully, you pulled out a ribbon with an embroidered design. You approached Closet, tying the ribbon around his robotic equivalent of a ‘neck’. “It might not be much, but I thought I’d make something for you too.”
His read ocular continued to stare at you, occasionally shifting, but he didn’t respond.
“You’re staring. Is that a good stare or a bad stare?” you spoke, your face shifting back to your regular poker face.
“My central processing unit doesn’t need a scan to determine the mathematical perfection of this medallion. My circuits might melt.”
The smile returned to your face.
He had an odd way of complimenting you, but you didn’t mind one bit.