Luise hated seeing the poor girl so miserable, but she had an idea.

"Tell you what, Edwina. I did promise you, that we would tell you our secret tomorrow, so how about we exchange them? You tell them yours, we'll tell you ours."

The brunette nodded. "Sounds fair."

"Good. Now how about we get to looking, if I have some clothes that you like?"

Edwina smiled. "Sure … never worn something feminine before. The closest I ever came-"

"I know, I know. But that will never happen again. Let's see something that you like and fits you. I'm afraid I've grown a little … pudgy during the last twenty years."

The brunette snorted: "Bullshit! Your measures are poster-perfect, apart from your height!"

The blonde didn't bother hiding how flattered she was. "Thank you, dearie. Still though, you may be thinner than I, but your hips and chest are bigger than mine. My clothes might be a little tight on you"

"Obviously."

"Just come", Luise laughed.

"You have a whole room for your wardrobe?", Edwina exclaimed in disbelieve.

Luise giggled: "Obviously! I can't put all of my dresses into the wardrobe, so they're on these dolls to keep them in shape and behind glass, so I can look at them."

Edwina was about to ask, why she would put a dress behind glass just to look at it, but then her eyes fell on a white wrapping dress in a glass cabinet. It had beautiful, glittering patterns, a girdle made to look like the asexual pride flag and the head of the doll was wearing a beautifully adorned diadem with a long, white veil.

"That's my wedding dress", Luise informed her and her tone was fond and loving, as she joined her in front of the cabinet. "My second one, that is. Hastie is my second husband. This is the dress I wore, when I married him. Is it not beautiful?"

Edwina nodded, looking at the beautiful outfit in awe.

"What with the pride flag, though?", she wanted to know.

Luise laughed: "Well, it was a double wedding. Hastie and I had been engaged for a long time before, but we didn't want to marry, unless Henry and Gabriel would be allowed to marry too. Homosexual marriage only became legal at the end of 2014, so we all married on the same day. A pride double wedding, if you will."

Wow … that's so cute!

Edwina's heart warmed.

The love and friendship these four had for each other was just so beautiful. And she couldn't help but wish to be a part of that.

"Oh, but you are!", Luise replied to her thought. "You're a part of our family now. And we're happy you are, my dear. Perhaps you will one day wear a wedding dress of your own!"

Edwina inevitably imagined herself in a white dress and burst into laughter.

The Countess chuckled along. "That's better. Come on, let's find something for you, ja¹?"

They spent the next half hour looking through Luise's clothes.

Most were too fancy for Edwina's liking. Unlike Luise she wasn't the kind of girl who liked dolling herself up. And most of Luise's clothes were either blue, black or white.

"Your colour scheme is kinda … what's the word … oh yeah, monotone."

Luise laughed awkwardly: "Yes, I'm afraid it is. But I assure you I have dresses in other colours – oh, how about this one? I think it would go perfectly with your eyes and hair colour!"

Edwina tilted her head.

The garment in question was a light green dress with a long, wide skirt, elbow-long sleeves and frills at the end.

"I don't know … it's a bit too girly and cutesy for me", the brunette remarked hesitantly.

Luise looked between her and the dress and frowned. "You're right. But can you try it on anyway? Just for fun?"

Then she pouted and fluttered her eyes in a very Luise-like manner.

Edwina huffed.

Damn that German blonde and her puppy eyes!

No wonder Hastie couldn't say no to her for longer than five minutes!

Henry, Gabriel and Hastie were in the lounge, eating some birthday cake, when Edwina and Luise came downstairs.

The former two saw them first and Gabriel dropped his fork.

"Mamma mia! Edwina!"

That made Hastie turn around.

"Oh, hello, you two. Luise, isn't that one of your old dresses?"

Luise nodded affirmatively. "Yes, she's trying on some of my clothes. What do you boys think?"

The three men couldn't help but marvel, that the blonde had persuaded the brunette to put on one of her girliest dresses.

Henry's breath hitched and when he looked at Gabriel, he could tell that his husband was faring no better.

Edwina blushed in embarrassment and looked away. "Hehe … I look so stupid."

Henry and Gabriel begged to differ.

"Stupid?!", Gabriel repeated incredulously, "Edwina … sei meraviglioso¹!"

She blinked in confusion. "What?"

Henry chuckled: "Gabriel, you slipped into Italian again."

The older man blushed awkwardly. "Oh, sorry. I mean, you look marvellous!"

Edwina blushed in pleasure. "Thanks … it's a bit girly for me, but …"

"Can I take a picture?", Gabriel cried suddenly and jumped up.

The young brunette shrugged. "Fine, why not. It's not every day that someone tells me that I look 'marvellous'."

"Scandalous!", Henry exclaimed. "Then we must tell you that you're beautiful every day, until you know it too!"

Poor, dear Edwina blushed a deep red and began to stutter.

She's so adorable, I can't even!

Meanwhile Gabriel had whipped out his smartphone and beamed at them.

"Edwina, sit on the couch and pose! And Henry, you must be on the photo too!", he demanded. "it's the birthday of both of you."

Henry laughed and joined the other birthday child on the couch. She immediately leaned onto his shoulder, which made him blush a little.

"Smile!", Gabriel told them and they did.

When he showed them the picture, Henry's heart melted and he felt such a strong affection that he needed a huge group hug.

"I love you all so much", he cooed. "You are the best family in the whole wide world."

"Ditto", Edwina purred and cuddled closer to him and the others. "This is the best birthday of my life and you guys are the best birthday present ever."

Everyone giggled and the group hug intensified.


1) Sei meraviglioso - Italian: You're marvellous (I probably fucked up the Italian grammar)