Not Unlike You
Chapter 6
A week passed fairly quick. Miia adjusted herself to the house, and got to know everyone better. Though, if asked, Yukino would say she was a little peeved about how "relaxed" she began to get around Adam. To the consternation of Yukino and Centorea, Miia had started to get clingy on Adam's arms whenever they sat close to each, and both had caught her peeking into his room while he slept on two different nights. While Miia had tried to keep her heart distant, she couldn't help the well of affection she seemed to be developing for the strange young man.
Such emotions led to the situation Adam currently found himself in. He had woken up to coils of pure muscle entangling his whole body, with the only free limb being his right arm. Wriggling around, Adam was only able to get to a position where he was looking at the ceiling. Sighing, he turned his head to the left to find Miia snuggling him like he was a heated body pillow. Reaching as far as he could in his position, Adam began to gently tap Miia on the forehead, poke her on the cheek, and then boop her on the nose. The last one got a wiggle of her nose and a giggle out of her, but nothing else.
With no sign of her joining him in the waking world, he decided to implement Protocol G. Snapping his fingers twice with his free hand, Adam saw Gregory rise from his own bed before walking over to where Adam could see him in his peripheral vision. "My friend, I seem to be in a bit of a bind. Mind lending me a paw?"
What happened next was not exactly what Adam had in mind, or thought would honestly happen. Apparently, Gregory took "lending a paw" as a sign to jump up on the bed, circle around to Miia, and begin punching her in the back, repeatedly, with both paws going as fast as a professional boxer in a title match. This had the unintended consequences of not only waking her up with a loud yelp, but she also tightened her grip on Adam before rolling the both of them out of the bed and onto the floor.
Hearing the loud thump of an impact with the floor, Yukino could only guess what happened, and grabbed an ice pack from the freezer, just in case. After going upstairs and opening the door to see Miia entangling her little brother on the floor, she just smiled and let out a disturbingly low laugh. "Oh I just LOVE being right this early in the morning." She then proceeded to shove the ice pack betwixt Miia's bosom.
After a warm bath, Miia came downstairs looking relaxed before shooting a stink-eye at Yukino, who just responded with a smirk and a look that said "The Predator Is Me". Cheeks puffed in frustration, Miia helped herself to some cereal before taking her place at the table to Adam's left. While stoic on the outside, Centorea found herself irked on the inside at Miia's increasing level of possessiveness towards her Master. If anything, she would rather her Master cling to her back as they both rode off to an unknown destination with nothing to guide them but a wayward wind. Such thoughts were truly unbecoming of a knight, but Centorea kept imagining herself in unfamiliar territory, her thoughts getting more risque as seconds went by.
Not paying attention to everyone else, Adam had his eyes planted firmly on his sketchbook, his pencil swiftly moving across the paper. After losing at another impromptu staring contest with Yukino, Miia set her sights on what Adam was doing.
"Whatcha drawing, Darling? It looks a little complicated." Complicated was one way to put it. Sparing her a glance to show that he had heard her, Adam began pointing out aspects of his latest brain child. "These are just some preliminary designs for a pet project I left alone for a while. I'm just touching them up a little and reworking where the joints interlock so there's no excess stress on my limbs. Though, as things are now, I lack the means of making all the little bits necessary to get started."
What he had sketched out looked similar to a backpack, with the key differences being the rig that attached to the cranium, along with the two robotic appendages that extended over both shoulders.
"Ahem," Yukino brought everyone's attention to her as she stood from her seat. "Today is one of the rare days off that I don't want to sit around and be lazy. So I suggest we all go out and do something together. Any suggestions?"
Before anyone else could say anything, Miia already blurted out the first thing she could think of. "Why don't we go shopping for new clothes? Not to be a downer, but when has Darling ever NOT looked like he was dressed like L from Death Note?"
Adam looked down at his attire, unsure whether he should feel offended or not. "I have more than just one outfit. I just don't like dressing in an unnecessary fashion without reason."
Centorea took on a thinking pose, with her left hand gently tapping her chin. "While it is said that variety is the spice of life, I would agree with Master more-so. Why dress for an occasion if there is none to be had?" Adam nodded in agreement, giving Centorea a gleeful feeling of validation.
Yukino chose that moment to interrupt, before Miia could put a metaphorical boot in her mouth. "Okay, everyone shut your yapping tubes! It's been a while since I went shopping with my sweet, little, pudding of a baby brother, so strap in, because we're hitting the town!"
At that exact moment, Adam knew he was gonna be stuck carrying all the bags by the end of this trip. How did he know? Well, ever since they first met in his younger years, Yukino had the habit of using cute terms or "pet names" whenever she wanted him to do something for her that was arduous, taxing on the muscles, or she was too lazy to do it herself. Bottom line: she was caring, but manipulative when she wanted to be. Adam never fell for it, of course. He just always thought that it would be easier to go with the flow and get stuff done. Time management was no joke to him.
