Frankly, Bambi is tired.

She thought that being friends with Karen Hanatsubaki was exhausting when it came to wardrobe. Turns out she has nothing on Seiji Shitara. The store assistant left to fetch more champagne and the consultant he hired for the afternoon seemed to be seriously reconsidering her life choices.

"Alright, how does this one look?" She asked as she stepped out of the dressing room.

Her arms were extended, to allow her to contemplate the movement of the gown, as she looked at her boyfriend with a half-nervous, half-excited smile.

There was another gala for them to attend and, after many years of relationship and having her as a date, the Shitara family is starting to think that an investment on her wardrobe would be providential. So far, she usually wore rentals, complimented by some upper-end pieces hidden away on her middle-class wardrobe that could be reutilized, but it was dangerous to rely so heavily on the service, especially if something came up last minute.

Seiji, in turn, had offered to help her pick out a few gowns from a boutique in Tokyo. It had been a nice change of pace at first, since she usually exploited the good will of Karen and Miyo to help her select her wardrobe for those evenings, and while they have not made a mistake so far, she always felt bad imposing on their time.

There was no bad reasoning behind the new situation. It would be nice to surprise a Hanatsubaki when it came to fashion choices, and she could justify asking her friends out on the weekend for some ice cream or a movie, instead of the arduous choice of picking up just the right dress for just the right occasion. Besides, Seiji has not gone out shopping with her since high school, and back then, she rarely bought anything from their trips.

Bambi appreciated him for multiple reasons, both the volunteering of helping her just after hearing about her plans and how he is bankrolling the entire ordeal, because, as he insisted doggedly for a week, his girlfriend should be able to pick out whichever dress she wanted without having to worry about the expenses.

That being said, Seiji Shitara was a nightmare. She is sure many a man thought that before, but, by the grace of Lady Amaterasu, no-one ever knew how irritatingly picky he could be, how much he made entitlement into a fine art. All those naïve fools, who thought they have seen the worst of him, none knew how terrible it actually was.

He was worse than when she was in elementary and her mother would make her wear only some of the brightest shades of pink because it went well with her skin tone. As an artistically sensible young woman, Bambi would beg to differ, as the colour just made her look like a strawberry that had not gotten ripe enough.

Though, truth be told, Seiji was just on the more annoying than controlling side of it all, going through nearly fifty dresses in the span of four hours because of how incredibly judgmental he was and how he would not give any one of them a chance after picking out one insignificant flaw.

They were either too bright, not flowy enough, way too flowy, too eccentric, too cheap, too unflattering of her eye colour, and all sorts of stupid complaints that made the young woman doubt there will ever be an end to her torment.

Besides, that last one was something she did not really get, since her eyes were one of the deepest shades of brown. It pretty much went with anything. Nothing but confusion running through her head at how to even measure that level of demand that he seemed to hold towards dresses, of all things.

Bambi had a good feeling about this one, though. She had to keep on hoping.

It was on the simpler side, a light periwinkle colour just above floor length with a small slit going down the right side that would show just the right amount of her lower leg when she walked to be deemed classy and not cheap, as the expensive feeling satin flowed softly on her skin.

She loved it, and, as his eyes skilfully scanned her body as if he was a scouting agent for a modelling company, all she could think about was how she would not attend the event at all if it got any sort of criticism, unfounded or otherwise.

Luckily for the sustainability of their working relationship, soon enough, all of her worries faded away with the grin that came onto his face.

"I really did doubt your dressing skills for a second, but this one look absolutely beautiful on you." Seiji complimented sweetly.

"Oh, madam!" The shopping consultant perked up from the approval of her demanding client. "You look astonishing!"

He let down the flute of champagne and got up from his spot on the couch, coming to lay a very greatly appreciated kiss to her lips, pulling away once her smile got too big.

"Do you really think so?" She asked eagerly, not believing her ears at the fact that they could finally leave the store.

"Of course!" He placed a hand on her waist and turned to the attendant. "You there. Find a pair of shoes that go with this dress and some jewellery options, too."

"Yes, sir. Right away!" The woman ran out the door like a thunder, leaving the couple alone.

"Is it really necessary, Seiji? I'm tired of shopping." Bambi complained softly.

"Don't worry. Now that she has the vision for the look, finding matching accessories will be easy." He assured his girlfriend.

The young woman sighed. "OK, fine, but you owe me some fries after here."

"Whatever you want." The musician agreed, hugging her figure closer. "You don't have a clue how well this dress hugs your curves."

"What?" She asked, genuinely confused.

Bambi quickly looked behind her back to find a full-length mirror she had not seen before and probably the one he had been staring at the whole time, harshly swatting his shoulder once he started to laugh at her realization.

"That's not funny, Seiji!" She shouted, just silent enough not be heard from outside the oversized dressing room. "You had me thinking that I had terrible taste when you were just obsessed with looking at my butt like some… Some… Creep!"

"I never said that this was my only standard, Bambi. The other dresses were absolutely terrible regardless of your figure and, being the good boyfriend that I am, I refuse to let you embarrass yourself like that. It is just good luck that this one really compliments everything important." He half-joked, hands trailing down to her lower back before she slapped them away and scowled at him, not really meaning it.

"Subject me to this again and I'll wear exclusively the frilly orange one you hated so much." She threatened pointedly.

As Bambi went back into the dressing room to change back into her street clothes, groaning rather emphatically as he grabbed her back by her waist.

"Fine. I'm sorry." Seiji said. "Please don't make me see that atrocity again."