The weekend came rather quickly. The work-from-home life was relatively routine. Every day, we would repeat the same activities, which made the time pass faster. Of course, Althea was with me all the way, so our little conversations gave us some solace during these desperate times.

So, when we were finally able to go on a shopping trip, it was a breath of fresh air for both of us.

Winter was almost over, and the snowy cold was almost gone. However, it wasn’t Spring yet. Many were still hugging on their fleece jackets and thick woollen pants. Althea and I were no exception.

I wore two layers of shirts with long thick pants to keep my legs warm. And although it wasn’t needed, I brought an overcoat just to be safe.

On the other hand, Althea wasn’t that humble. She had a white blouse covered by a black sweater and a beige wrap coat. For her bottom, she wore a tube skirt with thick leggings to keep her warm. Her feet were covered with fur boots, an overkill for the end of winter, though it did complete her stylish look. Finally, to warm her adorable little head, she had a chestnut beret.

I didn’t know until I’d met Althea, but women paid a lot of attention to their looks. No, I’ve heard of it in stories from Len and other men with girlfriends. However, seeing it in person was a different story.

Though, I didn’t see the point. A beauty like Althea would look good in anything she wore. Why would she put this much effort into a shopping trip?

Hah… There was no need to think too much into it.

Today was Althea’s day. All I needed to do was to obediently be a good enough escort. Dragged by Althea through the public transport system, I was astounded to see the vast differences in this age of the new normal.

Every single person was wearing a mask. It didn’t matter if they were young or old, short or tall. There were no exceptions to this ironclad rule. Trains were expected to run at half the capacity, so conductors would routinely deny access to commuters. There was even a line at my local train station, something that I’d never encountered in my years living in this neighbourhood.

People were socially distancing, with few actually congregating in groups. Hardly anyone was smoking now, and the streets seemed far more silent than they used to be.

Seeing all of this… I was once again reminded that we were in a pandemic, a deadly one at that.

Yes, the country was reopening… But it was still far from normal.

Hah… Depressing news aside, it didn’t take long for Althea to lead me to our final destination.

A shopping mall, almost ten stories tall. Entering from the front gate, the first thing that I’d observed was the hefty, pungent scent of flowers. No, not only that, there were a plethora of aromatics, probably made from essential oils or something of that kind.

The first floor was packed to the brim with female cosmetics stalls and small cafes. Each one being fancier than the other. The other floors, however…

“... What kind of mall is this?”

“A place that specialises in clothes. Floor one is where you’ll find all the food areas, the rest of the floors sell clothes, shoes, belts… You name it, they’ll have it.”

“A-A specialised mall?!”

I looked around the plaza with awe. I’d never heard of such a place, let alone step foot in one of them. Due to the winding nature of the mall, we had to make round trips, giving us a chance to see each and every store.

One boutique exclusively sold dresses, most of them for the Spring season coming up. Another only sold women’s shoes, and while they weren’t glass slippers like in Cinderella, many of them were decorated with shiny stones.

The sheer variety of women’s apparel was astounding. And that was just one floor!

However, the girl of the hour wasn’t interested in any of the beautiful shops. In fact, it seemed like she was in a hurry to reach the next escalator.

“Aren’t you going to shop around?” I asked dubiously.

“I can do that later! The lower floors only sell women’s clothes, but the ninth and tenth floor specialises in men’s apparel!”

“Wait, you mean from floor two to eight, they’re all women’s clothes?!”

“I did say that we were coming to a special mall, right?” Althea winked as she pulled me along. “Come, let’s hurry! Once we get your clothes, then we can slowly shop for my belt.”

Since when did it become my shopping trip? I wanted to ask that, but my mouth was silenced by Althea’s quickening feet. Eventually, after going round and round the women's sections, we’d finally reached the ninth floor.

And I just have one word to describe what I saw…

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Wow.

The first thing that came to my eye were the suit tailors at the foot of the escalators. Many of them were aged men with deep eyes that proved their experience. There were some cobblers with dozens of leather shoes surrounding their workshop.

But that was just the beginning…

Deeper down, I could see more youthful shops. Shirts with skull prints at their centre... Pants with ripped holes near the knee caps… Gold chains and other flashy accessories…

You name it, the mall probably had it.

In all my years living on this planet, I’d never been to a place such as this.

Contrary to my unease, Althea meandered through the walkways like a fish through water. She grabbed onto my wrist and led me past all of the overwhelming, flashier stalls and brought me all the way to a corner store.

“Desir, over here! This is the store I’m recommending to you!”

“H-Huh?”

I looked into the boutique and examined all of the clothes on display. None of them were overly outlandish, but they weren’t plain either. There were some striped shirts, patterned sweaters, stylish jackets, ripped jeans… even sunglasses and hats to go with the look.

“You’ve been here before?”

“No, to survive the pandemic, many of the shops here started to put all of their merchandise on their online store. Before we came here, I had a look there.”

“Wait… If we could buy the clothes online, why did we have to come all the way here?”

For me, that was a logical question. Buying clothes online was far more efficient, in my opinion. You wouldn’t have to waste money on transport, and someone was delivering the clothes to your doorstep. It was a win-win in my eyes.

However, Althea had a different idea: “Well, that’s true, but it's better to test the clothes before you buy them. Sometimes, the shirt might be too tight or too loose. Also, if you’re here in person, you could try the clothes on to see if it suits you first.”

“Hah...”

