Alastor sputtered his drink back into the cup (ew!). Damn it, he had hoped she’d already forgotten that foolish promise he made to her weeks ago, but such hopes were in vain. He didn’t know what he was thinking by agreeing to her terms! But he didn’t believe in mistakes, merely ‘learning opportunities’. This would teach him well never to bind himself to actions he’d have second thoughts to.One finished meal and a discarded drink later, the duo took to browsing through the various chain stores in Capulet City’s mall until they found just the place that Yamato declared her favorite, and ventured into that one. All at once, he could see why it was her favorite, but he wanted to be blind to it, as the contents of the store figured entirely into the dumb bet he’d made. He draped various garments over his arm— bustiers, camisoles, chemises, garter dresses, the stockings and the belts, thongs with tiny sequins sewn onto them, and the like. His expression grew worse the less fabric he held, but at least he and Yamato both made confused noises in unison when he picked up what looked like a tiny triangle of fabric and a string. What even was that? He put it back, he wasn’t even going to entertain the idea of Yamato weari— oh there his mind went. Gross! He stuck his tongue out.With enough lingerie to actually constitute proper clothing when sewn together, the next step was to actually buy all of it, and Yamato left Alastor to that task on his lonesome while she waited outside of the store. The clerk whistled at the sheer (really!) amount of undergarments plopped onto the counter and set to aiming the price scanner along the barcode of each item and sticking them into bags, in no doubt well-rehearsed and fluid motions. Somewhere in the repetition, and not sparing a moment to look up, the worker tried to spark up a conversation with a casual, “So, special occasion?”"Yes," Alastor replied, "I’m buying them for myself."The clerk paused to let that sink in. Half a beat. A full beat. Two beats. Mouth pressed to a flat line, their trying-so-hard-to-be-blank gaze swept up and down along Alastor. Try not to look judging, seemed to be the objective. Try not to imagine the customer in those clothes should have been the actual point, and they probably missed it by a long shot judging by the sudden flustered look, punctuated with a quiet “Okay,” and back to the repetition. With all of the lingerie scanned, and an exorbitant price paid for it, Alastor quietly picked up his bags and left the store. The clerk watched him leave, but that probably goes without saying. Yamato fully expected Alastor to come out with the bags hanging off of his wrists and elbows, with an expression like someone had just run over his pet cat. He didn’t disappoint in that regard."Hey, Yama?""Yes?""I really, really hate you.”
