Shopping with Pieter.

Around noon, I get a text from Robin: 'Pieter, I want to buy some more feminine clothes and hang out. We can catch a movie or something else afterwards if you want. I can't borrow my parents' car, but I know you have one. And you are the only person outside of them who knows the fact that I want to be a woman.'

I respond 'Yeah, sure, shall I pick you up around 1 or would you prefer to leave sooner or later?' Her immediate response is: 'Please, the sooner the better.' I leave for her house after putting the dough and other prepped food in the fridge.

I pick up Robin. As we leave, I ask her: "You want to refer to yourself as a girl outside or nah? And do you want to go to Eindhoven or something farther away?"

She looks at me, curious. "Pieter, why do you ask that? But, Den Bosh is nice, and you can refer to me as if I am a woman."

I pat her on the back. "Robin, you are my friend, and I want you to have a fun time when we go out. I want you to feel like you can be yourself when we hang out. Misgendering you, taking you to places where others know you and might misgender you, isn't going to help with that."
She smiles. On the small half-hour drive, we talk about her game pitches, and I give her some feedback.

Arriving in Den Bosh, I park just outside of the city centre in a parking garage below the old city wall. I ask her before going into the city: "Want to go for a walk in the nature reserve near here?"

She looks questioningly at me. "How is it different from near Eindhoven or Beek and Donk?"

I smile and say: "Gramps told me there are many butterflies in this area that can't be seen anywhere else. The marshes around the city wall never got poldered and, as a result, are a refuge for a bunch of different species."
"Do you even have the knowledge to tell which ones are the rare ones?"

"No, but it does mean there are a bunch of things that look cool nonetheless. Also, you have been cooped up inside for the better part of the week."

"Says you, the overweight dude."
"The overweight dude who cycles to work each day and whose job it is to cook and taste food. So yeah, I do move most days."

She glares at me but gives in with a defeated, "Fine."

"Hey, I am just seeing it is nice to have some outside air and move at a brisk pace. If you just want to go shopping for now, that is fine."

She thinks for a moment. She looks at him and drags him to the exit leading to the city centre. "We will be doing plenty of walking as we go from shop to shop." She smiles with joy.

We walk through the city here and there, avoiding a random cyclist or waiting for a bus as we look for a store for her to try things on. She spots a shop with a sale. "Pieter, let's go there. I can try some stuff. And if I like a bunch, I can get a bunch." We head in I ask for her size. She says: "L." That is not how most women's sizes work. I roll my eyes.

Robin giddily approaches the racks and quickly realises why I asked. "Let's just hold them up against you. Unless you want to invite Roos or Anne, they will be much better helpers in this than I could ever be." The glare I received for suggesting bringing in more people could've killed me if I hadn't grown up with Roos and built resistance. I hold up s black dress and press it against her shoulders. "If my experience shopping with Roos and her mom has taught me anything, this should fit." Looking at the price tag, I go. "And it's half off. To be sure, take one larger and one smaller and don't **** anything."

She goes off to the dressing room. A store clerk approaches me. "Your friend is quite boyish, isn't she. Wouldn't she be happier with men's clothes?"

Used to this question, I respond: "Some woman want to dress feminine even if their bodies aren't. Some switch based on their feeling at that moment. Do you think it is smart to dissuade customers from buying your products because of the aesthetics?"

She looks at me, baffled: "B...B... No sir. Sorry if it came across as such."

With a few dresses in my guess size for Robin, I walk up to the dressing room she got in. "Hey, Robin, did the size I picked fit?" A soft, "yes," comes from behind the curtain. "Can I look in Robin?" Another soft "yes" follows. I look to see her in a black dress that emphasises her waist and butt, reaching halfway between her knee and foot. I look at her shoulders and see that the chest area is lacking fit. "Okay, looks good. With some minor adjustments, it would fit perfectly." I pull back the top. Once it is fitted to her chest, she starts to smile. "I can help. I used to adjust my pant legs mainly. Remove a tag here or there. And I even, at some point, worked to make my own shirt."

"Yeah, right you did?" I look through texts of mine I pull up an old one from Roos's mom, saying. 'Look what I found.' A picture of 15-year-old me behind a sewing machine and a piece of clothing under it. "You did! Who is she that she has this?"

"Roos, her mom, I spent most of my teens there whilst trying to escape my squabbling parents and sister," I say casually.

Robin gets nervous and asks: "How do you view Roos? No holds barred. Be honest as what do you see in her?"

I think deeply and reply from the bottom of my heart. "Roos is my best friend, my sister in some twisted way. I practically grew up there. At times, I have found myself interested in her but find myself held back by that thought." Breaking the tension, I hand Robin the other dresses and say: "Try these, taking the other sizes." Take the wrong sizes and put them back.

When I return, she is in the flower dress that fits out of the box, no tailoring needed, but would benefit from it. She looks awkwardly at me and says: "Sorry for putting you on the spot." She looks like she stepped on a landmine. Touched a sore she shouldn't have.

