No, I'd rather pretend I'm something better than these broken parts

After confessing to the longstanding jealousy she’d been secretly holding towards Mary for such a long time, it felt like a weight had finally been lifted from Morgana’s shoulders. That was a familiar feeling from today, she found; it seemed like there were more and more instances these days where it felt like her burdens were overcome, and she could really grow and move forward.

“You seem to be in a good mood,” Nick noted as they walked down the street, heading towards the next item on her list.

Morgana’s blush spread from ear to ear and she looked down bashfully. “Well, I… I didn’t think I’d be able to tell you… how I felt before. You know, about… about Mary. But I did. And now… I don’t know. It feels like… I might be able to move forward now.”

She summoned up all of her courage and reached out her hand, and tightly grasped onto Nick’s. He gasped in surprise, but didn’t say anything.

He was just impressed that Morgana had actually summoned up the courage to do something so bold. He didn’t want to say anything that even had the chance of discouraging her, so he just let her hold his hand in silent approval.

Once she realized that Nick wasn’t going to comment on the handholding, Morgana found herself relaxing. She even began to smile again.

“So, um… the next… the next thing on the itinerary is, um…”

Morgana made a mental check of her list again, and blushed when she realized what they were aiming for.

“Cl-clothes… clothes shopping,” she mumbled out.

“Oh?” Nick remembered what Kim mentioned this morning, about how she was going to be working her shift after lunch today. It made him wonder if this was something that Morgana and the others had arranged with her ahead of time. He had no idea- when did Kim even get back to the hotel yesterday, now that he thought about it?

The look of surprise on Morgana’s face when she saw Kim behind the counter suggested that wasn’t the case, though. She looked startled.

“K-Kim!” Her eyes bulged in surprise. “You… you’re here!?”

“Yeah, I am,” Kim said, raising her eyebrow. She looked curiously at Morgana. “And you’re… looking different.”

Morgana blushed red as a ruby. “I- th-this is… I just, um…”

Kim held up her hand. She really didn’t care to hear any explanations Morgana might want to stammer out. “Trust me, it’s fine. No big deal. As long as you’re doing alright, Morgana. I’m assuming you negated some of your transformations or something? Been there.”

Her eyes slid over to Nick, shooting him a questioning look. Nick just shrugged his shoulders, not sure what to say himself.

Then Kim glanced down at their hands, and gave him a knowing smirk.

“…Well, anyway, what brings you guys here?” Kim asked. “I doubt it’s to get clothes. I mean…”

She tried to be as tactful as she could, but it was kind of difficult. “…Anything you buy right now probably isn’t going to fit you,” she pointed out.

Morgana’s blush deepened.

Nick glanced at her. He hadn’t said anything because he didn’t want to discourage Morgana, but he’d been wondering the same thing. Going shopping for clothes when your body was changed temporarily didn’t seem like the smartest move.

“I, um… l-looooook…” Morgana squeezed Nick’s hand tightly for courage and resolved herself. “It’s not… what you think.”

Kim raised her eyebrow. She wasn’t actually thinking anything, in fact- she was mostly just lost and confused. “Okay?”

Morgana bit her lip. “I’m sorry… I… I actually… I was hoping you wouldn’t be here,” she admitted sheepishly. “That’s why I came in now… because I hoped… that since you always worked in the mornings…”

“Ah, I getcha,” Kim said with a sigh, scratching her head. “You want to buy some clothes, but you don’t want to buy them, you want to do a fashion show, is that right? But you feel guilty about me not getting my cut, so you wanted to be sneaky and come when I wasn’t working.”

Morgana’s face turned pale out of guilt. “Th-that-”

“Come on, Kim, go easy on her,” Nick said, coming to Morgana’s defense. “She blew all her money and then some temporarily negating her transformations. She can’t afford to buy any clothes.”

Kim bit her lip. “Is that right…” She gave Morgana another glance over. “Well… I guess that makes sense,” she conceded, seeing that Morgana had nullified three of her transformations. “Still- coming when I’m not working isn’t being as considerate of me as you think it is. It’s just sneaking around. In the future, don’t bother with it.”

