Ben grumbled to himself.

Pants.

He hated pants with more passion than one ever should hate pants with. He hated pants as Bloom and he hates them as Ben.

He shoved his hands into the pockets. "Actual pockets!" He muttered out loud. "Truly fascinating. These actually have pockets!" Ben looked around for someone, anyone, to tell of his new discovery. His eyes fell on the nearest employee. She was a small, pretty, and petite woman with soft brown hair. The kind of soft brown that made Bloom think of springtime forests. "Hey you!" He shouted. He looked at her nametag, "Flora!"

The woman gave a small start, nearly dropping the bundle of cloths she was holding to the floor. "C-can I help you?" She asked softly as she walked up. Now that she was closer, Ben could pick up on soft floral perfume…maybe lilac?

"Okay, so these pants. They have pockets." Ben thrust his arms out to emphasize his point. "Like actual pockets."

"Umm…is that a problem? Because I don't know if I can help." Flora twisted her bangs around her finger.

"Problem? Oh no, no siree. This is heavenly."

"I'm glad you like them, what's your name?" Flora asked as she tapped her foot feebly on the scuffed floor.

"I go by Ben now." He replied. "Ya see being a woman wasn't exactly for me. I mean look at these!" He plucked up a pair of women's pants and tried to shove his phone in. It went a little less than halfway and clattered to the floor. "How about these." This time he couldn't even stick a finger in, for these pockets were merely decorative—all stich and no opening.

"Now how about these babies." Ben held out the men's jeans, "you know what I can fit in these babies?"

"No, what?" Flora gnawed on her cheek.

"Well. I can fit my phone, my wallet, my pokemon cards, a hand held gaming counsel, and probably the entire state of Alaska." Ben declared. "Oh baby, this is gonna be sweet. I have so much power right now. I can't handle it."

"Yeah. That's umm. That's great Ben. I'm glad these jeans make you so happy." Flora forced a smile.

"Now let me tell you a thing!" Ben continued. "I put on a lot of pants in my days. And let me just say, practically none of them were comfy. They were all so tight! It's like they want to define my buttox! Well I don't so I usually have to buy a size to big. But now, now I am in pants heaven because these are so comfy and they fit like a glove. A godly, denim glove."

Flora nodded along with her every word.

"Best part is," Ben continued, "no skirts." He set the jeans proudly on the checkout counter. "I hate those things. And I hate how everyone was all like, 'eeah, Bloom yew gotta weear skerts , all women weear skerts.' It was awful."

Flora scanned the items in. "Yeah that gets a bit old sometimes. Though I admit I do enjoy wearing them every now and again."

Bloom nodded. "Cool with me. You like skirts, I like pants. Guess that's how the world works; some people like pants and some like skirts. Really gets you thinking." Ben tapped his finger on his chin. "It's like how some people put their toilet paper on with the flap underneath and other people do it the right way."

"The right way?" Flora asked.

"Yeah, ya know, with the flap on top so you don't have to reach your hand underneath the whole roll."

"Riiiight." Flora agreed. "You know, you are the most interesting man I've met."

Ben winked. "I do my best."

Flora handed him his new trousers. "Receipt?"

"Oh yeah, I'll take it for sure. Gotta remember my first men's pants purchase."

"Alright then." Flora handed him the slip of paper. "Come again."

"I will. Trust me." He winked. "It's not every day that I get a clerk that'll listen to my complaints about men's clothing."

Flora chuckled, her shyness slowly falling away. Strangely she looked forward to Ben's return.