Radio's on, and I'm moving 'round my place

Dakota watched Nick freeze up, wearing an amused expression on her face. Really, Nick, you should have expected this coming from her. You know the kind of person she is, after all. Don’t you remember how you were first introduced to her? The lengths she went? She may have changed a lot since those days, but she’s still that woman.

“Rose… what are you talking about?” Nick shook his head. “You think that changing the kind of person you are would make me happy?”

“Who’s changing?” Rose asked. Her eyes widened and she shook her head. “No, Nick, I’ve always been a kind, sweet, generous, and above all, modest woman! The kind of woman whose role is to bring you nothing but happiness!”

Nick stared at her. “…Modest, huh?”

“Of course,” Rose sniffed. “The most modest woman you’ve ever met!”

Right…

Nick sighed, not sure how to unpack this. Rose had definitely undergone a shift in her behavior as a result of her transformation, but because of her bombastic personality it was difficult to tell to just what extent her way of thinking had changed. But whatever effect the transformation had been having on her, this was the first real shift in her attitude he’d picked up on.

Just in time. Maybe if he addressed the problem now, he could stop her before things went too far.

“Rose, I want to make this abundantly clear,” Nick said, reaching out and lightly taking Rose by the shoulders. She froze up and her eyes widened.

A small smile touched Rose’s lips and she closed her eyes, leaning forward in anticipation of a kiss. As usual, a complete failure to read the room. But Nick didn’t even mind, because that was just who Rose was.

He shook her a little to bring her back into focus.

“Rose!”

“Hmm?” Rose cracked an eye open. Seeing the grim expression on Nick’s face, she stiffened up and turned serious again.

“I don’t know why you think that your ‘role’ in my harem is to be the person who makes me happiest, because that’s not a real thing,” Nick said. “And I don’t know why you would think that what would make me happiest is for you to dutifully follow everything I ask you to do, but… that’s not it at all, okay?”

Rose blinked. A look of confusion flickered across her face and she pinched her lips into the slightest of frowns.

Dakota watched with a smirk on her face.

“Wait, so…” Rose tried to piece everything together. “You… don’t want me to get to know everyone better and work on my relationships with people, then?”

Nick paused. “…No, of course I do.”

“Then what’s the problem?” She asked with a shrug. “I’m just doing what you wanted.”

“That… well, I mean…” When she put it like that, Nick had a bit of trouble trying to answer. He frowned, wondering how he could phrase this. “…You shouldn’t do that.”

Rose shrugged again. “Okay! Then I won’t.”

“No! But… you should! Argh…” Nick let go of her and began rubbing his temples, trying to figure out what to say.

“…Very convincing, Nick, you’re really making strong points here,” Dakota said from the sidelines. She’d conjured a basket of popcorn and was sitting on the counter next to the fabric cutter.

“…You stop talking,” Nick said, turning and pointing at Dakota. “This is because of the transformation you gave her.”

Dakota’s golden eyes widened, and she gasped, placing her hand over her chest. “Me?” she mouthed in quiet shock.

Nick and Rose both rolled their eyes. Nick turned back to his date, having finally come up with a better way to describe his feelings.

“Rose, I want you to work on your relationships with other people,” he said honestly. “But you shouldn’t be doing it just because I want you to! That… is that really you, Rose? I mean, come on.”

“…Huh?” Rose stared blankly at him. “Wait… are you saying you think I’m the kind of person who can’t get along well with other people or something?!”

“Of course you can get along with other people!” Nick said, shaking his head. “That’s not my point at all!”

“Then what is your point?” Rose demanded.

“That you… don’t.”

Rose slumped over and her mouth dropped open.

“…Is that how you see me!?” She wailed.

Nick sighed. He was quickly coming to terms with the fact that there just wasn’t a way he could express his feelings towards the woman in front of him that wouldn’t sound really, really bad.

So might as well bite the bullet.

“Rose, you’re the center of your own universe,” Nick said bluntly. “You act like everything and everyone revolves around you and what you want.”

Rose winced, but she couldn’t deny it.

“…And that’s fine,” Nick continued, much to her surprise. “I actually like that brazen side of yours, if I’m being honest. It’s very refreshing.”

“It… it is?” Rose blushed and scratched her head. “I mean… um… …It’s not like I’m always selfish, right? Just today, I- uh, never mind.”

She had been about to confess that she’d really let Ella take over for her in the closet, but she stopped herself just in time.

“No, I know that,” Nick assured her. “Just because you’re a selfish person, that doesn’t mean you aren’t also an incredibly selfless person.”

“It doesn’t?” Rose was very lost at this point.

Nick shook his head. “Rose, I would like you to try and get along with other people. But I also know that it’s a natural tendency of yours to stroke your own ego. And I’ve gotta say, your self-confidence is one of your most attractive qualities. It’s one of the things I like most about you. No matter how many times you make a mistake, or screw up, or say something insensitive, or hurt someone’s feelings, or-”

“Okay, can we stop?” Rose winced. This was starting to sting a little bit.