Before heading out, Adam took the time to look up shops that specialized in clothing options for both human AND extra-species individuals, wrote down the addresses, and then let Yukino take the lead. The first stop on their trip was a new hat shop opened by a mouse girl and an old rabbit man called "Hopper's Hat House." Inside, there were hats galore. Top hats, bowlers, fedoras, a trilby for every occasion, and that was only the beginning. While the others were casually browsing and trying things on, Adam went perusing through the Men's section, admiring the detail on some of the top hats, when all of a sudden, something caught his eye in a glass case near a hat tree.
Beneath the glass were three hats: a red and black striped fedora, a blue newsboy cap that had black splatters on it, and a white bucket hat that seemed too ordinary for such a display. Coming up on the other side of the case was the old rabbit man, a feather duster in his hand. "Interested in these beauties, young man?"
Having been caught staring, Adam averted his eyes and nodded in affirmation. The old man smiled as he opened a small window on the case to begin dusting the hats. "It's not every day we get custom orders like these. The order came from someone with a bit too much money on their hands. I say that, of course, because when the order was done, he changed his mind and said "Keep the money, pops. Just put a good price on 'em until someone snatches them up". So, if you're interested, I'm selling all three for ten thousand yen. Not a bad deal, eh?"
Without a second thought, Adam and the others made their purchases before heading on their way. Yukino didn't really find anything she wanted, so she just decided to buy a yellow sun hat that Miia had been eyeing, paying an extra few yen for a cord to be attached, so in the instance of a windy day, Miia wouldn't lose it. Centorea had no intention of getting a hat, but when presented with a red cloche hat that matched the red ribbon she wore in a bow under her blouse collar, she couldn't deny that it somehow worked. The fact that Adam liked the hat on her was also a factor toward getting it.
Their second stop was at a general clothing store. Unlike the hat shop, Yukino and Miia had immediately grabbed Adam and strong-armed him into trying a few different outfits on. While silent at the moment, Centorea couldn't help but wonder what her Master would look like in something other than his normal attire.
Having been shoved into a changing room, Adam begrudgingly tried on clothes that had been foisted on him: two pairs of khaki cargo shorts and pants, a sky blue long sleeve button-up shirt, and a camouflage print tank top. At the very least, he didn't have to try on too many things. The last trip with his sister had him in a booth for almost a whole hour. The memory made him shiver.
After trying out the new clothes, Miia couldn't stop gushing about how "manly" he looked, getting the odd stare from a few other customers nearby, and Yukino had to cover her mouth before she caused an incident like what her brother went through the other day with Centorea. The aforementioned centaur couldn't help but admire how his pale complexion made the simple button-up shirt look distinguished, or how the tank top showed off how toned his upper body was. It was...tantalizing, one might say, if she were not in denial.
From then onward, the rest of the trip had been about the girls, and having "called it" earlier in his head, Adam had been the one to carry almost all the bags. "Almost" being the key word, as Centorea had happily taken it upon herself to relieve Adam of two or three bags.
The last two stops were a little awkward for separate reasons. The shoe store had been weird since Miia didn't have feet, and Centorea didn't like anything keeping her hooves from feeling the ground beneath her. Yukino had a laugh, and Adam couldn't help but remember the time in his childhood where he refused to wear shoes for a while.
The lingerie store was...interesting to say the least. Adam had decided to blindfold himself, even though he had been in the vicinity of naked women before without issue. He believed in manners, and he didn't want his wandering eyes to catch the gaze of someone else, thus creating a situation where he could be mislabeled as a pervert.
While Miia was trying on some frilly bras, Yukino decided to try and get Centorea something too, much to the knight's frustration. "Lady Hazama, I'll have you know that Centaur women don't normally wear braziers!"
Yukino could only sigh. "Okay, I get that, but every time you start running, your sweater puppies bounce around like it's New Years Eve, and I'd hate for you to pop a button and lose what dignity you have in public."
Embarrassed at being called out by her hostess, Centorea surrendered and was promptly dragged to the section for larger species, leaving Adam to sit in a chair across from the changing room Miia occupied. Silence reigned for all of a minute before Miia poked her head out, wanting a second opinion from Yukino on a bra she wanted, but she only saw Adam, sitting in his chair and waiting patiently for the chance to leave. Seeing the young man of her affection alone gave her an idea that would be worth the ice pack torture if she was caught.
"Ahem. Darling, could you come here for a second?" Miia whispered. Having heard her with how little background noise there was, Adam got up and mentally counted the exact steps towards the curtain, wondering what Miia could want of him. Without warning, Miia grabbed Adam by the shoulders and pulled him into the booth, closing the curtain behind him.
Lifting his blindfold to assess the situation, Adam found his eyes drawn to the pattern on Miia's new bra. It was striped horizontally with light blue and white with a tiny white bow in the center, where both mammaries met the middle. Looking up, he saw Miia staring back expectantly. "So...what do you think? Do I look good in this?"
