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One of Tsukasa’s hobbies since she learned to sew was to create costumes. She enjoyed learning from her mother as a child and ignored the claims of it being “too girly of a hobby for a boy” from certain people around her. Making clothes was a hobby for anyone, no matter what they identify as.
She was only in elementary school yet kids were always so judgemental, for what she was interested in, for her loud voice, for her hair that she liked growing out. She didn’t fit in with other boys her age.
The only thing that mattered was that her family allowed her to continue, her parents even buying her fabrics they thought she’d have fun with.
If she really thinks back on it she thinks it must be from how she used to combine different clothes, any she could find really, so she could fully immerse her sister in the world she created with her shows.
It went from kings and monsters to queens and fairies. Tsukasa could learn and act any role she was given, but it seemed that when she was first starting out, she realized what roles she was drawn to.
Part of her dream was to take on any role that would lead to Saki’s smile, the smile she cherished the most in the world.
When her mother made her first dress after she had told her she wanted to act as a princess that was secretly a knight she was overjoyed. She had watched her mother make most of it but she had never imagined it was for her since at the time she still had no idea why she was drawn to such things.
Even though she was her son at the time, his mom had seen how happy it made her.
“Ah Tsu-chan you’re so cute! Stop twirling around for a moment so Mom can take a photo! ”.
That’s why she had the desire to learn how to do the same.
She wanted to make lots of costumes for her shows and make pretty clothes that her sister always pointed out in magazines, perhaps this was another way to make her smile!
And it did, even though she had to get help from her mom on the days she was home early even if the stitching was absolutely terrible and her colors were uncoordinated. Thankfully she had improved after her first attempts at smaller items, she found herself enjoying going over mistakes with interesting patches even if she pricked her fingers a lot in the process.
The first proper time it was only a shirt, a shirt that Saki instantly loved.
“Onii-chan it’s amazing! I am going to go ask the nurses if I can change right now!!! ”.
In late middle school, while she was making a dress tailored to her style she realized that maybe there was a bit more to her than being a feminine boy “Oh my gosh?! ”. She had subconsciously thought of it since she was young but it took her that long to recognize it.
She nervously came out the next week to her family and the following month they moved to a new area because the family wanted to be closer to Saki meaning she could start fresh as someone she was more comfortable with.
Now that she was in her third year of high school she could confidently say she was more of herself, and she got a lot more materials, techniques, and equipment to make costumes and outfits.
Some of the costumes she recalls fondly: the octopus outfit she made for Rui during one of their shows as ambassadors, the winter outfit Nene used during their first Christmas show that stood out amongst the snow, and even the silly squirrel costume from their recreation of Torpe the pianist.
Too bad she couldn’t channel the inspiration she felt while making those pieces right now, even if she was making anything for a show. She had felt that she wanted some new clothes and wanted to test out new combos but nothing was sitting right.
Currently, she was working on a longer shirt in an almost coral pink, accompanied by a black belt around the middle and flared-out fabric at the ends of the sleeves. It wasn’t made poorly, nor was it inherently wrong, but she felt like it wasn’t for her. Maybe Saki would like it.
The measuring tape is in her hands but holds no weight. It was frustrating.
What did she want right now? She felt like she wanted a new dress but she wasn’t making a dress, so all she can ask herself is what was she doing. She wanted to look pretty, recently she felt like she hadn’t been, as if the way she presented herself was wrong.
It was infuriating.
Unfortunately, her mind drifts off to unwanted places, if she was who she believed she was why was she struggling? She knows that there is not a singular type of girl but she liked to fit her own into how she defines herself as one.
Was she really a girl or did she really like playing dress up?
She wasn’t not confident in the way she looked but maybe she was afraid of how she was reflected in the eyes of others, despite rarely caring about such a thing in the first place.
“How did my mind get here… the sooner I finish maybe the better I’ll feel… ”.
