Woven
Ruby designs clothes. Elesa wears them. It's purely professional. But when Elesa sees the fine intricacies of Ruby's work, she learns to appreciate him. Twoshot. Sort of mangaverse.
First ever StaticClingShipping!
"And this is where Elesa will come in. She'll send out her Emolga twins and they'll do a pose, before they all split up. One Emolga stage left, the other stage right, and Elesa will walk down the steps to join the other trainers." White explained with specifics to the last minute instruction.
The young lady single-handedly promoting the BW Agency was a savant when it came to show business; she just knew exactly how to plan things to make them both practical and aesthetically appealing. "Are there any questions about the opening choreography?" White asked. Since her directions were very thorough, no one spoke up. "No? Excellent! How are we doing on time?"
"Two hours 'til showtime." One of the production assistants said, scribbling down on a clipboard.
"That's just enough time to order lights." She pulled a card from her pocket and handed it to a nearby production assistant. "The stage is too dark for the photographers. Get some LED Light Panels, the grids, not the ring-lights. The BW Agency will handle the costs."
She hurried backstage and knocked on a crimson door. "Ruby, how are the outfits coming along?" She opened the door a crack and found pair of scissors suddenly lodge itself into the doorframe beside her face.
"I thought I said to never interrupt me!" Ruby screamed, his body scrunched up against a desk, back turned. All of his attention was split between a massive sketch book on the floor and the sewing machine on front of him.
"Ruby, it's me." White said softly. She felt as though his current disposition was her fault.
No, it was Black's fault for chasing away the entire fashion team. If he hadn't done that, White would have never had to call a favor of her friend to create and fabricate designer-quality clothing all by himself!
She shook her head. Now wasn't the time to play scapegoat. "We have two hours until showtime. How are the outfits?"
Ruby leapt from his seat, dashing to the other side of room to lug a spool of fabric all the way over to the sewing machine. "This would be so much quicker if your assistants weren't knocking on my door every twelve seconds" He was fuming. The sound of his heavy breathing matched that of the machines motorized clicks. "I have three outfits to go for the opening act and the entire ensemble for the finale. I don't care if I have to work throughout the entire performance, I'll get it done!"
White sighed. "Ruby, it's alright if you don't finish. The opening act outfits can last the entire show-"
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Ruby said, head snapping around in fury. "Do you know how this untreated fabric will behave after two whole hours of wear? Do you?" Clearly not.
"The sweat from the actors… they won't be able to breathe! And the Pokemon, especially if they're water types, won't even be able to move!"
"But Ruby-… I-"
"But nothing!" Ruby said. His eyes were fiery with determination. "I'll get it done. I promise you, everyone will have the opportunity to shine beautifully, for the finale, in new outfits."
White conceded. "Alright, I'll wheel the finished outfits to the dressing rooms and come back here in fifty minutes. I'll make sure no one disturbs you." When he was riled up like this, White found reason to doubt him.
After all, making things beautiful was his life.
The door creaked open.
"You're thirty minutes late White!" Ruby grumbled, furiously stitching together two incredibly thick and clashing fabrics. His designs were incredibly unique and non-mainstream. No one dared question his artistic license when he was in Work Mode.
"I am not White." A woman's voice declared, impatience ever-so-present in her tone.
Ruby spun around to see the girl in question. Upon meeting her gaze, he instinctively uttered one word.
"Beautiful!"
Elesa, the incredibly gifted Gym Leader supermodel debutante, stared at him disapprovingly. "Excuse me?"
"I-…" Ruby's eyes averted themselves for a moment. "Hmm… yes!"
Ruby scribbled down a few notes in his sketchbook and set a roll of fabric down on the machine pedal to keep the sewing machine running. He jumped out of his seat, went to a nearby clothing rack, and plucked an outfit off it. "You must be Elesa." Before she said anything, he removed her hairband and twisted her blonde locks into a French-braid. "I'm Ruby, we've never met. I apologize for not having delivered your outfit sooner, but I simply didn't have the time."
He removed a bracelet from her wrist and pulled off her yellow heels, "Time is of the essence! Please, forgive me for what I'm about to do." He brandished a pair of scissors.
Before she could react, her striped -yellow top was in shreds on the floor. Ruby pushed her into a nearby chair and pulled a loose, silver silk blouse over her head.
"Please lift your legs?"
Astonished, she did as she was told. He sheared off her leggings and slid on a black scallop-hemmed skirt. For footwear, he slipped on a pair of thong-sandals with a metallic gold finish around the sole. He clipped on a pair of simple blue and red earrings, placed a black beret on her head, and smiled at his handiwork.
"Now, the opening act is ever-so-important. Make sure you shine as much as possible." Ruby coached. "I don't have your measurements, and the program says you won't be in the first or third act, nor will you be there for the beginning of the finale, so as soon as you can, return here for your other outfits."
