Work Text:
"Lalna! Lalna!!" Loud footsteps echoed through the basement as a familiar voice shouted his name. It made Lalna jump a little from how sudden it was, but he set down his tools and looked towards the source.
"Hmm?" The scientist pulled his goggles up onto his head as Zoey ran down the stairs towards him. She seemed rather excited, but when wasn't she? She was practically a ray of sunshine, able to brighten the room with her presence alone. Still, he raised an eyebrow, wondering what she wanted.
"I made some new clothes, and I want you to try some of them on!" Not even giving Lalna a choice, Zoey grabbed his arm and dragged him up the stairs towards the bedroom. All he could do was drop what he was doing and follow with a laugh. There was no point in arguing with her, since she was rather stubborn when she wanted something. Lalna liked hanging out with her anyway, so he didn't mind being pulled away from his work.
They entered the small bedroom upstairs, the mirror moved from its usual spot closer to the bed. Said bed was covered by a large assortment of clothes, all together in a messy pile. Despite that, Lalna could easily tell what was made for who just by color and style. Rythian's stood out the most, mostly dark colors, amidst the other bright ones Lalna and Zoey enjoyed.
"Alright, strip down to your undergarments. There are a couple of things here," Zoey commanded, going through the pile and scooping some of the colorful garments into her arms.
Lalna listened with no argument, removing his lab coat, goggles, shirt, shoes and pants, leaving him with just his black binder and boxers on. Zoey had seen him like this plenty of times, since he would casually lounge around the house, so it was no big deal.
With the large armful of clothing in her possession, Zoey hopped towards Lalna with her usual smile. They got to work. The bundle mostly consisted of new pants, shorts, and large t-shirts of various colors, since that's what Lalna found most comfortable to wear. A few did stick out, like a pair of overalls and baggy tank tops, along with a couple of hoodies. Everything had fit well and, thankfully, all had good textures that wouldn't bother Lalna through the day. Slowly, but surely, they went through the entire pile.
Finishing up, there was only one article left in Zoey's hands while Lalna removed the shirt he had on. It was light pink in color, and looked to have a satin-like texture. She handed it to Lalna, who held it up and looked at it quizzingly. It turned out to be a skirt, which was the last thing he expected. Last he remembered wearing a skirt was, well, he'd say it'd probably have been when he was a kid, but that technically wasn't true. Being a clone and all, who knows what was real or not? Either way, this had to be a mistake.
"Um, Zoey, I think you gave me the wrong one," Lalna assumed with a chuckle, giving her a look of confusion as he bundled it in his hands.
"Nope, that's for you!" Zoey casually responded, rocking on her feet with a wide grin on her face, "I thought you'd look good in one, so I made it! You're welcome!"
Lalna's eyes widened at that, looking between her and the garment he held a couple of times.
"I don't know…" Uncertainty was clear in Lalna's voice. Usually, he didn't mind things that were considered more "feminine," Flowers, bows, the color pink, things like that. Yet, there was something about skirts and dresses that brought an unpleasant feeling in his chest. Just the thought alone made his body tingle, and not in a good way.
"C'mooon, doesn't hurt to try," the mushroom girl interrupted his thoughts, "I promise I won't judge. It's alright if you don't like it, but you gotta at least give it a shot," she insisted, patting his arm as a sign of comfort.
Lalna reconsidered for a moment. She wasn't wrong. It didn't hurt to try, so why not? He had messed with so many things that could have easily killed him with no hesitation. Why was he so scared of a piece of fabric?
Before he could second-guess himself, Lalna slipped it on, settling it around his hips. It was rather snug, but comfortable enough not to bother him, and the fabric felt nice against his skin. Swallowing down his irrational anxiety, he forced himself to look in the mirror beside him.
Surprisingly, Lalna didn't immediately dislike it on himself. The combination of the brightly colored skirt with his black binder, divided by a bit of skin showing, worked well together. It helped his anxiety settle somewhat, allowing him to twirl side to side, watching the flowing fabric in awe.
"Look at you! Being all cute and stuff!" Zoey complimented while looking at him through the mirror, nudging his arm with her elbow. Lalna's cheeks warmed up, a nervous smile on his face as his fingers played with the smooth fabric.
"I guess it isn't that bad, huh?" Lalna muttered, mostly to himself, thankful dysphoria wasn't hitting him like a truck. Well, for now at least.
Amidst all that, neither of them noticed Rythian had walked upstairs and entered the room. They both turned around when he spoke up. He wasn't looking at them right away, instead down at the basket he held with various materials inside.
"Hey guys, I brought a couple of things that I'd thought would be useful from the Twilight Forest. There were a bunch of-'' Rythian froze in his tracks when he finally saw what was happening, giving Lalna a once over. Lalna tensed up at that, frozen as well.
It was hard to tell Rythian's thoughts, especially with his mask on, but it was obvious his face turned a dark shade of red. It made Lalna's own a similar shade, his heart doing a massive flip in his chest. All the two men did was look at each other with widened eyes. Meanwhile, Zoey watched from the sidelines with arms crossed, a smug look adorned her face. Lalna wasn't sure why, but his immediate instinct was to leave.
"Well then!" he announced with a clap of his hands, breaking the long silence, "I, uh, better get back to it," he nervously laughed. He took off the skirt and practically shoved it into Zoey's arms, who seemed to be snickering. He gathered his original clothes, making sure to avoid looking either of them in the eyes, already heading out the door.
"Thanks for the new stuff, Zoey! I'll chat with you guys later," Awkwardly brushing past Rythian, Lalna rushed out, running downstairs. He was positive he heard his name being called, but he chose to ignore it, shutting himself in the basement.
With a groan, Lalna hastily shoved his clothes back on. He needed to distract himself after that disaster, or this was going to eat him alive. For now, he pulled his goggles over his eyes, picked up his tools, and went back to work.
Something like this usually wouldn't bother him. He would have owned it. Joked about it and made it no big deal. But there was something about Rythian's reaction that sent a wave of embarrassment crashing over the scientist. He wasn't sure what made this so different. It was just Rythian. Yet, his cheeks were still warm just remembering it.
Well, at least one good thing came out of it; before Rythian strolled in, Lalna was actually feeling confident in himself. So, maybe Zoey was right. Fuck dysphoria. Maybe he did look decent with a skirt on.