A/N: Written for Jinny (Soccerisawesome19) through the GGE. Some father daughter fluff. :D
Dress Shopping
Tomoya wasn't particularly experienced in shopping for girl clothes, but with Ushio living with him now he would have to learn soon.
And when Ushio looked to be growing out of her old clothes, Tomoya sighed, asked for a day off and hoped Yoshino had some advice for him.
He got the day off, but not the advice. Yoshino confessed it was more a sister-bonding experience when it came to Fuuko. He'd also commented that, with Kouko four weeks along, it was Tomoya who should be giving him advice about how to be a father.
Tomoya had none to give, considering he hadn't been much of a father until a few months ago. And Sanae only told him he'd learn by experience.
So that meant he wound up taking Ushio to the slightly larger shopping mall the next town over on that free day. Which Ushio seemed happy with, since she'd stared, fascinated, out the window the whole time over, and then at every shop they passed by.
'Don't make a habit of this,' Tomoya warned, hoping it didn't become a habit. He didn't know how quickly he should expect Ushio to grow, how quickly they'd have to do a wardrobe overhaul again. Maybe they should go to stores that didn't sell only food more often. There was no reason Ushio couldn't get a new skirt or hat without needing to grow out of them first. Particularly if she found something she really liked and deserved and treat.
Not that he minded terribly coming out for some all-day shopping. Ushio wasn't a shopping maniac. She was practical, and agreeable. Tomoya had worried at some point she was a little too agreeable, but Ushio definitely knew what she wanted and it wasn't skinny tights. Not that Tomoya would have brought those anyway, despite the salesperson saying they were "all the rage". He didn't think they were appropriate fir a five year old.
He was surprised though Ushio wanted pants and shirts as well as skirts and dresses. 'You don't have any pants outside hour pyjamas, do you?' He didn't think she had.
Ushio shook her head. 'I want them to play,' she said by means of explanation. And it made sense. Skirts and dresses were okay to play with, but not the best. Especially on cold windy days. Or cold days in general.
But pants were relatively easy to find. So were shorts and skirts. Ushio wanted plain, though Tomoya had offered a few patterned ones. Nagisa had liked plain as well. So did Tomoya when it came to his own shirts and slacks and jackets.
He slapped his forehead as he remembered the jacket.
'Hmm…white?' Ushio asked when Tomoya asked for a colour.
'A white jacket?' Tomoya grimaced at the thought of mud staining it. 'How about something darker?'
'Like that one.' Ushio pointed at a jacket Tomoya hadn't noticed she was looking at. It wasn't a jacket per say, actually. It was one of those blazer types, that a woman wore over their work skirts or dresses. Tomoyo would wear something like that. Kouko might have something like that.
But it was far too big for Ushio. 'You wear those for really professional things,' he explained with a bit of a laugh. 'Like high school graduation, job interviews…'
'Weddings?' Ushio asked.
'Thinking about Kyou's wedding.' Tomoya sighed. 'I should have known.' He returned to the question. 'When you'r grown up, then you can.'
'Oh.' But Ushio still looked at the jacket, and Tomoya looked at it again and noticed how perfectly it seemed to suit Nagisa, suit that dress she wore in the portrait he'd put on her little table shrine. 'What about a dress to match Mummy instead?' he suggested.
'Yeah.' Ushio brightened and skipped ahead to the dress rack. But then they ran into a new snag. Nothing seemed to pass Ushio's expectations, and Tomoya couldn't describe the dress well enough to the salesgirl without that photo. Perhaps that was the part of the shopping trip that tried his patience most of and finally he grabbed a dress from the ones Ushio hadn't checked yet and held it out.
'Yeah!' Ushio cheered.
Tomoya looked at the dress. It had a soft lace and a ribbon by way of decoration, but otherwise it was plain. Not so plain so that it looked strange on a five year old, but not so frilly that it looked out of place against that straight white dress of Nagisa's.
So that was settled, but when he asked the direction to the cashier, Ushio tugged at his shirt. 'Jacket,' she reminded. 'And clothes for you too, daddy.'
'I have…' Tomoya began, before realising he didn't have anything dressy that went with white. Really, he had only a single black suit…and he'd worn it only once, to Nagisa's funeral. 'Right, suit and jacket.'
'I'd suggest a cardigan with that dress,' the salesgirl said, leading them over to the child-sized ones.