I smile. "Robin, if you were too intrusive, if you were asking stuff you shouldn't. I would tell you. That dress looks great before I forget. Do you want to wear it afterwards?" I say, trying to cut through the tension.

She softens up. "Sure, you think they would let me?"

I say: "You've got no. You can always get yes. But I would ask, as you are paying and changing afterwards. Shoe stores often let you if you ask beforehand and hand them the box of the shoes you want to wear." Her smile continues as she tries out the other dresses I picked out. At the end, I hand her a blouse and a pair of jeans from the women's section based on her current pair. "Try these on in case you want something less obviously feminine. The clothes you are wearing aren't helping you." She tries them on and smiles ear to ear. No one can say she looks like a woman if she doesn't want to be, but if she does, it emphasises her hips and waist enough that it does. She asks me to get a few extra pairs of these. By the end, she has picked out 4 shirts, jean combos, a purse, a summer coat, and 5 dresses. She asked if she could change into the flower dress, and the person behind the counter approved. It took a bit over 2 hours.

Noticing where we are close to the central station. I drag her along and stop in front of Bakker Jan de Groot. I look in to find it mostly empty, a rare sight indeed. I say: "Do you want a REAL boshe bol? Cause I do let's go grab some." I head in and ask for a table for two. Robin follows quickly behind. The girl behind the counter nods and guides us to a table. I ask her before she leaves. "Can I order immediately? And do you still have two boshe bollen?" She nods. "That with a pot of tea for the two of us." She says: "I will bring them right away."
As she leaves, Robin asks quietly. "What is so special about these?" I shrug. "These are the original ones. You can eat them with cutlery if you want. They are creamier than the other ones."

By the time my rant is finished, the waitress arrives with the pastries and the tea. She places it in front of us and leaves. I cut into my chocolate-covered shoe pastry filled with whipped cream. No crumbles, no fuss, no problems. Something only found here. I grab a bite, and my smile reaches ear to ear. Meanwhile, Robin is just content looking at me. "Don't just look at me, have a bite yourself," I say, as the giddy friend I am, sharing something I love with another.
She cuts it open and reacts with wide eyes herself as she experiences a dish easily bought from the supermarket again for the first time.

"These are way better than even the ones at my local baker less sweet, better balanced. So nice, do you think they still have some in supply for us to take home?" I shrug. "They are gone, or they are there. We need to look at the counter in a moment." We talked about my week over the tea and the remainder of the pastries. I go to pay, she goes to the counter and asks for eight. Three for her and her parents, and five for D&D tomorrow.

"Shall we put it in the car for now, together with the clothes?" She nods, and we walk to the other side of the city centre. She looks at a few more clothing stores, and I say: "You go have a look. I will be back soon."

I take a brisk walk to the parking place and put the bags away in the boot. I make the round trip in about 15 minutes to find her standing outside holding nothing, surrounded by three dudes. I shout: "Robin, are you finished inside already?" She tries to rush over but is stopped by them. They glare at me as I walk up to them. "Who are you three?"

"None of your business." The dude with a shaved head.

"Okay, none of your business and supporting dimwits. Why are you harassing my girl?" I don't posture, I don't threaten. The city centre here is well enough patrolled that the police will be here in a moment if I shout.

The three approach me. I look at them. "Do you think you are hot stuff?"

I chuckle. "Do I need to be? She chose me. She wants to go with me, that is all I need. But if you want to fight, I recommend you don't."

"Why not?" One of the dimwits says whilst grabbing my collar.

Right on cue, the police round the corner. I point to them. "Gentlemen, will you let my friend and me go?"

The idiots don't follow my finger and start punching. I shout for help, and as they land their second punch, the police stand next to me, having stopped them. A brunette with shoulder-length curls asks: "Are you okay, sir?"

I look at them. "Think so for the most part. I pointed at you to dissuade them, but they still punched me. I didn't do anything to provoke them. We tried to leave, and they kept stopping my friend."

The two looked at Robin and nodded. "I assume you want to press charges."

"Yes, ma'am." They start asking questions, and I answer. Because of my 'injuries', we went to the hospital. And nothing broken, no concussion, only a dozen bruises.

Robin says as we finally leave the police behind. "Sorry that you got injured. You tried to help me and ended up with injuries."

I smile and pat her and say: "Hey, you are my friend, and I hope you don't let this bother you. Think about it like this: they saw you as a girl and were hitting on you. In a shitty way is it's a compliment." She chuckles at the comment. "How about we go find a place to eat dinner?" She nods.

I look at maps and notice a message from Bart and a missed call. I ignore it for now and walk past a few restaurants, many full, but Robin pulls me into a shop that is still open. An erotic store. I raise an eyebrow. She whispers: "I want to pick up a few things. I never thought I would try or need." I nod and just follow her at first. Then wander and grab a Fleshlight-type toy... It might be fun for a change over my hand. I see Robin looking for me. I go after her. "Where did you go off to?" I hold up the toy. "Ohh." She says awkwardly. "Spur of the moment?" I nod, still silent. "Which do you think looks nicer?" She says whilst holding up two butt plugs. One with an anchor-type design in silicone, one metallic with a heart jewel at the end.