“B-but-!” Guilt flashed across Morgana’s face as she looked weakly at the cashier. She just felt so bad. Kim was trying her hardest, and saying right to her face that she wasn’t going to pay for her clothes just seemed so…

Rude.

Kim didn’t seem to take it that way, though. “Like I said, believe me, I know what you’re going through,” she assured Morgana. “My family used to do our clothes ‘shopping’ at the Good Will bin. No way am I going to hold it against you for not being able to afford anything! Alright?”

Morgana swallowed and nodded slowly, a feeling of relief coming over her. At the same time though, she remembered something else about Kim, and the guilt quickly flashed back to her.

“O-oh, but-!”

Kim sighed and rolled her eyes. “What now?” She half-grumbled, and Morgana bit her lip anxiously.

“But… you were so nice… letting me have that bounty…” Morgana glanced quickly over at Nick with another wary look in her eyes. “And… it’s 5000 BP… and here I am… saying I can’t pay for my clothes, it’s just…”

Kim sighed and rolled her eyes. A rueful smile spread across her lips. “Well, what, are you planning on letting him shove his cock up your ass right here in the middle of the store, then?” She asked with a gleeful laugh.

Morgana’s jaw hit the floor. “Wh-what!?” She screeched, turning crimson. “NO! That’s-! Why would you even-?!”

“Morgana, she’s just messing around,” Nick gently coaxed her. “Don’t take it too seriously.”

“…O-oh…” Morgana blinked a couple of times before relaxing slightly, her face burning shamefully again. “I-I see…”

Kim held her hand over her mouth and tried not to burst out laughing. “Sorry. Couldn’t help it. But hey, look- I didn’t let you have that bounty because I was expecting you to pay me back or anything- just the opposite!”

She walked around the counter and took Morgana by the hands, smiling gratefully at the embarrassed goth girl.

“Think of it as payback for everything you did for me the other day!” Kim explained. “Not only did you give me your Like a Virgin transformation, which helped me out big time, but you also used some of your magic on me,” she pointed out. “Things would have gotten super awkward and uncomfortable between Nick and I on our date if you hadn’t done that- it really means a lot that you were so sweet, Morgana. Seriously.”

“Oh, um, I-I didn’t do anything… th-that special,” Morgana stammered awkwardly, her face aflame with embarrassment. “I just-”

“No, you really did,” Kim cut her off with a shake of her head. “Seriously, the humility is adorable, but you were a massive help. Thanks to you, I got enough Victory Points to get above the 100 VP cap! And that’s why I let you have that bounty, to say thanks- and also, to help you get there, too!”

Morgana’s eyes widened. “Eh? Um, what… what do you mean by…?”

“Anal sex is worth 10 VP, right?” Kim asked, looking at Nick for clarification. “That’s what Dakota told me when she offered me the bounty this morning. That’s when I knew that you would be a perfect fit for this, Morgana! You’re at what, 89 VP? So if you have anal sex with Nick, you’ll almost be there! Right at the 100 VP mark!”

She tightened her grip on Morgana’s hands and looked confidently into the flustered goth’s eyes. “If you just try a little, I know you’ll be able to do it!” Even if she was missing some of the cushioning that would make it easier without her Gothicc transformation.

Meanwhile, Morgana’s face was scarlet. But she looked up at Kim with an expression filled with gratitude and admiration, and tried not to show how much she was smiling from ear to ear.

It really meant a lot to her that Kim was going this far to help her out. It really did.

“Th-thank you, Kim,” Morgana said, a shaky smile breaking the tension in her breast. “It really means a lot… that… that you would help me like this…”

“That’s Kim for you,” Nick chimed in with an approving nod. “Generous to a fault!”

“Ehehehe, it’s not anything so special,” Kim giggled, her face burning with pride as she scratched the back of her head. Suddenly feeling put on the spot she took a step back and tried to regain some of her coolness. “Anyway, like I said before, it’s the least I can do, right? After all, you helped me out big time, and now I’ve got your back.”

