Burnin' Rage [Moe]

[Ann Hudgins]

She felt his warm glow of pride and felt a pang of something....was that pleasure? Was Ann pleased that Moe was proud of her for putting make up on? What? Was Ann proud of herself for putting it on right the first try? What?

She, a little distractedly, smiled back at him and nudged him a little with her shoulder in an unspoken way to show her affection and otherwise powerful feelings. Even being an empath didn't help her with these sorts of situations. She followed behind him out of the store, with a small bud of dread. Moe's style of clothing was a world apart from her own. Her's couldn't even be called a 'style.' Moe was the type to get the new season of clothing, at the start of the season, not off the clearance rack at the end of it.

She followed behind him, that bud of dread starting to bloom, when the shop he picked was actually a place she did shop at. She smiled at the cashier behind the register, because the two were familiar with each other (Ann had to get herself some clothes for work and this shop was within her price range). She followed behind Moe in his search for the perfect outfit for her, and each time she thought he was going to pull something off the rack and hold it up to her, her heart pattered with worry. "Size.....3!" She chirped after a moment of thinking about it. It really did take her a minute to recall what pant size she wore. The skinny jeans he decided on made her wrinkle her nose at first, but then she decided it wasn't the actual pants he was holding that she didn't like, but the idea of him buying them for her. She sighed. She then smiled at him and offered with her hands to hold the pants while he went about finding a shirt for them. "They look cool." She offered with a smile. She did like them, her tone said otherwise. She was just awkward, Moe, sorry.

Then he zipped off and was at another rack. He pulled up the blue shirt and the same reaction went through Ann. The shirt was fine! It was actually pretty, and a nice few shades of blue. She then tried to keep up with him when he went through the accessories portion of the store because Ann wasn't very good at matching jewelry with clothes. Ann's mind didn't even process what he said about getting their nails done. She smiled at him when he deemed the outfit ready.

"So....I should go try it on?" She asked as if she had never been shopping before.

[Misato Hazukashi]

Moe was so wrapped up in making sure Ann had the perfect summer outfit for wowing Alex and making friends at Uni that he'd forgotten that it might be a little uncomfortable for someone spend that much on a new friend. But Moe was a generous little soul with a nice comfortable bank balance - and he was trying to get himself a job in an interiors shop for next year too - so he saw nothing wrong with making Ann as glamourous as he thought she was.

When she told her size, Moe checked the sizes he'd picked out. Spot on. Moe's other super power is knowing people's clothing sizes by just looking at them. He's really THAT good. He didn't particularly notice Ann's nerves - probably because he's so excited and bouncy about getting the girl in some lovely simple fashion she can easily pull off. When he'd assessed the outfit a few more times, he nodded and handed it over.

"Go ahead!" He squeaked, bouncing on the balls of his feet and generally looking pleased with himself. Maybe Moe should change his dream vocation from Interior Designer to Fashion Guru - but he likes pretty curtains and nice hardwood flooring and dramatic designs far too much to limit himself to putting clothes on people. Houses were much bigger and had more interesting features to dress. While Ann headed to the changing room, Moe politely sat outside the changing room stall and swung his legs back and forth. It was only when he noticed a pretty pink dress that he got distracted and checked for his size.

Moe's tiny, for the record. I'm pretty sure I'm at least 5 times his clothing size. He frowned and reached for the smallest size there and held it up against himself, pondering it. Well, he was spending money here already, buying oooone tiny dress was hardly going to push his budget.

With this in mind, he slipped into the changing room beside Ann's and chirped over the wall. "I'm in this one trying on a dress! So don't think I've disappeared." His voice was cheery as he buttoned the dress up and tilted his head this way and that, deciding if he liked it on or not. Eventually, after some serious scrutiny, he decided it was adorable and stood waiting for Ann back outside, so she could give her opinion on the dress too.

[Ann Hudgins]

Ann didn't doubt his sincerity, not at all. She could definitely feel that. It was just that it was weird. Why would he want to do that for her, when all she was doing was teaching him to defend himself (and kick his ex boyfriend repeatedly for cheating on him). She wasn't spending money on him, so her cheat ass self couldn't fathom why he would want to like this. It was a sweet gesture, though, so Ann still couldn't bring herself to tell him no, flat out.

With all the stuff in tow, Ann walked into the changing room and promptly deposited them all on the little bench then proceeded to change. She swapped shirts fine, but the pants posed a problem. They were tight, which was actually normal because they were skinny jeans after all, but Ann hadn't realized HOW tight they'd be. It was like they weren't even there. She bit her lip as she looked at her legs in the mirror. Boney. She was so boney. When Moe's voice reached her, she jerked a little in surprise, her elbow thudded against the wall and she let out a little, 'ow, son of a--' as she rubbed it.

