A few minutes later, Lucia and I finished picking out a couple of new shirts and hoodies for me to wear and moved on to a different section of the store.

It was far larger than the previous section we were in, and a whole lot more colorful as well.

There were also a bunch of ornate statues strewn across most of the aisles in this area.

In fact, the setup here overall felt a lot more welcoming than whatever was at the entrance.

Which didn’t really make much sense, after all wouldn’t it be smarter to have something like this set up in the front of the store, so that more customers could see it?

Then again, according to Lucia, the owners of this place are a bit eccentric, so something like that might’ve not crossed their minds while they were designing this place.

“Alright, now that we’ve found you some casual clothes, let’s go get you some new fancy clothes.”

Lucia said, while shoving a bunch of clothes inside a basket that she grabbed from a nearby counter.

“Wouldn’t what I currently have work though? I mean ‘fancy’ usually just means that I have to wear a suit and tie, right?”

“Well, yeah but you need some variety, Otto. You can’t just wear the same thing over and over again.” 

“Why not?” 

“Same reason why you don’t eat the same thing or listen to the same type of music everyday. It gets old eventually.” 

Lucia remarked, before taking a couple of ties off of a nearby rack.

“Fair enough.” 

“Alright so, what type of tie do you want?”

“There are different kinds of ties?”

“…This is gonna be a long day, isn’t it?” 

“I mean, if you’re that hung up on it, can’t you just pick out my clothes for me?”

“Yeah, I guess I could, but are you really okay with that?”

Lucia asked with a hint of apprehension in her voice.

“Lucia, I’ve slept in the same bed as you 3-4 times now, of course I’d trust you with something like this.”

“…Did you have to phrase it like that?”

“What? Am I not allowed to voice my affection for you in the same way that you do for me?”

I said in a somewhat mischievous tone.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve challenging me on something like that.”

Lucia replied, before tightly latching onto my chest with both her arms.

…Do you always have to one-up me when it comes to things like this? 

I mean… it’s not like I really mind though.

“…I yield.”

“Thought as much.”

Lucia said, somewhat triumphantly before releasing me from her grip and grabbing a couple more ties from the rack.

“Anyhow, after we finish getting you some more formal clothes, what do you want to do next? We still have a bunch of time leftover before we have to go back.”

“Hmm… I’m not sure, maybe we could go to a bookstore or something similar?”

“That’s not a bad idea. I’m pretty sure there’s one like 5 minutes away from here.”

“Huh, really?” 

“Mhmm. It’s where I get all of those science fiction novels that you despise for seemingly no reason at all.” 

“What do you mean no reason at all? I’ve got one.”

“Oh really? What is it then?” 

“I just can’t stand how illogical everything is in those novels.”

“You’ve got to be kidding. Otto, you read almost exclusively romance novels with the most overly complicated plotlines.”

“Okay, fair. But still, you have to admit that the scenarios in those novels are at least somewhat probable.”

“Uh huh. Explain to me again how it’s less likely that someone would hold in their feelings for someone else for 33 years than it is for the sun to implode three times in the same day.”

“Well, the first thing you mentioned can be easily explained away if you assume that some people have a tendency to act in irrational ways, whereas the second thing you mentioned is physically impossible.”

“No shit, the genre is called science fiction for a reason, Otto.”

“Still, there needs to be some boundaries.”

“Whatever.”

Lucia said before throwing her hands up in resignation and resumed picking out clothes for me to wear.

“Oh, actually, that reminds me. Lucia, how should I act around your parents this weekend?”

“Eh? The same way you do around most adults? Why do you ask?”

Lucia asked, slightly bewildered.

“Just gauging how much I need to prepare for this weekend.”

“Are you seriously still worried about that? Just be yourself and you’ll be fine.”

Lucia replied, with a hint of encouragement in her voice.

“And on the off chance that they don’t like you for whatever reason, I’ll get them to change their minds… one way or another.”

“I see… please don’t commit a crime if they end up not liking me.”

I said mischievously. 

“Wha, of course I wouldn’t do that! Why’s that the first thing that came to your mind?” 

Lucia protested, while looking away from me.

“No reason.”

I remarked before stretching my arms a little.

“Anyway, have you found everything that you wanted to get today?”

“Yup! We should be good to go now.”

“Right, then could you lead the way to the exit?” 

“Mhmm!”

Lucia said before latching onto my left arm and dragging me towards one of the many wooden checkout counters in the store. 

In response, I simply just allowed her to do what she wanted and didn’t interfere. 

“Alright, so will that be all for today?” 

The clerk at the counter asked.

“Yeah, that’s all.”

“Great, then your total comes out to be about 95 dros.”

“Huh, not bad.”

Lucia said before pulling a couple of silvery coins out of her pocket and placing them on the counter. 

In turn, the clerk just nodded before taking the coins and handed Lucia back 2 copper coins and a brown paper bag filled to the brim with clothes.

Then, Lucia and I simply just left the store while holding each other’s hands.

“Thanks again for today, Lucia. I’ll definitely repay you sometime in the future.”

“Again, I said it was fine, considering that I’m literally just getting you a birthday present. But, I guess if you’re so adamant about it, you can repay me right now to get it off your mind.”

“Eh really? I don’t have any dros on me at the moment though.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what did you-“

Before I could finish my sentence, Lucia grabbed ahold of my tie and then pulled me in for a kiss.

And, as usual, I didn’t even try to resist.

“There, now we’re even.” 

Lucia remarked with a smile on her face.

In turn, I just sighed.

“You’re too good for me.”

I said softly before giving Lucia another kiss.