“Tsukasa-chan?” she hears a voice call out to her, breaking her train of thought “Ah, that’s right I am still on call with Rui… ”.
“It’s nothing Rui” she replies, trying to take off any suspicion.
Rui seems to catch on that she is trying to deflect because she says “Fufu I’ve known you for what feels like eons and want to know you the best so I can definitely say it’s not nothing”.
She sees Rui lean her cheek on her hand “Also your eyebrows are furrowing and your face is scrunching up, plus you haven’t moved your hands for some time now”.
At the mention of her hands, she lets them drop and hides them behind her back almost sheepishly. Oh yeah, they are on Facetime, how could she forget?
“Tsu-kasa-chan,” she asks in a sing-song voice, “won’t you tell me what’s wrong?”.
She guiltily turns her head to the side to avoid the camera “It’s nothing major, I can figure it out on my own! You just continue working on your mini robots and I’ll–”.
“Tsukasa-chan” a stern voice cuts her off, forcing Tsukasa to turn her gaze back to the camera only to be met with gentle eyes “Tell me?”.
She trusted her fully but she didn’t really know the extent of her troubles: was this a dysphoric moment or was she really just in a creative slump, or could it be both?
So she explains how she was struggling to come up with an idea for herself, for a star, she explains the few ideas she did have yet how they were nothing concrete. She omits a few details as to why but Rui doesn’t press further.
Rui trusts her too.
“It’s really nothing big since it isn’t for a show but it’s still bugging me,” she says before finally putting the measuring tape down “And it’s the one time we have no other responsibilities to worry about too…”.
Rui thinks for a moment “We could go shopping? That way you could get some new inspiration from other designs, almost like making an interest board in real life, or I could buy you any clothes that catch your eyes”.
That actually sounds perfect, and surprisingly not crazy like the ideas Rui usually suggests.
She lights up “That’s a tremendous idea Rui, as expected of my girlfriend! We should start planning right away–” then pauses “...Wait what do you mean you’d buy?”.
Rui smiles “Can’t I treat my wonderful girlfriend?”.
She blushes and grumbles back “But it’s not a special occasion or anything… if I find anything I can pay for myself”.
She sees her look up from what she was tinkering with “There is no need for anything monumental to be happening. Regardless I suggested it, so consider it a date too. Let me treat you~”.
Tsukasa finds herself growing more flustered “Hey!”.
In response, Rui laughs “Awe is Tsukasa-chan embarrassed?~”.
“RUI!”.
Maybe the trip will help take her mind off things.
-----------------------------------------
When the bell rang for the last time for day Rui had dragged Tsukasa out of their class excitedly as all Tsukasa could do was yell at her to wait a moment. He had seen Shiraishi look at them concerned as they made it past the front gate.
As they take the train to get to the mall Tsukasa reflects on the last time she went to buy a dress. It was her first year of high school and Saki had been well enough to come home for the week holiday, it was a miracle that their family didn’t dare waste it.
While the two were hanging out in Tsukasa’s room, Saki went to her closet and exclaimed “Eh Onee-chan? You don’t have any dresses? ”.
Tsukasa had thought for a moment “Well I haven’t had time to make any, skirts are easier for me to make and– ”.
The next moment Tsukasa found herself in a very chic store, having been dragged there by her sister. What appeared to be thousands upon thousands of dresses were everywhere and the two girls had no idea where to start.
Should they focus on color first? Or should they focus on type first?
An attendant had come up to them and asked if they needed help but before Saki could answer Tsukasa had told the lady that they were looking at dresses for Saki and that they’d be fine. When she had walked away Saki had pouted “ But we aren’t looking for me we are looking for you! ”.
Tsukasa had shamefully looked to the side, showing what she deemed an uncool side to her sister, before admitting that she knew her body type didn’t fit that of a girl in the eyes of other people and that she didn’t want the attendant to ask them to leave if she had found out they were looking for Tsukasa.
