My gosh - I apologise for any spam as I mass-upload all the chapters I've done! XD

I finally reached the moment I was after for the contest! And also reached the deadline XD

It's ended up longer than intended...

Anyway, I've spent so much time on this, and I have so many ideas for the future store opening party that I think I may continue this even after the contest at some point :)

Please read and review ~ I'll appreciate any comments.

Whites, blues, yellows, pinks, purples, and even greens – Mikoto had never seen so many powdery shades together before now. The patterned wallpaper across the walls of the dressing room weren't too different from the aesthetic on the clothes that were picked out for him to try on. He glanced to the cream curtain across from him, he could leave. He heard a rustling from the other side of the wall. Tooru was changing already? No, this was perfect. If Mikoto wanted to run now he could, and he wouldn't be chased after. He took a step towards the curtain, escape looking very tempting. This was all Kouno's idea, so why did he have to get involved too? It wasn't fair.

Mikoto took one more look at the dress he'd be given. This might not be what he had in mind at all, but he couldn't argue with Tooru's thinking. He was spending time with an old friend, doing something they used to do back then. If this was the only way Tooru knew how to make things less lonely and boring, if this was the only way to get back a feeling of nostalgia, he couldn't argue with that. He hesitantly picked up the matching blouse the shop girl recommended, tracing his fingers across the decorated collar, looking up once again at the curtain. He couldn't escape, he was confined whether he liked it or not. He started wishing he hadn't been honest and said what he had done. But he had no choice now. He reluctantly began to undress, half-hoping this would be over quickly, half-hoping Tooru was right and that this would work.

Even though it had been a while, Tooru managed to dress himself in the girlish attire rather quickly. He'd remembered a few tricks from the old days, and it wasn't long before he was fully dressed. He glimpsed in the mirror at the finished product. His otherwise stocky legs appeared much slimmer in pastel pink socks, the embroidery across the side matching that of the border of the jumper-skirt he'd picked out. The pink both matching and contrasting against the yellow shade of the dolly shoes and the main piece of clothing he wore. The sweetly decorated rose pattern skirt was voluminous from his waist down, reaching an inch above his knees. He was somewhat surprised he could even still fit in women's clothes; his height was quite taller now. He moved an inch closer towards the mirror. Although he lacked make-up and hair pieces, it wasn't too much of a difference from how he looked during his princess days. It certainly felt the same to him. He jokingly practised an old pose he used many times, but was cut short by a bang from the other side of the wall.

"Mikoto?" He called. All he heard was rustling and murmured cursing. Tooru decided to open the curtain separating the space from the rest of the changing rooms, peeking out to look to the side. "Are you alright?"

There was a moment of silence. Well, almost. It was quiet enough to hear a distant jingle coming from the store's speakers far off. Tooru stood away from the curtain, approaching Mikoto's changing room, until the silence was finally broken.

"I…I'm stuck."

Tooru inquisitively entered the room, pulling the cream curtain aside, before bringing his full attention on Mikoto.

Tooru let out a small chuckle, although he was unsure of himself, Mikoto certainly looked just like he did as a princess, even without the full gear. His soft pink eyes glanced elsewhere, his expression that of hopeless agitation, his lips perked into a slight pout. Tooru gazed at the rest of the picture; Mikoto's outfit mostly the same as his, and there was not much seemingly wrong with it. The white short-sleeved blouse was a bit skew, but the jumper-skirt and socks were both certainly on right for the most part.

"What's wrong? It looks fine." Tooru checked again to make sure. It was near-impossible to put socks on incorrectly, and the ones the girl had picked out were exactly the same as his, but in white, and were sat correctly against Mikoto's legs, which appeared far daintier than before. The jumper-skirt was also on correctly, the bodice clung perfectly, exaggerating his waist, the pink rose print brought out with his eyes, which were still facing away from Tooru. The store girl had picked out a different blouse for Mikoto, but he was sure even that was on right. "What is it?"

"W-well the shoes didn't fit…and these things!" Mikoto shyly tugged on a waist-tie, feeling uncomfortable and unsure.

"Oh, they didn't fit? I'm sorry; I thought that you might still be the same size! But it's no problem. If the shoes don't fit, we can just get them in the right size, and it'll be fine." Tooru smiled reassuringly, quite content that he'd managed to make Mikoto try the clothes on in the first place. To him, it certainly felt like old times for a short moment.

Mikoto couldn't resist peering at that smile once again, somehow pleased that Tooru was a little happy. This was a real, honest smile, and he hadn't seen any others like it since he'd started seeing Tooru again. His vision focussed on Tooru further, the lolita clothes suited him. This was how Mikoto had seen him dress back then, but despite knowing all that, he was unable to stop himself from comparing him to the cute store girl he had seen earlier. His mind wandered for a moment. If Tooru had been the store girl instead, and greeted him with that smile, he was sure he would've been blushing even more than he had done. If Tooru were a girl, he wouldn't be far from his type; tall, elegant, friendly and honest. He found himself gazing at Tooru a little longer than he had intended, a slight shade of pink colouring his cheeks.

Tooru glanced back with equal fascination, Mikoto's gaze full of indecipherable intent, not too dissimilar to how he looked at him when they first met all those years ago. He was feeling just as confused back then as he was now. Tooru had already found that he was able to recapture some of the feelings he had back then from dressing in "princess" style clothes, and that wasn't what he had been feeling so mixed about after all. So then there were the two other questions he'd had. Regardless of the fact that they had grown older, and gone on their own separate ways, doing different things in life, it was clear now that Mikoto didn't appear to have changed too much, he was still the same person deep down. Tooru could detect a feeling of gladness as he thought about it. He didn't really like the prospect of Mikoto changing, before they began their first meeting, he'd hoped he had stayed the same way. He was fun to tease back then, but his nervousness and stubbornness suited him, and Tooru couldn't imagine him any other way. So then, all that he had left to think about as he peered over at Mikoto were the other two questions.