She held out her hands, palms facing up. “So don’t feel guilty about not paying for a few clothes! It’s my treat!”

Honestly with all the nice things Kim had said to her, Morgana felt even guiltier now. She chewed thoughtfully on her lip and sighed, not sure what to say at this point. But she decided to put her guilt aside and accept Kim’s gratitude for what it was- a gesture of friendship.

“…Alright,” she conceded with a terse nod. “Since… since you said so, I will.”

Kim grinned and nodded enthusiastically. “That’s the spirit!” She encouraged the goth girl with a thumbs up. “So what are you looking to buy?”

Nick was also curious about that. Shirts and pants, even full dresses, likely wouldn’t fit Morgana when she got her transformed proportions back, not to mention underwear. So what could she buy that would be-

“Socks!” Morgana blurted out.

Kim and Nick stared at her for a second.

“…Sorry, what?” Kim dug her knuckle into her ear, not sure she heard that properly. “You want… to buy socks?”

Morgana nodded enthusiastically, her eyes blazing. “I- I’ve always really liked socks,” she explained. “Specifically wool socks! They’re so soft and comfortable, it’s like your feet are wrapped up in tiny little blankets! But I don’t have any good pairs here… Dakota picked out all my clothes from my casual sock drawer, not my special sock drawer back home… I-I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to make a fuss, but… I really love socks, so… um… i-if you have any for sale, then…”

Her voice slowly started to trail off as her initial excitement gave way to the realization of just how much she was sharing. To be fair, that was part of the date. Not even Dawn knew how much Morgana liked socks, she’d been keeping that a secret. Like how she’d never told anyone that she would go to department stores just to try on socks in the dressing room so she could enjoy the feeling of them on her feet.

It was weird, right!?

But… but she wanted Nick to learn more about her, and that also included the embarrassing parts. So she held her ground and looked hopefully at him, praying that he wouldn’t think she was too much of a weirdo.

As for Nick… he really seemed to not know what to say.

“So… you really like socks, huh?” It sounded pretty dumb to say that out loud, but honestly Morgana was satisfied by anything that wasn’t blind, heartless criticism.

She nodded her head rapidly. “I-I really do,” she murmured. “Is that… weird?”

Probably. But Nick wasn’t going to judge that. He just shrugged. “I think it’s fine to like what you like,” he replied.

Morgana felt another wave of relief wash over her for the umpteenth time today. It was like she was drifting in a tiny little tugboat amidst a storm of relief, and she was almost about to capsize!

Now that she knew Nick wasn’t going to look at her like she was the biggest weirdo in the world, she turned her hopeful eyes to Kim, wondering what the clerk would say.

Kim was just staring at her with a blank expression on her face. It looked like her brain was rebooting, and it made Morgana feel a little uncomfortable.

“Um… Kim?” She squeaked out.

Kim slowly came out of her daze and rubbed her eyes, looking at Morgana with a quizzical expression on her face. She took a deep breath, then exhaled.

“Morgana…”

“Y-yes?” More squeakery. Morgana was starting to panic.

“…You came to a boutique… to buy socks, is that right?” Kim asked slowly, like she was still trying to process the situation.

Morgana gulped and nodded slowly. “Yeah…?”

“And you were worried about depriving me of a commission, so you planned to come when I wasn’t working, so you wouldn’t feel guilty about doing a fashion show,” Kim clarified. “A fashion show that would just be you trying on socks, basically?”

Morgana nodded again. “Yes, that… that’s right… …Sorry?”

Kim let out a long, tired sigh, and pinched the bridge of her nose. Nick and Morgana could see the enthusiasm draining out of her body and it was quite a sight.

“Is… is that bad!?” Morgana sputtered worriedly.

Kim rolled her eyes and shook her head. “No, Morgana,” she said gently. “It’s not… bad, it’s just… …Socks are free here.”

Morgana blinked as she processed this new bit of information. “…Wait, what!?” She gasped. “They are?!”

