"Cotton Candy"

Author's note: Cookie to Delphi for getting the cat joke! Anyway, this next chapter is...really long XD It was too good of an idea to just be written as a short drabble, so it's more of a ficlet than anything. It takes place when Albedo and Rubedo are...eh, ten, maybe? Around then.

This ficlet is dedicated to my dear friend Kyria. She's the one who came up with this idea in the first place. Not only that, but she helped me along with it, and added in a detail or two herself. It's as much her story as it is mine. Much love to you, Kyria.


Drabble (?) 3: Gender Confusion


It was, for the most part, an average day at the Yuriev Institute. Of course, the facility being as it was, there weren't very many days that could be viewed by the mass public as "average". But under their own standards, things were pretty average. For the most part.

But anyway.

The scientists were working, the standard U.R.T.V. units were training (though the majority of them were slacking off as usual, but really, can you expect eight to twelve year olds to have that much of an attention span?), and the variants were keeping themselves entertained since their daily training was over. It was now early afternoon, and U.R.T.V units 666 and 667, better known as Rubedo and Albedo, were doing what they usually did. That is, finding some way to get into some sort of trouble.

"So this is what the female units wear when they're not in uniform?" the white haired twin asked, his voice laced with curiosity, as he rummaged through a drawer of fabrics. His fingers brushed lace and satin, and his purple eyes were open wide with awe. After all, it wasn't every day that he and his twin got to sneak into their sister's room and go through her clothing.

Rubedo sat cross legged on the ground, holding a flower printed summer dress out in front of him, examining it. "I guess so. I don't think I've ever actually seen Citrine in one of these... But man, these things look pretty funny."

"I wonder why we have different clothing from them?" Albedo thought out loud, glancing over to the dress his brother was holding. "I mean...they aren't really that different from us, and they have the same uniforms as us, so why different clothing like this?"

"Maybe they just get special privileges. I mean, look at our casual stuff. It's so bland! But they get these things, all decorated and nice..." the elder grumbled in not-so-veiled annoyance. "One of the male scientists told me that women always get everything they want."

The twins sat there for several moments, pouting over the unfairness of it all. That is, until Rubedo, being the bright leader that he was, came up with an idea.

"I know a way to show them all! To prove that we're just as good as them, that we deserve the same privileges that they get!" he exclaimed, blue eyes shining, his arm held up in a pose of victory (despite the fact that all he did was come up with an idea).

Albedo looked at him, his head tilted questioningly. "What?"

Rubedo went through the drawers again, pulling out two of the prettiest dresses, and throwing one to Albedo. "Get changed into that."

"W-what! But...Citrine'll get angry!"

"Since when doesn't she? This is our time to shine, Albedo! Our time to prove ourselves!" Rubedo flashed him a grin as he divested of his uniform. After a few attempts and a small rip or two, he managed to get on the dress. His brother stared at him for longer than he really needed to, admiring how nice the sleeveless blue dress looked on Rubedo. Really, it matched the color of his eyes so perfectly...

Rubedo checked himself out in the mirror, tugging at the garment a bit. For the most part, it fit well. He motioned for Albedo to get changed as well, which his younger brother somewhat-reluctantly did.

Albedo's dress was similar to the one Rubedo was wearing, though it was purple rather than blue. He wondered if Rubedo had picked those particular ones for a reason. Looking at himself in the mirror, he felt rather self-conscious, but he trusted Rubedo, so...

Said redhead was pondering over what they should do next, when suddenly, BAM went the door. And standing in the doorway was none other than the occupant of the room.

"I've been looking for you two, the heck are you doing in my room----" her words were cut off when she realized that her brothers wearing her dresses. Rewind a bit. Her brothers. wearing. Her dresses.

Rubedo smirked. "Hey, Citrine! How do we look?" He spun around (nearly tripping in the process), trying to show off. Albedo smiled sheepishly, though began to get nervous as Citrine's face turned to the approximate color of a tomato.

"You...you...you little BRATS! Get out of those right NOW or I swear to god, I'll kill the both of you," Citrine fumed.

Albedo was beginning to get a little scared, but Rubedo simply saw this as a challenge. After all, he wasn't inferior to her! So, he thought, how else can I annoy Citrine?

The idea came to him faster than you can say U-DO (no, Helmer, not you). Recalling an old disc that they had found in a storage area a few weeks back, Rubedo opened his mouth, and in the highest pitched voice he could muster, began to sing rather off-key:

"I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie wo-o-orld.."

It was everything Albedo could do to stifle his laughter, and even then, several giggles were escaping. Citrine was much less amused, and looked like she was ready to take a sharp, pointy object to Rubedo's head. Just as she attempted to tackle the variant down, Rubedo grabbed Albedo's wrist and dragged him along as he ran out of the room.

The scientists and other U.R.T.V.s would remember this as the day two U.R.T.V. variants went completely psychotic. How else would one explain the fact that they were now running around the institute grounds wearing dresses, one belting/screeching "Barbie Girl"?

It was also the first time Nigredo would think "...I'm disowning those two", but certainly not the last.

After a good half an hour of running around, singing, and scarring every occupant of the Yuriev Institute, Albedo and Rubedo decided it was in their best interests to go hide in a storage room, lest they face Citrine's wrath. The two huddled behind a stack of boxes, unable to quiet their giggling, both thoroughly amused by the entire situation.

"Did you see the look on everyone's faces?" Albedo laughed. "Especially Citrine! She looked so angry! But it was so funny!"

Rubedo nodded his head in agreement, a huge grin plastered upon his face. After a few more minutes of laughing, they slumped down onto the ground, leaning against the wall, amused but a little exhausted by the entire incident.

"Dad's going to kill us when he finds out what we did, but it was worth it, huh?" Rubedo asked, slinging an arm around his brother's shoulder.

Smiling, Albedo leaned into the comforting embrace, murmuring an agreement. He loved the thrill of their escapades, but it was moments like this he loved best: moments where he could be close to Rubedo.

Right now, the two decided everything was perfect. They'd have their moments of peace until Citrine finally found them several hours later, at which point she'd thoroughly chew them out, beat them, and enslave them for the rest of her miserable life.

Yes, it was just an average day at the Yuriev Institute.

For the most part.