Maybe he was going too far. “…My point is, you never stop liking yourself, Rose. And that’s something I really admire about you.”

Nick looked down. “I’ve… always wished I could face the world like that. With endless confidence, completely sure that I was doing the right thing. When I make mistakes and hurt people… I always think it’s because I’m a bad person, that I’m flawed in some way. And that just made me feel even worse. It took me a long time to get over that negative mental image of myself, you know? And that’s why, when I see you, being all bold and confident and self-assured… sometimes I wish I’d had that confidence myself when I was younger.”

Rose looked at him with wide eyes. “Oh, Nick… but you’re a wonderful person,” she said, reaching up and cupping his cheek. “You’re incredibly tolerant, even when… even when I don’t deserve it.”

She had taken advantage of his kindness on more than one occasion. And in some ways she was even doing that now. Rose took a deep breath and softly exhaled, looking up into Nick’s eyes, her own almost watering with tears.

“Your kindness and your willingness to accept me for who I am, to get to know the real me… that is one of the things that attracted me to you most of all,” she honestly confessed, placing her hand over her chest.

Sensing the honesty in her words, Nick slowly nodded. “Knowing that, though,” he said quietly, “you still think I want you to change?”

Rose grimaced. “I’m trying… to be better,” she said. “To make you happy.”

That was her role in his harem, after all. Or more specifically, that was the role she desperately wanted more than anything.

“But like I said, you make me happy enough just the way you are,” Nick firmly stated, looking deeply into Rose’s eyes. “While I appreciate that you’re trying to become closer friends with the other women in my harem- and believe me, that’s something I’ve always wanted- it doesn’t mean I want you to stop being yourself. The Rose I know would stubbornly try to assert her will over the others and get them to do what she wanted to do, get in arguments, and more often than not, make a fool of herself because of it.”

Rose looked at him, mouth agape.

“And that’s… actually what you want from me?” She questioned, shaking her head slowly. “You want me to be a difficult person? For real?”

Nick shook his head. “I want you to be yourself, Rose. It just so happens that you’re a difficult person, that’s all.”

Rose pinched her lips together in a tight frown and crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn’t thrilled that was how he saw her, but at the same time, it struck a chord in her chest, knowing that Nick really did value her so much, even with all her faults.

“Rose, I don’t want the women in my life to just obediently do whatever I ask because they think it makes me happy,” Nick firmly asserted, reaching out and tucking a stray lock of blonde hair away from her eyes. “I want them to be themselves. And if being yourself means being difficult, then that’s fine. I wouldn’t have fallen for you otherwise, after all.”

Rose’s face softened and her lips tugged up slightly. She looked down bashfully and laughed, slowly shaking her head.

“I suppose… I really have been taking advantage of you, haven’t I?” She said with a soft sigh.

Nick raised his eyebrows. “Taking advantage of me? I wouldn’t put it like that,” he said, shaking his head.

She looked at him curiously. “Oh no? Then what would you call it, when a woman like me has a man so wrapped around her finger that he doesn’t even want her to be a nicer and better person, hmm?” She asked, batting her eyelashes.

Well, when she put it like that, maybe she had a point. But certainly not the one Nick was trying to make. He laughed and shook his head.

“Like I said, Rose, you don’t need to change anything,” he assured her. “Just keep being yourself, and that’s enough.”

Rose’s gaze sharpened. “Is it enough, though?” She questioned, her voice gaining a slight edge to it. Nick looked at her in surprise.

“Huh? What do you-”

“After all, there’s no denying the fact that you love me dearly,” she continued, breaking away from him and turning to pace across the floor of the craft store. “But is that really enough?”

She turned back to him, mischief glinting in her eyes. Nick’s heart sank, knowing exactly what monster it was he had brought to the surface.

“Rose-”

“Yes you love me, but I’m not number one in your heart, am I?” She asked, narrowing her eyes. “After all, you are married to someone else, are you not?”

Yep, no way could Nick let her keep going down that road. Not a chance.

“My relationship with other women has nothing to do with my relationship with you,” Nick asserted. “What I feel for other people-”

“Is completely relevant,” Rose interrupted him with a shake of her head. “After all, I’m not one who settles for second place.”

She leaned forward, letting her enhanced breasts do the talking, and pushed them up against his chest. Her lips drew close to his, almost stealing a kiss but not quite there.

“I want to be the closest one to your heart,” she said, creeping her fingers over his chest. “And that means I can’t just settle for my current standing. I’m sure you understand that, at least?”

Yep, this was the Rose he remembered. Competitive to a fault, and incredibly difficult to deal with, determined to be first place no matter what.

Nick smiled. It was nice to have her back.

“It’s not a competition,” he said, gently removing her hand from his chest and stepping away, favoring her with a calm smile. “I told you, Rose, the way you are now, it’s just fine. I like you just the way you are.”

A devious grin spread across the busty seductress’s lips and she slowly shook her head. “If you say so,” she purred in a tone that informed him she didn’t believe that in the slightest. “But for now, I’ll accept it.”

