Makeup, as Crona found out, wasn't very comfortable. Or at least, she wasn't used to it. Maybe she was just imagining the itching and weight on her face, but maybe not. Though she had to admit, she was getting attention for it. As Aless was walking to back to her underground room, Crona had noticed more people staring than usual. But not the you're-a-freak-and-I-hate-you stares. The type of stares that people get when they look good. She'd seen them directed at others, but very rarely at herself. At least I look normal with it on. I'll endure it just to look normal. On the other hand, she was worried what the people she knew would say if they saw her with eye shadow and lip gloss. She'd never specified her gender, since no one had asked, but it was clear that most people thought of her as a boy.

When they got to Crona's room, Aless stood on tiptoe to kiss her on the cheek, said her goodbyes, and turned to walk away. Crona mustered up all the courage she had to speak.

"Aless… wait," she squeaked out. At first she wasn't sure if her girlfriend had heard, but the green-eyed girl turned around. She tipped her head to the side in question.

"Wassup?"

"Do you… can you come into my room for a second? I think we need to… talk, I guess. If it's not too much trouble!" she added quickly. "I mean, I don't want to keep you from going home or anything…"

"Don't worry 'bout it. It's not like I have any place to be." She walked into the room and sat down on the bed. "What's wrong?"

Crona sat down next to her, awkwardly hunched over, trying to find the words. Even when she knew what she wanted to say, she was unable to say it. It was like her mouth was glued closed, her vocal chords strangled by anxiety. Finally she just looked at Aless, feeling helpless.

"Take your time," Aless whispered. Her mood had changed completely. Usually she was loud and loose, cracking jokes and trying to get the most fun out of any situation. But now it was obvious that she could be serious as well. She looked tense, and seemed to curl into herself. The muscles on her bony shoulders and neck stood out, and she appeared to be shaking slightly. Normally that meant that she had so much energy she couldn't contain it, but now it simply stood for nervous expectation.

"I… I, um… today was really great. I want you to know that I'm… really grateful for what you and Riki did. That you would spend your time trying to help me. And I like the way that I look now. But…"

"But?"

"But… I don't know. Some of the things you said today had me thinking."

Another long pause.

"And?" Aless asked. "What did I say that was wrong? If I hurt your feelings, I'm very sorry. You know that I wouldn't purposely hurt you, right? I'm just not like that."

"No! It's not that I was mad. Just… curious." She cleared her throat. "Like when Riki said I would look like a prostitute in that one dress. What you said after that… you don't usually say that kind of stuff, so it shocked me. And when I was changing, and you said we were 'delaying the inevitable'… what did you mean by that? I'm just confused, Aless."

Aless let out a breath that Crona hadn't noticed she'd been holding, laughing a little.

"Thank god it's only that," she chuckled. "I thought you were breaking up with me or something. Don't scare me like that!" She coughed once. "But in all seriousness, I don't know why I said that thing about being your customer. You see, that's the way that I normally am with friends. The way I've always been. I make crude jokes. But I was always so nervous that I'd scare you off, I guess I controlled myself more around you. Now that I'm comfortable… little things are slipping out, apparently. I'm sorry. That was rude of me."

"But then you said that you were just talking truth. So was it a joke or not?"

"It was meant to be funny," Aless admitted. "But – and if you blab this to anyone, I swear I'll kill you – it's kind of true."

"O… okay. And then the whole changing thing?"

"Well, that was my idiotic way of telling you that I really like you. Both emotionally and… y'know." She gestured vaguely at Crona's body. Is she blushing? "I mean, um… not to be weird or anything, but… that's how I feel about you. God, I feel like a perv saying this, but I find you attractive, and I'm not afraid to admit it. I'm sorry if that makes you feel awkward. If it does, I'll stop."

Crona bit her lip, not meeting Aless's eyes.

"I… I guess that's okay. I don't really understand why you would think of me like that, but I can accept it." And, of course, I think of you in the same way… but it's going to be a long time before I fully admit that to myself, let alone you. "You know w-why I don't like that stuff… because of what M-M-Medusa did." A chill went down her spine. "But I should probably get used to it, huh?"

Aless shrugged.

"Do whatever makes you comfortable," she said. "Just please, I just have to ask one thing of you?" Crona nodded. "Just remember that I'm not like her, and I'll do anything to avoid upsetting you. I won't pressure you into any situations you don't like. All you have to do is tell me to stop being stupid. Or smack me around a bit. Either one will do. Okay?"

"O… okay."

"So everything's cool? You get why I said those things? And you're not mad?"

"Of course not. I'm… I'm fine." Crona's body was buzzing with the excitement that comes with knowing someone actually likes you, all of you, just the way you are. She smiled a little. Aless laughed.

"There's that pretty smile I love to see," she giggled. Hugging her girlfriend, she turned to the door. "I should probably go. It's getting late. See you when I see you."

"Goodbye, Aless. I… I love you!"

Aless paused halfway out the door. Crona was as shocked as she was. Aless was always the first one to say that. Crona never knew when the right time to say it was, and when she tried, it never came out. The black-haired girl grinned and waved to her.

"Love you, too, sweetheart."

"So are you ever going to tell me why we did this?" Riki asked Aless the next day.

Aless was lying on her stomach on her meister's bed, reading a magazine. She rolled over and sighed.

"You promise not to tell anyone? Including Crona?"

"Why?"

"Cuz I'm not entirely totally exactly sure if Crona wants me to tell you," she mumbled, twiddling her thumbs. "And I really don't want my ass kicked by the demon swordmaster."

"Fine. I won't tell anyone."

"Swear?"

"I'll do you one better. Pinky promise." The girls hooked pinkies, and Aless nodded.

"Crona's, like… half-transgender? Gender fluid? I don't really know the term for it, but he says he sometimes feels like a boy, and sometimes feels like a girl. Lately she has been telling me about how she wants to be more feminine, cuz she's been feeling like a girl lately. So I was like, 'yo, let's do something about it instead of just moping', so she got a makeover."

"So that's why you got pissed off when I said 'he'," Riki realized. "Alright. That's no big deal. Better than the alternative."

"What did you think it was?" Aless laughed.

"I don't know. You once told me that cross-dressing turned you on or some shit like that, so I figured it had to do with that."

"You thought it was for sex or something?" Aless cried. She burst out laughing. "Fat chance of that happening. And you didn't try to stop us?"

"I figured, you know, you're a freak, Crona's a freak. That's why you get along so well, and I have no right to stop you from doing freaky shit if you want to. I had a feeling that it was something that would up your freak status, which makes me look good in comparison, so…"

"Hey! We're not… well, yeah, we kinda are. To the extreme, actually. But I take pride in that!" She jabbed a thumb at her chest proudly. "Either way, this was a success." She paused. "Hey Riki? When you said it was for a Halloween costume, it gave me an idea. Let's transform me into a dude for Halloween!"

"Challenge accepted."