Outfits? She was only supposed to have two, one for the opening and one for the finale…
"Now, where are your Emolga twins?" He asked, without skipping a beat. Elesa, completely speechless, released her Pokemon. He pulled another hanger off the rack and started dressing the two Sky Squirrels. "I hope you don't mind the Plusle-Minun motif I made for your party for the opening." He said, motioning to their outfits and her earrings. She shook her head.
"Alright!" The two Emolgas were clad in bright red and teal colors respectively. "Now, you two, be sure to show off your flying skills, alright?"
Elesa opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by the strange boy. He led her out the door. "Good luck!"
"Mol!" "Ga!"
Her two Pokemon were ecstatic to wear cute little outfits. She stared at them in disbelief. "What just happened?"
She snapped out of it when White called her name.
White beamed as the opening sequence drew to a close. The whole thing went without a hitch, and everyone looked astounding in their attire. Flashy, yet never sacrificing mobility, Ruby really outdid himself this time. She couldn't believe that he was so fast and efficient. How he hadn't made a name for himself sooner, she had no idea. She walked backstage and headed over to the dressing rooms.
Wait, wasn't she supposed to meet Ruby an hour ago?
"Shoot!" She hurried over to Ruby's makeshift studio. "Ruby! I'm so sor-"
"Get in and shut the door!" Ruby commanded, obviously irritated. White did as she was told. "All the outfits, except for Elesa's are finished." He scribbled furiously on a piece of paper and stood up.
"This hat and vest are Clay's. Do not let him go out there with his usual raggedy cowboy hat." He plucked a pair of spats off the rack. "I made six or seven pairs, they're meant to be worn by the men during the finale. Roxie can have one too, paired with her platform shoes."
"The Striatons are to wear these balaclavas." Ruby continued. "They're compliments, so make sure that Cilan and Chili wear red and green respectively. Cress gets the orange one." Ruby tossed the balaclavas to White and pointed to the rack of dresses. "Make sure Iris wears a bow around her front. She doesn't need that mess of a blanket that she wore for the opening, so I've prepared three other alternatives." Ruby said. "Personally, I think she'll look good in that pink one right there, with some white ribbons and a crown. But she can choose whichever." He made his way to the door.
"And, right about now…"
Knock!
Ruby opened the door before a second knock and took fist to the face.
Elesa stood there with her hand covering her mouth. "I- uh… sorry."
"White, please deliver these clothes quickly." Ruby said, unphased. White quickly wheeled out of the room with a cart of clothes.
"Elesa?" Ruby said, eyes glimmering with admiration.
Elesa's gaze came across his and immediately wandered away. What was with this guy? "Y-yes? Ruby, right?" She stole another glance at him and wished she hadn't. His scarlet eyes seemed like they were on fire.
His mouth formed a thin smile as he held a measuring tape menacingly.
"Strip."
The way he ordered her around as if she were some puppet angered her so much. Elesa couldn't believe that this excessively hormonal boy was designing her clothes on the fly, and she felt that some part of her wanted to desperately beat him senseless.
But she didn't. Successful models have to look beyond first impressions and appearances after all. Wait, was that a Gym Leader's responsibility? One of the two.
While his gaze was fiery hot, Ruby was disturbingly gentle. His fingers were cool to the touch, and he was softspoken. His personality was… quirky, but not rude. He didn't try anything funny, he informed her of his every move, and didn't do a single thing unannounced. He took into consideration her discomfort, making the measuring quick and painless. And before she knew it, she had a robe over her shoulders.
Moments later, he scratched away at his drawings and showed them to her. He even asked for her opinion of his designs, intent on making the best possible gown he could, something she'd never do with other designers. Her job was to be a mannequin, wearing the clothes, and occasionally if the designs fell short, make the clothes look good. She never told the designers anything about them because it wasn't her job. But Ruby valued her opinion. Certain fabrics were irritating to the skin; others were too heavy to carry. None of this did he take lightly.
"Just out of curiosity, why are you listening to my opinions?" Elesa asked as he was stitching together pieces of silk and cotton.
"It's part of the experience." Ruby said with a wide grin. "Beauty isn't just visual. It's an experience in which you have to look and feel the part until it comes naturally."
She never saw it that way before, and yet, she was Nimbasa's natural Shining Beauty.
In no time at all, Ruby was finished. The base was a dull silver gown made of silk, cut off past the knee at a diagonal. The inside was lined with light, soft cotton for comfort. To highlight it, a strange combination of a white hood, scarf, and sleeve, checkered with peach print, seemingly floated on her shoulders.
"This is for your spotlight." Ruby said, presenting to her with two hands a yellow pendant. "It's amber." He explained and shrugged. "Good luck in your battle. I'll be designing your finale ensemble in the mean time. I think you'll like it."
To be concluded.