So Nick wanted her to be more difficult? She could do that. In fact, maybe she could…

No, that’s not what he wants. That’s the transformation talking, she realized. It’s not that Nick wants me to be more of myself. He just wants me to be happy. As me.

What would make Nick happiest was, ironically, Rose being happy in her own skin. And her transformation was trying to warp that, in an attempt to convince her that the way she could be most “herself” was by going even further.

I’m trying to trailblaze my own role… when what Nick really wants is just for me to keep doing things the way I have been. It’s a… what’s the word for it? Oh, a paradox. What a difficult position to find myself in! Rose was walking a tightrope of ambition right now. The more she tried to tailor her behavior towards Nick’s ideal, the more she was drifting away from it. But even while she knew that, her transformation was still trying to impact her decisions.

And she wasn’t a fan of that, no, not at all.

With a sigh on her lips, Rose considered that this could be one of her most challenging transformations yet.

“…I’ll work on it, then,” she said aloud, finally stepping back from Nick. She looked up at him with a gleam in her eye and pressed her lips tightly together. “Granted, it’s not going to be easy… but I think, the two of us, we can find just the right fit for everyone in your harem.”

“Without changing them?” Nick asked sharply, cutting to the heart of the matter. He could humor Rose on this “roles” business to an extent, but when it came at the expense of people he cared about, that was where he drew the line.

Including Rose herself.

“It’s not about changing them,” Rose said. “It’s about helping them understand the best way they can make you happy!” She placed her hand over her chest. “Just like I have. By being myself.”

The twinkle in her eye was uniquely Rose, and that comforted Nick a little. He sighed in relief. That’s probably the best I can hope for, then.

“Okay,” he relented with a nod. “I’ll trust you then.”

To an extent. He knew from experience that Rose was always handled best on a short leash.

Even Rose seemed to agree with that. “I’m glad to hear it,” she nodded. “But… you aren’t wrong. I can definitely tell that the way I think has been altered slightly as a result of this transformation.” She glanced over at Dakota, who seemed unfazed.

Smiling sweetly, Rose turned back to Nick. He noted a familiar mischievous gleam in her eyes.

“So with that being said,” she continued, caressing his cheek, “it would be in all of our interests, I think, if you… kept an eye on me, as it were.”

She winked.

“I’m not in my right state of mind. So it’s possible I might do something… naughty. But you’ll be watching out for me, won’t you, mon compagnon?” She crooned. “Staying close by at all times so I won’t go over the line…?”

Nick had to smile at her insinuation, insane as it was. “That’s your game, huh?”

Rose batted her eyelashes innocently. “Oh? Whatever do you mean?” She played dumb, clasping her hands behind her back. “I’m just trying to make sure that your trust in me is not misplaced!”

She shook her head. “That would be just dreadful…”

“I get the message,” Nick said dryly. Even when he didn’t like the way Rose did things, her charm always seemed to bring a smile to his face. “Don’t worry. I’m sorry I’ve been distracted with other stuff recently, I didn’t mean to be. I’ll try to give you as much attention as I can. As long as it doesn’t take away from the others.”

That was the best deal Rose was going to get, and she knew it. Which was why her chest swelled with triumph and she brought her fingers to her lips, gazing victoriously at Nick with a wicked gleam in her eyes.

“There’s a good boy,” she purred.

Nick felt a shiver roll down his spine in spite of himself.

Dakota cleared her throat. “Well, this is all well and good,” she said, tossing her empty popcorn bucket away. “Can I go now?”

“Yes, please leave,” Rose chirped, waving at the host without even looking at her. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from Nick. “We have a date to get back to, after all.”

Dakota was happy to leave, letting them get back to their crafts.

Nick finally felt like he could breathe again. He’d been the one who’d called Dakota, but with the direction the conversation had taken it had felt like she was constantly judging him, which wasn’t fun at all.

“So… what now?” He asked, looking around the craft store. If Rose was no longer trying to bend over backwards to accommodate his wish for her to make friends, she might not even want to continue with this particular date.

“What do you mean?” The Frenchwoman asked innocently, batting her eyelashes. She turned and looked towards the aisles. “We came here for a reason, didn’t we?”

“You mean… you still want to…?” Nick asked, surprised but not disappointed.

“Of course,” Rose tittered. “Nick, I didn’t just come here for Vivian. I’m actually very interested in these sorts of things, believe it or not.”

Nick was pretty good at telling when Rose was lying and he didn’t think this was one of those times. So she really did just want to have fun at the craft store, then?

Well in that case, he could go along with her date idea.

“Okay, if you want,” he agreed.

“But it’s not just about clothes,” Rose clarified. “I have other interests in mind.”

She turned and stalked towards the aisles with her head held high, not even looking back to check if Nick was following her or not.

It made him smile. That was Rose, alright. Determined to do things her own way. He was glad to see she was finally acting like herself again, and he followed eagerly after her.