Needless to say when they got home with the dresses they bought for ‘Saki’ her sister had made her try on all the different clothes, complimented her endlessly and told her that she was proud her big sister was such a fashionista.
Because even though they were bought under a guise Tsukasa was the one they had picked them all out, the ones she liked, except for the floral one Saki chose.
When Saki unfortunately had to go back to the hospital Tsukasa had begun working on a dress for her sister, the next month when she visited she showed up in the dress Saki picked with a new sewed dress for her sister.
Saki was overjoyed.
She snaps out of her memories when she realizes that they are in the mall now, recognizing the fish vest she owned in one of the store’s displays. “Thinking back on it, Rui went clothes shopping with me that time too… ” she thinks as she and Rui go up the escalator.
Rui guides her to a store she hadn’t seen before “A lot of this floor was renovated recently which happens to include this specific dress shop, well I don’t think it’s exclusively that but it must be the main selling point”.
Tsukasa has to admit the frills on the dress in the display intrigue her “Well then let’s step on inside! It’s useless just to stand out here”. This time it is Tsukasa leading Rui although they don’t get very far since Tsukasa’s attention flies almost everywhere.
The store looked like it mainly had silk clothing but she saw extra clothing items made out of other materials. It seemed that the store might specialize in creating or selling combos of clothes, the concept interested her.
Rui has a less detailed look around before going straight to one of the presumable first items she saw. It looked less like a dress and more a night gown. Rui then proceeds to spin her around and press the dress to her back “Ah looks like you’re too small for this size”.
Rui later explained that it was a quick and easy way to observe everything and so people could look exactly for the size before trying it on.
She makes it point to follow back to where Rui came from before settling on the display, it had a discount but Tsukasa swore she’d only buy things she didn’t even need if Rui was constantly beating her to the punch.
She gets side-tracked however “Ooh Rui Look! They have accessories for your hair! Like bows!”.
Trial and error is what happens. Rui trying to properly think of a style to fit her while Tsukasa was overthinking to the moon and back. At the rate they were going she was sure they’d leave empty hand and then she’d be back at square one only this time there would be nothing to distract her.
“Aha, what do you think about this combination?” Rui confidently pulls out a hanger that has both a dress and a cardigan. The cardigan was open in the front and long sleeves with the dress was, as she tries to recall, some sort of cami dress. The whole outfit was cast in shades of light blue and the cardigan had a few white string bows.
She immediately turns around as Rui presses the dress to her back, she gleefully says “It’s a match Tsukasa-chan! Would you like to try it on or should we keep searching?”.
Now that she holds the outfit it appears to be very light, almost airy. Her moment of observation is short-lived since Rui begins dragging her to the back.
She can’t help but glance around the empty store as Rui pushes her to the changing room hall “Uh Rui is this the right changing room–”
“It’s gender-neutral!” Rui shouts back making Tsukasa sigh before pulling the curtain to hide the room.
She first changes into the dress before slipping her arms through the long sleeves, the cardigan feeling comfortably oversized, almost like Rui’s own. Additionally it covered her shoulders, something the dress didn't do on it's own.
When she is finished changing she can’t help but look in the mirror.
Sometimes she wished people didn’t look so into others' appearance or focused on how their bodies were framed. A better alternative, in her opinion, would be to take notice of someone’s hair first. Usually, a person has full control over that aspect and so many people have unique colors and combinations.
“Something I can control huh” she thinks before taking a look again. She clips her hair bow back, now she feels more confident in stepping out.
She dramatically pulls back the curtain “Behold Rui your star has returned!”.
Rui’s mouth is agape as Tsukasa gets closer to her, allowing the blonde to notice how red her cheeks are. But Rui quickly regains her composure as a smile appears on her face.
“I, a mere human, must have ascended to be able to be graced by the magnificent sight of the Tenma Tsukasa in all her glory” she sighs dreamily.