I didn’t really care if the clothes suited me or not. As long as they were comfortable, I would be content.

Either way, since we were already here, I relented and walked into the menacing boutique.

“How may I help you?”

A young woman in her twenties walked over the moment we stepped foot into the all-male store. She was wearing a mask, but it couldn’t hide her amicable and tender nature. She looked like a professional when it came to customer management, and her actions spoke louder than words.

“We’re here to buy some Spring clothes for him. Could you recommend your best apparel?”

“Okay, is there anything that you’re looking for?”

“We could go for a more urban look. You know something that’s a little more modern but not too classy.”

“Oh my, someone knows what kind of look she wants.” The retail advisor winked at Althea with a teasing look. Understanding what she meant, Althea’s face flushed red, and her beaming smile turned into an adorable wince.

Hah… Yet another person had misunderstood our relationship.

“No, we’re not a couple.”

“Hmmm? Ah, I’m sorry. I was too quick to jump to conclusions.” Hearing my correction, the young lady bowed in apology and being the professional she was, she quickly changed the topic. “Here, I have some recommendations for the dashing young man.”

Dashing? Who?

Salespeople man… They sure have a silver tongue.

Althea and I followed the retail assistant to one of the nearby racks, and she picked out a few notable shirts. Some of them were basic; others had more intricate designs. Most of them were clothes that I would have never worn usually, even if someone gifted them to me.

“You have a nice figure, so there are plenty of shirts that suit you. If you’re willing to show off your muscles, you could try some of the tighter shirts. I’m willing to bet that you’ll become the centre of attention in any room if you wore those clothes.”

“I’ll pass,” I rolled my eyes in denial.

I hated tight clothes. As someone who wore sweatpants all day long, I loved to be comfortable. Wearing tight clothes went against the fabric of my nature.

“Okay, what about these?”

The retail lady brought over an oversized black and white striped casual shirt and hung it in front of my body. It was made with a soft fabric, one that I couldn’t identify with a single touch. Though, it did feel extremely comfortable.

“Oversized shirts are a trend too! Particularly with those who have nice figures. If you think it’s too baggy, you could tuck one side in and leave the other out. It’ll be the perfect look for Spring!”

“Actually, that’s a good idea!” Althea clapped her hands in support. “I’ve seen that look in many online catalogues. I think that it’ll be a good fit for you, Desir!”

“Is that so...”

What the hell were they talking about?

I’d never cared for fashion, so I couldn’t follow their conversation. They seemed to be speaking English, but why do the terms sound so alien?

“Okay, let’s try it, shall we?”

Sensing my hesitance, the retail assistant brought me to the changing room and instructed me how to wear the oversized shirt. While I couldn’t understand the appeal, I could at least follow basic instructions. It took me a minute to change into the given shirt, and when I came out…

“Wow, as expected from someone of your figure! It suits you really well!”

The shopkeeper praised me with blatant glee. Hah… Could you be less obvious with your sales tactics? Sighing, I looked at Althea to get an honest impression, but…

“Althea?”

“Huh? Ah, sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. Did you say something?”

“Nothing, actually… So, how do I look?”

“... something is missing.”

See? I knew these kinds of shirts weren’t suited for me. I wanted to retort, but Althea approached me before I could even breathe a word.

“Hold still...”

Althea went straight up my chest and touched my collar button. Hmmm? What was she doing? Wait, why are you unbuttoning me?! Hold on, do you hate the shirt that much?! But if you want me to take it off, just tell me! You don’t have to strip me naked in broad daylight! See? The retail advisor had averted her eyes away! Stop, Althea, stop!!!

“Much better...”

Just as I’d accepted my fate as a flasher in the mall, Althea stopped stripping me after the fourth button was unfastened. I looked down, and I could see much of my chest being exposed. If someone blew on one side, my pinkish, pointy nipples would be exposed, changing the scene into an R-rated one.

As if admiring her work, Althea smiled and circled her finger on my exposed chest. Mesmerised by the sight, she gently placed her palm into the shirt and rubbed her way up my pectoral muscles.

“A-Althea… What are you doing?”

“Hmmm? A-Ah! N-No, I’m sorry!”

Finally realising the situation, Althea jumped away like a bunny in fright. She gulped and rapidly blinked, but her eyes didn’t leave my chest for a single second.

“N-Normally, people would unbutton that shirt, so I thought I would h-help with that! T-There’s nothing more to it!”

“O-Okay...”

So this shirt was supposed to be partially unbuttoned, huh… As usual, I really didn’t understand the world of fashion.

After calming herself, Althea reached out, and with a regrettable expression, she buttoned up the bottommost button. “Four buttons is too much… Three is more than enough.” A determined look flashed across Althea’s face at that moment as she turned to the storekeeper: “We’ll be buying this shirt. Please find a suitable bottom to go with it.”

“With pleasure!”

Hey… What about my opinion?

The girls ignored my astonished expression and went into their own sweet world. Over twenty outfits were placed on the table outside the fitting room, and before I knew it, I had become their exclusive play doll.

Over the next hour, Althea made me try on a plethora of outfits. The funny thing was, I wasn’t the one having the fun. Althea and the young lady assistant bonded over my clothes and made me do random poses like a runway model.

In the end, they’d made me try on over two dozen outfits, and Althea picked her three favourite ones. Wait, wasn’t I supposed to buy only one shirt? Why did it multiply itself?

And what kind of input did I have over the clothes that I was buying?

None.