Hello! It's been so terribly long since we have seen each other, hasn't it?

What, it was like twenty hours, tops?

I would have got this to you last night but I needed to look it over for editing and I was tired, so i figured that it would be okay for you to wait just a little bit.

I had others I planned to write up and give you, but sometime between getting out of the shower and stepping out of the bathroom (probably about the time I was standing by the laundry hamper) I came up with this, and I needed to type it up. I had a whole number of fics that come out before this (the development of the feelings, who Anzu's getting married to, and a whole number of things) but hey, what ev's. I'll get to it eventually.

"I'm sorry you got dragged into this, Asuma." Anzu murmured to the slight man who was slumped down into the firmly cushioned leather chair beside her, his hands stuffed into the front pocket of his oversized hoodie. They were sitting in one of the little waiting areas of a fashionable little boutique, the curve of mirrors and miniature stage just waiting for someone to step out and take their place underneath the flattering lighting.

"Oh, it's fine." He sighed, staring at the far wall with disinterested half-lidded eyes. "The bride gets what the bride wants, after all."

Anzu sighed in return, looking towards the curtain that separated them from the currently occupied changing area. "Yes, thank you, but Ringo is certainly going to be challenging after this, especially since she'll say that you betrayed her. If she wasn't so bloody difficult we could have done this the way it was supposed to be done, but instead we had to have you drag her here and then stay as insurance."

Asuma snorted and shifted, stretching his legs out and looking at the contrast between his beaten up sneakers and the pristine shine of the dark wood floors and the formal rug. "'Challenging' and 'Ringo' go hand in hand, so I'll be fine. What you have to watch out for though is her sabotaging the little little things in you wedding and or life and pissing you off, because she will do that. She is most definitely not beneath that."

"You bet your ass I'm not!" Ringo growled from behind the curtain before Anzu could answer. Anzu just shook her head and smiled wryly.

"Really Ringo, you know that Mother is far too controlling over this to ever allow that, not to mention that the very thought of her wrath should you do anything should be enough to keep you in line." She let this sink in for a moment. "So... How does the dress look?"

There was only the barest breath of silence before the ever predictable explosion happened.

"God! I look so stupid! You know I look terrible in dresses, especially ones like this, so I really have no idea why you're making me do this. Wear this. I could wear pants, I'd even wear fancy pants." There was a beat of silence where she was probably looking at herself in the mirror. "For the love of all that is filled with happiness and unhealthiness, just let me wear pants."

Anzu snorted and crossed her arms over her ample chest as she stood, flipping the heavy weight of her wavy blonde hair over her shoulder with an arrogant toss of her head. "Ringo, this is my wedding and I happen to want both of my sisters to wear dresses when they stand beside me. So pull on your big girl panties, suck it up, and get out here."

There was some grumbling and a number of more mentions on how ridiculous she looked and the threats she would carry out, but a minute or so later the curtain was angrily pulled back to reveal Asuma's best friend in the dress that she apparently detested.

The dress brushed above the floor with a rustle of elegant cloth, the pale and dusty gold color making the tan of her skin glow. It was sleeveless to show her toned arms and was modest with it's boat neckline, fitting to her slender curves and then simply falling to the ground once the cloth graced her hips. Not even the completely annoyed look on her face could take away from how amazing she looked.

Asuma blinked, noting that Ringo's mouth was moving and also that he wasn't registering any of her words, and he was surprised to find that he had somehow zoned out while looking Ringo over.

Seeing her in a dress -part of his original decision to come over along with doing Anzu a favor- was certainly turning out to be more than he had thought it would.

"-and I don't even know why you're making me wear heels. I'm almost six feet tall! Unless you want some me to bend over in your wedding pictures I suggest you find me some other shoes." Ringo ranted, turning to grimace into the mirrors, thus revealing her back to Asuma, the sight forcing his eyes to widen.

The modest and almost plain front was completely negated by the fact that the cloth fit so well to her torso for a reason, the fabric clutching to her sides and revealing the entire length of Ringo's back, the dress restarting only at the very edge of decency, revealing the curve of her neck and spine, sharp shoulder blades and two surprising little dimples right towards the edge of the cloth. He skin was clear, her body firm from her training, and he knew it better than probably anyone else due to how close they had been practically since birth.

