~R~

I stuck my finger through a new hole in my shirt. I looked at my shorts and saw that they were getting a little worn. My boots were barely beginning to fall apart. "I need some new clothes..." I said to no one in particular.

"Yeah you do." Marco must have heard me while he was walking by. I sighed. "...I can take you somewhere to shop if you want."

"I don't have any money." I replied.

"Don't worry about it. We can spare some cash." Marco said.

"Really?" I asked. I smiled. "Great! Can we go right now?"

"Sure." Marco said. "Come on." He walked off to get a small boat ready.

I carefully got into the boat when it was set up, and Marco shifted to his phoenix form and grabbed a rope in his talons.

"Hey, Rory! Where are you going?"

I looked up at Ace who was looking down at me from the side of the ship. "Shopping! We'll be back in a while!" I replied.

"Oh. Okay, have fun!" Ace waved.

Marco lifted off the boat and started flying, pulling the boat along by the rope. It was much faster than trying to sail there. It was a pretty quiet ride, and got there in about twenty minutes. I started looking for a store and Marco strolled along behind me. I looked for a shop that had clothes I liked. "Too dressy...Too boyish...Too slutty..." I murmured absently. It took a good ten minutes before I finally found a suitable shop. Lucky for me Marco was a pretty patient guy.

~...~

"Ugh, Rory are you done yet? I'm sure whatever you wear will look great, you don't have to try everything on..." Marco called from outside the dressing room. So much for being a patient guy.

"Be patient!" I replied. I heard him groan. "It's a girl thing, Marco. Most of us like to look good!"

~M~

Rory came out of the dressing room to look in the mirror. "What do you think?" she asked.

She was wearing a dark blue v-neck shirt with sleeves that stopped at her elbows and had a black buckle belt at her waist. She was wearing some tight yoga pants and black knee-high boots. "You look just great. Can you pay for it so we can go now?" I said.

She sighed. "Can't you be a little more serious?"

"Who are you even trying to impress?" I asked.

"No one." She replied.

I groaned. "Then why does all this matter? You could wear a baggy trench coat and a ski mask and the guys back at the ship will still think you're hot." I sighed.

Rory chuckled. "You're exaggerating." she said. "Plus it hasn't been that long. You sound like I've kept you here for hours..."

She had a point. It's only been about thirty minutes, but it felt much much longer than that. I am pretty patient, but that's usually because I'm used to long hours of keeping an eye out for threats. At least I was doing something. Right now, I'm just sitting here with nothing to do and waiting for a girl to choose what to buy. Each minute that passes feels like an eternity.

Now that I think of it, I should have had Ace take her shopping. With the way he's been devoting attention to her, he probably would have been more than happy to sit and wait as long as he had to. And that's saying something because Ace isn't known for his patience.

"Alright, since you're so bored I guess we can go." Rory said. "I have enough stuff I like to make a couple of different outfits."

"Finally..." I sighed.

"So dramatic..." Rory rolled her eyes. She headed to the counter to pay for her clothes.

Never again. Next time she wants to go shopping, someone else is taking her whether they like it or not.

~A~

I sighed and drummed my fingers against he table. I'm bored, not gonna lie. So is Thatch. We've tried chatting to pass the time, and even grabbed a snack earlier. What did we do before Rory came along? Whatever it was, it was no fun compared to our game. Its been a little over an hour since she and Marco went shopping.

...I held back a chuckle at the thought of Marco 'shopping'.

Anyway, if there were a good time for me to have a narcoleptic fit, it would be now. At least if I were sleeping I wouldn't be so bored.

"Rory-chan!" Thatch said happily. I looked over and saw her climbing aboard the ship with Marco.

"I'm not shopping with you ever again." Marco said.

Rory rolled her eyes and laughed. "I won't make you."

"That's a nice outfit, Rory-chan." Thatch said.

"Thanks." said Rory.

He got a mischievous look in his eyes. "I bet you'd look better with it off-" The shopping bag hit him in the face before he even finished speaking.

"Not even in your dreams..." She muttered. "You're out, by the way." Thatch groaned with disappointment and Rory laughed.

As she walked by me, I wanted to tell her she looked nice, but I thought against it. I assumed she would think I was kidding since Thatch already made a joke out of it.

Without thinking, I followed Rory to the guest room she was staying in. "So did you have fun?" I asked. It didn't occur to me that the others would notice. Later I found out they all thought I was being clingy, but i don't see why. She's my friend and I just wanted to chat a bit.

"I guess. It could have been more fun if Marco wasn't in such a hurry to leave." Rory said as she put away her new clothes. I caught a glimpse of a pleated navy blue mini skirt and I couldn't help but hope she wore it. And soon, because it's been windy lately... "And here I thought he was patient." I came back to reality.

"He usually is." I chuckled.

"I guess it's just me, then..."

"Nah, he's just...Maybe shopping isn't his thing?" I ventured.

"Obviously. I have to find someone else to take me next time." Rory said.

"Well, you know I'm always available..."

"You won't get bored?" she asked.

"No way!" I replied.

She giggled. "We'll see. You'll take me next time then." she agreed. I smiled.