Around three quarters of an hour later, mostly filled with Dorian fixing his hair, they found themselves on a train heading towards the shopping center so as to make better time. It wasn’t quite noon when they got to the center and Dorian, grabbing Reina’s hand, took the lead.
“Another great reason to come to Sacred Heart,” Dorian explained, walking over the bridge of the huge water feature in the middle of the mall. “Used to come here every now and then, just for a day trip or something. We actually get some of our store supplies from a shop here…or at least the company that owns the space.”
“That explains how you can get your stuff cheap,” Reina poked, walking faster to match his stride. Dorian shrugged with a smirk before they reached the space he was talking about. “Costume Budget…costume and craft supplies?”
“Priding themselves on cheap yet good-quality material since seventeen eighty-six,” Dorian offered. “Come on. We should be able to find everything we need in here.” She followed him into the store when an older gentleman looked at Dorian over the counter. After a moment, he smiled widely.
“As I live and breathe,” he said, adjusting his glasses. “Dorian Croxton….”
“Hey Serge,” Dorian greeted. “How’s business?”
“Business is good,” Serge smiled. “But I have not seen you in her since you were barely taller than this counter.” He looked Dorian up and down. “And now here you are…all grown up, eh?” Dorian shrugged as Serge’s eyes turned to Reina. “And who is this charming young lady with you?”
“She’s a client,” Dorian answered. Reina nudged him in the ribs. “And a friend. She’s looking to get into cosplay and suckered me into helping her get started.” Reina returned Serge’s smile. “I would hope that you’d let her use my family discount? For old time’s sake?”
“A friend of yours is a friend of mine, Dorian.” With a quick thanks, Dorian led the way to the fabrics in the back.
“Do you introduce all the girls to him as a client?” Reina asked as Dorian stood in front of the black fabrics.
“No,” he admitted, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. “Just you….” She clutched her hands over her chest in a mocking gesture as he smirked.
“Oh, Dorian you terrible flirt,” she swooned, mockingly. “You’re going to make me blush….” She took his side as they looked over the fabrics. They stood there for a few minutes in near silence, Reina listening to Dorian mutter to himself a occasionally gesture at different options. “So…what’re you looking for?”
“I imagine Sienna’s clothes are meant to be light and breathable so that she can do all the physical stuff and the acrobatics and whatnot,” he postulated, almost talking to himself more than her. “But we’ve got to find the mix between that and a material that molds itself to your figure since that’s the effect we’re going for….” She watched with an impressed look as he looked closer at one of the fabrics before patting it lightly. “This is the one…probably. Shouldn’t be too expensive even without our little advantage.” He got as much as he believed was needed plus a little more in case he was wrong. “I still have some extra from my own cosplay for the extra details on the fabric, so we won’t have to bother with that. Let’s see what else we can find….”
Reina proved herself to be quite the bloodhound around the shop finding the fake black roses, black lace, and crosses of varying sizes from miniscule to almost unnecessarily large. They had debated back and forth a bit on which sizes would hang off of her belt and which would rest on her shoulder cuffs, deciding on both by letting Dorian actually see how it would look both on Reina and the fabric. Serge waved them out of the shop after they’d paid, Dorian holding the decently weighted bag and returning the wave.
“I’m never going to find a deal like that anywhere, am I?” Reina sighed. “Not for this much fabric, anyway.”
“Probably not,” he conceded, looking around. “Not for quality stuff, especially. Now, what say we get your wig next…?” He offered his arm which Reina took and started towards the back of the mall. “I think you’re going to like this place.” They turned the corner and stopped. “Head Turner Wigs…best place to get wigs for any reason and in practically any color you could ever need.” They walked in together and the woman behind the counter looked over, seeming a little surprised and worried.
“I didn’t think you’d be back so soon, Mister Croxton,” she said, sounding worried. “Was everything satisfactory with the wig you purchased?” There was an obviously nervous air about her, but Reina wasn’t sure if that was normal or if it was because of Dorian.
“I couldn’t have asked for better,” Dorian assured her. “I’m actually here because of her.” He gestured to Reina who had since let go of his arm. “I can assure you we’re here on new business.” The woman breathed a sigh of relief, smiling as Dorian led Reina through the racks and racks of wigs organized into gradients towards the darker shades. “I’m going to let you try to find the best fit.”
“You’re not going to help?”
“Of course, I’ll weigh in on your decision, but it’s not really fun if you don’t get your feet a little wet, right? It’s not like I’m your manager or anything.” He walked along behind her as he pulled up the picture she’d shown him for reference. He was impressed as she held it up against the wigs for a better comparison. “Gonna be completely honest that it took me a few times to even think about doing that….”
“I think I’m figuring more and more about you every day I spend with you,” she smiled, stopping in front of a dark, midnight blue wig. “I’d imagine, if we were dating, it’d be a bit more endearing how much of an absolute tosser you can be.”
“That’s, honestly, probably the most romantic thing anyone’s ever said to me,” Dorian offered. Well…aside from the girl who fancied me from the States who was studying phlebotomy and told I had good veins….” Reina picked up the wig she’d been eyeing before giving him a curious look. “What? It was romantic in context…nothing ever came of it, though….”235Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsWApI68Tce
“You know how I just said that I keep figuring you out?” she began. “Yeah…then you go and say something like that and dash my hopes against the rocks.” She shook her head and left for the counter. “Don’t even know why I bother, honestly…I’ve learned nothing these past few weeks….”
“Because you want to know,” he teased. “You can’t help but try to figure me out…and even though you know you never will, the tease is too strong.” They paid and left, heading off to get a pair of high heeled black boots which took the least amount of time as anything. Dorian still offered to carry at least most of the heavier things, making it as less strenuous on himself as possible. “Just two more stops and then we can head back to my place….”
“We should probably get my corset and underwear next,” she smirked, grabbing a tight hold on his arm. Dorian didn’t even think about the fact she might not have something to wear underneath that would be nice for the cosplay as she pulled him along. “Come on….”
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