“Yeah, no shit?” Kim rolled her eyes again. “They’re socks, Morgana. The point of this place is to either sell you sexy clothes to make seducing Nick easier, or to sell you normal clothes at an absurd markup when you’re trying to be nudged into a specific transformation path. Or to sell things like dresses and swimsuits for special events. But socks? You think this place cares about socks?”

She was almost laughing at this point as she shook her head. “Morgana, nobody here cares about socks. Grab ‘em. There’s no charge or anything, because, well…”

Kim just awkwardly shrugged her shoulders and turned to Nick. “It’s not like it’s a fetish thing or whatnot, right?”

Nick’s face burned. “No!” He exclaimed. At least he really hoped not.

“It’s not!” Morgana cried, shaking her head frantically. “I just like the way they feel! I wouldn’t, um… use them, like… like you’re suggesting…”

This was a mistake, a big, embarrassing, humiliating mistake. Morgana had tried to open up about something private to Nick, letting him see a part of herself that she was normally too ashamed to show other people, even her closest friends, because she wanted him to get to know her better.

Well, now he knew that she liked collecting wool socks and trying them on. And it shouldn’t have been embarrassing… but Morgana really felt embarrassed.

Humiliatingly so.

“Nick…” She looked just about ready to crumple over and die. Nick had to step in before she did what she always did and turned a molehill into a mountain.

“I think it’s great,” he interjected, surprising them both. “You know, coming here to try on socks. I’m glad you let me see that side of you, Morgana.”

He sensed, from Morgana’s panicked expression, that this was a big deal for her. So it was a big deal for him, too.

“Not very many people would be so brave as to go to boutique in search of just socks,” he continued, hoping to erase some of Morgana’s concerns.

“…Yeah, ain’t that the truth?” Kim muttered under her breath.

“S-so… you don’t think it’s weird… or anything?” Morgana asked, her voice filled with so much anxiety that even a complete idiot like Nick would be able to guess the correct thing to say.

“I think it’s unique,” he said, nodding in approval. “It’s something special about you, Morgana, and that’s what’s important.”

Morgana beamed at him gently. “So… socks, then… it’s not a problem? Um… y-yay!”

She seemed so happy, Nick felt like it was definitely worth it to encourage her like this. He nodded in approval and Kim **** herself to be happy for the other girl as well.

“Well… I’ll leave you guys to pick out what socks you want,” Kim said, heading behind the counter and waving her hand, washing her hands clean of this whole thing. She was happy to support Morgana, but she wasn’t sure what part she was supposed to have in this.

“Um… is… wait, pick out which ones I want?” Morgana asked. “But you said they were free… so I can’t take all of them?”

Kim froze. She turned back to Morgana with a perplexed expression on her face, as Morgana raised an issue that she had honestly never considered before.

“…Morgana,” she said after a brief pause, “I can honestly say that, as far as I’m aware, we have never actually needed to put a restriction on the amount of socks a person could take from this store.”

Most people just grabbed a couple pairs here and there when they remembered to. Kim was fairly confident that the goth girl was the first true “connoisseur” of socks that had ever walked through the doors of this boutique.

But that wasn’t an answer that satisfied Morgana’s urge to please others. She didn’t want to be greedy without the express permission of the cashier.

“So… I just take however many I want, or…?” She asked hopefully, fidgeting with her fingers.

Kim sighed and rolled her eyes. “They’re socks, Morgana,” she groused. “…How about you take ten pairs now, and come back later if that isn’t enough. That sound good to you?”

This girl was going to give her a headache, Kim was pretty sure.

Morgana nodded enthusiastically. “Y-yes!” She gasped out, her eyes shining. “That would be just fine! Thank you, Kim, you’re the best!”

“Yep,” Kim said, barely able to contain her amused grin. “That’s me alright. The best… yeah.”

She wasn’t sure what else to say if she was being honest. This was certainly one of the weirdest customer interactions she’d ever had. Well, one of the weirdest she’d ever had since coming to this island, anyway. Back on earth, Morgana’s request would have almost sounded normal compared to some of the things she’d heard.