Tsukasa blushes this time before saying “Surely you are exaggerating Rui…”
“You like it though” Rui teases and Tsukasa can’t deny it.
She really did feel like a pretty girl right now, all negative thoughts from yesterday being dispelled in almost an instant.
“HA HA OF COURSE I DO!!!” she poses triumphantly as Rui claps her hands, watching her twirl. After a few more poses she stops and pats down the dress “Rui I think this is the one! Not only is it devilishly stylish but I can also think of new designs using the dress as a base!”.
Rui smiles “Fufu then I’d say the mission here was accomplished”. Tsukasa has no idea what she means by that.
Rui has to swat Tsukasa’s hand away as she tries to pay but Rui has instead for a reason. When Tsukasa had asked her if she could pay her back all Rui did was simply smile and ask her to go and change into the dress.
“So you want me to wear what I just bought?” she asks and Rui nods.
And that’s how Tsukasa ended up wearing her new clothes, feeling a little more like herself than when she had first arrived at the mall.
But she couldn’t be the only one walking around in casual wear.
“Now!” Tsukasa points at Rui, all dressed up, “It’s time for you to get one too!”. But she stops for a moment “Wait do you like dresses? I’ve never seen you in one before actually…:.
“I don’t own any, just some skirts, but who am I to deny a chance to get my clothes picked out by my world future star?” she says, prompting Tsukasa to giggle and begin to guide her to a store she knows Rui will love.
However when they arrive at the store they are greeted by their other troupe members standing at the window, well Emu looked as if his face was particularly smooshed against the glass, thankfully it wasn’t. She wondered if the explosion of colors on the display reflected in the pink-haired boy’s eyes.
Emu had changed out of his uniform into his comfortable hoodie while Nene had stayed in his uniform.
When their reflections come onto the glass Emu turns around and says “Oh Tsukasa-chan! Rui-chan!”. Nene waves at them to greet them as Emu notices her new dress. Excitingly he goes up to her and touches the sleeves “ That’s a really wonderhoy dress you’re wearing! Is it new?”.
The sudden comment nearly caught her off guard, sure it was one thing when Rui said it but to have it backed up by other people she held dear to her say so it made her feel happier.
Tsukasa nods “It is!”.
Nene nods too “Mhm, I have to agree with Emu-kun. You look nice Tsukasa-chan” before glancing back at the store “So I can’t help but wonder why on earth you’d want to shop here, it doesn’t suit you”.
Tsukasa laughs, feeling partially ticklish from the way Emu is curiously messing with the sleeve fabric “But it suits Rui and her eccentric style!”.
It is as if a light bulb appears over his head “Ah that makes sense, I suppose it suits Emu-kun too since he was window shopping here before we go to the arcade”.
Rui joins in “Oh? Is there a new addition to the arcade?”.
Emu laughs at that “Wa ha ha there is! And this time I am finally going to beat Nene-kun at his own game ☆”.
They exchange a few more words as a group before they split up, the boys going to their games and the girls going into the store.
The whole time Tsukasa is searching she can’t help but recall the compliments her troupe members gave her, it felt really nice and honestly improved her mood. She supposes the little things really do work wonders.
The two end up finding a longer dress, one with abstract patterns and colors that fit with the sweatshirt Rui likes to wear in her casual outfit. The sleeves flare out and the base color is this light beige color. It’s not heavily detailed but she knows from what she wears Rui has a preference for simple layered stuff.
She can imagine Rui throwing on her cardigan and it would work well together! Too bad today Rui actually wasn’t wearing her cardigan since it was in the wash due to an oil incident in her workshop.
Tsukasa does the same to Rui, checking the size of her dress by her back, before suggesting that she goes to try it on. Instead, the purple-haired girl smiles “I don’t think I need to since you picked it out for me!” and bolts to the checkout.
When Rui pays, despite Tsukasa trying to pay for it herself, she tries to pack it away in her school bag but the blonde stops her “You too! Put on the dress like you told me to do!”.