"Okay. I'm almost finished...." She adjusted all the jewelry Moe had added with it and shuffled out in her socks to look at herself in the mirror. Yeah it was Ann, still, but this Ann was different than the one that had walked into the changing room. These clothes were girly and not about four or five years old. They were new, not handed down or from good will. Ann pulled at the tunic a little and nibbled at her lip. "Are you sure about this?" She asked quietly, maybe not even loud enough for Moe to hear it. Then Moe came out of the dressing room, in a dress. It was pink, and very...Moe. It was obviously something he was comfortable in, which made Ann feel even more like a sore thumb. This just wasn't her. Ann didn't look good in the latest fashions, or even look good period. She was just a walking awkward pause. She tried not to let her low self esteem show on her face, but it was hard to hide feeling that uncomfortable.

[Misato Hazukashi]

Moe may not be an empath, but as he spun around and showed Ann the dress, he realised that Ann wasn't quite... feeling the clothing part of the makeover. Frowning just a tiny bit, the little brunette took Ann's hands and gave her a big, honest smile. "You look beautiful." He said honestly, giving the girl's hand a squeeze before tilting his head to the side.

"Do you want to know a secret~?" He asked softly, sitting down on the bench just in the dressing room corridor, and patting the bit next to him. "You can wear all the make up in the world and dress perfectly, but you know what really matters?" Moe turned and gently tapped Ann's head. "It's what you think up here." The boy paused for a moment, then wrung his hands. "When I first realised I liked wearing dresses, I felt so uncomfortable. Not because it wasn't what I wanted to wear, but because I didn't think I deserved to look nice. I went around feeling so uncomfortable and it was only when I realised that it mattered about how the clothes made me feel inside that I felt like I deserved it." He flushed a little, then cocked his head, adjusting Ann's jewellery for a second.

"The point I'm trying to make is... well, I think you look beautiful. And you need to believe that it's okay for you to look like this." Moe smiled warmly, then opened his tiny arms up. "Come here." He added, wrapping his tiny little arms around Ann and giving her a squeeze. Moe believed more than anything that Ann needed to feel beautiful and glamourous, even if it was just now and then. "You deserve this. You're a good, kind and special person." He added, nearly in a whisper, just so no one else could listen in to his little self esteem boost.

"If anyone says anything to the contrary..." Moe frowned, then demonstrated the punch that Ann had shown him earlier.

[Ann Hudgins]

She looked bashfully at her toes when he took her hands and told her she looked beautiful. She didn't see it. Ann didn't exactly have a definition of 'beautiful,' but she certainly didn't think she even qualified to be compared to it. She just wasn't 'it,' whatever 'it' was. She also didn't believe she could put clothes on, or by extension makeup, to embody it, even for Alex who called her beautiful all the time (even on the days where she menstruates and can't even sit up straight without whining). Alex got to call her beautiful because they were dating, and that was just how relationships go. Moe....was Moe, and while he was unendingly sweet, Ann just didn't believe him. She could believe that he believed in what he was saying.

She followed him with all the self esteem she did possess and sat down next to him. She felt bad that she was being such a downer (again), but she couldn't exactly help it. It was just how she was. She crossed her eyes to look up at his finger as he tapped her head and she sighed faintly as he confided in her about his own thoughts of beauty and how he didn't think he could wear dresses. "Screw what other people think, Moe." She mumbled looking at him. She really didn't give two shits about what other people thought about her. She was just her biggest critic. Which didn't make a lot of sense, I know, but there you go.

"I believe that...you believe what you're saying," she finally admitted. He deserved to know she was just being stubbornly critical, " I just don't believe I am, which," she shrugged a little, "doesn't really matter. I'll just stay in my comfort zone and stuff. Not that I don't appreciate what you're doing for me." She nudged him a little with her shoulder and a small smile. "Okay?"

[Misato Hazukashi]

Moe took a big deep breath when he realised that beauty could only be recognised by the person in their own time. Instead, he put on a big smile, gave Ann's hand a squeeze and nodded his head. "Okay, but promise you'll at least wear these clothes more than once a year, kay?" He giggled, gently headnudging Ann before giving her a quick hug.

Eventually, the tiny brunette disappeared back into the changing room to slip back into his clothes, folding up the pink dress and deciding he'd definitely buy it. "Actually..." Moe called over the changing stall wall, frowning at a tiny little bit of belly weight he was pretty sure wasn't there half an hour ago. "Um, when I get my apartment, would you like to come over with Alex? For a meal?" He did look a bit hesitant at this, because couples liked to do things on their own a lot and he didn't want to make them feel uncomfortable. "I can cook pretty well, and it'd be nice to meet him properly." He chirruped.

Stepping back out of the changing room and back in his spotless outfit, Moe gave his belly a pinch. "... I need to stop eating pizza." He complained, turning from side to side. Of course, you and I both know that Moe's a tiny little thing who needs to eat MORE pizza. "Anyway, shall we go pay for these then head back?" He trailed off, looking over at Ann with a big smile. He'd make Ann feel beautiful somehow, he just had to think on it for a bit.