Now, Adam was no expert in fashion, nor was he any good at picking up sarcasm, or taking hints, or master of any social norms that others were accustomed to. What he was good at, however, was color coordination. "Accompanied by the right outfit, I think this bra in particular will look quite nice."
Miia's cheeks flared in frustration. "Well yeah, but I want to know what you think about ME in this bra. Do I look good in it or not?"
Looking Miia in the eyes, something clicked in his head. Miia was looking for a reassurance of her physical appearance, probably from a lack of confidence. Adam looked at her bosom for a second before returning to her eyes. "I think you look nice. Though this bra compliments you nicely, it seems to squeeze you a bit much, as your breasts seem to be leaking slightly out of the top."
Having had ulterior motives before, Miia didn't give much thought about the size of her bra before Adam said something. Then her eyes gained a mischievous gleam to them. This situation could be a perfect chance to complete her "Seduction Plan".
"Oof. Now that you mention it, it does feel a bit tight. Would you mind helping me get it off?" But before she could turn her back to him, he reached out and held her close, catching her off guard. Was he finally giving into his urges? Did he want her body like any hot-blooded man would crave a woman like her? Her heart pounded in excitement, but just as quickly as he grabbed her, Adam ran a single finger up her back and unclasped her bra in one clean movement before releasing her. Adam quickly turned around and left the booth without a word, Miia's bra falling to the floor as he closed the curtain.
Looking down at the fallen clothing article, Miia could only think about how fast it had all happened, and then her brain summarized her feelings in two words, whispered under her breath.
"So cool..."
By the time Adam sat back down, Yukino had come back with Centorea in tow. It turned out that for bust sizes like that of the blonde centaur, custom orders were required, as most women who came in were not as...gifted as she was in the chest department.
Seeing her brother where she left him, Yukino decided to hurry Miia along so they could finish their shopping trip and head home. Miia was a tad upset that her plan to seduce Adam hadn't followed through, but she was amazed by how he unhooked her bra with no effort and walked away without looking back. If anything, this cemented an image of a smooth gentleman in her head, and she couldn't help the swell in her chest at the thought of Adam taking her in his arms once again, stroking her hair and leaning in for a tender kiss.
While Miia was lost in her fantasy, the walk home was silent, with the exception of the general noise around them, and the sounds of Centorea's hooves upon the ground. To Adam's relief, Centorea offered to carry half of the bags accrued on the shopping spree, leaving his shoulders less stiff upon arriving home.
Separating himself from the group, Adam went to his room to sort his new duds. His closet was a tad boring to most people who didn't know him personally. With a few polo shirts amongst dozens of plain white long-sleeve shirts, Adam had an easy time finding everything, including new spots for his increased wardrobe. The new pants would be folded and put in the dresser, and the hats would sit on a shelf that had been empty for some time.
As he was sorting everything, Miia slithered in, hoping to have some alone time with him, and to ask a very important question. Without looking, Adam had already heard her enter, and inquired her purpose in entering his sanctum, though not so formally.
"What's up, Miia?"
Her eyes kept going back and forth in a nervous way, but with a shake of he head, Miia steadied her nerves. "How did you do it?"
Not done with his closet, (since he was still rearranging his shirts) Adam rolled his hand in the air, telling Miia that she needed to elaborate further, as he didn't know what she was referring to.
"Back in the changing room earlier, you unhooked my bra so quick that it was like magic! How?!"
Judging by her tone, Adam could recognize her frustration in not figuring it out. Sighing, he decided to finish organizing his clothes after a short story time. He walked over to his bed, sat down, and pat the area next to him, indicating that he wanted Miia to sit with him. After being seated, Adam regaled her of a short time in his past.
"Back when I was still going to school in America, I had a friend who was being harassed by a group of cheerleaders. Unfortunately, I was taught to never hit a woman, so I had my friend Brian try to defuse the situation with his talent in humor. This was a misstep in judgment. He stealthily moved behind the cheerleaders, and in an instant, he had unclasped their bras through their shirts before I could blink. He then proceeded to run away, doing his best impression of Curly Joe as he fled."
Miia had, in all honesty, not expected such a strange answer. What she thought she'd hear would be a story about an ex-girlfriend who taught him the trick out of a need for some quick hanky-panky.
"Neither me or Rachel ever found out how he got away without punishment, but he had a knack for info gathering, so we just assumed he had blackmail material and left it at that. Other than that, I asked him how he did the thing, and a few weeks of practicing with a mannequin bore a new trick up my long white sleeves. The day I got it right on the first try, he was crying a little, though I never understood why."
The more Miia learned about him, the more questions she had, and then said questions were replaced by fantasies of Adam in a shining suit of armor, carrying her over the threshold of a castle. Suffice to say, she was smitten. He was charmingly eccentric, handsome in his own way, and though he didn't really catch on to her flirting, she was determined to get her feelings across, no matter how long it took.