And Rui does so without hesitation and Tsukasa lets out a gasp when she sees it on Rui again, maybe it was different because she owned it now or maybe Tsukasa just always found her pretty.
It wasn’t uncommon to change clothes after school so they didn’t seem out of place, additionally the mall wasn’t that crowded at this time since a big concert was happening near it so that’s where most people probably went.
It just gives Rui the opportune moment to drag Tsukasa to one of the more brightly lit areas “Does Tsukasa-chan want to take a photo with me?”.
It seemed as if Rui was doing something suspicious but she supposed she’d figure it out sooner rather than later. She stops Rui from pulling out her phone “Only if you let me take it! Your photos are always shaky”.
Rui has to lean down because Tsukasa’s arm can’t reach that long, plus Rui makes it a point to be all up in her personal space, not that she minds, but her voice is a little too close as she whispers “Fufu Tsukasa-chan should get more of her dress in the photo” before tilting the angle a bit “There! That’s better, no?”.
Tsukasa silently agrees before she smiles and takes the photo.
Before she can even drop the pose after clicking the button Rui snatches her phone from her “Hey? Rui?”.
She doesn’t even look at the whole photo, she just zooms in on Tsukasa before turning to the confused girl “Tsukasa-chan is such a pretty girl, right? She’s really stunning in this photo”.
She can feel herself blushing as Rui continues “I think she has a whole lot of style that makes her so unique, she even makes her own clothes to suit her and can pick out from mountains of options in the store”. Tsukasa feels her arm being linked with Rui’s “But it doesn’t matter what you wear or make, you’re still a beautiful girl in the end”.
The last sentence cuts her off “How did you know?”.
“We may not have the same experience with this sort of thing but surely we share some of the same feelings” she smiles and squeezes her arm tighter “It’s okay to have negative thoughts sometimes, in the end, you don’t let them define who you are”.
In that moment Tsukasa doesn’t resist the urge to hug Rui with all her might, head fitting snugly under her neck with Rui’s arms coming to wrap themselves around her.
All she can whisper at that moment is “Thank you”.
They stay like that for a few beats longer.
Before they leave they rest on one of the benches. Rui had sent the photo to her phone and was looking at it as if Tsukasa wasn’t sitting right next to her, yet she still asked “Tsukasa-chan, can I post this?”.
Tsukasa nods before asking “What will your caption be?”.
Rui looks like she is contemplating her answer “Hmmm I know you don’t like outward proclamations of love in public, so the same could be said online, so I’ll just put your username and spam a bunch of stars and heart emojis”.
Tsukasa sends her a look “Rui, fans of the WxS will see the caption and figure out we are dating”. In response she cockily says “Are you against that? I’d rather they know you’re mine and I am yours~”.
Tsukasa thinks for a second before telling her “Is it wrong to want to keep such a relationship I cherish away from the public view?”. Sure she didn’t mind their friends and family knowing but she was still allowed to feel shy about everyone knowing.
Rui only stares while blushing when she says that and then mumbles out while looking at her phone “… I am so in love with you. I’ll just write that I went shopping with you Tsukasa-chan”,
Unbeknownst to Tsukasa, who leans into her girlfriend contently since the area they are in is deserted, Rui is deep in thought “I respect Tsukasa-chan’s privacy but I really wanted to use that as a way to dispel the rumors about who's dating who in our troupe… if I see one more post about people saying that Emu-kun is perfect for my girlfriend I think I’ll scream. Emu-kun doesn’t hold any desire for romance in the first place! ”.
The first person to like and comment on the post is Saki.
⤷ sakiii_Ln: Waa my Onee-chan is so cute here! With a whole lotta style (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶) ✨
⤷ kami_rui: Fufu she is the cutest in the whole world~ No one else stands a chance~
Rui later got chastized for her responding comment since it got a tag about their ‘potential’ relationship trending.