Tooru couldn't lie to himself; he'd already agreed to even go to the party with Mikoto, it was quite clear that he wanted to maintain a friendship with him no matter what. As for anything more than that…Tooru was a very open-minded person, and knew full well by now that anything in life was possible. It was true that he'd always had in mind a partner that'd comfort him, not the other way around. But Mikoto was emotionally-sensitive, and thoughtful in his own round-about way, wasn't that close enough? Besides, right now Mikoto seemed very innocent and modest dressed in a voluminous, graceful jumper-skirt, even though Tooru was aware of the illusions that women's clothes could create, he couldn't help but ponder the uncertain feelings he'd been harbouring since they'd met in the café.

Mikoto broke the eye-contact first. "O-okay then, but…I've still forgotten how to tie these…"

Both of their minds returned to the matter at hand. "Oh! They're easy if you remember how. Here, I'll tie them for you, turn around."

Mikoto turned, as instructed, facing the changing room mirror. He cringed in embarrassment at the reflection of himself in such ridiculous clothing. He looked further up, spotting Tooru behind him, pondering how he managed to suit the clothes more than he did, or so he thought.

Meanwhile, Tooru brought the waist-ties around the back of the jumper-skirt, and began tying them together, the patterned fabric embracing Mikoto tighter. Tooru continued concentrating; remembering the instructions on how to tie bows, but ended up somewhat distracted. Even as he was in the middle of tying the back, he could see how these delicate garments would look on Mikoto, adding further to the image of beauty and innocence he already had in mind. Even though he knew it was a feigned image, it was still Mikoto. Clothes, make-up, and hair: all of it helped, but Tooru knew that it was mostly about the person wearing it all, they'd been picked long ago for that purpose, and it was still obvious now as he finished the bow, spacing it out perfectly against Mikoto's back. The jumper-skirt now perfectly aligned on his slender frame, his waist accentuated. Whether he liked it or not, Mikoto appeared to Tooru as a petite ladylike form, and somehow, knowing the truth that this was in fact a blabbering nervous man, only seemed to make the image more attractive for some reason.

"Done." He proclaimed, yet his hands still lingered against Mikoto's waist.

"T-thanks." Mikoto was still gazing into the mirror, analysing the finished product. He couldn't deny that it was similar to the clothes they used to wear as princesses, but something still didn't feel right about it. Tooru looked good, almost natural in these clothes, so why did he look less like that in comparison? Mikoto couldn't help but still feel uncomfortable with dressing up in women's clothes. He'd been made to dress up this way, and felt pretty bad about it. He looked off in a melancholy manner; he was doing this to go along with the idea, he was doing this for Tooru and no other reason. It was true that he felt less bored and alone, but it still felt uncomfortable.

Tooru too glanced at the mirror, sensing Mikoto's uncertainty. He hesitantly slid his arms further around his waist, doing what felt right, only meaning to comfort him gently. The matching patterned skirts in yellow and lavender colliding into each other, his chest barely millimetres away from Mikoto's back.

"You look nice." He commented in a hushed tone, turning away from the mirror, wondering why on earth he was doing what he was doing, his nerves shaken slightly in uneasiness.

"As if!" It was a contrastingly loud, scoffing reply, "No matter which way you look at it we just look like -!" Mikoto felt Tooru lean in closer against him, his racing heartbeat detectable through layers of beautiful clothes against his back. Mikoto followed suit, swiftly looking away from the mirror, staring off at the cutesy wallpaper, remembering where he was, becoming well aware that if he were to cause a scene now, much worse things could happen. He adjusted slowly, his face burning more than before. He wasn't so used to having his personal space invaded like this, despite having been in a relationship before. He assumed this was just a one-off moment, and as much as he'd like to push Tooru away and yell at him, he couldn't bring himself to do so. If he yelled, he was certain security would be called, or something ridiculous along those lines. But if he were to just push Tooru away, then perhaps his friend would go off and not talk to him for years again, and he didn't want that. Mikoto was confined once more, in Tooru's arms. Figuring that there must be a more subtle way to go about it, he brought his hand against Tooru's, intending to pry him off his waist.

But it only seemed like his hand was resting against Tooru's grip as he spoke, reluctant to do anything more, finding it both confusingly awkward and comfortable at once. "Y-you look nice too…" He mumbled.

The moment was soon over; the store girl had approached the changing rooms after hearing Mikoto's initial reaction.

"Are you two okay? Do you need any assistance?"

Both of them left the shopping centre feeling particularly odd as the day drew to a close, there had been plenty of awkward silences and nervous smiles exchanged between them both.

As they approached the bus stop at the court yard, where Mikoto had first embarked on this day out, he plucked up the courage to ask a question that had been on his mind for a while.

"Kouno?"

Tooru was facing elsewhere, trying to get his mind straight. "Mhm?"

"W-why?! Why would you allow all that to happen at that girly shop?!" He moaned.

Tooru faced even further away, assuming Mikoto regretted the embrace.

"What are you talking about…?" He tried his best to keep his voice low and calm.

"H-how could you-?!" Mikoto's face broke out in upset. "How could you let me spend THAT much on women's clothes?!"