"For looks, I would like the jewel. Comfort, I don't know." We look around for other plugs. I hand her a set of training plugs with a flared base and 5 sizes. "This seems like a smart one, at least to have." She nods. "You look around. I want to check Bart's message."

I look at my phone and see a missed call and a message in the group chat. Bart is cancelling because his grandmother is in the hospital. They think she might be dying. I can feel myself sink into the ground as I realise what the call was for. I message him. 'Sorry to hear that. I was busy dealing with cops because I got assaulted when you called. If you want to call, we can plan it.' He responds quickly. 'Man, you also had a day. Did they catch the people who did it? Did you hit them back? I am going to Grandma now. Can I call after visiting hours? I smile at his concern and write back: 'After ten should be fine, yeah, wish her the best. I got beat up right as the cops turned into the street I was standing soooo.... Fighting back would be worse. Luckily means I have very little in the way of injuries. Just some bruises. And all three the nimrods found themselves arrested.' I finish the text and head back to Robin.

"So what did Bart have to say?"

"His grandmother is in the hospital. She might not make it." This puts a damper on the mood. An awkward silence follows. I let it linger for a moment. "Onto lighter stuff..... did you find some toys you like?" She nods and shows a dildo as well as a chastity cage, and some harness. "I can get the dildo. Why the cage?"

She gets awkward again. "Because I heard it gets easier to have an anal orgasm if I lock my clit up." I nod. "I would like you to hold the keys to them at least until I get home after I put this on."

My eyes widen. "Why me? I will do it, but. Why me?"

Looking me in the eyes. "Because I trust you. You know my secret and aren't my parents." I nod. We go to pay for our toys. She can't quite pay for it, and I chip in for the remainder.

We leave and head for a restaurant. While there, I get a set of keys shoved in my hands. I put them on my key ring for now. We ordered a meal. I get steak from a double dutch cow, and asparagus; she gets a salad. I pay, and she feels guilty about it. "Next time you pay. No worries. You paid on Sunday."

We walk to the car. Calmly, peacefully in the streets, her still wearing a dress. As I start driving her home. "Do you want to change back before arriving home?" She shakes her head. "Verbally next time. Do I need to come by to adjust clothes?"

"Please, if you can. I can ask to borrow mom's sewing supplies." She lights up at that question.

"Chastity cage keys. You call me if and when you need them, and we plan 2 large shower days a week for hygiene." Her eyes widen. "How, how, why..." She starts to stammer. I roll my eyes. "I like orgasm denial. Chastity play is often part of that. It is worth knowing about it. I like to know best practices before trying things." She blushes. The rest of the drive, we make fun of how ridiculous our day was.

I drop her off with the clothes and the bosche bollen. As I head home, I receive a notification. It turns out to be a completion of the quest notification.

Robin completed an advanced quest. Quest outside the expected range reward adjusted. [+15xp]

What the fuck. Okay, but what is her reward? Cooldown 2 hours. I investigate her perk list to get a clue. I don't remember getting her a bargain shopper. That will be it. I click the perk list, and a new menu opens up.

• Bargain Shopper I: Receive a discount for buying more clothes at once. (Hidden: Urge to buy anything on sale)
• Body Confidence I: Makes you less self-conscious concerning your body. (Hidden: Small compulsion to dress in skimpy clothes)
• Coding I: Increases coding speed by 20%. (Hidden: small compulsion to wear coding socks.)
• Cleaning I: 20% increased speed when cleaning. (Hidden: small cleaning compulsion)
• Femininity II: Become a lot more feminine (Hidden: Makes you want to become a girl)
• Makeup I: Apply makeup with +50% efficiency and speed. (Hidden: small compulsion to put makeup on.)
• Streaming I: Streams you work on are slightly more entertaining. (Hidden: slight arousal from streaming.)
• Sweet Voice I: Voice becomes melodious and attention-grabbing. (Hidden: Censored swears and dirty words)

Wait, these perks have hidden effects? Do mine as well? I need to be more aware of the type of perks I give her. Some of the hidden effects might be nasty. Do I think some of them are worth the side effects? Hell yes. She needs more body confidence. And Femininity has no downside for a trans-femme woman.

I finished my prep from this morning. Well, dinner for tomorrow will be at Robin's, I suppose. I text her: 'Had dinner prepped for tomorrow at your place?' An immediate yes follows.

Bart calls we laugh about what happened. I don't want to say Robin's name when talking about who the guys were harassing. As a result, he thinks I have a secret girl behind the group's back. He can vent his feelings and is happy about it.

Afterwards I get the Robin can get a quest notification.

Robin will receive the following quest: 'Show off your new clothes to your mom.'

Select a reward:

• perk: modelling I
• perk: Body Confidence II
• Mom helps you adjust your clothes.

I am already going to adjust her clothes sooo.... that leaves the perks, and out of the body confidence increase seems best. So I select that and go to bed.