But he had never looked at her back before -or any back for that matter- and thought that it was beautiful. It was a little weird, he could not deny that, but he also couldn't deny that it was a truth.

"Yes, yes," Anzu finally said, waving her sister's words away, "Life is terrible and you can't stand being a girl, we know. Just be quiet for a minute and step up on the pedestal for us, will you?"

There was more grumbling involved but she moved forward, and as she skipped the little steps to just instead step up without any assistance -probably just to try and annoy Anzu- a slit Asuma hadn't noticed before opened to allow her leg the freedom it needed for the stubborn action, and suddenly he was worried he was going to have a heart attack.

He'd always had a thing for her legs -a mostly secret thing, but still a thing. They went on forever, wearing the title as the majority holder of her height proudly. They were toned and sleek after training and racing from place to place on their missions, and on the summer days when it was especially hot in their little apartment and the damned air conditioner was on the fritz -as always- she would walk around in these little short shorts that barely covered what was necessary and then made his tongue nearly hang out of his mouth like some kind of pervert or dog.

But as that leg was revealed like a particularly special present by the cunning dress, the delicately strapped gold heel on her foot making the whole sight near irresistible, Asuma had to stop himself from doing something especially wrong like groaning or begging. The staring was bad enough.

All he could manage to think was, God bless that dress.

Ringo huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, shaking her head so hard that her pony tail whipped around. "Anzu, I look so stupid that it's unbelievable."

"No you don't!" The younger gasped, looking up at her in shock and wondering at how she could not notice how amazing she looked. "And if you don't believe me, then ask Asuma."

"Fine! Asu-chan, what do you think of the dress?" Ringo asked, turning quickly and furiously, the dress flaring out slightly as she spun. The girl was obviously looking for an ally but Asuma's mouth worked faster than his brain was able to and he found himself blurting out the first thing that entered his mind.

"I think it's sexy." He told her simply, wanting to melt down into the seat from the heat of his embarrassment as soon as the words had left his mouth.

"Well... Well uh..." Ringo managed, turning back to look into the mirror again in an attempt to hide her blush from the boy, though with the multiple mirrors right in front of her it didn't help.

Anzu grinned with delight and an almost mad glee, almost unable to wait to tell her mother and other sister -who were at the other side of the boutique looking at accessories- what had just happened. But first she had to deal with the priority of her wedding.

"So, yes to the dress?" She asked, the brunette nodding and trying to calm down enough to get her skin tone back to normal. "Great! Now get out of it so we can take care of it." She demanded, pulling her sister off of the pestle and then pushing her back into the dressing room.

When she was finally released nearly forty-five minutes later, Ringo started back to the apartment she and Asuma shared and was unable to think about anything else other than his words.

I think it's sexy.

Was he only talking about the dress?

I think it's sexy.

Or maybe he was talking about her.

I think it's sexy.

Did he think thatshe was sexy? It would be a first, definitely.

Deciding it would be best just to leave that question for another day, she shrugged her shoulders and kept on walking, Asuma beside her the entire time.

Yep. No idea where this came from. A big influence was probably all of the Say Yes to the Dress and Say Yes to the Dress: Bridesmaids I watched over spring break (I love me some dressy shows).

I've known since the beginning that Asuma and Ringo would get together, and I also knew that Asuma would have a thing for Ringo's legs (she's got some really great legs). The back thing... I don't know. It's not like he has a fetish or anything, he's just attracted.

Info I should probably give you: They are not dating here, just starting to explore their feelings. They are roommates, and are still best friends. Ringo is probably about 5 foot 11 inches (180.3 centimeters for people using the metric system) and Asuma is more around 5 foot 6 inches (167.6 cintemeters) and he is still thin (he got some muscles though, so lets call him wiry) and Ringo really toned out (not bulked up. She's looks sort of like a runner)

Thank you all for the love, and I'm glad you liked the last chapter so much (it was my second longest, shorter than Coming Back to You- Part 3 by only one thousand words)

I'll be back my dear ones!